by Jen Pretty
makes them dangerous to humans and warlocks,’ the text
read.
I flipped several more pages and found a hand-drawn
picture of a beast that was half man and half bison.
Flipping more, I stopped at the image of a snake.
123
Beneath each picture in the book was information
about the powers and abilities.
“What is it?” Nick asked from right behind me, making
me jump.
“Well, it seems to be a bunch of animals, maybe
something like Crow,” I said. “They seem to take over a
magic being.”
Flipping a few pages, it displayed a picture of a man
with black eyes. He was on a page titled ‘the serpent.’ I held
it up for Nick to see. His face morphed into a look of
shock.
The serpent could squeeze its victims, biting them to
pull their magic out until they died. It also said the person
consumed by the serpent could transform into the beast.
That was disgusting.
I flipped further and came across the crow.
‘The crow can manifest in anyone. Depending on the
type of person, it will either do good or evil. Beware the
crow.’
Well, that was not a great review. I looked up at the
bird, and he cawed loudly, straining his head forward in an
exaggerated manner. Then he fluffed all his feathers up and
shook. A single black feather swirled down and drifted on
the page. I closed the book, keeping the feather inside.
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“I think this book is important,” I said. “Crow seems
to think so, anyway.”
He cawed again as if to state his agreement.
“All right, do you want to look at some books about
the Black Crow?” Nick asked.
“Yes, let's grab some and get out of here,” I said,
tucking the book under my arm. The information about
the crow raised the hairs on the back of my neck. Could I
be evil? Would I become evil?
Nick led the way back to the row of shelves that
Francis was still looking through. He had several books in
his arms already and was attempting to gather more from
the shelves.
“Whoa! Let me help,” Nick said, grabbing the armload
of old musty books.
“Oh, yes, thank you!” the librarian said. His glasses had
slipped nearly off his nose, and he straightened them when
his hands were free before grabbing another half dozen
books.
I took several books from Nick, and we moved back
down the narrow aisle towards the stairs.
Crow flew above our heads and disappeared up the
stairs.
Back above ground, we set the books on the tables and
sat down to read. I tucked the book on magical animals
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beside me in the armchair. I wanted to read in more detail,
but I didn't want to do it here.
Crow landed on the back of my armchair and watched
over my shoulder. He never seemed to be a typical bird,
but I had my doubts he could read. I wouldn’t dismiss the
idea completely, so I held the book open and to the side so
he could see.
The book I had was a journal that seemed to start in
the middle of a life.
‘The road has been long to travel, but I am within sight
of the new city now. Its lights shine like a beacon at the
bottom of the canyon. I hope to find rest and refuge from
the oncoming storm, but my real goal is still to slay the
monster. I have been following his tracks for days, and this
city seems a likely place for the beast to hunker down.’
Scanning further and then the next page, it was one
person's account of travelling and following some beast. I
flipped to the end of the journal. A hand-drawn picture of
a horse, it’s head detached and tongue hanging out, took
up an entire page. Below the image it read, ‘the beast’s
slaughter’ I snapped the book closed and set it on the table.
I didn’t want to read any more of that. Why would
someone kill a horse and then draw the picture?
“What's wrong?” Nick asked.
“Nothing,” I said.
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“Your heart just went through the roof,” he pressed.
“It was just a gross picture,” I said, picking up another
book and opening it to end the conversation.
Nick reached over and took the book I had been
reading from the pile. I watched him out of my peripheral
vision as he skimmed through until he got to the back and
stopped.
“It’s not a normal horse, Selena,” he said.
“Well, it’s still gross all chopped up and dead,” I said.
“You raise the dead all the time,” he argued.
“Not
dead
horses,”
I
replied.
One time I did accidentally raise a cat that a truck ran over.
It purred and rubbed up against me like a normal cat. It
was weird.
Nick closed the book and took up a different one.
Flipping through the pages of the new book I picked
up, I realized the writing wasn't English. I was about to
shut it when Crow cawed, and I felt my magic move
through my body and down to my hands. It dripped from
my fingertips and into the pages before I could stop it.
Suddenly the words in the book made sense. I still couldn’t
read them, but I understood the meaning as I scanned each
line.
