A Nightly Howl

by Joanna Mazurkiewicz

  I called Kelsie straight after my conversation with Lucinda and gave her the good news. After going through important matters, I told her about my trip to Paris and the robbery in my apartment. Kelsie also had some news: she was dating a new shifter. She even mentioned that they were already pretty serious. I did a lot of eye rolling during this conversation, but hey, that was Kelsie, so I shouldn’t be surprised.

  Dad called in the afternoon. Apparently, one of my human neighbours heard a group of women in the late hours of the morning, but no one could describe what they looked like. The police found some traces of magic. My dad’s phone call only made me more confused because one of his wizards discovered that that all the spells had been cast by a fairy. This didn't make much sense and Dad seemed as lost as me. He was going to go through all the CCTV around my block, but I doubted very much that he would find anything on any of those recordings. I began to wonder if I was missing something. I didn't know any fairies apart from Nicky, and she didn't have a reason to break into my apartment

  I went for lunch around one o’clock and bought a bowl of pasta. When I got to the office a half an hour later, I felt exhausted.

  "You need to look at this," Kate said when I stormed through the door. She was holding a copy of the Daily Secret; the paper that focused on the lives of the most famous paranormals. When I saw the title I nearly fell off my chair.

  Pharmaceutical millionaire brings his date to Paris.

  Chapter 26

  Lies.

  What the fuck?

  I started reading, narrowing my eyes. This article was based on the one that came out in Paris. Under the headline, there we were, madly in love under the Eiffel Tower. I was labeled as an elf who obviously wasn't afraid to be drained by a rich vampire. From the article, I found out that our romantic trip had been interrupted by a fire. It questioned if I was really in love with Nathaniel, or if I was just after his money. Then the reporter went through all the places that we visited.

  And we are all wondering if Miss Taylor is ready to make a move to Geneva with La Caz, where he plans to open his next pharmaceutical factory. This remains to be seen.

  I sunk into the chair, feeling nauseous. I read the article a few more times just to be sure that I didn't miss anything. That last sentence hadn't magically vanished—it was still there. I felt like this author was poking me in the eye, laughing. "You’re a fool, a fool!"

  Nathaniel was planning to move to Geneva. I had no idea that he’d been thinking about it. Surely, I couldn't be the last person that knew about this? This had to be some kind of mistake.

  I looked at Kate. "How did you get this?"

  "Some child brought it in saying that it was supposed to be for you. I read the article in case you were wondering."

  "Do you think this is true?"

  Kate bit her lips looking down at her nails. Of course, it was true. It was a gossip magazine, but they were always right with all their stories. I was ready to throw up.

  "They were pretty clear about the fire," she mumbled.

  "I can’t believe this!" I yelled, throwing the magazine on the floor. "This bastard is planning to move to different country and I know nothing about it?"

  "Are you sure that he never told you about it?" she asked. I narrowed my eyes. "Sorry, forget that I asked."

  "I'm such an idiot. I thought that it was all great, going to Paris, meeting his family, and all of a sudden—boom. He’s moving to Geneva!"

  "Calm down, Julia, just talk to him. He asked you to live in his apartment; he must be serious," she said, trying to convince me otherwise.

  I nodded and covered my face with my hands, breathing heavily. Maybe this time the magazine had it all wrong. Maybe he was only planning to travel to Geneva for a bit. Someone deliberately dropped this magazine off at the agency. My grandmother still hadn't gotten over the fact that I was with Nathaniel. Maybe it was just a joke.

  "I can’t believe that I'm in the papers."

  Kate had to take care of the phone that had been ringing for about a minute. I sunk back in my seat, pissed off. Since I met Nathaniel I’d been in a vicious cycle. We were happy, then he did something to ruin everything, and then we were back together again. He never talked about Geneva or even mentioned any business there.

  He arrived at five o’clock to pick me up from work, then handed me a brand-new mobile phone when I climbed into his car.

