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

by Margo Bond Collins

  Jackie greeted her and squeezed her. “Sorry I couldn’t make it to the funeral,” she said. Jackie was on the Harvard track at Braxton and she’d had a bunch of student council planning for next year that she couldn’t miss.

  “It’s okay,” Brie said. “I understand. Thanks for the flower arrangement.”

  “Of course.” Jackie turned to Adele. “Okay, this one is about to burst if she doesn’t tell us about this secret activity that she’s planned.”

  “Alright,” Adele said. “Sit down, sit down everyone.” She pulled an orange envelope from one of the drawers in her connecting kitchen and opened it.

  “So, it’s guys against girls.” She pulled a set of cards from the envelope and handed one to each of them. “Add this file share to your phones so you can upload your selfies and make sure they count.”

  “Wait,” Brie said, holding the card in her hand. “I thought you said we were hanging around here.”

  “I said we were having a selfie night, actually,” Adele corrected. She pulled out another set of cards. “The game is called Selfie Dare, and everyone gets to write down one impossibly difficult selfie opportunity, using anywhere in the city, any of the boroughs. But it has to be hard, get it? So not some touristy thing that anyone could do. Something that involves a bit of risk.” Adele’s eye twinkled.

  Andy nodded appreciatively. “Cool.” He looked at her. “So are we going to all these places together or…”

  “I think we have to to save time,” Jackie said. “Six Selfie Dares, at least 45 minutes between each location…” she looked at Adele. “How is this scored?”

  “These are the rules,” Adele said, pulling out yet another card. “If you lose or drop your phone, you lose all your points for the night, no exceptions. No selfie sticks, obviously. And no getting help from others to take the selfie! It has to be you.” She put the card back in the envelope. “And the most important rule of all—no posting a single picture on social media… ever. This is the circle of trust, guys. Don’t violate it.”

  “So we add our selfies to the share to get our points?” Ben asked.

  “Exactly,” Adele said. “The group as a whole writes down how many points each dare is worth. We take the average, and that’s what each person on a team gets if they manage to complete the dare.”

  “I don’t know about this,” Brie piped up. “I mean, you guys should do it, but I don’t want the paparazzi chasing us all night.” Plus, she didn’t want her brother to strangle her if he somehow found out about this, after her long lecture about how he needed to ease up on her. This wasn’t exactly moving in the direction of regaining his trust and confidence.

  “The paparazzi thinks you’re at home though, right?” Jackie asked. “They’ll never know.”

  Brie shook her head. “It’s too risky if they spot me though. All six of us will get photographed.”

  Tony shrugged. “I mean, whatever. I can handle a little paparazzi attention.”

  Brie shook her head again. “You don’t understand—they’ll swarm us and follow our every move. It’ll end the entire night.”

  Andy stood up. “Brie, if we get stuck somewhere, we’ll get you out and bring you back to your house before you brother gets on the internet. That’s who you’re worried about, right?”

  She frowned, unsure how he knew about that, though Adele was having trouble making eye contact with her suddenly.

  “Among others,” she said, keeping her situation vague.

  “I say let’s do it,” Jackie said. “It’ll add a little excitement to the dares.”

  “Come on, Brie,” Adele said. “I have a blonde wig you can wear if you want. That oughta throw the paparazzi off our scent.”

  “I have an even better idea,” Andy said. “Ski masks. All six of us can wear them, which will be perfect for the selfies because then if some does post on social media—” he looked pointedly at Ben and Tony, who both protested “—no one has to worry about their identity being revealed.”

  “Awesome,” Adele said. She looked at Brie. “You in, girl?”

  Brie shook her head. “I can’t believe you put this together,” she said, grinning. She looked at Andy. “Yeah.”

  “Yeah?” he repeated.

  “If we all have ski masks… yeah. Let’s do it.”

  “Perfect!” Adele squealed. “Andy, want to run out and grab some masks?”

