Dark Storm

Neve

“Well, here’s to being promoted.” My friend Rhiannon clinked her pint of Old Style against my glass and then took a big gulp.

“Thanks.” I sipped my gin and tonic, savoring the sweet, bitter flavor.

Damn, it’s good to be back home in Magic Side.

The Hideout, our favorite bar, was packed. Shifters. Sorcerers. Devil-kin. Even a fangless vamp in the corner. The excess noise made it hard to concentrate on Rhia's voice, but the familiar vibe was exactly what I needed. I’d had just a few too many new experiences lately and needed a bit of a rock to cling to.

Rhiannon leaned in, blond hair falling around her face. “Come on, Neve, why do you look so gloomy? I thought you would be over the moon. You’re a detective now. You’ve been waiting for this for how many years?”

The promotion had been a long time coming, like waiting-for-the-next-Game-of-Thrones-book long. I had ground myself to the bone and towed the company line for years, with nothing to show for it. Then I broke a lot of rules, almost got myself fired, and suddenly I had a promotion.

Go figure.

“Assistant detective,” I corrected. “And technically, I’m still on probation for another week.”

“Perfect!” Rhiannon chirped. She wasn’t the glass-half-full type. She was the glass-is-overflowing-and-you-need-to-take-a-big-sip-from-the-edge-so-you-don’t-spill-it type. She was exactly what you needed in a best friend. A rock. A really perky rock.

“I would kill for that kind of time off. I wouldn’t leave my couch for days. I’d order pizza for breakfast and binge-watch Parks and Rec until my eyes melted.”

“What I should be doing is figuring out how to control my magic.” As a half-djinn—a type of genie—I could teleport to the Realm of Air, throw big gusts of wind, and fly, which was awesome sauce, but I needed more practice.

“You’ll figure it out, Neve. We both will.”

Rhia was a time traveler. She couldn’t control her magic at all and had to keep it on lockdown. Thankfully, she was also a kickass detective.

Two weeks ago, she’d been abducted by an evil djinn, but I’d rescued her from the Realm of Air.

I’d had help getting Rhia back. Damian Malek. One of the Fallen. Just the thought of him sent a jolt down my spine. His face flashed before my mind’s eye. Perfect jaw. Dark penetrating eyes that foretold of danger. I could almost smell his magic signature—juniper, the sea, ancient forests. And then betrayal sunk its razor-sharp claws into my chest, tearing at my heart.

Rhia snapped her fingers in front of my face. “Hey. Space cadet. I thought I lost you there for a second.”

“Nope. I’m here. Still on Earth,” I muttered. My palms stung as I unclenched my fists.

Damian had betrayed me, not to mention lied and nearly got me and Rhia killed. Sure, he was out of this world gorgeous, but he was a liar and a thief, and I couldn’t trust him. We hadn’t spoken in a week.

“You’re thinking about him again. Is that why you’ve been melancholy all night?”

Rhiannon read my mind. She wasn’t a mind-reader. She could just read my mind.

I shrugged. “You got me.”

I took a long sip of my G&T through the tiny black straw until air bubbled amongst the ice in the bottom of the glass.

Rhiannon motioned to the bartender, our friend Diana, for another round of drinks and then turned to me. “Listen, Neve. Damian is a deceitful, manipulative criminal who’s not only dangerous but on the opposite side of the Order. Him out of your life is the best thing that could’ve happened.”

She was right. Not only was Damian a dangerous fallen angel and treacherous crime lord, he’d also originally released the djinn that abducted Rhiannon and then lied about it.

Manipulative bastard.

I absently scratched the white tattoo on my arm.

Rhia caught the movement. “Is it acting up again?”

I hadn’t had a tattoo until I’d traveled to the Realm of Air. Then suddenly, it was there. The more I used my power, the more it grew—sprouting into increasingly intricate patterns like ancient calligraphy.

“It’s spread up my arm and around, um… my… part of my chest now. It stopped growing as quickly, now. I haven’t been using my powers much. Just a couple of night flights.”

Flying was harder here on Earth than in the Realm of Air, but worth every ounce of energy. Nothing cleared my mind like drifting over Magic Side in the dark, floating gently above the twinkling lights and lonely muggers below.

“It’s cool. I want a matching one.”

“I don’t know what it means, Rhia. I’m worried.”

The djinn had had identical tattoos across his entire body. He’d been a murderous bastard with a ferocious temper. But I wasn’t a djinn. Only a half-djinn—so what did it mean for me?

Di dropped off another G&T. I pushed the straw aside and took a big gulp.

