by R. L. Wilson
“You’ve done an impressive job. We’re proud of you.” Big Sam explains.
I didn’t do anything but risk my life and lose my mother. “What did I do good?” I don’t deserve any applause.
“You have done a great service to the community,” the mayor states as he takes a seat.
“Please have a seat,” Mayor Daley invites. “You kept everyone safe.”
I walk past several of the paranormals to take a seat at the opposite end of the table from Kato. There were only two open seats. I’d prefer to sit next to Kato in case some shit jumps off.
He winks at me, and my heart rate slows a bit. I’m calm after he winks. It let me know this environment is safe.
The mayor asks if we want anything to drink before he guzzles down a cup of something clear. I assume it’s water, but I can’t be sure—it could be vodka. I’m still in shock that the mayor knows about the underground world of us paranormals. We thought we were a secret society, the humans had no idea about. I guess we were wrong.
Before I reply, I need some water. My mouth betrays me again. “What the hell are you drinking?” I slap my hand over my mouth. I just cursed when talking to the mayor. My bottom lip trembles. I'm so nervous. I close my eyes.
The mayor’s coarse laughter eases my trembling. I open my eyes.
“It’s just an afternoon cocktail.” He holds his cup in the air.
I smile sheepishly. “I’ll have what the mayor’s drinking.”
“Me too,” Kato replies as he winks at me.
“It's time we kill that blood-sucking vampire Prentiss once and for all,” the mayor barks. “You have the full support of Detroit’s government.”
Chapter Three
This shit is crazy.
I pause and listen to that small voice inside. The bubbling inside my stomach hasn’t stopped, urging me to be on high alert. I can't believe I’m sitting at the mayor’s dining table discussing Prentiss. It’s a fine table, might I add, with a white linen tablecloth and matching silver dinnerware. My dining room table decor consists of placemats. A far cry from the fancy setup before me.
This is not safe for any supernaturals. Humans knowing you are supernatural will surely get you killed in Detroit. Humans hate the possibility that we roam amongst them. Even worse, we are just like them with a little magic.
“I brought you here to offer you an escape,” Mayor Daley explains before clearing his throat.
“Where?” I question, as I stare at the flaky dry skin that covers his forehead.
He loosens his tie and scans the room. “Wherever you want to go.” His words whip out so fast it’s a blur.
Only one thing is on my mind: killing Prentiss. I’m not going anywhere until the job is complete.
“The only thing I desire is Prentiss’s head on a platter,” I explain and shoot a sharp stare. I’m dead-ass serious.
“He’s offering you a way out of Detroit. Take it,” Tiffany, the Red coven leader, replies. Her lime-green eyes become a money green. I don’t trust this bitch—she just wants me out of town. She hates that my magic is stronger than hers. Me being gone would mean she’d get a little more respect; she’d be the strongest witch in Detroit. There’s only one problem: she can’t heal like I can. She can handle simple things. She can cast a spell, but that’s it.
With a long sigh, I roll my eyes, redirecting my attention to the mayor.
“I understand your frustration and you’ve done a great job, but we can handle it from here,” Mayor Daley adds.
I can’t trust anyone to kill Prentiss and I won’t get a good night’s sleep until he’s back in hell. A dead body I can view with my own eyes.
“I don’t know about leaving Detroit. This is my home,” I explain, trying to be polite.
“Well, consider it. I will give you money and a car, and you can drive off into the sunset.”
Putting on a fake smirk, I nod, but cringe on the inside. “That sounds amazing, but I have no desire to relocate. I have unfinished business here.” Besides, where would I go? My family is dead. All I have is my friends.
Rising from my chair, my blazing gaze lands on Mayor Daley. Slicing through the obvious silence. “I’ll think about it,” I respond. But I won’t. I decided to murder Prentiss myself the day Momma called me.
I glare at Kato, trying to control the frown creeping upon my face. He stands, without me saying anything, and he dashes to the door. We get outside the building, and I exhale. It’s a burst of relief.
