Approaching Storm Read online

  "The magic on my house is warning me, that's what's up."

  She was quiet for a moment. "That's odd, has it ever gone off before?"

  "No, not even when I found Zephyr in the house."

  "Zephyr was in your house?" she squealed. "When were you going to tell me that?"

  "Focus, there's something potentially dangerous in my house."

  "Right. Okay." She took a moment to regain herself. "Meet me at the soda shop." She disconnected the phone call.

  I sighed and walked passed my house. My back itched like someone was watching me. Even once I got to the shop I felt that way, like someone was staring me down. I could see the shop from the top floor of my house if I really tried, and it made me wonder if someone was standing in my room, waiting.

  Callister was the first person who came to mind, but I felt like I'd be a little more panicked if that monster showed up. I also thought that with his relation to Zephyr, he'd probably be able to avoid the magic and appear undetected.

  I looked over my shoulder before I entered the shop. There was nothing out of the normal that I could see. The door closed behind me, and I turned to see Zephyr sitting at the table with Teal.

  "Surprise," he said, giving a little wave. "Your sprite was insistent that I stay."

  I shook my head and tried not to be swept away by the small curl of his black hair and the upturn of his lips when I walked in. I needed to focus. "Unless you can help me, go away."

  He looked like I hit him. "What?"

  "You keep coming and going and getting pissed off at random things and disappearing. Decide what the hell you want to do. Stay or get out." I shook my head and turned to Teal, basically ignoring him. "I was going back home after talking to Joseph, and I realized that the magic was activated."

  "Do you know how long it's been activated?"

  "Couldn't have been more than ten minutes, it was fine when I left the house. I didn't talk too long to Joseph because he needed to feed." I shrugged. "I don't know what is in my house."

  "Does it matter what it is?" Zephyr asked. "Shouldn't you just be worried that something is in your house?"

  I glared at him. "Yes it matters, if it's something I can take care of, then I will. If it's not, then I bring in back up."

  "You're basically human right now. There's not much that you can take on." I didn't miss the sorrow in his voice.

  "Is being human really that bad?" I shook my head. "Never mind, I'm getting distracted. Teal, any ideas?"

  "I can wash them out. I can do it without destroying your house."

  Zephyr stood up. "This is ridiculous. Come on, let's just go see who is in your house."

  I looked at Teal, and she shrugged. "Whatever he is, it isn't human, so you're probably safe."

  She was right; I should be safe with a demigod. I sighed and touched the butt of my gun. "Okay, fine, let's go take a look."

  Zephyr held the door open for me. "Teal, hang back here."

  "Promise you won't let anything happen to her?"

  "I promise." He nodded and let the door close behind us.

  I started across the street. "I don't know why you're so eager to prove yourself. You keep disappearing at the slightest surprise."

  "I went to talk to someone about your wings. I didn't just disappear." He shook his head. "The fact that you don't even remember that you have wings is worrisome."

  I wasn't even going to try and argue with him right now. There were no wings on my back, nothing that seemed to want to be wings. Even with my flashbacks, my hands would ache to turn to claws, but there was nothing when it came to wings. Not even the scars on my back ached. So I still doubted his words.

  I stopped at the door, and Zephyr stopped a few feet behind me. He looked up at the bedroom window. "Whoever it is, they're up there."

  "Then what are you waiting for?" I waved to the door. "Pop in, see what's there-" I didn't have time to respond. The door to my house swung open, knocking me down to the patio.

  I flipped up and aimed my gun, but there was nothing to aim at. I could feel the air stirring around me, and my gaze darted around to try and see something, anything take form. Zephyr stood a few feet in front of me, perfectly still. Neither of us moved or dared to breathe.

  Something took me down a second time, and I heard the wood of the porch splinter under my back. I looked up into the red eyes of a vampire, pinning me to the deck. His teeth snapping wildly at me.

