by Amie Gibbons
Cold. She was completely cold.
“I would’ve taken that chance.”
“I know. I wouldn’t.” She shook her head, pity showing around her like a white halo, then shrugged. “And after he kidnapped Millie and threatened her, he was asking for it. You don’t get to threaten my friends and live. It’s a rule. He’s lucky I made it quick.”
“This wasn’t your decision,” Zeus finally jumped in. “What makes you think we won’t punish you for this? It was murder by your own laws, was it not?”
“Human law? Sure My people’s law? I was completely within my rights.”
“But not within ours.”
“Yeah, well.” Tyler winked at him. “Good thing I’m not hanging around long enough for you to charge me.”
She disappeared.
# # #
The gods looked everywhere in their dimension for Tyler. They could tell she got out through the door in the Parthenon, but after that, her magical trail vanished.
Millie swore she had nothing to do with it, but the disappearing act sounded like one of her potions, and not being able to track Tyler after was too much like the trick we pulled after fleeing Olympus for me to quite believe her.
Tyler had cleared out her apartment and left her job before the gods got it together enough to track her down a few hours later. None of the psychics the Greeks hired could find her. Even Apollo couldn’t.
Couldn’t find her people either. Their best guess was whatever she was couldn’t be picked up by psychic powers because the magic from the other reality was a different type of magic.
Same reason I almost never saw power coming from her.
Apollo told me the deal Zeus struck with her included taking her as his minkati, as well as a few other things you couldn’t legally contract for in the U.S.
Apparently Tyler valued her freedom just as much as she’d said. And she’d had no intention of keeping that deal or of leading the gods to her people.
Apollo tried to explain them pushing magic into the other reality. I got why they did it. I really did. Just didn’t ever want to have to make that call myself. I told him I needed time. He gave me two weeks’ vacation, told me to spend it with my mom.
That wasn’t the kind of time I meant, but I took it.
# # #
I went into my old office Monday to clear out the rest of my stuff.
“Knock knock,” a male voice I knew all too well by this point said.
I looked up and Apollo stood in my doorway, well, what had been my doorway. He could’ve passed for any young lawyer in his grey pinstriped suit, blue button up and lavender tie, probably used magic to get in past the card reader and after that anyone would just assume he was supposed to be in here.
I stared at him. He popped in on me, he could damn well talk first.
“Ah, um, you said in your message you’ll be starting mid-January?” he finally said.
“Yeah, I have to get my mom settled and started at the rehab facility, look for a new place, um…”
“Recover?”
I looked away, resting my head on my hand. “I can’t do this. Not now. I need some time.”
“I hate it when women say that.”
I jerked up, flinging out my hand and glaring. “Tough. You… you took my idea and it was already bad… I mean, doing bad, and you made it worse. You killed that reality and your own people.”
“How many people did we save?”
“Millie said that magic could leak back into this world. There’s no reason to believe those wormholes are going to stop now that the alignment is past.”
“Actually there is. And we’re keeping an eye out for them now that we know what to look for.”
“God!” I slammed my hand on the desk, flinching when I remembered where we were. “How can this be so easy for you? I couldn’t have done what-”
“Easy?” he said. “Knowing we were throwing our own people away? Even though they were dead, we lost their energy. They will never be reborn. Knowing we risked killing innocent people in that reality if we couldn’t get them out in time? It was the hardest decision I have ever had to make, you little, judgmental…” He took a deep breath.
“Harder than taking power out of your girlfriend? You never did tell me what you remembered about her.”
He glared at me. “No, I didn’t. And I’m not going to. As for the alignment, we were out of options, due in part to that world, if you may recall. We stopped the defectors cold once we didn’t have to worry about channeling that magic and draining ourselves. We are at nearly full power, the only thing that happened here was one earthquake with a fire. We won!”
“At what cost?”
“One that was damn necessary! I…” He threw his hands up. “Can we talk? Go somewhere where we can talk about this?”
“Apollo, I need time. Okay? I can’t do this right now. It’s too raw. The world is fine, I’m working for you, you don’t even need my powers a little bit. You’re right, you won.”
“We did.”
“We’re not a we.”
“We could be.”
I looked down. “Not now,” I said out loud. “I told you, I need time. I can’t…” I bit my lip. “Can’t figure out what I feel for you, can’t even to begin to process how I feel about one of my best friends. I just can’t deal with anything else. Okay? Can you respect that?”
“Okay,” he said softly.
“Thank you.” I took a deep breath. “There’s one thing I still don’t get.”
“And what’s that?”
“When we, Ravena and I, were fighting, I saw you guys beating the other defectors. Why did he keep focusing on me, instead of helping them? Or, why didn’t he run when he had the chance? He had to know his side was losing.”
“He didn’t care if any of the others survived, just himself. He probably focused on you because your power was his last hope of survival.”
“But I’m just a bit player. My power wouldn’t have helped his plan, or saved him.”
“Yes, it would have.” Apollo squinted at me. “You still don’t get it, do you?”
“Get what?”
“You’ve accepted your powers, that you’re a god. Did it never occur to you to ask what you’re the god of?”
My jaw dropped. “Psychics?”
He smirked. “No, that’s me.”
“So what am I?”
“Oh, now you don’t need that time you were dying for a moment ago? You know what, you’re a smart girl. Why don’t you think about it on your vacation?”
Apollo smirked again and disappeared.
“Snarky, pain in the ass, overgrown child. I can’t deal with this,” I whispered, going back to shuffling through my drawers, making sure nothing was left behind.
“So.”
“Ah!” I jumped, looking up.
