Magic After Dark: A Collection of Urban Fantasy and Paranormal Romance Novels

by Margo Bond Collins

  Jaelle blessed the cards, then solidified in front of them. She had a soft glow of energy about her—calm, earthly, motherlike. She shuffled seven times before spreading the deck across her table. “What questions do you have?”

  Sirena met her eyes. “Can I trust your family to help me find my sister’s murderer?” She tapped a card.

  Jaelle flipped it over, revealing it. “The Card of Transformation—a major arc card. In response to your query, this card is telling you that friends become enemies and enemies become friends.”

  “That doesn’t tell me if you’re enemies or friends,” Sirena pointed out.

  “We are all villains in another’s story,” Jaelle countered. “This card questions the premise of your query. Two foes can align on a single cause; two friends can betray years of trust in an instant.”

  “I can’t trust blindly,” Sirena said.

  “You don’t need to,” Jaelle replied. “A reluctant ally will do what’s needed to survive.” She looked down at the cards. “A second question?”

  Sirena frowned. “I need information about how my sister died. What should I be looking for?” She tapped a card at the end of the spread.

  Jaelle flipped it over. “The Quingent of Raguel. The Quingent is a Hallow or Nephilim of 500 years or more, though you know that may not be the specific person, but rather a representation of someone who has been around for awhile. Quingents are among the wisest and most revered in the Archworld.”

  “And Raguel is the archangel of Temperance.”

  “Yes, but this card signifies strange happenings or strangers. Your player is an unknown quantity. You must be extraordinarily careful. Whomever or whatever killed your sister may easily take you by surprise, too.”

  Sirena shook involuntarily, a brush of cold suddenly hitting her. Do not fall apart, not here, not now.

  She moved her hand to tap another card, but Jaelle blocked her.

  “The last card is the outcome.” Jaelle chose a card near the center and flipped it over. “A Seven of Michael.”

  Sirena watched Jaelle’s eyebrows furl as she examined the card in her hand. She seemed surprised or perhaps even mystified as to its meaning.

  “A tentative and fragile relationship,” Jaelle said. “Things will not move forward as you expect them to. You’ll have to go in before you can come out.”

  “Or, couldn’t the meaning be simpler than that?” Sirena asked. “Like the Seven Brothers aligning with the daughters of Michael once again?”

  Jaelle pursed her lips. “You know that’s not how these cards work. The seven has its own meaning, as do all the numerical and face cards. And Michael is a suit of justice, protection, vengeance. The cards would not reveal such a simple meaning.”

  Sirena didn’t care; she knew what she believed. It was enough to know what she needed to do next.

  She turned behind and looked up. “Harmon,” she said quietly.

  “I know what you want,” he said curtly. “The Seven Brothers has been dormant for eighteen years. Even Milena knew not to cross that line.”

  “And now she’s dead,” Sirena argued. “This is not about my own personal desires to live instead of die. It’s my duty to survive against whoever killed my sister. I’ll do whatever it takes ”

  “Even if it means putting my family at risk?”

  She stood up, her nose just inches away from his. “You’re putting my family at risk by refusing me. Who do you think I should choose—an entire civilization or an insignificant earthlie family?”

  Harmon shook his head. “A ruler by force, then? And you’re surprised that your family was murdered?”

  His words cut through her, straight to her heart. “First, I have to live. Then, I get to rule.”

  “Through forcing your own will and control over others?”

  “Soft women become dead women.” It was a phrase she had heard many, many years ago, though she couldn’t remember from where. In many ways, it had become her mantra, the one thing that pushed her forward in a world that kept saying no to her.

  She thought of a large sum of money and it easily appeared on the table on top of the cards. Luca and Jaelle looked surprised at the wads of bills that had appeared seemingly out of nowhere, while Jos frowned, a deep fear in her eyes.

  “I’m sorry for your concerns about your family’s welfare, Harmon,” Sirena said, choking down her emotions. “But I’m fair. You’ll be well-compensated for your trouble. And I will do my best to keep your family safe until I have what I need.”

  She turned her back on all five of them, not waiting for an answer. She took one step, then two, trying to walk normally through the door to their home before they could see her face. She gave the door a strong shove and it slammed behind her.

  And then, she let her emotions reverberate across her skin and through her blood. A solitary tear fell from her eyes.

  Was she doing the right thing?

  She didn’t always like who she was or who she had to be in this life. She didn’t always know that she made the right choices. The only thing she knew at that moment was that her sister was dead, and whoever killed her would be after her too. She was the end of a bloodline, and if she died, there would be no more daughters of Michael left in the world to take back the Hallows from the New Order.

  And if that happened, the Hallows could see devastating losses in the wars to come against the Nephilim.

  Anyone who threatened Milena threatened her. She was going to draw out the people who killed her sister and destroy them.

  Sirena

  A day later, Sirena leaned against the back of a church wall as discreetly as she could. She wore a three-quarter sleeved black jacket over a black top, with black capri trousers and heels. She had bunned her dirty blonde hair and wore a black hijab to cover her face and hair. She couldn’t afford to be recognized.

