Black Crow

by Jen Pretty

  He opened it an inch and peeked out. He said a few words and then swung the door open all the way, and Nick walked in.

  “Hey, who ordered the vampire?” Kai said with a grin. My magic sprung to life, reminding me I hadn’t actually used it in the graveyard and was holding a lot of it still. I clamped down on it and slapped a smile on my face.

  “Hey Nick, how's it going?” Peran said, greeting him with a manly half hug.

  “Not bad, brother. Well, could be better, I guess,” Nick replied, his eyes settling on me. I gave him a hand raise wave. That was all the energy I had left. Between the crazy night and the liquor, my eyelids were getting heavy.

  “Is Falcor off?” Peran asked.

  “Yeah, Niri put him back on school duty. There aren’t any other warlocks free right now though, so I’m it,” Nick said. I was pretty sure they were talking about me in some roundabout way but didn't care anymore.

  “Hey, Nick, be a dear and grab me another tiny bottle like this one?” I held it up so he could see what I wanted.

  “How many have you had?” he asked, opening the bar fridge.

  “This was only my second. I deserve one more.”

  “Probably have a point,” Nick said, grabbing one for himself too and jumping over me on the bed with surprising agility to settle down beside me against the headboard.

  “Thanks,” I said, unscrewing the lid of the tiny bottle and holding it up for him to clink his against. “Cheers.”

  “All right, well, I’m taking a few days off, so we can get things straightened out. I’m not leaving her unprotected,” Peran said.

  “You mean I’m not leaving her unprotected,” Kai said raising an eyebrow at Peran. I wished I could raise a single brow. I tried it again in case I had grown the ability but still couldn’t do it.

  “Yes, brother. You are gonna have to protect us both for a little while. If you think you can handle it,” Peran snickered, and the warlock grumbled.

  “Yay, big happy family,” I said. The alcohol had me feeling much better, but it wasn’t long before my eyes closed and the room spun until I passed out.

  ✽ ✽ ✽

  The sun was burning through my eyelids when I woke up. I didn’t dare open my eyes. Instead, I buried my head under my arm and stayed beneath the thick warm blanket.

  “Selena,” someone whispered. It was so quiet, I thought I imagined it. “I know you’re awake.” I recognized the voice now. It was Nick. I kept my eyes closed. The last few days sucked; sleeping was good. “Your breathing and heart rate changed when you woke up. You can’t pretend to be asleep around a vampire.” He chuckled.

  I rolled over and looked at him through squinted eyes. He was sitting in a chair with a glass of what I was going to pretend was tomato juice, in front of the huge window that looked out over the city.

  “I could have been sleeping if you hadn’t said anything. Dreaming of white sand beaches and nothing paranormal at all,” I muttered as I wiped the drool from my chin and crust from my eyes. I tried to run my fingers through my hair, but they got snagged on a tiny stick, and I pulled it out. I needed a shower.

  Shit.

  I was pretty sure I smelled too.

  “Kai grabbed your suitcase from The Sanctuary.” Nick pointed to the other side of the room, and there it sat. All my worldly possessions. I pulled back the blankets and left my warm cocoon. Rummaging through my stuff, I found some clean clothes, then locked myself in the washroom and spun the knob on the shower to hot. I unwrapped a tiny bar of soap and snagged a few small bottles of shampoo and conditioner out of a pretty basket sitting on the counter.

  The water was scalding hot. I had to adjust it a few times to get to a temperature that wouldn’t melt my skin off and then washed my hair repeatedly. I had a small collection of leaves and grass in the bottom of the shower by the time I finished. The hotel only provided combs, so it would take a while to get all the knots out. I dressed in clean clothes and took my comb out to sit down and work through my hair.

  Everyone stopped talking and stared at me. I froze.

  “What?”

  “Your hair is almost white,” Peran said.

  “Yeah, I dye it, but the colour fades fast. I need to get more dye today.”

  “You should leave it,” Peran said before turning back to Kai and restarting their conversation.

