My Luck (Twisted Luck Book 1)

by Mel Todd

  Between my shout of alarm, cry when the chair slammed into me, and his yelp of surprise, everyone came running. I'm sure we looked a sight, his leg in two pieces and and him laying on top me. Even Lyndie seemed surprised.

  Everyone made sure he was okay. He was. The prosthetic had been old, he'd had it for over ten years, but still we all stared at it.

  Once he was settled in the chair, everyone started drifting away. I lifted my arm to take his blood pressure and yelped in pain.

  "Cori?" Melanie asked, looking at me. "What's wrong?"

  "My shoulder I think." Now that the adrenaline had faded, pain radiated out of it. We apologized to Mr. Jones and Melanie grabbed one of the other nurses, Susan Carol, to exam me. In an empty room they pulled off my shirt while I tried not to cry out. Sounds of pain didn't make other patients feel safe.

  "You did a good job. That is going to bruise and hurt like hell. You probably need to go home," the nurse advised. "I'll get you a prescription for some pain relievers. You need to ice it and take it easy."

  "I can't." Panic caused my voice to spike. "If I get less than the hours needed here, I can't get credit. I have to stay."

  "Oh come on, she was hurt on the job." Susan glared at Melanie who at least looked uncomfortable.

  "She's right. It's to make sure they show up and not do a half assed job. I'll add it to my recommendations as what to change for the next round of students. I am sorry."

  "Fine, but you get an ice gel on that now and take some ibuprofen. I'll get you the prescription before you leave. Tomorrow you are going to hurt. You'll need to take it easy."

  I didn't say anything. Tomorrow I got to talk to my brother for the first time. Easy wasn't going to be in my vocabulary.

  The rest of the day didn't get any better. My shoulder was killing me, and I kept trying to reach for things, then gasping out in pain which freaked patients out. The three blood pressure machines died before I gave up and just did them the old- fashioned way.

  The thermometer got stuck on 108 degrees no matter what, even for the others, so we all went to just asking if they thought they had a fever. Luckily only one person did.

  The EPIC system locked me out twice. Even after Melanie and I verified the credentials I was using were correct, it still locked me out.

  By the end of my day I was in pain, exhausted, and worried this would screw up my meeting with Kris. I gave in and called Jo as Melanie shut the door behind me. She looked as tired as I did, and she still had a few more hours to go. Even Lyndie hadn't had any energy to be snide as the day wore on.

  "Yo-yo, Cori. You headed our way?"

  "Jo? My energy level is gone. Today has been a Murphy day. How much do I have to pay Stinky to get him to come get me?"

  "Ooh, that bad. Nah, I can come get you. Give me 20?"

  "Thank you. I owe you."

  "Darling, you can't pay what you already owe me," Jo replied in her best vamp voice, which was pretty good. "No worries. Be there shortly. Mami is making quesadillas with shrimp and steak."

  "Yum. See you soon."

  I hung up then bent over and gave my head a good scratch, sighing in relief at what I'd needed to do all day. The cascade of white left my scalp raw and aching, but at least it didn't itch anymore. I'd take what I could get.

  But the scratching reminded me about my shoulder. I stared at the supermarket across the street. That Kroger's had a pharmacy in it. It shouldn't take too long to get this filled. I looked at it, Tylenol-3. The idea of just not hurting—the ibuprofen really didn't do more than smooth the sharp edges—sounded like heaven.

  I texted Jo. *Pick me up at the Kroger. Need to get some pills*

  Her reply back was immediate, telling me she hadn't gotten in the car yet. Texting and driving got you in big trouble, especially if you were a mage. They didn't bother giving you fines, they just tacked on how long you had to work for the government. The lowest amount I'd heard of was six months. Mages never texted and drove. It wasn't worth the price.

  *You okay? What you getting?*

  *Explain when u get here.*

  I headed across the street. It was quiet for a Friday afternoon, but there wasn't a lot here populated by people. Most business closed by five, if not earlier on Friday's. All I cared about was pills and maybe to splurge on a Coke.

  Dashing across the street took the last bit of my energy. Barely aware of anything around me, I headed towards the front door.

