Hurricane of Magic

by J. L. Hendricks

“That’s only because of what I had already been through. You probably would have smelled the fear on me even if you hadn’t changed like that.” Jenna was probably right.

  “Let’s take a walk. I think we need to talk.” I stood up and held my hand out to her.

  “Um, Rico. There’s a hurricane outside. I don’t think we should go out there.”

  I shook my head and realized what a dumb suggestion that was. “Alright, how about we have a chat in my office? It’s just down the hall.”

  Jenna smiled as she stood up. “Sure, that would be great.”

  Chapter 6

  Jenna

  “Rico, earlier you said you had a way to help me sleep better? Does it involve magic?”

  “Come here.” Rico reached out to hug me, and I accepted.

  Sighing, I wrapped my arms around him. “I don’t think this is going to help me sleep tonight.” I couldn’t help but giggle.

  His arms were so strong and safe. I couldn’t help but compare him to the vampire from last night. Which wasn’t fair. Rico was nothing like that disgusting spawn of the devil. Rico was…gentle. He would never force himself on me or hurt me. Why couldn’t I open myself up to him?

  “No, but it will help me.” He had such a nice deep laugh.

  I pulled back and smiled at him. “Alright, what’s this life changing advice you have for me?”

  I looked up to the roof when I heard a thunk. The winds were tossing around debris, and we’d probably be hearing noises like that all night long.

  “You need to talk through it all, including how you felt. As much as I want to be that person, you saw how I reacted out there. I think you should talk to Joseph, or whoever you feel comfortable with. Just be sure to be honest with him and yourself.” This wasn’t what I expected to hear from Rico.

  “Really? You want me to open up with someone other than you?”

  “No, I want you to open up with me, but I know I can’t handle it right now. Maybe in a few days I can. It’s all too raw for me at the moment. I know it’s not fair to you. As much as I want to put aside my anger, I can’t.” Rico sat down on the sofa in his office.

  He patted the spot on the sofa next to him. “Seeing you injured and smelling him all over you last night…it brought out the animal in me. And I don’t mean my wolf. If you hadn’t killed him, I would have ran out of there and hunted him down, no matter how long it took.”

  “Thank you, Rico. I appreciate your protective nature, I do. It’s just…” Stink! How do I explain this to him?

  “It’s just what? You can tell me. I promise I won’t overreact.” Rico could be so sweet.

  I leaned in closer to him and put my hand on his cheek. My eyes roamed his face and landed on his lips. My heart beat increased as I licked my lips, wondering what it would be like to have his lips on mine. At that moment I wanted to kiss him, but did I want it because I wanted his lips to star in my dreams instead of Derek’s in my nightmares?

  Rico moved closer to me. “Jenna, is this what you want?”

  His lips were so close to mine, I could feel his breath on my face.

  “Hey, Rico. You might… Oh! Sorry man.” Joseph had walked in before I could say anything.

  I pulled away from Rico as my cheeks warmed.

  “It’s fine, Joseph. What’s up?” Rico let me go when he stood up to greet his friend.

  “Sorry, it can wait.” Joseph backed up and was about to close the door when Damien walked up behind him.

  “What’s going on?” Rico walked to the door where two of his most trusted advisors had barged in on us.

  “The news - you need to see this. Looks like we get to go hunting when the hurricane clears.” Damien’s eyes sparkled with excitement before he turned around and headed back out to the main room.

  That guy loved nothing more than to pound on the bad guys. Looks like something had happened to give him a hunting license.

  We all followed him down the narrow hall. These guys were so big they had to walk single file through here.

  “Jenna! That girl we saw on the news earlier, she’s the one who went missing! Stephanie, I think her name was.” Indie looked up to me with wide eyes.

  I put my hand over my mouth. “No! That means vampires, right? Or something else not normal?”

  “We haven’t had a full moon since she went missing, so it couldn’t have been a werewolf. That only leaves vampires and witches. My money’s on vamps. Did you see those bite marks on her neck? It didn’t look like a gator did that, unless it was a baby.” Luke stood up to let me sit on the couch next to my sisters.

