Familiar Beginnings

by Alice Winters

  “Look at your ass print!”

  I start laughing as I look at the splotches of colors filling the canvas. Havoc stands and pulls me up so we can admire our work and that’s when my phone rings.

  I promptly ignore it. “We should be artists.”

  “Let’s hang it in the café.”

  “Hell no.”

  “Please.”

  “No!”

  “Pretty please?”

  “No!”

  “But—”

  “The answer to this will always be a big fat no.”

  He grumbles, and that’s when my phone starts ringing again. I gingerly pick it up and put it on speaker so I don’t have to hold it against my face. “Hello?”

  “Miles, there’s an emergency, we need you now,” Sam says.

  “Like…” I look at my naked body covered in paint. “Now, now?”

  “Right now. We need you here immediately. I’ll send you the address.”

  “I need a shower.”

  “Miles, now. I just saw you like an hour ago. You’re fine without a shower. Come now.”

  “Shit, okay,” I say as I hang up and look at Havoc who’s giggling. The fucking menacing-as-hell demon who I’ve seen take on armies of undead is giggling at the prospect of us going out like this.

  “Illusion, sweetheart,” I say as I toss one on him and it just crushes his joy.

  “No. I want people to see how much I’ve marked you!”

  “Put on clothes you don’t care about and let’s go.”

  I rush through the room, careful to keep paint off everything as I get dressed in ragged clothes that I don’t mind ruining. Then I grab plenty of blankets and rush out to the car. Thankfully, the paint is starting to dry in the areas where it was thinner, but I still cover the seats and get inside. And just before I close the door, Menace slips in.

  Havoc doesn’t seem pleased by any of this. “Why does no one tell us anything? They just bark orders and you come running with your tail wagging,” Havoc grumbles now that the prospect of showing up covered in sex paint has disappeared.

  “The only one I run to with my tail wagging is you.”

  He seems slightly satisfied after hearing this. “Good.”

  “I love that you’re trying to be jealous of law enforcement.”

  “I’d never be jealous,” he says while he has his hands folded over his chest.

  I snort and try my hardest not to do a full belly laugh at the ludicrousness of his words. But he’s my little liar.

  “You’re so cute,” I say as I pat his leg.

  “What’s that mean?”

  “That you’re cute!”

  He narrows his eyes but lets me get away with it. I pull into the parking lot of the local jail and park. The three of us get out and head to the front door. Havoc holds it open for me, but as I pass through it, I bump into Sam who’s hovering right inside the door.

  “Whoops, didn’t see you lurking there.”

  “Yeah… we have a bit of a problem,” he says. “Johnson and I were called in because a few of the people seem to be… dead.”

  “The cult people?” I ask.

  Sam seems distracted as he picks at the shoulder of his jacket. “Is this paint?”

  Whoops. Must have been when I ran into him.

  “Where did this come from?” he asks.

  “No idea. None at all. You were talking about dead people?”

  He lets go of his coat and turns his attention back to me. “Oh yeah. Them.”

  “Did they kill themselves?” I ask as he takes me over to Johnson. They get us clearance and take us through to the back, where the rune-covered cells are.

  “Nope, they had a little help,” Johnson says as he hurries around the corner with us following close behind.

  “Ooh! How interesting!” a voice behind me says. The detectives jump and spin around, but I already know who it is.

  “Hey, Lanni,” I say as I turn. “And… Etienne.” My band of misfits just keeps growing, and how do they always know where I’m going to be? Do I have some type of tracker on myself that I don’t know about?

  “Did you bring them?” Sam asks in confusion. “How’d they get in?”

  “I’m like magic!” Lanni says, then does jazz hands for some reason before her eyes lock onto mine, and she cocks her head. “Why are you so silver?” Then she looks at Havoc and cocks her head the other way. “And you’re so gold.”

  I forgot she can see through my illusions and open my mouth to explain, but before I can, Sam says, “Is that why I have silver all over my jacket?”

