Striking Souls

by Erin R Flynn

  “Add making more psychic chi fizzies to my list,” I told Hunt before moving on, done with the procrastinating and diving in, as it was going to be a busy, busy day.

  Then again, they all were.

  10

  I found another half dozen frauds and gave them the same punishment as Trina along with getting their licenses revoked. Well, those who had them, as that was only in the US and a few were from out of country. We’d make sure the word got out they were fake though.

  Or Helen would because honestly, it would not be smart to leave that up to me. I would misbehave too much.

  Once I’d started enough trouble for everyone else to clean up, I popped over to the warehouse to enchant what was needed. Then it was to my workroom to start the potions on the needed list to cook along with a bunch of spells and charms PI needed. Hunt looked a bit nauseous when I wrapped up.

  “How do you do this day in and out?” he asked, rubbing his stomach as he leaned with his hand on my main workbench.

  I sighed, unable to keep him in the dark when this whole thing was for him to understand what we go through better. “Normally enchanters start out much smaller and just like shifting, you get used to it. You don’t ache like you do when you were a boy. You’re getting the deep end here, as other enchanters can’t do what I do, but it will get easier. I’m not feeling it like you do, and I don’t have your heightened everything.”

  “Got it. I’m going to get us some more calories. Any requests?”

  I shrugged. “They rotate up my protein shakes and stuff pretty well. The front desk keeps snacks on hand for me that I like. Trail mix sounds nice.”

  “I’ll make sure it’s included.” His aura flashed fear and then he ‘ported away. As much as I loathed him, it was impressive how he sucked it up and still did it when he was so afraid.

  Helen popped over to me and caught me up to where we were on our coverup of all the important people. Her progress was amazing, but I caught a thought that we were stretching people way too thin and certain priorities needed to be shifted. I nodded I agreed and realized the best way to divert resources.

  I popped us over to PI and glanced around the fugitive recovery division, waiting for them to notice me while Hunt handed me my shake since I’d brought him with me. “Oh, matcha. Nummy!”

  “I was wondering what the green was,” he admitted.

  “Try it. It’s a concentrated green tea. It’s good and extremely good for you.” I let him take a sip as people gathered around. “We need to divert some resources to cover the chaos going on and the tribunal coming up. So we’re going to do a lightening round or two. For those of you who don’t know what that is or haven’t worked here for one, it means I’m going to jump your cases ahead.

  “You will still get your cut and commissions. All we ask is you help with what Helen needs for a while, as I just nabbed your baddie. We’re going in hot and with partner teams. You take them in like normal and give Helen what she needs. Any questions?” I glanced around and nodded. “Good. Then let’s get started. Teams gear up and come to the conference room so we can get going.”

  There was a lot of flurry from the dozens of employees as I headed to the conference room. I went right for the wall of mug shots and recent pictures for our current cases. I focused on the first and then the map to locate them. I found four that way as I finished my protein shake and the teams joined me.

  “Wait, I’m unarmed,” Hunt cut in. “I need my gear in my apartment.”

  I nodded, altering his collar so he could go to his apartment, as that was a fair one and he’d shown he wasn’t trying to get away at all. On the contrary, he seemed to want to get closer.

  Idiot.

  He arrived back, and I confirmed who we were going for, Hunt ready to go into action along with the other shifter who was teamed up with one of my enchanters.

  “Three, two, one,” I counted down and popped us to the person. I froze the room, raising an eyebrow at several people there. “Huh, so that worked out well.”

  “Four others are here that were on your wall,” Hunt muttered, holstering his gun. “Can you give me ties?” He thanked me when I made them appear in his hand and he restrained the other four.

  “Thanks, boss,” the enchanter told me before teleporting away with his teammate and criminal.

  “So we found some other baddies,” I told those in the conference room when we popped back with extras. “Whoever these cases belong to, please turn them over.”

  We went in for another dozen recoveries but hit a snag when the teams were still finishing with those they’d taken in.

