The Phoenix Prophecy: Nova

I’m on the way back from the restroom when I see Kole and Tanner leaving Kole’s office. They’ve never bothered to hide the fact they’re fuck buddies, but I’m not sure I’ve come across them doing it at work before. Let alone leaving me in charge of serving drinks so they can go blow off some steam.

I stop, giving them a moment to get back into the bar so it’s not obvious I just saw them. I’m about to light a cigarette when the door nudges open a little further and someone else appears.

New.

Shit. Did they just…?

No, not the three of them. There’s no way Tanner would abandon a girl after sex. He’s all about the post-coital cuddles.

I step out of the shadow, and she jumps, slamming her hands over her heart and saying. “Luther, you scared me.”

I examine her face. She’s flushed. Her skin is glowing. I know that glow. And I’m pretty sure I can see her nipples peeking at me through her shirt.

When I don’t reply, she starts to babble. “I was just using Kole’s phone. I wanted to tell Rev thanks for the clothes. I don’t have a phone yet, so I had to use the landline.” She looks down at herself and smooths a hand over her top. Then she wraps her arms around her middle and says, “I better get back. I’m supposed to be learning the ropes.”

I stand aside and gesture for her to go right ahead.

Without looking back, she heads for the bar. She’s wearing a new pair of dark blue jeans that hug her ass to perfection. I might not like the woman, but I can see why Tanner and Mack are falling over themselves, and why Kole’s one paper cut away from wanting to devour her; she’s hot as hell. For a human.

When she’s gone, I wait a beat, then slip into the office. The air smells of sex, and as I’m pretty darn sure Nova didn’t just have a three-way with Kole and Tanner, that means she was hiding in here and didn’t want them to know.

If she really did use the phone, whoever she was calling, it wasn’t Rev.

I leave the door open and cross to the desk. Picking up the phone, I reverse dial.

“Hello, Coulson’s Pharmacy.” A bright, obviously human voice answers.

“Is this the Coulson’s in Oak View?”

“No, Sir. I’m afraid you must have dialed wrong. We’re the Ridgemore Coulson’s.”

As she’s asking whether she can help me with anything else, I hang up. Ridgemore. I pull out my cell. As the pin appears on the map, three hours south of Phoenix Falls, a lead-heavy weight settles in my gut.

Ridgemore is in the Anti Magick Belt. And if Nova was making contact with someone there, I’d say there’s a pretty high chance our little human hates mages.

Back in the bar, I settle into the booth near the TV. Mack sits down beside me and pushes over a beer. He hasn’t taken his eyes off Nova all evening, and I’m starting to worry I’m the only one of us who’s capable of looking at the situation objectively.

“She’s lying. She’s not from Thunder Bay.” I lean onto my forearms and slide the beer bottle from one hand to the other.

Mack rubs his goatee, waiting for me to elaborate.This belongs © NôvelDra/ma.Org.

“I caught her sneaking out of Kole’s office. She used his phone to call a pharmacy in Ridgemore.”

“Ridgemore?” Mack hasn’t heard of it either, but when I unlock my phone and show him the screen, his forehead creases into a frown.

“Anti-magick territory?” He breathes out through pursed lips.

“Have you considered she could be a mole?” I allow myself a sideways glance at her. She’s serving Bea, the water witch who’s always trying to tempt me back to her dank apartment on Cedar Street. I went once. Never again.

“A mole?”

“A.M.A. trying to infiltrate the town. They’ve done it elsewhere. Remember Ullswater?”

Mack bites his lower lip. His eyes flash amber. He might be capable of hiding his emotions, but Snow isn’t. Looking at Nova, tilting his head, he says, “I just don’t see it. Tanner would have sensed something.”

“He told us she’s hiding something.”

“But he also told us she was telling the truth about running away.”

I breathe out and rub my hand over my closely shaved head. “Tanner’s too infatuated to see straight.”

Mack doesn’t answer.

“So, what now?”

Sighing, he says, “Now? Looks like you and I are taking a road trip to Ridgemore.”

I raise my eyebrows. “You sure that’s a good idea?”

“I can act human.” He blinks and the amber glint in his eyes starts to fade. “As long as you can control yourself if we run into some A.M.A. fanatics.”

I flick my nail against the rough surface of the table. A spark ignites on the tip of my finger. Fire is stirring in my gut. I take a swig of beer and exhale slowly to put the flame out.

Mack doesn’t know what happened the last time I came into contact with the Anti Magick Alliance. He knows something went down, but Kole’s the only one who knows the truth of it. The full truth. The things I did.

“I can control myself.” I stand up and nod at him. “Tomorrow?”

“We’ll leave before first light.”