Now I was in America, and I’d been in Romania before that. My life had taken an adventurous turn.
The breeze was cool as the boat sped over small waves. Neve directed us toward the Dockside Den, looking like an expert at the wheel.
As twilight faded, I
stared out at the city. It rose tall from the shore, shining skyscrapers reaching for the sky. Lights gleamed in the windows, more and more flicking on as the hour grew later.
“It’s beautiful.” I said.
Neve nodded. “Yes, at night. And some parts during the day. This is your first time in Magic Side?”
“Yep. It’s quite different to Guild City. The people are so open with their magic. I mean, I saw a blood sorceress striding down the street. Magic radiated off her. It was clear as day what she was. You could never be openly…powerful…like that in Guild City.”
Neve shrugged. “Never been there. Heard stories, though. It doesn’t make sense to me. This is a magical city. We’re a magical people—it’s literally who we are. Why hide our powers?”
“Except you do.” The words were out of my mouth before I had time to think. Neve’s jaw tightened, and I instantly regretted it.
She was silent a moment, then she spoke, not making eye contact. “It works for me.”
“Sorry. I didn’t mean to pry.”
There was a long, awkward silence. Grey was far enough away that the wind drowned out our conversation.
“I’m still mastering my powers.” I was trying to offer up something, but that didn’t get any result, either. She had locked up. I continued anyway, trying to smooth the moment over. “Sometimes I just sense things. About people. Objects. I wanted to join the police, be a full detective. It didn’t work out. Maybe it would have been better for me here.”
Neve gave me a sympathetic look and shrugged. “This place has its own pitfalls. I’ve been trying to make investigator for years. Haven’t managed it yet. It sounds like you have some interesting talents for it.”
“None that have helped me in Guild City. I didn’t have a lot of options, so I kinda had to strike out on my own—start my own detective agency.”
Neve gaped. “That’s amazing. Your own agency! I’m jealous. I can’t imagine what it would be like to be my own boss.”
I beamed a little at that. “Honestly, I’m making it up as I go along.”
She smiled back. “Hey, any help you need, give me a call.” She studied me for a moment, then gestured to the wheel. “Want to drive? Might as well learn some waterborne infiltration skills.”
“I’m not sure the captain would approve. I haven’t done it before.”
She stood aside. “Nonsense. Come here.”
I took her place. Beneath my palms, I felt the powerful thrum of the engines vibrating through the wheel.
Neve pointed at the controls. “Throttle up, throttle down. The wheel makes us turn to port or starboard. This button scuttles the ship, and we drown in Lake Michigan.”
“What?”
She grinned. “Just kidding. Try not to hit land. You’ll be fine—it’s a big lake.”
Handling the speedboat was exhilarating. As soon as I had got the hang of things, Neve had me punch up the engines, and we raced through the night along the dark, curving shoreline. The speedboat surged and hummed beneath my hands, begging me to go faster.
I shot a grin at Grey, then turned to Neve and shouted over the roar of the engines, “How do you know where we’re going?”
“I’ve done this before,” she yelled back.
“At night?”
“Yeah. For work.”
“So, do you go into the field a lot? Hunting down bad guys?” It reminded me of my own work.