  “So what does this mean, exactly? Could all of the other girls who disappeared have something to do with blood-suckers?” I shivered hoping they didn’t experience anything like what I did.

  Kat asked, “Could it be just the one girl who went missing was caught up by a vampire on her way out of town? No other bodies have shown up with vampire marks, have they?”

  “I won’t know until I talk to my friend at the morgue. I doubt he’ll be in for at least two days. However, I’ll give him a call tomorrow and see if he has any information at all,” Joseph replied.

  “Pack, it’s time to work out. We have a lot of time before we can leave, and all four of The Voodoo Dolls are here. Let’s run them through a series of workouts and teach them some more ways to kill a vampire.” Rico turned off the TV and led us all out the back of the building.

  That was an abrupt segue if ever I heard one. Was he trying to get our minds off the missing girls? Or the possibility of vampires?

  Thank goodness they had a covered walkway from the main hall to their gym. Kat and Sam had to go and change into yoga pants. Indie and I already had them on. We both were more comfortable hanging out in our comfy clothes.

  ***

  “I think I want to die! Come on! Please let me lay here until I can move.” Rico and his pack worked all four of us hard!

  The past four hours were spent sparring, doing sit-ups, push-ups, and things called burpees. When he first said the word, I thought he meant we were going to have a burping contest. A burpee is NOT a burp. Gas can be involved but not in a fun way.

  It is a total body workout that makes me regret all the frappuccinos I ever had.

  We would do a set of five burpees then spar a round or two, then a set of burpees and sparring. It was a never ending cycle of torture! I think I would rather fight a vampire.

  “Come on, Jenna. This is going to help you strengthen your body and learn to push through any pain you have when fighting off something bigger or stronger than you are. Don’t be a wimp.” Damien was evil incarnate.

  “Damien, we aren’t in the same shape as you guys. Give us a break.” I couldn’t move, even if I wanted to.

  Rico stood back watching and laughing, the jerk. “Alright, hit the showers, girls. Tomorrow morning be ready for more. I think we’ll try working out in two hour shifts to see if you can handle more. I only have you here for a couple of days, so I’m going to get as much blood and sweat out of you all as I can.”

  “Ugh.” Kat said it all.

  The four of us stayed on the floor for a good fifteen minutes before anyone helped us up. Then we waddled like ducks all the way to the showers. I think I would have rather stayed in our apartment and battled the hurricane.

  Chapter 7

  Jenna

  “Ow! Do we really have to workout today?” Sam grumbled while she tried to get out of bed.

  “No, we don’t.” I wasn’t getting out of bed, unless it was for an Epsom salt bath.

  The next day I couldn’t stand up straight. Rico said he had a way to help me sleep, practically killing me with his work-out was the ticket. I slept for a straight ten hours. I doubted I moved once in my sleep.

  “Girls, we have to do this. At least do some stretches to break down the lactic acid that’s built up overnight.” Kat was evil. She and Damien would make a great couple.

  “I don’t wanna,” Indie grumbled.

 
“Ladies, it’s time to get up. Breakfast is ready.” Rico was outside our door trying to tempt us with food.

  It worked.

  “Is that bacon I smell?” Bacon could get me out of bed.

  It seemed it would get all of us out of bed.

  We must have been a sight. When we walked into the kitchen hunched over and waddling like old ducks, the room erupted into laughter.

  “Ha, ha. This is what happens when normal humans try to keep up with wolf-shifters. Not a pleasant sight or feeling. I don’t think we can workout today.” I rubbed my back when I sat on the hard plastic chair at the table.

  Thankfully, ReeAnna took pity on us and served us a wonderful smelling breakfast of bacon, eggs, and sourdough toast.

  “Oh, is that coffee I smell?” I needed coffee almost as much as I needed air.

  “Yes, do you want cream and sugar?” ReeAnna was a goddess.

