1. Damian

Chapter one

Damian

I sat stuck in traffic again—unfortunately, a product of my job. Luckily, my passenger didn't mind a little music and even asked me to turn the sound up when Jim Morrison began to play. They were my dad's favorite songs, and after he passed, I transferred his playlist over to my own.

Traffic was always backed up on I-5, but today was worse. I glanced in the mirror, and the woman I'd picked up thirty minutes ago didn't appear disturbed. Unfortunately, the longer the journey took, the less money I'd be making.

"I'm going to try a back route. It normally takes longer, but there must be a few wrecks ahead of us, so it'll be faster than just sitting here."

The woman didn't glance up, just waved her hand, indicating she didn't mind the route change. It took another five minutes to get over to the exit lane and another ten to reach the exit. Luckily, no one else seemed to be taking this exit .

They didn't know the secret of going through Anderson's parking lot to get to one of the outer roads. I thanked my father, who'd driven a cab in Seattle for forty years, for that valuable little secret.

I kept my eye on the passenger as I navigated around the back parking lots and eventually onto the road that skirted the downtown area, taking me to the neighborhood where I was supposed to have dropped my passenger off by now.

Nothing bothered her, so I kept my mouth shut and navigated the busy side streets until I got to the Queen Anne neighborhood. When I hit a heavy patch of fog, I slowed down and once again glanced in the mirror to make sure my passenger wasn't freaking out. Tourists were sometimes surprised at how quickly a fog could settle in this close to the water.

The woman was still focused on her phone, so if she was a tourist, she didn't seem overly concerned. As the fog grew thicker, I began to worry. I couldn't remember the last time it'd been this thick. We always tended to have a little fog this time of year, but this was next level.

I probably should've pulled over, but I was just a block away from my destination, so I risked it, driving slowly through the streets, which luckily were empty. My phone announced I'd arrived at my destination, and I quickly sighed.

"I think we finally made it…" I stopped short when I turned around and saw the woman was gone, like, totally gone.

When had she gotten out of the car? I shook my head. Passengers . I found a safe place to park and pulled in, afraid someone would rear-end me if I remained in the street. I also did not want to move on until some of this fog cleared, which would happen when we began to get a little rain.

I'd been a hired driver for five years now. Dad had wanted me to work for his taxi company, but to be honest, I liked my company's policy of letting me drive my own car. It also afforded me a little more freedom. I loved that I could pick someone up, and all the financials were handled for me. Dad's taxi company had begun switching to similar programs, but my company was still more efficient.

After sitting in the car for a few moments, I got a ding on my phone, telling me I'd gotten an excellent rating from the woman who'd disappeared. "That's good, at least," I said out loud and smiled at the nice tip she'd also left. The tip was good enough to forgo another passenger for an hour if I had to.

I logged out of the system and decided to find a nice coffee shop. The fog was beginning to seep into my bones, even if it was outside the car. There's a reason why we Seattle folks liked our coffee so much.

If anything, the fog seemed to thicken as I stepped out into it. What the heck was going on? I wondered as I crossed in front of my car, heading down the sidewalk. I pondered how strange the fog made everything look, almost as if I'd stepped back in time. I couldn't see the cars parked along the street and could barely make out the stores. Unfortunately, they all appeared to be closed as well.

I finally came to a small place that sat squatly between two larger buildings. I couldn't be entirely sure, though, with fog this thick. I could barely make out the words Magic Shop and only because they were a bright red script on a white background.

I almost walked by because the last thing I needed was a felt top hat or a wand that threw out fake flowers, but just as I was about to walk past the door, a loud roar echoed around me. Now, clearly, it was a stupid foghorn, but damn, in this fog it sounded ominous.

Almost instinctively, I reached for the shop's door and sighed in relief as the knob turned in my hand, showing it was open. I quickly scurried in, shutting the door behind me.

I looked up, scanning the interior. I'm not sure I'd have called it a magic shop. That wasn't what this seemed to be at all. Instead, it looked more like somewhere you got your palm read or bought crystals to keep negative spirits away.

I immediately felt safe and warm, though, and having just faced what was clearly an unreasonable fear of fog, especially in the freaking city of fog, I happily began exploring.

The shelves were typical for an older bookstore. There was ample dust, but in a comforting, "this is a real bookstore" kind of way.

The aisles were narrow, but even that felt comforting. I chuckled when I saw the quintessential rack of crystals. My heart leaped when I saw the coffee counter. I didn't hesitate to rush over, then realized the damn thing was closed and from the look of it had been for some time. "Damn," I said.

"Careful what you're damning, young wizard," a voice came from behind me. I turned and saw a handsome older man with a sly smile.

"Um, sorry, I-I just wanted some coffee."

The man didn't move or respond. Instead, he stared for a long moment as if assessing me. "Come with me," he finally said, and like a fool, I did. In my defense, I thought he might have some coffee brewed in a back room or something and empathized with my need for caffeine.

I sighed audibly when the man sat behind what appeared to be a card table, like my great granny used to use when her friends came over to play gin rummy. It was covered with a black velvet cloth, and next to it was a gigantic crystal ball. Here we go , I thought.

