Approaching Storm (Normalcy Book 1)

by A. L. Kessler

  "Married?" I had a fiancé, that was shocking news.

  He smiled. "The night you disappeared? That was the night before our wedding." He shook his head. "Why do you ask about him?"

  "Because I think he's the one that took me that night." My hands ached again. I stretched my fingers, trying to make it go away.

  He looked at me. "No, Callister would never do that."

  "Zephyr, he came in the room right after you left. Delphi showed me a sketch of him before you showed up."

  "Delphi?"

  I waved my hand. "She's a seer, get with the program."

  He opened his mouth and shook his head. "He wouldn't dare touch you."

  Yet the anger and rage in me said otherwise. I wanted to scream at him to believe me, but since I couldn't remember, I kept the anger in. "Look, I need to get going."

  "What did you remember, exactly?"

  "No, I don't want to go through it again. I don't want to think about it. All the memories do is bring me pain and paralyze me." I clenched my fists and left. I expected him to come after me, but he let me be.

  I took a deep breath as I walked around the town. With every step, I kept hearing Davina's voice echoing in my head. I needed Zephyr to leave, to make all of this stop, because it got worse the moment he came into town.

  Except, I knew I didn't want him to leave. If anything, I wanted to stay wrapped in his arms on the floor of the house until he could soothe all the nightmares away. He said we had been lovers, but that we were also soul mates.

  I rubbed my chest as something heavy settled there. I couldn't remember him, but it seemed I missed him. I sighed and continued my walk around the city. I needed to find Maverick's killer, but the only other person I could think to ask was sleeping and wouldn't be awake until sundown. I didn't know if Joseph would have any insight into it, but I had to try. I still wasn't convinced that Zephyr wasn't involved, him showing up was just too convenient.

  Of course, he mentioned Davina's wards. I stopped walking for a moment. Why would someone go to that extent to hide me? I rubbed my eyes and switched my direction. I wanted answers, and I wanted them now.

  I walked to the witch's house, not sure what I was going to ask her or how I was going to demand answers from her. She didn't like me, and I didn't really like her.

  The old plantation style house sat on the corner. The iron gate squeaked as I opened it and walked up the perfect concrete path. Pillars held up an overhang and cast an odd shadow over the ground that gave me a shiver.

  Davina opened the door before I even got there. "What do you want? You're not here to whine about Maverick's death are you?"

  "No, I'm here to ask you about Zephyr. You two know each other."

  She slammed the door.

  I took a second to process the reaction. "Davina?" She didn't answer. I walked up to the door and pounded my fist on it. "Talk to me."

  "Go away. I want nothing to do with you or Zephyr. I don't even know how he found here, never mind why he insists on staying."

  So maybe she didn't know about the connection Zephyr claimed we had? "He said that your wards were fading."

  She wrenched open the door. Her cheeks were stained red with anger and her teeth clenched. "Of course they are fading, because the sprites got in here. My magic is failing, and I'm sure it's because that asshole is here."

  "Why would he come here?"

  She snarled. "I told you I don't know. Now go. Don't you have a murder to solve?" She slammed the door again, and I threw my hands up in the air.

  "You're the only person who knows him," I shouted through the door. "You should know why the hell he's here!"

  There was no answer. I knew why Zephyr was here, but I wanted more insight that didn't come from him.

  I spun away from her porch and started to head back to my house. She was right; I needed to figure out who killed Maverick and why they left him on my porch.

  My phone rang, and I froze. My phone rarely rang. I pulled it out and answered it. "What's up?"

  "Hey, it's Lee, Delphi has a message for you. You might want to get to the shop."

  I sighed. "What kind of message."

  "She has an image that simply says 'hello, sister' on it."

  Panic filled me, and I couldn't breathe for a moment. What the hell was going on?

  Chapter Four

  I got to the shop and found Teal, Delphi, and Lee all circled around the table. "Come on ladies; it's not that strange."