  I pulled my hair over my shoulder to look at it. It was white, not brilliant white like Peran’s, but it would be if I washed it a few more times.

  I sat down on the end of the bed and began combing it out. I started at the bottom and worked the comb through. It was so knotted. I thought about cutting it all off, but it was so smooth when I had it all brushed out and felt soft against my shoulders when I wore a tank top.

  “I got a call from a city in Canada. They want me to come and help with a series of murders. They have a body turning up every day,” Peran said. His words sunk through my thoughts and pulled me back to the conversation.

  “You are going to Canada?” I asked.

  He turned to look at me. “We all are. For a little while. You don't have to come to the morgue. I can’t ignore it though. People are counting on me.”

  “So, they know about what you can do?” I asked.

  “The government in all countries know about us. They tell people we are psychics,” he chuckled.

  “Psychics,” I muttered.

  “I promise, you won’t have to do anything, Selena. You can go back to The Sanctuary if you would rather. You’d be safe there.”

  I snorted. I was not going back there.

  Nick was smiling. I knew vampires couldn’t read minds, but I guess my face wasn’t hard to read.

  “I’ve never been to Canada,” I said.

  “Well, your bag is already packed. Let’s go,” Nick said, standing up and moving towards the door. The rest of the guys moved to follow him out, so I zipped my suitcase and dragged it out the door behind me.

  “Hey, wait up!” I called.

  chapter seven

  I assumed we would travel by magic, but we ended up at the airport. Good thing my passport was in my suitcase. We waited in the crowded airport for a flight to take us to Alberta. Nick spent a lot of time talking on the phone. It sounded like he was booking gigs at nightclubs.

  When the voice over the intercom announced our plane, we moved towards the door. The woman standing at the side was checking tickets. Her eyes widened when she saw Peran and me.

  “She is a witch,” Nick whispered. I wondered how he could tell, but tossed a smile on my face as we approached.

  “Hi,” she said, her eyes darting from me to Peran and back again.

  “Have a nice flight,” she said hesitantly like she wasn’t sure if she should be talking.

  We continued into the walkway that led to the plane.

  “That was weird,” I said.

  “She has probably never seen a necromancer before, much less two,” Nick said.

  We found our seats, and I tucked my suitcase into the compartment above. It was sad that all my stuff fit in a carry-on.

  Kai and Peran sat on one side, Nick and I on the other, as hundreds of people filed into their seats. The flight was long and tedious. I watched the in-flight movie for a while and then stole Nick’s cell and played some games while he chatted with Kai across the aisle about music. They had similar tastes but, since Nick only had two games on his phone and they were pretty easy, I ended up returning his phone and going back to the movie.

  By the halfway point, I was getting restless. I should have stopped and used my stored magic before we boarded, but the guys seemed in a hurry to get the flight.

  I kept my fist clenched and tried to focus on the movie, but it was tediously family-friendly, and didn’t hold my interest.

  “What’s going on?” Nick asked as I tipped my head back and closed my eyes, taking deep breaths.

  “Nothing, I’m just full.”

  He looked at me and squinted his eyes for a minute. “Yo
u have too much magic?” he whispered.

  “Yes,” I whispered, closing my eyes again and taking a deep breath.

  “I’m going to the bathroom. Meet me there in a minute.”

  My eyes flashed open, and I watched his back as he walked down the aisle. This was weird. I looked over at Kai who raised his eyebrows at me and then tipped his head the way that Nick had just gone.

  I mouthed the words “What the fuck?” to Kai. He just tipped his head towards the washroom and then turned back to Peran, who was going over some paperwork he had pulled out of his suitcase before he checked it.

  Shit.

  I stood up and walked casually towards the washroom like it was no big deal. I probably wasn't pulling it off, but I didn’t look anyone in the eye as I passed.

  Nick had left the door unlocked, so I slid it open just enough to slip inside and then shut and locked it behind me.

  I turned around and came face to face with the vampire. I took a deep breath. “What am I doing here?” I asked.

