Fury’s Magic

Tam lounged on the sofa, one foot propped up on the seat while the other hung over the edge. Leaning back, he read on his tablet. Without looking up from his book, he said, “Yes, I want to go. Quit worrying about me.”

“All right, but remember, I asked.” I went back to shining my blade, although I wasn’t about to stop worrying. I knew very well that Tam could hold his own. After all, he was one of the Bonny Fae. And not just one of them. He was their Prince. The Lord of UnderBarrow. But I’d still feel responsible if he got hurt. My lover and friend, his health mattered to me, and the fact was, we were headed into a dangerous situation. Hauntings were seldom easy. If the ghosts were chill, then most people left them alone. It was only the nasty ones that they called me about.

Jason let out a snort from behind the counter. “You’re both nuts. Why on earth do you want to go prowling around a boat filled with ghosts?” He was mixing up a batch of Dove’s Love, a powder designed to calm volatile situations. We sold far too much of it here at Dream Wardens, Jason’s magical consulting shop. Sales of the powder were very good. The fact that it was needed so often? Not so good.

“Because it’s a job? Because Hecate found it for me? Because I need the money?” Finally satisfied that Xan was as clean and sparkling as I was going to get her, I slid her back into her sheath and set the blade to the side. “We should head out. The ghosts are more active once the sun sets.” I glanced out of the store window. The light had waned and dusk already was stretching its hand over the skies. We were well into October, and daylight faded by four.

Tam abruptly closed his tablet and stood, stretching as he yawned. “Then we shall go. Jason, do you need me anymore today?” He was tall and lanky, with long black hair that curled to his waist, and his eyes were silver, ringed with black. Not only striking to look at, Tam had a natural magnetism and charm that exuded from every pore in his body.

And he has good hands, I thought. Very good hands. And lips. And…

“Not right now, no.” Jason put an end to my reverie. He, too, was tall and ruggedly good-looking, with wheat-colored hair and vivid green eyes. Where Tam wore his hair loose and flowing, Jason gathered his own back into a braid. His nose had an unusual curve to it, like most hawk-shifters’ noses.

Jason had let me set up my own little business in a corner—the Crossroads Cleaning Company. I took on exorcisms and psychic cleansings, offered tarot readings, and I threw the bones for those who wanted oracular advice. Hecate had strengthened my gifts in those areas, and while business waxed and waned, I usually made a decent living. But it had been awhile since I’d had a job like this one, and I was trying to remember what I needed as I gathered together my tools.

I opened my bag to make sure that all my ritual tools were there. Hecate had given me a sacred crystal skull that allowed me to focus my energy toward the dead, and I had several different powders and sprays: Rest Ye Well powder to quiet spirits, Exorcism oil to evict ghosts from their possessed victims, holy water from Hecate’s sacred fountain, graveyard dust and Crossroads dust. A leather sheath held my dagger with a bronze hilt and a crystal blade that was to be used for magic only. Also in the bag were a clapper-bell to drive the dead away and other assorted goodies.

“I think I’m ready.” I looked around to make certain I hadn’t forgotten anything else.

“Before you go, Tam, how’s the new database coming along?” Jason pushed aside a ledger, frowning. Our old inventory database had crashed. It hadn’t been built to handle the volume of business Dream Wardens was fielding. Tam was working on a new one that promised to be bigger and better than we needed. Software for the shop to grow into.

Tam was the shop’s techie, which seemed oddly out of place given his Fae nature. He loved gadgets and all things concerned with computers.

“Let’s just say the new software coming out of Mage-Tek blows the old programs we were using out of the water. It’s going to take awhile to transfer all the information, but once we finish that, finding and tracking inventory and spell components will be a breeze. The program is vox-enabled, which means we all need to password code it by voice as well as by thumbprint.” Tam shrugged on his leather duster. He was wearing a pair of black jeans that hugged his butt in the most delightful way, and a V-neck shirt that showed off his waistline.

“How long do you estimate until you finish the conversion?” Jason dusted his hands after pouring the last of the powder on the scales. He measured powders out using an archaic weights-and-measure balance. Jason loved antiques. Tapping the mixture into a plastic bag, he slapped a label on it, then tossed it into a basket with the rest of the pouches. “Done. This should hold us on Dove’s Love powder for a solid month.”

“I figure another week and we should be good to go. That is, if nothing else interferes. Ready, love?” Tam turned to me.

I still blushed when he called me that, especially in front of Jason, but I was slowly getting used to it. “Yeah, I don’t think I’ve forgotten anything.”

I was dressed for Hecate’s work, with my black leather jacket, warm blue turtleneck, black leather shorts, and ankle boots that I could easily run in. I slid Xan’s scabbard over my shoulder and made sure my dagger was firmly in place, strapped to my left thigh. Pulling on fingerless gloves that had a nonslip grip on the palms, I headed toward the door.

“We’ll call you if we’re going to be late.”