  “It's for you," he said, giving me a kiss.

  I slammed the magazine on his lap. "And this is for you!"

  "What is that?" he asked.

  “It's a magazine; there is an interesting article I think you should read," I said, watching his stunned expression.

  “I'd rather kiss you than read the magazine. I’ve been waiting for this all day," he said, pulling me towards him.

  "Read it first!" I hissed. "Before I flip!"

  He cleared his throat, pulling away. We were both silent for several minutes while he went through the article. My heart rate picked up as I waited until he was done with the magazine.

  "This article is about us. I think I look rather handsome in that shirt."

  I clenched my fists. "Read the last sentence, Nathaniel!"

  He glanced over it and shifted his posture exhaling sharply.

  "Julia," he began, touching my hand. My heart leapt in my chest.

  “Don’t, just don’t lie to me," I whispered, and tears welled in my eyes. I let go of his hand, wondering if maybe this was just a bad dream and I would wake up soon.

  "I would have to move to Geneva eventually but not now, not yet," he said, his voice husky, unnatural. I didn't want him to see my tears. I wasn't ready.

  "When were you planning to tell me about this?" I choked.

  "As soon as I knew the details. I made this agreement a while ago and I can’t get out of it. I would have to go to Geneva for a year, maybe longer," he explained. "But I don’t know when."

  "When did you make this arrangement exactly?" I asked, wiping the tears from my eyes. I was exaggerating. We’d been together since the end of last year, only a few months. He probably agreed to this trip before we met.

  He took a breath and looked away. "End of February.”

  "We were dating in February, Nathaniel," I reminded him, not controlling myself any longer. He ran his hand through his hair, looking at me intensely. I started sobbing and I hated that he was seeing me like this—weak and pathetic. All this time, I kept convincing myself that he was different, that he’d changed, but he never planned to commit.

  "Julia, please, you’re killing me."

  "What?" I yelled. "I'm killing you? I thought there was something between us. I thought you cared?"

  "For fuck’s sake, of course I care. I don’t have a choice. I have to move there."

  I laughed, and my fingertips sparkled. "Did you care then? When we started dating? Or was I just one of those girls that you were fucking?"

  "Please, don’t be so dramatic." He growled. "I didn't tell you because I knew that you had enough on your plate already. My move to Geneva isn’t important."

  "Of course it’s important," I shouted.

  He didn't respond, and I waited for him to tell me that we could make this work, that I could visit him in Geneva; there were options, but he was silent.

  I couldn't pretend that we were something that we weren't. "Listen, Nathaniel, don’t worry about it," I said, feeling that I’d said enough. He obviously wasn't planning to make me feel better. "Drop me at Kelsie’s. I won’t stay in your apartment tonight."

  "Julia, think about this! I'm not going to Geneva tomorrow. The details aren’t even finalised yet. We have time to think about it."

  "You know what hurts the most?" I asked, taking a deep breath. "That you didn't even discuss this with me, that I had to find out from the fucking newspaper!"

  The air buzzed, charged with my magic. Nathaniel clearly didn't know what to say. I was right. He’d known about Geneva since February and since then, he’d failed to
mention anything. I wiped my tears away from my face and got out of the car. Two police officers were staring at me from across the road.

  Nathaniel rolled his window down. "Get back in the car, Julia."

  “I'll stay with Kelsie."

  "Fuck, Julia, I'm sorry that I didn't tell you. Can you please get back in the car?"

  I walked towards the two officers. They were watching me, looking startled, but they agreed to give me a lift. Nathaniel was pissed off, and he didn't say anything else. He rolled his window up and his limousine drove off.

