couple of his new students thumped him on the back and people cheered.
Hidden Stone
This story is a prequel to Heart Search, that book featuring Laev T’Hawthorn as the hero and Camellia Darjeeling as the heroine. So if you want to see more of Laev and his hunt for his Family heirlooms and his struggle with his relations, not to mention the black tom and the little calico, please read Heart Search.
And if you prefer to know of Garrett’s difficult backstory as the sole survivor of the Iasc sickness and how that makes him vital to the whole planet of Celta, and perhaps see him take the big fall into love, then you should read Heart Secret. Naturally, his band of animal informants are featured, as well as a precocious kitten.I hope to continue with a few more stories of Garrett Primross, Private Eye, as they come to me.
Please know that my primary genre is romance and both Heart Search and Heart Secret are sexy books and may not be appropriate for minors.
HIDDEN STONE
Druida City, Celta, 421 Years After Colonization, Spring
Garrett Primross stepped out of the welcome warm spring sunlight and into the shabby building that housed his private investigation firm. He rolled his shoulders to release the tension between them. He’d totaled up his current revenues and knew he could only afford to rent this hanging-on-by-fingernails-to-middle-class location for two more months without a better income.
But he’d find some solid clients, work hard at that.
The smell came first, farm-animal-pungent overlaid with simple cleanser.
Then he saw the big black cat, long hair tangled and scruffy, lying in front of his office door. One of Garrett’s animal informants that he called Black Cat Two. A trail of blood droplets led from the back end of the hallway to the cat, along with a couple of bloody pawprints. Black Cat Two’s upper haunch showed hair matted with blood, and a crust over a semi-circular cut.
With a sigh, Garrett muttered the unlock spell on his door, pushed it open with his foot. He murmured a coating spell on his tunic, then bent down and scooped up the cat. He was a big man and though the cat was large, too, the body beneath the fur felt skinny.
Thwapping his tail back and forth against Garrett’s arm, the cat sniffed and said mentally, I have a case for you.
Well-spoken cat, obviously smart enough to become a Familiar Animal Companion bonded with a human.
“I’ve made it a policy not to work for animals,” Garrett replied, setting the cat down on one of his worn client chairs. Seeing scratched hands in his future -- even if he had fast enough fingers to do sleight-of-hand tricks -- Garrett simply grabbed a jar of Healing ointment from his bookcase, opened it and set it by the cat.
Who sneezed. Then lifted his upper muzzle to show his fangs, dipped a paw daintily into the gel-like mixture, hissed at the feel and flexed his claws. As he covered his paw and worked on his injury, his narrowed gaze met Garrett’s again. I have worked for you many and many days! You should do this for Me!
Garrett had learned early to be hard-hearted with cats. They’d turn everything into an advantage if they could. “You’ve worked not quite an eight-day for me,” he corrected, then pointed out, “You got fed. And shelter from the weather with the rest of my band of Irregulars who nose around for me.”
Associating with low life cats! Some don’t even think in words-for-humans! And, he shuddered, even must be in the presence of dogs and foxes!
“Terrible for you,” Garrett murmured. He wiped the inside of the jar with a softleaf and put it back.
“Yesss,” the cat hissed audibly.
Angling his head, Garrett said, “And I think that I’ve even given you a pinch of catnip for a good investigative tip on my last case.”
Only what I deserved. A pause. I could use a pinch now, too.
“For nothing.”
For bringing you a new very wealthy client.
“I’ve had private detective cases for intelligent animals and actual Fams before, and gotten ‘paid’ with some not-so-valuable stuff.”
Another hiss. Valuable to Us.
“That’s right. Valuable to you, not to me.” He gestured to an old and pitted piece of metal on another shelf. Then he squatted down just outside claw range and passed a hand over the cat, muttering a spell to augment the Healing balm. The cat’s fur lifted, dried blood and tufts of fur fell away and odor rose.
Garrett waved a hand to initiate an