Approaching Storm Read online

  He put a hand on my shoulder. "Okay, fine, let her be for a couple hours, and you can go talk to her." He stood and went to the coffee machine as if reading my mind.

  I watched him fix my coffee, and he came back to sit with me. There we sat in silence as if neither one of us wanted to face what had happened with Callister.

  After a cup of coffee and another nap, I got the courage to see Davina. I knocked on her door, and she let me in without a word. She led me to the kitchen where she already had tea waiting for us.

  I looked at the cup and then to her. "Last time you gave me tea, I had weird dreams."

  "I opened your mind up to Ikelos so he could help unlock some of the memories you'd lost. It was the best I could do. I'm no match for Callister's abilities and powers. He had to have worked with another god to lock you memories and abilities away."

  She glanced toward the living room. "Though you regained some of your control over the weather and your claws, so that's a good sign."

  I sat down and picked up the teacup. The subtle smell of lemon tickled my nose as I inhaled the steam. "Is Callister the reason I can't leave town?"

  She shook her head. "No. I am. This is so much bigger than you know, May."

  "Then explain it to me, because I'm really getting tired of being left in the dark." I sipped the tea and watched her sit down.

  "You don't deserve to be left in the dark anymore. I was sent back here the same time as you. To help guard you and the town."

  "Zephyr called you a Guardian of Hades." My eyes widened at a sudden thought. "Holy shit am I dead?"

  She laughed. "No, not really."

  "Not really?"

  She pressed her lips together and thought for a few moments. "Callister delivered you to Hades' doorstep. I happened to be there after completing a mission. He fed us some crap story about how he found you on the battlefield and knew that you were close to dying."

  "And you bought that crap?" I raised a brow. "I pegged you for being smarter than that."

  She glared at me. "No, neither did Hades. Hades knew who you were and how you relate to the Fates. There's an old myth that says that Ananke will be replaced as the ruler of that Fates and for some reason the gods think that's you."

  "What am I?" I met her gaze of my cup. "No one will tell me that."

  She nodded. "You're a harpy. Born from storms and rage according to the myths, but really you're the daughter of a harpy and Poseidon."

  "I shouldn't have any connection to the Fates then." This all sounded more like a screwed up fairy tale. Poseidon my father, an unknown harpy as my mother…though it made some of the dreams make sense.

  She shrugged. "Like I said, an old myth. But back to why you're here in Normalcy."

  "Yes, please continue."

  "Callister was right; you were on death's doorstep. But Hades wasn't going to let you die, so he gave me the task of saving your life and finding a place that you could safely recover. I brought you here. Normalcy is my home. I know the people, the history." She sighed. "But your body wasn't ready to adapt to human life, you struggled to live, and I used my magic to bind you to the town and the energy to heal you. Hades helped me, which is why I think that spell stayed while my wards faded."

  "So I'm magically bound here?" I wasn't even sure what that meant.

  She nodded. "The only way to save your life five years ago was to tie your energy to the town. It'll only last until your powers, memories, and abilities come back, when your body and soul realize that you are truly not human. Until then, the magic remains, and you can't leave Normalcy."

  I sat back in my chair and thought about it for a moment. "So when Callister said you could fix it?"

  "It would most likely kill you. I don't know what Callister did to you, but I know it has basically made you human." She sat her cup down and rubbed her eyes. "I'm sorry that you're stuck here. I put wards up to protect the town and hide you. Callister did something to my wards which allowed all this craziness to happen. I don't know how he found you."

  I sipped my tea trying to take in all the details she gave me. "Thank you."

  "Thank you?"

  "You saved my life, you've protected me for five years even though you don't like Zephyr or Callister."

  "It's my job to guard who Hades wants," she muttered and then shook her head. "You're welcome."

  A small smile crossed my face. "So am I immortal?" I touched my shirt above where my new scar was.

  She shook her head. "No, you heal faster because your body draws the energy from the town and that makes you harder to kill. I honestly wasn't sure if you were going to survive that blow from Callister."