  Zephyr grabbed him by the neck and threw him off me and into the side of my house, cracking the siding. Being a demigod had its perks apparently. The vampire turned to him and snarled, baring teeth. There was no sense of sanity from this one. Not like Joseph who controlled all of his emotions.

  He ran towards me, and I shot twice. My bullets took out his heart and then his head, spraying blood all over my porch and the wall of my house. I took a deep breath and looked at Zephyr. "This was not how I wanted to spend my night."

  He shook his head. "Me either, poulaki." He ran a hand through his hair. "A rampaging vampire, a dead human, and your entire life missing. What kind of hellhole is this place?"

  "It's not a hellhole, none of this started happening until you showed up." I holstered the gun and put my hands on my hips. "You brought all this to us."

  "No, I didn't. I told you the wards were fading so I was able to find you. You and I, we're connected." He tilted my chin up to look at him.

  I wanted to sink into the warmth of his hand and accept the comfort he was trying to offer me, but I pulled away. "You keep saying that, and yet you can't tell me straight what I am or what happened to me." I shifted from one foot to the other. "I've come to terms over the last five years that whatever life I had in the past was gone. This is who I am now." I turned away from him, and he grabbed my wrist and spun me around.

  "I'm not ready to mourn you. Not when you're right here." He bowed his head. "I can't tell you what you are, because when I left to find you, I swore that I wouldn't interfere with what was done to you. I physically can't tell you because I'm bound by my word." He shook his head. "I want you to return to the Amaya I knew, but I want you back regardless."

  "Then we start from square one."

  The vision I had when the wind sprites appeared came to my mind. I shook it off and met his gaze. "You're a complete stranger to me."

  He motioned to the vampire's body on the porch. "We just went against a vampire and a Chimera together. I think we're a bit more than strangers now."

  I couldn't help but smile at his cocky smirk. "Okay." I held my hand out to him. "I'm May."

  He shook my hand. "Nice to meet you, May, I'm Zephyr, and I'm new in town."

  It should have been strange, us introducing ourselves with a dead vampire laying there, blood stains on my porch, and late into the evening, but it wasn't. Just two people truly meeting for the first time.

  "Welcome to town; we don't get many visitors here."

  He gave me that cocky smirk that sent a thrill through my body. "Maybe you can show me around some time? I hear there's a great soda place and a wonderful steakhouse here."

  "I'd love to show you around, but I've got a murder on my hands and a dead vampire on my porch." I feigned a dramatic sigh. "My schedule is pretty full."

  He met my gaze. "Tell you what, I'll help with the murder and clean up the blood on the house and porch."

  I narrowed my eyes. "In exchange for what?"

  "You considering going to dinner with me."

  I'd already considered it, but I gave him kudos for not demanding I say yes. "Deal."

  He looked at the vampire's body and then to me. "Go get the bleach, and I'll pull the body out into the yard. The sun will take care of it."

  I nodded and walked into the house. I kept the bleach downstairs with the washer and dryer. As I walked through the house, I checked through what was around that might have been disturbed.
On the main level, the vampire hadn't touched a thing. I opened the door to the basement and looked down the steep steps. Whoever had built the house hadn't finished the basement. It was covered in drywall, but the walls weren't finished out. I had set up my router for internet here, and that was the only thing that kept the washer and dryer company.

  I grabbed the bleach from the floor and headed back upstairs, a shiver crawled up my spine, but I ignored it, just the chill of the basement.

  I got back up to find Zephyr standing on the porch looking down. "I'll have to replace the boards." I looked at him. "It's not a big deal."

  "And a couple of the panels on your siding." He sighed. "I shouldn't have thrown him so hard.'

  I snorted. "You should have just snapped his neck."

  "I wasn't sure if he was a friend of yours or not." He laughed and took the bleach from me. "Do you have a hose?"

  I nodded and went to get it from the side of the house. I turned the corner just in time to see Davina walking up to my porch.

  I growled at the sudden jealousy that shot through me, and I resisted the urge to wet her down with the hose. I sighed and joined the two. "What's up?"