  “You know how your magic wants to come to me?” he asked in a whisper. He took a tiny step forward, and I took one back, so my back was against the wall.

  “Yes,” I said, swallowing harshly as my mouth went dry. My heart ticked up, and I clamped down harder on my magic.

  “You can give it to me.” He took another step forward until he was almost touching me.

  “Give what to you?” I asked, my chest heaving.

  “All your magic.” His voice was soft, and his hand came up to cup my cheek.

  My heart was pounding in my chest, and my magic swirled under my skin. I was so full I thought it might ooze out through my pores. I tried to let some out, a small flash, but as soon as the magic had a way out if poured out like an overflowing coffee cup. Rivers of magic slid from me to Nick, taking me high. My mind spun with the release, and I relaxed back against the wall.

  Through my hazy vision, I saw Nick’s eyes glowing blue and sparkling as if my magic had filled him to the top. Then he blinked and his eyes returned to normal. He let out a shaky breath before falling back onto the toilet seat. I propped myself against the counter and took deep gulping breaths, letting my heart rate settle and the high fade.

  “That was a lot of magic,” Nick said, licking his lips like he had finished a delicious meal.

  “I had no idea you could do that,” I said when I caught my breath.

  He tipped his head back against the wall, and I wished we weren’t in a dirty airplane bathroom. “You never noticed your magic wanted to come to me?”

  “Of course I did. That first night in the nightclub I almost lost control.”

  He grinned up at me. It was goofy and crooked and kind of adorable.

  “Well, we can’t use magic or hold it. It just funnels through us all the time so a little extra, or a lot extra in your case, doesn’t matter.” He watched me through half-lidded eyes. I felt so much better. It was as good as raising the dead.

  “Can I just do that instead of raising people?” I asked, looking down at my feet.

  “If you want. Niri wanted me on your team in case you didn’t have an outlet for magic. He wasn’t sure how stable you were.”

  “Team?” I hadn’t heard anything about this, but I knew something was up with Falcor when they said he was back on school duty.

  Before Nick could answer, someone knocked on the door. “You OK in there?” a voice asked.

  “I’m fine!” I said at the same time as Nick.

  Shit.

  I unlocked the door and scurried back to my seat. Nick strolled out a moment later and followed. My face was burning like the time I fell asleep on a lawn chair in the backyard of the foster house, and Dorothy found me hours later.

  I ducked my head as Nick swung into the seat beside me.

  “Don’t worry, only a couple people saw. They definitely don’t suspect magic,” he chuckled.

  I backhanded his chest and pulled a set of headphones on to block everyone out. Luckily when I looked out the window, I could see a city through the clouds, and the fasten seatbelt light came on as the movie ended and the sound cut out. Thank God, we were in Canada.

  After landing, we moved through the airport and gathered everyone else's luggage while Kai got us a rental car.

  “Where does all the money come from?” I asked Peran as we waited at the luggage carousel.

  “I’m a government employee. They cover all expenses,” he said before leaning over and grabbing a large suitcase off the conveyor.

  “What about me?” I asked. “And Nick.”

  “I pay my own way,” Nick said from the seats behind us. He had already grabbed his duffel bag and was relaxing with his legs stretched out, and ankles crossed as if he belonged here.

  “The Sanctuary is paying your way. They will keep paying it until you get a job and can support yourself.”

  “I had a job and was supporting myself,” I reminded him.

  “Until you were in danger. They want me to go to your hometown next. A witch or warlock is killing other magical people and humans. I can't just let people die.”

  I didn’t reply.

  “It’s ok, you know. I don’t think you should do what I do. It's tough to see people in their last moments, and I don’t blame you for not wanting to do it,” Peran said. I nodded, but inside I was wondering if maybe I was selfish.

  As long as I had Nick around, I didn't have to raise anyone ever again. I could be a normal person. Almost.

  I looked back at Nick and wondered if he would stick around if I didn’t do anything interesting. Was this ‘team’ he mentioned contingent on me raising murder victims?

