Of course, I was no different, I didn’t look like a twenty-one-year-old business mogul with the power of water on my side. I looked like a cute blonde high school cheerleader that raided her mom’s closet. At best, a freshman in college.

  “Hi,” I smiled as I sat down.

  Melody said, “I was happy to get your call.”

  I grinned, “You seemed rather pleased, when I chose my direction in this new life?”

  It was a bit blunt, but I was curious.

  Melody nodded, “You’ve changed, in a good way. I told you six months ago that you’d continue to change until you were almost forty. There also aren’t that many of us sorcerers that aren’t entitled and jerks, if not outright evil, and we need all the help we can get. You finally let go of the human world, I’m still waiting for Ben to do the same. I get why it’s hard, you both grew up in the human world, and didn’t know about ours until you were adults.”

  I frowned, “But I’d already been helping, I mean if I was called to.”

  We paused for a minute, as we ordered.

  She nodded, “True, but you spent most of your personal time on humans, and you ignored the rather large fortune you had accumulated. There’s nothing wrong with that exactly, it just took you time to adjust from the broke lifeguard you were, and to see the greater possibilities and responsibilities. I’m sorry, I don’t mean to lecture, but you did bring it up.”

  I nodded, “But you were personally pleased,” I pushed.

  She hadn’t lied to me, everything she said was true, but there was more to it, I could feel it.

  Melody pressed her lips together, and sighed, “Have you ever wondered where all the legends come from, of vampires, werewolves, and witches. They’re all wrong of course, partially, but there is truth in them too.”

  “Exposure, and rampant speculation,” I suggested, half-jokingly perhaps, but there was a partial truth in it I suspected.

  Melody smiled, “About a year ago there was an air sorcerer in Texas, similar to the one you just took down. He took over two covens, made them believe vampires should expose themselves and take over. He was an idiot of course. We caught wind of it through youtube videos of all things, and then raced down there and straightened it out.”

  I laughed, “That was real? Those videos made their way through campus.”

  Melody nodded, “They went viral all over. Yes, but they were all debunked as being obviously fake. Even we didn’t think it was real at first, until one of them noticed it was a head vampire doing it, and Ceara and I recognized her.”

  She paused for a minute.

  “The exposure risks in the modern world can be problematical, but believe it or not keeping things contained are easier in this modern world.

  “The world used to be a much bigger place. Without youtube, phones, internet, or anything like that, an air sorcerer two hundred years ago could take over a small city with his vampire slaves, and it would take a long time before word ever reached the vampire council. Even then, if they did have a sorcerous ally, they’d have to wait for that sorcerer to stop by, without being able to text them immediately with a head’s up.

  “So that’s how the legends started, whole towns were exposed, whole towns were destroyed, and it would take months for word of a rogue to travel to the right ears. By the time the rogue was put down, it was impossible to find all the humans exposed to the truth to compel them to forget.”

  I nodded, that made sense. Modern technology helped to keep the secret as much as it endangered the secret.

  I wasn’t sure how this related to me, or why she was pleased I’d chosen this new path, but I was sure she’d get to it eventually. Besides, it was kind of interesting. I knew she was three hundred years old, but I hadn’t really thought about the fact the pinnacle of technology back then was sailing boats and working steel. Wars were fought on fields, with shields, swords, and bows, siege engines. It was kind of mind blowing actually.

  “Ceara saved my life over three hundred years ago, when I was a very young sorceress, barely knew a thing. I was a dirty unwashed peasant, and ignorant. I was grateful, she kept me from the other two on the council, who probably would’ve killed me out of hand, since I hadn’t the power to stop them yet. Sorcerers were never very well liked, and they’re always targeted if met before their strength grows to the point the other races can’t take them down.

  “I like Barbara and Sherry much more than I ever cared for Charis and Alexio. Even then, those two were… off, had lived too long.

  “I won’t bore you with all the details, but we grew a friendship and I learned of the problems they faced. They controlled their people, but there were no instant communications, and those rogue sorcerers could take over a coven. It might be years before they got word of it, if the sorcerer had them send false reports to the council of all being well. Even when they heard, despite their power, they’d be no match for a sorcerer of your current power, much less one at their full power.

  “Long story short, if it isn’t too late, I allied myself with Ceara, and decided to help. I was horrified by the way vampires and thus humans were victimized by my own people. Of course, we moved carefully in the beginning, I had to pick my battles. I was young, relatively weak, and not the sorceress I am today.

  “Over the years, I’ve had some help on that score, Carlos being the main one. But most sorcerers are entitled assholes, and of the few who aren’t even most of those go their own way.”

  I nodded, and it finally hit me, like a baseball bat across the temple. It was just that obvious. Without her help, our world would shortly be exposed, as assholes like the one I just killed took over a local coven and did stupid things. The council, powerful or not, couldn’t stop them on their own. In this day and age, exposure wouldn’t be limited to a single village, and stories twisted by assumptions and religion told by travelers in an inn. The same advantages we had in communications would ensure the story spread quickly, instantly, around the whole world, if true evidence was seen and recorded.

