Black Friday

by Jan Stryvant

  "Well, Sawyer knows of ten dead so far. Three were magic users from a small coven that one of the groups involved in raising the storm yesterday had issues with, two were the surviving Litho's who were in the hospital recovering from their wounds. Apparently a lightning bolt surged into the room during the storm, and as they were shackled to their stretchers, they got electrocuted.

  "Another three were lycan leaders who've been stirring up dissent against the mages, Sawyer thinks that this was a show of strength to cut down on any rumors of your father's work suddenly freeing them. One was the ex-wife of one of the mages who leads the Totis Viribus council. Apparently she divorced him and was taking him to the cleaners."

  "Mages get divorced?" Roxy laughed, "I thought they were too jealous of their powers to even get married?"

  "She was a dancer in one of the bigger shows, quite the looker I gather. Apparently his promises of fame and fortune didn't pan out or something. According to Sawyer she said he was lousy in bed and was sharing that opinion far and wide. I think it was that more than the money that got her killed," Jolene sighed.

  "Who was the last one?"

  "No idea, Sawyer didn't recognize the name, he thinks it was just some poor bastard who was in the wrong place at the wrong time and an elemental decided to kill him anyways. They're not the easiest to control."

  "So how long before we go through this again?" Sean asked.

  "Hard to say. Sawyer also heard that two of the casters dropped dead after they ended the circle. Apparently not killing you led to some sort of feedback or squabble in the group, or maybe the elemental major who they'd promised your power to decided to take theirs instead," Jolene shrugged. "That's another problem with summoning extra-planer beings. Sometimes they kill you."

  "Well," Sean said turning to look at Jolene and Roxy, "we might as well clean up and go out and hit the buffet. I'm starving and I'm sure the rest of you are too. Hopefully after what just happened all anyone wants to do is spend a few days recovering."

  "Your birthday is in a week, Sean, I'm not so sure they're going to be doing all that much resting," Roxy sighed.

  "And there are still a lot of other groups out there," Jolene agreed. "But that storm stirred up so much shit that nobody is going to be scrying for anyone in this town for at least another twelve hours."

  Sean nodded, "Oh, that reminds me," and he fished the key for Sampson's tool shed out of his pocket. "Ever seen a key like this?"

  Jolene took it and looked at it a moment. "If I had to guess, and I don't because I'm a magic user chock full of power, I'd say it opens a safety deposit box down at the Heritage Bank."

  "That's my bank!" Sean said surprised.

  "The South Town Crossing branch," she added.

  "Why all the way down there?" Sean wondered.

  "Who cares?" Roxy sighed and got up. "I hate cold showers, but I'm starving! Let's go eat, then we can go hit the bank."

  "It's after six," Sean sighed, "They're closed.

  "Well we can go tomorrow then."

  "They're closed weekends too," Sean sighed and shook his head.

  "Well shit!" Roxy swore. "Shower, food, and then well, I don't know! More food!" and stomped off towards the bathroom.

  "Is it just me, or has it been a rough week?" Sean sighed shaking his head.

  Jolene laughed, "Seven days ago you were human, without a care in the world. Yeah, I'd say it's been a rough week."

  "Well, let's go join her, I'm starving too."

  "You know, the water in my shower is heated, and it's not that far of a walk from here."

  "Oh, well. Should we tell her before or after she jumps into a freezing cold shower?" Sean grinned.

  "I heard that!" Roxy yelled from the next room.

  It was late, just after three in the morning. Sean had been spending the last three hours studying magic. There was a whole school devoted to protecting one's self from scrying, from spying, from being detected by other casters. A lot of it was pretty simple, so he had decided to make that his first avenue of study.

  He understood the language, and he felt he understood the methods that it all employed. The problem, as always, was in the practice. Learning how to actually execute the spell, to actually manipulate the magic forces, so you could execute your program, or rather your spells. That was the hard part, and that was the part that would need the most training to learn.

  He had found, in the books on the desk a very thin one labeled 'Learning to Cast.' It had five very simple spells with detailed instructions on just how to cast each one. It was supposed to be the first step for every magic user, so he'd gone over and reread the instructions on the first spell more than a dozen times. All he needed now was to try and cast it.