  “The police get a bit cranky when you show up with a fugitive knocked out,” I explained when someone suggested we do that. “Teleporting is fine, but that’s the line apparently.”

  “They probably don’t care, but we get in trouble on our end if we take possession that way, as we’re not allowed to do that,” Hunt clarified. “Honestly, most cops would love to just have the silence and lack of fighting back, but we’re not allowed to do that, so the wrong people could point fingers at the cops if you give them to us that way.”

  “That makes sense,” I admitted. Other enchanters at PI went to finish the paperwork and files for the teams, and out we went. My shake was long gone, but the whole time I snacked on the huge bag of trail mix Hunt had brought, and by the time we were done I’d eaten it all, simply shrugging when he gave me a surprised look.

  I thanked everyone and left them to put it all together as I popped over to the warehouse for another round of enchanting before finishing everything in my workshop. Next came lunch on the go, meeting Jerome and his team at the site of the land we were looking to buy in Peru along with Tanesha and her pride and a bunch of other people who were probably the humans involved and more security.

  Winking at Jerome, I accepted the first greasy burger and my music before untying Hunt’s collar to me. Listening to music might have seemed a bit conflicting when reading the energy and “groove” of the land, but it settled me and opened me up. Honestly, it was the best way to handle this type of magic, and the invention of MP3 players and music files like that was one of the best things in my book.

  I loaded Maroon 5’s newest album Red Pill Blues and closed my eyes, sending out my energy to get a feel while stuffing my face. Jerome switched out burgers and even a drink while I worked, popping right out of my way again until even I needed a break from the food. Finally when I was done, I opened my eyes, using my magic to play the song I was listening to for everyone as I danced over to Tanesha.

  “I can restore about ninety percent, as they didn’t burn much. No animals though. I can’t bring them back to life, only the soil and plants, or really the soil but restore the plants and trees. I can bring it back to the seedlings that were once there and grow it from there. It’s not like restoring a building where it’s inorganic or dead. That’s easier.”

  “I get it. You can make it work,” she chuckled. “And then we can handle a place for us to live?”

  “Yup, after the tribunal. I’m going to set up some jars for this, and I need to set a certain perimeter spell that will alert a charm if people come onto the land. One of you can wear it or whatever, but I don’t want just fences that could keep out animals that need the land and safety. Only people and you can do whatever to them if they’re baddies. It’s our land.”

  “You need to do some signing and payment first,” Jerome reminded me. “Is this the spell with the bamboo rods?”

  “Yes,” I sighed, stretching my arms up as I swayed to the next song. “We need to hire help as they can’t be driven into the ground magically.”

  “I remember,” he drawled, rolling his eyes. “Driving four foot filled bamboo rods into the ground halfway and so they don’t break and in one shot is fun. Lots and lots of fun.”

  “I couldn’t do it either,” I chuckled as I tied Hunt’s collar back to me. “That was such a disaster of a day.”

  “How so?” Tanesha asked.


  I shrugged. “Spells can be finicky as to what can interfere and conflict. This one needs to be driven into the dirt. You can’t dig like a starter hole, and we must have spent five hours trying everything before we finally just sucked it up and asked some Alphas to help us figure it out. This is the spell that’s around The Resort and that was desert, so you’d think sand, but no, it’s fucking clay and rock. It was uggghh.”

  “We can handle two feet in moist rainforest ground if you are doing this on the perimeter,” Victor said from behind me.

  I swore under my breath, turning to see his amused face. “Why are you here?”

  He shrugged. “We’re helping on this project, so I asked to see it.”

  “Asked, growled at me, whatever,” Jerome muttered.

  Victor held his hands up in surrender when I shot him the look he deserved. “I growl almost everything. I was not trying to be threatening. There is a time difference and a lot going on at the nest as well. I was grumpy asking. I am not stupid enough to scare your people.”

