Jen Pretty

A loud caw cut through the sky, the sound growing

  louder at the approach of my bird. I knew it was him now,

  my magic swirled in my stomach, growing into a flame that

  burned like straight vodka. My vision cleared just as the

  jaguar and my crow collided with me. Crow was a split

  second faster and his presence blew my magic into a raging

  fire that shot out of my hands in a cloudscape of blue. It

  formed into a long blade and sliced clean through the

  monster a moment before his teeth could grab hold of my

  neck.

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  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  The dead weight on my chest pinned me to the ground

  as blood gushed from the destroyed body above me.

  “Oh, God. This is so gross,” I groaned as I shoved at

  the corpse. It had reverted half to human and his skin was

  slippery with blood.

  Crow cawed and hopped over to peer at me.

  “Help me,” I groaned. My wounds were closing slowly,

  but the thought of them being contaminated with the

  blood of this murderer gave me super strength for a

  moment—long enough to give one last, hard shove. The

  body rolled aside and freed me.

  Everything hurt, and I took a minute to prop myself

  up, my legs still stuck under the more animal half of the

  dead guy.

  Crow hopped up on the body and peered at me.

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  “Thanks,” I whispered, half sarcastic and half honest.

  He definitely saved me somehow with his chest diving

  trick, but he sure didn't help get the beast off me.

  I looked around the clearing in the forest. With no idea

  where I was now, at least I had a car and my eye had knit

  back together thanks to magic, so I could see. I pushed up

  to standing and noticed in the distance a small cottage. I

  did not want to know what this jaguar guy had planned for

  me in there.

  A wave of dizziness washed over me, but it passed

  quickly enough and the sparks of magic were funneling in,

  making me feel more grounded.

  I checked in the ignition but the keys for the car

  weren't there. Glancing back at the body, it wasn't wearing

  pants. Its lower half was completely animal.

  Laying in the grass a short distance away was the

  remains of a pair of jeans he must have been wearing, but

  when I picked them up and shook them, they were empty.

  “Shit.” I ran my fingers through my blood-soaked hair.

  Nobody was going to pick up a hitchhiker that looked like

  I did. Blood soaked my clothes and I probably had red

  scars on my face still from the beast.

  Crow called out, and I spun to look at him. He picked

  the keys out of the grass and hopped towards me.

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  “Good job, Crow. When we get home, I’ll get you a

  nice croissant.” My voice was shaky and hushed as if I

  would wake the dead monster if I spoke too loud.

  Crow hopped into the car and up onto the dashboard

  where she settled down to get a lift home apparently. I

  paused for a moment, wondering if there might be clothes

  in the cottage, but there was no way I was going in there.

  Instead, I climbed behind the wheel of the car and gave

  myself a pep talk.

  “You can drive this car, Selena. You have seen it done

  a million times.” Thankful it wasn’t a stick shift, I started it

  up and put it in gear.

  The rough back road was a good place to learn to drive.

  I had to go slow over the bumps. The twists and turns

  really helped me figure out the steering. Crow slid on the

  dashboard and his beady eyes glared at me, but I thought I

  did a pretty decent job until we got to the highway.

  Driving over forty was too fast. Cars flew past me,

  horns honked, but my hands white-knuckled on the

  steering wheel and I focused on breathing in and out. I had

  to get somewhere safe.

  Eventually a set of flashing lights sparked to life behind

  me along with the whoop-whoop of the cop car siren. I

  pulled over onto the gravel, nearly sliding into the ditch

  and waited for the police officer.

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  “Holy shit,” the officer said. His hand went to his gun.

  “I need to talk to detective Tom Andrews of the

  Almonte Police department,” I said, my voice shaking. The

  reality of the situation was setting in and my breaths sped

  until they were coming too fast. I knew I was in shock, but

  couldn't slow my breathing for the life of me. “Help me.”

  The officer pulled his walkie talkie off his shoulder and

  spoke into it quickly before his hand reached for the car

  door handle. The world went grey and then black as I

  passed out.

  ✽ ✽ ✽

  I woke up in a hospital bed. The sound of my heart

  beeping from the machine beside me was eerie. Tipping

  my head the other way, I came face to face with a vampire.

  I cleared my throat and Nick’s eyes popped open. He

  huffed out a breath and shook his head before leaning

  forward and pressing a kiss to my forehead. “Thank God.”

  “Do you even believe in God?” I asked him. My mouth

  was pasty and dry, but inquiring minds had to know.

  “I’ve seen too much evil to believe, but I hope.” His

  fingers found mine under the blanket that covered me and

  entwined, sending a shiver down my spine. “I’ve been

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  trying to get you to let go of the magic you are holding, but

  you wouldn’t.”

  I hadn’t noticed right away how bloated with magic I

  was, but now that he had brought it to my attention, it was

  almost painful. Squeezing Nick’s hand, I let it all slide out

  passing into Nick and disappearing.

  When the last of the sparks transferred, Nick sat back

  in his chair and closed his eyes for a moment.

  “What does it feel like?” I asked, hoping we could keep

  this quiet peace for a moment longer before he

  remembered that I ran away from him and almost got

  myself killed. He obliged me, though I could tell from the

  look on his face, he knew what I was doing.

  “Like a rush; diving out of an airplane or a fast roller

  coaster.”

  I watched him for a moment longer before I swallowed

  and stepped up to the elephant in the room. “I’m sorry.”