  "There's more now," Delphi whispered, her hand moving over the paper. More ink swirled through the fibers and created a necklace of some sort. I frowned, and my fingers touched the paper. It appeared right under the words 'hello, sister,' but it gave me more of a warning than the words did.

  He was coming for me. He tore the necklace off my throat the night he'd taken me. I backed away from the table, running into a chair. My hand was at the base of my throat where the necklace had been.

  "May?" Teal stepped in front of me. "You okay?"

  I shook my head. "Something's going to happen."

  "A storm is coming," Delphi whispered. "A raging beast of anger and pain is coming for you."

  I swallowed. I didn't want any part of this. "What kind of beast Delphi?"

  She shook her head. "I don't know, Amaya."

  I cringed as she used my full name. "I should go get my gun then, huh?"

  "Maybe some blades," Teal added, her voice only partially joking. She looked over at Lee. "Your wolves will be able to smell if something is around, right?"

  Lee nodded. "I'll have some extra ones on patrol for a bit. I have a couple tracking Zephyr right now."

  I smiled at that. "Has he visited Davina recently?"

  "No, he seems to be avoiding her house. Which the way he reacted to her yesterday, I'm not surprised." She shrugged. "Nothing physical is getting into this city without the wolves knowing about it."

  That was comforting, but Zephyr had gotten in without anyone realizing it. Probably as a tourist, which meant that his brother could probably sneak in as well. I didn't even want to think about seeing him again. Bile rose in my throat.

  "May?" Zephyr asked from the door he was propping open with his body.

  My head shot up, and I looked at him. "What?"

  He took a step forward, and I took one back. Hesitation played across his features, his brow drawing in just a little bit as his eyes searched my face. He wasn't sure how to proceed, and that made two of us.

  "It's here." Delphi splayed her hand on the page. "The beast."

  I looked at Zephyr, wondering if he was the beast she was talking about, but then I heard a crashing outside. Everyone but Delphi ran out the front door to take a look.

  A creature with massive paws ran down the street, breaking asphalt as it went. The lion head roared back, letting out an ear-shattering shriek, but that wasn't the strangest thing. It had the head of a goat off to the side, and its tail was a snake's head. Holy shit.

  "I don't have my gun," I squeaked as none of us moved.

  Zephyr let out a frustrated sigh. "What a human thing to fight a Chimera with."

  I didn't have any other choice though. "Not all of us have magical powers," I snapped.

  "Oh, oh, I do!" Teal screamed and moved her hands in an odd motion. A crashing sound of water surrounded us, and I sighed.

  "You're going to flood the city."

  "But it'll wash it away." She continued to move her hands, and I suddenly found myself happy that I knew how to swim.

  The creature skidded to a halt in front of us, and the two heads up front tilted to opposite sides.

  "Hello, Amaya." The lion's voice came out in a gravelly tone as the mane caught in the wind. "It seems that you're not dead after all."

  I shook my head. "No, I'm alive and well."

  "May, here." Zephyr threw something in my direction; I caught it on instinct
by the dark wood handle. No, not handle. Hilt.

  My fingers wrapped around the hilt comfortably as if they knew what they were doing. I wasn't one for blades. When it came to going up against supernatural creatures, I wasn't fast enough to react with a knife or a sword. But this felt familiar to me. The blade was almost as long as my forearm and dipped in towards the handle but swelled to a curve before pitching to a point at the end. There was something engraved on the metal, but I didn't get a chance to examine it before the beast jumped at me.

  I slid into a stance and sliced at the Chimera before it could get too close. The blade caught against the lion's chest, drawing blood. I stumbled back and watched as the red liquid dripped to the ground and made a hissing noise as it disappeared.

  Teal squealed behind me, and I heard the door to the shop shut. I glanced over my shoulder to see Lee standing there. "This isn't your fight," I called to her.

  "The hell it isn't, I'm not leaving you to face that thing alone."