  She was looking for a successor.

  She was in the twilight of her life, the last eighty years or so, and she could see the end of it, when Ceara and the coven would be forced to fend for themselves once again against our kind. Without the benefit of a close and trusted ally. Sure, a full lifetime for a human, it wouldn’t happen anytime soon, but for us it was past time for a mid-life crisis.

  She was happy I’d chosen my current direction in this new life, because I was following in her footsteps. Tying myself and my support intimately to the coven through my mate, it was one short step after that to ally with the council itself, the entire race. Of course, it wasn’t a done deal, as she’d said I could still change, the core of me, for the next nineteen years as my fully developed priorities and morality were molded and set. I was still young, but she had hope I’d choose that path.

  It was… intimidating, was Melody really the true reason, the true power behind keeping our world hidden from humans?

  She nodded, “I see you understand. Don’t sweat it though, by the time I pass on you’ll have gained your full power. You’ll also have close allies in Ben, Miku, and perhaps others. His daughter for instance, and perhaps your future children. Or another future sorcerer who grew in similar circumstances and ignorance. I’ve just… outlived all my sorcerous allies, save Carlos, until I met you and Ben.”

  I nodded, and absently corrected, “Ben’s daughters.”

  She tilted her head in question, and I told her about last night. He had both a fire and an air sorceress daughter now, though only one was his blood I had no doubt he’d love and raise them both to be responsible. Sure, kids rebelled, but I could hope they’d both turn out with the same morals and sense of responsibility Ben and I had.

  I shrugged, “I do have plans in that direction, with Mark, but this is huge, and I’m not having kids to form some righteous army either.”

  Melody snickered, “Of course not. But if they’re raised right, they’ll have your morals, and want to protect those weaker than them. Better that than becoming monsters, or even uncaring and selfish.”

  I drew a deep breath, almost sorry I’d asked. That was a lot to live up to, and while I wasn’t exactly opposed to the idea, I was still trying to get used to where I was in my life in that moment. My coven, not all covens, and my mate and our future family as my passion and concern. Not… the world. That was far too much pressure.

  Still, I didn’t blame Melody for being worried about her friend, and the world itself and all she did to protect all the races, apparently. There was no doubt someone would have to step up to be her successor, or the world would change drastically when the secret of our world was exposed.

  Ben disliked Ceara because of a past betrayal, so would be a good ally to back me up, but he would never take that direct position himself. Miku would also be a good ally to call on for aid, but she had those strange rules she lived under, Inari’s tenets, and wouldn’t be proactive enough in such a direct role. Really, even I could see it, I was the best choice of the three of us for those reasons, especially being mated to a vampire.

  The last thing I’d let happen, is exposure, and seeing my mate be hunted down by humanity with pitchforks and torches. Or… cell phones and guns.

  Then I remembered what Mark wanted me to do in fifty years, when I looked twenty-two or so and closer to his age. His apparent age.

  “Have you considered being turned?”

  Melody shook her head, “I’ve lived a long full life. My soul deserves to rest, before starting life anew, with endless new possibilities before it. I have no wish to live forever, or to carry this burden for eternity, though it is one done in love and with satisfaction, my soul would sour in time under the stress. I’m content to live out this life, and in no hurry to die, but nor do I wish to extend it.”

  The food came out, and we changed the subject. I also pushed it to the back of my head. It was there now, and I had eighty years or so to get used to the idea of being her successor, if I did indeed choose that path. So, I wasn’t all that stressed about it yet.

  I also healed the waitress’s cancer, which improved my mood. I made such a vast difference in the world, even if they never knew about it, with just a minimal effort and paying attention to those around me. I never asked for the responsibility, but it came with the power, asked for or not.

  “So, you and Carlos?”

  Melody smiled, “A long time ago. Though we are growing close again. We grew apart when our son was killed. Another reason I won’t be turned, I don’t want those memories forever, I want to start over again.”

  “Sorry.”

  Melody said, “It was a long time ago.”

  “You seem pretty sure about the whole reincarnation thing.”

  She laughed, “Talk to Miku, and you won’t have any doubts either. The wheel of life is her kind’s main purpose on this world.”

  I nodded, “Thursday.”

  Melody snickered.

  I said, “It’s a shame we can’t just have a government, and laws, take care of the rogue problem, and not just those that threaten exposure, but all the assholes.”

  Melody nodded, “Power corrupts. Even I’m always on my guard against it, and I know you are as well. The last thing we need to do is gain more power by forming some kind of government with political and temporal power added to our magical power. It wouldn’t end well, bringing our own version of justice while controlling our own ambition is truly the best we can do, even if it doesn’t feel like enough sometimes. Even the vampires understand this. The council gives free reign to the ones they put in charge of cities, with only a few simple hard rules they must follow. Trying to control it all would corrupt them. People are flawed, so the world is flawed. We do the best we can, and we have to accept our limitations.”

  “Are there any other races?”