“I thought we were toast in there,” Kato says.
The men in black dropped me off in front of my apartment. Home sweet home, I think as I race into the house. I’m happy I escaped the nightmare of New Orleans. It was an epic fail. Still, I have to go on. I just don’t know how.
Kato went home to shower and nap. I can’t blame him, I’m tired too. But I’m more excited to see Morgan. It feels like I haven’t seen her in months.
I open the door, luggage in hand, to find Morgan drinking. I’m sure it’s an alcoholic beverage. At the sight of me, she spits the drink out of her mouth. “Harmony!” she yells while wiping her mouth. “What are you doing here?”
“I live here,” I bark while making my way into the house pushing my big-ass suitcase.
“I know, but I wasn’t expecting you to come home today,” she says while walking over and shutting the door behind me.
I’m beat. I flop down on the couch and put my feet up on the coffee table. It’s one of Morgan’s pet peeves, but I’m so tired I don’t care. I’m shocked to see everything is in place. Morgan took care of everything by herself. Mopping is her least favorite chore, but the hardwood floors sparkle.
“You must have a guest…a male guest.” My eyes pop.
Her face turns beet red with a smirk. She shakes her head no, but her face says hell yes.
“That was yesterday,” she snickers.
“Uh-huh, sure.” Morgan is nobody’s virgin, and I’m no fool. She has male company sometimes. But I never like strange men over. Especially the bad-boy shifters Morgan dates.
“Did you discover anything new while you were down south?” Morgan questions, switching the subject.
I rub my eyes and sit upright, removing my feet from the coffee table. Morgan doesn’t say anything, but she stares at them as if they’re foreign objects.
“I discovered more today than I did the whole time in New Orleans.”
“What do you mean?” she asks.
“Kato and I just came back from the mayor’s house.”
She stops drinking mid-sentence. “The mayor’s house?” she garbles. “What were you doing at the mayor’s house?”
“He knows about the supernaturals of Detroit.” He knows, but I can’t grasp how. We have always been a secret amongst humans. Unless the mayor is supernatural too?
My chest burns with fury. If the mayor knows, someone told him. The rest of the humans could discover we live amongst them. Then World War III would erupt.
Morgan twists her lips in disbelief. “The mayor knows about supernaturals and he let you walk out of there?”
“Yes, and he had other supernaturals there, even Big Sam.” She perks up in her chair, her full attention on me. “But the best news is I found out where my dad is.”
“What?” she shouts.
I nod. “I did.”
“Well, where is he?” she questions with a hint of excitement.
“I assume he’s my dad. Momma said it was a man named Paul.”
“Yeah, I heard her say that.”
“Prentiss has him, and they’re here in Detroit.” My eyes swell with tears. That I could have a parent alive is emotional for me. I’m still mourning the loss of both my parents.
“Oh, shit.” She covers her mouth. “That blood sucker refuses to let you go.” She takes a sip of her drink.
I shake my head. “He’s never going to.” I wipe the tears from my eyes. “The only way out is my death or his.” Freedom or death, that’s my new mantra.
“He has an obsession with you. How can we handle the situation?” she prods.
Then her eyes pop wide. She grimaces and jumps from the couch. “He knows where we live! Let me check the security cameras,” she yells before she races across the well-waxed floor.
Damn, that’s right, I forgot that he rented this apartment for us. He has hidden recorders and cameras listening to our conversations.
I race behind Morgan to the security cameras. Looking back through the past couple of days, there was no sign of Prentiss. But that doesn’t mean he’s not out there.
Chapter Four
I sit and contemplate how I’ll destroy his twisted soul. No matter what, Momma is dead, and there’s no bringing her back. I’m taking Prentiss head on. I need to free the shadows first. The shadows give him powers. I want him as weak as possible when we attack.
“We have to find the remaining shadows and free them.”
“This isn’t a great idea,” Morgan says, and she grips the glass in her hand tighter.
“What?” I question.
