A Lark In The Night

by Jen Pretty

The man stood and dried his face on his sleeve before turning back to look at Singh who hadn’t moved from his place on the grass.

  “Thank you,” he whispered before he turned, climbed the embankment and disappeared across the parking lot.

  I wasn’t sure what had just happened, but it sounded like Singh had staged an intervention for a stranger. I turned to continue back to the crime scene and Singh caught up to me, walking beside me along the dirt path that trailed beside the river.

  “Who was that?” I asked.

  “Leo. He has a problem with alcohol,” Singh said.

  That was confirmation enough. I already had enough weird in my life.

  As we walked up to the grizzly scene, Frankie was there. He was standing behind the bodies with a look of total devastation on his face. I saw a tear glisten on his cheek before he wiped it away and shook his head.

  “This has to stop. We need to talk to Vincent.” With that, he disappeared. Vlad took out his phone and called in the clean-up crew.

  “Let’s head back, Lark,” Cedric said as the familiar dark van parked close to the pier and the vampires of the clean-up crew came into view.

  “Alright. This night was a bust.”

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  Back at the mansion, the boys were fighting. Shocker. I walked into the office and sat down in my usual chair, waiting for a break in the argument.

  “You don’t get to decide that, warlock,” Vincent yelled.

  “She can help bring this to an end.”

  “And what if Vernon shows up? He has already bested you once. I won’t leave her unprotected,” Vincent sneered.

  “She will have the full coven. She won’t be unprotected and that vampire won’t get the drop on me again. He was lucky last time. I wasn’t expecting him. And when are you going to stop bringing that up? It’s not like you were able to protect her. She almost got blown up. Twice!”

  “That’s enough, Shut up!” I yelled. They both turned to look at me. “What are you fighting about now?”

  The men glared at each other. Neither one spoke. I rolled my eyes.

  “Speak,” I said.

  “Frankie wants you to stay in the covens place of power so he can hop to the location before his father has a chance to get away next time.”

  “Ok, let’s go,” I said.

  “What?” they both said at once.

  “Is that the place downtown? With the cool paintings?” I asked.

  “Yes,” Frankie replied.

  “Vampires can’t go there, Lark.”

  Oh, now I saw the problem. Bossy vampire wouldn’t have any way to pop in at night and brood in the corner while I slept. I smiled and he looked away. Frankie plucked that thought out of my head and scowled at the vampire again.

  “We have to stop him, Vincent,” I said, standing up and walking over to him. “He’s killed seven people in two days.”

  Vincent rubbed his forehead. “What if he shows up there and attacks you? I can’t get in.”

  Durga flashed an image of my blade sliding across the neck of who I now recognized as Frankie’s father.

  “Durga says she will slit his throat.”

  The door opened and a lion sauntered in. He moved across the room and rubbed his face on my stomach like an over grown house cat, nearly knocking me down.

  “Can Singh get in the magical warehouse?” I asked, scratching the purring lions chin.

  “Yes,” Frankie replied.

  “That’s just great,” Vincent said, turning to stare out the window.

  “Can you give us a second, guys?” I asked. Frankie disappeared, but Singh walked over to the tiny couch in the corner and wedged his massive frame on it. The antique furniture groaned in distress. Apparently, he was not going to leave, so I ignored him and turned back to Vincent. I moved in close beside him and his hand came up to rest on my back before pulling me around to face him.

  “I don’t like this,” Vincent grumbled. “You will be safe from my brother, but Frankie’s father could walk right in.”

  “And what?” I asked. “You think he can kill me?” Durga pushed at my skin, wanting out. So, I let her. The room turned red as Durga set her sights on Vincent.

  “That foul magic user is no match for us,” she said using my voice. Vincent dropped his arms and took half a step back, realizing he wasn’t talking to me anymore.

  “He could destroy the whole city,” Vincent replied.

  “Lark would still be standing, even if the whole city crumbled around her. You doubt my power, vampire?” She asked with a sneer.

  “No, Durga. I...”