  Well, there was no time like the present.

  Getting out of bed, he looked down at Roxy and Jolene who were curled together rather happily. Jolene had opted to spend the night with them, rather than return to her own bed. Her loyalties were quickly becoming clear; it was obvious he had another female in his pride. It was just a matter of time until she admitted it.

  He could feel his lion was rather proud about that.

  'I think she loves Roxy just as much as she loves us,' he told his lion.

  'All the better, you want your wives to be happy with each other too, don't you?'

  Sean thought he detected a faint smirk there.

  Standing in the center of the room and closing his eyes, Sean started on his first practice spell, lighting a candle. He'd substituted a piece of string sitting on an upturned glass, hopefully the spell wouldn't mind.

  Clearing his mind, he ran the spell though it, focused on the string.

  Nothing happened.

  He tried again, and again nothing happened. He tried it a hundred times, and it failed a hundred.

  Going back into his classroom, he reread the instructions in the book; reread the notes and the suggestions. All to try and get an idea of what he might be doing wrong.

  Then he tried again, and again and again. He cursed at it, swore at it, threatened it, replaced the glass with a new one after he smacked it across the room and broke it.

  By the time the sun had come through the windows, he was dead tired, and his mind was almost numb.

  "Ah fuck it, I need to sleep." he sighed and waved his hand at it, casting one last time.

  His roar of success brought both of the girls running.

  "Finally!" Sean crowed as he watched the small flame quickly consuming the piece of thread, "Success!"

  "Do it again," Jolene told him.

  "What?" I'm going to bed.

  "No you're not!" she told him and plucking a hair off of her head, she held it in front of him.

  "Do it again, now!"

  Sighing, Sean took a moment, and casting again, the piece of hair lit on fire.

  "Find something we can rip up to burn," Jolene said to Roxy, and dropping the piece of hair, she plucked out another one.

  "Again!"

  "Come on, Jolene, I'm tired!"

  "You can go to sleep after you've done it fifty times, Sean! This is important, now quite yer whining and do it!"

  Sean grumbled, but he did it again. By that point Roxy had returned with a dollar bit and was using her claws to slice of thin strips.

  "Again!"

  "Do we have to?" Sean grumbled, but did as he was told.

  "Yes," Jolene smiled the piece she was holding lit on fire. Dropping it, she stepped on it and took another one from Roxy.

  "Why?"

  "So when you wake up, you haven't forgotten. Now, again!"

  Sean just nodded and resigned himself to doing it, over and over. Until eventually Jolene said he was finished and could go get some sleep.

  "Congratulations, Hon," Jolene said as he turned to head off to bed, and coming over to him she kissed him. "You're now a magic user."

  Sean yawned and nodded, looking at all the little burnt scraps on the floor.

  Then he smiled, just the same way Roxy h
ad that night on the bus.

  "Now I just need to figure out how to make all of those bastards pay!"

  End Book One

  Hi! I'd like to thank you for reading my story Black Friday, I hope you enjoyed it, and if you did I would greatly appreciate it if you would rate and review it on Amazon. We do get rewarded by Amazon, when we get four and five star reviews, and of course, the more we get, the more we get rewarded.

  What is that reward you ask? Simple: Amazon will show my book to people who they think will enjoy it, like you did.

  So please! I'd appreciate it very much if you gave me a good review.

  If you'd like to read more about the continuing trials of Sean, Roxy, and Jolene, as he tries to find his way through this new world he's been dropped into the middle of while trying to continue his father's work, please buy the next book in the series when it comes out!

  Book two: Perfect Strangers is the sequel to this book, and depending on when you bought this one, it may already be out! (*Due out September 29th, 2017) I hope you buy, read, and enjoy that one too.

  Book three: Over our Heads (working title, hopefully it won't change!) will be out sometime in Nov 2017.

  (Later books in this series have not yet been titled, though the plots have been developed)

  Other stories of mine already out: Shadow, which can be found, along with this on Amazon, by going to my Amazon Author's webpage at:

  https://www.amazon.com/Jan-Stryvant/e/B06ZY7L62L/

  and occasional announcements at:

  https://stryvant.blogspot.com/