Page 54 of Another Damned Storm
When we were alone in a room filled with the hum of electronic equipment and a dozen glowing screens, I ventured a guess. “Are they all shifters?” I motioned to the screens showing dozens, possibly as many as a hundred people going about their daily lives.
Lily shook her head. “Most are, but we do have a few witches and fae in the mix. And a handful of humans.” She tapped ascreen, highlighting a woman playing with a young boy in the grass. “Like Mina.”
“Is that her son?” Never asked.
She chewed on the inside of her lip. “Yep, Simon. He’s half human and half fox.”
Never’s face lit with surprise. “There are fox shifters?”
“We have members from a few different packs here. Most of them chose to stay behind when their packs split town.”
“Their packs left them behind?” I asked. That was unusual for any breed.
Lily leaned back, her rolling chair groaning with the move. “Charleston isn’t the friendliest place for magical beings these days. Most humans didn’t even know about us until the demon attacks started. Once they were forced to face reality, all magical creatures became the enemy.”
Never let out a sigh. “Is that why you and Matt are on opposite sides of the park?”
“That’s part of it. Most of the humans at Rutledge aren’t bad, but there are a few bigots who are pretty vocal about their mistrust.”
“We didn’t exactly receive the warmest of welcomes here either,” I pointed out.
“And I’m sorry about that. Everyone is on edge, especially after they heard about the second attack today.” She eyed us both. “You didn’t happen to have anything to do with that, did you?”
Never shrugged. I shook my head and said, “It’s too early to tell.”
She spun her chair back and forth slowly, keeping one foot anchored on the ground. “Don’t take this the wrong way, because I am happy to see you both, but what the hell are you doing back here?Howare you here?”
We brought her up to speed on the basics of our situation, leaving out the part about Never’s new powers.
That effort proved ineffective when Lily laced her hands behind her head and leveled us with a knowing look. “Humans might not be able to sense it, but coming from a shifter, you two are pumping out power like a goddamn generator cranked up to its highest setting.”
Never cast me a look filled with uncertainty.
“It’s fine, love. You can tell her. She is from the Nassa, after all. I suspect she has forgotten more about magic and power than the shifters of this world will ever know.”
She licked her lips. “He had to share his power with me to bring me back from the Alius.”
Lily’s smile glowed in the light of the monitors. “It looks good on you, girl.”
Never smiled back. “I just wish I could figure out how to use it better. Half the time when I try to do something, I feel like I’m fighting myself to make it happen.”
“Then stop fighting.”
Never narrowed her eyes. “What kind of advice is that?”
She let out a quiet laugh. “It’s shifter advice. You’re learning how to use your power, but that’s not always how it works for us. Sometimes we have to let our power flow through us. We work with it. Maybe if you view it as a partnership rather than a tool, you’ll have better luck.”
It was sound advice. There were plenty of moments in my past when trying to force my power to manifest in one way or another only made it that much harder to control.
Never’s gaze slid to me, then back to Lily.
“Give it a shot,” Lily said, leaning forward. “Try something easy.”
A flutter of frustration bled through my system before Never said, “None of it’s easy, and I’ve tried and failed to flash.”
“What about your eyes?” I suggested. “Didn’t you use them to convince your brother to let us handle the fight earlier.”
“You saw that?”