  “What? Nada nope,” I say which sounds like the biggest lie ever. I don’t even know why I said it.

  Sam narrows his eyes at me. “Drop the illusion.”

  “Is that really what you want?” I ask.

  “Like it’s in your hair and everything.” Lanni seems mystified by this. I’m mystified about how this is more interesting than dead bodies.

  “Were you guys painting?” Johnson asks in confusion.

  Havoc chuckles. “We were painting, all right—”

  “Nope, you’re done speaking,” I threaten as I jab a finger at him.

  “With our naked bodies,” he finishes.

  “Havoc, we’re trying to be professional.”

  “Whoosh. That ship sailed when you showed up looking like that,” Lanni helpfully supplies.

  “Now, I did ask if I could get a shower. Tell them, Sam!”

  Sam’s eyes narrow, like he’s trying to understand. “So… you guys… had sex while… painting?”

  “We made art!” Havoc says.

  “But wouldn’t paint get… you know… up there?” he asks.

  “Up where?” Havoc asks, fully knowing up where.

  Sam’s head cocks. “You know… up the… area.”

  “Which area?” Havoc asks.

  Johnson lets out a huge groan of annoyance.

  “Shut up, both of you. We are professionals. We are checking out whatever it is that we’re checking out,” I say, hoping this torture will end as soon as it can.

  “Leo’s going to be so excited when I bring paints home!” Etienne says. “I gave him a hand job on my horse once. He was a little concerned about it, but I told him the horse wouldn’t notic—” Etienne eyes us. “Don’t look at me like that. It’s a horse. It wasn’t like he was, ‘Neigh, let me join in with my horse dick.’”

  Johnson clears his throat. “You all are literally the strangest group of people I’ve ever met.”

  “I’m normal!” I cry.

  “Is that a painted penis on your neck?” Lanni asks as she squints her eyes.

  I slap a hand over my neck and hurry off after Johnson.

  “So, Johnson, about kicking the rest of them out?” I ask.

  “You… you’re the one who shows up covered in sex paint, and you want the rest kicked out?” he asks with a raised eyebrow.

  “I asked if I could take a shower and was told I didn’t have time. Not my fault. Clearly, I had time. We’ve done nothing but bicker since I got here!”

  He eyes me for a moment, and I realize that everyone is out to get me while Havoc is over there so proud of himself. I scoop up Menace and hold him in front of me as I walk.

  “Will you be nice to me?” I ask the cat monster.

  He immediately bats at my face, but thankfully, there are no claws involved. So I assume that means he loves me.

  “That cat hasn’t eaten you in your sleep yet?” Sam asks.

  “He secretly likes me, he just won’t admit it,” I say, and that’s when we step around the corner.

  Menace stops struggling and turns to look at the cell that seems to be the problem. The front is made of glass so the officers can see in, but the runes keep any magic users from using their magic. There’s blood splattered over it that appears to be Terrance’s blood, if I had to guess. Roaming the cell is a huge higher-level demon and at her feet is a very dead Terrance.

  “He… summone
d it?” I ask in disbelief. “I thought these cells were made to withstand magic. Like… lots of magic, and Terrance doesn’t have a lot of magic.”

  Johnson shakes his head. “He broke the runes somehow and summoned the demon.”

  “He did not break these runes,” I say as I set my hand against the glass and reach for the runes. “A professional rune caster put these in, right?”

  “Yeah.”

  “No, Terrance didn’t break these. Check the footage; someone else did this.”

  Johnson tears his eyes away from the roaming demon. “Can you send the demon back?”

  “Yeah,” I say as I head over to the door. As Lanni and Havoc continue to debate me coming here covered in paint, a guard opens the door. The demon immediately rushes toward me, but I hold up a hand. “Return to your circle.”

  She hesitates but when I step toward her, she backs away and bows her head. She’s not dumb and respects my power, or maybe she even knows who I am and knows better than to fuck with me. She steps onto the circle, and I hold my hand steady.

