Jen Pretty

by Jen Pretty

  show I created.

  “You lied to me. You all did. I thought I would learn

  how to use magic, but you want me to raise people.

  Murdered people. I can’t do that.”

  Niri nodded. “You’re right. I should have told you.

  We have never brought in someone at your age before.

  Magic first appears in children very young, and we have

  never had an adult show up. We should have prepared

  you.”

  “So, you lie to children? How is that better?” I asked,

  struggling again to get to my feet.

  “Children are raised here. We don’t lie to them. You

  don’t tell a four-year-old that the world is dark and

  violent.”

  I looked away. He was right, but I wasn’t ready to

  accept that. I wouldn’t raise any murdered people for

  anyone, ever.

  55

  “You don’t have to,” Niri said calmly, reading my

  thoughts. His eyes stayed locked on mine. “If you can’t do

  that, we won't force you. It’s just that some find a purpose

  in catching killers and others find their purpose protecting

  the innocent with magic. You were born with a gift that

  can help, but it’s yours to use how you see fit.”

  Some tension left my body, and my magic pulled back

  in, instead of lighting up all the graves, it started to coalesce

  around one in particular. I watched the blue magic jump

  and twist, beckoning me to drop my blood and let the dead

  speak.

  “Selena,” Niri said my name in a hushed voice, and I

  tipped my head up. He held out a small knife. A peace

  offering, if ever there was one. Falcor’s face was blank. I

  had never raised the dead in front of someone before,

  except Dorothy.

  “We only want to help you find a purpose. If your

  purpose is a cook in a restaurant, we can help you do that

  safely.” Niri sounded convincing. I wanted to believe.

  I felt a calm wash into me. It felt foreign. I looked up

  at Niri and then to Falcor. I toyed with the calmness, letting

  my magic explore the unexpected feeling for a moment and

  when I focused my eyes again, I saw it. A string of magic

  was flowing out of Falcor and into me.

  I crab-walked backwards away from the warlocks.

  56

  “Selena, wait,” Niri said.

  The magic thread stretched. The further I got from

  them, the more the feeling wavered.

  “Falcor, stop,” Niri said, but my heart surged and

  brought power back to my legs. Finally, I was up and

  running like a jackrabbit. I ran until my legs were ready to

  give out again and the foreign feeling was long gone. I

  didn’t recognize the city. The streets were wider and made

  with red sand, making them look bloody under the glow of

  the streetlights.

  People eyed me as they walked by. Couples, hand in

  hand and groups of people my age laughing and joking as

  they walked the night streets. I passed a nightclub with

  music pounding.

  The bouncer out front looked me up and down as I

  hurried past. At the end of the block, there was a restaurant

  with smooth jazz music playing. The sound of dishes

  clinking and people talking floated on the light breeze

  along with the smell of charbroiled steak. My stomach

  rumbled again, but I ignored it and kept walking. I was

  going nowhere, but it was better than going back.

  A few blocks later I came to a park. There were lights

  along the path, but there was a small wooded area that was

  dark. I crawled through a bush and into the sparse trees

  57

  then collapsed to the cool bare dirt. I leaned back against a

  trunk and stared up at the moon.

  I was probably still in the US, but I had no idea where

  and I was too tired to think about how I could get home.

  Colvin. I wanted to get him away from there too. I couldn’t

  leave him with people who would manipulate him and then

  make him raise murdered people. I closed my eyes.

  “Don’t freak out, ok?” I didn’t recognize the voice,

  but my magic wanted to spill out towards it. I clamped it

  down and slid silently on my butt away from the voice on

  the other side of the shrubs. “My name is Peran.”

  I slid back a bit further, trying not to make a sound,

  but my breaths were rasping in and out,

  “I’m just like you, Selena. I want to talk to you for a

  minute,” he said, and I saw his blue magic pour across the

  ground towards me. A face came through under the

  bushes. Eyes as green as grass and hair stark white, cut

  short and spiked up like a punk. He smiled, and I felt the

  same pull that Colvin had. It drew out my magic, and I

  didn’t want to fight it anymore. I let my magic slip out and

  roll across the ground to meet his.

  When the two magics combined, I saw sparks across

  my vision. Warmth filled me from my center, and I felt

  balanced. Not like when Falcor’s magic was trying to

  control my emotions. This lifted me, making me feel

  58

  confident and whole. The rest of the man wiggled through

  the bush into my tiny hiding spot. He sat and pulled his

  long legs in, wrapping his arms around them to fit in

  between the trees. It was a hiding place for one, and the tall

  man was more like one and a half on his own. But he kept

  himself as far back from me as he could get within the

  confines.

  “Peran, you said?” I whispered into the silence that fell

  on us.

  “Yes.”

