My Luck (Twisted Luck Book 1)

by Mel Todd

  "Did you know the guy who waved us down?"

  "Know him, not really. Know of him, yes. Name's Scott Randolph. He's an archmage. Started out as a research scientist for the DoD, he got re-tasked and did multiple tours as a Rogue Hunter. Tough man." Sam sounded almost admiring.

  "Renegade group? That the group that goes after ronin?"

  We headed out on one of the state routes, and I could see just the slightest hint of green on the trees. Spring was starting to creep in.

  "The official name is Rogue Rapid Response Team, but Rogue Hunters is how most people know of them," he commented as he drove. We dropped the topic after that, getting distracted by a downed tree call.

  The rest of the day faded into routine and I had come to cherish it. I talked to Sam a lot about the papers I wrote, and he gave me different viewpoints I'd never considered before. I found that I rather liked him as a friend.

  When I got off work, Marisol waited in the parking lot. I saw her because she stood by her car and even from the door, I could see her rage.

  Oh fudge, Jo must have told her.

  I walked over, dreading an explosion. Jo took after her mother in being happy and easy going, until you crossed a line, at which point they both went nuclear.

  "Hey Mrs. Guzman," I offered with a tentative smile hoping she'd correct me. Instead she went in for the kill.

  "It is true? What Josefa said? They left you with a letter and some paltry money, disavowing you?"

  I shoved my hands in my pocket staring at the ground. "Yes," the word came out. I was more upset about Marisol being upset than the Munroes walking away from me. The last thing I wanted was Marisol or Henri to start to hate me too.

  There was a weird sound like she had started to say something. I hunched my shoulders as I tried to figure out a way to make it better.

  "Cori, look at me." Her command caught me by surprise, and I looked up at her, then wanted to die when I realized Sam had come over too. "I am not mad at you. I am furious at those worthless people that gave birth to such a wonderful young woman, not at you. I should not have asked you that here. At your work. It was - rude of me. I'm sorry. I had just been stewing on it all day since Josefa told me this morning."

  Marisol reached out and lifted up my chin, looking me in the eyes. "You are as much one of my children as my own. More, as I don't feel the urge to strangle you anywhere near as often. You never need to worry about calling or asking us for anything. Anything. Is that understood?"

  I nodded a jerky nod, both happy and intimidated. Marisol Guzman in a rage was scary. I almost imagined I could see her magic crackling around her.

  "But I have changed my mind about something." I froze, watching and waiting. Still too unsure to guess. "You may not call me Marisol. I know Mom might be too raw, too sore since yours was not a mother. Instead call me Tia, aunt. I will be your Tia and Henri your Tio."

  The smile the spread across my face was so wide it hurt, and I didn't care. That felt right in a way I hadn't expected.

  "Gladly, Tia."

  "Good." She pulled me into a rough hug and kissed my forehead. "I expect you for dinner Friday." She pulled away and nodded at Sam. "Good evening, Samuel."

  "Marisol," he replied. Neither of us said anything as she left.

  "Do I want to know what that was?"

  I smiled back at him. "Me finding my family."

  He arched an eyebrow at me, then smiled. "Good. Come on. I'll give you a ride home. I have some thoughts on your paper about mage responsibilities and why it isn't always in the first responder's best interest to ask them for help."

  "Oh good. I've been struggling with that."

  "I figured. Your nature is to give when at all possible. You haven't learned to see from other viewpoints. Yet."

  "You saying I'm naive?" That stung almost. I wasn't naive. A stab of pain flashed through my head and I winced, but it had already faded away.

  Stupid headaches.

  A screech from a hawk caught my attention and I looked up. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Sam do the same. The hawk had a snake at least four feet long in its claws and the snake was not happy about it. But what really caught my attention was the flying flash of green that darted in and attacked the hawk, which was why it had screeched.

  The green darted back and forth until the hawk dropped the writhing snake. I couldn't see more than the colors and the movement, no details. The green flying snake, which really wasn't possible but I would have bet my entire paycheck that it was Elsba, darted in and grabbed it in its jaws. Then in a move I'd only seen in crocodiles on TV, she flipped the snake up and pulled it down into her gullet. In the time it took me to hiss out a startled breath, half the snake had gone down its throat.