  She was close to six feet tall. I suspected all shifters had the height gene. Her heritage must have been Cajun because she had smooth, chocolate skin any woman would die for. She kept her hair wrapped up in a sort of colorful turban. She kinda reminded me of the stereotypical voodoo priestess, instead of a shifter.

  “Please, and thank you. This all looks and smells so good.” Sam picked up a slice of thick bacon. It looked to be cooked to perfection.

  I had four pieces on my plate. It hurt to bring my arm up, but for bacon, I would endure the pain.

  “Rico, I can’t believe you did this to those poor girls! Shame on you!” ReeAnna slapped his shoulder with the back of her hand.

  Something inside of me didn’t like her touching him. He wasn’t my man. Why did I care if she hit him? Maybe it was because I wanted to be the one who hit him? I just didn’t have the strength to get up out of my chair.

  “Ladies, I have a bathtub in my house. Once breakfast is over I’ll take you over to soak. I think I have some soothing bath salts which should help some of your inflammation. I hate to say it, but you will need to do at least some stretches today so you can work out the kinks and lactic acid.” ReeAnna was a woman after my own heart.

  If she had bath salts, I would try stretching after a nice long soak.

  “Thank you, ReeAnna. It’s nice to know at least one person here has a heart.” Indie looked to be in as much pain as I was. She was slowly bringing her fork to her mouth with a bite of egg, which fell off her fork before she could get it into her mouth.

  Joseph sat next to Indie and helped her get some egg on her fork and into her mouth. “Thanks, but I think I can feed myself. I am a grown woman, you know.”

  “Oh, I know.” Joseph stood up and walked out of the room.

  “Indie, he was just trying to help. Don’t be so rude.” I picked up a slice of bacon and took a bite. “Mmm. That’s perfection.”

  “How would you feel if Rico came over and started feeding you like a baby?” Indie needed more caffeine. She wasn’t usually so touchy.

  “Right now? I think I’d be fine. However, after I finished, he would probably get forked for putting me in this position.” I was sitting next to Rico, and he spewed his coffee on his breakfast plate. Served him right.

  He put his hands in the air after wiping his face. “Alright, alright. I get it. We over did it yesterday. I’m sorry. Really I am. How can we help?”

  “For starters, you can help me get my eggs in my mouth. Then, you can slap some butter and jam on my toast. After that, I’ll let you know.” He wasn’t getting out of this too easily.

  “Do you have a masseuse on site?” Kat had the right idea.

  Chapter 8

  Jenna

  “Wow! Look at that rain! I can’t believe it’s still coming down so hard. Do you think we can go home tomorrow? I bet we have a lot of cleanup to do in the shop.” The hurricane passed us by yesterday, thankfully!

  Yesterday was a wasted day. None of us felt like moving. With the hurricane, it really didn’t matter anyway. So we soaked in ReeAnna’s tub with scented bath salts and stretched.

  Rico offered to give me a massage, but it seemed to…intimate. I did let him massage my shoulders. Indie let Joseph massage hers, while Luke offered to rub Kat and Sam’s shoulders. I noticed Kyrie wasn’t too happy when Luke offered to help Sam. He narrowed his eyes and pursed his lips before stomping out of the room.

  While I felt a bit better, I was bummed we couldn’t leave yet. It was probably for the best since we were all still so sore.

  There was some damage, but the levies held. Flooding wasn’t too bad, according to the news service. Sasha said the rain should stop later today. I just hoped she was accurate, for a change.

  “Once the roads open up, I’ll take you ladies back. How about a light workout today? It would do your muscles some good.” Rico was evil. There was no reason to get us to workout so soon, other than him being the devil incarnate.

  Kat put her hand up to stop me. I was about to go off on him.

  “We could use some sparring and a light warm up. By light, I really do mean light. No more of the shifter workout regimen for us. Please try to remember we are only human.” Kat could deal with Rico and his need to torture us.

  Didn’t mean I was going to work out. When I walked through the main room, the big screen was on the news, of course.

  “Hey, are they talking about the missing girls?” The image of our local news team drew my attention.

