by Jen Pretty
“I’m not sure how long I should stay, but I guess I can try,” I said, looking back to the teacher.
“All right, follow me.” He led us down the hall and pushed open a door, flicking on the light inside. There were two bunk beds in the room — one on either side.
“I call top bunk,” Kai said as he launched himself up onto the loft bed on the right.
Peran hopped up onto the other one, leaving me a bottom bed. I tucked the magic book under the pillow and curled under the blankets.
I assumed Nick would head to the room I had stumbled upon full of vampires my last night here, but, instead, he threw himself down on the other bottom bunk and stretched out on his back, hands behind his head.
Kai jumped down and flicked off the lights, throwing the room into blackness. The squeak of bedsprings announced his return to his top bunk, and the room fell into silence. I stared into the darkness and got lost in thoughts of Falcor and the dead bodies washing up on the shore. Falcor knew where I lived and worked. I had seen him at the graveyard the night I raised the old man before all this started. It could have been him that delivered the dead things.
The sound of rustling feathers near my head nearly shocked me off the bed. “Shit,” I said.
“What is it?” Nick said.
“My stupid Crow just scared me,” I replied.
He cawed, the sound ripping through the room.
“Shut up,” Kai said, the springs of his mattress creaked as he rolled over on the bed.
“Sorry,” I whispered.
The bird settled down beside me on the pillows and I hoped he would just sleep. I closed my eyes and tried to stop my mind from thinking. There would be plenty of time for that tomorrow.
When I woke up, the sun was streaming in through a window at the foot of the bed, blinding me. I turned onto my side and came face to face with a tiny brown-eyed boy. His giant gap-toothed grin was too much, and I smiled back at him.
“Good morning, Selena,” he said. He was crouched down beside the bed, still wearing his pajamas.
My magic had nearly drained off while I was sleeping. I would have to run outside or something before breakfast. That super magic zone sounded pretty good.
“You ready for breakfast?” he asked.
“Sure, just give me a minute to have a shower.” I watched Colvin scurry out of the room, then looked around. The guys had left. I was still wearing Peran’s t-shirt and jogging pants. It was all the clothes I had, so I would have to put them back on after my shower.
I had a quick, lukewarm shower and went off in search of the guys. I walked down the hall to the cafeteria and found them sitting at a table near the back of a very crowded, very noisy room full of bouncing children. Some of them were disappearing and reappearing as the warlocks do, while others were jumping from their seats up and onto the table and back down the other side — little vampires in training.
“Selena!” Colvin yelled. I weaved my way through the room carefully. Small bodies were running with trays and dashing away from each other.
“Hey guys,” I said.
Colvin had put his backpack on the chair, but pulled it off and smiled up at me as I slid into it. He was cute. I looked up, and Nick was glancing between Colvin and me.
“What? I asked.
“It’s just, you two could be siblings. You’re so similar.”
I looked back down at Colvin’s grinning face and returned the big toothy grin. Yeah, we were similar, but it's hard to see past our brown eyes and white hair. Peran's blue eyes made more sense with his pale hair than mine and Colvin’s brown eyes. It didn’t matter; I felt a connection to Colvin and was happy to pretend he was my little brother.
“I’ll go get you some breakfast,” Colvin said as he hopped up and ran off.
My laughter bubbled out, and the guys joined in for a moment, but then their faces fell.
“We tracked Falcor’s phone. He is in your city,” Kai said.
“Shit.”
Colvin raced back with a tray in his hands loaded with breakfast foods at that exact moment. I covered my mouth with my hand, realizing I swore in front of a kid, but he just smiled and set the food down for me.
“Thanks, Colvin,” I said, snatching a piece of toast off the plate.
Peran reached across the table to take some too, but Colvin’s magic lashed out like a whip and smacked Peran’s hand with a slap.
“Colvin!” a stern voice called from across the room.
“Sorry, Ms. Everly,” he said in a sing-song voice with a frown on his face.
“You know the rules,” she huffed before turning to stop a couple of vampire kids who were trying to jump to the ceiling fan.
“You aren’t allowed to use magic here?” I asked him. Peran was still rubbing the sting on his hand.
“I can use magic, but not offensive magic. They take me to the graveyard sometimes,” he said smiling again. “It’s fun there.”
“I like it there, too,” I said with a laugh.
The small cup of orange juice that Colvin had brought me tasted freshly squeezed, and the eggs were light and fluffy. It was hard to believe the school made food for all these kids every day.
I turned back to Colvin, dreading what I had to tell him.
“I have to go again for a while, but only a few days hopefully. Then I’ll come back and see you.”
His smile fell, but he nodded and looked at Nick. “You will stay with her? I don’t want the boogie man to get Selena.”
“Who is the boogie man?” I asked thinking it was a joke.
“Falcor.” His face was serious, and I almost dropped my cup of juice.
“What do you know about Falcor?” I asked. The guys were all focused on the kid too.
“I had a vision one time. He was doing bad things. I’m glad he’s gone, but I don’t want him to hurt you.”
“I promise, I’ll keep her safe,” Nick said.
