Sorcerer: Trouble with Werewolves: Power of Air Book 2
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Authors: D. L. Harrison
Sorcerer: Trouble with Werewolves
Power of Air (Book 2)
Author: D. L.
Harrison
Copyright 2016. This is a work of fiction.
Names, Characters, Places and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination
or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales or
persons living or dead, is entirely coincidental. All rights
reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner
whatsoever without permission.
of Contents:
Wednesday, May 18
th
, 2016, 04:15 AM
The woods were dark around me, the moon a bare sliver in the
sky. It was close to nine months now that I’d known I was a sorcerer, and
some days had been better than others. I still hadn’t been able to narrow
down who came after my family sixteen years ago, but I’d given up on my guardian
telling me anything about it. I wasn’t mad at her because of it, she was
obviously under some oath, but it was frustrating.
The police captain was still hardly paying me at all for the
tips I turned in that led to recovered children and arrests, but despite that I
was doing better and had even moved to a nicer apartment, since the vampire
council
did
pay well when I worked with Diana. So far none of the
other jobs I’d done for them had been nearly as hazardous as my first, but I
was well aware that could change. I was far from rich, my apartment was
still rather small, and I had to watch my budget closely, but it wasn’t quite
as tight as it was before.
And of course, I still didn’t get paid for even close to
everything, I continued to obey my power when I felt it push me in a certain
direction. Much like tonight, or should I say very early this morning.
I found myself wandering the woods at just after four AM. I didn’t
mind, it was always worth it in the end.
I had a much better handle on controlling the basics of my
magic, and what I could get away with before exhausting myself. For
instance, the darkness of the woods far west of Chicago didn’t matter. I
couldn’t see, but for a hundred feet around me I was connected with the air
itself, and felt every blade of grass, leaf, branch, and tree. I wasn’t
concerned with running into or tripping over anything.
Even better it was my one ability that didn’t cost anything,
and was in fact the source of my power as a sorcerer of air. I hardly
needed to concentrate at all as the air I was connected to constantly shifted
with each step I made.
Aitheria sent, “
Are you sure you should be out here
alone?
”
I smiled softly, “
But I’m not alone Ria.
”
I’d started calling her Ria a few months ago, kind of a
nickname. Aitheria was kind of a mouthful, and she seemed to really like
it as well. It made a lot more sense as well, being the last three
letters of her name, than the nickname
whisper
I’d called her as a
child.
The energy coming off her turned a little stormy as she
stood on my shoulder and glared into the corner of my eye.
I sighed and said aloud, “I know what you mean, but this is
different, it isn’t the normal kind of kidnapping.”
His name was Darren Albrecht. Nine years old and
missing for a week from Indianapolis. He had a single father, Frank, who
was frantic to get his son back. Frank’s wife, and Darren’s mother,
Caroline Albrecht had died in an accident just four months ago according to
what I’d found on my laptop. The boy was all Frank had left, which meant
I was here out in the middle of nowhere west of Chicago.
My instincts had told me to come alone, though I wasn’t sure
why. Normally when my power urged me to take action and I knew a child
was involved, I would have called Mike, or Aiya. I knew I was close
before I even felt the cabin enter my senses. It felt like the large
building brushed up against my skin as the information was absorbed by my mind.
Then the reason became obvious for me being alone, as I felt
the vampire inside. Judging by its aura it was a young one, I started to
pull in a trickle of air magic and feed it to my body, making both my reflexes
and speed a little faster. It was nothing to what I could do, but
everything had a balance. Overkill would just wear me out and put me to
sleep. I could maintain this slight boost for hours.
I wondered for a moment why my power hadn’t pushed me to
contact Diana since this would be in her jurisdiction so to speak. I
worked with her quite a bit, and the awkwardness between us had settled.
We were still attracted to each other, and a part of me would always love her,
but unless something drastic changed, I’d become resigned to the fact we’d
never be more than friends.
