Allie Beckstrom 09 - Magic for a Price

  “And that is why I have called you all here today. We will be reassigning the Voices of Life, Death, Blood, Faith, and Flux magic.”

  An excited murmur rolled through the room, and the atmosphere took a tick up.

  “This will be rich,” Shame said, exhaling smoke. “Want to lose some money on it, Jones?”

  Zay leaned both shoulders against the wall. “Who do you think is up?”

  “Blood? Mum, of course. Think they’ll put Victor on Faith—”

  “Victor?” I said. “Is he well enough for that?”

  “See for yourself.” Shame sucked on his cigarette and tipped his chin toward the other side of the room where Victor sat in a chair. He had on a bulky sweater and jeans, not at all his usual business wear, but he didn’t seem uncomfortable. He most certainly looked like he was healing. And the bandage over his eyes was gone, though he was wearing dark glasses.

  “God,” I exhaled. “I thought…the last thing I remember is you telling us he’d been shot and wasn’t going to make it.”

  Shame held the smoke in his lungs. “Didn’t you tell her anything?” he asked Zay.

  “We haven’t had time. Victor’s going to be okay,” he said to me.

  The knot in my chest loosened a little. “Good,” I said. “Good.”

  “Voice of Life magic will go to Carl, I’d wager,” Shame said, “and Death to La.”

  “La doesn’t use Death magic,” Terric said.

  “No, but she could pick it up.” Shame grinned. “As a matter of fact, I’d be happy to teach her.”

  “That your bet?” Zay asked.

  Shame nodded.

  “I say you’re wrong.”

  “’Course. Wouldn’t be a bet if you didn’t. So who? Go on.”

  “Blood, Sunny. She’s been studying under your mom long enough I think she’d take it if Maeve doesn’t want it. Faith…I think it’s Kevin’s time to give up the bodyguard business and step up to a little more Authority business. Flux, which you forgot about, Violet. Life might be best in Dr. Fischer’s hands. And Death? I think that’s going to you, Shamus Flynn.”

  Shame snorted. “Like they’d give me responsibility.” He stuck his cigarette in his mouth so he could talk around it. “Unreliable, remember? You’re on.” He shook Zay’s hand. “Easy money.”

  “How much are you losing on this, Flynn?” Terric asked.

  “Winning,” Shame said. “Fifty?” he looked at Zay.

  “Cents?”

  “Ha-ha. Dollars.”

  “Done,” Zay said.

  “So Sunny is back? Is everyone else okay?” I asked. “Baby Daniel? Cody?”

  Zay leaned down closer to my ear. “They’re fine. A little worse for the wear, but when Cody joined magic, he healed everyone with magic.”

  “How?”

  Zay shrugged. “Even he doesn’t know. From what he can explain, it has to do with his vision of what magic really is. Cody, apparently, has always seen magic as a beautiful thing. Both light and dark. When he was holding magic together, helping it join again, it responded to that, to his expectations and vision of it. It healed the people he cared for, like Nola. Then it kept right on healing. Starting with you.”

  I touched my chest where the scar lay beneath my shirts.

  He nodded.

  “And then all the people wounded in the fight, and then all the people poisoned by magic, and then ending with you again.”

  Wow. I searched the crowd for Cody. Found him. He stood on the opposite wall from us, looking right at me, as if waiting for me to notice him.

  His eyes were clear, his body language comfortable, and…adult in a way I’d rarely seen him. This, I thought, was the Cody Miller who would have been, if his mind and soul hadn’t been broken. And here he was, all grown up and put together again.

  The real hero of the day.

  I raised one hand in a small wave, and he lifted his hand in a wave. Whorls of magic painted his fingers and palm, all the way up his arm—both arms—to disappear beneath the short sleeves of his T-shirt.

  Marks of magic. Just like mine.

  “You said he can’t use magic anymore?” I asked Zay.

  “Cody?” Zay glanced over at him. “No. He thinks it’s the price that had to be paid to join magic. Maybe his ability will come back in time. We don’t know. He says he doesn’t mind. He’s painting again. I saw a picture of a piece he’s working on. It’s…there aren’t words. There’s something more than magic in his art, something…amazing. I think he’s going to be a very rich man.”