  "Hey, watch out!" A shout made me jerk my mind back into my surroundings from the haze it had been in and I stepped backwards, just avoiding getting clipped by a car speeding through the parking lot. The other person across from me wasn't so lucky. He jerked and spun to the left, his bag of groceries flying up in the air. Everything seemed to move in slow motion for a minute. I saw the man fall on his butt, the flash of red under the hat registering, then I focused on the groceries that flew up in the air and rotated. Again, the feeling of watching a movie in slow motion, a strangely déjà vu feeling, as I watched eggs, flour, sugar, a box of blueberries, and a bottle of oil fly out of the bag.

  In a move that would have looked unreal in the movies, yet I could see how each of them happened, the flour and sugar burst open and the egg carton opened as did the berries. I couldn't move, I don't know if that was because it happened so fast, or because I just couldn't look away enough to remove myself from what happened.

  The eggs hit first on my head and shoulders, breaking open with dull splats, then the berries stuck to my hair and clothes. The coating of sugar and flour came next. I managed to get my eyes closed, and the whites of the eggs created a gluey concoction that made it hard to open them back up in time for the bottle of oil, glass of course, to land at my feet and shatter, spraying me with oil.

  Time snapped back into normal speed and I stood there, covered head to toe with the makings of a pie, cake, muffins? I wasn't sure which.

  People around me gawked, and the man who had all the groceries pulled off his hat, slamming it to the ground, to reveal a merlin tattoo and red hair.

  Shay. Of course, it's Shay.

  I took a deep breath, and instantly started coughing as I inhaled flour, making the pain in my arm flare to new levels. That seemed to kick everyone into motion. People ran towards me babbling, asking if I was okay. Shay stood up and stalked over to me, annoyance in every aspect of his body.

  "Girl, you are a menace. Get that taken care of, get marked, get trained, before someone gets killed. Ronin are only romantic in stories." He clenched his fists, turned and glared at the driver who had stopped his car and was staring at us, eyes wide. "And you!" Shay headed towards the other man. The driver looked like he wanted to jump in his car and speed away. "If you move, I swear by the heavens I will drain every bit of water out of your body and use it to quench my thirst."

  Everyone froze, eyes wide. There was a reason merlins were marked. They were lethal, and that symbol on their face let everyone know it. The man stayed quivering as Shay chewed him up one side and down the other. The manager came rushing out and people tried to clean me up. It didn't work.

  Someone had mercy on me and got the pharmacist, who took my script and id, then came back a few minutes later. "The manager paid for it. I am so sorry. How are you getting home?"

  I didn't know how to answer that. Depending on what Jo drove, she may or may not let me in the car. A familiar engine rumbled and I sighed in relief.

  "What by Merlin's hairy balls happened to you?" Her voice high with surprise was the perfect end to a crazy day.

  Chapter 19

  Winston Churchill - While he was only a Time wizard, his ability allowed Britain to survive World War II. Some mages rose to prominence in showy ways like The Red Baron or the Desert Fox, but Churchill used his office to hide how hard he peered into the future to try and see a way to win. His hair was always gone, not due to male pattern baldness, but the need to offer it non-stop as he tried to see the future and change it. ~ History of Magic

  Two cups of S
tinky's coffee before I get to work might possibly be a bit much on the caffeine level.

  Jo had laughed herself sick before getting me in the truck and taking me to her house. There, after a long shower and borrowing clothes from Jo, I had an awesome dinner and promptly fell asleep on the couch. And they'd left me there. I slept fine but woke up with a kink in my neck and the feeling of being very behind.

  On the bright side, Stinky made Mexican coffee for me that morning. Strong coffee. Very strong. Very yummy. And I had two large cups. Which was my normal amount, but apparently Mexican coffee has more of a kick. I need to learn to make that, the cinnamon was wonderful. I took my pills and that cut the pain down to a dull roar. Maybe it also made me more zen.

  The over-caffeinated thoughts buzzed around me until I walked into the back door of the shop and found absolute chaos. Standing there, I sipped the coffee again. Nope just coffee, cinnamon, a touch of chocolate syrup, and sugar. Nothing to change my perception of the world.