“Trying to find the shadows and free them. We have no clue where they are.”
“But if we find them, we might find Prentiss.” And that gets me one step closer to finding the truth about who my father is. Not to mention a chance to kill Prentiss.
“Morgan, I can’t fail now. Besides, I want Prentiss destroyed. I want him to feel my wrath for what he did to my mother.”
I can’t stop myself from remembering Momma’s smile. My chest aches and burns. I let out a sigh. It seems like just moments ago she was here with a bright smile. I’ll never see that smile again. The memory comes and goes quicker than usual. I’m on the verge of a mental breakdown. Come on, get it together.
My phone buzzes so I scoot back on the couch and grab my phone out of my jacket pocket.
Morgan’s face tells me all I needed to know. She opposes my idea. I know she’s frightened, but it’s my mother he killed. She’ll never understand—she has both of her parents.
I answer the phone. “Hey, Kato.”
“I’m almost at your house. I think I have a way to find Prentiss,” he declares. The background noise of blaring horns tells me he’s in an Uber or taxi.
“Ok, see you when you get here.”
I’ll hop in the shower before Kato gets here and wash off this flight. Standing in some heat will help relieve some stress and relax my tensed muscles. I need just fifteen minutes to myself. I’m still in shock I lost my mother and maybe I have a father.
“Morgan, let Kato in when he gets here. I need a shower.”
She nods, but she isn’t saying much. Giving me a short stare, she blinks her long eyelashes. She’s a little irritated with me. It’s obvious she thinks it’s a dumb idea to go after Prentiss.
I understand I’ve brought a lot of drama to her life. She wouldn’t live in constant fear had she not met me. She’d be a normal human teenager working a regular job. I was born into destruction. Never had a choice. I can’t walk away. But she could. I don’t know why she sticks around. I’m glad she does, because she and Kato are all I have.
Turning on the water takes me away. I run my hands through the scorching water as the steam rises. I scrub my skin as harshly as possible. Scrubbing away all my pain and fears. Trying to scrub reality away, but it’s not possible. Constant tears roll down my face as I weep for my mother. There’s a vast hole in my existence that can never be filled. I sit in the tub balled in the fetal position.
I’m lost in this world without her unconditional love. Everything is different in my universe. It’s bleak and dark. I’m searching deep for a reason to live. Otherwise, I’ll slip down in the water and inhale. No one would miss me. Within days my entire existence would be wiped from the earth. I’m sure a few people would write rest in peace on Facebook. But life would go on.
I have one reason to be alive: revenge. And I’ll die trying to get it.
The loud doorbell brings me out of my deep funk. I shimmy out of the tub, drying myself before putting on comfortable sweats and a T-shirt.
My eyes immediately land on Kato. I quickly eliminate my negative thoughts. My heart does this funny thing, skipping a beat. There’s something about him I can’t resist. Is it because he’s helping me find Prentiss? Or because he helped me look for Momma in New Orleans? Whatever it is, he’s like a magnet I can’t detach from.
His eyes light up and a smile curls on his face when I enter the room. My hair is wet and tied up in a towel. I don’t have any makeup on—not that I wear a lot, but my face is completely naked. I have on oversized joggers and a baggy shirt. And he still smiles when I enter the room. I’m sure my eyes are swollen from crying, but I will get through this. I let out a sigh and take a seat next to Kato on the couch.
Morgan stares at the TV with her screw-you face on. I tighten the towel on my head and give her an unapologetic look.
I’m not sorry that I have an obsession with taking Prentiss out. Right now, it consumes my every waking moment. As long as Prentiss is roaming the streets, I won’t get a good night’s sleep.
Kato slips his hand in his coat pocket, pulling out a sizable piece of paper. He slides closer to the coffee table then unfolds it.
What the hell is this? Better not be another deed. I huff and get closer to the table. There sits a map of Detroit.
“How is this going to help? We are getting nowhere.”
“Progress is progress. We may move slow, but we are moving,” Kato reassures me.