  “Allie!” Nola pressed her way through the crowd and gave me a big hug before I could even get a good look at her.

  Detective Stotts was right behind her, and nodded to Zay. “Zayvion.”

  “Paul,” Zay greeted him.

  “Are you okay?” Nola and I both said at the same time.

  She laughed a little, and gave me one more squeeze, then stepped back just a bit, still holding my hand.

  “Are you?” I asked again.

  “I’m good,” she said. “Tired, still a little confused about everything, but catching on pretty quickly for a country bumpkin.”

  She looked good, and except for a thin inch-long line at the edge of her jaw, seemed to have made it through everything without any lasting injury.

  “What about you?” she asked.

  “I’m dealing. Not quite…up to speed yet.”

  “Oh, Allie,” she said. “You saved the world. You can take a little more time to recover if you need it.” And the kindness in her eyes almost made me want to cry.

  “What, that?” I said, trying to push my sorrow away. “Just another day on the job.”

  She shook her head, seeing right through my ruse.

  “It is my pleasure,” Maeve said, loud enough that both Nola and I turned to see the stage again, “to announce the new Voices of the Authority.”

  Apparently, I’d missed some of her speech. I still wasn’t quite tracking everything. The world was moving too fast, and I had been holding still for so long, I had to work a bit to keep up with it.

  “The Voice of Flux magic will remain Violet Beckstrom,” Maeve said. “The Voice of Faith magic will temporarily remain in Victor Forsythe’s hands until he chooses a successor. The Voice of Blood magic will be given to Clyde Turner.”

  “Who?” I asked.

  “Old friend of me mum’s,” Shame said. “Last I’d heard he was working with the Ward, Sam Arch. Guess he’s back in town now.”

  “Hell of a Blood magic user,” Terric said.

  “And lastly,” Maeve said, “the Voice of Life magic will be given to Terric Conely.”

  Terric straightened and looked a little shocked. “Shit.”

  “The Voice of Death magic will be given to my son, Shamus Flynn.”

  Applause broke out.

  “She did not,” Shame spit out.

  Zay just laughed.

  God, I hadn’t heard him laugh in such a long time. “Oh, but she did,” Zay said.

  “But I’m unreliable. I can’t have that kind of say in things. I can’t have that kind of power. And Terric? He’s, he’s”—Shame waved one hand in the air as if trying to grab words out of it—“he’s impossible to work with.”

  “Like working with you is some kind of dream?” Terric drank down the last of his beer and handed Zay his empty glass. With a final look at Shame, he started across the room toward the stage.

  “Go.” Zayvion pushed Shame to get him moving too.

  Terric had been appointed the Voice of Faith magic by Bartholomew Wray, a position Terric did not want to take from Victor and a position he had never been comfortable with. Terric definitely leaned toward Life magic. I wondered if he’d had any say over which position he was appointed to this time.

  Probably not. Knowing Maeve, and the dozen people with her on stage, they’d done what they had thought was right for Portland for now, with very little or no input from the people directly taking the positions.

&n
bsp; “How long will they be Voices?” I asked.

  “Usually for many years. But I don’t know,” Zayvion said. “Maeve told me Sam Arch is on his way. If he doesn’t agree with their stations, they’ll be reappointed, or maybe there will be some kind of rule put in place so that Voices can only be in office for a limited term.”

  “Sam Arch is the Ward—the regional director of the Authority, right?”

  “Yes, now, shhh. I do not want to miss this.”

  Zay stuck his fingers in his mouth and let off a sharp whistle. Then he yelled, “Speech, speech, speech!”

  Each person took their turn at the mic, saying thank you.

  I was surprised to see Violet there, as I hadn’t spotted her in the crowd, but she looked calm and reasonable as ever, telling everyone that she hoped to pioneer the next advances in magical and tech innovation.

  It was strange to see her, to listen to her speak and not feel my dad’s reaction, not feel his love and sorrow for losing her.