  “Go back to where you came from or you’ll be forced to give me your true name.”

  She hesitates until the magic ignites at her feet and she drops to her knees.

  “You have so much control,” Etienne says from behind me. “How do you remain in control?”

  I look over at him. “You probably shouldn’t be in here.”

  “I guess, but they’re bickering about your painted ass and didn’t notice. Sometimes, I fear I’ll lose control of Dyame and he’ll consume me. Can you… show me how you control them?”

  Menace meows at me and tugs at my pants. I look down at him but wave him off.

  “I don’t know that it’s the same, but I can try,” I say as I hold my hand out to the circle to push the demon through it.

  Menace yowls, and that’s the moment I touch the magic.

  The moment I feel it, my blood runs cold and I jump to my feet. “It’s Geoff!” I scream, but the glass must be soundproof. I turn and rush for the door as it slams shut. There’s no door handle, so I run for the glass and beat my hand against it, but they can’t hear me, and no one is turning to see me. In a panic, I close my eyes and reach for Havoc’s connection. He instantly spins to face me, and that’s when I see Geoff standing behind them. He gives me a huge smile and that’s the moment that my connection to Havoc snaps off. Not because the bind is severed but because the runes in the room begin working again, sapping my magic away as if I’m the one imprisoned inside.

  Havoc turns toward Geoff and draws his sword as my world spins out of control. I can do nothing in this room without my magic or my connection to Havoc. I almost feel like the runes have ripped a part of me away and my body feels oddly hollow and incomplete. Can I even function like this? Before I can do anything, I hear movement behind me that draws me away from my thoughts that are spiraling out of control.

  Quickly, I turn as the demon lunges for me. I slip out of her path at the last moment and she slams into the glass wall.

  “What the fuck?” Etienne asks as he bangs on the door. “Miles, I don’t know how to fight without magic!”

  I don’t have my sword on me or anything else to aid me, leaving me nearly defenseless. I didn’t even think to grab it, not when Havoc has his and I rely on my magic so much more. After Rehna broke my last one, I haven’t found another that reacts to my magic in the same way. Now I realize I could have even packed a fucking spoon, and it’d be more helpful than hand-to-hand combat with a demon that has three-inch-long dagger claws, faster speed and agility, and a clear desire to see my head separated from the rest of my body.

  “I don’t have time for this,” I growl. I need to get out there and stop Geoff. I need to help the others. But outside this room, am I of any help? Will I just get in the way? Havoc will be forced to protect me the moment Geoff says that one word. That one single word will drive me to my knees and I’ll be nothing more than a liability again.

  I long to turn to see what’s happening, horrified at the thought of being behind this glass as the man I love faces that horrible monster, but I can’t let my attention stray off the demon. She’s too fast and all I can do is dodge her hits.

  If I don’t stay focused, she’ll kill me, and I really won’t be helping anyone.

  Instead of being pissed about this and splitting my attention, I need to stop the demon and focus on getting out. The faster I get out, or get Etienne out, the faster we can help. Even if I’m useless, it doesn’t mean Etienne will be.

  The demon steps into me and I slide to the right before ducking under her arm. I ram my elbow into the side of her neck, causing her to stagger. Enraged, she turns to face me and begins rushing my way. That’s when Etienne throws the blanket from the bed over the demon’s throat and yanks down. I see that the demon is carrying a dagger, so I pull it from its sheath and drive it into her chest as she fights off the blanket.

  She howls out, but I know that it’s not enough. Demons don’t go down easily and it would require decapitation to make sure she’s dead. I’m not very fond of killing demons since they don’t usually have a say in what they’re doing, but I doubt an order would work in here with the magic sapped from the room. And I have the feeling that she really wants to kill me for the fun of it.

  I draw the knife back as she uses her nails to slice through the blanket Etienne had been using and turns on him quickly.

  He looks up with wide eyes and rushes backwards, but he doesn’t have far to go before slamming into the wall. I lunge at her and drive the knife into her neck, and that’s the moment I feel magic rush back into the room.

