Bella Flores Urban Fantasy Collection

by R D Martin

  Pushing herself up, she stumbled for a moment, kicking the cage used to smash the fairy, and almost leaped over a bed in her hurry to reach the stairs. Following Ray down, she unraveled the spell holding the glowing orb upstairs, and the duo made for the front door.

  “Oh, I almost forgot. I also… Look out!” he shouted, pushing her out of the way. A buzz and a blur passed inches from her face and she watched as if in slow motion as he brought the red box swinging around, sandwiching the fairy between it and the roughhewn wall. The small body dropped to the floor where he stomped on it twice for good measure.

  Swooping down, he snatched the creature up by its iridescent wings. Yanking the door open, he tossed the small body out. It cartwheeled in the air, bouncing off the edge of the dock before splashing into the water, disappearing in the murky depths.

  “Damn things,” he said, wiping his hand on his jeans. “Tough buggers. Only way to kill them is to drown them. Why in the hell would one be…” He stopped and turned to face her.

  She didn’t need to see the smirk on his face to hear the accusation in his voice, and blood rushed up her cheeks as she cast her eyes down.

  “That wasn’t why…” he started to ask, but stopped.

  A moment passed before she heard the snicker and, jerking her head up, she was just in time to see him twist away, hiding his face. He stepped out of the building and onto the platform, but couldn’t hold the laughter back. Quiet chuckles became louder chortles before exploding into an uncontrollable fit of laughter. Her cheeks burned with fire, though she tried her best to ignore the man as he doubled over in laughter.

  The only saving grace on the trip back to Frank’s shack, apart from returning with the artifact, was the boat’s engine was loud enough to cover his laughter.

  18

  Bella watched Karina squeal with delight as the spell ended. She had to admit it felt nice, not only to tell the Finder and Gar she’d recovered the artifact, but not to lie to Karina anymore. The only black mark on an otherwise perfect day was her fear of the Imperium finding out. Regardless of Ray’s reassurance, the thought still pricked at the back of her mind.

  “So, what are we going to learn first? Throw Fireballs? Fly?” Karina asked, bouncing on the edge of her bed like a child waiting for a surprise.

  “It’s not that easy,” Bella said, trying to ignore Karina’s enthusiasm. “First, we have to determine if you can do magic, then what your affinity is, then we—"

  “What do you mean, affinity?”

  “Oh. Well, everyone has different strengths. Mine is elemental, specifically fire, though I can use the rest of them with varying degrees of success. Other folks may only use one of them. Some people have an affinity for manipulating objects. Some are rune crafters while others are, well, there’s just too many to explain. Regardless, it all depends on whether you can do it, so we start there.”

  Warmth blossomed in her chest, and she couldn’t help smiling. She’d just repeated the same thing her father had said at her first lesson.

  “So what do we do? It’s not a written test, is it? I always have nightmares about showing up for a test naked. Oh, do we have to dance around naked? I don’t think I’d like that.”

  Karina’s eyes, wide as they were, crinkled at the edges, betraying her joke.

  Bella chortled. Leave it to the woman to take something serious and make a joke out of it. Shaking her head, she held up her palm and, opening herself to magic, wove the smallest thread of light she could. A dot, smaller than the head of a needle, appeared, floating inches above her hand.

  “What do you see?” she asked.

  “What? Are you doing something?”

  She nodded and waited, giving Karina a chance to concentrate.

  “I still don’t see anything.”

  “How about now?” she said, doubling the size of the floating dot of light.

  “Still nothing.”

  She doubled it again with the same result. Not surprising. Magic sight was a muscle and needed exercising like any other. Adding more fuel to the spell, she encouraged it to grow on its own, but didn’t have high hopes for anything to happen, at least not today.

  “Wait. I think…” Karina started.

  Bella strangled the flow, stopping the dot’s growth in place, and looked at Karina. The dot was only about the size of a pencil eraser at this point and should still be impossible to see. If Karina was seeing it, she would have the potential to be very strong in magic.