  She caught my eye across the crowd and gave me a smile.

  Or maybe she was giving Dad a smile. Only he was no longer here to see it.

  I smiled back and nodded. We needed to talk.

  Clyde Turner was probably in his late thirties, early forties. He wore a baseball hat backward and had on flannel and jeans. Very Northwest. He looked more like a guy who worked in a microbrewery or a shipping company than an expert in Blood magic. He took off his hat and brushed a hand over his mop of black hair before stepping up to the mic.

  “It’s a pleasure, an honor, and a gift. I’ll do my best to uphold a position so well represented by Mrs. Flynn.”

  Seemed like a nice enough guy.

  Victor had not made his way to the stage, but remained seated in the chair. Terric walked up to the mic.

  “This is a great honor. I will do everything in my ability to respond to the needs of the Life magic users in this community. Thank you.”

  He stepped away from the mic and Shame walked up.

  Shame shook his head, looking out over the crowd. “Really, people? Have you gone completely insane? I mean, sure, yeah, I can see the others standing as Voices of the Authority, but me?”

  The room filled with chuckles.

  Shame pressed his hand against his heart, his pale fingers sticking up out of his black fingerless gloves. “I’ll do what I can for Death magic users, all you dark, depraved souls out there. I’ll try to do you right, or wrong, if that’s the way you like it. Thanks for this then.”

  He stepped away from the mic.

  Maeve took the stand again. “Good. That’s our announcement. A meal will be served in the dining room, please enjoy the food. Oh, one last thing: Sam Arch will be in town soon, to verify these appointments and to hear any concerns you have. He will also help to select a Head of the Authority. We’ll be sure to let you know more information as things progress.”

  Everyone applauded and then people filed forward to talk to those coming off the stage. Plenty of people wandered out of the room, heading down to the dining room setup for food.

  “Hey, boss,” a familiar voice said.

  Davy was walking my way, Sunny beside him, her arm looped through his. They both looked well. Really well.

  “When did you make it home?” I asked.

  “Yesterday.” He nodded to Zay. “Heard you two were still recovering from the confrontation.”

  “We’re on the mend,” Zay said. “How did things go with Collins?”

  Jack and Sid and Bea wandered over. Looked like it was time for me to catch up with the Hounds.

  “He did what he said he’d do,” Davy said. “Kept the Soul Complements out of Leander and Isabelle’s sights and safe from anyone following the Overseer’s orders. But as soon as we got word that Portland was out of lockdown, and the situation was stable, Collins disappeared. It was…annoying.”

  Nothing worse for a Hound than having someone slip the trail.

  “Think our boy Davy here is losing his edge.” Jack strolled up with his arm around Bea. “Or maybe there’s someone distracting his attention.”

  Davy grinned. “Like you’re one to talk.”

  Bea giggled. From the rosy flush of her cheeks she’d had more than one glass of champagne.

  “You did fine, Davy,” she said. “Collins is a very…well, he’s an odd sort of man. Maybe it’s better he isn’t around.”

  Sid reached over and patted Davy on the shoulder. “It’s good to see you back, Silvers. And looking so well. Thought we’d lost you there for sure.”

  “Still not a hundred percent,” he said. “But I’m better. Much better than I was.”

  “Zayvion told me everyone in Portland was healed when Cody joined magic,” I said. “Did that reach you?”

  “I think so,” he said. “Magic’s worldwide. They think the healing has been spreading out from Portland to the rest of the world. And no more ghosting out for me, if that’s what you’re asking. I haven’t really tested to see what I can do with magic. Didn’t want to blow myself up far away from home.”

  “Please,” Sunny said, rolling her eyes. “Most of the ‘different’ about magic is that spells are less powerful rather than more powerful. Chicken.”

  Davy nodded. “Smart chicken, thank you.”

  “Allie,” Sid said, “have you checked in with the others?”

  “No. Are there other Hounds here?”

  “A few. Want me to call a meeting?”

  “How about tonight. Is the den still standing?”

  “Like a rock. I’ll let you know when I have the meeting nailed down. But first, I’m going to get in on that free food.”