Filaduchi stood almost exactly where Apollo had been. Filaduchi crossed his arms and leaned against my office’s doorway. I’d been avoiding him since I gave notice and he’d had two murder cases that kept him busy. Should’ve known he’d corner me before I could slip out today.
“When you said Apollo was sure he’d get you if you were in a room with him, he was right?”
“Yes.” I nodded, putting the bamboo tree he gave me as an office warming gift into the box already holding my photos and diploma.
“Um... I don’t know if you took a look at the file yet, but the Zelinski case, it’s dismissed.” I cleared my throat. “My files are all alphabetized by the defendants’ names.”
My eyes glued to my desk as I opened the top drawer and started pulling out my office supplies.
“Cassandra, you-”
“I’m sorry.”
I couldn’t take that gentle tone. I wanted him to yell at me or get mad or... something.
“For what?”
“Leaving like this. Not...”
“Not being able to turn Apollo down?”
“Yes. I swear it wasn’t the money. It was going to
take me a lifetime to pay off my student loans, sure, but...”
My throat clogged. I wanted to cry, to tell him everything about the past two weeks. To tell him what I’d done, the deaths I was… if not directly responsible for then at least involved in. I couldn’t, obviously. I could tell him about my mom, though.
I blinked back tears.
I had my mom back, I had a great new job… despite the boss who still spoke in riddles. I was going to learn a new set of laws and help bring the gods into this millennium, developing a whole new system of justice. Ravena’s death and the push of magic into the alternate reality didn’t change any of that.
With the position I had, with the power, I could make sure all the gods and their people had a fair shake in the legal system from here on out.
This was a good thing overall. And Apollo was right, we did win.
“Everyone,” I said, finally looking my old boss in the eye, “has a price, sir.”
“I knew that.” He raised his eyebrows, giving me a pointed look. “Also knew that’s not always a bad thing.”
“I didn’t.”
Thanks for reading!
If you would like to know when my next story is out, you can sign up for my mailing list at http://eepurl.com/bzelVv, follow me on Twitter @AmiecusCuriae, check out my blog https://amiecuscuriae.wordpress.com/blog, or like my Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/AuthorAmieGibbons/.
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This story is the first in the Laws of Magic series. Look for the next adventure starring Cassandra, The Gods Appeal, in Fall of 2016. My other books are available on Amazon from my page at http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B01651YIZU.
Acknowledgements
It’s never easy to thank everyone who helped with a book, and I’m sure I’ll inevitably leave people out; it’s not on purpose, I swear. Here goes.
First up, of course, thank you to my family, but my parents and siblings in particular. Mom, you taught me to love reading. Dad, you were right, never should’ve taught me how to read, look what happens.
To my first reader, probably shouldn’t have subjected you to some of those terrible first tries, huh baby brother?
And then to all the people who cheered me on during writing, then beta read and edited this book: The Gremus, twirl those mustaches! Especially Sam, my best beta reader to date. My other Wrimos, you know who you are. Tiffany, one fantastic editor. Tom F, who polished the last draft. And Tom L, Mark, DDB, and Rob, whose catches helped smooth out the rough spots.
And, as always, thank you to my kitteh. You never think I’m weird or rude, you bring me chocolate and you calm me down, but know when to let me just spaz out.
About the Author
Amie Gibbons was born and raised in the Salt Lake Valley. She started making up stories before she could read and would act them out with her dolls and stuffed animals. She started actually writing them down in college, just decided to do it one day and couldn't stop.
She took an unplanned hiatus from writing when she went to Vanderbilt Law School and all of her brain power got consumed by cases, statutes, exams, and partying like only grad students in Nashville can. She graduated and picked her writing back up as soon as her brain limped back in after the bar exam.
She loves urban fantasy and is obsessed with the theory of alternate realities. Whether or not she travels to them in the flesh or just in her mind is up for debate.
She spends her days living the law life and her nights writing when she's not hitting downtown Nashville to check out live music or inflict her singing on the crowds at karaoke bars. She lives with a cat trapped in a man's body, who doesn't complain about being trapped since it allows him the use of opposable thumbs to work his camera, and his best friend, a man trapped in a cat's body, who complains about his lack of opposable thumbs daily.
To hear about new releases, sign up for her mailing list: http://eepurl.com/bzelVv.
The Evie Jones Shorts Series
EVIE JONES AND THE CRAZY EXES
EVIE JONES AND THE GOOD LUCK FUNDRAISER
EVIE JONES AND THE MAGIC MELTDOWN
EVIE JONES AND THE SPIRIT STALKER
EVIE JONES AND THE SHADOW OF CHAOS
EVIE JONES AND THE ROCKY ROULETTE
The Laws of Magic Series
PATENTABILITY PENDING (A MILLIE LEHMAN SHORT STORY)
THE TREETOPS EXPERIMENTATION (A MILLIE LEHMAN SHORT STORY)
MELTING ICE (A TYLER CARMICHAEL NOVELLA)
THE GODS DEFENSE
THE GODS APPEAL
THE GODS COURT
PATENTING MAGIC
The Order of the Sphinx Series
SPHINX ORIGINS (A SPHINX SHORT)
PARATA’S SHADOWS (BOOK 1 COMING 2017)
ONE IN INFINITY (A REALITY CROSSING NOVELETTE)
The SDF Series
WE INVESTIGATE ZEBRAS (AN ARIANA RYDER SHORT)
PSYCHIC SEEKS (AN ARIANA RYDER SHORT)
ARIANA UNDERCOVER - WITH THE UNDEAD (BOOK 1 COMING FALL 2016)
VIRGIN VOYAGE (A SPACE ROMANCE NOVELLA)