Furies (1)

Phoebe was sitting in her office, pouring over the new seasonal lipstick samples that Team One had given to her. Everything has to pass her approval before it could be released out into the market. Which is why she was meticulously pouring over all of the findings and documents that went along with them personally.

Her cell phone buzzed, alerting to an incoming call. "Hello? Your speaking to Phoebe Welsh." She answered the phone without looking at the caller id.

"Phoebe, it's Jackson."

There was only one Jackson that Phoebe knew that would have her number. Jackson Phelphor, a member of the High Council.

The High Council was made up of High Elders-holy beings, Elders-beings that are descended from the holy beings and other creatures, and then the regular council members-which were made up of various beings from the magical community such as witches, werewolves, elves, dryads, and so forth. The High Council was responsible for stopping any demons from escaping into the earthly plain and wreaking havoc, and keeping the peace among the magical community.

Not every magical being was a council member-most actually preferred staying away from the High Council. And then there were some who weren't even aware of the High Council's existence.

Phoebe was a part of the council members. It was something she would have never dreamed of doing in her youth, but then her sister and brother-in-law were killed by rogue warlocks in a gruesome high demon summoning ritual.

Just as there were levels in the High Council, there were levels in the demon world. Most lower class demons were able to pass through the barrier and enter the earthly plain due to their low demonic energy levels.

The higher class demons possessed so much demonic energy that they had to be summoned to be able to enter into the earthly plain.

Because of her family's death, Phoebe had joined the council so that she could personally hunt down the rogue warlocks without facing repercussions from the High Council, such as having her powers sealed away.

"A group of furies have been sighted roaming around your part of the city." Furies were beautiful women with black wings protruding from their backs and hair made of green snakes. They were women who sought vengeance and would even kill someone for telling a small white lie. When on the earthly plain, furies would take on the forms of normal human women, making it difficult to track them.

Tracking by using a crystal and a map was impossible. That kind of tracking spell only worked if you had something that belonged to the person you were tracking or if you shared blood with them. It was also a lower level spell that could be blocked out by using a higher level spell that blocked tracking magic.

"Can you and Luna take care of them?" Luna had taken the exam and joined the High Council as soon as she had come of age. Phoebe hadn't wanted her to join, but she wasn't someone who would stop her niece from doing what she really wanted to do. And Phoebe would always be there with her during missions to protect her, so it wasn't too difficult for her to allow Luna to join.

"Sure. It's a weekend, so we can hunt them down tonight if Luna's up for it."

"Thank you. Take care out there, Phoebe." The line then went dead after that.

Phoebe locked the screen on her phone and leaned back with a sigh. It was really tiresome working on all of these council missions while running her own business and raising her niece all at the same time. But it was sometimes hard for her to tell Jackson no. The cute little guy with snow-white hair, large brown puppy-like eyes and the light dusting of freckles on his face, made people want to help him when he asked for something. Though that could have more to do with the holy blood running through his veins than his appearance.

After she finished reviewing everything and getting everything ready for the launch that was to take place soon, she packed all her belongings up.

"Goodbye Miss Welsh," her secretary said as he stood up from his seat to see her off.

On her way home, she stopped at their favorite Chinese place and ordered enough food to feed everyone. Luna had sent her a text earlier to inform her that both Mark and Simon had joined her and Isaac that night to study.

Phoebe had vetted Mark the day before. She approved of the boy, though she still had some issues with him. But Mark wasn't going to be the center of her focus tonight. Tonight was Simon's turn to be vetted.

She had to make sure that this Simon wasn't going to do anything to harm the cute and innocent Isaac. Isaac had been best friends with her niece since preschool and was as much of a nephew to her as her actual niece was.

After grabbing the food, Phoebe drove herself home. A black Mercedes and a blue pickup truck were parked along the street in front of her house.

Simon had already lost points in her book for having a truck. In her opinion, there was only one reason why a boy his age would drive a truck. Unless his family was on the poorer side and a truck was the only thing they owned-which she highly doubted.

"I brought Chinese!" Phoebe hollered upon entering.

Just as he had the night before, Mark came over and helped her. That boy really was trying to do everything he could to warm her and Luna up to him. Maybe she could do him a favor and convince Luna to give him another batch of love potion.

Call her a terrible aunt, but she was warming up to Mark a lot faster than she could that Greek God of a boy that Luna had a crush on. Maybe she was just being a hypocrite, but that Adam reminded her of herself back in her highschool days. And that was definitely not someone her niece needed-no matter how tempting it was.

As Mark was taking their dinner to the kitchen, Phoebe turned her attention onto the new face in the group.

The boy had shaggy hair that hid most of his features. When he stood up to head into the kitchen, Phoebe was able to see that the boy was tall. . .and fit. The baggy clothes that he wore did nothing to hide that figure.