I knocked on the door, not quite knowing why. That
didn’t really make any sense at all did it? Vampire kidnapper of young
human children, and I knocked? Or at least it didn’t make sense until the
woman in her late twenties opened the door; she looked at me, obviously
nervous. That’s when the information filled my mind. Now that I had
my full powers, it was less a vision than recalling a memory that wasn’t
mine. I didn’t have to wait for it to run through a sequence, I just knew
it in its entirety.
To be honest sometimes I missed it, the visions I mean.
“May I come in Caroline? We need to talk.”
The woman in front of me was very attractive, though that
seems to be a theme with vampires. Beautiful people were more likely to
be turned, shallow or not, stereotype or not, that was just how it was.
She was hovering around thirty years of age, had gray eyes,
long blue black hair, and a heart shaped face. Her body was athletic, and
I could tell she was extremely tense. What my powers had told me was a
rogue vampire had taken a fancy to her, kidnapped her, and arranged a car accident
with another body burnt beyond recognition.
Caroline had escaped a week ago and ran, for some reason she
kidnapped her son though why wasn’t clear yet.
She was silent and I sensed the punch coming before she even
moved. Rather than let that happen, I wrapped her tightly in an air
shield, and she squeaked as I lifted her off the ground and pushed her back as
I walked into the cottage. Her eyes turned red and fangs popped out and
she hissed at me as I took a look around the room. I could never get away
with this with an older vampire, but she was just a baby.
I looked around, it was a large room, a combination kitchen
and living room. There was another door to a bedroom in the back where I
could feel Darren was, and he was merely asleep.
I said softly, “I won’t hurt you, or your son, but we need
to talk. Can I let you down now?”
It took her time to master herself, newborn vampires were
not blood crazy, but their new senses and instincts did take time to control, or
so Diana had told me. I deliberately took a seat at the table as I
released her.
She hissed, “Who are you?”
“Ben, Ben Edwards. It’s nice to meet you Caroline, but
we have a problem. Why did you take your son?”
She looked surprised, “The psychic?”
I sighed heavily while Aitheria giggled on my shoulder.
“Yes, the psychic, also known in our world as a
sorcerer. Your son?” I prompted again.
She shrunk in on herself, “The… creature that made me
this, he threatened to kill my son if I ever escaped. But he didn’t come
back for three days, and I needed blood and kind of freaked out and broke the
door down to get out and hunt.”
Her lips quivered, “I didn’t hurt the guy I drank from, not
much anyway, but then when I came back to my senses I panicked. I didn’t
know what he would do, even if I went back to the house right then, so I took
my son away hoping he wouldn’t find us.”
Now I knew why I hadn’t called Diana either. Diana
wasn’t evil and would empathize, but the law was the law when it came to
vampires, no exceptions. Ignorance was no excuse. I supposed my
power wanted me to cover it all up.
“There are rules in our world, we need to take your son
back, and then I can introduce you to the right kind of vampires. The one
that took you was a rogue, but now because you took your son and interacted
with your past life… so are you. We need to fix that before,” I cut off
in mid-sentence and stood up.
She asked nervously, “What is it?”
I smiled in a comforting way, or at least tried to, although
I probably looked a little insane instead.
“The reason my power brought me here at this time of night.”
I walked over to the door and opened it as I felt the rogue
vampire walk into the half sphere of air I was connected to. It took some
power, but I compressed the air around his neck, a sliver so thin it became as
sharp as any blade or garrote wire. I really didn’t like killing, but
sometimes in my world it was a necessity, and I didn’t feel any guilt as I
protected Caroline and her son, I knew what the rogue had planned, and it
wasn’t a party.
I shrunk the ring of compressed air, and it neatly removed
the rogue’s head from his shoulders. I wasn’t even all that tired, using
my magic outside of my body didn’t make me nearly as tired as when I used it to
speed up my body.
I turned back and looked into Caroline’s frightened eyes,
“I’m sorry, I know you didn’t choose this, but if any part of you wants to
live, you need to give up on your past life, return your son, and conform to
the laws of your new reality. Being a vampire isn’t so bad, and you can
still keep track of your family, but you can’t interact, and your son can’t
remember any of this. You need to take away the memories he has since you
took him away, I’m sorry.”