  “What? What did you see?”

  “I’m not sure. It was, well… I don’t know really. Probably just a trick of the light.”

  “Maybe. But tell me anyway.”

  “Well, for just a second it looked like there was something glowing above your hand. Probably just light hitting some dust, but…”

  “Tell me if you see it again, all right?”

  Karina nodded, and Bella loosened her grip on magic again, letting the small ball of light continue growing. It reached the size of a golf ball before Karina said anything again.

  “There,” she said, pointing at the space above her palm. “I see something.”

  “What is it?”

  “It’s like a ball of light, I guess. It’s just floating there, right above your hand.”

  Bella smiled and fed it a quick shot of magic, expanding the glowing orb until it became the size of a tennis ball.

  The explosion of size startled Karina. Jerking her head back, she slipped from her seat at the edge of the bed and landed on the floor, one of her legs still up in the air.

  “Guess you saw that,” Bella said, reaching down to help Karina up.

  “Ya think?” Her glib voice betrayed her own humor at going ass over teakettle. “What did you do that for?”

  “Had to know if you really saw something or only thought you saw something.”

  “There’s a difference?”

  “Yeah. One means you’re a Witch, the other means you’re crazy.”

  “So which was it, am I a Witch or am I crazy?”

  “Yes.”

  “Yes? Yes to Witch or crazy?”

  “Yes.”

  “Girl, I’m going to strangle you.”

  The two women laughed and settled back in their seats across from each other. Bella re-summoned the orb, still the size of a tennis ball.

  “Okay, so I can see it now,” Karina said, leaning in closer to examine the ball of white light. Reaching out a finger, she tried poking it, but her digit slid through as though it didn’t exist. “Freaky. I don’t feel anything, but I can see it. How are you doing it? It’s making light, so it must create heat, but my finger doesn’t feel warm at all.”

  “Magic. Of course, I could turn it into a ball of fire with a single thought,” and the orbs color shifted from pure white to an orange red. Karina snatched her hand back as the orb’s temperature rose. “But your finger would turn to ash and I’d never hear the end of it.”

  “Not funny.”

  Bella shrugged and turned the ball back to white. Clearing her throat, she continued.

  “You can see magic, which is cool, but let’s see if we can figure out what your affinity is?”

  “Why do we need to do that? Isn’t magic all spells and waving and stuff?”

  “Isn’t cooking just throwing junk in a pot and letting it boil?”

  Karina frowned. The jab was hard to ignore as a chef, but she understood it.

  Bella sighed. She needed to remember she’d grown up with magic. Karina didn’t understand things she took for granted.

  “Your affinity is safe. If we learn what it is, we can use it to summon and control magic. Master it, and you might move beyond it to use other forms of magic. Use magic you don’t understand or can’t control and you’re dead.”

  “What?”

  “Dead. Or worse. Hope for dead though.”

  “What do you mean hope for dead?”

  “Look, Karina. This stuff is dangerous. Get a spell wrong and nothing may happen. Get it
wrong in the wrong way and something big and unexpected could happen. People die from doing stuff they can’t control. Hell, you should be dead already.”

  She knew the words were wrong as soon as she said them, but they slipped out anyway.

  “What? What do you mean I should be dead?”

  Karina’s face turned ashen and eyes bulged with fear. The sight made Bella’s stomach twist in a knot, but Karina had to know.

  “Magic runs in families. Parents train their children, teach them to access it, teach control and teach them to stay hidden. Without that, most kids would die before they became adults. To live as long as you have and not be found is both impressive and scary.”

  “It’s not that scary. It’s not like I would walk around cursing people.”

  “No, but now that you know about magic, you’ll start using it. And that’s the scary part. A lot of what we learn as kids is how not to use it.”

  “But why? Why not use it? It could do so much for the world. Cure people, end wars, all sorts of stuff.”

