Jen Pretty

by Jen Pretty

  218

  Tom shook his head. “The driver we interviewed was

  kind enough to show us his trunk. We didn't have a search

  warrant, and he didn't have to, but inside there were two

  big speakers leaving hardly enough space for a suitcase, let

  alone a body.”

  “Holy shit. That's the warlock that picked us up,

  remember? He drove me home from the club the night I

  met you, Nick. And out to my Mother's place when I met

  Falcor.”

  “It’s not a big city,” Peran said. “There probably aren’t

  that many drivers.”

  He was probably right, but I was still suspicious. He

  could have taken the speakers out or something. “Thanks

  for your help,” I said, rising to my feet. I needed to make a

  plan. Crow hopped back to the door and pecked on it once.

  “Selena, don’t put yourself in danger,” Tom said from

  behind me.

  I waved over my shoulder. Someone had killed my

  friend, and I would solve this case and stop the monster. I

  had made a promise. Time to keep it.

  ✽ ✽ ✽

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  Out on the street, Nick grabbed my arm and stopped

  me as I pulled out my phone. “What are you doing?” he

  asked.

  “I'm calling an Uber,” I replied.

  Nick just stared at me for a second, then released my

  arm. “I’m coming with you.”

  “OK, fine. I’m just going back to my apartment. Maybe

  some of my clothes survived and we can look around the

  area for anyone suspicious.”

  Nick nodded.

  “I’m coming with you guys too,” Falcor said.

  “Well, we are going back to our hotel. Call if you need

  anything,” Kai said before he and Peran disappeared.

  Good, fewer people the better for this plan to work.

  A car rolled up, it wasn't the reggae and hula dancer

  car, but the three of us climbed in and I directed the driver

  to my apartment building. No one was in the entrance or

  on the stairs today. I didn't need David to see me bringing

  home more guys.

  I dug through my pockets, but didn't have a key, so

  Falcor sifted us inside.

  The mess was as bad as I remembered. The rubble of

  my simple life was strewn about. I crossed carefully

  through the kitchen, glad I had good soles on my shoes,

  and opened the cupboard under the sink. There were 4

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  garbage bags left in the box. Not enough to clean up the

  whole mess, but enough to get started.

  I passed them out, but Falcor just looked at the bag like

  it was a dirty sock. “What do you expect me to do with

  this?” he asked.

  “Help me clean up the mess this killer made of my

  apartment,” I replied, picking up some broken plates

  carefully and putting them in my plastic garbage can.

  Whoever had ruined my apartment had torn the lid off the

  can, so it was garbage now too. The irony.

  “This place is disgusting,” Falcor said unhelpfully as he

  used his finger and thumb to pick up the edge of what used

  to be my favourite sweater.

  “Yeah, that's why we are cleaning it up,” I said.

  He stopped grumbling, mostly, and got to work.

  Even after I filled the bag and the garbage can, I had

  hardly made a dent in the mess of my small kitchen area.

  My plates and bowls seemed to multiply in the destruction.

  “I’m going to grab more garbage bags,” I said.

  “I’ll come with you,” Nick replied.

  “The store is two doors down, Nick. I’ll be fine.”

  He didn't look convinced.

  “Fine, come with me.” I shook my head, and he

  followed me out the door. Behind me Falcor dropped the

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  bag he had been filling and collapsed on what remained of

  my futon. I guess it was break time.

  Nick followed me down the stairs, our boots echoing

  in the cement stairwell until I burst through the door at the

  bottom.

  David stood in the entryway and his eyes grew wide

  when he saw us, his feet shuffling back a step.

  “Hey, David,” I said. A little unsure of myself.

  His eyes were firm on Nick though. “Hey, Selena,” he

  muttered. “How’s it going?”

  “Good, thanks. How about you?”

  He swallowed and glanced at me finally. “I’m fine. I’m

  just going to go.” He slid past us and disappeared through

  the door to the stairwell.

  I shook my head and sighed. It would be weird for a

  while being here after we accused David of being a

  murderer.

  I continued out the door and down the road to the tiny

  bodega on the corner. Nick walked beside me with his arm

  over my shoulders. It was nice being tucked in beside him.

  As we entered the store, we split up. Nick went to check

  out the drinks, and I scanned the aisles until I found a box

  of garbage bags. I wasn’t sure how I would get away from

  Nick to call an Uber, but I would have to find a way. I

  needed to get the driver who had picked me up before. He

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  could have just been hanging around my building and

  come across those women by chance.

  I had scanned the book of mythical creatures while I

  was in the bathroom earlier, trying to commit all of them

  to memory. Each had to either be beheaded, have its heart

  removed, or be dismembered.