  “Why are you here? Are you from that place?”

  “It’s not what you think,” he said in a quiet voice.

  “They shouldn’t have involved Falcor in your transfer or

  any part of you settling in. They should have called me back

  sooner. If I had known you were coming, I would have

  been there.”

  I felt like I had always known this stranger. Like we

  grew up together, and now he was here to comfort me like

  he always did. It wasn’t the same feeling I got from Colvin.

  I wanted to protect the little boy. This man, I wanted to

  curl up next to on a couch and watch movies. I didn't feel

  awkward or stupid even when he stared at me like he was

  doing now. It felt natural.

  “I don't understand,” I muttered.

  59

  “You will, I promise. Come with me?” He held out his

  hand.

  I stared at it for a moment and then set my hand in

  his, and his smile lit up the night. He squeezed my hand

  and then tugged me forward and waved to the small gap

  under the bush. He waved me forward, indicating I should

  slide through. I took a deep breath and crawled out of my

  hiding place.

  Standing on the other side, I dusted my knees and

  looked up to find I was face to face with a scowling

  warlock.

  60

  CHAPTER SIX

  “Why are you still here?” Peran asked from behind

  me. I turned to look at him, but he was sneering at Falcor.

  The air was thick between them. Obviously,
Peran didn’t

  like Falcor any more than I did.

  “Niri asked me to bring you both back,” Falcor

  replied.

  “That won't be necessary,” another voice said from

  the darkness.

  “Whatever, I don't need this,” Falcor said before

  disappearing.

  The night air was cool, and now that my heart had

  calmed, the sweat clinging to me made me shiver. The man

  in the darkness stepped out into the moonlight. He was

  older than me — maybe early thirties and his face was open

  and kind. With a small smile, he peered at me curiously,

  61

  standing in a relaxed pose like he was just out for an

  evening stroll and happened upon us.

  “I would like to introduce you to Kai. He is a warlock.

  He assists me in my work and protects me so I can be safe

  in the real world.”

  “Hi,” I whispered. He waved once, a sort of salute,

  then went back to scanning the park. I realized he was

  looking for danger — like a bodyguard.

  I turned back to look at Peran. “What do you do? Do

  you raise murder victims?” I asked.

  “Yes,” he replied.

  I shivered again, wrapping my arms around myself to

  try to keep some body heat.

  Peran took off his sweater in one smooth movement

  and popped it over my head. It was huge on me, but I

  pushed my arms into the sleeves and wrapped myself in the

  warmth. His smooth ashy scent filled my nostrils and

  calmed me even more.

  “How do you do that?” I asked. “Raise murdered

  people, I mean.”

  Peran stepped forward, wrapping his arm around my

  shoulders and leading me back towards the path that led

  out of the park. “It's important work. If I don't get answers,

  no one will.”

  62

  I bit my lip, and we walked in silence for a while. He

  had a point, but each victim’s pain was so real.

  “Niri said you saw Falcor’s magic,” Peran said

  hesitantly.

  “It was a string. He was trying to control me,” I

  replied, shivering and pressing in closer to the tall

  necromancer. He was warm, and his arm around my

  shoulders held me to the ground, making me feel like I was

  a hot-air balloon, and if he let go, I would float away.

  “Hm,” he said.

  “Is that weird? That I could see it?” I asked after a few

  moments.

  “I have never seen warlock magic, but he also said you

  lit up the whole graveyard and can’t handle being without

  magic.”

  We made it back to the street, and a car came racing

  up the road towards us, its lights blinded me for a moment.

  Then it was gone, and my thoughts returned to Peran’s

  words.

  “I don't want to go back there,” I said.

  “I booked a suite in the hotel,” Kai said from behind

  us. “You will be safe there.”

  I just nodded. I didn’t know these people, but I knew

  my magic wanted to be near Peran and that was good

  enough for me.

  63

  At the end of the block, we turned south and travelled

  past more restaurants and bars, until we came to a large

  hotel, it was at least a dozen floors high, and the front

  entrance was glowing like a beacon in the night.

  Landscaped gardens lined the grounds and a circular

  driveway lead to a covered port in front of the doors. I had

  never stayed in a fancy hotel before. Having grown up in

  the foster system, my one-room apartment was like a

  mansion.

  Peran led me to a small sitting area in the lobby and

  sat beside me on a small couch, his arm resting behind me

  while Kai spoke to the woman behind the receptions desk

  and got a pair of key cards.

  It seemed strange to be checking in with two guys I

  didn’t know, but Peran already felt like a part of my life. I

  decided to stop thinking. I was safe.

  Kai whistled and Peran and I rose and followed him

  to the elevator. The entire back wall of the elevator car was

  a mirror, and the lights inside were bright, so I got a great

  look at how muddy I was from my run through the forest,

  fall in the graveyard, and crawl through the park.