I really was sorry for her, the world of vampires and the
supernatural was nothing but a nightmare so far as she was concerned so far,
and she’d lost her family in the bargain. I wouldn’t have been surprised
if she chose death, but she didn’t. Maybe she just wanted to live so she
could watch over her son from a distance, maybe she was willing to do anything
to keep her family safe, I didn’t know, but she agreed with my demands. I
supposed it was also possible she was just too terrified of me to say no, I had
after all, from her point of view anyway, simply glanced a vampire and his head
had fallen off.
It was close to sun up before we returned her son, and I got
her in touch with Diana after insuring she knew that her kidnapping career had
to stay a secret forever. I was sure Diana would teach Caroline the rules
and how to live her new life, and I just hoped it would turn out okay for the
woman in the long run, because in the short run she had been completely
screwed.
2
Wednesday, May 18
th
, 2016, 09:07 AM
I woke up from my quick nap, I tried to make up for how
little sleep I’d gotten, but I was still tired. Still, I couldn’t go back
to sleep as I heard someone in my kitchen. I connected to the air around
me, and relaxed as I felt who it was, and shuffled into the bathroom for a shower.
I wondered what she wanted, but it could wait a little longer.
I felt a little more refreshed, being clean and dressed in a
pair of gray pants and a button down shirt. Business casual was required
for the most part, although I’d rather be wearing jeans, people didn’t feel
confident hiring young private detectives that wore jeans and t-shirts.
Though anyone actually hiring me was fairly rare outside the police department
and now the vampire council, a lot of people usually walked the other way at
the psychic part.
I walked in the kitchen to the smell of eggs, bacon, and
fresh brewed coffee.
“I love you, and you’re absolutely gorgeous this morning,” I
said extravagantly
And she actually was gorgeous this morning, and every other
morning. I often mourned the fact the beauty before me felt more like a
sister, she just had that vibe and our personalities meshed really well at that
level, and her looks didn’t seem to change that impression at all to my
regret. It was kind of strange actually, and I often wondered if it was
my power at work, telling me not to try for it.
She was also the only human who knew what I really
was. The vampires accepted that because she didn’t know anything about
the rest of my world. Witches, vampires, werewolves, elementals, she
didn’t know about any of it except in the abstract idea that there was a
supernatural world. So far she hadn’t breathed a word of it, and seemed
to handle the idea just fine.
Aiya chucked, “No I won’t cook for you every day.”
I sighed as if put upon by the world, but she didn’t seem
moved in the slightest by my plight.
“So Detective, to what do I owe the pleasure of your
company?”
She raised an eyebrow and said teasingly, “Some psychic you
are. Sit, eat, we’ll talk after.”
I sat and took a sip of my coffee, she’d made it perfectly,
and then I dug into the delicious breakfast. There was no point arguing
with her, not when she’d gone out of her way to make me breakfast like
this. A part of me wondered what she was buttering me up for, but the
truth was it would be unrelated, she was just awesome that way sometimes.
“That was great, thanks,” I said softly after cleaning my
plate.
She looked a little nervous, which surprised me.
“I know I shouldn’t ask you about the rest of your world,
and I’m not. But… well take a look.”
She pulled out a folder from the bag at her feet and slid it
across the table. My skin crawled just looking at it, there was death
inside. I didn’t want to open it. I dealt with missing persons with
the human police, I suppose my powers did what I wanted, and I wanted to save
people, children, not clean up after the dead ones.
I asked, “You’re still in missing persons?” trying to figure
out why she had this case file. My voice may have come out a bit harsher
than I expected.
She looked at me strangely, “Yes, still working with
Mike. What’s in the folder isn’t my case, but it doesn’t seem…
human. The detectives in homicide are baffled and clueless. I
thought… I don’t know what I thought. You told me your world polices its
own...” she trailed off.
She reached for the folder but I put my hand out and covered
hers before she could pull it back.
My voice was apologetic, “I’ll take a look Aiya. I
didn’t mean to make you feel uncomfortable. It’s just… I’m afraid of what
I might see when I open it.”
She smiled and pulled her hand back after squeezing mine,
accepting my apology. She might have been accepting of what I was, but
clearly she was still a little nervous about my world.