  Sid and Jack and Bea headed off, stopping occasionally to talk to members of the Authority in the crowd.

  Davy watched them go and grinned. “So much for the Hounds staying out of the Authority’s business.”

  “Not such a bad thing,” I said.

  “Not such a bad thing at all,” he agreed. “See you at the meeting, boss. Oh, and Allie?”

  “Yes?”

  “Thank you. For everything. For making sure I was alive for all this.” He waved his hand at the room.

  “You were the one who made sure you were alive,” I said. “You never stopped fighting for it.”

  “Still.” He let go of Sunny, then stepped over to me and gave me a hug.

  I was so surprised I forgot to hug him back for the first second or two. Hounds avoid contact as much as possible. With pretty much everyone. The only safe way to stay untrackable, and therefore alive, was to have as little contact as possible with people.

  I didn’t think that was true anymore. The only way to stay alive was to rely on each other, to trust your friends, and your pack.

  “You are welcome, Davy,” I said. And I hugged him back.

  Chapter Twenty-four

  It had taken a month for things to feel normal again. Well, maybe not normal, but new, solid, real. Cody healing everyone in Portland with magic had some unintended side effects. One, the healing had spread out around the world, which was a good thing as far as I was concerned. Two, all the people who had been Closed by the Authority and had their memories taken away had regained those memories.

  That had been every kind of not fun.

  I was the exception and hadn’t gotten any of my memories back. I didn’t know why but most of my life was still filled with big, black blankness.

  Which was pretty much normal, so I tried not to let it bother me.

  Zay and I had spent most of the next month at the coast doing nothing more than eating seafood, walking the beach, and spending lazy, luxurious days in bed together.

  Summer had slipped by too quickly.

  Still, I’d had a chance to catch up with everyone. Nola had decided to sell the farm and move into the city with Detective Stotts. I was just waiting for Paul to ask her to marry him any day now. Maeve and Hayden had given the keys of the inn to Shame, while they headed off to spend a year together at Hayden’s home in Al
aska. For a “proper courtship,” Maeve had said. Victor was still the Voice of Faith magic, and I wasn’t sure he was ever going to choose his successor.

  Cody couldn’t use magic, but his paintings were nothing short of amazing, and he already had a backlog of buyers lining up for his next piece. He was also working on a statue to honor my dad. “Something permanent,” he had said, “so the city will remember Daniel Beckstrom as a great man who changed magic, and really, gave his life to save the world.”

  Eli Collins was missing, completely disappeared off the map. Maybe that was for the best.

  As for the Hounds, I’d called a meeting and told them I was stepping down. I didn’t want to be the leader anymore, not for the Hounds, not for anyone in Portland. I was done making the big life-or-death decisions for a while.

  I thought for sure Jack or Bea, or Sid or Jamar would step up and take over the den, and deal with the Hounds working not only with the police, but also with the Authority. But it was Davy and Sunny who said they’d take on the responsibility.

  Pike would be so proud of that kid.

  And I’d talked to Violet. Told her dad was gone, really and truly gone. I’d told her, in detail, everything he’d done, and everything he’d said during the fight, and anything else I could remember from the time he’d been possessing me. He had loved her. I told her I knew that was true because I had felt his love for her. That had made her smile a little.

  Then Kevin had come in the room, interrupting us. Her smiled had brightened.

  From the way she had looked at him, and he had looked at her, it was clear they’d finally talked about their feelings. Their relationship. He had admitted he loved her. And it looked like she loved him too.

  It was good to see her moving on. Kevin was going to be a great dad for little Daniel.

  “Allie?” Nola said from the front seat of Paul’s car. “Are you sure you don’t want us to come with you?”

  I pulled free of my memories and looked out the window. Paul had stopped by the park, and the arch of the St. Johns bridge speared the clear blue sky.

  “No, I’m good. Zay’s going to pick me up for lunch later.”

  “Are you sure?” Paul asked. He and I had sat down over a couple pots of coffee and I’d given him a full rundown of everything I knew about the Authority and magic and things that he’d been tracking in the city for years.