Raucous laughter reverberated behind us, and I turned my head. A group of five guys and three girls were slamming shots. The girls were red in the face and wedged into bright tube tops. The guys were overstuffed potatoes awkwardly stuffed into polos and button-downs, high on their own magic and money.

Not my type.

Dark, beautiful fallen angels seemed to be my type. But then, they betrayed you, so I was sort of screwed.

“Neve!” Rhiannon hissed. “Are you crazy? Don’t make eye contact.”

Shit. I’d been staring into space like a modern-day Venus de Milo. Nothing summoned a Chad like a girl with a vacant stare.

I could see the wheels turning in their heads. Five guys, three girls. They looked back at us—two single chicks. Thinking. Thinking. Then it clicked. They could even out the numbers.

That’s the power of math, boys.

I snapped my head forward. Too late. Chairs scrapped behind us.

“Oh, gods. They’re coming over. This is your fault,” Rhiannon murmured.

Rhia, with gorgeous blond hair, was usually target numero uno. One of the boys leaned confidently on the granite bar top beside her, waiting for her to look over. She didn’t.

He had the face of a horse, and you could just smell the stench of money on him. “Hey girl. You’re sexy as hell. I just had to come meet you. I’m Lee. What’s your name?”

“Amanda.”

“Amanda, huh? That’s a pretty name. I like your hair.”

My stomach turned. Wiff.

Rhia spun. “Amanda, as in I need a-man-da get out of my face right now, before I kick him in the nuts.”

That took the wind out of his sails, but his wingman swooped in beside me, hoping for a softer target. The signature of his magic smelled and tasted like beer. No, wait, that was his breath. I just couldn’t smell anything else. “Hey gorgeous.”

I smiled back at him. “Hey there, Spudly. I’m a mantis-shifter. I decapitate my lovers after mating.”

He grinned back. “So, you’re saying I have a chance?”

“No,” I laughed, a little amused. I felt a bit bad for him. I was miles out of his league, but at least he wasn’t a total ass, like his friend.

Lee the creeper wasn’t going to take no for answer. He leaned in close to Rhia. “You guys are feisty. We like feisty. Why don’t you and Mantis-Girl come join us for a drink. We can bug off later.”

Rhiannon, who usually loved puns, locked her eyes forward. “We’re not in the mood dude. Take a hint.”

“I can put you in the moo—”

“Fates! I wish you guys would just clear off,” Rhiannon said.

My right arm flared in pain, and a surge of electricity coursed through my tattoo. I yelped in surprise.

Rhia spun. “What did he do?”

Spudly jumped back. “Nothing. I swear!”

“Bullshit!” she snapped, leaping to her feet.

Magic thrummed though my body, and my tattoo burned. I twisted off the chair, staggering backward in agony. “Something’s happening Rhia. My arm is on fire!”

The bar doors crashed open, and startled patrons leapt up from their tables. Then, the wind came screaming through.

A howling vortex formed in the doorway. Bar napkins flew off every table, turning the air into a cloud of rapidly shredding paper.

“Holy shit!” Spudly yelled.

The girls at the table with the other guys screamed, but it was quickly drowned out by the roaring wind.

Lee the Creeper backed away from us, eyes wide in terror. “What’s going on! Are you doing something?”

My ears popped. “Ri!”

“Shiiiiiiit!” Spudly flipped into the air and landed on his back. He tried standing, but his polo ripped off, and he fell ass over teakettle. He slid out the door on his bare stomach. “Leeeeeeeee!”

“Dude!” Lee held onto the bar top with both hands, legs kicking freely in the air. The vortex was sucking him in.

It was like Twister, a tornado of magic surging through me.

Rhia grabbed my hand. “Shut it off, Neve, shut it off!”

“I can’t. I don’t know how!” My chest heaved and my fingers tingled as dizziness washed over me. Never had I expended this much power at once. Panic flared.

One of the girls screamed, grabbed her pink pocketbook, and ran out after Spudly, apparently unaffected by the tornado.

Di darted over to us, yelling over the roar of the vortex. “Do you know what’s going on?”

“No!” Rhiannon screamed, her blond hair violently whipping around her face in the wind.

The tornado zeroed in on Lee the Creeper, leaving everyone else alone. Pint glasses and cocktails crashed onto the floor as he finally lost his grip. One of his bros grabbed him by the wrist, but the vortex sucked them both out screaming into the street beyond

 The wind died instantly.

Outside, the boys picked themselves up and stumbled down the street, eager to get away. Their remaining friends hurried after, followed by a few other patrons.

I breathed deeply, my vision no longer swimming.

Silence—except for the sound of a lone pint glass rolling across the ground.

Rhia grabbed me by the shoulders, and whispered, “Holy shit, Neve. What was that?”

