Sorcerer: Witch's Woes: Power of Air (Book 3) (2 page)

Mike stood, “Can I talk to you a minute Ben, let’s get a
beer.”

Crap.

Jenna looked startled, and Aiya looked guilty, no doubt
because she knew what Mike didn’t.  Sierra wasn’t fazed by the abruptness at
all, she could probably scent Mike’s rising suspicion after all.

I got up and followed him into the kitchen, and was a little
surprised when he actually handed me a beer, and we walked outside where we
wouldn’t be overheard, except for Sierra of course.

Mike said, “I’ve thought about what you said, and I want to
know.  Especially since it has something to do with my wife being pregnant, and
don’t try to deny it.”

I sighed, “Fine, but you can’t tell anyone, and you can’t
ask about anyone else.  I already told you I can only tell you my secret, even
then some… beings won’t be very happy with me.”

Mike raised an eyebrow, “And if I don’t?”

I shrugged, “You won’t remember it anymore, we won’t be
friends, and you won’t even know why.  I won’t be happy with that, you and
Jenna are family to me.”

Mike nodded, I knew his cop instincts were screaming, but he
agreed to hear me out based on our long friendship.

I explained, “It was back in July, on my birthday, when I
found out I wasn’t just a psychic…” I told him the highlights about myself
only, that I was a sorcerer of air and had gotten my childhood memories back. 
I left out that my family’s enemies were probably still hunting for me, and
anything about Aitheria, and it felt… really odd to do it.  I ended with
telling him about repairing Jenna’s scar tissue, and that the pregnancy part of
it was actually all his fault.

Mike shook his head in disbelief when I finished, “That’s
crazy.”

I shrugged, held up my hand, and created a tiny little baby
twister, it rode around the palm of my hand.  I figured I’d have to prove it
like I did with Aiya, this time around I had the control to do so.  Then I fed
it just a little bit of fire magic, and it turned into a swirling vortex of
flames that started out blue on the bottom, and ran the colors of fire down to
orange at the top.  It was actually kind of beautiful.

When I looked up from my hand, Mike looked a little freaked
out.  Okay, probably an understatement, he’d actually moved his hand to where
his gun would be, and was wide eyed with disbelief.

I wondered for a moment if I’d have to give them up as
friends.  They meant a lot to me, but maybe I didn’t belong in their world
anymore.  Still, Aiya was handling it, so I hadn’t given up yet.  I cut off the
fire I was feeding it, and then released the air after the fire extinguished. 
I measured him for a moment.

“Look, if you can’t handle it let me know, I can make you
forget I told you anything.  Aiya knows, so far she hasn’t asked about any
other parts of the supernatural world.”

I thought telling him his partner could handle it might
spark his pride.  What can I say?  I was desperate.

He frowned, “She does?”

I snickered, “Yup, she caught on a lot faster that I was
hiding things, probably because she hadn’t known me as well or as long, no
emotions or preconceptions to get in the way of it.  She tracked me down and
caught me red handed.”

He asked, “Does Sierra know?”

I just nodded, and I could see him swallow the next obvious
question.

He sighed, “Alright, I’ll keep my mouth shut, but you know
this is nuts right?  And thank you for what you did for us, even if the idea of
you digging around in my wife kind of freaks me out.”

I supposed this was the best I could hope for, I’d have to
wait and see if he could really handle it.  I felt kind of conflicted about it,
things were changing, as life tended to do.  Even if he could handle it I
wasn’t naïve enough to think our friendship wouldn’t change.  The only question
was would be grow closer from it, or grow apart to be simple acquaintances that
nodded at each other at crime scenes?

We went back inside, and Sierra and I called it a night
quickly.  I had no doubt Jenna would have Mike spilling his guts later, and
that was okay with me, but the secret was getting thin enough, I wouldn’t be
telling my aunt or cousin anytime soon.  Most likely never actually.

It was only after we left that I realized it would have been
a good time to tell all of them I was moving soon, I’d have to do that
tomorrow, or as soon as possible.  When we got home, I stopped thinking about
anything but Sierra, as Sierra and I turned in for the night, but put off sleep
for a while longer.

Thursday, June 2
^nd
, 2016, 7:33 AM

“Are you sure about this?” Sierra asked.

I smiled and caressed her arm, “Yes, I haven’t changed my
mind.”