It told the story of a warrior who rode across the desert
on a camel. He carried a sword and searched for a monster
127
so great and terrible it would leave whole villages
decimated in its wake. The author described the carnage in
detail. I flipped to the end, and it described the man
fighting a giant lion — his sword against the gaping maw
of the wild beast. The story ended with both the man and
the lion mortally wounded, but they celebrated the man's
victory throughout the land.
“Is this my life now?” I asked, slamming the book
down on the table.
Crow screamed, and Francis jumped, dropping his
book to the floor.
Nick’s deep eyes studied me for a moment. “This was
always your life, you just didn't know it,” he said all calm
and rational.
I stood up, grabbing the book Crow had picked for me
and ran out of the room, following the hall we had come
through to get in here, I found the front door and flung it
open. It was late evening now and the moon already hung
in the sky, but I ran down the steps and into the treed area
that lined the driveway.
I couldn't go far. The lot wasn’t very large. But, I found
a bench in a small clearing and collapsed to it. My magic
hummed under my skin in the chill of the evening as I sat
and tipped my head back to gaze at the giant moon that
hung in the sky. I didn’t want death and destruction. I
128
wanted to flip burgers and maybe someday own a house
— regular things people wanted. Now I knew why
Dorot
hy had dyed my hair and taught me to hide my magic.
I wasn’t hiding from anyone but myself. She gifted me
as normal a life as possible, and now I had lost it, and I
wanted it back.
It almost felt like being in the middle of nowhere until
a car passed by on the road, its tires disturbing the peace
of the night.
“Selena,” Nick said as he walked into the small clearing
on silent feet. He stopped a distance from me, studying me
as if I might bolt.
The moonlight cast his face in a dark shadow, but his
strong brow and jaw caught the light, magnifying his best
features. He turned his head, and his lips came into view,
then his nose. He was lovely to look at. I wanted to
appreciate him the way Vanessa and Georgia had in the
club, but that wasn’t the way my life was. Magic was gifted
to me at birth, just like my stark white hair.
“I’m sorry,” I muttered, turning my eyes back to the
moon.
“It’s ok. I think you are handling this really well.”
I snorted a laugh. “That is a load of crap. I’m pretty
much freaking out.”
“Well, maybe.” He laughed too.
129
Crowed hopped into the clearing, flipping leaves with
his beak and pecking at the ground.
“He stopped a wraith from screaming,” I said, my eyes
still firmly locked on the bird as Nick sat down on the
bench beside me.
“I’ve watched Peran raise a murder victim. It’s
disturbing.”
“That's putting it mildly,” I replied.
He bumped shoulders with me, and a small amount of
my magic slipped out. He gasped.
“Sorry, it has a mind of its own sometimes.”
“Don’t worry about it, that's why I'm here. Peran used
to have a vampire with him too. He has so many cases now
he doesn’t need one. He is raising dead almost daily.”
I let my eyes linger on the vampire. He watched Crow
hopping around with a pensive look on his face.
“You think I should help the police too?” I asked, still
unsure I wanted the answer.
“I think you could do a lot of good.”
“You think I should chase down this snake guy?”
His eyes locked on mine. “He’s killing witches.” That
was all he said, and it was enough. I knew in my bones it
was enough and I would have to figure out this magic and
how I was supposed to stop this guy before it was too late.
130
The witch had begged for my help. I had never let down a
wraith before.
I took one last look at the moon and a deep breath,
clutching the book that Crow picked out.
“You ready to get out of here?” he asked, a crooked
smile on his face.
“Yeah, let's go.”
Nick called a cab, and we waved to Francis who stood
on the front steps to the Gothic mansion.
Back at the hotel we stepped off the elevator, turned
towards our room and came face to face with a wild-
looking Kai.
“Where have you been?” he asked, turning and
storming back to the room down the hall. We followed
behind him, and as soon as the door clicked shut behind
Nick, he began to speak so fast I couldn't understand
anything he was saying.
“Slow down,” Nick said, confirming that Kai was just
rambling.
He took a deep breath and his legs collapsed, so he was
sitting on the bed. He ran his hands over his face. “Peran
is missing.”
131
CHAPTER TWELVE
“What do you mean Peran is missing? Where did he
go?” Nick asked.
A sharp caw split the air, cutting off Kai’s words for a
moment.
“He was with me in the graveyard, we were just looking
around, hoping to find some clue about where the killer
was living. The murdered witches were all found in the
nearby alleys. I turned around, and he was gone. Just
vanished.”
“Shit,” I said. “The serpent.”
