of this case. I thought it would be better if I waited a day
and then that turned in to a couple of days.”
Out the window, people were scurrying around on the
tarmac below
“Please? I didn’t mean to hurt you.”
I scoffed. “Well, it doesn’t matter now. My best friend
is dead.” Another passenger glanced at me, and I lowered
my voice. “What happened to her?” I whispered.
“Whatever monster was killing people in your city,” he
said.
I should never have left. I didn’t know what I could
have done to save her, but I should have been there,
anyway.
“We can find the monster,” Nick said. A horrifying
thought slid into my mind — the idea of raising my friend
as a wraith. Tears sprung out of my eyes before I could
stop them and I started to feel sick. The idea of Georgia
screaming her face ruined like the witch in the graveyard. I
covered my mouth and stumbled over Nick's legs in the
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tight space between the seats and ran to the washroom. I
slammed the little sliding door shut behind me, and dry
heaved into the airplane toilet. My face was wet with tears,
and my whole body shook as I fell to my knees and wished
I was dead. I never thought I would raise someone I knew,
it never even occurred to me until now.
When the heaves stopped, I plopped down and leaned
against the wall in the tiny stall.
The tiny door slid open, and Nick slipped in before
closing and locking the door. The space was too small and
my magic too heavy for this kind of closeness with him,
but I didn’t have the strength to move yet.
Nick crouched down beside me. I closed my eyes
trying to keep from looking at him.
“I made a mistake,” he whispered.
My head shook, waving my hair into my face.
His hand reached out tentatively and moved my hair
so he could see my face. I looked up at him, and his thumb
brushed the line of tears that were cooling on my cheek.
“Please, forgive me?”
I just nodded, and he pulled me off the floor and into
his arms. The space was too small for both of us, but he
kept my head from hitting the wall as he cradled me for a
moment. He set my feet on the ground, his body flush with
mine, and the magic was overpowering.
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“Just let go, Selena,” his voice was rough and filled with
emotion.
I brought my hand up and rested it on his chest before
I let my magic flow out of my fingertips and into his body.
His head tipped back, and the rush filled my bloodstream.
Hollowing me out, but giving me a reprieve from my grief
as it took my mind away too. The light-headed feeling
made me rest my cheek on Nick's chest. His arms still held
me upright, and he leaned back against the wall, bracing his
feet, so I tipped forward into him. It felt good for a
moment. But in my experience, good moments don’t last.
This one ended with a bang on the door.
“We are going to take off in a minute. Get your asses
out here,” Kai whispered.
“Ok,” I replied.
Nick held on a moment longer and kissed my forehead.
He whispered — “thank you,” — then let me go. He
shifted so I could get past, his eyes lidded still and I opened
the door and left him there.
When I returned to my seat, Kai was sitting beside
Peran, leaving his seat beside me open for Nick. I guess he
had a point. If I forgave him and gave him all my magic, I
could probably sit beside him.
The fasten seatbelt light came on as Nick strolled down
the aisle. He sat beside me and gave me a half smile before
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buckling himself in. He took my hand as the plane began
to taxi down the runway and I bit my lip.
Back to reality then. I was feeling drunk, from dropping
all that magic, so maybe that was to blame when I silently
promised Georgia I would avenge her. I didn’t care what it
took, I would find a way to make whoever did this to her
pay, and I never broke a promise to the dead.
The plane jolted, and we were airborne.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Since Peran was staying in my city to work with
detectives on the murders anyway, when we left the airport,
we went to my apartment.
Walking into the lobby and smelling the kind of funky
odor that permeated my whole building was the biggest
relief. I didn’t care that the elevator didn’t work or that the
guys wouldn’t all fit in my tiny apartment.
“Hey, Selena.” I turned to find my building
superintendent, David with a smile on his face. A woman
was standing beside him holding a set of keys. She must
have been a new tenant. She was slim and her hair was long
and black, hanging halfway down her back. She smiled at
me and I smiled back.
I slid my eyes to David who was grinning at me.
“Hey, David. How’s it going?” I asked.
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“Good, I haven’t seen you for a few days, I was getting
worried.” He eyed the guys with their suitcases.
“Yeah, I was visiting family.” I didn’t know how to
introduce the guys, so I didn’t. I just waved and headed for
the door to the stairs.
“Glad you’re back!” David called as the door swung
shut behind us.
“He was creepy,” Peran said in a hushed tone as our
boots echoed up the stairwell.
“He’s nice,” I replied.
Peran raised an eyebrow at me.
