by Jeff Hale
“Now, I’m gonna need a ride to work, otherwise it’s my life. The call I got was to report back or be executed.” I gave Nina a meaningful look.
“Okay, okay, I get the picture. I’m sorry, okay? And I’ll give you a ride.” Nina’s expression suggested that it pained her to actually apologize for anything.
We headed back downstairs. Nina apologized to those who were left, explaining that I really did have to get to work, and we went out to her car. Kelly’s car was gone and I figured the friendship was too. Oh well. The ride to MAGE HQ was uneventful and quiet, Nina and Dave both lost in their own thoughts, probably regarding what I’d told them, and they dropped me off with an admonition to call them later. I said I would, and once I got inside Bianca met me in the entrance lobby. She didn’t look happy. She just motioned for me to follow, which I did. We ended up in one of the larger training halls. There were a good fifty or so people in the hall, including minor staff and junior apprentices. Fifteen or so minutes later several more people trickled in. I figured the entirety of the Vegas branch was here. Day shift, night shift, minor functionaries, apprentices, and other agents.
Finally, three people came in and up onto the upraised stage used for demonstrations. The first of the three was a woman I didn’t recognize, almost my height from what I could tell, and seemed to have an other-worldly air about her that I pinned down to the fact that she had no color to her eyes; she looked blind. Her long wavy blonde hair had blue and aqua highlights in it, and her aqua colored robe was decorated with silver runes.
“That’s Nychelle, the Water Councilor,” Bianca whispered.
I didn’t know the second person either. She was around five foot nothing, at best, and her movements were almost serpentine. Her bone structure was tiny under silver hair and a loose baby blue blouse and black slacks, though she carried herself in such a way that she seemed larger.
“That’s Desirae, the Air Councilor.” Bianca was almost leaning into me now.
Next up was someone I did recognize: Chris Weaver. His black and blue hair was combed all to the left side, the right side shaved, and, along with sharing Nina’s brother’s name, he had piercings to rival Nina: three in the lower lip, two in the upper, six gauge holes in both ears and two barbells through his right eyebrow. A tattoo of a vicious looking dragon peeked out from his chest under a half unbuttoned black shirt and his loose black slacks did nothing to hide his physique. He could look me in the eye and was built slender, like a soccer player, with power in his frame that he could use to chase down running renegades or knock someone’s head through a wall. He had done both on many occasions.
“I’m assuming you know Chris Weaver,” Bianca commented softly.
I nodded, wondering why he was up there and not her. That was when Dan Ritter took the stage, clothed in flowing green and brown robes, the sleeves and hems covered in ornate runes and designs.
“Welcome, everyone. I have several announcements to make. The first of which is, with the Council’s approval and at their request, I am to take the office of Lord Councilor.” He smiled widely and raised his hands and everyone cheered and clapped.
Aw fuck.
FOURTEEN
“My next order of business is to welcome our newest Councilor of Fire, Chris Weaver,” Dan continued once the noise had subsided. “Bianca’s past misconducts are well known and documented. The Council could no longer abide her ruling over the fire element. Mr. Weaver’s record has been impeccable and therefore he was chosen to take over Ms. Haid’s position. Congratulations, Mr. Weaver.” Dan looked towards Chris and started clapping, inciting the whole room to follow suit, then he motioned for quiet again. “And lastly, I would like to call up Aerick Kerensky.”
I groaned inwardly, wondering what this was all about. I made my way to the stage and stood by Dan. Chris gave me a wary look as I passed him, almost as if asking me to be careful. Once I was standing next to Dan, he looked out over the crowd and continued talking.
“Mr. Kerensky, for valor, and conduct above and beyond your station, I hereby promote you to Detective-Agent, effective immediately. You handled the Amar case masterfully. Also, I would like to inform you that you are no longer on the roster of any single element, but that you will answer directly to me.” He held his hand out expectantly, and I reluctantly shook it, causing the room to applaud again, then he leaned in towards me. “Meet me in my office with your case proposal after this assembly,” he whispered. As a Detective-Agent I had the ability to choose my first case.
