Jen Pretty Read online

  “Wait, didn’t I see you in the club tonight?” The man

  asked, following me.

  Shit

  “Sorry, you must be thinking of someone else. Gotta

  go.” I picked up the pace, and he didn’t continue to follow.

  Thank God.

  I wiped the sweat from the back of my neck as I called

  an Uber. The street was quiet now. Everyone was either in

  the club or had wandered off to find a less crowded place

  to celebrate Friday night.

  14

  When the Uber rolled up, I climbed in and gave him

  my address across town. Riverside was a small city, but big

  enough that public transit was a joke. The diver sang along

  to reggae music under his breath while a plastic hula girl on

  his dash danced along. The car smelled like pot, but he

  seemed coherent. I probably wouldn’t die in a fiery crash.

  The streets were quiet at midnight, even on Friday

  nights. The moon looked down from its place in the stars,

  glinting off the river as we rolled along its bank towards

  my apartment. I closed my eyes as we passed the graveyard

  and didn’t open them again until the car stopped in front

  of my building. I paid the man and stepped out, pulling my

  keys out of my pocket and slipping off the high heels in

  preparation of climbing the stairs to my apartment.

  The sound of late-night TV was leaking out of an open

  window in a lower level apartment. I didn’t really know my

  neighbours except for David who lived on the top floor.

  He was the super, so he came and went whenever anything

  broke, otherwise, it was mostly professionals living in the

  building.

  The silence rung in my ears, making me feel nervous

  even inside my locked apartment, so I clicked on the TV

  and changed into some fleece pants and a tank top. I

  checked the locks on the door and the window before

  15

  curling up on the futon to watch some TV until I drifted

  off to sleep.

  The next morning, I woke up to my alarm screaming

  and the sound of a morning news report.

  “Police say they found the body of a woman on the

  banks of Trent River this morning. The cause of death is

  still under investigation.”

  I located the remote in amongst my blankets and

  clicked off the TV. I had an hour to get ready for work and

  no time to ponder the surge in dead bodies found in the

  river this month. This was the first time I had heard of two

  washing up on the same day, but there were five already

  this month.

  I showered quickly and found some clean clothes piled

  haphazardly on top of my dresser. Grabbed an apple from

  the fridge and was tying up my boots when my cell phone

  rang.

  “Hey, Dorothy,” I said as I switched the call to speaker

  and set it on the table to continue tying my boots.

  “Hey, yourself. I hope you’re being careful. Did you

  hear the news?”

  “Yes, I heard it. I'm very careful.” No need to worry

  her. I called her Dorothy, but she was the closest I had to

  a mother. She was one of the nuns who helped raise me at

  the orphanage and the only one who knew about my little

  16

  magic problem. She never told me how she knew about

  magic, but she taught me to restrain it and hide it away so

  no one would discover my secret. Magic was not

  something ordinary people knew about, but there were

  some who knew, and they were the ones I needed to hide

  from.

  “I should hope so. You working today?”

  “Yup, on my way there now,” I said, juggling the phone

  and locking the door behind me.

  “All right, just be careful,” she said and hung up. My

  chuckle echoed through the stairwell as I tucked my phone

  away.

  “Good morning Selena,” the booming voice of the

  building super rang up the stairs from below.

  I leaned over the railing in the middle.

  “Morning, David,” I replied before scurrying down the

  rest of the stairs.

  “How are things?” he asked, holding the door open for

  me.

  “Can’t complain,” I replied, and he smiled as I sailed

  through the door and into the lobby. I checked my

  mailbox, but it was just fliers, so I left them and waved to

  David as I walked out the front door onto the street.

  17

  Work was busy again. Saturdays always seemed to

  bring out the families, so I made hundreds of burgers and

  chicken nuggets.

  “Did you hear about those dead bodies?” This time it

  was Georgia who brought it up. It was big news in our city

  since we didn’t have much crime. People were throwing

  the word ‘serial killer’ around.

  “Yeah, don’t go out alone at night,” I said, scraping

  grease off the grill.

  “No kidding. I asked the boss man to keep us on shift

  together.”

  “That won't help if you leave me at my place and walk

  the rest of the way alone,” I reminded her.

  “We can take an Uber then. My father gave me his

  account, so I wouldn’t have to walk anywhere after dark.”

  Her smile was ridiculous. Her father was a church minister

  and had no idea what his little girl did in the dark

  nightclubs. He had come into the diner once, and Georgia

  pulled out this weird alter-ego that was so sickeningly sweet

  I got a stomachache.

  “All right, fine,” I said, flicking off the lights and

  grabbing a bag of trash. “Call the Uber, I’ll just take this

  out, and then we can go.”