“He is a warlock,” Nick added
I glanced at him as we climbed the last set of steps.
“I didn’t know,” I said. “Look, my place is tiny and
probably super messy. Don’t judge me.”
Kai snickered; he would probably judge me.
Nick took my hand and squeezed it. I thought of the
irony of the last time I saw Georgia at the nightclub where
I had first laid eyes on Nick. Then took a deep breath and
shook away the memory. I wouldn’t be able to help avenge
Georgia if I was an emotional mess.
Finally, I pushed open the fire escape door and
unlocked my apartment door. Stagnant air hit me in the
face. Yeah, I left some food out somewhere.
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Coughing, I ran to the window and slid it open, then
ran to the bathroom and grabbed the air freshener. I
sprayed as I walked out and checked the counter for the
source. It was a hamburger from work still in a paper bag.
Shit.
I dropped it in the trash and then tied the bag and ran
it to the garbage chute.
When I returned, Nick was pouring a glass of not-
tomato-juice, and Kai had parked on my futon, watching
the TV. The bathroom door was closed, and I could hear
the shower running. They had already made themselves to
home, and none of them seemed to care about the mess.
I stood in the middle of the room, wishing I had more
furniture or somet
hing. Nick threw his arm around me, his
other hand gripping his glass and pulled me to the tiny
kitchen table with two stools.
“We should talk about the plan,” he said.
I nodded, taking a deep breath. This was it. I had to do
this for Georgia. “I guess it would be best to go with Peran
to talk to the officers? What else does he do?”
The TV flicked off, and Kai came over to lean against
the counter. “He raises the dead,” he said.
I nodded, but my mouth went dry. A loud caw at my
window startled me. Crow hopped through the screen like
it wasn't even there and jumped onto the top of my TV.
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“Oh, don’t-” I said as the sound of ripping tape
proceeded the crash of my TV falling through the old
cardboard box it was sitting on. Crow jumped and fluttered
across to land on the small table in front of me. He cawed
like it was my fault his weight was the straw that broke the
cardboard. Kai disappeared and reappeared beside my TV
looking down at it through the ruined box.
“I think we will stay at a hotel,” he muttered,
confirming the bird broke my TV.
Shit.
Peran came out of the bathroom with a puff of steam,
filling the room with the fresh scent of soap. He glanced at
Kai and the depressed look on his face and then the TV.
“What happened?” he asked.
“The fat bird broke the TV,” Kai said, sounding
dejected.
Crow let out an ear-splitting caw and flapped his wings
a few times.
I tried to hold back the laugh, but between the stress
and the sadness, I lost it. I laughed until I wheezed and
tears ran down my face. Nick snickered, but Kai and Peran
stared at me like I had lost my mind. I crumpled to the
floor as my laughter died, taking deep gulps of air to catch
my breath.
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That was the moment I saw Georgia’s dress. It was in
the pile of dirty laundry waiting by the door to go to the
laundry room. The sparkles shined and glittered like
fireworks. I reached over and tugged the dress out of the
pile. Clutching it, I rose and walked across the room to
collapse on the futon. I pulled my legs up and set the dress
across my knees. It was just a week ago that I was dancing
with her. The dress smelled like alcohol and perfume.
“We are going to go,” Kai said as he and Peran grabbed
their bags. There wasn’t space for them here, anyway.
“Yeah, I’ll send a text in the morning, and we can meet
up,” Nick said. I could feel his eyes studying me like I was
a bomb ready to go off.
“Sorry about your TV,” Kai said as he walked out the
door. I heard the soft click of the door, and then it was just
me, Nick and the stupid bird who was pecking at my fridge
door.
Nick opened a cupboard and grabbed some crackers
for the bird. Crow jumped up on the counter and noisily
pecked at them.
The futon cushion sagged as Nick sat down beside me,
I sighed as his arm slid across my back and he pulled my
head onto his shoulder. His warmth seeped into me, as the
sounds of Crow continued to fill the silence.
“Do you think she…” I bit my lip. “Suffered?”
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Nick’s hand slid up and down my back. His head
turned into mine, so his breath rustled my hair. “No,” he
said.
I wanted to take him at his word, but it felt like he was
saying it for my benefit. As if he thought I couldn’t handle
the truth, and he was probably right. I probably couldn’t.
I fell asleep there, wrapped up in Nick and covered
with Georgia’s dress, on my smelly old futon, with a giant
bird in my kitchen. My life had gone weird.
