Chapter Two-Roomies and Conspirators
My feet planted on the plush carpet of the living room. I threw my arms out to keep my balance as my body adjusted to standing again. Transporting from one location to another was mind-whirling. The initial shift was quick, my body moving faster than my mind, and my spirit struggled to catch up. The same for arriving, my body was first, then my spirit reconnected. A few seconds of dizziness accompanied me before I felt whole again.
Kicking my boots into the corner, I shrugged my leather jacket off and tossed it to the couch. One of my roommates, Melody, came barreling through the hall, stopping short when she saw me.
“You ok?” she asked. Her large green eyes searched my body for any physical harm.
“Eric Adams is taken care of,” I called as I headed to the kitchen. Taking the jar of ash from my sack, I tossed it over my shoulder to her. “Hand that off to Tessi, will ya? I’ll be there in a minute.”
“You got it, Boss,” she said as I heard her catch it. Her footsteps echoed to the workroom while I bounded into the kitchen.
Taking the stake from my pocket, I laid it in the sink while I got the cleaning supplies out. Washing it was crucial, because one tiny drop of another’s blood could counteract the herbs and silver. It would be a matter of life and death.
With dish soap on a soap pad, I scrubbed the length of it on all sides. Once it was sufficiently golden again, I cleaned myself up to my elbows, and dried myself and the weapon off. Tossing it from hand to hand, I walked around the large island in the middle of the kitchen and back into the adjoining living room.
The apartment was huge. It held four bedrooms, but one was used as a workroom. The cream colored walls were mostly bare, except for a few maps we used to track beings. A couch and loveseat turned toward a large TV, and that was the extent of our furniture. I moved around a lot, and since meeting Melody and Tessi last winter, we’d moved in together. I never had this much in a place, usually only purchasing a bed and enough dishes to survive.
I had been tracking a rogue sorcerer in Orlando when I ran into Melody. She was also a sorceress, but a special one that could control the elements, mainly water. She could create a rainstorm on cue, focusing it on any area, or person, she wished. She came upon me stripping the sorcerer of his powers and immediately asked tons of questions.
I hadn’t wanted a partner, especially two, but once I saw what an asset she and Tessi were, I allowed them in on my pursuits. Tessi was a potions master, able to concoct anything we needed. She also was great at tracking from a distance, while I was better on foot. My strengths were spread out, but I enjoyed the hunt. Saving innocent people from monsters was rewarding.
Making my way to the workroom, I turned the knob and walked in to find Tessi bent over a map with the pile of ash in the middle. She was stirring something in the pot next to her while studying the paper. Melody was by the far left wall, writing Eric’s name, location, and what he was under the list of accomplishments.
It was a long list.
“Got anything?” I asked, laying the stake on the table as I glided in.
Tessi looked up, piercing me with her blue eyes, and shook her head. “Not yet. Did he give you a fight?”
“Not too bad,” I said. I leaned beside her, resting my elbows on the table, and watched. “He had a victim with him.”
Melody turned. “Did you save them?”
I nodded. “And did that spell to shift her memory.”
She relaxed. She was the worrywart of the group, scared humans would find out about us, and constantly reminding me to be careful. While I appreciated her consistency, it annoyed me at times. Turning back, she continued scribbling about Eric.
“Where was he?” Tessi asked.
“Fifth and Oak. In that alleyway about halfway down,” I replied.
She moved some of the ash to that spot on the map, then stuck her fingers in the pot. Sprinkling the mixture across the spot, she murmured her spell and we waited.
Seconds later the ash began to glow a translucent orange. Tessi glanced up, her dark blonde hair swaying with the movement, and grinned excitedly. Every time we did this it worked, and every time she glowed like it was her first time succeeding with a spell.
It was hilarious.
We watched as the ash took on a firm, solid form as it connected and created a line that moved from the alley across the map. Up and down roads it went, showing a path for us to take. Finally, it stopped on the edge of Seabrook Island, another beach in Charleston.
Tessi straightened her back and stretched. “He has help. This wouldn’t have showed us a path if not.”
Melody gathered her supplies, a dagger and stake, and gazed at me impatiently. “Get ready.”
“I’m going alone,” I said. Placing the stake back in my pocket, I took a dagger off the shelf and slid it into the top of my sock. “You stay here.”
“No,” she said, hands on hips.
Rolling my eyes, I glared at her. “Why do you do this every time?”
“Because you always go off and fight without us, but when I know you’re leaving, I want to be a part of it. Besides, I can control the ocean and considering it’s right there,” she said, beating her finger on the spot on the map. “I can help you. Now stop being stubborn and get your jacket.”
“Mel,” I started. “It’s not safe. I can’t worry about keeping you safe and fighting this…being. We don’t even know what it is.”
“Exactly!” she yelled, throwing her hands up in the air. “You have no idea what you’re walking into and you could get hurt. Now, stop arguing. I’m not backing down. Go!” she demanding, pointing to the living room.
Narrowing my eyes, I flipped her off and sauntered out. Melody Lynn was as stubborn as they come and it frustrated me. I was used to being the one in charge, telling others where to go and what to do. I was a natural born leader, and years of training and learning with Grandma only solidified that.
I’d met my match in Melody. She was more like me than I cared to admit.
Jerking my jacket from where it lay, I stuffed my arms in and buttoned it half way. Boots came next, and then I tightened my ponytail and double checked my weapons. I slung my bag over my body and began counting.
At ten, I determined that was enough time, and quietly turned the knob. I was preparing to slip out when I heard Mel call to me.
“Yeah, I see you. We’re coming,” she chuckled. “Nice try, though.”
“We?” I questioned, turning and seeing Tessi. “No.” I shook my head.