Her eyes reflected the terror that was roiling in my chest.

“I don’t know, Rhia. It was my tattoo—it was on fire, and I don’t know what it means.” Tears began to creep out of the corners of my eyes, and she hugged me close.

“It’s alright. We’ll figure this out.”

Complete and utter exhaustion overcame me, and I slumped against her.

Di looked over at us, then around at her bar. Overturned chairs and tables littered the room. The floor was covered with broken glass and tattered napkins. I closed my eyes. The chaos looked like Rhiannon’s apartment after the djinn had taken her.

This was all me.

Di planted her hands on her hips. “Ok, we’re closing early tonight everybody, on account of freak Chicago weather. Finish your drinks and pay up.”

She passed us on the way back behind the bar. “You two, stick around.”

Ah, man. What the hell happened?

I collapsed on a stool, gazing at my feet. Every part of my body ached, and my head throbbed—like a hangover from ten too many tequila shots.

About fifteen minutes later, all the patrons had left, and most of the bills were paid.

Di leaned on the bar and smiled. “That was some windstorm, hun.”

Yeah, she knew it was me.

A painful lump formed at the back of my throat. “I’m sorry Di. I don’t know what happened. This is all new. It has never happened before.”

She leaned back. “Shit, girl. I wish you could teach me some of that Windy City hocus pocus. Could be useful for clearing out the riffraff.”

“Really, I have no idea.” I swallowed hard. “I’ll cover their tabs—the folks who blew out the door, and the ones who ran off. I’ll help clean up. Just please, please don’t tell anyone about this.”

“Me too,” added Rhiannon. “Whatever it takes.”

“You girls are my favorite customers—of course I’ve got your back. Y’all are helping me clean up though.” She locked the front doors and tossed me a broom. I clutched it to my chest gratefully.

What a disaster. What was I going to do?

Not being able to control your powers was bad news. It meant freedom revoked. Because Magic Side was closed to normies, we all let our signatures show and openly used magic, but you had to control your power. Two short bridges were all that separated our little island from mainland Chicago. If you couldn’t control your magic, there was no way the Order would let you travel off the island and risk alerting everyone in Chicago about our existence.

The peace between humans and Magica—people with magical powers—was fragile. As long as they didn’t know about us, we were fine, but we were one bad slip-up away from being burnt at the stake, and we knew it.

Rhia grabbed a dustpan and brush and helped me clean. “So, what do you think happened? Were you thinking about blowing them away or something?”

“No! The opposite. I was thinking about how to get rid of Spudly without being too big of a jerk. Then I heard you say, ‘I wish you guys would just clear off’ and then my tattoo started flaring, and—”

I dropped the broom. “Oh, shit.”

Rhia looked around wildly. “What?”

“Oh no, oh no, oh no.”

“What, Neve?”

“You said I wish you guys would just clear off. I. Wish. You made a freaking wish Rhiannon, and I freaking lost control and blew up the bar because-holy-fates-I-am-half-a-genie-and-I-don’t-know-what-that-means!”

“Oh, crap.”

“Fates, is this going to happen every time someone says wish around me? I wish I had a fancy car—phoom—there it is. I wish I had a bigger butt—pop pop. I can’t live like that. I’d have to be a hermit for the rest of my life.”

She grabbed my hand. “Hey, we’ll figure it out.”

I nodded, terrified to my core. “Yeah maybe. Not right now though. I don’t have a lick of magic left in me.”

Once we finished cleaning up, Di dimmed the lights and made herself a double whiskey on the rocks. She put a cold pint of Old Style on the bar top for Ri and a G&T down for me. “On the house. It’s been a heck of a night.”

“You’re telling me.” The gin and tonic slaked my parched mouth, cool and refreshing like a breath of fresh air—not that we needed any more of that tonight.

Di leaned her back against the bar. “Not that it’s any of my business, but new powers, huh?”

“Yup. Just getting used to things.” I owed her a little honesty, but I wasn’t telling anyone other than Rhia what actually happened. My stomach churned. I still didn’t believe it.

“Hey, it’s okay. You should’ve seen how bad it got when I first started shifting—every piece of furniture in the house was torn to shreds. Rawrrrrr.” She made clawing motions.

“Thanks. I’ll try to keep it on lockdown. I may need to stay away from here for a while.”

“Nah. We’re part of the Windy City. Gusts like this are bound to happen.”

My phone rang, and I glanced at the screen. Gretchen—my boss at the Hall of Inquiry.

Dang it.

I picked up. “Hey L.T.”

“Neve. Get to the Hall immediately. Grab Rhiannon if she’s with you. We’ve got big problems.”

Well crap. How much worse was this night gonna get?