But not in this life.
She was off-limits. It hadn’t been an imposition placed on him by Lily, either. He had just decided he wouldn’t get into a relationship with her. Because if he did and the relationship didn’t work out, what then? A lifetime of awkward Coven meetings, that’s what. He couldn’t have that on his conscience. Lily had worked too hard to set them both up in San Francisco only for Damien to screw it up.
He nodded and smiled. “So, how, uh, was your day?”
Natalie sighed, unraveled the purple scarf from around her neck, and pulled off the black gloves she had been wearing. “Not great,” she said. “I had to rush through the last part of my last assignment to get it handed in before Christmas break. I’m officially free from school now, but these last few days have felt like a marathon sprint.”
“I bet,” he said.
“How about you? What have you been up to?”
“I’m still interning for a junior graphic designer at Project12,” he said, “I impressed my boss with a logo I made for a small publishing firm today, so that was pretty great.”
“Oh wow, congratulations.”
“Yeah, I’m hoping they’ll give me a real job… you know, one with real money. But I’m not in a hurry yet.” Damien looked around, lowered his voice, and asked “How are you with your Magick?”
“Learning,” Natalie said, matching the volume of Damien’s voice. “I’m still new at the whole thing but I’ve read every book Lily gave me and I practice every night. She gave me a few advanced spells to do, including a binding ritual, but I put together a few little ones and came up with this...”
She brushed her hands through her brunette hair, shook the locks loose, and the sweet aroma of cinnamon and honey came rushing out, overpowering every other scent in the air. Damien didn’t want to say it, but he was impressed. When Lily discovered Natalie she had the Magical ability of a ham-sandwich, but now—only a few short weeks later—she seemed as confident and as capable as he was.
“You did that?” he asked. “On your own?”
“Yeah. But this is a trifle compared to what you can do,” she said, smiling.
“I don’t do much myself, but thank you.”
“I call modesty.”
“I really don’t, though. All I do is call the elements.”
“And that’s nothing to you? The Guardians themselves listen to you. That’s like having a phone line to a God. Actually, I was wondering if, maybe…” she trailed off.
It was coming. Damien knew then before the words left her mouth what she was about to ask, and sitting there across from her, drinking in her delicious perfume and watching her long, dark eyelashes flutter, he knew he wouldn’t have a choice in his answer.
“I don’t know if it’s such a good idea,” he said.
Natalie paused and nodded. “Yeah, I understand. I’m still very new and—”
“It’s not that,” he said, “It just takes a toll, you know?”
He wasn’t exactly lying; calling the power of the Elements came as easily as thought but it did leave you feeling drained after. Nothing a bite to eat couldn’t fix, but for the purposes of deflecting, he was happy to stretch the truth.
“Takes a toll?” she asked, “I don’t think you’re being totally honest with me.”
“Oh?”
“No. I think you want to keep the magick all to yourself,” she said, grinning.
“I don’t. I wouldn’t.”
“It’s either that or you’re trying to protect me from harm, which—nice as it is—I don’t need you to do. I would rather you just teach me.”
“I’m not a Master.”
“You’re more experienced than me, so that makes you my Master.”
Damien shuddered, but it was a warm, excited kind of shudder. The kind that made him tingle and shake all over. He couldn’t tell whether it had been what she had just said or the way in which she had said it, but he couldn’t say no. Not now. If he did, he would be a dick.
“Alright,” he said, “I’ll show you.”
Natalie smiled. “Just so we’re clear; you’re going to teach me how to talk to the Guardians?”
Damien nodded and smiled. “Sure,” he said, “What’s the worst that could happen?”
Chapter Two
If someone had asked him whether he was enjoying his quality time with Natalie, he would have found himself hard pressed to say no. All told, Natalie was sweet, funny, beautiful, and a Witch. He would never have to hide his true nature from her, or that of his sister, simply by virtue of that fact alone. And yet, every second he spent in her presence was even more nerve-wrecking than the last.
Was he really so afraid of coming clean to her about the boundaries of their relationship or was it… something else?
Whatever it was, Damien hadn’t been able to sit still since they sat down at the booth. Their conversation had been pleasant enough and their drinks warm and welcome on a cold night such as this. But his mind was elsewhere. In fact, all night his mind had been on the moment of their parting.
And the time had come.
“So, what do you want to do?” she asked.
“I can take you home if you want?” Damien said.
“Are you sure?” she asked, “I wouldn’t want to put you out.”
“I don’t have a car or anything but we can share a cab?” He had noticed she wasn’t heading for the car park.
“Okay, awesome. And, actually,” she said, spinning and raising her finger as if she had just remembered something, “My roommates aren’t home. They’ve all gone home for Christmas break, so… do you think you could maybe… come up and show me a little of that elemental Magick? Only because I wouldn’t want tonight to go to waste.”
She had a point. They had both cleared their schedules to participate in a little Coven bonding tonight only to have been bailed on, and Lily had said she would come down and see them once she got off work. All Damien had to do was keep Natalie entertained for as long as Lily was busy and everything would be okay.
At least until the next time their paths crossed.