  “Aha!” Peran said as he grabbed another suitcase off the conveyor. This one was smaller but matched the larger one he had already taken off. He pulled out the handles on the tops of them and then turned and rolled them along behind him. Nick scraped himself up off his seat and flung his duffel bag over his head, so the strap was across his chest.

  “Hey guys, I got an SUV so we would all fit,” Kai said, appearing from the crowd of people and grabbing the smaller suitcase from Peran. We passed various bronze sculptures of horses and granite buffalo, or sheep, maybe. Whatever they were, they were kind of cute. I jogged to catch up to everyone, and we followed Kai out to the parking lot. The entire landscape was flat. As far as I could see, there was not a hill or valley but, in the distance, tall buildings reached into the sky. Their lights were flickering like stars in the dusky evening as the sun set. I heard doors unlock and lights flashed on a silver four-door vehicle crouched in a parking space between two mid-size cars. Kai opened the back, and we all tossed our suitcases in.

  As the car wound its way along with the flow of traffic that lead towards the city, Nick’s phone rang.

  “Yeah,” he said the phone pressed to his ear. He got a crooked grin and his eyes caught mine. “Perfect, I’ll be there.” He hit a button on the phone and tucked it in his pocket. “Want to go dancing, Selena?”

  I smiled. The DJ had found himself a place to be tonight. “All right, let’s see what Calgary has to offer.”

  “Can you keep her safe?” Kai asked Nick as he flicked on his turn indicator and merged with the massive flow of traffic heading through the city.

  “Yup, I’ll keep her close,” he said, giving me a wink. “We never got to see the music room at the Sanctuary, but you will like this. I promise.”

  Kai pulled up to a tall hotel with bright lights flashing out front.

  “I’ll check you two in, Peran has to get to the morgue,” Kai said.

  We shuffled out and grabbed our bags from the back. Kai got a key card from the desk and handed it to me. “I want to talk to Nick for a second. Wait here, ok?” he said to me before wrapping his arm around Nick and moving him a few steps away. He whispered to Nick, who patted him on the shoulder, and then they broke apart, and Nick came back to join me, while Kai walked back out the front door of the hotel.

  “What did he want?” I asked
, nosey.

  “He told me not to let you out of my sight and to let you keep your magic. I think he is still hoping you might take on some necromancer duties.”

  I had been having fun with the guys, globe-trotting, but I had the thought stuck in the back of my head since we boarded the plane. It seemed selfish not to use my magic to help people, but I couldn't help remembering the one time I raised the wrong person. I shook the thought away before it could grab me and pull me into sorrow.

  “Oh, shit, I should call my friend Georgia. She is probably freaking out by now.” Nick took out his cell and handed it to me. I dialed Georgia, but it went to voice mail.

  “Hey, it's me. Just wanted to let you know, umm… I guess I’ll talk to you later,” I said and hit the button to hang up. “What am I supposed to tell her?” I asked Nick.

  He just raised his shoulders in an ‘I dunno’ gesture. Helpful.

  Hopefully, she wouldn’t call back right away, and I would think of something.

  Up in the hotel room, I found the room service menu and waved it at Nick. He shook his head.

  “Do you eat?” I asked. He hadn't eaten on the plane. He reached into his duffel and pulled out a bag of blood. “Holy crap, how did you get that through customs?” I asked.

  He just smiled and grabbed a water glass out of the bathroom. I watched in horror as he slit the corner of the blood bag and it glopped into the glass, smearing the clear sides with thick coagulated goo. “Dude, how is that appetizing?” I asked.

  “It isn’t. It’s like fast food; disgusting but fills you up.” He took a long gulp of it and then set the glass back down and licked the red stain from his lips.

  I felt less hungry but ordered some French fries and a glass of soda from room service, then flicked on the TV. “You know I grew up without TV?” I said to break the suddenly awkward tension between us.

  “None at all?” he asked, sitting beside me on the bed. He smelled like copper pennies and when he smiled his teeth were pink, but otherwise, he seemed normal.