  "What by Merlin's Beard?" Sam hissed out. As I watched, the flying snake, ate the rest of the other snake. Then, with its belly obviously enlarged, it flew away. The hawk had disappeared.

  I looked at Sam, who looked just as stunned as I felt. I shook my head. "Nope. Don't know. Not discussing. I didn't see anything or know anything."

  Sam glanced back up at the disappearing green thing. "Agreed. I know nothing. College papers, let's discuss that."

  The rest of the drive the two of us worked very, very, hard to pretend we'd seen nothing that might have qualified as watching a dragon eat a snake. Or maybe a wyvern. Either way, that way led madness.

  The rest of the week didn't have any drama. Just the normal tickets and shoplifting calls. There was this feeling of impending doom that was a bit creepy, but nothing happened. No drama, just normalcy.

  Waiting for something to happen was exhausting.

  Chapter 28

  The Empress's Handmaidens are what Japanese female magicians are called for Japan's version of the draft. While over the years the mandatory robes have faded down to just wearing a traditional kimono while working on behalf of the Empress, the mandate that all mages, even hedges have their faces tattooed has created an odd war of beauty clash within the Japanese youngsters. There are two views, one that the tattoos should be highlighted with the use of make up to make them sparkle and snap, and others that they should be down played and treated as no more than an unfortunate birthmark. ~ History of Magic

  Okay, maybe I'm in danger of becoming an adrenaline addict. Or I'm just twisted. That could be it too.

  I found myself sulking as I finished cleaning up Saturday at Grind Down. Nothing strange, or even odd had happened today. Well, I never saw Shay. That was odd and a bit disappointing, which confused me. Did I really need that much more drama in my life that I missed sparring with Shay? Or did it really prove I was more than a bit twisted, or Murphy cursed, whatever Shay meant by that?

  Marisol had issued orders to me when she dropped by this morning. She expected me to show up after work. There would be dinner, talk about housing, and she would make sure I was doing okay. It felt very odd, but I enjoyed her caring. Besides, I hadn't had any downtime to spend with Jo for a while. Once the clean-up was done, I headed home, showered, then started walking. I'd see if I could talk Stinky into driving me home, but for now I enjoyed the long walk to stretch out legs that had stood all day. My thoughts wandered as I walked, mostly thinking about the police ride along. I wasn't hating it as much as I thought I would. The Criminal Justice Associated degree might end up being useful.

  I saw her coming. I wasn't that lost in my thoughts, and the electric blue with green trim was impossible to miss as she came to a stop in front of me. Quiet roads in small towns did have advantages.

  Jo pulled off her helmet, dark braided hair tumbling out in what I could recognize as sexy, but all it did was make me glad I didn't need to fight with combing it out. My own short bob was bad enough.

  "Yo, Cori. Wanna ride?"

  I didn't know how to answer her. Yes, it looked awesome. No way, we'd both die.

  She grinned at me, reached into the saddle bag, and pulled out a helmet. "I got you something." She handed it to me, and my eyes suddenly got wet and I bl
inked rapidly. The helmet she held out to me was a deep ruby red, the color I always tried to get my hair, but the capper to everything was the Gothic print on the back that said 'Cori'.

  "When?" I couldn't get anything else out. The cold air stung my face.

  "Believe it or not, Stinky got it for you. Said you'd ride with me one way or another, so you might as well be safe."

  I blurted out a laugh. "Remind me to thank him. For that I may need to start calling him Sanchez instead."

  "Oh, don't do that. With your luck he'd develop a crush on you."

  I rolled my eyes. Jo loved to tease me way too much about him. Mentioning that I thought he was cute when I was fourteen had nothing to do with how I felt about him now.

  "Promise you'll drive"—I paused trying to figure out the right word to use—"conservatively?"

  Jo laughed, her deep rich laugh as always making me feel wrapped in warmth. "I won't be reckless." She patted the tank of the bike. "Not risking my Sophia with any crazy driving."