I escaped the stage and the rest of the assembly was pretty dull stuff. Things like new case file management systems, reorganizing our districts and other mundane tasks that had fallen behind of late were discussed. I could only assume the ‘mandatory’ part of the assembly had been to witness Dan’s and Chris’s promotions. After the assembly, I did as Dan had asked; I went to his office. I lifted my hand to knock, only to have the door open as I did so.
“Come in, Detective-Agent,” I heard Dan’s voice from within.
I walked into his office and the door shut behind me. Dan sat behind his desk, elbows resting on the desk itself, fingers steepled. For some reason I felt a sense of dread and foreboding come over me.
“Ah. Now I am assuming you already have a case in mind?” He tipped his head ever so slightly to the side, one brow lifting.
“Yes, sir. I’d like to investigate…” I started to say.
“The death of one Serena Jordon. Yes. I know. I’ll have the request formally brought up to the Council, and we’ll look into the possibility of it being an Aetheric, or mundane, death. I daresay that we will probably find it to be mundane, so you may want to look at other options. Come see me again when you have something else in mind. Dismissed,” Dan said, waving me off.
I left his office in a foul mood. Why had he even asked me to tell him what case I wanted if he was only going to shut me down on it? I just knew he would fuck me in the end and find a way to keep Serena’s case from me.
Fucking bastard.
I went home and spent the weekend stewing, refusing to answer the phone and the door alike. I didn’t like the idea of Dan taking away the one case I desperately wanted to work. Fuck it. If he did, I’d resign and do it on my own. I didn’t care if it did get me hunted.
Surprisingly, and maybe a little bit worrisomely, MAGE didn’t have any new assignments for me, leaving me with little to do other than their never ending paperwork. Christmas and New Year’s came and went, and I spent New Year’s alone, much to Nina’s consternation. I didn’t bother Dan with a second choice and I heard nothing about my pending case possibility. The longer I went without news, the more likely it was that it would be rejected.
Nina and Dave were always asking questions about Aetheric stuff, like what existed, what didn’t, and how things worked. I had spent a laid back and uneventful Christmas with them and Nina’s family, and explained as much as I could to them, as well as mentioning my promotion and my petition to investigate Serena’s murder. I shared my suspicions and they shared my confusion as to why some sorcerer would want to kill her.
Another week passed and still no word from MAGE. Until that Thursday. It was late January and I was at the Wall after school talking with my friends, not quite ready to head home, when Kat pointed down the road that ran between the Wall and the school parking lot.
“Hey, so who’s that?” Kat asked, curious.
I saw a woman striding in my direction with a definitive purpose. She stopped and looked directly at me. Fucking wonderful. “What the hell is Raven doing here?” I muttered as I stood up.
I motioned for Kat to stay put, then walked over to Raven. I couldn’t help it when my heart jumped a beat when I got close to Raven; a vinyl bikini top, leather pants, and combat boots could do that to a guy. Her sunglasses were in place, so it was hard to read her expression.
“I waited at your apartment, but I got bored,” she said when I stopped in front of her.
“What the fuck is going o
n? Why are you here?” I asked through clenched teeth, glancing over my shoulder at Kat. She was watching me with avid interest. Dave and Nina were ignoring us and Malcolm and Jessie were whispering at each other.
“Oh! I see. Is she why you haven’t called for that date? Trying to hide her from me? Is that why you don’t want me here?” Raven smiled through the whole mini tirade. I didn’t know whether that should have scared me, or made me feel relieved that she was trying to joke with me.
“No, she’s just a friend. New girl in school and all that.”
“Ah, okay. So listen up. Bianca is fighting recent events from behind the scenes with Chris’s help. She wants to meet up with you at the Velvet Flame. Oh and—” She stopped mid-sentence, grimacing a little, as though she was unsure whether to continue.
“And?” I twitched a brow impatiently.
“Dan fought to get your case proposal turned down in favor of a follow up on the Ur-Nanshe family and their recent activities here.” Her expression told me she didn’t think any more highly of that than I did. “The Council overrode his decision and you’ll have the case you wanted. I’m to stick by you at all times now, though. This is getting serious, Aerick.”