It was true, I suppose a part of me was stressing the change
of such a big step, but I didn’t have doubts about her, or us, so what I said
was true, mostly.  I was ready to just move in with her and the pack, soon.

She nodded, “Send me?”

I stole a light kiss first, but when I let go and tried to
step away, she pulled me back against her for a more lingering one before she
deigned to released me.  I was tempted to make us both late after that, but
knew it was a bad idea, although not why. 

She looked great in jeans, boots, and a light shirt, all
ready for work.  No one was in the trailer yet, I checked, and I had my magic
take her straight there.  I verified she arrived safely and grabbed another cup
of coffee from the kitchen in my travel mug. 

I’d been experimenting with my travel spell, and it seemed
my magic was very good at picking locks, and relocking things as it moved me. 
But there were limits.  For instance, if I tried to travel into a highly
secured bank vault, it wouldn’t work at all.

It was time for me to go as well, and I went out the door
into the sunshine.  It wasn’t as hot as yesterday, back to the normal June temperatures
in Chicago, it also wasn’t nearly as humid.  It occurred to me as I started
toward my office I’d probably be spending a lot more time there when I moved to
the suburbs, well, not necessarily, I could always hang out at the house and
only come in when I needed to still. 

Another thing I worried about was if anyone would notice my
quick movements, it had occurred to me that my phone was hopping towers almost
instantly whenever I jumped around the city and especially when I left the city. 
So far it hadn’t been noticed as far as I knew but I had to exercise a little
caution.

One thing that changed over the last ten days was the walk
in business side had picked up a little bit, thanks to all the press I’d gotten
from Kira Downs.  That was most likely why I felt the need to head over there
this morning.  I opened up the office and started some coffee going.

Aitheria sent, “
Be careful today.
”

“Is it going to be that bad?” I asked wryly, she never
warned me about anything.  Which is why I went to high alert for a moment.

Today did feel weighty, I was hoping I wouldn’t have any
more crazy days like the werewolf pack invasion for a while.  Last time the
crap really hit the fan I’d gotten nine months of relatively easy work.  It was
a nebulous feeling though, and I couldn’t see what it was.  That meant whatever
happened, it would be supernatural in nature if the information was blocked.

Aitheria shrugged, “
I can’t get a lock on the information
either, so just… be careful Ben.
”

I smiled, “Yes dear.”

She scowled, “
Not funny.
”

I frowned.

She actually sounded worried, and I was sure her power to
gather information was more powerful than mine was.  It wasn’t like her to warn
me either, but there wasn’t much I could do about it except keep my eyes open
and be cautious.  I felt the person approaching as soon as they entered my
sphere of connected air, and then my sphere of fire as they came in my office. 
Whatever had her worried, it wasn’t this, the person coming was human, and one
I knew well.

“Are you nuts?” Aiya asked in exasperation, as she walked
through the door.

I replied dryly, “The jury is out on that one, I’ll let you
know.”

She surprised me with a tight hug, despite our lack of
chemistry it felt pretty damned nice.  She studied me for a moment after she
stepped back, maybe she was trying to gauge my mood.

“I don’t think Mike… he was a little freaked out after you
left.  I don’t think he’s going to tell anyone, but he gave me the damned third
degree after you ran out like your ass was on fire.  So thanks for that.”

I frowned, “Sorry, I didn’t mean to throw you under the
bus.  I knew he was a little freaked out, I figured it would give him the
opportunity to talk with you, not grill you.  Anyway, I didn’t have much
choice, he kind of figured out something was up.  If he can’t handle it, I’ll
have to take his memories and cut ties.  I didn’t want to do that.”

She sighed, “I get it, you know I’ve doubted my own sanity a
few times over the last nine months, it isn’t easy to…” she growled in
frustration and waved that away, “He’s more rigid than I am, he’s been my
partner for a while now.  I hope he deals but… he’s the type of person that
ties their life to certainties, and you just proved his world was a lie.”

I shook my head, “What about Jenna, and you know if you ever
want out…”

Aiya looked at me like I’d slapped her, “Don’t you dare,
it’s hard sometimes but I’d never give you up as a friend, plus you know, my
case closure rate is on the line,” she added slyly.

I snorted and glared at her, “I love you too.”