  “Yeah, it can, and it does. But it can also hurt people and start wars, too. That’s why we stay hidden. That’s why we have rules and laws.”

  “What laws?”

  “You’ll learn those too. Trust me.” The last thing she wanted to do was discuss the Imperium. “Suffice it to say, once you become part of this world, you may wish you’d never started on this path.”

  “Why would I do that? As long as I’m careful, I’ll be all right.”

  “Sure, until a vampire tries to feed from you, or a werewolf tears your stomach out for the fun of it. You remember the damage at my building?” Karina nodded. It was hard not to since they were still repairing the damage months later. “Hellhounds, or something like them anyway. Every nightmare you’ve ever heard of exists out there somewhere. So do things you’ve never dreamed of, things so large and powerful humanity is nothing but a bed of ants ready to be stepped on. As long as we all stay hidden, the world continues to turn. The day we come out is the beginning of the end for everybody.”

  “It’s not that bad, is it?”

  The tremble in her friend’s voice was enough to tell Bella she’d made a point, but as much as it hurt, she needed to drive it home. Karina needed a lifetime of caution piled on her now rather than later. She only hoped Karina’s shoulders were strong enough to carry the load.

  “There are the good, there are the bad, and then there are the worst. They’re all around us, and as long as we don’t see them, they pretty much ignore us. But once you’re part of the supernatural world, it’s like being marked. Not only do they see you, but some will try to use you while others will try to kill you.”

  Taking a breath, she tried to control her thundering heart. It was time to make the offer, but would she take it?

  “You’re not part of my world yet, so there’s still a chance for you. You can ignore everything, go back and live a peaceful life. Nothing will bother you and," she took a deep, ragged breath, "and you’ll never see me again. Or you can stay on this path and everything you know will change. Your world will turn upside down, and crazy will become your new normal. It’s your choice.”

  “Can… can I think about it?”

  Bella nodded and watched Karina rise and begin pacing. Silence stretched, and with nothing else to do, she stared at the sun setting through the trees outside her window. Shafts of light pierced the canopy of Spanish moss and dotted the ground in a jigsaw pattern that shifted even as she stared at it.

  “I’m going to get something to drink,” Karina said, breaking the quiet like a brick though plate glass. “I’ll, I’ll be right back.”

  Bella didn’t even turn to watch the door close behind her with a soft whoosh and click. It was out of her hands now and all she could do was wait. Opening the window, she let the sounds of the city in. Through the cacophony of people, traffic and reveling, there was an undercurrent of expectation, like the city was waiting for something as well.

  19

  A shiver raced up and down Bella’s spine, and she felt as though someone had drenched her with a bucket of cold water. Head still swimming from the effects of the spell, she opened herself up to the power and let it infuse her, driving out the numbing sensation. It took her less than a second to recognize the spell since she’d used the same one before, but why in the world would someone want to use a barrier spell now? Why would they want to use one here?

  Racing across the room, she jerked the door open. She wasn’t surprised to see the hall empty. At this hour, most people were out for dinner or on their way to one of the last parties before Fat Tuesday. Rushing out and down the stairs, she craned her neck, looking for Karina. There was no way she’d not felt that, even if she didn’t know what it was.

  Like the upstairs, the main room of the B&B was empty as well, though this was odd. There was almost always someone down here, if for no other reason than to watch the large television hanging over the fireplace. A squeak from the back door grabbed her attention and she jetted toward it, crossing her fingers, hoping to find her friend unharmed.

  Skidding to a halt, she poked her head out and saw Karina at the far corner of the cobblestone courtyard, arms stiff at her sides and head lolling as she hovered three feet in the air.

  “Karina!” she screamed, racing toward her. She made it three steps before something slammed into her side.

  Pain blossomed and stars exploded in her vision like holiday fireworks. Her shoulder struck the cobblestones and a sickening crack resounded in her ears. The world around her continued to spin even as she stopped moving.