  “You should be more confident in Lark. She will be stronger than any I have partnered with before. Shiva has told me.” With that she relinquished control and shrunk back.

  “I’m sorry,” I said reaching out to Vincent and taking hold of his hand. He used it to pull me back into his arms.

  “That is a bit strange, you know.”

  “It’s just as strange for me,” I replied with a laugh. “So, I’m going to the magic warehouse?” I asked. I knew he wouldn’t say no at this point, he had a contract that said I would live with him, but this was the right thing to do.

  He glanced over his shoulder at the lion who was twisted into a pretzel licking his back and then looked back at me and raised an eyebrow. “Alright. But if that warlock lets you get hurt, I will tear him limb from limb,” he said.

  “You would have to catch me first, vampire,” Frankie’s disembodied voice came from the other side of the room making me startle. Vincent picked up a paperweight from his desk and lobbed it across the room.

  Frankie cursed. Yeah, I really needed a magic for dummies crash course. I needed to know exactly what they could do if I was going to find poppa warlock.

  “His name is Bennet, Lark,” Frankie said reading my mind again. “You calling him poppa warlock makes him sound like a cartoon character.”

  He had a point.

  I pulled away from Vincent and he grabbed my hand, kissing my knuckles before he released me. Singh and I climbed the stairs to pack some things and get ready to stay at the warehouse for a few days. Hopefully not longer. Singh lion just lay on the bed and napped while I packed our stuff. I shoved some of the clothes that one of the house staff had brought him from his apartment into a smaller bag. He didn’t need it all, particularly if he was going to be a sleeping cat for most of our little sleep over with the witches and warlocks.

  I flung my backpack and his over my shoulders and then woke the lazy cat and we headed out.

  Frankie and Vincent were in the entry way. Vincent didn’t look happy, but he wasn’t yelling so that was a plus.

  “Ready to go?” Frankie asked.

  “Yup. Let’s do this.”

  Vincent looked at me like I was going away for months.

  “I’ll be back, Vincent.”

  “Don’t get hurt,” he muttered, wrapping me in his arms. After a moment he turned and asked the vampires watching in the hall if they had nothing better to do. The vampires scurried off and I shook my head. Then I walked out of the mansion and got in my SUV with Frankie and human Singh.

  Adventure time.

  Singh sat shotgun, leaving Frankie to sit in the backseat as we crossed town towards my old apartment. We passed Arnie’s bar and I looked longingly at the dark door below the fluorescent sign. Those were much simpler days.

  My old apartment still stood and there was no “for rent” sign in the window so I assumed my little cave on the top floor had been rented out again. It hadn’t been that long since I moved out, but a cheap apartment didn’t stay vacant in this city, even if it was more of a crawl space.

  I followed the road down and turned off into a small alley at Frankie’s direction. At the end was a garage door and it opened as I approached. The garage was dimly lit, but there were a few other vehicles parked inside including Frankie’s motorcycle. I wondered if we would have time to go for a ride at some point.

  “I can take yo
u out any time, Lark.”

  Right, mind reader.

  “Thanks.”

  I parked and we followed Frankie up a set of old, dingy looking stairs. I hadn’t seen this part of the warehouse before. It was more like an apartment building. When Frankie opened the door to one of the numbered units, I was shocked to find a luxury apartment. It was beautifully designed, with high ceilings and all the most modern conveniences. The kitchen boasted a large granite topped island with stools and glistening stainless steel appliances. The open concept living room was decorated in a sleek, masculine style with rich earthy colours. It had a sunken floor, a huge TV and large bay window.

  “Holy shit, Frankie,” I whispered as I dropped my bags and kicked off my shoes.

  “You don’t have to take your shoes off,” he said from behind me.

  I looked back and raised an eyebrow at him, then admired the plush beige carpet that covered every inch of the space, apart from the kitchen.

  “Make yourself comfortable. I’ll order some food?” Frankie said.

  “I could go for some moo shu pork,” Singh said before he transformed back into a lion, did a perfect downward facing dog stretch and leapt onto the sofa. He collapsed on his side, leaving his giant hairy feet hanging off the edge of the couch.