  “On it,” he said, grabbing his wallet.

  “Everyone else, think very carefully about your selfie dare. You don’t want to write a lame one, so get those creative juices flowing.” Adele had gone from her usual happy state to her effervescent, squeally, bubbly state. Which meant that the evening would move in fun and exciting ways.

  Exactly what she needed just then.

  “Brie, do you want to do the honors?” she asked.

  Brie smiled, throwing up her hands and putting on her best announcer voice. “Let the games begin!”

  Sirena

  The host at Peter Luger seated Zane and her at one of tables in the back, where they could speak more privately. He opened Sirena’s napkin and draped it across her lap, then filled the water glasses before taking his leave.

  She frowned. “When you said we should grab an early dinner, I didn’t realize you meant a multi-course meal at one of the best steakhouses in all of New York City.”

  He shrugged. “Why not? We’re Hallows. We can skip a months-long waiting list.” He picked up his menu. “Might as well enjoy the perks… and the delicious earthlie cooking.”

  She pursed her lips, reluctantly flipping open her menu. The intimacy and romantic mood lighting in the place hadn’t escaped her. She quickly chose what she wanted off the menu, then shut it.

  “Why did you bring me here?” she asked.

  He shrugged again. “You were hungry. I’m feeding you.” He stared at her. “By Theos, you’ve got to get past the paranoia.”

  “So this has nothing to do with our previous relationship?” she challenged him.

  He set his menu down. “If you’re asking if I remember that I brought you here once… yes. I know it’s the same place. But I’ve come here a hundred times since then, and I only picked it again because it was something I knew you would enjoy.”

  “I just want to be clear that this is an exchange of intel,” Sirena warned him. “Not a date.”

  “I wouldn’t dare use your sister’s death to hold you hostage on a date with me,” Zane replied. “That you think I’m that despicable or desperate is saddening.”

  “I don’t think either of those things,” Sirena said. “I just want to set expectations so you know that I’m here for one reason and one reason only.”

  “I get it,” he said, though there was a hint of loneliness in his tone. “No catch ups, no flirty eyes, no friendly jokes.” His lips formed a thin line across his face, and he rubbed his neck. “You’ve made it more than clear about where I stand with you. I guess I should be grateful for that.”

  She looked away. One look into his eyes would make her feel guilty about the way she was treating him, even though he started it.

  The thing was, a part of her understood the blurred lines between personal values and duty to the Hallows and government. She knew he had made a sacrifice for her and for the Hallows by keeping her secret. And she had forgiven him for what had happened, even though she still had anger and trauma around it.

  The waiter came by to take their order and refill their water.

  “I guess let’s start?” she asked when he left.

  “What do you want to know?”

  “I guess I”ll start with the obvious,” Sirena said. “Who is the redhead? You were plotting with him at Milena’s earthlie funeral. And he’s come up a number of times while I was trying to track you down, before I knew it was you.”

  “The redhead is the inimitably cocky Kerr Fitzgerald,” Zane said. Sirena could tell from his tone that he wasn’t a huge fan of the other man, but then, they were on opposite sides, so
why would he like the guy?

  ”I honestly only met him a few weeks ago,” Zane continued. “No idea what he’s doing with Milena or how she knows him. I do know, though, that she gets him to run a lot of errands for her. He’s a Nephilim and has contacts with many of the higher ups. He seems to have a lot of specialized access that she needs.”

  “A bit like you,” Sirena pointed out. “You’re essentially her spy within the New Order.”

  Zane smirked. “Touché. Though you could say it a bit quieter.”

  “What was he doing for Milena before she died, specifically?”

  “He picked up a potion for her or something,” Zane said. “He collected things for her, things that she would need on her trips. Like I said, I didn’t have much to do with him.”

  Sirena nodded; she already knew that from talking to Ted the day before, but she wanted to verify Zane’s truthfulness in every way possible.