  “Yes, someone looked into the other girls who were missing and none had checked in with family. The family thought they were just busy at school. This is looking to be a big deal.” Luke was glued to the TV.

  I sat down next to him on the couch. “So, you think it’s vampire related?”

  “Of course. However, it could be something else. Even though there are multiple girls missing, some could be just fine. Some could be acolytes. As hard as it is to believe, some women and men, actually choose that lifestyle. We can’t do anything about it.” Luke’s eyes darkened as he spoke.

  “Why would they do that? I don’t get it. Is their regular, mundane life so horrible they have to choose a path that will only lead to an early death?” It made no sense, even if a bite could feel good.

  This was not a good choice for anyone.

  “I mean, I get it if someone is dying. They would want to have the chance at immortality if they could. I wouldn’t, but I can understand someone else choosing that. Rico said some of the acolytes get chosen to become vamps.” I think it was Rico who said it. Maybe it was Joseph?

  “Yeah, sometimes it happens. More often than not, they just end up as dinner. I think the reason people choose that life is because of what they read in books and see in movies. Remember the one with the shimmering vampires who said they were vegetarians? After that movie came out, we had an influx of young women who wanted to be acolytes. Most of them are dead now.” Luke shook his head.

  “That’s awful! But, I can see it. I romanticized them too after that movie. Not that I wanted to give up my life, but it would have been cool to date a vamp back then.” I laughed at myself for thinking such thoughts now that I knew the truth.

  “So, you were team vamp? Not team wolf?” Rico walked into the room and startled me.

  I bit my lower lip. “Um, at the time? Yes. Now? Team wolf all the way! I just rewatched the series a few weeks back and wondered what I ever saw in the vampires. To be fair, now I know the truth, I’m seeing it all in a new light.”

  “Well, at least you can admit when you’re wrong.” Luke laughed and said, “Shh. They have more info on the missing girls.”

  Everyone in the room shut up quickly and turned their attention to the TV.

  “We have confirmed with all of the parents of the missing girls. Only one of the five missing girls have checked in with her parents. Sadly, three of the missing girls were orphans and had no one to check in with. Our investigative team have determined there are at least four girls unaccounted for, not counting the one who was discovered when she washed up downtown during the hurrican
e. The local authorities will begin working with the University to discover what happened to the girls as soon as the roads clear up, and they can begin an official investigation. Keep tuned in for more on this emerging story.”

  “Wow, I wonder how many of those five were killed by vamps? I hope some are still alive.” I rubbed my eyes and felt dampness on one of my fingers.

  This story was hitting a little too close to home. Was Derek one of those responsible for any of the missing girls? Did killing him help any of them? I hoped so.

  “Hold up! Since when has it been five missing girls? The last report I saw showed four girls.” Indie narrowed her brows and silently counted on her fingers.

  “Last night there was another report detailing all of the missing girls. They discovered another with a note similar to the others.” I should have updated Indie after the news report.

  To be honest, I was in too much pain to talk about it anymore. Those poor girls. I hadn’t been held by vamps, but I have been attacked a couple of times. To imagine what they were going through only brought back horrendous memories for me.

  “Joseph, have you been able to reach your contact in the morgue?” Rico questioned the alchemist when he walked into the room.

  “Yes, he told me right before they were ordered to evacuate, a body came in with marks on her neck. There were multiple teeth marks. He was planning on calling me when he returned to the office.” Joseph’s face was white as a ghost.

  “Multiple marks? Does it mean many vampires fed off her? Or does it mean whoever she served just fed many times?” It had to hurt. I couldn’t fathom what she went through.

  “It’s hard to say. I need to know how fresh the marks are. Usually, a mark will heal in a day or two. Most likely, multiple vampires fed off her before killing her. She probably died with all of them sucking her dry at once. It’s very common with a small group of rogue vamps to feed that way. They aren’t good at taking turns or going slowly.” Rico swallowed hard and sighed.

  “That would have hurt, a lot, huh?” I looked at the hands in my lap and noticed a tear had fallen onto my arm.