  She stepped up to my side, and from the corner of my vision, I could see the fur already starting to cover her body. Zephyr stepped up to Lee's other side, and I swallowed.

  "How do we take this beast down?"

  "Either take out its heart or chop its heads off. Either of those will kill most creatures."

  I wasn't sure how I liked the 'most' in that sentence, but I had something to aim for at least. I twirled the blade in my hand, and we started to fan out, it was three separate beings against three combined ones. It shouldn't be that hard.

  The snake's head followed me while the lion kept its eyes on Lee. Lee now stood as a half woman and half wolf creature Her legs hunched like a dog standing on hind legs, her hands in claws, and her face narrowed almost into a snout, gray fur covered her skin, and she was terrifying in this form.

  Zephyr had started circling the other direction. "Don't underestimate it, Amaya." His voice seemed to echo in my head. The moment the words disappeared, the snake struck out, and I barely had time to dodge. The snapping sound of its jaw sounded right by my ear, and I realized that chances were it carried venom in its bite.

  It turned towards me, hissing and moving like a viper. Its head darted from one side to the other. It struck towards me several times, and each time I was able to jump backward but the beast followed with two steps toward me.

  I brought the blade down and cut its head off. The beast roared and turned to me. I expected the snake to die, but instead, it grew its own tail and slithered towards Zephyr.

  What the fuck.

  The beast took two large steps towards me, the mouth of the lion poised to attack the moment it leaped from the ground. Lee crashed into it, her large half-wolf-half-human body taking the beast the ground. The body of the beast turned and swiped Lee in the face, leaving a nasty set of claw marks behind.

  I cringed and wondered if they were going to leave a scar. I whistled to get the Chimera's attention. "Come get me you dumb beast."

  It ran towards me, and I lowered myself into a fighting stance. My hand tightened on the hilt as I waited for the right moment. The paws shoved off the ground, and I ducked in low and shoved the blade up. It easily split the underbelly skin as the beast flew over me. Blood left a trail down my back and on the ground, hissing against my clothing.

  Oh fuck.

  I cried out and pulled my shirt off before the blood could burn through the fabric. I snatched my blade back up and turned to face the beast. It staggered on its feet and collapsed. The body decomposed right before my eyes, leaving nothing behind but a burn spot on the ground.

  I turned to see Zephyr staring at me. "What?"

  "Your wings."

  I shook my head. "Zephyr, I don't have time for your craziness. I need a new shirt and to clean this blade off."

  I looked and found Lee running back into the shop. She was completely human, her naked ass flashing in the sunlight as she closed the door.

  There was so much heartbreak in his next words. "Amaya, they stole your wings."

  I turned to look at him and saw the sorrow in his eyes. His shoulders were hunched over as if he were defeated. "Don't be silly, I don't have wings."

  Something akin to anger crossed his face, and he shoved his hands in his pockets. In a swirl of wind and dust, he disappeared in front of me. I sighed and went into the soda shop.

  Lee tossed me a shirt. Luckily, as a werewolf, she tended to keep a stock of extra shirts for emergencies in the store. "Where did Prince Charming go?"

  I shook my head and leaned the blade against the wall before putting on the shirt. "Hell if I know, he got pissy and disappeared."

  Delphi laughed from her table. "He learned something about you that you don't even know yourself." She turned to me. "Open your heart, May, and maybe you'll find that he's not so bad."

  "I don't have time for riddles and creatures right now. I need to figure out who…" I shook my head. "Never mind." I grabbed my blade and walked out of the shop. I had the stuff at home to clean it properly. I headed that direction, half expecting Zephyr to appear out of nowhere. But he didn't. My heart fell when I opened my door to find the house empty. I don't know why I wanted him there so badly, but I did.

  I sighed and went to one of the closets to find the cleaner that I needed. When I got back to the living room, the blade was gone. Panic settled in the pit of my stomach as worry crossed through me. A creak from the upper floor startled me, and I looked up. My gun safe wasn't far. I could get my gun and go up and look to see who was there.