“We will all help keep her safe,” Peran chimed in.
Colvin wrapped his short arms around me and closed his eyes. “I’m glad I have a sister,” he said.
I wasn’t sure where that came from, but I was happy to let it ride. The thread between me and the little boy pulled tight around my heart.
“All right, we should get going,” Kai said, standing up from the table.
I downed the last of my juice and hugged Colvin once more.
Kai disappeared with Nick first then shifted back in and grabbed Peran and me.
In the blink of an eye, we were on a city street in front of a run-down house with its windows smashed. Nick wasn’t on the street, but we could hear voices yelling inside the decrepit building.
chapter eighteen
“What the hell?” I shouted as I ran through the half-open door into the house. The door screamed on rusty hinges as I slammed through it.
The yelling was coming from the second floor, so I started up the rickety stairs.
One board cracked under my foot, but I leapt up fast enough I didn't fall through the new opening. As I reached the top of the stairs, the arguing cut off.
I skidded to a halt and tiptoed towards the door the noise had been coming from. Wallpaper was peeling from the walls in long thin strips, hanging like branches of a weeping willow.
A hand fell on my shoulder and I whipped around, pulling in a quick breath so I could scream, but caught Kai’s face instead of whatever monster I was expecting. I let out the ragged breath and moved closer to the door. My heart still raced in my chest. Nick had to be in there with Falcor. I was sure I would find the worst when my hand moved to push the door open.
I slipped around the corner, but the room was empty. All the tension left my body for a minute before I realized what that meant.
“Falcor has Nick,” I swung around to look at Kai. He had a worried look on his face and pointed to a table where two cell phones sat. One of which I recognized as Nick’s.
“Shit,” I said.
“I second that,” Peran said.
“How do we find them now?”
Kai shook his head.
“We have to find Nick,” I said. Panic started to pull at me. My lungs contracted, making it hard to breathe. Where was Crow?
“Crow!” I yelled, and a moment later the bird flew in through the open window.
“Can you find Nick?” I asked as he landed on the top of an empty bookcase that lined the wall. He looked down at me, his beady black eyes unblinking. Then he launched himself off the bookcase, heading straight for me.
I stumbled back, knowing exactly what was coming. Crow gave one massive flap of his wings and then tucked them in tight to his sides, his beak leading the way like an Olympic diver.
I flung my arms backward, trying to catch my fall, but before I even hit the ground, Crow disappeared into my stomach. My lungs expelled air with a whoosh as Crow filled me.
Then I was looking at the city from above, soaring effortlessly through the sky. The sun beat down on my back, warming me as I flew. My eyes scanned the city streets and tracked cars as they sped past. I saw locations I recognized; the diner, the graveyard. Then I veered towards the river.
Other birds called and flew past. This view of the city was remarkable. I coasted on the air current. The heat from the sun reflected off the pavement below ruffled my feathers and lifted me higher. I tucked in my wings and dropped lower to get a better view as we passed the bridge that crossed the river.
On the far shore, I could see people standing around. Police lights flashed as someone pulled something from the water. My heart sank.
I prayed it wasn’t Nick as my wings flapped hard to fight against the wind and take me to the far shore. As I approached, it became clear the body wasn’t Nick’s; it was a woman with long black hair. Her face was familiar, but I couldn't place her. Her throat was a slashed mess and her skin was white as snow. They laid her on a board and zipped her into a black body bag before the officers carried her towards a waiting ambulance. I scanned the crowd and found Nick standing next to Falcor. They both watched as the men loaded the woman's remains.
I cawed as I flew overhead and Nick looked up. I swung back around, but there were too many people, I didn’t want to land.
Nick said something to Falcor, and they walked away from the scene. I soared back around to follow them, but they had vanished.
“Selena.” Someone called my name, but the voice sounded distant. I glanced around but didn’t see anyone looking in my direction.
I soared back out across the river. Sparkles of the sun on the water caught my attention, then they disappeared as the water waved and rolled in the wind.
“Selena, come back,” someone said.
Weird. There were no boats or anything on the water.
“Come back to me.” That was definitely Nick but I couldn't remember where I was going. I flapped my wings until I reached the shore, then I set down on a piece of driftwood. I inspected the shoreline, waiting for something to move. Something delicious. There. A crayfish. I hopped off the perch and fell upon my prey, cracking his hard shell and relishing the tender bits of meat inside.
“Selena, come back to your body.”
I looked around but saw no one. Something niggled at the back of my mind. I was forgetting something. I jumped and flapped my wings, rising high in the sky to soar on the warm air currents. The people below looked like crayfish, scurrying about. I flew over the city, but something was pulling at me. When I circled back, I saw a small figure waving at me. I cawed in the human’s direction, then dove towards them.
“Selena!” the human said. It made no sense to me, but humans were strange with their steel machines and colourful clothing.
As I got closer, something about the human seemed familiar, like the voice I had heard earlier. Who was this human?
I lit upon the edge of a balcony. The tall building was too high for bugs or grubs, but the human was interesting. I hopped closer, and he held out his hand. I inspected it for a moment.