I opened the folder and took a look inside. There’d
been five so far, murders. The first three were a trail straight to
Chicago, and the last two were out on the outskirts. There was
speculation it didn’t start in Illinois. They’d put in a request for
similar cases in all the neighboring states. I could have told them the
trail started all the way up in Canada, and there were over thirty victims so
far, but wasn’t stupid enough to do that. Problem was, as soon as it came
back positive the FBI would be involved.
I was able to get that much information with my power, and
could see from the crime scene pictures the bodies were torn up, ripped apart
really, according to the coroner they were looking at wolves. Except the
other evidence and profiles made it looked more like a serial killer, or even a
group on a spree, rather than an animal attack, which is why the homicide
detectives were a little clueless.
Whoever was doing it was leaving a calling card of sorts, a
symbol carved into their victims, something a rabid wolf pack wouldn’t be
doing.
What I couldn’t see were the people, or rather, the
werewolves that were behind it. Something was blocking me from the
information. All I could see were the victims, and not during the attack,
which was both annoying and a blessing, since I really didn’t want to see that
part at all.
I felt Aitheria’s hands on my neck, her energy was calming
and I could feel my sadness echoed. I knew Aitheria didn’t really care
about the humans, it was me she was worried about. I closed the file and
looked back up, Aiya looked a little worried as well.
I sent to Ria, “
I’ll be okay,
” but Aitheria didn’t
look convinced.
Aiya must have been worried about me as well as she echoed
my thought, “Are you okay?”
I blew out a breath, “Yes and no. It could have been
worse. I’ll contact the right people and look into it, this isn’t
something the police can really deal with, you were right about that.
Could you let me know when the feds take over the case? And can I keep
this file?”
She raised an eyebrow.
I shrugged, “They will, this group started in Canada, and
killed their way down through Minnesota and Wisconsin before they got here.”
“I can do that, and sure, it’s just a copy,” she said
softly.
I could see the curiosity in her eyes, she clearly wanted to
know what kind of monster was doing this. Of course, she wouldn’t ask,
and I couldn’t tell her, so I stood up and changed the subject.
“More coffee?” I asked as I went over to fill my own.
She wordlessly handed me her mug and I got us both refilled.
“Are you going to Mike’s house tonight?”
She grinned at me evilly and shook her head slowly, “Nope.”
I sighed sadly, “You know what that means right?”
She giggled, “That you can’t hide behind me from whatever blind
date Jenna has come up with? She knows better than to invite me after
last time.”
I shuddered, women were evil.
Still, she looked at me a little wistfully, as if she wished
we had some chemistry as much as I did. Someday I would figure that out, maybe
it was simply because I wasn’t exactly human? Even just nine months later
I still had more questions than answers, I’d yet to run into another sorcerer
and apparently we were a very secretive branch of the supernatural. No
one else could really help me so I was mostly making it up as I went
along. Add to that the strange core of magic living inside me that other
sorcerers apparently didn’t have and… I shook off my thoughts.
We talked for a few more minutes as we finished our coffee,
and then Aiya got up, gave me a hug, and a kiss on the cheek.
“I have to run, going to be late for my shift. Thanks
for… looking into that. Oh, and have fun tonight,” she added with a
bright smile. The traitor.
I nodded, feeling conflicted about the first and dubious about
the second as I replied, “I need to get to the office myself, just not sure why
yet.”
She snickered at my seemingly nonsensical sentence, and
headed for the door.
It was true, while I understood where my information came
from better than I used to, that didn’t mean I could pull information on
demand, or at least, more often than not I still just got what I got. I
locked up on my way out and started walking toward my office which was just a
few blocks away.
I called Diana on the way over and was relieved she could
meet me for lunch. I wanted to run the file by her and see what she
thought, it was something I figured the council would be all over, but on the
other hand, my work with them never really involved werewolves except that
first time. In short I didn’t want to mess up the politics of it too
badly before approaching the local pack.
I hadn’t seen Sierra in months, but I remember how nervous
she made me despite being polite in our conversations. I’d never figured
out why that was, just one more thing to add to the list.