Jen Pretty

  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.

  68

  “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.

  69

  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 and 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 sink 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 be awhile 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.”

  70

  “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

  and 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.”

  71

  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.

  72

  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.

  73

  “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 and Nick, and I sat on

  the other as hundreds of other people filed into 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 in-flight movie.

  By the halfway point in our flight, 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 a family-friendly movie, and it 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.”

  74

  He looked at me and squinted his eyes for a minute.

  “You 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

  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.

  75

  “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.

  76

  “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.

  77

  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.

  78

  “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?

  79

  “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 evening light as the sun set. I heard doors

&
nbsp; 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 with along 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

  80

  there.” He hit a button on the phone and tucked it in his

  pocket. “Want to go dancing, Selena?”

  I smiled and shook my head. 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.

  81

  “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 dialled Georgia, but it went to voice mail.