by N M Thorn
On the photo, he saw his two best friends, Sergei and Sasha. They were sitting outside of some small restaurant. Their surroundings suggested that the photo was taken somewhere in Russia, probably recently. Sergei and Sasha were not just his friends—they were more like brothers to him, the only family he had. They served and fought together for years, trusting each other with their lives.
Gunz’s hand shook, and he squeezed the phone, raising his eyes at Anatoly. The fear and anger boiled up in him before he could suppress them. Responding to his emotions, the fire flared up in his chest and dancing red flames went up in the depth of his eyes. Anatoly met his burning gaze without blinking, scarlet flares of fire reflecting in his glasses.
“Cool down, Mr. Burns,” said Anatoly, taking the phone out of his hands. “Or shall I call you Gunz?” Gunz stiffened, small flames running up and down his arms. Anatoly chuckled, putting away his cell phone. “You didn’t think I would come to a meeting with you without doing my homework first? I know what you and your friends did a few years ago in Belarus. Destroying a full branch of my organization in a matter of a few hours? Not too many people could pull it off. I received a full report and I must tell you, I was impressed. I wish the three of you were working for me.”
“What do you want?” asked Gunz quietly, his voice hoarse.
“Oh, good, I see you’re ready to talk now,” said Anatoly and waved at the door. “Would you like to invite me in?”
“No, not really. I don’t have a cross and holy water readily available to invite in a blood-sucking creature like you,” muttered Gunz dryly, reaching for the keys. “But it seems you left me no choice.” He opened the door and allowed Anatoly to pass through into his kitchen.
Anatoly sat down at the kitchen table and waved at the chair across from him, inviting Gunz to join him. Gunz sighed but sat down.
“Tell me what you want from me, Anatoly.”
“Yes, of course, Mr. Burns.”
He reached in his jacket pocket again and pulled out a photo. Gunz took the photo out of his hands and frowned. It was a photo of a young woman. She had long blond hair that was running down to her chest and back in soft waves. With her large blue eyes, high cheekbones, and coral-red lips, she was undeniably beautiful. But at the same time, her face had some unexpected hardness that was making her expression look almost sinister. Gunz didn’t know this woman. He threw the photo on the table and it slid back into Anatoly’s hands.
“Keep it,” said Anatoly, moving the photo back to Gunz. “After all, you should know how the person you are going to kill looks like.”
“Excuse me?” asked Gunz shocked, slowly rising. “I’m not an assassin. I’m sure you can find someone who is more qualified for this job in your own organization.”
“Sit down,” barked Anatoly, slamming his hand on the table. “Remember, your friends are alive only for as long as I want them to be alive. And don’t get any bright ideas. If I don’t call my people in an hour, your friends are dead.” He ripped his glasses off, sharply pulled a clean handkerchief out of his pocket and wiped his glasses before placing them back on the bridge of his nose. Then he sighed and switched to his normal soft and polite way of speaking. “You’re a sharpshooter trained by Belorussian special forces and a Fire Salamander, Mr. Burns. And since this woman is not human, there is no one in my organization who is qualified for this job more than you.”
Gunz dropped back into his chair and propped his elbows on the table, hiding his face in his hands. He sat quiet and Anatoly didn’t bother him, giving him the space to process the information. Gunz didn’t think—there was nothing to think about. His past caught up with him, and no matter what, he couldn’t let his friends down. He just needed some time to calm down and come to terms with the situation. A few minutes later, he lowered his hands and pinned Anatoly with a heavy gaze.
“If I do what you want, can you guarantee that you leave me and my friends alone?” he asked quietly.
“I’m a man of honor, Mr. Burns. You have my word,” said Anatoly, his face calm and serious. “You do what I ask, and I’ll never bother you or your friends again.”
A man of honor? Gunz suppressed the desire to roll his eyes—how much could one trust the word of a mobster? Especially a Russian mobster and an ex-zek judging by the tattoos on his hands. All ex-inmates of Russian prisons had special type tattoos and Anatoly’s hands looked like an art gallery. But he had no choice. If he didn’t comply, he had no doubt that Anatoly would kill his friends.