  Melody shrugged, “There might be. If there are, they stay hidden even from us. I’ve seen signs of it through my life, but no absolute proof. I know the elementals used to be more a part of our world, but they were eventually barred from interfering in mortal lives without a direct invitation. Most of the legends of Fae, angels, and even demons come from elementals.”

  “No real angels?”

  Melody smiled, “Spirit elementals fit the bill quite well. Inari would be considered like an archangel, or even a minor goddess before she left this world, and she is the strongest spirit elemental I know of. Spirit elementals are also the least capricious of the elements, though the ones that went bad were very bad. Demons, well fire elementals come to mind, and water nymphs or sirens would be water elementals, sylphs for air, dryads for earth, and so on. Legends of succubae could have simply been a fire sorceress lost within the passions of her own fire magic, and not an elemental or demon at all. You know our kind play with humans far too often, and despite our best efforts we can only stop some of it.”

  She shrugged, “That said, it’s possible more things exist, including the angels of the Judeo-Christian world. More things under heaven and earth…” she trailed off, “I don’t know everything, not by a long shot. Keep in mind the elementals were barred from us. But was that their leaders making that decision, or some higher power restricting them because they were out of control? We don’t know, but the latter sounds more likely, elementals are capricious at best, vindictive and completely amoral at worst. I can’t imagine them caring about humanity’s free will without outside influence.”

  “But Ben has one using his shoulder and neck as an easy chair.”

  Melody laughed, “He does. The deal that put Aitheria there cost his mother. He’s smart enough not to make any deals, and as far as I can tell she truly cares for him. I… can’t really explain that, but you could ask him about it.”

  I nodded, maybe I would, one day.

  We stopped talking about the supernatural world at that point, and then moved to more important subjects. Like clothes, fashion, and other every day things. It was a good lunch, and I was fairly happy with my new life so far. Sure, some of it was dark, but there’d been darkness in the human world to deal with as well, finding missing people.

  It was life, and it was what it was, but life was also good.

  Very good, and worth fighting for.

  Chapter Fourteen

  The beach wasn’t the only thing that was a little slow in the winter months in Myrtle beach. It was early afternoon when I got back from Seattle and popped into Katie’s store. She was doing fine, making money, doing magic, and working with the vampires, but without all the tourists there weren’t very many human walk-ins for the front of the store.

  Of course, the off season wasn’t all bad. I’d also discovered the rogue vampires who preyed upon the tourist population were also few and far between this time of year.

  I hadn’t seen Katie since last night at the club, and I was more than curious about what’d happened with Jeremy, and her conversation. I missed Mark too, but I’d be with him later that night, and a girl had priorities. I couldn’t spend all my time with him, even if it was a little tempting at this stage of our relationship.

  I hadn’t fully figured out my new schedule yet, but I was pretty sure Tuesday and Thursday were going to be my ally and human business days. The rest of the time split between my mate and Katie, but I wasn’t sure how yet, or even if I should bother making an actual schedule for family, that felt a little weird. There’d also be surprises to deal with of course, but a general plan never hurt.

  Regardless, I planned to stay the rest of the day with Katie, and join Mark at the club that night, assuming no emergencies happened.

  “Hey, Katie, what’s going on?”

  Katie smiled at me, “Do I know you?”

  I laughed, “Bite me. Aren’t I the blonde one?”

  She giggled, “I seem to remember someone running off without me last night, but it’s all a little fuzzy.”

  I snickered, then shrugged, “There was a time constraint, and I didn’t want to ruin your big night. Ben, Caroline, and I handled it,” despite my curiosity about Jeremy, I continued to tell her what happened with Carly and the dark witch coven.

  Katie said, “That’s messed up.”

  I nodded, “Makes me glad I was turned into a long-term magical slave battery, it could’ve been worse. So, spill, I can’t tell.”

  It was true enough, she didn’t look upset, but she didn’t look like she was walking on the clouds either. Her emotions weren’t giving me any clues at all.

  Katie sighed, “I’m in limbo. He’ll tell me tonight.”

  I frowned, “He’s thinking about it?”

  Katie bit her lip, “He was in shock, I think. I kind of blew up his worldview, his certainties about reality. He thought he’d been dating a quirky woman who runs a tourist trap. The simple levitation I did for him freaked him out, and I didn’t want to push him.”

  I nodded.

  She shrugged, “Dana compelled him to keep his mouth shut. If he decides he can’t handle it, or just doesn’t want to date a witch, then she’ll take the memories tonight. Either way he jumps, we’re covered, and it gives him a little time to absorb it all.”

  I was guessing from that he hadn’t stayed the night.

  The shelf behind me looked a little off kilter, so I started to straighten the merchandise. We continued to chat while I worked. I told her about my lunch with Melody and the shocking hopes and expectations hanging over my head, while she gave me a more detailed run down of the night before, and her day. I had no secrets from her.

  Katie was my best friend, and the time passed quickly. There were a few customers but not all that many, and before I knew it, it was late afternoon.

  The bells on the door jangled, and when I turned my head, I saw Jeremy coming into the store. That was my queue to get out of the way, so I gave Katie a soft smile and look that said good luck, then nodded to Jeremy as I passed him on my way out the door.