Jason closed up the shop one evening per month and we ate dinner at his place. I suspected these family-of-choice evenings were more important to him now than ever, given the recent death of his fiancée. Eileen’s death had hit him harder than he wanted to let on. But we never said anything. He made it clear he wasn’t ready to talk about how it had affected him.

“Thanks. I’m making spaghetti, so be there. And take it easy,” he called out as we slipped into the dark Seattle night. “Don’t let the ghosties bite you in the butt.”

***

I’m Kaeleen Donovan but they call me Fury. I’m a Theosian, a minor goddess. Yoked to Hecate from birth, my primary job is to seek out and destroy Abominations that come in off the World Tree. Secondary are psychic readings and cleansings, and whatever else Hecate might have up her sleeve for me.

My mother was brutally murdered when I was thirteen. I landed, quite literally, on Jason’s doorstep and he took me in. He looked around my age—thirty—but he was actually well over two hundred. Most shifters and Fae are exceptionally long-lived. I will be too, given my nature, but I’m still young and still new to the world compared to Jason and Tam.

My mother and father were human, but on the way home from work one night my mother wandered through the Sandspit and got engulfed in a cloud of rogue magic. She was pregnant with me at the time. Boom, in that one moment my DNA changed, and that’s what turned me into a Theosian. When I was born, the hospital sent my parents to the Seers. They ordained that I was to be handed over to Hecate for training. Since birth, I’ve been under her leash, bound to her by oath and by blood. If I dishonor her, she could have me destroyed. But I genuinely like Hecate and I think she feels the same about me. We work well together, most of the time.

Hecate is a goddess of the Crossroads, of the dead and of magic. And so I do a lot of my work out on the Crossroads where life and death intersect, and where dimensions and worlds meet and blend. My magic is that of flame and lightning, of energy so white-hot that it can blind.

Not long ago, my friends and I ended up in a tussle with an order of rogue magicians. The Order of the Black Mist is bent on unleashing the Elder Gods of Chaos on the planet. We managed to thwart their plans, but Lyon and his cronies are still out there, and I have a queasy feeling in the pit of my stomach that we’re not done with them.

It’s not easy, being a minor goddess. Belonging to the Elder Gods is even harder. But every day I learn a little more about myself. All too often, those lessons come at the tip of my sword, when I’m facing down the evil determined to make our world its home.

***

As we exited the building, we passed Hans, who was on his way in. The brawn of our shop, he kept the riff-raff and bogeys out of the store. A Theosian like me, he was yoked to Thor and looked the part. Muscled and bald, he was bad-assed to the bone, and was wearing a knit cap and earmuffs against the chill. His girlfriend Greta was with him. A Valkyrie in training, she had been born in Scandnavaland, in the city of Bifrost. Her family had emigrated to the Americex Corporatocracy when she was little.

“Colder out here than Gaia’s tit,” he said, blowing on his hands as we stopped to say hello. His breath froze into puffs in front of his face and he stomped his feet on the sidewalk. It was cold enough to snow. We’d had one good snow the month before, but it had melted off. Now, though, we were into mid-October, and winter was targeting us for a good pummeling. “Where are you headed? Done for the day?”

“No, we’re on our way to Portside. We’ll see you at Jason’s in a few hours. At least, I hope we will. With luck, the job won’t take more than a few hours.”

“What did she stick you with today?” Hans had a skewed view of Hecate. She frightened him. Given that he hung with the Norse, it seemed odd to me she shook him so much, although once he confided to me that Hecate reminded him of Hel—the Norse goddess of the dead. And Hel scared the hell out of everybody.

“A haunted fishing boat. Tam’s coming to keep me company.”

“Well, that, and to keep the sea dogs from panting all over you. And before you say it, yes I know you can hold your own. But you’re going up against ghosts. You don’t need to be distracted by idiots itching to unzip those leather shorts of yours.” Tam snaked his arm around my waist. He was more possessive than I had thought he would be, but not in a creepy way.

“Um hmm,” I said, shoving my hands into my pockets. My legs were freezing, but I couldn’t wear pants, not and still leave easy access to my whip. The flaming brand wove down the outside of my right thigh and leg, brilliant ink glowing in the night. But one touch and it would come off in my hand. A weapon of fire and electricity, it was one of Hecate’s gifts to me. She had inked it onto me herself the night she gave me the name Fury. And that had been a furious night, indeed.

“It’s the truth.” Tam kissed my nose.

“Are you sure you don’t just want to keep an eye on who’s ogling my butt?” I asked, smirking.

Greta let out a snort. “That sounds more like it.”

Tam grumbled, but then he laughed. “Well, maybe I don’t like the thought of them ogling you. But that’s my prerogative, isn’t it?”

“It is at that, I suppose. Anyway, let’s get a move on. It’s freaking cold tonight.” I turned to Hans and Greta. “See you at Jason’s.”

“Will do.” And with that, they gave us a quick wave and slipped through the door.