“Tell me about this woman. What is she to you and why you want her dead?” he asked, taking the photo back.
Anatoly’s phone jingled softly, and he pulled it out. He read the text message and shook his head. Then he switched his attention back to Gunz.
“I assume you’re in the working mood now, Mr. Burns. It’s late, and I hope you understand that I’m a busy man,” he said, tapping his fingers on the smooth screen of his phone irritably. “So, let’s spend my time productively. I’ll tell you what I know, and you’ll be listening quietly.”
“Fine,” said Gunz, squeezing his hand into a fist under the table.
“This woman showed up at my place of work last week. As soon as she walked in, all my magic detectors went crazy,” started Anatoly but noticed Gunz move and raised his hand to stop the interruption. “I’m sure, working as an FBI consultant, you’re familiar with modern technology that allows us, mere mortals, to detect the energy of magic, Mr. Burns?”
“Yes, I saw the magic detectors before, but myself I don’t need them,” said Gunz with an indifferent shrug of his shoulders. “I can see the energy of magic and the flow of the elemental power. I was just a little surprised that you have one of those in your possession. I thought so far only the government had this experimental technology.”
“Mr. Burns.” Anatoly chuckled, shaking his head. “You’re wasting your talent working for the government. I would pay you ten times what the FBI pays you. Work for me and I’ll make all your wildest dreams come true.”
“Thanks, but no thanks. I like my job and I’m exactly where I need to be. Please proceed,” said Gunz dryly.
His kitten Mishka showed up in the kitchen and meowed, demanding to be picked up. Gunz picked him up and Mishka climbed to his shoulder, settling there. Anatoly stretched his hand to pet the kitten, but Mishka hissed and snapped his paw, thin sharp claws extended.
Anatoly pulled his hand away and laughed. “I would never think you were a cat person, Mr. Burns, but this little fellow seems to fit right with you.”
“Please continue, Anatoly,” said Gunz, petting the kitten. “It’s late. I need to feed my cat and I’m very tired.”
“Right, right, let’s continue,” agreed Anatoly, getting serious. “So, like I said, she came in and all my magic detectors went crazy. She demanded to meet with me immediately. But I thought it would be better if I met with her while both my wizards were in the office, next to me. You know, it sounded like a good idea at the time to have some magical defense. So, I made her wait for fifteen minutes or so and when I finally called her in, she was a little upset.
“She stormed into my office and her eyes registered the presence of my wizards at once. She waved her hand and both of them fell unconscious. After that she sat down and told me that her name was Eve and she wanted me to do something for her. She didn’t offer her last name, Mr. Burns, and I was too stunned to ask anything,” he said, expecting Gunz’s question.
“What did she ask you to do that you want her dead?” asked Gunz.
Anatoly chuckled. “Yes, a very good question. She wanted me to get rid of a person. A very powerful and influential person, even scary, in my opinion.”
“What? Someone who is scarier and more influential than you?” asked Gunz, sarcasm dripping out from his every word. But Anatoly ignored his sarcasm.
“Yes, a lot more powerful than I am,” he said, nodding. “But this man is not in the same line of business, if you know what I mean. On the surface he
is keeping a low profile, just a regular law-abiding citizen. But he is surrounded by mystery, and he has connections that make him extremely powerful and influential. I tried to investigate him once but found nothing incriminating on him. Honestly, sometimes I wonder if he’s human or something else entirely, but I can never get close enough to him to use my magic detector.
“What struck me as weird was that Eve didn’t ask me to kill this man. She wanted me to force him to leave the state and, if possible, leave the country. I told her it wasn’t possible, and she didn’t like my answer. She told me I had a week to start working on this. If I didn’t do as she demanded, she would start killing everyone who was dear to me, one by one. And she said that she would kill one person every few days for as long as that man was still remaining in Florida.