  "Felt my magic go haywire. Wanted to see who the intruder was and here stands Zephyr." She put her hands on her hips. "Do you think he has something to do with it?"

  "No, he was at the soda shop when I went to talk to Teal about a possible intruder."

  She walked around Zephyr, her eyes wandering up and down his body. "I can't help but wonder why you're here. What on earth would a son of Ananke be here for?"

  I cringed at the name. I had no idea that Ana was his mother, not with the way he had talked about her earlier.

  Zephyr crossed his arms and gave her a bored look. "The same reason a guardian of Hades would be here." He pegged her with a stare, and they both turned to me.

  I held my hands up. "Oh no, no, no, do not drag me into this crap. I have blood to clean up."

  "She knows nothing Zephyr. So whatever your mother is looking for, May is not the answer."

  I look at Zephyr. There was a sense of betrayal starting to swirl in my stomach. I knew that Ananke couldn't be trusted, there was just something in me that knew it. It didn't help that Callister was also her son and he…what did he do to me? I couldn't remember past the moment of him busting into our room.

  "I'm not here on my mother's orders. I'm here for Amaya. To bring her home."

  I started to pour the bleach on the blood. If they were going to act like I wasn't here, I was going to ignore them.

  Davina cackled. "You want me to believe that? That woman uses you for all of her dirty work. I remember the way you slaughtered the village, leaving the women and children defenseless. Hades was busy that night, welcoming all the new souls into his lair."

  My heart ached. That didn't sound like Zephyr. Of course, I didn't really know him. But to slaughter a defenseless village?

  "Those times are over, ever since Amaya flew into my life. I don't expect you to understand. You've always been cold-hearted and out for your own."

  She snorted. "Only since you broke my heart. May, if anything, stay away from him."

  I gave an exasperated sigh. "You two can bicker later, come help me clean up this blood."

  Davina waved her hand, the blood disappeared, and the boards repaired themselves. I gaped for a moment. "Seriously?"

  "You wanted it cleaned up; there you go dear. Now." She crooked a finger at Zephyr. "You and I have to talk about what you've done to my wards."

  "I didn't do anything to them. I didn't even know this place existed." He shook his head. "I'm not going to stand here and fight you over my mate."

  That one word sent a shiver through me. Mate.

  Davina chuckled. "You think the Fates gave you her?"

  "I know they did."

  "The Fates aren't that nice, especially when it comes to the bastards like you." She turned and waved. "If you don't want to talk, I'll see you later. May, remember what I said."

  She had been so against talking to me earlier that I was surprised she'd shown up. Of course, maybe she just wanted a chance to catch Zephyr in a bad act.

  Zephyr stood there for a moment before turning toward me. "Look, May."

  I held my hand up. "I'll heed her warning, but only because she's obviously helped me out more than I thought. But, I'm an adult. Our plan goes on, we were just introduced, and an ex-girlfriend gave me a nasty warning."

  He laughed. "You have always…" he cleared his throat, "you have a talent for simplifying things."

  The fact that he was putting effort into this made me smile. We'd see how long it lasted, and until then, I'd just enjoy getting to know him.

  Teal came around the corner. "Heard gunshots. Did you get the bastard?"

  I laughed. "Yeah, head and heart shot."

  She pressed her lips together. "I'm not sure how I feel about that. Who was it?"

  I motioned to the body. "Not someone I knew."

  Teal looked over the man. "I do, he's from the outskirts."

  Damn it, of course he was. "I can't go in there without back up."

  "Why not?" Zephyr asked.

  For a moment I forgot that he wasn't from here. "Because they don't like humans in the outskirts."

  Teal shook her head. "They don't like anyone in the outskirts. Their craziness acts as another layer of protection for Normalcy. If she goes out there, they are bound to kill her."

  "She's not truly human though." Zephyr gave a frustrated sigh. "I'm not even sure she can be killed."

  "Then tortured, they would torture her for eternity." There was no joking in Teal's voice. The problem was, I needed to go to the outskirts to figure this out.

