The Black Heron

Urban Magic

By: Jen Pretty

Narrated by: Virtual Voice

Thunder and Lightning drag me from my bed almost every night. Not like I have anything better to do.

I was only 12 when I was abandoned by my parents at a "treatment center" for children with unusual powers. Thankfully Natsu found me and helped me learn to control the power than lay inside me.

Lightning bends to my will now, instead of the other way around.

Natsu dedicated her life to protecting the humans of Hanton, but her vision is toast even if her reflexes haven't slowed at all. Her daily demonstrations offer plenty of evidence for that. But it's time for me to repay her kindness, and take over her duties as night watchman.

When a new threat takes aim at the youth of the city, I put on my investigator hat. (Not really, I hate hats.) Unfortunately that investigation runs parallel to one conducted by the most eligible bachelor and all-around player of Hanton. Detective Bartlett works for the most corrupt police agency in the city. When I crash a party and find him cozying up to the Congressman, that's all the proof I need that he is as dirty as the rest.

But this new threat won't quit and when Bartlet pressures me to help him bring down the drug ring that's responsible for killing college kids, he makes a convincing argument. (hashtag blackmail) So I run out of options.

Neither of us knew how deep this well of evil would run, but we'll discover that sometimes the evil you thought you knew was much, much worse.

And sometimes your enemy becomes something much more.