  I didn't even try not to grin at the name. I pulled on the helmet then climbed onto the back. Wrapping my arms around her waist, I leaned into her as she put her helmet back on.

  "Hold on." Her muffled voice came through the helmet and I grinned to realize they had speakers so we could hear each other.

  "I'm ready." I'd ridden occasionally with her and Paulo on his motorcycle. But it wasn't something I did often. Either way, I held on tighter than I probably needed to, but I knew how to lean and move as she revved it back up and turned the bike around.

  True to her word, and I had seen Jo drive like she had a wasp's nest in her bra, she drove sedately. We didn't talk much, just enjoying the drive.

  About a mile from her house, her sharp intake of breath had me jerking my head up to look. A deer had already reached the midpoint of the road by the time I saw it.

  "Madre Dios!" Jo hissed and tried to turn the bike. The world slowed and I felt my skin burn as I broke out in a cold sweat.

  The deer looked at us coming, Jo couldn't stop in the time we had, and the deer leapt up as if it thought it could escape by jumping over us. Jo cranked the handle and squeezed the brakes as we turned. The motion was too sharp, too fast, and in crystal clear time we spun too sharp as we lost traction on the wet March road. As we spun, the motorcycle slid underneath the belly of the deer, her hooves barely clearing Jo's helmet. The bike completed two full three-hundred-sixty-degree rotations, then stopped, facing the deer that stood there in the middle of the road looking at us. Then it calmly walked to the other side, as if nothing had happened.

  "Holy…," Jo's voice trailed off as I held on. My fingers wouldn't unlock from around her waist. "Did that?"

  "Yes," my voice squeaked out. I suddenly itched as if someone had brushed me raw.

  "You okay?" She half turned in on her seat to look at me, but I knew all she could see was helmet.

  "I'm fine. That was close. Too close." My voice shook and I fought to get my heart rate back to normal.

  "Yes, it was," she muttered. Slowly she turned the bike around, and we finished the trip to her house at an even more sedate pace. I climbed off first, ecstatic to have both feet on stable ground.

  Jo pulled off her helmet and hung it on the bike. I pulled mine off and tried to discretely shake it out—I could feel my scalp itching again—then I handed it to her. She was peering back down the road in the direction we had come.

  "Cori, are you sure you aren't a mage?" Her voice stopped me, and I looked back at her.

  Why in the world does everyone ask me that?

  "You don't think I would have told you if I emerged?"

  Jo frowned at me. "Of course, you would. But you know that not all emergences are big and splashy. What if you're a hedgie like Stinky? I think you should just get tested. It could be interesting."

  I didn't roll my eyes, but I really wanted to. Time to change the subject. "What was it like? Getting tested, I mean."

  "Weird." The answer was immediate and definite.

  "Thank you so much for the illuminating answer. That explains everything," I replied deadpan, crossing my arms to look at her.

  "What? I'm not sure how I was tested. It was weird."

  "So tell me what they did." I paused, struck by a sudden thought. "Or are you not allowed to talk about it?"

  "Huh? No. Or at least if I'm not supposed to talk about it, they forgot to tell me." Jo twisted one of the strands of hair in her fingers, an old nervous habit I hadn't seen in a while. "Come on out back and I'll try to tell you. Though it did blur a bit."

  We headed to the backyard and she glared at the wet chairs, then sighed, dumped the standing water out of one and sat down. I copied her, ignoring the dampness on my rear as I sank into the chair.

  "So, when I woke up, I was more than a bit confused, and even though I vaguely remembered you talking, I couldn't focus. They gave me some soda, the full sugar and caffeine version, and it helped. They explained I'd emerged, and I was there to be tested and registered. They gave me a bit to let it sink in, saying they couldn't force me." Jo snorted at that. "Yeah, like I wanted to go on the run. It took a bit for me to get clear headed and stable enough I could walk."

  "Wait — stable? They said you weren't hurt." My heart rate ratcheted up with worry.

  "I wasn't hurt, just—remember when we found that vape with pot in it stashed in Marco's bag?"

  The change of topic took me a minute, but I nodded. He'd been playing with pot about two years ago and being the stupid eighteen-year-olds we were, we'd been unable to resist. "Yeah. Made your head go all fuzzy and everything just seem kind of off kilter."