  Her eyes scanned the crowd from the back. She saw her niece and nephew toward the front with a few of their friends. She saw hundreds of earthlies that she didn’t know. It was hard to believe that Milena even knew this many people, much less than they showed up to her funeral. How had she hidden so easily in plain sight?

  Guilt washed over Sirena. She felt a mixture of jealousy, anger, pain, devastation, and fear as she watched the earthlies assemble to celebrate Milena’s life. These people had all been a part of something that Sirena never gave a chance. They had all experienced Milena in a way that she hadn’t.

  Her eyes fell on the back of a head that looked too familiar to her—an ex-boyfriend she hadn’t seen in a long while. The man was standing next to a red-haired man, but they had several feet between them, even though it was clear that they were having a conversation between them. She couldn’t tell if it was him, though, without getting closer. And she couldn’t get closer without taking an even greater risk that someone might recognize her.

  She spotted someone else she definitely knew among the crowd—someone who filled her with rage at just the sight. Thessa Torres had once been like a mother to her, until she learned that she had kept her sister a secret from her for over seventy-five years. Supposedly it was for their protection, and supposedly it had to do with giving Michael’s bloodline the best chance to continue.

  But Sirena had a different view. Thessa had kept her from her sister for seventy-five years, which had hardened both of them. She knew in her heart that Milena shared the deep loneliness she’d felt her entire life. That had driven her sister to seek out a family, which had driven her to abandon her Hallow roots and fall in love with an earthlie.

  Sirena had felt betrayal all over again when the sister she had just met, the sister she had longed for and craved her entire life, decided to abandon their mission to restore the daughters of Michael to power. If she had only been there earlier or known Milena longer, she could have probably convinced her otherwise. They could have worked together on their mission and made progress. They could have built a circle of trustworthy followers all over the globe, to help them in thei
r mission.

  Thessa had kept them apart too long, and Sirena blamed her for it all. She blamed her for Milena becoming an earthlie… and now, for Milena’s death.

  How dare Thessa Torres show her face at Milena’s funeral. How dare she come back when she had caused Milena’s death through her poor decisions over the years. How dare she come out of her eighteen-year hiding now, when Milena clearly needed her help so much earlier.

  Milena might be alive today if Thessa had only cared a little more. But Thessa Torres always did what was best for herself and her hidden agenda. Thessa did not care about Milena, or Sirena. Sirena had learned that the hard way.

  The service started, but Sirena had barely been standing there two minutes when another figure approached her.

  Wearing a classy black gown that looked gorgeous against her velvety ebony skin, Cora Adebowale, one of Thessa’s cronies, stepped toward her. She had always felt jealous of Cora’s natural, sensual femininity in everything she did—her clothing, her movements, even her powers. Now was no exception.

  Cora grabbed her arm and dragged her outside of the main worship room. “Are you nuts?” she whispered once they were in the hallway. “There are paparazzi everywhere. Your sister’s children are right inside those doors, and if either of them saw you—”

  “I know,” Sirena said. She frowned at the twinge in her stomach at the mention of Milena’s children. Her nephew and niece had already lost their mother. Seeing a younger replica of her, a long lost twin sister who hadn’t aged, would mess with their minds in ways she didn’t want to be responsible.

  “I don’t intend to get caught,” she said, though a part of her knew that Cora was right.

  “What are you doing here then?” Cora asked through gritted teeth.

  Sirena glared at her. Then, sighing, she shrugged her shoulders. “I came to say goodbye to my sister,” she muttered quietly, surprising even herself with the reason. Funerals were very much an earthlie ritual. She felt ashamed to find them useful or comforting in her mourning.

  Cora’s expression softened, which only made Sirena feel worse. “It isn’t safe for you to be here,” she chastised her. You know that.”

  A man with a camera walked near them, but stopped midway, then turned around—no doubt thanks to Cora’s work. Sirena didn’t know her exact mix of bloodlines, only that she could manipulate and control emotions. That was probably why Sirena liked her more than her twin sister Clara, the harder, more logical twin.

  “Why are you here?” Sirena asked. “It’s not exactly safe for the three of you to be here either. I thought you were in hiding?” Thessa, Clara, and Cora lived together, the two twins both working for Thessa and also treating her like their mother. They had a weird dynamic that Sirena could understand to some extent. She used to have a similar relationship with Thessa. She had often been so grateful to her for saving her life, that she acquiesced with no questions asked when Thessa asked her for a favor here or there.

  Cora pressed her lips together, like she couldn’t decide whether to divulge or not.

  “You might as well tell me,” Sirena pointed out. “Especially if it involves the kids.” Her entire body tensed, because who else would it involve? She knew Thessa and Milena still kept in touch, but would the old hag come out of hiding for the death of a friend?

  Thessa had been alive for centuries; it’s not like she didn’t have friends dying right and left.

  Cora sighed. “We’re relocating the kids at Milena’s request.”

  Sirena’s ears perked up, though it took her a moment to speak. “Request?” Why would Milena request her children be moved, unless she knew she would die?

  Her fists formed at her thighs. If the three of them had anything to do with Milena’s death—

  “Relax,” Cora said, eying her left hand. “It’s been in the works for awhile. Thessa and Milena had an understanding, and Milena wanted the kids out of the spotlight for obvious reasons. She gave Thessa instructions for what to do in case she—” Cora stopped, dropping her head sheepishly.