  Shit.

  I picked some branches out of my hair and tried to

  smooth it down. It was no use. My hair needed a wash, and

  so did my clothes. Ugh.

  64

  “Kai can grab your things from The Sanctuary,” Peran

  said, his eye catching mine in the mirror.

  “Is that what they call that place?” I asked, wiping a

  smear of dirt off my chin.

  “It’s not as bad as you think, they just gave you a

  terrible first impression,” Peran said.

  I shook my head and hoped there was a mini-bar in

  the room.

  The elevator stopped, and Kai led the way down the

  lushly carpeted hall to a room with 802 on it in brass

  numbers. He slid a card in a slot on the door, and it beeped

  once. Kai pushed the door open and marched inside,

  looking in the bathroom and checking the closet, and then

  he nodded, and Peran took my hand, leading me inside.

  Kai handed the card to Peran and then left.

  I walked past the bed to the window looking out over

  the city. The lights were hypnotizing, streets laid out like a

  quilt of little squares. I could see the pitch-black graveyard

  where Falcor had dropped me. I wondered if the light

  beyond a patch of trees in the distance was the school —

  The Sanctuary.

  A soft beep and a door opened. I spun to look, as Kai

  came in through a door I thought was the bathroom. It led

  to another hotel room. Kai left the door open and flicked

  65

  on the TV in the room we were standing in. Then he sat

  on the end of the bed and flicked channels.

  I turned back to the window. My eyes traced the

  headlights of a car as it cruised along the street and

  disappeared into a darker subdivision.

  “Do you want a drink, Selena?” Peran said, breaking

  me out of my reverie.

  I abandoned the giant window and joined Peran by

  the small fridge. He handed me a tiny bottled mixed drink.

  I unscrewed the top and took a quick shot of it. It burned

  all the way down my throat, and I ended up coughing a few

  times.

  Peran smiled. “Are you ok?”

  I took another drink from the small bottle, emptying

  it, then reached into the fridge and grabbed another before

  climbing onto the bed and leaning back against the

  headboard. I wasnt sure how to answer his question, so I

  cahnged the subject.

  “So, did you guys grow up in the Sanctuary place?” I

  asked, unscrewing the lid of the second tiny bottle.

  “Yup, someone dropped us off as babies,” Peran said.

  “Kai is still a bit of a baby though.”

  Kai flipped Peran the middle finger, his eyes never

  leaving the TV.

  I smiled at their bickering. They sounded like siblings.

  66

  “What was it l
ike, growing up there?” I asked,

  frowning as thoughts of Colvin seeped back into my mind.

  “It was good. I had friends, and the teachers are like

  family,” Peran said.

  I nodded and downed more alcohol. It was already

  pushing into my system, and I felt more relaxed. I tipped

  my head back and rested my eyes for a moment. The

  sounds of the TV and the soft bed lulled me nearly to sleep.

  A knock at the door disturbed me though, and I opened

  my eyes as Kai stood and strode to the door.

  He opened it an inch and peeked out. He said a few

  words and then swung the door open all the way, and Nick

  walked in.

  “Hey, who ordered the vampire?” Kai said with a grin.

  My magic sprung to life, reminding me I hadn’t actually

  used it in the graveyard and was holding a lot of it still. I

  clamped down on it and slapped a smile on my face.

  “Hey Nick, how's it going?” Peran said greeting him

  with a manly half hug.

  “Not bad, brother. Well, could be better, I guess,”

  Nick replied, his eyes settling on me. I gave him a hand

  raise wave. That was all the energy I had left. Between the

  crazy night and the liquor, my eyelids were getting heavy.

  “Is Falcor off?” Peran asked.

  67

  “Yeah, Niri put him back on school duty. There aren’t

  any other warlocks free right now though, so I’m all there

  is,” Nick said. I was pretty sure they were talking about me

  in some roundabout way but didn't care anymore.

  “Hey, Nick, be a dear and grab me another tiny bottle

  like this one?” I held it up so he could see what I wanted.

  “How many have you had?” he asked, opening the bar

  fridge.

  “This was only my second. I deserve one more.”

  “Probably have a point,” Nick said, grabbing one for

  himself too and jumping over me on the bed with

  surprising power to settle down beside me against the

  headboard.

  “Thanks,” I said, unscrewing the lid of the tiny bottle

  and holding it up for him to clink his against. “Cheers.”

  “All right, well, I’m taking a few days off, so we can

  get things straightened out. I’m not leaving her

  unprotected,” Peran said.

  “You mean I’m not leaving her unprotected,” Kai said

  raising an eyebrow at Peran. I wished I could raise a single