Kai just looked at me like I could do something in this
situation. I still had the book that Crow had selected in my
hand. I sat down in a chair and opened it up, flipping
through all the pages until I found the one with a picture
of a snake. It was grotesque looking with a crooked face
and crossed eyes. It had sharp fangs that dripped saliva.
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Whoever had drawn the picture was talented or
imaginative. I hoped it was the latter because I didn't want
to meet the thing.
Below the image was the words ‘The Serpent’
‘The serpent is the thief of magic. He takes through his
mouth that which he lusts for and leaves behind the husk.
His head must be severed to end his reign of terror. Do
not hesitate or you will become his supper.’
“What is it?” Kai asked.
“It says the serpent bites people to steal their magic.
Would Peran die if it drained him of magic though? Isn’t
he used to that?” I asked, thinking of the Sanctuary and
how it was void of magic. “Couldn't the serpent just keep
draining him over and over?”
Kai’s face paled. “He could be an endless source of
magic for it.”
“That's probably bad,” I said.
Crow hopped from the place he had taken up on the
bedpost and pecked the door like a woodpecker.
“I can probably find him,” I offered. I didn't want to
go out there, but Peran was a good man, and I couldn’t just
abandon him.
“Yes!” Kai said, jumping to his feet. He took a step
towards me, and I raised my hand to stop him.
“I can’t fight this guy. I’m not some warrior.”
133
“Your boy can fight. I can too,” Kai said, bumping
shoulders with Nick.
Nick smiled at me and hopped on his toes like a boxer.
I nodded and took a deep breath. Kai took the final
step forward, his hand reached out for me at the same time
it reached for Nick, and suddenly we were in a pitch-black
graveyard.
A light flicked on from Nick's phone, illuminating the
grassy hill we were standing on.
“Is this where you were when he disappeared?” I
asked.
Kai nodded, and I let go of my magic. It poured from
me, glittering across the grass to light up the ground like
the moon off the water. I felt the magic pulse, and the
wraiths of the dead stirred but didn’t rise.
I felt a gentle tug and followed it forward. The
graveyard was large, not even the sound of faraway traffic
reached my ears as we passed tombstones. Nick’s flashlight
bounced off the occasional grave, giving a flash of the
name etched into the stone. My magic crept along with me,
covering every surface and then moving forward.
A soft breeze rustled the bushes and making my skin
prickle. I felt exposed.
134
Crow cawed, circling above us. I could just make out
his shape against the clouds, his feathers darke
r than the
sky.
“This is creepy,” I whispered.
“Aren’t you in graveyards all the time?” Kai asked, his
voice too loud.
“Not skulking around looking for bad guys,” I said.
Nick chuckled, and I shot him a glare.
My magic was narrowing in on a place. There seemed
to be a small building, its shape only barely visible in the
distance. I squinted to see better.
“It's a maintenance shed,” Nick said.
We approached silently. Nick took a switchblade out
of his pocket, flicking it open. Kai disappeared and
reappeared a moment later holding a knife as long as my
forearm. It shone in the moonlight, and he swung it in a
circle loosening his wrist.
My magic recoiled back into my body, but it didn’t
settle. It spun and twisted my stomach like a living thing
inside me. Crow landed lightly on the roof of the building
and bobbed his head.
We circled wide to approach from the front of the
building. A small security light pointed straight down from
above the door.
135
Crow walked across the roof, his talons clicking over
the tin, to the edge where he peered down at the door
below.
I wanted to turn and run, but my feet carried me
forward. The night was still and silent like it was holding
its breath and I realized I was holding mine too.
The front of the building had two doors. Together they
were wide enough to drive a car through. Kai reached out
towards the door handle, but just as his fingers touched the
door, they both flew open smashing back against the sides
of the building. Crow screamed into the night, and
something dark slithered out past me.
I yelled as its cold flesh rubbed up against my pant leg,
the cold seeping through to my skin. I jumped to the side,
but the thing spun and wrapped around me like a whip. It
circled me several times from my feet to my neck.
I struggled as I fell to the ground, hitting my head off
the gravel path hard enough I saw stars.
Crow’s calls rang in my ears, and I fought against the
restraint. Ice filled my veins as the monster constricted
further and I could no longer draw breath.
My magic drained out when the serpent rent the skin
of my arm and pulled, squeezing ever tighter as if I was a