No food.
I made a final hop and landed on his palm. He grinned at me and clamped a hand over my back. I squawked and tried to struggle free, but he was already moving back into the building.
Other humans were inside. One of them lying on the floor. I knew that one. She was important to me.
I burst free of the human who held me, finally. Then dove straight at the body lying on the floor.
In a flash, I opened my eyes to look up at the ceiling. Coughing and choking, I rolled onto my side and reached into my mouth. I pulled the long black feather out. Then gagged several times and dry heaved, but managed to stop short of a full vomit.
“Are you OK?” Nick asked. I knew them now. Nick, Peran, Kai, and Falcor all huddled around me.
“Shit, that was weird,” I said, wiping the tears from my eyes. “I think I was Crow. Not just seeing through his eyes.”
Crow cawed, and I scowled at the damn bird. “Don’t you do that ever again!” I said.
He cawed again and bobbed his head. I gave him the finger and Nick laughed.
I glanced back at Nick and then remembered we didn't like Falcor. “What is he doing here?” I asked.
Nick glanced back at Falcor, who wore a deep frown on his face.
“He isn't responsible for these murders. He had an alibi,” Nick said.
“Who?” I asked.
“He was playing poker with a buddy of mine all night last night. Someone killed that woman last night. He was at the school, with witnesses for the previous murder. So, it must be someone else.”
I wanted to remind him that Colvin had seen Falcor doing bad things, but I didn’t want to paint a target on the little boy if Falcor was an evil warlock. I would just have to keep my guard up.
Damn it.
I pushed off the floor and rose on shaky legs, still feeling as though I had wings. The muscles of my back twitched, trying to move the phantom appendages. It was an uncomfortable feeling. That’s when I remembered the woman in the body bag. “I know that victim,” I said. “I saw her in my apartment building. Remember?” I turned to the guys.
Nick nodded. “I remember seeing her on the first day back in the city.” His frown deepened.
“You can’t still think David is behind this?”
Nick raised a shoulder in a shrug.
“Who’s David?” Falcor asked.
“Her creepy superintendent. Or ex-superintendent. Do you even still live there?” Kai asked.
“Yes, I still live there! I just need a few minutes of peace to clean up the mess.” I sighed. “Do we know anything else about the victims?”
Falcor cleared his throat. “While you people were busy suspecting me of murder, I was doing an actual investigation.”
“In other words, you shifted into the police station and read their reports,” Nick added.
“I discovered,” Falcor went on, ignoring Nick. “That all the women had been out before their disappearance. Every single one. Either at a club or the library and in one case, a bridal shower and coming home late. Someone killed the first few in random locations around the city, but the victims' homes started to narrow down to around your building starting around the time you came to The Sanctuary.”
“Since then, someone murdered six women from your block or building. Your friend lived outside the radius, but since she was killed in your building she counts.”
Falcor’s casual words about Georgia’s death stung. I shook my head and pushed the pain away. I needed to focus.
“So, it's unlikely a murderer followed that victim home from a bridal shower, but someone could have followed the others from any public place.” I thought about the clubs we frequented. Georgia and I always took an Uber home. “How did they get home?”
Everyone looked at Falcor who shook his head. “I didn't get to read them all before the clerk came back.”
“We need to go back,” I said.
“It’s dangerous to shift into a police station,” Peran said. “We have a better way
to see the reports.” The glare he shot Falcor was obvious. Those two would never be friends.
Falcor scowled and strode out of the room before Peran continued.
“Detective Andrews, the lead detective on the case.” Peran walked through the door and we all followed him carefully through the old house and down to the street, where we found Falcor leaning against the front of the building.
“I want to help,” Falcor said, his voice low.
Nick stared at him for a long moment and everyone else waited like it was Nick's decision.
“Come on, Nick. I am not a freaking teacher. Let me do this,” Falcor said. It as a plea and the tone was not one I would have thought Falcor would use. It was vulnerable and honest.
Nick looked at me, but I kept my face blank. Falcor was an asshole, but that didn't mean he wouldn't be helpful in this. He was a warlock and could move us through the city, taking the pressure off Kai.
“Fine,” Nick said, eventually. “But one more screw up and you’re done.”
Falcor’s lip ticked up into a grin and he reached out for Nick and I. The moment his hand landed on my shoulder the world went sideways.
chapter nineteen
I opened my eyes when the world stopped spinning and we were in the alley beside the police station.
“It takes a while to get used to his magic,” Nick frowned at Falcor.
“That’s not my fault,” Falcor replied.
“I’m used to Kai's, how come his is different?” I asked Nick.
Kai and Peran showed up then. Kai grinned at my obvious distress.
“Falcor has no finesse,” Kai said.
Falcor huffed and moved out of the alley. The rest of us followed him up the stairs and into the front entrance of the police station. It was midday, and the station was busy. Uniformed officers led civilians to desks or into back rooms, while other people hung around or sat in rows of chairs along the walls. The receptionist was clicking buttons and answering phones with a headset on. Her lips moved as fast as her fingers as she transferred phone calls and put people on hold.