  18

  Georgia hopped off the counter where she had been

  sitting and grabbed her phone out of her purse. It was silly

  to get a ride three blocks but better safe than sorry.

  I pushed open the door to the back alley behind the

  diner. The various businesses that had back doors to the

  alley all used the same three dumpsters. One was recycling.

  The law firm always packed it with shredded paper and

  the coffee shop topped it off with used paper cups.

  Another was specifically for grease from my grill, and the

  last was just garbage. I stepped out into the dark, propping

  the door open behind me. There was a motion light above

  the door, but I had to take one more step before the sensor

  would pick up my movement and flick on.

  I looked down just before I took that step and saw a

  shadow on the ground. I twisted with the bag of garbage

  to try to avoid whatever was on the ground as the light

  flicked on and I toppled sideways onto the pavement,

  landing within reach of what turned out to be a dead cat. I

  screamed and rolled away from it. Magic swelled, and I

  clamped it back down, averting my eyes. There was

  movement at the end of the alley. It looked like the back

  of a person, disappearing around the corner. Like a man in

  a trench coat.

  I grabbed the bag of garbage and threw it towards the

  dumpster. Good enough. Then hopped over the poor dead

  19
/>   cat, holding my magic down as hard as I could, I pulled

  open the back door and slid in, locking it behind me.

  I took deep gulps of air and tried to calm down. My

  hands clenched into fists and pushed the magic back from

  the edge. If I had been holding any more magic, I wouldn’t

  have been able to keep it under control and would have

  had to raise the stupid cat ghost.

  “You ok,” Georgia peeked out from the kitchen. “I

  thought I heard a scream.”

  “A cat scared me,” I said, faking a laugh.

  Georgia shook her head. “Well, let's go, scaredy-cat.

  Our chariot awaits!”

  It took about 4 seconds to get home in the Uber.

  Georgia explained we didn’t want to walk at night with the

  murderer on the loose and the guy agreed with a solemn

  look it wasn’t right for pretty girls to walk home un-

  escorted. I rolled my eyes, but Georgia preened and batted

  her eyelashes. She never missed an opportunity to flirt.

  “I’ll talk to you tomorrow,” I said.

  “Ok, I’m going to my dad’s tomorrow, but call me in

  the morning.”

  “All right,” I said, shutting the door and fishing my

  keys out of my pocket.

  The Uber rolled off and left me in the silence of the

  late evening. It was more quiet than usual. I climbed the

  20

  stairs to my apartment, lost in thoughts of the man in the

  trench coat. There was no way he was out behind the

  restaurant. Why would he be? I was just freaked out by the

  dead cat. Unless he put it there. He could have seen me the

  previous night and known who I was. I ran the rest of the

  way and locked myself in my apartment.

  My mind was freaking me out. All this talk of serial

  killers was making me crazy. I pulled out my phone and

  dialled Dorothy, but changed my mind. I pulled a bag of

  microwave popcorn out of the cupboard and tossed it in

  to pop. I switched the TV on to the movie channel, so I

  would be sure not to see any more news. A nice romantic

  comedy would help calm my overactive imagination.

  I woke the next afternoon to the sound of French

  voices on TV. My bleary eyes tried to focus on the screen,

  but something hard was under my face. When I reached up

  and grabbed it, I realized it was the remote. I snorted a

  laugh and clicked the power button. Silence fell, and I

  pushed myself up off the couch.

  In the bathroom, I looked at myself in the mirror. The

  side of my face was a pattern of circles from the TV

  remote. I laughed at my reflection and flicked on the

  shower. My hair was nearly blonde now, the dye never held

  to my hair for long. I would have to pick up dye today

  unless I wanted to be noticeable. Plans for the day

  21

  finalized, I had a quick shower and then got dressed to go

  to the pharmacy. Grabbing my keys, I swung open the

  door, and my magic gathered hard and fast. I looked down

  and found a dead rabbit on the floor in front of my door.

  I slammed the door hard and gasped for air, clenching

  my hands to hold the magic back. Someone knew. There

  was no way to deny it now. A rabbit didn’t just walk into

  the building and die on my doorstep. I pulled my phone

  out and dialled Dorothy.

  22

  CHAPTER THREE

  “Someone knows,” I shouted into the phone as soon as

  I heard Dorothy’s soft hello.

  “What do you mean?” She asked, her voice rising

  quickly to match my own.

  “Someone saw me, I think. Then there was a dead cat

  at the restaurant, and right now there is a dead rabbit at my

  door to my apartment.”

  “Damn it.” I had never heard Dorothy swear. The

  words just escalated my fear and tension. I tucked the

  phone into my shoulder, dragged a suitcase out from under

  my futon and stuffed it with clothes. I had no idea where I

  was going, but I had to go. Now.