“Great. Okay, look. Just follow my lead and we’ll be fine. After we get through this, we need to go to Bianca,” I told her. I was just a little bit pissed now. I’d figured Dan would try to keep me from investigating Serena’s death, I was just glad the Council had decided otherwise.
Raven nodded as though she had just remembered something important. “Oh, yeah, by decree of the Lord Councilor, you are not to speak with Bianca unless it’s ordered by the Council. He did catch wind of some of this apparently.”
“What?! Has he lost his fucking mind?!” Now I was more than a little pissed. “I don’t give a damn if they try to execute me, I’m going to—” I stopped as Raven motioned discreetly behind me, clearing her throat loudly.
I glanced over my shoulder. Kat, Jessie, Malcolm, Dave and Nina were all staring in our direction. Fuck. I lowered my voice. “Okay, look, like I said, just follow my lead when it comes to this. After this, I’m going to have a ‘talk’ with my new supervisor. With you in tow.”
“I can’t attack him, you know that.” She shook a finger at me.
“You can if he attacks me,” I said, then headed back towards my spot, Raven following me. As I walked back towards the group, I noticed that all eyes were still on me.
“What? I miss something here? Who are you?” Nina asked as she turned her full attention on Raven.
“I’m a friend of Aerick’s from work. We both got called in, which fucking sucks.” Raven looked at Kat and smiled for a split second “Oh! Excuse my language.”
“Don’t. Why does everyone apologize for their language around me? I would imagine it does fucking suck.” Kat stood and moved closer to me, almost protectively.
“Sorry, guys, guess I gotta go,” I said to everyone else. To Raven I asked, “So, what? You giving me a ride or something?”
“Yeah, or something,” Raven said, turning and heading towards her car, gesturing for me to follow her.
“Don’t have too much fun, guys!” Nina called out, her words implying more than I wanted them to.
Great. Now Kat was going to think there was something going on between me and Raven. I might not be seeing Kat, but her opinion of me still mattered to me. “We’re not doing… look I… ah, hell with it.” I stalked off towards Raven’s car and waited for her to unlock it so I could get in it and hide.
Once inside I heaved a huge sigh of relief, then frowned when I noticed my laptop on the backseat. “How did my laptop get in here?”
Raven just shrugged as she got into the car. “Thought you might need it so I snagged it while I was waiting at your apartment. Figured it would save a trip. Hope you don’t mind.” She didn’t sound very apologetic but I let it slide because she was right. At least Raven came prepared, I’d give her that. As she started the car I looked at her with a newfound sense of admiration. Maybe working with her wouldn’t be so bad. She worked well on her toes and under pressure, and she could disintegrate people at will, which was always a plus.
“Thanks, guess you already had a plan,” I said as we pulled out onto Tenaya.
“Sort of, some of it was Bianca’s suggestions. I know that Dave and Nina know who and what you are, so as long as I mentioned work, I knew they’d understand. Hopefully the rest of your friends will just draw their own conclusions. So, gonna go on a date with that red-haired one at some point? I saw how you were looking at her. She’s dangerous you know.” Raven’s fingers tapped along the steering wheel.
“Geez, come off it! I’ll date whoever I want, and unless that’s you, it’s none of your business. And how is she dangerous?” I asked, curiosity getting the better of me.
“She’s of Irish descent,” Raven said as though that should explain everything.
“So?”
“The Irish are notoriously attuned to the Aether and, by proxy, to us fae. It’s no accident that so many stories of fae come out of Ireland.” Her fingers tapped again.
“I hadn’t thought of it that way, come to think of it. But there are plenty of those stories coming from many other countries. Germany, England, you name it, they have cautionary tales of the fae and their capriciousness,” I pointed out reasonably.