Aiya grinned impishly, my glare just bounced off the raven
haired beauty, “I suppose I’m being selfish too, it will be harder to be
friends with, and work with you if you have to avoid… you get what I mean.  It
will be hard on all of us.  So I really hope he can handle it, but my gut…  To
answer your question, Jenna took it really well actually, but then she was all
into alternative medicines and has a much more creative and open mind.  She was
kind of delighted by the idea of magic being real.  Speaking of case closures,
can you look at something for me?”

I laughed, “So you came here to berate me and then ask for
help?  I think I need therapy.”

She nodded and said deadpan, “Of course I did, I’m a model
of efficiency after all.”

I sighed, “Alright, let me take a look.”

She pulled out a picture and handed it to me.  Allison
Blare.  She looked wholesome in the picture, long chestnut hair with a reddish
tint, innocent smile, total girl next door vibe, but the information I was hit
with showed a cynical young woman that was stripping her way through college. 
Despite that, she wasn’t a bad person, just disillusioned with life, specifically
the male species, she’d just finished her freshman year and... it seemed I was destined
to run afoul of the mob two days in a row.

I asked, “Coffee?”

She smiled and went over to help herself, I don’t know how
she drank the stuff black, must be a cop thing.

She took a sip and then sat down, then she asked, “So what
did you get?”

I frowned, “This is a tough one.  She works at a gentlemen’s
club.  She went in early in the morning, to talk to her boss about increasing
her hours, so she could earn more for next semester, and she saw something she
shouldn’t have.  Apparently the basement of the club is used for a waystation,
for human trafficking.  She got there at the worst time, when they were
bringing in some Russian girls, to be… trained.”

I felt kind of sick to my stomach actually.  The girls
weren’t being treated well.  It was times like these that my decision to only
deal with supernatural law-breakers was tested, I’d like to go there and put a
stop to it, but this wasn’t a comic book and I wasn’t a superhero.

Aiya looked surprised and her voice was soft, “Is she dead
then?”

I shook my head, “No, she’s been tied up in the basement. 
They’re moving her tonight after closing, apparently barely legal woman from
here is as big overseas, as imports are for the underbelly of our country.  Why
kill her if they can sell her?”

Aiya raised an eyebrow and her voice rang with disapproval,
“Imports?”

I handed back the picture, “Sorry, victims, the whole
concept is revolting to me.”

Perhaps I’d reached a bit too far for that emotional
distance, but there were several young teen girls that I wished I could get out
of my head.

She sighed, “You’re right though.  This is a hard one,
because Mike and I can’t just walk in there without probable cause.”

I tilted my head, “What if I break the club, will that give
you probable cause?”

She shook her head and quirked a smile, “Break the club?”

I winked and said as innocently as possible, “You know, the
door, walls, other things.”

Aiya narrowed her eyes, “I’ll pretend I didn’t hear that,
we’ll have to stake it out until they bring the girls out after closing.”

I shrugged, “Just trying to help.  There will be five armed
guys, including the boss, and all those handy female shields to hide behind,
you might want to bring backup.  Or, what if you got a judge to approve a raid,
say you got a tip that there were underage girls on premises.”

Aiya frowned, “That might work, if I got a tip like that.”

“Detective, there are underage girls at the gentlemen’s
club… will that do?”

Aiya laughed, stood up, and then kissed me on the cheek,
“I’ll try, if not we’ll take backup.  Anything else?”

I blurted before she could walk out, “I’m moving to the
suburbs.”

She was quiet for a minute, “With Sierra?  Congrats.”

“Thanks, I’ll still be in the city a lot, but I may have to
start breaking into your apartment instead.”

She shook her head, “Only if you cook me breakfast, it’s the
rule, but won’t she mind?”

“I’m not sure, I think I’m just trying to keep what I can…
you know?  Everything’s changing, I might lose Mike and Jenna, and they’re like
family, I don’t want to…”

She smiled at me fondly and touched my arm, but shook her
head as she said gently, “You won’t lose me, but it will be different.  I need
to get going, it’s almost eight thirty.”

I nodded, she needed to get to work…

There were a few walk ins over the next three hours, though
nothing close to Allison’s dilemma, just two runaways, and one young man that
was stuck in jail but had been too afraid to call home.  I took down their
info, picked up their checks, and then waited a bit before emailing the
information of where their loved ones had gotten off to.  Even people that
believed in psychics were too freaked out if I just told them right then and
there, making them wait a half hour seemed a good compromise. 

I also got a text from Diana, she wanted to meet up for
lunch and discuss some business.