I was just about to open my mouth to tell the guy I didn't believe in hocus pocus, but he waved his hands, and a deck of cards appeared. "Okay, that's cool. What else you got?" I asked sarcastically.

The man smiled and spread the cards out. I hadn't noticed until now they were Tarot cards, probably because the last two guys I dated professed to be fortune tellers, and neither could tell what we were going to have for supper, much less the future beyond that .

"Sometimes, your skepticism can block your ability to see," the man said as if he could read my thoughts.

"Sometimes it keeps you from being taken advantage of as well," I countered, and the man chuckled, smiling at me like an adult at a petulant child. I thought about leaving, but the fog was too thick, and I liked the store, even if it was full of ridiculous magical stuff I didn't believe in.

"Tell me, young Damian, what causes such a powerful wizard to second-guess the mysteries of our world?"

I laughed before shaking my head. "Okay, you're good. I have no idea how you know my name, but I'm no wizard, witch, werewolf, or other. Why don't you show me how you do the card trick, and I'll buy a deck of cards for my friend who keeps fixing me up with guys who think they can use them?"

Ignoring me now, the man began to shuffle the cards, and I had to give him credit for handling my attitude as well as he was. Molly's friends hated me and had no problem telling me to my face. Of course, I'd dated and dumped two of those friends, but they had been cheating, lying assholes.

"The darkness gathers, young wizard," he said, and I smiled, thinking that would be the perfect line for a new video game. "The transfer of power from one powerful mage to another always comes with risk. Pick a card, but let your instinct guide you. Let your future be known through the cards."

I didn't resist the urge to roll my eyes, but why the hell not? It's not like I hadn't done all this before. I ignored the "look inside yourself" nonsense and took the first card my hand landed on. I tried to pull it out, but it felt stuck in concrete.

The man's eyes didn't leave mine. "Pick the card your heart tells you to pick, not the first one you come to."

I tried another card, and it too was stuck. "How are you doing that?" I asked, thinking I really did need to bring Molly here to try the place out.

"Try again. This time, focus on the cards. Which one feels like the one for you?"

I don't know why. Maybe it was the fog, maybe the cute shop, or maybe it was because I knew Molly would freak out when I brought her here, but I did as he asked and focused on the cards. For a brief second, one card seemed to glow. I reached out and took it. This time, it came free.

I flipped it over and saw the Wheel of Fortune. "Ah, you've come to a crossroads. Darkness has played in your life," he said, pointing toward the weird drawing of a snake on the left side of the card. "But Hermes, shown here as Anubis, guides your future. Are you ready to accept your gifts? Are you ready to take up the mantle, young wizard?" he asked, and I almost laughed.

Before I could say something sarcastic, the world went dark, and I couldn't see anything, like nothing. I would've jumped up and searched for my phone, something to give light, but I couldn't move. What's going on? I wanted to yell, but I couldn't even do that .

"The darkness is here. It seeks to stop you from taking your position. Fight it, push it away, " a voice said in my head.

" How ?" I asked, freaking out but still unable to speak out loud.

" Trust your instincts. Trust your own powers ," the voice replied.

I forced myself to focus on my core, as Molly had told me when she'd tried teaching me some magic thing or another. I felt warmth spread and flow from my abdominal area, and fill my body. I immediately got movement back and, instinctively, I threw my hands out. Light erupted from them, from me, filling the shop.

The man across from me looked as if he'd passed out, and I quickly rushed over to him. "Hey, mister, are you okay?"

He slowly came to and nodded. "You've passed the test. Now you've also had a taste of what you'll have to face."

Slowly, he sat up and gestured for me to sit back down. "I can't advise you much. I can only read the cards, but I can give you this," he said, unclenching his fist, and a beautiful ring appeared there as if by magic.

"What's this?" I asked.

"Something that now belongs to you. Can you try it on?"

I was mesmerized by the ring, my entire body throbbing with the need to take it from him, but something held me back, something primal.

I ignored the warning, letting my desire to hold the ring overcome the fear, and immediately slipped it onto my finger. " The mantle has been passed," the man said, and I felt dizzy at the proclamation.

Once again, my world darkened, but unlike a moment ago, this felt intentional, like my own doing. I saw the image of a man. He was slight of build, dark complected, dark hair. At first, I wondered if he and the man across from me were related, but no. I somehow knew he wasn't.

When the image cleared, the man who'd been standing across from me now stood at the front door. "What the hell?" I asked, and the man put his finger up.

"Careful, you are a powerful wizard. Words have consequences." I wanted to chuckle, but weird things were happening. "Follow your instincts, young man. Go where they lead," he said and handed me a card. "Your predecessor wanted you to go here. He didn't want you to start your journey with no resources. They should be able to help."

I took the card and looked at it. Stages, and Harrison, Attorneys at Law, the card read. "Okay," I said, but when I glanced up, I was no longer in the shop. I was standing on the sidewalk in front of… Shit, this would be funny if it wasn't freaky. I was standing in front of a coffee shop where the weird magic shop had been. Oh, and there was no fog in sight.