  "Well, I guess thank the gods for good friends." I finished my tea and put the cup down. "Thank you." I stood and started to walk out.

  "Wait, May," she called after me, and I turned around. "About Zephyr…"

  "Yeah, I know, you don't like him, be careful and all that jazz."

  She shook her head. "No, that's not it. I've never seen him go up against his brother. Never in our history have those two gone at each other's throats. You must be something special to turn those two against each other."

  I needed to hear that, it helped chase some of the cobwebs of doubt away from my head.

  I took my time walking back to the house under my umbrella. The light rain bounced off the plastic as I shuffled over the sidewalks. My mind was still spinning with what Davina had told me. There was no way to leave this place until I remembered who I really was. Other than being a harpy, I had no other real clue to what I was. I didn't know what being a harpy included.

  I stopped when I reached my house and saw Zephyr standing on the porch. He was busy setting something up on the small table I kept there, his back turned to me. When he moved, I saw a small vase of daisies sitting on the table with two plates on either side and two wine glasses.

  As I got closer, I saw that there were steaks and salads on each plate and I smiled. Zephyr turned around as I approached and he motioned to the small table. "Um, I still owe you a steak dinner, but seeing as you had the shit beat out of you yesterday, and you just had a huge bomb dropped on you by Davina, I figured I'd improvise."

  I smiled and closed my umbrella before I stepped on to the porch. The rain tapped lightly against the roof of the awning, but the air around us was still warm.

  He kissed my cheek. "Magic," he whispered as if reading my mind on why it was so warm.

  I looked it all over and finally met his gaze.

  He looked nervous as he played with his hands. "Do you like it?"

  I nodded. "It's perfect." I sat down to eat, and he sat across from me. We didn't talk much while we enjoyed the steak and wine, but we did swap a couple stories. He seemed to dance around anything that had to do with us before I disappeared.

  "Not bad for a first date." He laughed. "I think I'd like a second one."

  I nodded. "Me too, but this one's not quite over."

  "Oh?"

  I stood and grabbed his hand, pulling him to the porch swing. "Sit there, I'll be right back."

  I popped inside and grabbed a blanket and sat with him. "Drop the warm magic."

  He did and a small chill wrapped around us. I pulled the blanket over us and leaned into him to cuddle. We sat like that and watched the rain fall.

  "So is this it then?" I asked, looking up at him.

  "Is what it?" His brows pulled together in confusion.

  "This is our new normal? I patrol the town that I can't leave, and you stay with me?"

  He leaned down and kissed me gently. "I told you poulaki, I'm not going anywhere."

  And I knew it was true. I settled into the warmth of the blanket and Zephyr, and I watched the storm move through. This was the start of something new, I could feel it.

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  About the Author

  A.L. Kessler is the author of the best-selling series Here Witchy Witchy. She resides in Colorado with her family and pets. Her addiction to coffee and chocolate fuels her creativity to bring her readers wonderful stories

  Other Series by A.L. Kessler

  Dark War Chronicles

  Children of the Apocalypse

  The Case Files of Abigail Collins

  The Syndicate (with Mia Bishop)

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  Recipes:

  These two recipes are for the sodas that are served and mentioned in Approaching Storm. A huge thank you to my readers’ group who came up with the flavors and to Rebekah who taste tested over ten sodas.

  Morning Wake up:

  Green Tea, Raspberry, Lemon

  Suggested by Jennifer Fleming

  Three equal parts:

  Green Tea syrup

  Raspberry syrup

  Lemon syrup

  For a total of ¼ cup of syrup

  Mix in with carbonated water or soda water

  Enjoy

  Note: We brewed green tea and added simple syrup, it worked was well.

  Calm Yourself:

  Lavender

  Suggested by: Charelene

  ¼ Cup Lavender Syrup

  Mix with carbonated water or soda water

  Enjoy!

  Note: We brewed Lavender tea and mixed it with a simple syrup and it worked well.