“True. But nowhere the number that come out of Ireland. Trust me when I say they are more attuned to the Aether than any mortal has a right to be. Could be because there is a huge set of Dragon Tracks in that part of the world. Humans don’t realize it, but that’s why everyone bases their time off Greenwich Mean Time, why that area was at one time considered the ‘center’ of the world. That set of Dragon Tracks also crosses into Egypt, mainly near the Pyramids of Giza, and then south into the darkest parts of Africa, where scientists believe human life first started. There is no coincidence that a good majority of the stories of supernatural creatures comes from those parts of the world.”
“Whoa, wait a minute. Dragon tracks? You mean ley lines?” I was staring at her now.
“Yeah. That’s what you sorcerers call them anyway. The proper term, the one used the longest, is Dragon Tracks. Because that’s what they are. It refers to old dragon migration patterns back when dragons still roamed this world.” Her eyes skipped from the road to me, as though she were sure I should know these things.
“Are you suggesting that because dragons used these migration patterns so much they left behind residual Aetheric energies? And are you further suggesting that even normal mortals born into those areas are more sensitive to the Aether as a result?” Could she be right? After all, all I knew of magic and the history behind it was what I had learned from MAGE.
“I’m not suggesting it, Aerick. I’m outright telling you. Be careful around that girl, for your own good. She is probably already drawn to you because she senses the Aetheric on you.” She nodded tightly.
“And here I thought she liked me for my personality.” I sighed inwardly. Raven might very well be right. I had felt… something that first time Kat’s hand had touched mine. Maybe this was what it had been.
“Well, there is no doubt she’s physically attracted to you. Well, she would be if she had any decent taste at all anyway.” Raven glanced sideways at me as she said that, and a slight smile played across her lips. “Oh, she probably does like your personality, despite your thorns and rough edges. If it weren’t for the Aetheric abilities you have, she probably would have chalked you up as just another ass. But because she senses that otherness about you, she’s intrigued instead and wants to find out more about you despite how you may act.”
“Wait, how do you know how I act around her?”
“I’ve been around you more than you think I have been, Aerick. Remember I am fae.”
Great. She’d been stalking me. I decided to let the subject drop. “Right. So why the Velvet Flame?”
“It’s private and they owe me some favors. They agree
d to let you and Bianca meet there. No one will know except us, and the Council will be none the wiser. It’s shielded by similar powers that let me hide your Aetheric aura.”
“Whoa. This is sounding an awful lot like a favor, which means both Bianca and I would be in your debt. No deal.” I was not about to owe anyone anything, let alone a fae.
“That’s because this is a favor. Bianca already agreed to the terms, regardless of your feelings on the subject. I am getting what I want, namely because what I want is from her and not you.”
“What’s that?” I asked, suspicious of this whole set up now.
“I want that contract destroyed, and a normal business contract written up.”
“That would mean that when we talk to Dan you would be free to do whatever you wanted. So why did you make me believe that the contract would be in place when I said we were going to go talk to him?” Wonderful. How was she supposed to protect me now?
“Because I figured you would push the issue of your visit to him first, rather than your meeting with Bianca. I’m glad you didn’t. Anyway we’re here.”
As we walked in I was greeted by one of the Cyclopes bouncers, who gave me a quick pat down and motioned that I was okay to move on. When I entered, I saw that the club hadn’t changed any from the last time.
“Lucien hasn’t changed the place in a while. That’s unusual,” Raven commented as we walked further in. She gestured towards a booth with the curtains drawn. “She’s in there. I’ll wait out here. And by the way, the curtains are magicked. Whatever happens in that booth, anything that is said, will go no further than the booth itself. No one will know of what transpires in there unless you want them to know.” Raven took up a position next to the booth.
I pulled the curtain aside and slid inside, letting it drop back into place as I gaped at Bianca in surprise, totally taken aback. I’d only ever seen her dressed for business, even if her suits did look sexy on her, but now she was downright hot and it had nothing to do with her element. She’d exchanged the blouse for a piece of silvery gossamer material that tied behind her neck and hung from her breasts, leaving a tantalizing gap as the neckline plunged to her navel. If she moved the right way, I would get to see a lot more of her chest than I ever thought I would see.