  I stepped toward the gun safe and waited to see if I could hear anything upstairs. Nothing else came, and the panic inside me eased as if a weight lifted off my shoulders. The blade was still gone, but it seemed to me that it had magically appeared to begin with, maybe it just disappeared as well.

  I shook my head and went to make myself a cup of coffee. I needed to get my thoughts straight, and I needed to figure out who dropped Maverick's dead body on my porch and why.

  Three hours later, I had a list of suspects, all of which probably had an alibi, but I had to try. By the time I had straightened up, the sun had started to sink below the horizon. I needed to talk to Joseph to see if he had anything to say about the situation. If anything, maybe he could point me in the right direction.

  I went to the gun safe. After the Chimera today and the strange way Zephyr was acting, I didn't want to take a chance. I pulled the leather straps of my shoulder holster over my arms, securing it in the front around my waist, and placed my gun in it. It was a comforting weight that reminded me that this was how humans held their own against supernatural creatures.

  Except I wasn't human. I hesitated as I stepped toward the door. I didn't know what I was, but human seemed to no longer apply to me.

  Amaya, my poor poulaki, your wings…

  Zephyr's voice echoed in my head.

  "I don't have wings," I reminded myself. Only angels had wings, and I was no angel. I wiped my hands over my face and knew that wasn't true, plenty of other creatures had wings. But not me.

  I walked out the door and started down the street to Joseph's house. He didn't live in the center of town like many of us. No, his house was tucked back about a mile away from mine, past the fire department, and surrounded by trees.

  I stopped on the sidewalk and looked up at the mess. There was no clear path leading to the front door, and part of me questioned if I needed a machete to get through the damn greenery.

  Joseph appeared next to me. "What do you want, May? I promise I returned that tourist back to her bed."

  "Is that where you found her?" I raised a brow and tried to calm my heart pounding from him appearing out of nowhere.

  He shrugged. "More or less. We were having fun before we went on our walk." He winked at me. "To what do I owe this visit?"

  "Maverick was killed last night." At least I thought it was last night. "Staked th
rough the heart."

  He cringed. "Ugly way to go. Who would kill the human?"

  "I don't know." I glanced at him. "You're the only vampire in town right now. I was hoping you'd have some insight."

  "If I had to take a guess, May, I'd say someone had it out for the human. As a vampire, killing him with a stake wouldn't be my choice, because it's too obvious. I'd just snap his neck." He shrugged. "Now, unless you want to become my breakfast, I need to go find a donor." He turned to walk away from me but paused. "Do you?"

  "I have no desire to become your breakfast." I crossed my arms. "The only desire I have is to figure out who killed Maverick."

  He chuckled. "That's not the only one, but keep telling yourself that." He disappeared into the night, and I rolled my eyes. Everyone in the town spoke in strange riddles, but it seemed to be increasing each day.

  I shook my head and glanced further down the road. Less controlled and more feral creatures filled the outskirts of the city. I typically avoided them, but it made me wonder if there weren't something out there that would kill the one true human in the town.

  I spun on my heels to go back to my house. I was hoping Joseph would be more help than that, but clearly, I was counting on the vampire too much. A howl came from the distance, and I shivered. It wasn't the full moon, but maybe Lee decided to go for a run tonight to push off some of her tension. Or maybe one of the younger wolves just needed a rush.

  Either way, the howls continued, and I shoved my hands into my pockets and continued forward. I wasn't willing to go to the outskirts alone, even with my gun. I wasn't crazy. I paused at my house, and a strange thrill went through me. I couldn't go in there right now. Something shoved me away, and I instantly knew that it was Davina's magic on the house that was pushing me away. Warning me that something was going on inside.

  I hesitated and reached for my phone, but who the hell was I going to call? Maverick was dead, Lee most likely out in the woods. Teal? I could call Teal and see if the sprite was willing to take a look.