  "Um, anyone want to tell me why this place looks like a bomb went off?" I called out, assuming that since the lights in the shop were on, someone was here.

  "CORI! Oh, thank all the mages you're here. Help." I heard all this getting closer until Kadia slid through the door on the last words. Her normal neat braids were fraying, she looked exhausted and to my surprise, she threw her arms around me, squeezing hard. "Please come back. I can't handle Molly in the mornings anymore."

  "Molly caused all this?"

  "No, that was Lori, but Molly got so frazzled she called Lori in and she went home with a migraine. Lori can't handle morning shift." She said it the same way you would say espresso has caffeine.

  "Where was Carl?" I was pretty sure he'd picked up all my shifts since I couldn't work mornings anymore.

  Kadia threw up her hands. "You haven't even been here and things have been crazy. It all came to a head the day before yesterday, Thursday. That day he spilled a can of beans and slipped, breaking his leg, which meant Lori came in yesterday."

  Lori was a sweet girl who did great in the slower afternoon crowds and loved making tea for the ladies. The harried morning crowds she couldn't handle.

  "And that led to this, how?" I waved my free hand at the bags of roast beans, the stacks of cups and lids, the bags of sugar and bottles of syrups, all scattered and off kilter—not the normal organized place I kept it. It looked like someone had torn through it looking for a magic needle and not found it.

  "Because every time we ran out of something, Lori or Carl came back here to get it." She sighed. "Partially my fault. I was used to you grabbing things, so I didn't come back here after we were closed yesterday. So, this morning I found this. They never put anything away or kept it neat. It's a disaster." Her lower lip actually trembled, and she closed her eyes. "The front is worse. Our day was so bad yesterday I thought I would have time this morning to get it cleaned up and ready to go. I got here at 5:30. But everything is such a mess."

  I thought she might start crying. To prevent that I spoke. "It's okay. We have almost forty-five minutes. Let's get the front cleaned first and all the bakery goods stocked. Are they here yet?"

  She shook her head, trying not to fall apart. It struck me she had emerged and been tested, how could she look so young when I felt decades older than her. Maybe mages aged slower? I knew I felt like I was at least thirty lately with all the stress on me. That, or the pills were the best thing ever. This wasn't as bad as someone being snide to me. This I could fix.

  "No. They should be here any minute," she admitted, looking at her watch.

  "Okay. We'll do that and in slow times I'll work on the back. When is Molly due in?"

  "She isn't. Yesterday was too much and she said you'd be here today, and you could handle it all."

  "Good. That gives us time to get to it. Now come on."

  Maybe I was just good at cleaning up messes because there always seemed to be one in my life or near me. Either way we busted our butts for thirty solid minutes and just got it mostly clean before the clock ticked to seven and someone knocked on our door.

  "Go open it, and I'll get beans to start grinding."

  "You're the best, Cori." Her comment made me smile as I headed on back. A minute later I returned with a ten-pound sack of beans ready to go, though I needed to get them into the grinder.

  Already there were multiple people coming into the shop. I set down the bag and started taking orders. The busyness of the morning had done a great job of distracting me of from thinking about this afternoon, though I really wanted time to drink more of my coffee. The cinnamon in it was excellent.

  I looked up at the next person in line, a simple smile on my lips, and I froze with my mouth half open.

  An older man, maybe late thirties, dark blond hair, dark brown skin, bright amber eyes. But what I couldn't stop staring at was the snake. Around the man's neck like a tie was a blue and green snake. Well it looked like a snake, but it lifted its head and flared out flaps on either side of it, like some lizards can. And I swear it laughed at me.

  It wasn't a blue I'd ever seen on a snake; bright royal blue, and the green sparkled like emeralds. I snagged on the tie pin he wore, Spirit mage, strong in Soul. My eyes flicked up to this temple and it was there too.

  Fighting the desire to babble, I continued with my rote saying. "Welcome to Grind Down, what can I get you?"

  He looked at me funny, his head tilting, then for a minute his eyes unfocused looking through me. It was creepy as hell. Then he blinked back and shrugged.