  “Fine, but treat my main four as people should Andrew and how you’d handle if they were less than cordial with him,” I warned, glad when he nodded. “Are we at twenty-four hours?”

  “Yes, we are,” he answered, knowing what I meant.

  “Okay, then what am I signing?” I asked Jerome.

  He showed me the stack that our attorneys had gone over that a very nervous human was holding. I waved my hand and signed it all magically, Jerome promising to handle payment and the human telling us we could get started with whatever. I nodded and popped away, bringing Hunt, Victor, and Tanesha with me to my workroom, hating to have people in my sanctuary, but time was very, very limited and there was too much going on.

  I made one of the bamboo rods appear. “There’s a mixture that will be filled in this and capped off. It has to be driven down two feet in one shot without breaking the caps or rod. If the rod is broken, that potion is useless and can’t be reused. It’s not an easy potion, and we’re talking thousands of acres to enclose, and these have to be spaced ten feet apart.”

  “Damn, girl,” Tanesha sighed, taking it from me. “Can they be at an angle?”

  “Yes, and if you see the ones we have done, they’re slightly at an angle but at least two feet deep, so you don’t want them lying, as you need depth, but it makes it easier to throw.”

  “What about coning the caps? Giving a bit of point to drive it in?” Hunt asked.

  I opened my mouth but then closed it, pursing my lips. “I don’t know. I do know the rods and bamboo caps cannot be made or touched with magic. They have to be filled the old fashioned way too. That’s an interesting idea though so it would go in smoother like a spear. We can try one, but I don’t handle the ordering.”

  “We can handle something like that fast if it works,” Victor muttered. I winced when I saw what he was looking at. That was why I didn’t let people into my workshop. “What is this, Soraya?”

  “What you think it is,” I told him.

  “You can make pink flawless diamonds? How?”

  “Of all the things you’ve seen me do over the centuries, that’s what you question?” I asked with a chuckle. “That just seems weird.”

  Tanesha glanced between us. “How is that any different than when you make gold appear?”

  “I’ve never seen her do that either,” Victor grumbled.

  “Well, I’m not a magician that does tricks for fun, so it’s what’s always in the situation,” I grumbled. I nodded to the diamonds. “Take some. I’m using the people you turned as the batteries, and honestly it’s a huge, huge help with working on the veil. Helen’s going to bring up something else if you guys are for hire.”

  He gave me a knowing look, and I didn’t try to play it off. Yes, I’d seen it in his aura that he was concerned about money. Or I could tell after he saw my magic was making pink diamonds. It wasn’t like ancients could just go get a job, and they were too fucking scary to most to even try to deal with.

  Then again, I’d just returned a crap ton of presents he could sell, but I was not going to get into any of it. I wanted away from him and his nest, not to get more invested.

  “I’m heading to their nest to get the next ten batteries,” I told Tanesha. “I’m adding a few this time to what we’ve got going on the roof with whichever angel is now protecting it, and then I’ll get four jars to start fixing the land.”

  “I’d love to see any and all of it, but whatever you’re comfortable with,” she said easily. “I think at least how you do it on the Peru side since we have to protect them?”

  “No, I’ll make it like the bamboo poles will be that no one can mess with it. I mean, maybe someone could, but I’ll lock the spell so if someone can undo one of my locked spells, we all need to run anyways.”

  I popped us over to the next, and there were already two coffins waiting as the two who had been in there had withered and died. I picked a few low level people from the cell while Victor gathered the others.

  “They know nothing more,” I assured the vampires after I did a bit of poking around. “We’ll get the interrogations done on the higher ups when the calendar opens a bit.”

  “We’re in no rush,” Victor told me, which was helpful given how much was piling up.

  I repeated what I’d done yesterday after they turned the ten and sent them to their prisons under the ocean. When it was done, I started to approach my limit since there had been a ton of back and forth and all different types of magic used.

  “I love when you use too much magic,” Andrew chuckled deeply as he moved closer.

