by Jen Pretty
brow. I tried it again in case I had grown the ability but still
couldn’t do it.
“Yes, brother. You are gonna have to protect us both
for a little while. If you think you can handle it,” Peran
snickered, and the warlock grumbled.
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“Yay, big happy family,” I said. The alcohol had me
feeling much better, but it wasn’t long before my eyes
closed and the room spun until I passed out.
✽ ✽ ✽
The sun was burning through my eyelids when I woke
up. I didn’t dare open my eyes. Instead, I buried my head
under my arm and stayed beneath the thick warm blanket.
“Selena,” someone whispered. It was so quiet, I
thought I imagined it. “I know you’re awake.” I recognized
the voice now. It was Nick. I kept my eyes closed. The last
few days sucked; sleeping was good. “Your breathing and
heart rate changed when you woke up. You can’t pretend
to be asleep around a vampire.” He chuckled.
I rolled over and looked at him through squinted eyes.
He was sitting in a chair with a glass of what I was going
to pretend was tomato juice, in front of the huge window
that looked out over the city.
“I could have been sleeping if you hadn’t said
anything. Dreaming of white sand beaches and nothing
paranormal at all,” I muttered as I wiped the drool from
my chin and crust from my eyes. I tried to run my fingers
through my hair, but they got snagged on a tiny stick, and
I pulled it out. I needed a shower.
69
Shit.
I was pretty sure I smelled too.
“Kai grabbed your suitcase from The Sanctuary.”
Nick pointed to the other side of the room, and there it sat.
All my worldly possessions. I pulled back the blankets and
left my warm cocoon. rummaging through my stuff, I
found some clean clothes and then locked myself in the
washroom and spun the knob on the shower to hot. I
unwrapped a tiny bar of soap and snagged a few small
bottles of shampoo and conditioner out of a pretty basket
sitting on the sink counter.
The water was scalding hot. I had to adjust it a few
times to get to a temperature that wouldn’t melt my skin
off and then washed my hair repeatedly. I had a small
collection of leaves and grass in the bottom of the shower
by the time I finished. The hotel only provided combs, so
it would be awhile to get all the knots out. I dressed in clean
clothes and took my comb out to sit down and work
through my hair.
Everyone stopped talking and stared at me, I froze.
“What?”
“Your hair is almost white,” Peran said.
“Yeah, I dye it, but the colour fades fast. I need to get
more dye today.”
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“You should leave it,” Peran said before turning back
to Kai and restarting their conversation.
I pulled my hair over my shoulder to look at it. It was
white, not brilliant white like Peran’s, but it would be if I
washed it a few more times.
I sat down on the end of the bed and began combing
it out. I started at the bottom and worked the comb
through. It was so knotted. I thought about cutting it all
off, but it was so smooth when I had it all brushed out and
felt soft against my shoulders when I wore a tank top.
“I got a call from a city in Canada. They want me to
come and help with a series of murders. They have a body
turning up every day,” Peran said. His words sunk through
and my thoughts and pulled me back to the conversation.
“You are going to Canada?” I asked.
He turned to look at me. “we all are. For a little while.
You don't have to come to the morgue. I can’t ignore it
though. People are counting on me.”
“So, they know about what you can do?” I asked.
“The government in all countries know about us.
They tell people we are psychics,” he chuckled.
“Psychics,” I muttered.
“I promise, you won’t have to do anything, Selena.
You can go back to The Sanctuary if you would rather.
You’d be safe there.”
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I snorted. I was not going back there.
Nick was smiling. I knew vampires couldn’t read
minds, but I guess my face wasn’t hard to read.
“I’ve never been to Canada,” I said.
“Well, your bag is already packed. Let’s go,” Nick said,
standing up and moving towards the door. The rest of the
guys moved to follow him out, so I zipped my suitcase and
dragged it out the door behind me.
“Hey, wait up!” I called.
72
CHAPTER SEVEN
I assumed we would travel by magic, but we ended up
at the airport. Good thing my passport was in my suitcase.
We waited in the crowded airport for a flight to take us to
Alberta. Nick spent a lot of time talking on the phone. It
sounded like he was booking gigs at nightclubs.
When the voice over the intercom announced our
plane, we moved towards the door. The woman standing
at the side was checking tickets. Her eyes widened when
she saw Peran and me.
“She is a witch,” Nick whispered. I wondered how he
could tell, but tossed a smile on my face as we approached.
“Hi,” she said, her eyes darting from me to Peran and
back again.