“I told her again that I can’t do what she asked. She got up and left. And earlier, my right-hand man Dmitri Koval dropped dead. With no apparent reason. I guess it would be safe to assume that Eve killed him. I hope you understand the predicament I’m in, Mr. Burns. As scary as this bitch is, I still prefer to have a war with her than with the man she wants me to get rid of. I hate to place you under this awful duress, but I need this woman, or whatever she is, out of my life as soon as possible.”
“Who was the man she wanted you to get rid of?”
“I don’t think it’s relevant to your assignment, Mr. Burns,” said Anatoly coldly, rising.
“Fine. Where can I find this Eve,” asked Gunz, getting up and gently lowering Mishka on the floor.
“Well, that’s the challenge,” replied Anatoly, heading toward the front door. “I have no idea. You need to find her. If you decide to get help from your boss, Agent James Andrews, or his little witch, I don’t mind. Just don’t mention my name. Surely you understand that I’m not very comfortable around the FBI.”
Gunz opened his front door and followed Anatoly outside. He walked to the end of his driveway and stopped there. “How much time do I have?” he asked.
Anatoly turned around and stared at him over the rim of his spectacles, his eyes cold and calculating like the eyes of a snake. “You don’t have any time, Mr. Burns. I’m not giving you a deadline. You must get Eve out of my life as soon as possible. The longer you take, the more people will die. And if you think she would kill only my employees and business partners, you’re mistaken. She will go after my family, friends and acquaintances who are not involved in my business. Innocent people will suffer, you know? Including your friends in Russia.”
Gunz nodded. With a heavy heart he watched Anatoly getting into a black Audi, parked a few yards away from his house. He hated to do any work for the Russian mob, but at least there was some silver lining in all that—Anatoly gave him information that could help with the paranormal case he was working on with Jim.
Now he had a photo and the name of the person who killed the last victim. He needed to check the dental office and the body of Dmitry Koval to see if it was the same dark magic that killed the other five victims. All he had to do was find this Eve, find out what kind of monster she was and vanquish her.
Piece of cake?
Chapter 8
~ Aidan ~
Aidan pulled a jar with Turkish coffee from the kitchen cabinet, carefully measured one teaspoon of the fine brown powder, and put it inside of a copper ibrik. He added just a little bit of sugar and poured one demitasse of water into the ibrik. After mixing everything together, he put the ibrik on the stove and sat down.
Making the Turkish coffee by hand was taking time and patience, but he liked the process. And the coffee he was making couldn’t be compared to anything that was made in regular coffeemakers or bought in Starbucks. Just the rich and slightly bitter aroma of Turkish coffee foaming on the stove was spellbinding.
Once the coffee was ready, he poured it into the demitasse, careful not to destroy the foamy light layer at the top. With his coffee in one hand and iPad in the other, he walked out to the balcony. Living in a penthouse of one of Ft. Lauderdale high-rises had its perks. The view of the ocean was spectacular.
The sun was slowly rising over the ocean, painting the rippling surface of the water with soft bursts of light. A pleasant cool breeze touched Aidan’s silk robe, wrapping it around his legs. He loved living close to the ocean, and the sunrise was his favorite time of the day. The pink flares of the early morning sun, reflecting in the dark surface of the ocean as always were giving him an elated feeling of good things to come and hope for a better future.
He put the coffee on the table, sitting down and opened the Sun-Sentinel website on his iPad, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t focus on the news. His thoughts were circling back to the strange events of last evening.
Four demons attacked Tessa right next to his school. That was a first. Demons and other evil creatures knew better than to come in such close proximity of his territory. And the mere thought of demons hurting Tessa made his every muscle tense. He knew Tessa since she was just twelve years old—a tiny, quiet girl, mercilessly bullied by her mean classmates.
That day was etched in Aidan’s memory forever. He was on his way to his martial arts school when he heard a noise coming from a small parking lot behind the building. He ran there and saw three boys pushing around a little girl. She huddled into a corner, crying, but still fighting them tooth and nail. As soon as Aidan approached them, the bullies—cowards as most bullies are—ran off, leaving the girl sitting on the ground, her arms still covering her head.