  "Large black coffee with vanilla syrup and room for cream, please." He handed me a card while the snake, or whatever it was, looked like it was talking to him.

  "I see you noticed Elsba," he said as he took his card back.

  "Hard not to notice her. Familiar?" I knew it was a stupid question, but I didn't know everything in the world. Maybe it was a snake I'd never seen before.

  "Yep. All mine. One of the best things about being a mage. Thanks," he said as he headed over to grab the coffee Kadia had waiting for him.

  Even with other customers waiting for me, I couldn't help but watch him walk away. Familiars were rare. I couldn't remember the stats but like this was only the second I'd ever seen. And you didn't have to be a merlin to get one, though it helped.

  I shook it off and got back to serving customers, but I remained hyper aware of him sitting by the window drinking the coffee. Somehow it didn't surprise me when Shay came in and sat next to him. The fact that he refused to get his coffee surprised me, but then after yesterday I wasn't sure I really wanted to talk to him either.

  "Kadia, make Shay his usual. Put it on my tab."

  "Are you sick? Dying? Did he save your life?" She put her hand against my forehead, checking for fever.

  "Very funny. No. I'll have to tell you about yesterday. But later."

  I wasn't the only person watching the two of them, but Shay did flash a smile at Kadia, then a frown at me, said something, but handed her a five.

  She came back, shrugged at me, and put the money in the till. I brushed it away, there were customers to serve and Shay would never explain anything to me. It wasn't worth worrying about. But I kept an eye on them for the next hour or more, and the number of times they glanced at me did nothing to allay my stress. I lost track of them when one of the grinders blew up and shot ground coffee everywhere. Kadia and I both looked like we'd been attacked by brownies.

  Kadia glanced at me, started to giggle, then it became contagious and we were on the floor laughing like madwomen. Tears filled my eyes as I laughed, and I tasted coffee in my mouth. I would miss this place.

  I looked up to see Shay and his mage friend peering over the counter at us.

  "Have you finally snapped? Should I be calling for an ambulance?" Shay asked, though he seemed more interested in my answer than actually worried about us. The other guy, and Elsba, seemed a bit concerned.

  "Just a stress reaction. We're fine." I looked around and groaned. "Though w
e have a hell of a mess to clean up."

  Kadia followed the path my eyes took and she groaned too. " I thought this place was bad before. And we still need to finish getting the back organized."

  I wanted to rub my face, but right now that would have made everything just grind into my skin. I came home smelling like coffee on a regular basis, but this would be a bit extreme even for me. I hoped Kris didn't mind coffee, because I reeked of it.

  We pulled ourselves to our feet and started to clean. The number of funny looks we got as people walked in would have garnered excellent ratings for a reality show. We just started saying, "coffee grinder exploded" before people could ask. Between making drinks we cleaned. When the place was mostly picked up, we took a lull in the crowds to run to the bathroom and give ourselves quick sponge baths. The number of towels we went through would make Molly wonder what we'd done. But we got it all cleaned.

  Shay and his friend had left at some point, but between cleaning organizing, and keeping up with customers, I hadn't noticed them leave. I got the grinder fixed, dealt with two spilled coffees, and the TV refusing to get off Animal Planet, though that I didn't mind. I liked Animal Planet. All in all, Kadia and I were kept so busy there wasn't any time to clock watch. When I looked up at the clock, I felt my stomach twist.

  "Kadia? Please tell me that the clock is wrong. Please?" She paused, looked at the clock, then her watch—I didn't wear one because they always went funky on me.

  "Huh. Two-forty-five. We could have closed over forty-five minutes ago."

  Today, why today?

  "I've got an important meeting in fifteen minutes. The bus will take me twenty, we have at least thirty minutes of closing work, and I can't miss this meeting." I felt my heart starting to race. The first time ever Kris wanted to meet me, his sister. I couldn't miss it.

  "Oooh, a hot date?" She teased as she shooed the last people out. I stood there locked in panic, trying to think of a way to get home. But I didn't have a car, and given the number of weird things that happened, driving had always seemed a bit risky to me.