  “Come on, Lark,” Frankie said, grabbing my bags.

  I followed him down the hall past the washroom to a bedroom. It wasn’t decorated like the rest of the house. It was muted blues and pastel greens with flowers on the table.

  “Whose room is this?” I asked as he set the bags on the bed.

  “It’s yours,” he replied.

  I touched the flowers. They were fresh cut.

  “Did you do this?” I asked.

  “You don’t like them?”

  “I do. It’s just, when did you do this? I only just agreed to come.”

  He gave me a sly smile. “Sometimes, I know things.”

  “Like before they happen?” I asked, touching the delicate petals.

  “Yeah, but never the things I wish I could know. Just random things, like that you would be here, in this room, today. Looking at those flowers. So, I went to the store and got them.”

  “Thank you.”

  He smiled and the silence that followed got a bit awkward. I shook my head to clear it and got back to business.

  “I need to know all the things you guys can do. With magic, I mean.”

  “Alright. Let me order dinner and then we can discuss it.” He walked back out of the room, pulling his phone out of his pocket. I checked out the en suite bathroom and unpacked our bags so our clothes wouldn’t be too crushed or wrinkled.

  When I walked back out, the guys were playing a really violent video game where they basically just beat each other to a pulp. When one of them died, blood sprayed the screen. It was pretty dramatic. Singh’s cheer made it obvious that the lion had won the round.

  The doorbell rang and Frankie left the game, then the apartment. He came back a few minutes later with a bag of Chinese food. Singh jumped up and found some plates and cutlery as Frankie set out the food. I sat down on the tall stool.

  Once everyone was seated and eating, I looked over at Frankie as he finished the bite of food in his mouth. I raised my eyebrow and he began speaking.

  “So, we can all do basic magic. Transform inanimate objects, do basic spells like a sleep spell or a spell to find a lost object, more difficult spells, like transferring locations or disappearing, can only be done by the most powerful witches or warlocks.”

  “Your father, Bennet, can do all the difficult stuff?”

  Frankie sighed like the weight of the world was pressing him down. “Yes, he can also do dark magic. That is the kind of magic that hurts people, collapsing houses, crushing vehicles, launching fireballs or lightening. He probably killed those people in the house without a weapon.”

  “Whoa. He did that with magic?”

  “Yes.” Frankie bit his lip.

  That changed things. How were we supposed to stop him? I knew Durga made me pretty durable, but what about Frankie?

  “He could kill you?” I asked.

  “Maybe. He has been tormenting me since he was kicked out and I took over the coven. He wants his coven back, but so far isn’t willing to face me to do it. Now that he has killed humans, he will never be welcomed back. He has gone too far,” Frankie said, rubbing the back of his neck. This was obviously taking its toll on him. He looked tired. I had never seen his hair so messy and his clothes were rumpled like he had picked them up off the floor.

  We ate in silence for a while. From the photos I had seen, Bennet was a good man, at one time. How does someone go from good to evil? I blanked my mind to keep my thoughts to myself.

  When we had eaten all the food, Singh shifted and swaggered his lion ass down the hall. He nosed open the door to our room and I heard the bed groan as he grunted. Time for a cat nap.

  Frankie and I moved to the couch. He brought a bottle of rum and two glasses. He poured the alcohol into the glasses and handed me one.

  “So, anything else I should know about warlocks?” I asked, feeling strangely nervous now.

  Frankie shifted closer. I purposely blanked my mind when his leg brushed up against mine. The heat from his thigh felt warm through my pants. He smelled like leather and a crisp fall night. I thought about birthday cake to keep my traitorous thoughts away from the warlock. Vincent had just professed his feelings for me. I am a terrible person.

  “No, you aren’t,” Frankie whispered, bringing his hand up to brush my hair out of my face. I kept my eyes down until he tipped my chin up to look at him. “You are perfect.”