I guess he’s right. Whatever idea he has is better than mine. Since I don’t have one.
“This map,” he points to Detroit, “will help us locate the shadows. Maybe you can wave your hand around it. See if you get any buzz. So you can locate the missing shadows.”
Morgan has a bored frown on her face. She crosses her legs and nervously bounces her leg up and down.
“I’ll try it.”
While closing my eyes, I dip down into my magic and run my hands across the map. My hands are a little moist from drying my hair. I get nothing, not even a tingle. This time I don’t think it’s my magic. It’s the map. It has no energy.
“There’s no magic. This map is dead,” I growl.
“Try again, give it a few minutes. You’ll feel something,” Kato insists.
I let out an exasperated huff. “Damn, I’m trying. This map is dead,” I complain.
“That’s a sign that you should leave the shadows alone. So we can live in peace,” Morgan barks and then rolls her eyes. Her face turns as red as her deep-red-painted lips.
Usually it only takes my stare for magic to bloom in the air. Now my magic is hit or miss. I concentrate harder to prove Morgan wrong. I circle my hand around the map and then a little buzz comes. That’s all I need.
“I need a cigarette,” Morgan shouts before she storms out of the room. Stomping all the way to the kitchen, her footsteps caused the coffee table to shake.
With a flick of my wrist I locate a hot spot. “Here, that’s where the buzz is.” I point to a small area in the middle of Silver Park.
I glance at Kato, who has his magnifying glass out trying to get the street name.
Morgan enters the room blowing Camel cigarette smoke in my face. “Harmony, I’m on your side.”
“I know that, Morgan.” I never questioned if she had my back.
Her angry gaze rests on my face. “If you play with fire too long, you’re bound to get burned.”
Chapter Five
“This is it.” My gaze trails to the top of the building. A tall, abandoned high school on the south side of town. The school hasn’t been open in several years. I can’t understand why this place buzzed on the map.
A gust of wind blows the leaves, causing me to flinch at the rustling. I’m on edge because I’m not sure what grim fate awaits me.
“This can’t be the right place,” Kato says.
This is the buzz I got,” I explain as darkness washes over me. The building has negative e
nergy oozing through the windows and the cracks in the doors. I turn my face in disgust. Something evil is in this building.
Approaching us are Big Sam, Tiffany, and three other dragons. “We are here to offer our help,” Tiffany says as she swings her red hair over her shoulder. With her nose pointed in the air, she swears quietly while looking at the building. “That thing is on its last limb.” She runs her hands through her silky hair. Pouting, she turns to Big Sam. “I know you don’t expect me”—she points to her chest—“to go in there,” she says as she points to the building. She smacks her well-greased lips.
I didn’t ask for her help anyway, I called Big Sam. With a huff, I turn my attention to Sam. “Well, this is the building.” I point to dusty, tall structure.
“This building has been vacant for decades,” Big Sam growls.
“I know, but there’s something strange about this building.” It keeps tugging at me like a magnet.
“Yeah it’s ancient, abandoned, and collapsing,” Tiffany claims in a snarky manner.
“Let’s look around.” Kato coughs, covering his mouth. “If there’s nothing, we can leave,” Kato says.
“Fair enough,” Big Sam explains with a nod.
Tiffany is suddenly in agreement. She hangs on to Big Sam’s every word. I’m not sure if she lusts after him or if she’s actually his mistress.
Creeping toward the door frightens me, but I grab the handle. Shit! I get a warm sensation then snatch my hand away. It’s not scorching hot, but warm enough to send a snap of pain.
“What’s wrong?” Kato says, making his way through the group.
“It’s the door—it’s warm.”
Kato taps the door with his hand and then twists the knob. “It’s locked, yeah, and it’s warm, but not too hot.”
I glance at my reddened hand. It’s definitely hot to me.
“Stand back,” Big Sam barks. “A little lock ain’t never stopped me from nothing.” He picks up his size thirteen shoe and with one swift kick, he almost knocks the ancient door off the hinges.