  If the Uber driver was possessed by one of those

  mythical things, I would either have to decapitate,

  dismember and tear out his heart, or know which thing he

  was.

  As I rounded the back corner, I caught sight of Nick

  chatting with the man at the counter. The TV behind the

  cash was on and some basketball game was playing. They

  were staring up at the screen.

  I glanced around and found the door to the backroom.

  Now or never. I set the box of garbage bags back on the

  shelf and slipped through the door. The storage room was

  tiny. It had an open door that led to an even smaller

  bathroom and one door that had a glowing exit sign above

  it. I slid outside and broke into a sprint. As I ran down the

  street, I pulled out my cell.

  Nick would be so pissed.

  223

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  The Uber rolled up to the curb, the dancing hula girl

  visible in the windshield. I took a deep breath and slapped

  a smile on my face. I had second thoughts, but it was too

  late for that. Instead of turning and running, like I should

  have done, I opened the door and the reggae music spilled

  out onto the sidewalk.

  “Hi,” I said.

  “You call for a car?” he asked, leaning towards the

  passenger seat.

  “Yup,” I smiled and slid into the seat. My leg bounced,

  and I pressed down on it trying to hide my nervousness. I

  pulled the door shut, but heard Crow caw just before the

  door shut.

  The car rolled away from the curb and into traffic.

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  I remembered what Katherine had said about

  following the threa
d and I unfocussed my eyes, letting my

  magic spill out. It congealed and thinned out until it was a

  tight thread crossing the car and disappearing into the

  chest of the Uber driver.

  “Where are you going, Selena?” he said, pulling my

  attention back from the thread of magic.

  I thought I misheard him over the sound of his music,

  but he glanced at me with an angry tilt to his eyes. I knew

  then I was right about him, but also that I had made a huge

  mistake.

  “Just thought maybe we should have a chat,” I said

  casually. I was impressed that my voice didn't shake but the

  cold chuckle from the driver sent chills down my spine. He

  swept his hair back from his face and then gripped the

  wheel firmly and accelerated until we were going too fast.

  The car veered suddenly and took the on-ramp to the

  highway.

  I reached over my shoulder and pulled on my seatbelt.

  “You think that will save you?” His voice had changed.

  He sounded more like a demon than a man — cold and

  dark.

  “I'm not the one who will need saving.”

  He threw his head back and laughed. The car swerving

  across two lanes of traffic on the highway. Horns blared

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  and my stomach jumped up into my throat. I was going to

  die in a fiery crash.

  “You know what your problem is Selena? You have no

  idea about the world around you. They have been waiting

  for you all this time, but you have no power and now you’ll

  die because nobody took the time to teach you anything.”

  I swallowed hard. He was right. I had no idea what the

  Black Crow was or what it meant. I knew I could be good

  or bad, but not the extent of my powers or what I was

  supposed to be doing. Seeing through a bird’s eye and

  flying around wouldn't help me in this situation.

  The sparks of magic stirred inside me, building until

  my skin felt tight. I clamped down on it, not wanting it to

  do anything while we were hurtling down the highway.

  “You won't be needing that,” the driver said. I saw a

  flash of light and his arm flung out towards me so fast I

  couldn't react.

  Something had hit my stomach hard. I looked down

  and realized there was a knife handle protruding from my

  chest, just below my sternum. The sight made me pause

  for a moment before the pain hit and the reality set in.

  I gasped, but no air filled my lungs. The black dagger

  handle held my gaze for a moment before my t-shirt

  around it stained red in an ever-growing splash. The blue

  sparks of my magic tried to knit me back together again

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  around the dagger. I coughed and blood spit from my

  mouth, spraying the windshield and dashboard. Even the

  hula dancer had blood on her grass skirt. My eyes focused

  on that for some reason. The bloody hula dancer was still

  rocking her hips back and forth as my mouth worked,

  trying to pull in oxygen.

  My hands came up and scrambled at the knife, but it

  was slick with blood, and, when I nudged it, a scream used

  up the last of my oxygen.

  The edges of my vision went white and then black,

  leaving me with nothing but the sight of the stupid dancer

  until the world faded away and everything went black.

  ✽ ✽ ✽

  “Rise and shine, little necromancer.”

  I groaned at the throb in my head before realizing I

  didn't recognize the taunting voice. My eyes and I tried to

  rise to sitting, but a stabbing pain reminded me of what had

  happened.

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  I screamed, and a hand clamped down on my mouth,

  pinning me to a hard, cramped surface.

  “You don't need to be so loud. Nobody can hear you

  anyway.”

