Solving the Vampire Murders

six

Magical teleportation was not the painful experience that he expected—it had been akin to living a moment as a feather drifting in the wind. A welcome lapse in thought after the night he'd had. He fell past nameless faces and cobblestone roads before his feet collided with something solid.

They materialized in a cloud of swirling mist in the middle of the nicest men's restroom he had ever been in. It even smelled clean. Torren wiped at the sheen of sweat covering his brow as he looked around.

"I thought we'd chat in the Practitioner's section at the Top of the Hub. As much as I hate to admit it, the Northeast Chapter knows how to get down." Jay's gaze dragged over Torren from the tips of his dusty shoes to the strands of his unruly auburn hair. "But, first, you need a new look. It's time to suit up."

Torren stared at his fraying khaki shorts and second-hand t-shirt, wanting to fade into the tiled wall.

"Now, let's see if you can manage a simple Wardrobe spell. Lord knows Zach still can't," Jay said with a flourish of his wrist. "All you need to do is focus on what you want to wear, and move your hands like this."

Torren watched Jay's fingertips illuminate with bright white light before running them down each coat sleeve and gave the cuff a tug. The spell worked instantly, and the color of his sharp charcoal suit bled into steely blue as if dye had been poured down his shoulders.

It was simple, but something about the transformation was magical.

Swallowing hard, Torren held up his hands, studying his wrists and freckly knuckles. Then, he turned his hands over, examining the map of his palm. His hands felt different. Busy. Like there was an itch somewhere he needed to scratch. The more he focused on the itch, the greater it became. Swelling until it turned into a prickling pain that rolled through his joints in hot waves.

Without warning, his hands started to glow—bones beneath visible like a deep-sea fish. The light didn't hurt, but his skin felt warm and tingly like he had been sitting on them for a long time and blood flow had just returned. Torren tried not to look scared when he swiped a shaky hand down his arm, tugging on an imaginary cuff, then repeated the gesture on the other side.

As if by magic, because he supposed it was, a white dress shirt materialized underneath a light gray suit coat. Cotton fibers stitching themselves together in front of his eyes. The leather in his old Nike's turned colorless and supple before reforming into the polished oxblood of an expensive-looking dress shoe.

"Whoa," Torren breathed. "That is..."

"Legit?" Jay drawled. "I know. Now, come on. I didn't bring you to Boston to chat in the men's room of The Prudential Center. We need to head upstairs to drink in the delicious view."

Torren nodded but couldn't stop staring at his new clothes. He was impressed by the magic, but something else clawed at him. What had he done to earn these new clothes? He hadn't worked for them. He simply imagined what he wanted, and this brand new suit appeared. It shouldn't be this simple, even if he was worthy.

Jay opened a door in the tile that hadn't there a minute ago, leading Torren up a metal ladder that climbed up to the roof. Torren knew from reading countless travel guides that the restaurant atop the Prudential Center spun in a slow circle, but it was enclosed. However, that wasn't where Jay took him.

As he climbed out of the hatch at the top of the ladder well and onto the roof, Torren tried to keep panic from rising in his chest. There were no safety bars or nets, nothing to impede the view of Boston's skyline—or an accidental fall.

An unfamiliar salty tang drifted in the air, punctuated by the scent of perfume and cigar smoke. Torren inched forward, as close as he dared to the edge. Bright lights and people speckled the streets below. In the distance, he could see Boston Harbor, and all the tiny fishing boats and megayachts that had been tucked in for the evening. All blissfully unaware that a group of magicians sat eating and drinking at the top of the Prudential Center, looking down on them all.

Torren couldn't feel the rush of wind or the press of late summer humidity. It almost felt like the rooftop had been protected from the elements by a magic bubble and air-conditioned.

Jay set a hand on Torren's shoulder. "What do you think?"

"I'm not sure. I'm still trying to process it all."

Jay gave Torren's shoulder a squeeze before making his way over to one of the high top tables surrounding the circular bar situated safely towards the center of the roof.

"You look like a smart kid. I think you'll adjust to magical life fast."

Torren remembered Zach's comment about not having time to study, and his stomach twisted in a knot. "Listen, if there are extra classes I have to take, I'm not sure I can do it right now. I don't have time for it. This is my senior year, and I need to keep my GPA up."

Jay shook his head, a low chuckle bubbling over his lips. "The Guild ditched school books and classes years ago, nowadays everything a Practitioner needs to know can be found on our app. Give me your phone, and I'll sync it with mine."

Happy for an excuse to see if Mazia had texted, Torren removed his phone from his jacket pocket and unlocked the screen. Still nothing. He was growing more nervous by the minute that something bad happened to her, too.

Reluctantly, Torren passed his phone to Jay and let his gaze trail around the rooftop. The nearest table was occupied by a woman Torren pegged in her late-twenties, with half-lidded eyes and glossy black hair. She had a very pretty, yet very impish smile that reminded him so much of Zach. They could've been twins, even. She was sitting beside a severe-looking older man with grey hair shorn close to his scalp and wrinkled bronze skin. Both gave him a curious look before turning back to the documents they were reviewing.

"I've never been much for technology spells but I think it's up and running. There's a how-to guide that will walk you through all the features. Here."

Jay slid the phone over, and Torren opened the new app. He was quiet for a few minutes as he scanned the different sections when he came to a locked tab that read, Guild Members Only.

"Why is this one locked?"

A smile lifted one corner of Jay's mouth. "Well, you have to be extended membership into the Practitioner's Guild, and accept it to access that tab."

Curious, Torren set his phone down and tried to read Jay's face but he found the task impossible. "So, not everyone is in the Guild?"

"It's a choice," Jay answered. One hand shot through his short ringlets. "Some people choose to lead perfectly normal lives with the Gift. A Guild member shows up at their door, just like I did tonight, gives them all the info, and they say no thanks. They still get the app, and we answer any questions they might have, but that's it."

Torren frowned. "So, is joining the Guild like making magic your career?"

"I like to think of it as a club, you know, for serious magical practitioners. Some gifts make it hard to live in society alone." Jay cleared his throat, then extracted a pack of cigarettes from his jacket. "Yours, for example, will make certain aspects of your life more difficult the longer you have it."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Torren gripped the edge of the table, the hair on the back of his neck rising. Jay shrugged as he placed a cigarette between his lips and lit the end.

There was always a catch.

A/N: Thank you for reading! If you have enjoyed Torren's magical journey so far, I would love to hear your thoughts. Your votes and comments are always appreciated.