I hummed as I made my way through the apartment collecting all the things I would need for a night out; a black velour shawl lined with satin to keep me warm in the cool October night, my purse, and a picnic basket filled with cheese, fruit and water. Normally I would have packed wine, but I'd been cutting back on the alcohol lately. I just didn't seem to need it anymore.
One last check in the mirror, a tug on my off-the-shoulder sweater, and a quick fluff of my hair with my free hand, and I was ready to go.
Outside, Jacob pulled into a parking spot just as I reached the sidewalk that ran along the parking lot. He honked the horn and waved. I smiled and waved back.
It was October now. Two months had passed since I woke up in the hospital. Eight weeks filled with police inquiries, a media frenzy that alternately exalted me as a saint or accused me of being a renegade looking to escape criminal charges. There had been such a hullabaloo, I'd closed my shop indefinitely. It got to be too much with the police stopping by on a regular basis, the photographers zeroing in on me with zoom lenses while reporters shoved microphones in my face, and customers gawked (but never bought anything).
Fortunately, the dragons had paid me my weight in human gold eliminating any immediate financial concerns. The book deals and movie offers pouring in meant it was quite possible I would never have to work again, which was good considering the media showed no sign of leaving me in peace any time soon. Even now, I heard the whir and click of a camera.
At first I didn't understand the attention, but once I got out of the hospital and caught up on the news I began to see the attraction. The zombie detective that had first chased Jacob and I, forcing us into Fairy, hadn't been the only person in a position of power who was dead. Kristoff had been systematically killing and resurrecting key bureaucrats and other influential people as part of the renegades' plan for a New World Order. And not just in Salem, but in several different states. Kristoff had been criss-crossing the country on a regular basis to install zombies sure to follow his orders in key positions.
Court decisions, local legislation, and even some national senate campaigns were called into question when key people proved to have been zombies under Kristoff's control. Laws had to be repealed, criminals retried, and a full investigation into campaign finance had been launched.
Between Kristoff's infiltration of the power structure, the renegade's logistical resources, and the sheer magnitude of the dragons, the United States had been in very real danger of a coup d'etat. And human intelligence didn't even have a clue or an effective defense against such a threat. There was a lot of angry rhetoric about the government leaving us open to supernatural or Sidhe control and why didn't we allocate resources to guarding against these kinds of situations.
Bureaucrats, for their part, tap danced as best they could and threw money at the problem. They passed a budget providing funds for the CIA and FBI to hire more psychics and develop an interspecies crime unit. The Sunday morning news shows were filled with earnest middle-aged politicians making vigorous promises for lasting change.
A few of the shows had asked me to come on and weigh in with my opinion, but I declined. For one, I wasn't worried. Kristoff had been an unnaturally strong necromancer, one of a kind based on all the research I'd done in the last few weeks. His daughter, Grace was in Fairy under the care of a FIB psychologist. I visited her every so often and she seemed to be adjusting well. Because she hadn't raised humans yet, she could stay in Fairy and at least there, she couldn't raise the dead even if she wanted to. There wouldn't be another necromancer as strong as Kristoff any time soon.
Besides, the compromise Jacob had worked out with the dragons effectively eliminated their interest in taking over earth and as for the renegades, well, there would always be magic trafficking. It was, after all, human nature to want what we can't have, but it would take them a while to rebuild their black market. And anyway, I had a life to live and I was pretty sure I didn't want to become a psychic pundit.
Not when men as handsome as Jacob were waiting for me.
The only loose thread was Mark's family. Celia hadn't been happy to learn her son had moved on and Mark had asked me to watch over his half sister. For the time being, though, I gave them some space. I'd sent over a lovely layette set and a bunch of baby books. Celia hadn't even said thank you, but rude was her default setting so I didn't worry about it too much.
With a shake of my shoulders, I focused on the present and made my way over to where Jacob had parked.
"You look lovely," he said, stepping out of his car and locking it as he joined me on the sidewalk.
"Thank you." I twirled, showing off my black peasant skirt and then laughed when the basket along with my heels threw me off balance.
"Very nice." He caught me and pulled me in for a long, lingering kiss. I tried not to think too much about whether or not someone was taking our picture at that very moment. Hopefully the newspaper editors of the world had more class than to publish pictures of me making out with Jacob.
"Thanks." I smiled up at him, giddy with happiness. The worst was behind us and now we could finally enjoy each other.
"You're welcome. Here, let me get that for you." Jacob took the picnic basket from me and I let him as it was heavy and we had a bit of a walk ahead of us.
"Are you ready?" he asked, offering me his elbow.
I nodded. "We should get going. They're going to start soon."
I slipped my arm in his, leaning against him and enjoying the scent of his aftershave. In companionable silence, we headed for the quay. It wasn't far, but the traffic and crowds of people heading the same way slowed us down. What should've been a ten minute walk took a half hour. A lot of people wanted to see the first dragon mating in modern history.
Finally, we made it to the open grass by the water. Picnic blankets and patio chairs dotted the lawn while hundreds of boats bobbed out in the ocean, their lights blinking on as the last rays of the sun sank into the water. Around us, I noticed people pointing and staring as they recognized who we were.
Nervous, I fingered the gold charm hanging around my neck for reassurance. Vera had made three, one for her, one for me and one for Jacob. She'd finished them just this week and they were supposed to let people gawk, but prevent them from descending on us like locusts. Reporters would get a lot of pictures, but wouldn't be able to bring themselves to talk to us.
Even with the charms though, we probably should've stayed home and cuddled on the couch, but neither Jacob nor I wanted to miss tonight's festivities. We'd both fought too hard and suffered too much not to be there. Aware of everyone's eyes on us, we spread our picnic blanket on the ground and kicked off our shoes.
Sitting side-by-side, we toasted each other with our water bottles. "To new beginnings," Jacob said.
I smiled. "Hear, hear."
Just then, with an audible popping sound, two dragons burst into the sky. I leaned against Jacob and watched them soar, the first spark of something completely new. We'd both started out in a dark place and now we were surrounded by brilliant light that obliterated all the shadows.
The crowd quickly forgot about us, oohing and ahing as the dragons spiraled high in the air, creating large rings of bright flame that illuminated the night sky like a second dawn. I reached for Jacob's hand and he leaned in to kiss me as the sky exploded above us.
History was past and the future held the promise of a new life.
-Fin-
Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed Sofia's story and would be beyond grateful for any votes and comments, they are the life blood of books.
And I have another project started that you might like...
https://www.wattpad.com/story/85380282-crime-bites-urban-fantasy-novel
Crime Bites
Mel doesn't believe in monsters, which is a problem, because they all believe in her.Amelia (Mel) Larson is an FBI agent who, with a little help from her psychic abilities, can solve cases that would take months to crack with traditional investigation methods. But then she's assigned a case that bites back. There's a Dracula killer on the loose in Cleveland Ohio. Staking victims and bleeding them dry. It's up to Mel to put him behind bars, but this time, she's not the only psychic on the case.Maxime D'Avignon is tracking the killer, too but for reasons that have nothing to do with law and order. When he asks for Mel's help, things go sideways because he's not just psychic, he's undead. Worse, he knows things about Mel that make her a part of his world.They say the truth will set you free, but it can also bring danger and spill blood...so much blood.