  My eyes spun around, taking in my surroundings and I

  realized I was in the truck of his car. The speakers in the

  back of his car were hollow, leaving space for a small

  person like me, or any of the other victims.

  My arms came up and my fingers wrapped around the

  hilt of the knife still protruding from my stomach. I

  wrapped my fingers around it and tried to pull, but my

  arms were heavy and I couldn't get a grip.

  It was scraping painfully against my ribs with every

  breath. A puddle had gathered under me and I wasn't sure

  how I was even alive still.

  “Now, Now, no reason to be pulling on that. Let’s just

  leave it in for now so we can chat a minute. I like you better

  without your magic.”

  I focused on the man’s face, but his eyes were swirling

  purple and green in a metallic sheen. Whatever he once

  was, something now possessed him. I tried to think back

  to the book and remember what had eyes like that, but

  most of the drawings were in black and white.

  I moaned at the pain radiating through me, but at least

  I could breathe now.

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  “The pain will end soon. I will drain you and then you

  can rest in peace. First, we are going on a little trip though.

  I have a special place in mind for this since you are so

  special.” The sound of a purr came from the man’s throat

  and I knew a big cat had to have possessed him. Maybe a

  jaguar? That made sense with the way he stalked his

  victims.

  If I could get the knife out of my chest, I could use it

  to stab him in the heart and kill him, but I could hardly lift

  my arms now and my eyes were sliding closed.

  “See you soon, necromancer.” He pulled the wooden

  speakers down and the fit over me like a coffin. I kicked

  once, twice, but then heard the trunk lid shut. Just before

  the engine started up again, I could have sworn I heard a

  loud caw of a crow. I prayed it was my crow and tried to

  rest and gather my strength for what was to come.

  The engine rumbled to life and the speakers in the car

  pounded out loud reggae music.

  ✽ ✽ ✽

  I must have passed out again, because the next time I

  opened my eyes, the car was bumping over uneven ground

  and tossing me around in the small space of the trunk. I

  tried to brace myself against the hard thumps, but it was

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  useless. One particularly hard bump made me hit the

  wooden speakers above me and when I dropped back to

  the steel trunk, the knife in my chest slid half way out.

  Very carefully, I wrapped my fingers around it and

  pulled it the rest of the way out. A scream broke free, and

  I hoped he hadn't heard me over the loud music. I took

  slow, deep breaths and calmed my racing heart until my

  body relaxed. I tucked my hand with the knife under my

  side so it wouldn't be visible when he opened the trunk.

  There would only be one chance. My magic had drained

  away along with all the blood I had lost. I had a tiny spark,

  but it wouldn't be enough to fight the monster that had

  killed my best friend and would surely kill me if I didn't get

  my shit together.

  The wound was closin
g and the tingle of the magic

  pouring back in relieved the pain somewhat. If we had

  driven on for another hour, I might have had enough

  magic to stop the murderer. Instead, the car rolled to a stop

  on crunchy gravel and the music died.

  My heart tried to jump into my chest at the slam of the

  car door and the sound of boots getting closer to the trunk

  where I lay. I thought I heard a distant caw of a crow just

  before the thump of the trunk release.

  I took a deep shaky breath, then one more and the day

  light flooded into the trunk as he lifted the wooden

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  speakers off me. The man that killed Georgia stood before

  me a cocky smirk on his face. He didn’t deserve to be alive.

  That thought sent fire to my veins, and the anger

  helped launch me out of the cramped space so fast, the

  man before me didn't have time to react. I buried the knife

  deep in his stomach.

  He fell back, and I rode him to the ground. The knife

  was too low.

  I cursed and tried to pull it back, but he started

  morphing from a human to a giant black cat. His hands

  slashed at my face and his sharp nail-tipped fingers sliced

  across my cheek and left eye, blinding me and sending me

  reeling back.

  The pain was unbearable but I knew if I stopped now,

  I would be dead. Just like Georgia and all the other women

  in the city. So, I pulled hard on the knife and then stabbed

  forward, swinging the knife towards where I had last seen

  the monster.

  He had already wriggled out from under me though

  and the sound of growling filled the treed area I had seen

  just before he shredded my face. I blinked hard, swinging

  the knife wildly, trying to buy myself time until I could see.

  The monster launched himself at me between one swing

  and the next, his deadly talons puncturing the skin of my

  chest and knocking me backwards.

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  I held on to the knife somehow even as I landed hard

  on my back and his heavy weight knocked the wind out of

  me. Now that he was above me, I stabbed upwards in vain,

  trying to hit where I thought his chest might be. He let out

  a loud roar, and the weight flew off me.