  “Come home. Get off the phone with me and call a cab

  to bring you here.”

  “Ok, ok. See you soon.” I hung up before she could

  answer and opened the app to find a ride. It said the closest

  23

  car was seven minutes away, so I continued to jam things

  in my suitcase. I tucked a hat on my head, stuffing my hair

  up under it and pulled on a big jacket.

  When my ride was only a minute away, I slid out the

  door without looking at the dead bunny. The echo of my

  boots in the stairwell sounded like someone chasing me,

  and I ran faster, nearly falling at the bottom when I tripped

  on the last step. I slammed out the door of the stairwel

  and into the lobby.

  David was there speaking with an older woman I had

  seen around the building before.

  “Hey, Selena. Are you ok?” he asked noticing my

  flushed and harried appearance.

  “Yeah, I’m fine. Just taking some things to my aunt's

  house,” I said. He looked perplexed, but I didn’t stick

  around to let him ask questions. I bustled past him and out

  the front door.

  Sitting at the curb was the same Uber driver I had last

  time. The plastic hula dancer swayed to the reggae music

  inside.

  The driver hopped out when he saw me and stuffed my

  suitcase in the trunk of his car. It was already half full with

  a giant set of wooden speakers, but he managed to fit my

  stuff too. I climbed in and gave him the address.

  24

  Dorothy lived in a subdivision on the other side of

  town. I leaned back and tried to slow my racing heart. My

  leg bounced with anxiety. This was stupid. She wouldn’t be

  able to protect me. I should run, not bring danger right to

  her door.

  I rubbed my forehead. Sparks swirled inside me like a

  toilet. I needed to calm down, or it would come pouring

  out. I took a few more deep breaths and counted down

  from a hundred like Dorothy had taught me all those years

  ago.

  Calm started to seep in, slowing the fire until it stopped

  spitting and just flickered against my surface. The Uber

  driver sang along to the music and cruised us across the

  bridge to the suburbs. Ornamental trees lined the smaller

  streets. They designed the neighbourhood for retired

  people with rows of semi-detached bungalows. Hedges

  and short fences lined the perfectly weeded gardens and

  mowed lawns. People strolled along the sidewalks,

  chatting.

  The car rolled to a stop; the driver got out and fished

  my luggage out of the trunk. I watched the roads for

  anyone following us.

  “That’s fourteen dollars,” the driver said.

  “Thanks,” I handed him twenty, took my suitcase and

  lugged it up the few steps to the front door. The afternoon

  25

  sun burned my eyes as I glanced over my shoulder one last

  time.

  “Selena,” Dorothy’s voice almost brought tears to my

  eyes.

  I wrapped her up in a hug and then hurried her into the

  ho
use, locking the door behind me.

  “It’s OK; you’re safe here,” she said. I moved past her,

  through the kitchen to the back patio door. It was also

  unlocked, so I turned the lock and then set my eyes on the

  kitchen window, but her voice stopped me.

  “Selena, I have someone for you to meet.”

  I turned and standing in the doorway to the living room

  was a man holding a broad-rimmed hat and wearing a

  trench coat. It was him. I reached behind me and pulled a

  butcher knife out of the block, then held it in front of me,

  pointed at the man.

  “Come over here, Dorothy,” I said, eyes locked on the

  intruder.

  “What are you doing? Put the knife down!” she

  demanded.

  “I saw him. He’s the one who saw me, and he left the

  cat,” I said, waving her towards me.

  The man's lip curled on one side, and I narrowed my

  eyes at him, taking a step forward.

  26

  “She’s brave for a Necromancer, Dorothy.” The man's

  voice oozed like heavy cream.

  “You shut up,” I said, waving the knife towards him.

  He bit his lip, hiding a smile and raised his hands in

  surrender. He thought I was funny?

  “Sweet girl, this man won’t hurt you. If you saw him,

  it's because I asked him to keep an eye on you.”

  “What? Why?” I asked.

  “You have heard about the killings. Those weren’t

  ordinary people who died. They had magic, like you. Kind

  of.”

  All the air left my lungs. There were five people like me

  in the city, and now they were dead.

  “I thought I was the only one,” I whispered.

  The man dropped his hands and let his smile creep back

  onto his face. “I’m afraid not. Dorothy did a great job

  training you, but she should have alerted us to your

  presence sooner. We can help you and protect you.”

  I shook my head. “If someone has murdered five other

  people just like me, you can’t keep me safe.”

  He put his hat back on his head and smiled at me. “Sure

  I can.” In the blink of an eye, he was in front of me and

  holding the big butcher knife. Then he wrapped his arms

  around me, and the whole room went sideways.

  27

  Lights flashed and burned my eyes for half a second and

  then I was in a busy room set up with tables and chairs like