  Moaning, she tried to sit up, ignoring the pain lancing through her shoulder and side. The fireworks in her vision flared with each movement, but cleared enough to see her friend floating and a tall skinny man approaching. Her blood turned icy as she recognized the magic user from the alley.

  His features had changed, becoming more gaunt and stealing away his youthful look. Dark circles surrounded his wild eyes, and his cheeks were hollow. The boy looked less like a young man and more like a skeleton with skin sewn on it.

  He stopped half a dozen paces from her and his lips curled back revealing yellowing teeth. He raised his hands as though trying to choke her from a distance.

  She felt pressure building in the air and knew he was gathering power. Opening herself to the same source, she let it flood through her, shaping it as it came. Whatever he would do, there was no doubt he meant it to kill. She needed to be faster than him now, and he had a head start.

  Pushing with all her will, she formed a shield in front of her. It was small, barely large enough to huddle behind, but it was thicker than a brick wall.

  Competing magics met in midair, clashing with a cascade of dark-hued sparks. She grunted as whatever he’d thrown slammed into her shield. His spell bored into hers, pressed on by his will, tearing apart her protection layer by layer like acid eating its way through. Where it touched, she felt his anger pushing it on.

  His spell billowed out, stretching to the edges of her shield and threatening to spill over. With the killing intent behind it clear, she had no choice.

  Thinning her barrier, she shifted magic toward the edges, making it expand. It was foolish, she knew, and gave her less time before his spell penetrated the center, but it kept his magic at bay for the moment.

  The fireworks in her vision faded as her head cleared. He’d gotten the drop on her, but she wasn’t out of the fight.

  Lifting her left hand, she winced as her shoulder bones ground together. Siphoning a small thread of magic, she reached out to test his defenses. The thread shot forward, a rainbow-hued lance of light. Flying between them, she felt no resistance as it struck him in the chest and continued its flight.

  Electric tingles raced through her, rocking her control of the flows of power for a moment before she wrestled them back. There’d been no barrier around him, not even the most basic protection spell. Even the black hole, the protection from La Nuit he’d possess
ed before, was gone. Why would he come to a fight without protecting himself? How did he think he would survive?

  The question stuck to her mind as though glued in place, and in the instant she thought it, she knew the answer. He didn’t intend to survive. He’d come knowing he could die, but hadn’t cared. He had only one goal, to kill, and his death was inconsequential.

  She’d once seen a news broadcast of a standoff between police and an armed man. The bad guy fired his gun once, and the police opened fire. Suicide by police, the news called it. Just like in the news, her attacker had no problem dying as long as he took her with him.

  Renewed pressure on her shield dragged her out of her revelation, and she focused on the boy. Rivulets of sweat ran down his face to gather in the collar of his shirt, adding to the dirty ring already there. His face held total concentration for the task at hand.

  Pushing herself up, using the wall for support, she began weaving magic together. A single liquid syllable passed through her lips, a sound magic made sure could only be heard and forgotten, and a shaft of pure white light lit up the courtyard as it raced from her outstretched palm. The beam, about the diameter of a quarter, struck the boy in the chest with the momentum of a Mack truck. In that instant, two things happened. His spell cut off, the pressure on her shield disappearing as if it never existed, and Karina screamed as though burned by the fires of hell.

  Killing the spell, Bella jerked around. Karina’s body kicked and spasmed as though trying to escape something attacking it. Her face betrayed her pain as her eyes bulged. Her scream continued for a moment longer before cutting off. As it did, her head drooped forward, chin resting on her heaving chest.

  “I win,” said the boy.

  Turning, Bella watched him push himself off the ground. Raising his head, he stared into her eyes.

  What she saw in those depths made her stomach flip. Madness had taken the boy, a madness so deep she wasn’t sure he qualified as human anymore. He was more like an animal. An animal with its paw on the button of a nuke, but an animal nonetheless.