  Did they manage to stop Geoff? Then drop the hold of the runes so I can fight back? That’s when the intercom crackles and Geoff says that one single word that drops me to my knees. The demon grabs me and I lift my hand to call upon my magic and find that my magic is already gone again. Of course Geoff stopped the runes to hurt me before snapping them back into place.

  The demon staggers back as she paws at the knife wedged into her neck. My breath is coming heavy as pain radiates through the markings on my body. How do they cause me so many issues?

  Suddenly, I feel fingers slide through my hair and my body runs cold. The fixation it has on the pain from the markings is almost pushed away as I feel cold metal pressed against my neck.

  “You could have been so much more, Miles,” Geoff says as I feel the blade slice across my throat and warm blood run down my neck. “I tried so hard to love you, to teach you everything I ever knew, but you just refused to listen.”

  I reach for my neck as my legs feel weak, like they’re incapable of holding my weight.

  “Why did you choose this path when you could have had greatness?”

  I open my mouth, wanting to answer, but find that words can’t come to me as Geoff lets me drop to the ground.

  “No! Miles!” Etienne yells, but the first to reach us is Menace. As soon as I hit the ground, he’s on my back and Geoff steps away from me for some reason. I want to push Menace back. There’s no need for him to die as well. I open my mouth, wanting to tell him to go, but I can’t get words to form as I feel like I’m drowning in my own blood.

  “How the hell did you get that—” Because Geoff is too busy looking at the cat, he doesn’t see Etienne until he’s driven the knife right between his ribs.

  “Fuck. I will eat your heart just as well,” Geoff says, backing out of the room, most likely so he can use his magic again.

  I try to move, but my arms feel like weights. My neck hurts like hell, but so does my entire body because of the spell.

  And that’s when I really comprehend what’s happening.

  Without my magic in this room, I’m like any other human. Of course I’m going to die from getting my throat slit open.

  “Miles? Miles!” Etienne yells as he rushes over to me. “We have to do something… you’re going to die… don’t go down the river. Whatever you do, don’t—”

  “Someon
e fucking kill that nuisance and get me their hearts,” Geoff says, but his voice is in a tunnel so far away I could never reach it. Sounds become indecipherable as the world becomes dark and I feel myself falling away.

  Chapter Seven

  I open my eyes to the sound of water. The world around me is strangely dark as I feel water rushing past me. Panicked, I stand up quickly and break through the surface of the water, only to realize I’m in the middle of a river.

  I take a step and hear something behind me that makes me turn quickly. Along the shore is a line of people with sickly colored skin, shadows obscuring some of their faces, but it’s clear they’re focused on me. As they look down at me, I see that their eyes are pale, lifeless.

  “A killer.”

  I turn to find the speaker.

  “Another killer.”

  The current of the water is going faster. It’s pushing against me and I feel like if I let it, I’ll never come back.

  Come back? To where? Where am I? The world is dark, almost like everyone beyond this river and the shore is just nothingness.

  “You’re dead,” one says, and I turn, but no one seems to be speaking.

  “You expect to be forgiven for your sins?”

  Again, I hunt for the voice, but I can’t tell whose it is. They have no distinguishing features on their faces or color that allows me to tell them apart. Their mouths never seem to move and their eyes never seem to blink. But deep down, I know I killed all of these people. Whether it was me or my power that killed them, I don’t know. Havoc tells me it wasn’t me—that I couldn’t control it, that Geoff was the one using my magic to end their lives—but I could have stopped it. I could have died before Geoff killed them. I could have made it end. But I didn’t know, right? I was a kid.

  They step closer to the river’s edge and I step back, letting the current push me. Etienne’s words come back to me, telling me to not let the current take me, but I deserve it. I deserve whatever this current has in store for me.

  Without my selfishness, so many would still be alive. I push off, bringing my feet up and letting the current sweep me back.

  This is right, this is what I deserve.