“Have a nice flight,” she said hesitantly like she wasn’t
sure if she should be talking.
We continued into the walkway that led to the plane.
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“That was weird,” I said.
“She has probably never seen a necromancer before,
much less two,” Nick said.
We found our seats, and I tucked my suitcase into the
compartment above. It was sad that all my stuff fit in a
carry-on.
Kai and Peran sat on one side and Nick, and I sat on
the other as hundreds of other people filed into seats. The
flight was long and tedious. I watched the in-flight movie
for a while and then stole Nick’s cell and played some
games while he chatted with Kai across the aisle about
music. They had similar tastes but, since Nick only had two
games on his phone and they were pretty easy, I ended up
returning his phone and going back to the in-flight movie.
By the halfway point in our flight, I was getting
restless. I should have stopped and used my stored magic
before we boarded, but the guys seemed in a hurry to get
the flight.
I kept my fist clenched and tried to focus on the
movie, but it was a family-friendly movie, and it didn’t hold
my interest.
“What’s going on?” Nick asked as I tipped my head
back and closed my eyes, taking deep breaths.
“Nothing, I’m just full.”
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He looked at me and squinted his eyes for a minute.
“You have too much magic?” he whispered.
“Yes,” I whispered, closing my eyes again and taking
a deep breath.
“I
’m going to the bathroom. Meet me there in a
minute.”
My eyes flashed open, and I watched his back as he
walked down the aisle. This was weird. I looked over at Kai
who raised his eyebrows at me and then tipped his head
the way that Nick had just gone.
I mouthed the words “What the fuck?” to Kai. He just
tipped his head towards the washroom and then turned
back to Peran who was going over some paperwork he
pulled out of his suitcase before he checked it.
Shit.
I stood up and walked casually towards the washroom
like it was no big deal. I probably wasn't pulling it off, but
I didn’t look anyone in the eye as I passed.
Nick had left the door unlocked, so I slid it open just
enough to slip inside and then shut and locked it behind
me.
I turned around and came face to face with the
vampire. I took a deep breath. “What am I doing here?” I
asked.
75
“You know how your magic wants to come to me?”
he asked in a whisper. He took a tiny step forward, and I
took one back, so my back was against the wall.
“Yes,” I said, swallowing harshly as my mouth went
dry. My heart ticked up, and I clamped down harder on my
magic.
“You can give it to me.” He took another step forward
until he was almost touching me.
“Give what to you?” I asked, my chest heaving.
“All your magic.” His voice was soft, and his hand
came up to cup my cheek.
My heart was pounding in my chest, and my magic
swirled under my skin. I was so full I thought it might ooze
out through my pores. I tried to let some out, a small flash,
but as soon as the magic had a way out if poured out like
an overflowing coffee cup. Rivers of magic slid from me
to Nick, taking me high. My mind spun with the release,
and I relaxed back against the wall.
Through my hazy vision, I saw Nick’s eyes glowing
blue and sparkling as if my magic had filled him to the top.
Then he blinked and his eyes returned to normal. He let
out a shaky breath before falling back onto the toilet seat.
I propped myself against the counter and took deep
gulping breaths, letting my heart rate settle and the high
fade.
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“That was a lot of magic,” Nick said, licking his lips
like he had finished a delicious meal.
“I had no idea you could do that,” I said when I caught
my breath.
He tipped his head back against the wall, and I wished
we weren’t in a dirty airplane bathroom. “You never
noticed your magic wanted to come to me?”
“Of course I did. That first night in the nightclub I
almost lost control.”
He grinned up at me. It was goofy and crooked and
kind of adorable.
“Well, we can’t use magic or hold it. It just funnels
through us all the time so a little extra, or a lot extra in your
case, doesn’t matter.” He watched me through half-lidded
eyes. I felt so much better. It was as good as raising the
dead.
“Can I just do that instead of raising people?” I asked,
looking down at my feet.
“If you want. Niri wanted me on your team in case
you didn’t have an outlet for magic. He wasn’t sure how
stable you were.”
“Team?” I hadn’t heard anything about this, but I
knew something was up with Falcor when they said he was
back on school duty.
77
Before Nick could answer, someone knocked on the
door. “You OK in there?” a voice asked.
“I’m fine!” I said at the same time as Nick.
Shit.
I unlocked the door and scurried back to my seat.
Nick strolled out a moment later and followed. My face
was burning like the time I fell asleep on a lawn chair in the
backyard of the foster house, and Dorothy found me hours
later.