  “You should be, and I think Niri would have ripped

  you a new one if you hadn’t been unconscious when he

  was here last. Consider that your warning. He will probably

  be back in an hour.” He squeezed my hand. “You shouldn't

  have gone off like that.”

  “I know, I just thought I could handle it on my own. I

  was wrong.”

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  “No, you weren’t wrong. You can handle anything on

  your own. You are the Black Crow. But you don't have to

  handle things on your own. I won't get in your way, Selena.

  We are a team.”

  I nodded and bit my lip to keep the tears away. His

  words rang true. He would be there for me through this

  new life I had fallen into. “Thank you,” I whispered.

&nbs
p; The door flung open and Falcor walked through. Nick

  let go of my hand and sat back in his chair.

  “Oh, don't stop on my account. I’ll just be over here,

  waiting for the hero to heal up so we can get on the road.”

  Falcor leaned against the wall and sipped the cup of coffee

  in his hand.

  “What’s he talking about?” I asked.

  “There has been a string of suspicious murders in

  Texas. Someone is hanging men from trees. I would have

  waited till you had been conscious for more than five

  minutes before I told you.” Nick glared are Falcor who just

  shrugged.

  “Does he really have to come with us?” I said, staring

  right at Falcor.

  “He will be handy with travelling. Plus, he has other

  redeeming qualities… if you look hard enough.”

  I doubted that, but kept that thought to myself. If I had

  to work with the ass, I could make the best of it. I wouldn’t

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  forget what Colvin had said though. If Falcor showed any

  signs of being evil, I would deal with him.

  My magic stirred in agreement.

  “Where is Kai and Peran?” I asked Nick.

  “They went on to another city with a killer on the

  loose. A human one. Niri will divide up the cases based on

  whether or not they sound supernatural. There seems to be

  an influx of monsters possessing warlocks and that will be

  our job.”

  “Where is my book?” I asked. There was a tapping at

  the hospital window and I turned my head to look out but

  the curtains were shut. It didn't matter, I knew exactly who

  was there.

  “Just come in,” I yelled.

  A burst of feathers appeared beside me on the bed. I

  knew he didn't need to go through doors, but his sudden

  appearance was still a shock. Crow hopped up onto the

  pillow beside my head and nestled down, careful to avoid

  touching me.

  “Thanks,” I muttered to the bird. He might be

  annoying sometimes, but he still helped me defeat the

  jaguar, and he was an OK bird.

  He cawed once, then tucked his head under his wing

  and closed his little beady eyes.

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  “How long do I have to stay here?” I asked. I

  remembered the deep gashes on my face and ran my

  fingers over the now smooth, flawless skin.

  “Just till tomorrow. Niri had you flown here from the

  human hospital. He wanted to take you to The Sanctuary,

  but I didn't want you there when you were healing.” Nick

  watched Crow sleeping.

  “Where am I then?”

  “Canada. They have a facility for injured supernatural.

  It was the best place I could think of.”

  “This is great and all,” Falcor said. “But I’m going to

  go find something else to do until you are ready to go. Just

  text me.” He held up his cell and walked out of the room.

  I shook my head. He would take some getting used to.

  “Canada? How long was I unconscious?”

  “About a week,” Nick said.

  “Oh, shit. Did Someone call Dorothy?” I asked,

  scanning the side table for a telephone.

  “I called. It’s fine. I’m sure she would love to hear from

  you though, if you are up to calling her.”

  I remembered the last time I spoke to her was the night

  I found out Georgia was dead. That seemed like a lifetime

  ago.

  Nick handed me his cell, and I dialed the number. The

  phone rang several times, but she didn't pick up. “I’ll try

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  her again later,” I said. Then curled into a ball and closed

  my eyes. I was exhausted even though I had apparently

  been unconscious for a week.

  ✽ ✽ ✽

  The next time I opened my eyes, Niri was sitting where

  Nick had been. He was holding a book of word searches

  and his eyes scanned the page, blinking occasionally. He

  didn't look up at me, but after I studied his white beard for

  a while he said; “It always makes me happy when you

  compare

  me

  to

  Santa.”

  His twinkling eyes rose to meet mine. His mind reading

  ability never failed to catch me off guard.

  “I understand you have apologized to Anick. Ditching

  him in a bodega is new, I’d think. He probably hasn't

  experienced that before.”

  I grinned, but wasn't sure if Niri was angry or joking.

  “I’m not angry with you. You are the Black Crow. You

  will do as you see fit and no one will stop you. Just

  remember you have friends now. And family.”

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  The image of Colvin fluttered into my head. His

  smiling little face, looking up at me from beneath the mop

  of stark white hair.

  “That’s right,” Niri went on. “Colvin is counting on

  you coming home between missions.” Niri pulled a piece

  of paper out of his pocket and handed it to me.

  I fumbled it open and found inside a colouring of a

  little boy and a woman, both with white hair blowing in the

  wind. They were standing in a field of flowers, with the sun

  and the moon hanging over their heads. I knew better than

  to ignore that fact. Something deep inside me suggested

  that was more of a premonition than just a random child's

  drawing.

  “You would be correct in that thought. But I think that

  isn’t something worth worrying about yet,” Niri said. “You

  will be off to Texas tomorrow I hear. The doctors say you

  are fit as a fiddle. Good luck and safe travels.”

  Niri vanished before I could thank him and I re-folded

  Calvin's drawing, holding the paper in my hands and saying

  a prayer to whatever God that things didn't get too much

  weirder.

  The End.

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