  “I saw you at Milena’s funeral,” she said. “From the back only. I didn’t think it was you, because why would you be at my sister’s funeral?”

  “You saw us chatting there, didn’t you?” Zane asked. “I told Kerr it was too risky to pass messages, but he felt like the funeral would provide a good cover.”

  “In addition to the chance to mourn the death of your loved one?” she asked sarcastically.

  He looked up. “I’m sorry, Ri. That was a shitty thing to say.”

  She nodded, agreeing with him.

  The waiter brought their steaks out—his a T-bone, medium, hers a filet mignon, medium rare.

  She took a bite, enjoying the way the meat practically melted in her mouth. Zane was right—this was fun.

  “What were you talking to Kerr about at the funeral?” she asked between bites.

  Zane didn’t answer right away.

  “Awkward pause,” Sirena noted. “It must be pretty good, then.” She was joking, but inside her chest filled with anxiety. She realized the fragility and danger of the situation she’d put herself in. She didn’t particularly trust Zane, but she did have the tiniest bit of hope for turning things around with him… someday in the distant, distant future.

  But if he lost her trust now in this interaction, it could easily re-break her heart to a million pieces, even though they weren’t together. Hurting Milena or somehow playing a role in her death would be even worse than turning her over to the New Order all those years ago. If she learned that he was involved in her sister’s death, she knew she would have to kill him. She didn’t want that—not on top of everything she was already dealing with.

  Zane took several bites, chewing slowly with each one, before he finally answered. “Kerr contacted me because he was looking for a message Milena had left in her art studio.”

  Sirena set down her fork. “A message,” she said slowly. “Did he find it?”

  Zane shook his head. “Nope. He had tried already on his own but then wanted me to help him look again. But together, we didn’t find a thing.” He took a deep breath. “The reason I hesitated in telling you is because when we were there searching, your niece came in.”

  “Brie?”

  “Kerr already knew her, and I think she recognized him too, though she didn’t seem to be able to place a name with his face. The exchange I witnessed between them only bolstered my original sense from when I first met him. Kerr isn’t a new fixture in your sister’s life. She’s known him for a long time, I think. She would have to, right? I mean, he’s a Nephilim. She wouldn’t trust him with her secret or her kids unless she knew him.”

  “Agreed,” Sirena said, though she knew that Milena had never introduced Kerr to her. Then again… that was likely her own fault. “For her to trust a Nephilim, she probably had some history with him. Did he know who I was?”

  “She’s never mentioned you to him in my presence,” Zane said. “And he’s never mentioned you to me, either…”

  “... But it’s not enough information to know for certain, is it?” she finished. “I’m going to have to confront Kerr Fitzgerald.”

  Zane shook his head. “I wouldn’t do that, Ri. I think he skipped town shortly after the funeral. Like I said, he lives a double life and has friends in high places among the Nephilim. You’d be risking a lot to start orbiting his atmosphere, and if he caught you, you’d be worth too much to the Nephilim as a daughter of Michael. Don’t forget, Kerr might have been loyal to Milena—but she had chosen the earthlie life. She was no longer a weapon to use against the New Order. You still are.”

  Sirena knew Zane was right. She wondered how she could find out more about Kerr Fitzgerald without going after him herself. She would have to get the Seven Brothers to keep their ears to the ground about his whereabouts, especially if he was on the move that frequently. But a popular guy like Kerr would probably be back in New York City before too long. Milena couldn’t have been his only appointment here.

  She shifted gears, setting Kerr Fitzgerald aside, for now. She would have to deal with his connection to Milena later, but he likely wasn’t an immediate threat to her, or an immediate source of information for her.

  “You said Milena went on a lot of trips. Do you know anything about where she was going before she died? Where did that chartered plane fly from?”

  Zane shook his head. “Milena held her itinerary tight to her chest. I would imagine that some of the intelligence I had given her about Vega’s schedule may have dictated where she went. It’s possible that she flew to some of the same places as him.”