  Chapter Five

  I sat in the soda shop the next late afternoon. I wasn't going to go to the outskirts without a plan. Rushing in there last night would have gotten me killed instantly, despite having Zephyr at my side. I hadn't seen him yet this morning. I leaned forward on the counter, sipping my Morning Wake-up soda, something highly sugary and caffeinated that tasted like heaven.

  "Earth to May," Teal called from her usual spot from behind her computer.

  I blinked at her. "What? Sorry, I was zoning out."

  "Girl, you've got to get some sleep or something. I've been talking to you for ten minutes." Lee put her hands on her hips, making her look more fierce with her short hair, shaved on one side, and her narrow hazel eyes. "Teal has been throwing bits of popcorn at you, and you haven't even noticed."

  I looked down at the pile of small popcorn pieces that had gathered at my feet. "Sorry, my mind is in a million places right now."

  "Uh huh. I was saying that I had the wolves scope out the town last night. There's not one tourist here, and no one noticed a car going in or out that's not one of our own."

  I frowned. "Would Davina notice if her wards had been flipped?"

  "She didn't notice they were failing, which isn't a good sign." Teal shut her laptop. "Since she didn't notice, it may mean someone messed with them."

  I nodded. "What I mean is, what if someone flipped them so that supernatural creatures can now see and enter Normalcy, but the humans can't."

  "That would explain the Chimera." Lee sighed. "And Zephyr's sudden appearance."

  "I could go ask her, but I don't want her to flip her shit on me. She's been acting like a love-scorned ex since Zephyr showed up." I took a long sip of my soda. "Really, I don't think she likes me anyway."

  Teal snorted. "She only likes people when it suits her. I'll talk to her while you and Zephyr go to the outskirts tonight."

  "We're going here in a bit. I thought it be better to do it during the day."

  "Probably a wise choice, at least wait until the people wake up, but they won't be as agitated." Lee nodded. "The outskirts are dangerous, so Zephyr better take care of you. Do you want me to co
me with you?"

  I shook my head. "I appreciate the offer, but I'd rather have you here in town in case something else happens."

  "Hopefully there aren't any more Chimeras coming through, but I'll make sure to keep the inner town safe while you go play with the crazies." Lee gave me a fake salute. "Come back in one piece, at least stay as human as you are."

  I rolled my eyes. "Give me some frigging credit. I took on a vampire last night."

  "Because Zephyr was there," Teal reminded me. "It's like he's your little guardian angel."

  I rolled my eyes. "I've taken on vampires and wolves before."

  "Yeah," Teal mused. "I guess you have. Either way, be safe." She opened up her laptop and chuckled as she typed. "How to survive being a human in a supernatural world."

  I shook my head and finished the rest of my soda. The straw made the annoying 'your cup is empty' noise, and I sighed. "You should start serving coffee."

  Lee rolled her eyes. "This is a soda shop, not a coffee shop. If you want coffee go down the road."

  "But the company there isn't as good." I pushed away from the counter. "Okay, I guess it's time to go get Zephyr."

  "He's cute you know." Lee batted her eyes. "If you don't want him, I might take a stab."

  "Yeah, I don't know what to think about him, but I don't think he's interested in anyone else." I slid off the stool. "But I'll let him know that the offer stands."

  She snorted. "Girl, I'm joking. That man has eyes only for you."

  I gave her a little wave as I went to the door of the shop. "Yeah, yeah, yeah. See you later."

  I stopped at the standing chalkboard and looked at the handwriting. It wasn't English letters. No, Greek, ancient Greek syntax but somehow I knew what it said.

  Hello, sister.

  My heart pounded in my chest, and I glanced in the window of the shop. Teal and Lee were paying me no attention as they chatted. None of us saw anyone stop by the board.

  A shiver went through me. Was he able to hide himself somehow?

  "May?" Zephyr asked.

  I looked up at him and then motioned to the board. "Your brother seems to be near, or someone is messing with me."