  We sat for a moment looking at each other. There was too much unsaid in his eyes. I cleared my throat and changed the subject. Back to safer ground. I’m a chicken, so sue me.

  “How do you usually hunt for your father?” I asked, taking a big gulp of my rum. It burned all the way down, making my eyes water, but I managed not to gag.

  Frankie sighed.

  “I have spells all over the city and in some other places. They can tell if he is near and they send a ping back to me. It’s hard to explain, but that is probably the best way to describe it; like cell towers.”

  “Ok, so right now he is off your radar?”

  “Yes, I can only have so many spells running at once, and they wear out so I have to replace them regularly. It’s not efficient. Hopefully, Durga can get me to him faster, and I can end this.”

  “Are you sure you can take him out? Your own father? Durga is eager, she keeps showing me different ways to kill him,” I said. Durga flashed me an image of Bennet hanging from a tree with a noose around his neck. That was a new one.

  “My magic is stronger than his. Unless he uses dark magic, then he could be stronger than me. I just have to take him down fast, before he can get the upper hand. I have to do this, I have no choice. The fact he is my father makes it more important that I do it,” Frankie’s expression closed off as if he could hide the sadness from himself and me.

  My glass was empty so I set it on the table. I was feeling warm, tucked in beside Frankie. I leaned my head back on the couch and Frankie shifted, sliding an arm under my legs and another behind my back. He lifted me, pulling me into his chest so I was curled up in his lap, my head tucked under his chin. His strong arms circled me and his delicious scent wrapped around me. I thought about protesting, but I was worn out and so was Frankie.

  I hadn’t had a lot of physical contact since my parents died. It wasn’t even on my radar until Frankie hugged me in Vincent’s office. Now I was a bit of a glutton for it and Frankie could read my mind. I let myself think about how nice he smelled and how warm he was and then went back to thinking about his father and our chances of catching him. Durga seemed pretty excited about it. She was nearly dancing at the idea of killing the warlock.

  “Do you think Durga will let me kill him myself?” he whispered. “He is my responsibility.”

  “I
don’t know.” Durga flashed me an image of Frankie lying dead beside his father. “Jesus.”

  “Shit, is that a threat from the goddess or from you, Lark?”

  “I don’t think it was a threat, I think it was a warning.”

  “She doesn’t think I can do it?”

  “I don’t know. She doesn’t talk to me. She just started showing me things.” Maybe I needed to talk to her. I hadn’t figured out how, but I could talk to Shiva and he could talk to her.

  I slid out of Frankie’s lap and onto the floor. Sitting cross legged, in my usual pose for meditation, I cleared my mind and dropped all my focus to my breathing. Once I had steadied the rate of my heart, I let my body slip away into another place.

  “Hello, to whom am I speaking?” Shiva said staring at me cautiously.

  “It’s Lark,” I replied with a chuckle. He had figured out how to keep us straight.

  “Oh, Lark. It’s good of you to come. What can I do for you today?”

  That was an unexpected greeting. He usually seemed bored or indifferent, today he seemed almost happy to see me.

  “I wondered if you had spoken to Durga.”

  “Yes, she is always speaking to me,” he said, rolling his eyes.

  “Ok, well I’m wondering if she knows anything about Frankie’s father. The dark warlock.”

  “She knows only what you know. We do not keep track of the magic people, unless they become a problem. Durga has eliminated several that I can recall. You can trust her to defeat him.” His snake slithered out of the neck of his shirt. “Isn’t that right, precious?” he said to his snake in a silly baby voice.

  I shivered as the thing came further out of his shirt and slid around his arm, curling back up to press its face close to his. Its tongue lapped at the air. I swear it had grown since the last time I had seen it.

  “Why didn’t you tell me that Durga was taking over while I was sleeping?” His face dropped and he looked back at me, taking his eyes off the snake which moved up the side of his face like a cat rubbing against him.

  “I felt it was not my place to interfere. I have not had to advise Durga in many centuries. I am sorry for your suffering caused by my negligence. Now, I must go. I have much to do; very busy god.”