She lowered her arms slowly, exposing her bleeding nose and bruised eye, and stared at Aidan with her big brown eyes filled with tears. He helped her to her feet and offered to give a call to her mother, but she threw her arms around his waist, hiding her bloodied face in his shirt and cried silently. Aidan lifted her off the ground and she wrapped her trembling arms around his neck, clinging her whole tiny body to him. He took her to his school where she finally calmed down and gave him the phone number of her mother.
When Tessa’s mother arrived, Tessa was cleaned up, changed in a brand-new white martial arts uniform, and was furiously attacking the kicking bag. Aidan invited Tessa’s mother into his office and offered to get Tessa into a martial arts program for free. She agreed right away, strongly believing that the only way to help her daughter with the bullying problem was to teach her how to defend herself. However, she gracefully rejected Aidan’s offer of free lessons and paid for every single lesson her daughter took until the day she passed away.
Tessa was the best student he ever had. Focused and determined, she put her entire self into the training, spending all her free time in the dojang. Unlike the other children in his school, Aidan made sure to train her himself, giving her extra lessons in the after hours.
With time, Tessa blossomed, transforming from an awkward, terrified child into a confident young woman. She wasn’t beautiful by the generally-accepted standards. Short and slender, she had long black hair that constantly was falling over her face, covering her angular features. But it was her large brown eyes, soft and velvety, that made her appearance truly special and captivating.
She could walk into Aidan’s office and ask him for just about anything, and as long as she was gazing pleadingly at him with those deep-brown cherries, he could never say no to her. Tessa knew that and wasn’t afraid to use it.
After her mother passed away, Tessa became withdrawn and was spending even more time training, staying away from other students and instructors. Aidan was the only person she was open with, not worried about showing him her true feelings. And he was there for her every moment through the grieving, gently supporting and leading her toward recovery.
Aidan didn’t notice how it happened, but over the course of six years, Tessa became a true necessity in his life, and he couldn’t imagine spending a day without seeing her. He wasn’t sure what he felt toward her, but he knew that he would do anything for her, to make sure she was safe and happy.
Aidan shut down his iPad and slowly sipped his
coffee. Between the demons’ attack on Tessa and the unexpected appearance of the Fire Salamander in his school, everything felt wrong. How could it happen that he didn’t know that a Fire Salamander was living in his city? This man had to be suppressing his elemental power every second of the day, otherwise Aidan would feel his presence.
And the way Tessa looked at this short man when she said that he was her knight in shining armor... She was sarcastic of course, but there was something in the glance she threw at that Salamander… Aidan wasn’t sure why, but at that moment he felt a painful jolt. And he didn’t like it.
He got up and drew a complicated rune with his finger. The rune hung suspended in the air, glowing with a bright white light. Aidan touched it and whispered a summoning spell. A few minutes later, the air shimmered with a soft red glow and Uri materialized in front of him. His hair was untidy, and he looked like he just woke up.
“Good morning, Uri,” said Aidan, gesturing at a free chair. “Coffee?”
“Morning,” replied Uri, his voice slightly hoarse and sat down. “Yeah, thank you. I’m not sure if I’m fully awake yet.”
Aidan snapped his fingers, manifesting a fresh cup of Starbucks coffee. Uri took the cup and inhaled the bitter smell of the hot beverage before taking the first sip.
“I’m sorry to summon you here so early in the morning,” said Aidan, “but I need you to do something for me.”
“What do you need?” asked Uri, staring at Aidan over his coffee cup.
“The Fire Salamander,” said Aidan, his brows pulled together over his blazing blue eyes. “I don’t like him, and I don’t trust him. He showed up uninvited and it worries me that I couldn’t feel his presence earlier.”
“You don’t like him, or you don’t like the way Tessa was looking at him?” asked Uri with a wide grin.