An icy blast of wind rushed through the Market and I zipped up my jacket as we headed toward the Monotrain station, grateful that it was only a few blocks away from Dream Wardens. From there, it would be a quick ride down to Portside, which was located on Edlewood Inlet, which flowed off of the Pacific Sound.

Down was an accurate description, given the steep grade of the streets. Located over a series of fault lines, the district was pleasant enough. At least I hadn’t been called to go to Uptown or North Shore. Portside might be mostly made up of Weres and Shifters, but I didn’t feel out of place there like I did in the human-centric districts of the city.

The cold might be clamping down on the city, but it hadn’t stemmed the swarm of activity. The Market in Darktown was running full tilt, a colorful, whirlwind array of vendors hawking their goods. Mouthwatering aromas wafted from the food stands as we passed by. This was prime time—the dusk till dawn shift change over in the Metalworks. Factory and line workers from the various plants stopped to pick up quick, easy meals on their way home after hauling eight- to twelve-hour shifts.

My mouth watered but I steadfastly ignored the stalls. It wasn’t a good idea to load up on food before clearing out ghosts. A full stomach clouded the sight and weighed down the energy. The smells of bread and meat and roasting vegetables mingled with that of fragrant oils, the char of smoke, and body odors emanating from the crowds who wandered through the Market. I had learned to tune out the noise over the years, but the scents weren’t so easy to ignore.

Darktown was a gritty place. Ruins from the World Shift still dotted the district, although last month’s earthquake had taken down some of the shakier ones that had survived Gaia’s wrath. The sky-eyes patrolled but they never dove too close. There were too many chances of someone trying to steal it or smash it down. The Devani didn’t enter here either, although the Conglomerate had given them a lot more freedom the past few weeks. We were hearing reports from Croix, especially, where the golden soldiers roamed the streets, looking for any infractions.

The Devani were brought in off the World Tree, ruthless and brilliant in their golden breastplates. I had never seen one close up, and I never wanted to. They weren’t human. Far from it, although they looked like beautiful golden-haired men and women with perfectly structured muscles. But the Devani were ruthless, and true to their masters at all costs. If they had emotions, it was hard to tell. In one sense, the Devani were the opposite of Abominations. Order and law versus chaos and anarchy. But the Devani steered clear of Darktown, and word was they never went out on the Tremble.

A bogey wandered by. I could tell he was from the Junk Yard. Bogeys had a feel to them. Dangerous and rough, like feral dogs, they were as likely to cut you as look at you. He gave us the once-over, but I turned slightly and pointed to my whip on my leg. He quickly glanced the other way and hurried along. I was known in Darktown, and a lone bogey wouldn’t bother me unless he was sky-high on Methodyne or Opish.

“You wear your authority well,” Tam whispered with a laugh. “I think that’s what makes them so afraid of you, once they realize who you are.”

“I think it’s more than that,” I said. “I’ve actually been thinking about this for a while. I protect Seattle from Abominations. Most come in through the World Tree. They’re hungry when they come off the tree, and they’re looking for food. So the most likely victims? People down here in Darktown and the Junk Yard. I stop the Aboms from feasting on the bogeys just as much as I stop them from hurting everybody else. I think the bogeys give me a grudging sort of respect for that. I know the Nancies and the play-girls do.”

Tam suddenly pushed me toward the brick building we were near. “Sky-eye. Freeze.”

We froze as the drone hovered overhead. In crowded areas it didn’t matter so much, but I always tried to hide from the sky-eyes when I was easy to single out. I lived off-grid, and the Conglomerate would be furious if they found out. All Theosians were supposed to be chipped. The government kept an eye on us and too often those of my kind ended up vanishing, especially if the Corporatocracy decided our powers were too useful or too dangerous. Or both. In fact, if they thought us both too useful and too dangerous, it was like we were the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.

When I was thirteen, Tam had removed my chip and altered it, a painful but necessary act. I still registered as having one, but Tam had hacked into its grid and falsified the information. But if the Devani got hold of me, it wouldn’t take them long to figure out that I was running on fake identification.

The sky-eye scanned the sidewalk, its ray of light sweeping over the concrete. Then, with a sudden lurch, it picked up speed and zoomed off toward the center of Darktown.

I let out a sharp breath. “It won’t be back for several hours. Let’s go. There’s the platform.” I pointed up the block toward the Monotrain platform. The trains ran through the city, a hundred feet aboveground, speeding from station to station. Though they were more erratic in Darktown, and they wouldn’t go into the Junk Yard, overall the mass transit system worked well.

We took the elevator to the waiting platform. Usually I opted for the stairs. It was too easy to get caught in an elevator with a bogey. And a lot of times, the cars were so old and creaky they stalled out on their way up. But Tam’s presence gave me a little boost of self-confidence. Truth was, what I did was lonely, hard, dangerous work. It felt good to have somebody else there with me, taking chances and risks by my side.

The next car was due in five minutes. We made quick work of the time by huddling together on one of the covered benches before boarding the train. Then, with a silent whoosh, we were off, headed to Portside to meet with a boatload of spooks.