I ducked my head as Nick swung into the seat beside
me.
“Don’t worry, only a couple people saw. They
definitely don’t suspect magic,” he chuckled.
I backhanded his chest and pulled a set of headphones
on to block everyone out. Luckily when I looked out the
window, I could see a city through the clouds, and the
fasten seatbelt light came on as the movie ended and the
sound cut out. Thank god we were in Canada.
After landing, we moved through the airport and
gathered everyone else's luggage while Kai got us a rental
car.
“Where does all the money come from?” I asked
Peran as we waited at the luggage carousel.
78
“I’m a government employee. They cover all
expenses,” he said before leaning over and grabbing a large
suitcase off the conveyor.
“What about me?” I asked. “And Nick.”
“I pay my own way,” Nick said from the seats behind
us. He had already grabbed his duffel bag and was relaxing
with his legs stretched out, and ankles crossed as if he
belonged here.
“The Sanctuary is paying your way. They will keep
paying it until you get a job and can support yourself.”
“I had a job and was supporting myself,” I reminded
him.
“Until you were in danger. They want me to go to your
hometown next. A witch or warlock is killing other magical
people and humans. I can't just let people die.”
I didn’t reply.
“It’s ok, you know. I don’t think you should do what
I do. It's tough to see people in their last moments, and I
don’t blame you for not wanting to do it,” Peran said. I
nodded, but inside I was wondering if maybe I was selfish.
As long as I had Nick around, I didn't have to raise
anyone ever again. I could be a normal person. Almost.
I looked back at Nick and wondered if he would stick
around if I didn’t do anything interesting. Was this ‘team’
he mentioned contingent on me raising murder victims?
79
“Aha!” Peran said as he grabbed another suitcase off
the conveyor. This one was smaller but matched the larger
one he had already taken off. He pulled out the handles on
the tops of them and then turned and rolled them along
behind him. Nick scraped himself up off his seat and flung
his duffel bag over his head, so the strap was across his
chest.
“Hey guys, I got an SUV so we would all fit,” Kai said,
appearing from the crowd of people and grabbing the
smaller suitcase from Peran. We passed various bronze
sculptures of horses and granite buffalo or sheep, maybe.
Whatever they were, they were kind of cute. I jogged to
catch up to everyone, and we followed Kai out to the
parking lot. The entire landscape was flat. As far as I could
see, there was not a hill or valley but, in the distance, tall
buildings reached into the sky. Their lights were flickering
like stars in the evening light as the sun set. I heard doors
&
nbsp; unlock and lights flashed on a silver four-door vehicle
crouched in a parking space between two mid-size cars.
Kai opened the back, and we all tossed our suitcases in.
As the car wound its way with along the flow of traffic
that lead towards the city, Nick’s phone rang.
“Yeah,” he said the phone pressed to his ear. He got
a crooked grin and his eyes caught mine. “Perfect, I’ll be
80
there.” He hit a button on the phone and tucked it in his
pocket. “Want to go dancing, Selena?”
I smiled and shook my head. The DJ had found
himself a place to be tonight. “All right, let’s see what
Calgary has to offer.”
“Can you keep her safe?” Kai asked Nick as he flicked
on his turn indicator and merged with the massive flow of
traffic heading through the city.
“Yup, I’ll keep her close,” he said, giving me a wink.
“We never got to see the music room at the Sanctuary, but
you will like this. I promise.”
Kai pulled up to a tall hotel with bright lights flashing
out front.
“I’ll check you two in, Peran has to get to the
morgue,” Kai said.
We shuffled out and grabbed our bags from the back.
Kai got a key card from the desk and handed it to me. “I
want to talk to Nick for a second. Wait here, ok?” he said
to me before wrapping his arm around Nick and moving
him a few steps away. He whispered to Nick who patted
him on the shoulder, and then they broke apart, and Nick
came back to join me, while Kai walked back out the front
door of the hotel.
“What did he want?” I asked, nosey.
81
“He told me not to let you out of my sight and to let
you keep your magic. I think he is still hoping you might
take on some necromancer duties.”
I had been having fun with the guys, globe-trotting,
but I had the thought stuck in the back of my head since
we boarded the plane. It seemed selfish not to use my
magic to help people, but I couldn't help remembering the
one time I raised the wrong person, I shook the thought
away before it could grab me and pull me into sorrow.
“Oh, shit, I should call my friend Georgia. She is
probably freaking out by now.” Nick took out his cell and
handed it to me. I dialled Georgia, but it went to voice mail.
