Summer's Stolen

One I stared up at the Authority’s imposing building that until a few short months ago had only been a bad memory from my childhood. Still a lot had changed for the better since I’d learned the truth about my mother’s death—she’d given her life to protect me until I could fulfill my destiny—realizing that the Authority wasn’t the heartless conspirators I’d long believed them to be. In some ways, her death had shaped me into the Savior everyone needed to stop the Order of Samael from raising druids from the dead. “Unless you’ve learned how to astral project, I’m pretty sure you have to go inside for the council meeting,” a familiar baritone voice said from behind me. I turned to look at Desmond, my cousin, and grinned. “Not yet. I’ll add it to my to do list, right after teleportation,” I quipped. We could do a lot of amazing things with magic, but even it had limits. The noontime sun beat down on us and he wiped sweat from his forehead. Spring had been mild and it was shaping up to be a cooler summer than we’d had in years. I’d hoped stopping the Order from raining terror down on all of us three months ago would have restored the balance of nature, but signs of the imbalance lingered. At least we were only three days from the Summer Solstice. Light magic would be at its height and I was eager to feel the surge in my own power. A voice crackled over the radio on my belt, calling out codes for crimes currently in progress. I was off duty and lowered the volume. “I guess we better go inside,” I said gesturing to the front doors. I followed Desmond inside and up the staircase to the second-floor meeting room. I nudged the door open all the way to reveal thirteen chairs laid out in a semi-circle, about half of them filled. Thirteen members had occupied the council since the time of the Witch Trials when the Authority was founded. Until I’d come back into the fold, they’d operated with only twelve members. I barely had time to sit down when Belladonna Montes—one of the Authority’s healers—descended upon me. She was a kind woman and had helped me recover from some serious scrapes. Worry lines pinched her mouth and the corners of her eyes. She took the seat meant for Desmond and he moved off, sensing Belladonna wanted some privacy. “Is everything okay?” I asked. She shook her head. “It’s Adrian. I haven’t heard from in a couple days.” Her teenage son had been training to take up the mantle of healer like his mother. I’d only had a few interactions with him, but he seemed like a good kid. “Are you sure he isn’t just crashing with friends?” “No. He was supposed to be with a friend three days ago, but I called. His friend’s parents said he never showed up. I wasn’t expecting him home until last night. When he didn’t come home, I got worried.” I knew she was telling me, because I was a cop. For a long time, I’d been police first and a witch second. These days I was trying to find a better balance of my inherited family traits with the career I’d chosen. “We usually have to wait at least twenty-four hours for someone to be missing before anything can be done officially. Still, if you give me his cell phone number I’ll see if I can find him.” I patted her arm. “Relax. Kids act out and take off sometimes. Lord knows I did when I was his age.” Although he hadn’t come home to find his mother dead in the living room with a knife in her chest. “Adrian has never been a wild kid, Ezri. Though …” She trailed off. “What?” I prompted. “He’s been spending a lot more time online lately. I told myself it was nothing. Although what if something happened to him, because of someone he met online?” It wasn’t out of the realm of possibility. Crime in social media was a whole new world for us and we were desperately playing catch up. I knew bailing on the meeting would be frowned upon, but I also knew that I needed to put Belladonna’s mind at ease as soon as possible. “What’s his cell number? I’ll get on it right away,” I said pulling out a notepad and pen. “What about the meeting?” She gestured at the gathered people. “They survived without me for years. I think they can handle one meeting on their own,” I answered. She nodded taking the pad and pen from me, scribbled down her son’s phone number. I stood, pocketed the pad and started for the far end of the room that led into a well-concealed tech hub. I felt a hand on my arm before I reached the threshold. I grabbed the wrist joint as I spun, facing a startled Desmond on the other end of the arm. I let go. “Sorry,” I apologized. “Where are you going?” He asked, massaging his wrist. “To put a mother’s mind at ease and to do that I need to pay a visit to your girlfriend,” I answered. “Let me know if I can help,” Desmond said. I gave him a nod and disappeared through the doorway. Thankfully Avery sat at the bank of computers. Until three months ago, I never realized the Authority had their own version of tech support. After helping to c***k a serial murder case, Avery had accepted a freelance gig with Boston PD, which wasn’t a secret. So, why hadn’t Belladonna gone straight to Avery? Because Avery isn’t the Savior. “Knock, knock,” I said, announcing my presence. Avery spun in her chair to face me with a pair of headphones slung around her neck. She was petite and blonde. Not what I would have pegged as my cousin’s type—before our decade-long separation he’d only dated brunettes—but she was whip smart and snarky. She’d quickly grown on me, too. “Hey, Ez. Aren’t you supposed to be in a big, important council meeting?” She asked, gesturing back towards the way I’d come. I shrugged one shoulder. “I’ve got more pressing concerns.” I pulled the pad from my pocket and handed it over. “I need you to give me a GPS location on this phone number.” Avery quirked a brow at me as she turned back to her computer setup. “And you didn’t go to the actual police with this, because?” “Because I wanted to keep it in-house,” I answered, hoping she caught the meaning behind my words. “You going to tell me who I’m looking for and why?” “Right now, I’m just hoping it’s a kid out for a joyride or sleeping off a bender too afraid to go home and face the consequences.” God, my words made me sound so old. I was only ten years older than Adrian. Avery said nothing else, instead focusing her attention on the screen in front of her. I picked up the now-familiar scent of her magic—cinnamon—as she gave the search an added boost. Some people were born to be healers. Me, I got the ability to pick up on a person’s magical signature. Sure, even that power had boundaries. If it had been more than twenty-four hours it was basically useless. I’d been honing that particular skillset for the last three months though. Now I could stretch that period to nearly thirty hours. “Got it,” Avery said about five minutes later. “Where?” I leaned over her shoulder, trying to study the grid-like map in front of me. “Near Atlantic Avenue, I’d guess it’s probably somewhere near South Station. I can’t get any closer than that even with the magic boost.” “What if I called it?” She shook her head. “I mean, if you were actually there then maybe that would work. Given the size of the station, from here it’s useless.” At least I knew where I was heading. “Thanks. I’m going to head there now, so stick around in case we need you.” “We?” Avery glanced at me from over her shoulder. “Me and Jacquie.” I had a partner to grab.