  I held up my hand to stop him, frowning. “Was I unclear yesterday? It’s not happening. Never again. Do I need to let my dog fuck me on the dining room table for you to watch so you get it?” I pressed myself against Hunt to drive my point home.

  “There’s no way he does for you what I do,” Andrew sneered.

  “No, he does better,” I purred, shrugging when all the vampires shot me disbelieving looks. “You fuck for your pleasure. He fucks for my pleasure. There’s a difference. I would pick the pup over you every time, Andrew, and you know that’s the truth. I’m not saying it to insult you, and I certainly don’t want the pup to get a big head, but this needs to stop. You are not the only wild lover on the planet.”

  “Enough,” Victor cut in when Andrew looked like he had a scathing response. “We fucked up, and she called us on it. Enough, Andrew. She’s working on fixing the fucking planet, and we’re helping because we should. That’s it.”

  “Thank you. I’ll see you all tomorrow.”

  Victor nodded. “Walter can contact us if that plan pans out or what else you need. If you want a few of us as backup at this tribunal, let me know.”

  “I think that would make things trickier, as you don’t acknowledge your elders, and this is an event for elders,” I admitted. “But I’m sure something will come up as it always does.” I popped Tanesha, Hunt, and I away before he could reply. I had wanted to be done with the nest, not add attachments.

  Though even I had to admit saving the planet was more important than my issues or shit past. But it put me in less than a happy mood when we arrived at the roof and I attached six jars to the spell.

  “Um, I think you’re ignoring an angel,” Tanesha hissed at me when I was wrapping up.

  “I know, and I would love to be polite at the moment, but I’m on the last leg of my power before I need a time out. Getting more souls crossed over is more important right now.”

  “I agree and am not offended,” said a deep, deep voice that wasn’t Brax’s. I’d worry about all of that and who it was later.

  Next we stopped at my apartment as I realized I’d forgotten the jar Hunt had been holding that had all of the chi I’d taken from the dying supes. That would be perfect to help regrow the rainforest, like planting a tree or flowers around a grave.

  I brought us to the land that was now mine and dug a shallow hole in the center,
chanting as I set the jars to power the spell. This one would be different as plants needed the night to rest and process the sun they’d soaked up during the day. The jars would work round robin, sending out pulses that grew out of the area but only went so far, as magic wasn’t limitless. When it was done, I stood and shot up a good deal of my energy’s charge into the sky.

  The plants would need rain after all.

  I nodded to Tanesha when it was done as she went over to her pride along with Jerome’s team that would oversee this and get any of them back when ready. I ‘ported to my bedroom, and the second we were there, Hunt tossed down my tablet on a chair and then me onto the bed.

  “How do you fucking deal with this all the time?” he growled as he grabbed my pants, ripping them and my panties off of me. “This charge. This energy. This wild whatever is crazy.”

  “I never said I was sane,” I reminded him. I gasped as he attacked me in the best way again, his moans when he found me wet making me shiver. “Good, dog, use that tongue and I’ll let you fuck me.”

  Oh, did he ever. It was hard to explain what happened, what so much chi in and out of me left behind, but each orgasm dispelled it as if socks over carpet zapped out the static charge.

  “Better?” he panted as he moved over me after he gave me countless orgasms.

  “Yes, good, dog,” I praised.

  “Yes, yes, I’m your dog,” he growled as he tore open my shirt and kissed my breasts. “I feel like I’m going insane with need. This is worse than the full moon. It’s like my first full moon after puberty times twenty. Fuck. Fuck!”

  “Yes, let’s,” I chuckled, waving away our clothes. I grabbed his face so he focused on me. “Do not be gentle. That doesn’t help me or this. You won’t hurt me. I’ve let an ancient vampire give me everything he had and that helped. Got it?”

  “Yes, and thank fuck because I don’t know I could control my strength right now. Make it so I can’t come, Soraya. Don’t let me—”