When I woke up, the sun was shining. It burned
through the window, making the tiny space smell warm like
spring. The breeze from the open window rustled my hair,
blowing a few strands across my cheek. I was curled up on
the futon, still gripping Georgia’s dress, but covered in a
blanket.
I sighed, remembering everything that had happened
in the last week, but felt rested finally, having slept in my
familiar space.
“You know, your bird is an ass,” Nick said. I looked at
him sitting on the small stool at my tiny table. He filled the
room. My apartment wasn’t big enough for two people. Or
two people and a crow who right now was hopping on my
counter, trying to open the cupboard door.
“Yeah, he’s pretty though.” My voice was scratchy. I
cleared it a few times, then watched the silly bird flapping
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his wings to hover in front of the cupboard. He poked his
beak into the cupboard then the rest of him disappeared
inside. The cupboard closed behind him with a slam. A
laugh slid out of my dry throat.
Bird fed, I pulled the blanket back and staggered to the
bathroom. I pulled some clothes from my clean pile before
flicking on the shower. My face was pale in the mirror, and
my eyes were red and puffy. Magic coursed through me,
snapping off the ends of my fingers. I took a deep breath
and gave myself a little pep talk. It was time to be strong
— no more wimpy, hiding Selena.
I showered quickly and got dressed in some tight jeans
and a black tank top. I brushed out my white hair and tied
it up in a smooth ponytail. I looked like a warrior now. Like
all those super tough chicks on book covers and movie
posters. I put my fists up in the mirror and made a serious
badass face. It was believable.
I walked out, to find Nick pulling on his shoes.
“Hey, you look better,” he said.
“I feel better.”
“Peran called. He and Kai will meet us downtown.”
Crow cawed from the cupboard and then pushed his
head out through the closed door to peer at me.
“You ready Crow?”
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He cawed again and then burst out of my cupboard. I
didn’t want to know what kind of mess he had made in
there, so pulled on my boots and laced them up. I chose
the tall boots and tucked my pants into them, so I looked
like a super badass. Nick's eyes followed me. They burned
into my skin making me shiver. When I looked up, he
didn’t look away. Instead, the corner of his lip ticked up
into a crooked grin.
He was wearing black jeans and a tight t-shirt that said
“rock” across it in faded letters. He popped his fedora on
his head and opened the door with a flourish. Crow
flapped out the window, and I grabbed my keys, locking
the apartment door behind us.
Downtown, the cab Nick had called stopped in front
of the police station. I took a deep breath and stepped out
onto the busy downtown street. Peran was leaning against
the brick front of the three-story building. His white hair
almost glowed in the sun. I wondered if mine looked the
same.
“Hey, guy
s,” Kai said from where he sat on the front
step to the station.
Nick and Peran spoke for a minute, but I tuned them
out.
I raised a hand in a silent wave. My stomach was
churning. Good thing I hadn’t eaten. Now I was here, my
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nerves were on fire. My magic boiled, sensing the dead that
were within. The coroner's office was in the basement of
the building. I knew this only because that was where my
magic wanted me to go, like a rope tugging me that way.
“You ready?” Nick asked, his voice breaking through
my distraction.
I nodded and followed the guys up the steps. Crow
swooped down and passed through the open door as we
entered, landing with a flap on the front desk inside. The
woman behind the counter grabbed at papers that went
flying.
“Sorry,” I said as Crow hopped down off the desk.
“No animals allowed,” the woman said.
“It’s ok, Officer Deval. They are with me,” a graying
man in a suit said from a doorway halfway down the hall.
“Hey Peran. Thanks for coming.” He held out his hand,
and the two men shook.
“This is my partner, Kai,” Peran said.
“Nice to meet you, Kai.”
“And this is Selena and Nick. They are new, but a very
talented team. They’ll take point on this case.” That was
news to me, but I shook the man's hand and felt my magic
recoil. Human and alive. My magic wanted no part of him.
“Good to meet you. I’m Detective Andrews. You can
call me Tom. I’m the lead detective on this case. They have
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filled me in on your skill set, so no need to explain. Let’s
just get this guy.”
Tom had a kind face — the type of smile that put
people at ease.
“Sounds good,” I said. He turned and led us to an
elevator. The door made a soft ping as it opened and we
rode down to a sub-basement.
The walls down there were white cinder block, and the
heavy commercial tiles under our feet echoed our steps
through the corridor. Crow hopped along beside me
instead of flying in the low space.
When Tom stopped at a door, my magic flared. Crow
ruffled his feathers, drawing my attention and reminding
me to breathe. The smell of cleaners burned my nose.
Another scent lingered just beneath the chemical. It made