Don’t be a dick, Damien he thought to himself. But he couldn’t help shake the feeling that the stars themselves were aligning in some strange way, plotting to have Damien and Natalie alone for some reason only they understood. What scheme were they hatching?
When they stepped out of the Bay Beach Bistro the nearby ocean spray reached out and touched them with icy, salty fingers. They turned their faces away from the cold and headed down the asphalt path away from the beach ending at the foot of a main road and only a few minutes’ walk from a row of waiting cabs.
The ride was spent mostly in silence. San Francisco was quiet and devoid of all life, it seemed. The fog clung to the roads and buildings like a blanket, obscuring all but the faint glow from street lights and buildings. Were it not for them, it would seem like they were driving on a road to nowhere.
The cab eventually slid to a halt. Natalie paid the man, though Damien put up a fight before submitting and slipping out of the cab. They were somewhere downtown, now, surrounded by tall buildings he couldn’t see the tops of and streets which seemed to disappear after a few feet. He watched the cab drive off and vanish into an orange cloud, leaving only the faintest impression of two red lights in its wake.
A few moments later the fog took them too.
“Do you live here?” Damien asked.
“Sorta,” Natalie said, pulling an ATM card out of her purse. “If we’re going up to my place we’ll need some groceries so I thought we’d stop here and get some. My fridge is empty.”
“Can you at least let me pay for them? I wasn’t even given a chance to pull my wallet out and pay the cabbie.”
“No, no,” she said, smiling and waving her gloved hand, “You’re coming to my place which makes you my guest.”
Damien followed his Coven mate to the ATM, recognizable only as a blinking green light sunken into a gray wall a short way down the street. It str
uck him now just how quiet everything was. No cars. No people. No life. Where the hell was everybody? There had been people at the Bay Beach Bistro and that was out on the beach. This was downtown San Francisco, all tall buildings, exclusive bars, and limousines.
But it seemed to him, as he waited for Natalie to make a withdrawal from her bank account, that they were the only two people on the street—no—the only two people in the whole city. First the quiet of the lonely beach, and now this. If the universe was sending him some kind of sign it sure was pulling all the stops; and here he was, doing his best to ignore it.
“Done,” Natalie said as she stuffed a number of crisp bills into her purse. “It’s this way.”
He followed, hands in pockets and silent.
“I like your sister,” she said, “She’s so sweet, isn’t she?”
“Yeah, she is.”
“Is she your only sister? Like, do you have other siblings?”
“Yeah, she’s my only sister.”
“That’s cool. I’ve got a brother, but he’s studying Marine Biology in Australia so we don’t get to see each other very much.”
“I’m sorry to hear it.”
“It’s okay; he comes back for the holidays and stuff, but I think he may move there when he and his fiancée have their baby.”
“Oh sweet; you’re gonna be an aunt? Congratulations.”
“Yeah, I’m looking forward to it.”
Inside his jacket pocket, his phone chirped and vibrated. Finally, signs of life, he thought. It was a text message from Lily. She wanted to know how things were going and to let him know that she could be with them soon.
“Everything ok?” Natalie asked.
Damien thought about his reply—the one to Natalie and the one to Lily—for a second. He chose to write back and tell Lily not to worry about joining them tonight. That, he thought, would make her and Natalie happy.
“Yeah,” he said when he sent his text, “Just my sister. Turns out she can’t make it tonight at all. Looks like it’s just you and me.”
“And are you okay with that?” she asked.
“Sure,” he said, “I don’t have anything else to do tonight.”
“Oh, so it’s like that, huh?” she said, smiling and nudging him in the arm.
“No, I didn’t mean it like that… you know what I meant.”
Natalie smiled, nodded, and continued on down the street. But out of the corner of his eye Damien caught a flash of green light through the fog. At first he thought it was a street light, but when he turned his attention to it fully he saw something else.
An entire section of the fog had turned green, as if a brilliant green light had been lit somewhere inside and from the space, someone was emerging—a figure in a long cloak, wearing a hood. It was a man, Damien saw, tall and broad shouldered. And though he couldn’t see the face beneath the hood he knew—he knew—who the man was. The ripples of Magick emanating from that sickly green glow were only all too familiar.
His blood turned to ice in his veins and his throat closed up tight, but he grabbed Natalie by the arm, jerked her hard, and forced the word out of his mouth.
“Run!”
Natalie didn’t have a chance to protest. Damien shot down the street with the confused witch in tow, back the way they had come. He stretched his hand before him as he ran, opened his palm, and in his mind summoned down the Power of the Guardian of the East; the element of air. Warm vibrations thrummed within his chest, rippling through his arm, toward his fingers, and out into the world.
From behind there came a strong breath of wind that split the fog apart and cleared a path for him to go through, closing behind them as they went. Natalie ran too, though she didn’t know why and Damien wasn’t in a position to explain. Not right now. She would have to trust that this man was not company she wanted to keep.
“This way,” Natalie said, catching on to the fact that they were running from someone and not just out for a nightly jog. She tugged on Damien’s arm and pulled him down an alley that opened up to their right.