  My heart was bleeding, but I couldn't go back to his apartment and pretend that everything was fine. Roger and Mike had to make sure that I was safe, so they were happy to drop me off at Kelsie’s. Dad told me earlier that I could go back to my apartment tomorrow; I just had to get my place cleaned up. Once I ordered new furniture, my apartment should be habitable again. Nicky was a great friend, but she had a family and her house was already full. Ella wouldn't even look at me and Kate lived with her parents. Besides, I didn't think that I would be able to cope with her active siblings. I wanted to avoid talking to Mum about Nathaniel, and she didn't know about my apartment. So that left Kelsie, who lived alone.

  "Oh, Julia, hey,” Kelsie said, opening the door. "What are you doing here?"

  "Can I come in?"

  "Yes, sure."

  Her apartment was decent with a spacious living room. She wasn't one of the tidiest people that I knew, but that didn't matter.

  "The police are still in my apartment, and I had a fight with Nathaniel, so it turns out that I have nowhere to stay for tonight," I told her.

  "Don’t sweat, there is plenty of room here," she said.

  "I'm sorry to come here like this. I just didn't know what else to do."

  "It’s fine, at least you will keep me company," she said. "I'm making dinner; are you hungry?"

  "Starving."

  While she was cooking I went through my argument with Nathaniel. Crying wasn't an option anymore.

  "So, you broke up?" she asked.

  "I don’t think that was a break up. I just didn't want to listen to him."

  "What are you going to do?" she asked me. "He’s the perfect package, and he isn’t going to Geneva today."

  “That's not the point," I replied, irritated. "He made this decision when we were dating, and he didn't even think of discussing it with me."

  "Yes, that’s lame, but you’re in love with him so it doesn't matter."

  I looked at her horrified.

  She was spot on with the fact that I was in love with him, but I was still upset about this whole Geneva trip. I was glad when she changed the subject and started talking about her new boyfriend.

  After a quick dinner we went to sort my wardrobe. I hated shopping, but I couldn't go to work naked tomorrow. Kelsie’s apartment was small, but she found me a space on the floor. Lucinda wanted to see her first thing tomorrow morning, so we both went to bed early. I tried to sleep, but I was restless; my head spinning. My phone was silent. Nathaniel obviously wasn't going to fix whatever went on between us. This was so typical of him. I couldn't imagine moving to Geneva and leaving all my family and friends in London. He must have known that, but he still went through with this and still chased me, telling me he wanted to have a relationship. Love was punching me back in the stomach. I was suffering, knowing that the man that I had fallen for didn't feel the same way about me.

  Love sucks.

  * * *

  The next day, I didn't get out of my floor-made bed until late afternoon. I got a text from my dad stating that I could get back to my apartment. Roberto was waiting for me outside Kelsie’s door. Knowing that Dad would kill me if I took the tube, so I told Roberto to drive me home. My apartment was still a mess, but all the things that had been hexed were gone. I sighed and made a list of stuff that I needed to buy. I still had a few hours before I had to get to the office, and I wondered if Nathaniel was going to show up to apologise. Thoughts about Geneva had been rolling through my head all morning. While I was trying to figure out if I had anything to eat in the fridge, I heard a knock at the door. I picked up my phone and speed dialled Dad, but when I realised that it was Ella, I cancelled the call.

  "Ella?"

  "Can we talk?" she asked, peering at me from her long dark eyelashes. I let her in, slightly taken aback by her appearance. She was out of breath, flushed like she had been running all the way to my apartment; even her hair was tangled.

  "Ella, are you all right?" I asked as she stormed into my living room.

  "Are you happy now?" she yelled, pacing around.

  "Calm down, and tell me what’s going on."

  "Did you make someone follow me? Did you do any of that freaky stuff?"

  “You're not making any sense, Ella. Calm down and tell me what’s happened," I said, shaking her slightly.

  "Someone has been following me for days."

  "Following; are you sure?"

  “It's always the same person: a guy in his forties with strange eyes," she mumbled. "I noticed him once or twice around the salon."

  I placed my hands on her arms, hoping to calm her down with my energy. It was a simple spell, but Ella’s mind was twisted with confusion and filled with turmoil. She was frightened.