  “—in case she died,” Sirena finished for her, rolling her eyes. “What was she doing that made her think she might die?”

  “I honestly have no idea,” Cora said. She sighed again. “I know it must come as a shock to you that your sister would go to Thessa instead of you. But what did you expect? You’ve been missing for so long, Ri.”

  “Hiding,” Sirena corrected. “Like Milena and the rest of you, so don’t start giving me shit for it.”

  “Still,” Cora said. “You didn’t even contact any of us. We searched for you. Milena searched for you half a dozen times. I think she might have even kept in closer touch with Thessa all these years, just in case you popped up—”

  “Stop,” Sirena said as the guilt took over her. Her sister wanted her back… this was the first she’d heard of it. She didn’t know whether to find that comforting or depressing. She only knew how much she regretted how things ended between them, and how she’d taken for granted that she’d have more time with her sister.

  “Just tell me what the plan is,” she said. “What’s happened in my absence?”

  “Everything’s changed. Mateo Vega is pursuing us—all of us—more aggressively. These earthlie paparazzi are obsessed with your sister’s family.” Cora looked away, then back at Sirena. “Your sister had secrets, you know. The last ten to fifteen years or so…”

  Sirena nodded. “Whatever she knew, it had to be pretty important for someone to murder her.”

  “Murder?” Shock crossed Cora’s face. “No. We don’t suspect that.”

  “She was what—forty-something in earthlie years?” Sirena scoffed. “Not old enough to die otherwise.”

  “You don’t know that,” Cora said. “She could have been sick. It could have been an accident.”

  “Milena had innate powers,” Sirena argued. “She wouldn’t have died in an accident.”

  “But her children are still alive,” Cora pointed out. “Which means that neither President Vega nor anyone else knows that she was a daughter of Michael. No one feels threatened by the children.”

  “Or no one has gotten to them yet,” Sirena pointed out. “It may be challenging with all these earthlies taking photographs of them. Plus they apparently have Thessa, the oldest known Hallow on the planet and someone people like Mateo Vega have always feared, watching over them.”

  Her bitterness over this must have come through in her tone, because Cora winced and pursed her lips. “We’ll take care of them, Ri,” she assured her. “We’ll help them disappear again, so they can live normal lives. We’ll keep the daughters of Michael secret, just as we always have.”

  “And what?” Sirena asked. “Just forget about Milena? Who killed her?” She scoffed. “I don’t believe for a second that she died of any sort of earthlie or natural causes, and I can’t believe Thessa does either.”

  Cora shrugged. “She does. And I trust Thessa’s judgment. If she thought anything was afoul, she’d be the first person trying to get to the bottom of it. But she’s not looking into it any deeper—neither should you.”

  Sirena folded her arms across her chest. “You know I can’t do that.”

  Cora nodded. “Okay, then. Let us know what you find. If it’s something we can help with, we’ll step in. And most importantly, take care of yourself. And don’t worry about the kids. We’ll take care of them.”

  Sirena huffed. She felt judgment in Cora’s words, though she knew it was all her own judgment of herself.

  She should be the one taking care of Milena’s kids. She was their only surviving family member, aside from their estranged father. And she knew how to hide better than almost anyone, or at least as well as Thessa knew.

  And she could protect them, and love them the way she knew their father couldn’t.

  But she couldn’t exactly blame her sister for not entrusting her with their safety. They had no idea who she was, by her own doing. When Milena had decided to marry an earthlie a
nd give up on being a daughter of Michael, when she had decided to give up on reclaiming the Hallow leadership which was theirs by birthright, Sirena had become the last daughter of Michael’s bloodline.

  At the time, she had felt a deep obligation to protect that, and had cut off all ties to Milena and the rest of her network. She had disappeared into the fabric of the shadows, waiting for the right time to emerge. She had looked for signs that Mateo Vega had died, or that the Hallows were demanding the daughters of Michael to rise up again.

  None of that had happened.

  And now her only sister, the only other daughter of Michael, was gone. She hadn’t even known her that well, not really.

  But she also hadn’t accomplished anything by denying her earthlie family for so many years. She wasn’t any closer to reclaiming her Hallow throne than before. She was only more alone in her quest for it.

  “And you’re all sure that my niece and nephew exhibit no signs of being Hallows?” Sirena asked. She knew it was a long shot, when they had an earthlie father. Milena wanted to have kids with an earthlie so she could become one, so she could protect her family.

  Cora shook her head. “It’s a good thing. You don’t have to worry about them. They don’t threaten Mateo Vega or the New Order.”

  Sirena nodded. Without saying goodbye, she stepped away, back to the service. She looked for the two men from earlier, the one who had red hair and the one who looked like her ex-boyfriend. She couldn’t find either of them.

  She glanced at her niece and nephew in the front row again. Strangers. They didn’t know her, and now they never would.

  Brie

  She told her brother she was going to the restroom, but before he could figure it out, she snuck out of the stifling, hot church and into the city, where she could finally breathe again.