When Damien turned into the alley the wind at his back turned too, blowing hard into the alley and sending the fog reeling into the night. Large garbage dumpsters squeaked along, pushed by the wind, while cats dashed out of their hidey holes—likely sensing the Magick—as all manner of debris kicked up around them. The wind helped them see where they were going, but Damien didn’t know this part of San Francisco. He had pulled Natalie along and begged her to run and to trust him. Now he would have to trust her to know how to get to their destination.
For a long time they ran, turning corners this way and that. All the while the wind remained, fanning the fog away before them and closing it up again at their backs as if to cover their movements. A homeless man awoke upon feeling the wind rock his cardboard house and looked out just in time to catch Damien and Natalie sprinting past. Up ahead, a murder of crows that had been perched on lengths of taught wire stretching from one building to another took flight to avoid the incoming gust of wind. They seemed to be traveling deeper into the heart of downtown, getting closer to people—people they would be safe around.
If they could only reach a nightclub district or a length of bars, they would be safe. But safe from whom? Damien knew the man he had just seen and by virtue of his aura had recognized him as being someone from his past, from his time at the Compound, but it could have been anyone. Brian? No. But maybe Henry, Brian’s son. He was resourceful and powerful. But how had they found him? And… oh shit, Lily! Had they found her too?
He had to call her; had to find a place to rest so that he could call and hear his sister’s voice, make sure she was okay. If they had found him then surely they had found her, and if they had found her… only the Gods know what they would do to her for escaping and taking him with her. Every second that passed deepened Damien’s anxiety until his heart felt like it was slamming against the sides of his throat and his head at different intervals.
Then Natalie made a right turn, and Damien got his wish. They had reached a dead end. Between the two brick buildings on either side stood a brick wall, connecting the two, easily ten or fifteen feet tall; too high for either of them to climb alone, and maybe even too tall for them to climb even with a boost.
Damien fumbled around in his pocket for his phone and dialed Lily’s number.
“Damien, what are you doing?” Natalie asked, breathless.
“I’m calling my sister,” he said, equally out of breath, “I need to know that she’s okay.”
“Lily? But, why her? Can you please tell me what’s going on?”
The phone rang. One ring. Two rings. Three rings.
“Damien?” Natalie asked.
“There was a man,” Damien said, “In the fog. I saw him come out of it.”
Six rings. Seven rings. Come on!
“A man?” Natalie asked, “I didn’t see anyone. I felt something, though.”
“You felt the Magick, then.”
Natalie nodded.
Ten rings. Eleven rings. Lily!
“Hello?” Lily’s voice on the other side of the line felt like a breath of fresh air to a man who hadn’t breathed in all his days.
“Lily,” Damien said, “You’re alright?”
“Yeah, I’m fine, why? You’re out of breath.”
“Listen to me. I think someone’s found me. Someone from the Compound.”
He hadn’t said those last two words aloud to anyone. No one knew of Damien and Lily’s past living as prisoners in a Witch Compound up in Oregon, least of all Natalie who had only just joined the Coven. Whenever he recalled that horrid place in recent nights the memories seemed to almost belong to someone else. They had been distant and hazy, and unreliable. But it seemed that by virtue of his recognizing that man in the fog the memories had been jolted back into sharp focus and he could remember their faces again.
Natalie had her eyes fixed on Damien, likely trying to understand what he had just said.
Lily
had been quiet for a few moments, and the silence was urging Damien’s heart to thump harder.
“Are you sure?” Lily finally asked.
“I’m sure,” Damien said.
“You need to get to me now. Tell me where you are and I’ll come get you.”
“I… I don’t know where I am,” he said, searching Natalie’s face for an answer.
She thought about it, turned around to get her bearings, and then let off a glass shattering scream. Damien spun around on the spot and saw the man standing at the mouth of the alley, his cloak snapping in the breeze of Damien’s own conjuring, features obscured by the cowl he wore over his head.
The man was silent, wrapped in an ominous miasma befitting a Warlock of the Compound. Time itself seemed to slow to a crawl and the alley stretched and elongated, warping Damien’s perceptions. All he could hear was his heart thumping in his head and the snapping of the man’s cloak in the wind.
Then the warlock moved. Wide-eyed, Damien watched as the man thrust a cupped palm forward and sent a bolt of green energy hurtling across the length of the alley. The light came forth in a beautiful show of jades, whites and yellows and all Damien could do was watch and wait as it came to him; came for him.
Then there was another scream, but before the scream Damien had been pushed. Or had he been pushed after the scream? He didn’t know. Nothing made sense. Time wasn’t working according to any known laws. The next thing he knew he was on the ground. His phone had flown out of his hand and gone bouncing along the gravel floor but he… he was alive, and the light was gone. The ripple it had left in the Currents was there—sickly and foul—but the light, and the warlock were gone.
Struggling, Damien rose to his feet as the wind died down around him. The breeze had been replaced by the sound of thunder grumbling up above, and when he looked he saw green flashes of light pulsing erratically behind the clouds, creating strange and terrible shapes; skulls, teeth, eyes.
Natalie.
“Natalie!” he said.
She wasn’t where she had been a moment ago. Damien did a frantic 360 degree spin and found her lying on the ground, easily ten feet away from where she had been, face down, and not moving.