They both nodded, answering, “Yes,” at the same time. It was eerie how similar they looked. Blonde, petite, and curvy. The most significant difference was Mel’s hair was pale blonde and curly while Tessi’s was darker and straight. They could be sisters.
Tessi held up her bag of potions and grinned. “I’m ready.”
Mel slid her jacket on, a blue leather number that zipped, and dropped her phone and keys into her jeans pockets. “Ready!”
Groaning, I held the door and waved them out. “After you.”
Ditching them seemed unlikely, so I was stuck. I followed them down the steps of our porch, climbed in the driver’s seat of my Honda, and turned the ignition. Once everyone was settled, I turned to look at them both. “Listen, you two can’t be careless. I can’t concentrate on this being while worried about whether you two are going to die.”
Mel clicked her seatbelt. “Oh, shut up, Sadie! We aren’t children. Now go.”
Pursing my lips, I reversed the car and peeled the tires on my way down the drive. Our duplex apartment promptly faded from view as I sped down the street.
“You gonna kill us before we get there so you don’t have to worry about it?” Mel asked with a click of her tongue. “Such a temper.”
“Shut up, Mel,” Tessi warned from the backseat.
The rest of the drive was much of the same, and by the time we reached Seabrook Island, I was ready to m
agically lock them both in the car and glue their lips together. This was why I preferred to work alone. Parking my car on the side of the road, I hopped out and scoped the area.
Tessi appeared beside me, using a magically enhanced gps of the map we had at home to track the activity of the spirit connected with Eric’s ashes. “We need to go north.”
After three steps, I quickly cast the spell to silence my feet and instructed them to do the same. “Everything will be ruined if we’re heard. No talking,” I hissed.
They nodded, the picking and bickering from earlier replaced with sincerity. We trekked through the area, following the careful laid outline from the screen. Through the weeds and sand we went, all three in a line as we surveyed our surroundings. The device showed we were close, so we slowed to keep our breathing from being too loud and simply watched for whatever it was we were tracking to reveal itself.
Melody leaned in, lips almost touching my ears, and whispered, “It’s fae. Water fae. I can feel it.”
A woman appeared before us, a shimmering pool of moon-reflected water shaping into her body, then her features. She was tall and blonde and focused directly on us. She held her hands in front of her, sending icicles straight toward us. Mel reacted, creating a wall of ice in front of us to shield our bodies. I motioned to Tessi to follow me and we backed away, allowing Mel to do her thing.
Both of them released the ice. It fell in waves of water as it sunk into the sand. Mel was quick, creating a rainstorm so thick and enclosed around the fae that it would have drowned a normal person. She counteracted, waves washing over and soaking Mel’s body, but Mel held strong. Soon both were nothing but a mixture of magic and water.
Tessi dug through her sack, pulling potions and charms out only to toss them back in and go for another. I didn’t know what she was doing, and didn’t really care, because the fae disappeared.
Running to Mel’s side, I checked her over. “You ok?”
She nodded. “She’s still here,” she said breathlessly.
A wave grew in the ocean, headed for us. It was larger than any wave I’d ever seen, at least fifty feet in the air, and I knew it was meant to hurt us. A voice called from it, laughing and mocking us.
“She is the water,” Tessi said beside us. “I can douse her with this,” she said, shaking a small jar. “And it’ll eliminate her ability for five minutes.”
Glancing back at the giant sea swell coming at us, I said, “Then we wait.”
This wasn’t the first time a fae endangered my life. There was the earth fae, Shanna, who attempted to swallow me whole with a crater the size of the United States she created at my feet. Luckily, I was quick on my feet and conjured a rope to pull me out before she could fill the hole. The fire fae, Duke, was the worst, though. I thought ahead and had a fire-proof bubble around my body, so his attempts at throwing flames were futile, but he was relentless. For six hours we fought. Over and over I had to strengthen the spell to ensure I didn’t meet my fiery end.
And now I was facing a water fae. It wasn’t my first, but it was my first near a large body of water.
It was a bit alarming.
The waves crashed around our feet, the tsunami gaining speed. Shifting my eyes to Tessi, I caught her gaze and nodded. Looking to Mel, I mouthed “now.”
Tessi threw the potion, using her magic to spray it along the length of the swell, while I threw my hands up to freeze the fae. Mel took control of the water, sending it back to the ocean with a loud crash. While I held the fae steady, Tessi balled her fist in the air, sending the potion to concentrate on the fae. Once she was subdued, we moved closer.
“Why are you here?” I asked.
She snarled. “Like I’ll tell you anything.”
Mel conjured a fountain of water, spraying it at her stomach so she doubled over. “Will you now?”
She shook her head, so Mel doubled the amount and speed.
Tessi continued to dig through her bag, looking for who knew what, and I got in the fae’s face. “What’s your name?”
She peered up and smirked. “Doesn’t matter. You’re going to kill me, Sadie Tabors.”
The fact that she knew my name wasn’t surprising. The evil beings of the supernatural world liked to talk, and my name was a hot topic, but the way she said it had me questioning what more was going on.
“Let’s lock her up,” I said. The uneasiness in my stomach told me not to get rid of her just yet.
“What?” Mel screamed. “No!”
“Yes,” I said sternly. Turning to Tessi, I asked, “Do you have anything to bind her?”
She nodded, going to work while I continued to hold her limbs frozen in place. We had her bound, magically and physically, in record time and were soon traipsing back to the car.
The fae was silent for most of the walk, until she suddenly stopped a few feet from my vehicle. Manically grinning, she said, “He says thank you for allowing him to learn your whereabouts, and he’ll see you soon.”
My eyes widened as I prepared to respond when she disappeared before our eyes.