  “Like where?”

  “He recently visited the coastline of Queensland in Australia for several weeks, for example. He goes there regularly, actually. She wasn’t as interested in places he went every once in awhile. She was only interested in places he had gone back to over and over again.”

  “And you didn’t see a pattern beyond that?” she asked. “Or give her more specific locations than that? An entire coastline seems so vague. What could she do with that information?”

  “I don’t know,” Zane said. “I’ll go through my notes on this, but I didn’t observe anything earth-shattering about the locations she was asking about. Did she actually go to Australia, to the same places Mateo Vega went? I have no idea. Keep in mind that I wasn’t spying on her, I was spying for her. And then, my interactions with her were fairly limited. I’m often traveling and collecting information about various Hallow and Nephilim happenings, and I have to pass a lot of it back to the New Order to keep my job. I’m always out on assignments. She never asked me about anything besides Vega’s travel schedule, so she must have many other sources of information besides Kerr and myself.”

  Sirena frowned, realizing that whatever Milena was up to was so much bigger than she had initially realized. “It sounds like she had quite the network of people helping her.”

  “Yeah,” Zane said. He met her eyes. “I know it’s not what you want to hear, Ri. But you might be looking for a needle in a haystack here. Milena didn’t want anyone to know what she was up to. She was smart and covered her tracks. She met with a lot of people in secret, and any one of them could have turned on her.” He frowned. “Her approach was not what an intelligence officer or agency would do. We have handlers. Guides. She probably had no one watching her back in any of this.”

  Guilt washed over Sirena. Milena had no one watching her back because Sirena had abandoned her all those years ago. She wished, more than anything, that Milena had reached out to confide in her. She wished that she at least knew what had happened

  “And you don’t know anything about where she was actually going?” Sirena asked again.

  He shook his head.

  “Weather patterns? What she packed? Summer or winter? Nothing?”

  He smiled patiently. “My answer hasn’t changed in two minutes, Ri. Like I said, I’ll go through my notes and pass anything along that I see. We can even going through them together.”

  “That’s probably not necessary,” she said quickly. “I mean, because you’re an intellig
ence officer. You’re trained in this stuff.” She shifted uncomfortably in her chair.

  “Okay,” he said slowly. “I’ll pass along anything, then.”

  She put a bite of food in her mouth, chewed, swallowed, and took a drink. “Anything else you can remember could be helpful to finding my next lead.”

  He twirled his fork through his mashed potatoes before setting it down. “I can tell you this, actually. She was headed to two destinations, not one. I always assumed it was one place to pick up something, another to drop off. It could be that she was searching for an object or a piece of information to deliver to someone or someone else.”

  “Like she was working for someone?” Sirena asked skeptically.

  He shrugged. “Maybe.”

  “It could also be that she just needed to go to two places,” Sirena said quickly. Of all things, she couldn’t imagine Milena working for someone else in the Archworld. She would never risk her kids’ lives for a job. “Maybe she had two meetings, two objects, two pieces of information…”

  “Sure,” Zane said. “But my guess is still the former. And if I’m right, I’m guessing it was an object rather than a piece of information. Information can be more easily passed; an object needs to be collected and then later either passed along in person or stored in a safe place.”

  “Did you ever get the impression that she was involved in something… dangerous?” Sirena asked quietly. She didn’t know if she wanted to know the answer.

  Zane shrugged. “I never expected her to not come back from it, so I don’t know. She didn’t seem particularly concerned about it when she was going. I don’t think she expected to die, either. And I don’t know if she finished what she left for, or got stuck mid-trip. Sure, she made the return trip, but maybe something got messed up along the way.”

  Sirena nodded, feeling slightly better about this information. In her mind, it meant that Milena wasn’t working for anyone, but rather on her own. It meant that she most likely wasn’t being blackmailed over their secret.

  Still, what would she have been searching for?