  "That's how I felt. From how calm they were, I get the feeling it is a common reaction. That took a good thirty minutes to wear off. But after that they had me step into this room. Kinda reminded me of the airport body scanners."

  I nodded. We'd gone to Florida on a class trip to Disneyworld. They had scanned all of us in those weird things.

  "Well it looked like that. I felt like things were pushing at me, like wind or pressure, but there wasn't anything there. Just me standing in a tube with invisible pressure. Was just odd. When I stepped out a woman smiled and said I was an archmage. She seemed overly happy. Me? I freaked out a bit at being such a high rank. But she just smiled, they have super fakey plastic smiles that were more creepy than anything else." Jo shivered. "Really fakey. Like they were painted on. But they waited until I calmed down and ushered me into a room. Another person stood there. And I should say every single person had mage tats on their faces. I don't think I've ever seen so many mages in one place before."

  Jo jumped up from the chair, pacing, and rubbing her hands on her jeans. "So, this other room had three balls sitting on a table. One was smooth, ordered, like a round Rubix cube, the second prickly and jangly, like steel wire in a ball with yarn caught up in it. Then the third which was the one that I really didn't like, it looked like a crystal ball, but I swear there was something in it. They told me to pick the one that I liked the best. That was easy. I reached for the one with all the blocks." She smiled. "It reminded me of something soothing and orderly, like when you click that last puzzle piece in. Then they said room one and escorted me to another room. I still had no idea what was going on, so I followed." She wrinkled her nose. "I think they keep you off balance like that to ensure compliance."

  I watched as she fell silent and paced more back and forth. "The fourth is both obvious and makes no sense at all. The had a series of blocks scattered on one table, a pile of earth in a sandbox, a fan on another table, and a then a bunch of growing crystals."

  She didn't talk for a while staring up at the sky. "They tell you not to access your magic until you get into classes. Only the fact that I had parents that were both marked mages let me put school off until next semester. They really wanted me to go now."

  "Why didn't you?"

  Jo turned and looked at me, her eyes catching me. "I'd never leave you. And you need to finish school. I
must have presented a convincing case." She shrugged. "The rest is kinda obvious and boring. The crystals called to me. I walked over and stroked them, and they changed direction following my touch. Then the fan turned and blew air at me. Last was the blocks. I just had to arrange them. I knew, just like I know how to put a motor back together."

  They then announced my skills and let me talk to the tattoo artist and sign the draft paperwork." She shrugged and lifted her hand to touch the tattoo. It had healed nicely and the blue and green were pretty against her skin, the design of Pattern looking stylized. "So other than affinity, which could have been anything, I really don't know how they tested me."

  A thought struck me. "Did you see a merlin while you were there?"

  The question pulled her out of her thoughts, and she looked at me confused. "No, not that I remember, but I wasn't paying much attention to the tats only that they had them. Why?"

  "No specific reason, but I wonder if mages put out a magic field they can sense." What I didn't say, I was wondering about Shay's odd comments. I couldn't be a mage. It made no sense. Or if I was, I was so useless as to not have power. "Doesn't matter. Come on. Your mom is staring out the door at us."

  Jo turned to see Marisol standing there, looking worried. "She is a worry wart. But come on, I'm hungry. And remember, no mentioning that."

  "Not a chance," I agreed. The last thing I wanted was to think about those breathless terrifying moments anymore. We headed into her home where warmth and love surrounded me, removing some of the stress. So much still loomed ahead I just needed to do my best and I'd make it.

  Chapter 29

  Mages can determine what cells are used for spells. Hair and nails are the cheapest—great workings cost appendages. All-over sunburn is a hallmark of young users who haven't learned to direct the cost. Most at a magician rank and above can direct the cost without conscious effort. This is part of what you learn in school. It becomes automatic, knowing how much you will offer—the same way we learn to walk or run or drive, it quits being a conscious thing. Large scale offerings will often be planned. The sign of a mage missing a finger or something else often means they had to do a major offering, usually involving healing. ~ Magic Explained