  "Maybe you’re wrong."

  "No," she yelled. "I know what I saw, so don’t pretend that you don’t know what I'm talking about."

  She was making me angry and I didn't have time for her drama if she wasn't willing to listen. “I've got enough problems, Ella," I said, raising my voice. "You asked me to leave you alone, so that’s exactly what I’ve done."

  She took a few steps back and I knew that she was going through some kind of emotional shock. I didn't even know what happened to her. Magic helped people, but she just couldn't accept that I was different.

  Even when we were in school together, she stood up for me. For a little while, I attended a primary school for paranormals, but Dad had to keep Mum away from magic, so he decided to enroll me in an ordinary school. Grandma wasn't happy with his decision, but he was adamant to keep me away from paranormals for Mum’s sake. I didn't know that I was magical back then. I had a problem with fitting in; other children were aware of the magic, even if they couldn't see it. They felt it. My father couldn't tell me that I was part magical; I was too young for that. No one wanted to be friends with me, apart from Ella. She was the one who protected me. She’d been my best friend ever since Liz Evans pushed me against the wall after I accidentally switched the colours of her crayons. She’d blamed me, but I had no idea what she was talking about. Things with magic got worse as I grew up. Ella never asked about odd things that happened around me. She was just there for me; she never questioned our friendship.

  We promised each other that we would always stay together no matter what. When Dad told me the truth, I wanted to run to Ella and tell her, but I’d promised him that I would keep it a secret. I finally understood what was happening to me, and I couldn't even share it with my best friend. Right now, I was staring at her, trying to figure out what to do and what to say.

  "How do I know that you’re telling me the truth?" she asked, still afraid.

  "Because I love you, Ella. You’ve known me for years. You gave me a chance when others called me a freak. I'm magical, but inside, I'm still the same person."

  Her eyes filled with tears and my heart beat fiercely in my chest. Our friendship was stronger than her fear.

  "I can’t do this anymore, Julia," she choked. "My mum thinks that I’ve got depression, and she wants me to go to the doctor."

  "We can figure this out together, but you know you can’t tell anyone. It will complicate your life even further."

  "I know, I know," she shouted, waving her hands. "But I don’t want to be followed. It’s all because of you. This guy must have something to do with what happened earlier."

  "I'm sorry that I got you involved in all this. If I could change the past I would, but now
we need to think about what happens next."

  "What does he want from me?" she asked, her voice cracking.

  "I have no idea. I’ll speak to Dad and see if he can find out." I needed to check with my father; I had to be sure that whoever she was talking about didn't exist. She was just scared, and no one had a reason to follow her.

  Chapter 27

  Jasper is back

  "I'm afraid, Julia. I go to work and I'm frightened that I'm going to see someone who isn’t human. I don’t think I can handle this."

  "Listen to me, Ella Jenkins, you need to understand that there is magic in this world. Paranormals have been co-existing with humans for centuries, so you don’t have to be afraid. I’ll take care of whoever is following you, so stop worrying," I said, squeezing her hands. Ella was human; Caleb McGregor wouldn’t have any interest in her after what happened to Daniel. However, I couldn't dismiss the fact that she witnessed Ludwig’s murder and she could be the only person who could identify the potential killer. I didn't mention any of this to my dad, because I wanted to protect her, but now I wasn't so sure that I made the right decision.

  "Ella, I'm truly sorry that I didn't tell you about my true nature," I began. "You never cared about what other people thought but now you understand why I kept this away from you."

  "Maybe you’re right."

  "There is something else that you must understand," I continued. We needed to know if she had any paranormal genes—for her sake.

  "This isn’t going to stop. My life is never going to be the same again," she sobbed.

  "Ella, listen to me carefully. You have to stop being so dramatic and just accept that the magic is just part of life." I knelt beside her and swiped her red hair away from her face. "You shouldn’t remember anything, but you’re immune to the memory spell. That’s why we need to speak to your father."