Their leap of faith could unleash magic ... or plunge them into darkness. Henry Thorn has worked at Larkin's since graduating high school. He likes it -- especially when he can use his secret skill of hiding inside shadows so his boss can't find them. Without that talent, he would never had survived growing up different. When a hire enters the store, Henry's other latent talent kicks in. He can smell an emotional response even before he lays eyes on the redhead. Jamey Currey came out, and his conservative parents promptly kicked him out. He, too, is different -- he senses Henry's attraction the moment they met. The first time they kiss, torrential rains fall from skies split by lightning. Their kiss also awakens the Watchers, diabolical hunters who will stop at nothing -- even extermination -- to keep magic suppressed. With the help of a friendly coven of friendly witches, the boys embark on a quest to discover an ancient key to restoring magic to the world, and to understand mysteries of their own hearts. The question is, will this quest cost them their lives?

The Werewolf and His Boy

A body had been found near a dumpster by the loading dock that morning. It had apparently been there since sometime early Sunday. 2: October 2009


Larkin’s Home Improvement, Short Pump, west of Richmond


Henry looked up from the cans of exterior paint he was transferring from the flat truck to the shelves to see Jamey standing there holding a cup of coffee in each hand.


“Did you see anything Sunday? You were on the graveyard shift, yeah? They say the body—some poor guy who worked for one of the trucking companies that delivers here—the body was chewed on, and his neck was broken.” Jamey said waved both cups of coffee in the air. “Oh, I got this coffee for you. Three creams and a brown sugar, right? C’mon, let’s go outside and get something from Dominic’s trailer out front, yeah?”


Chapter 7