River of Night: Urban Fantasy (Shadow Kingdom Book 1) by Naomi Kuttner

Author:Naomi Kuttner [Kuttner, Naomi]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2022-11-29T06:00:00+00:00

19

TRAINING

Ivan walked out of the millhouse and stood in the centre of the small patio.

“You know how crazy this all sounds. You want me to learn how to use…” Ivan waggled his fingers to indicate an unknown superpower mode.

Anders snorted. “That’s so going down as your signature move.”

Not quite the support I feel I need right now.

“We don’t think you’re crazy, Ivan,” said Amelie. “It’s just a theory we need to test. Like a scientific experiment.”

Also not the support I need right now.

“So...what do you suggest?” said Ivan.

“Let’s approach it logically,” said Amelie.

Yeah, cos this is so logical.

“What have you done so far that could be…” she waggled her fingers in an imitation of Ivan.

“Superpowers,” said Anders, with a broad grin that was half mocking, half wistful.

“Yes, superpowers,” said Amelie.

Anders counted off on his fingers. “Well, there was that cave collapse. You said you thought you were in two places at once then.”

“I didn’t do anything,” protested Ivan.

“Then there was that weird-as thing at the docks.”

Amelie arched an eyebrow at Anders.

“Ivan disappeared from the boat shed and turned up outside it. Then he nearly walked off the pier, ” Anders explained.

“That doesn’t sound very useful,” said Amelie.

“So not my fault,” muttered Ivan.

“And the time you walked through Amelie’s locked door and got shot at,” said Anders. “And then there’s the raven that shows up whenever it wants to and eats your biscuits,” he added, seeing the raven sneak the last piece of shortbread out of Ivan’s hand.

“It’s hungry,” said Ivan. “There’s not enough carrion in this town.”

Amelie considered. “When you list it like that, it doesn’t seem all that impressive.”

“Thanks. Really,” said Ivan. “That makes me feel much better about being top of Magnus’s hit list.”

She shook her head. “We must be missing something big then. Magnus strikes me as a very calculated, power-hungry kind of person. Not one to bet on low odds.”

Ivan thought back to the picture they’d found in the secret room. A night world joined to a day world with a human conduit. That seemed big, alright. Too big to be true. Too big for me.

“Tomorrow is Friday,” said Anders. “It’s when the occult shit is meant to hit the fan. So,” he pointed at Ivan, “Start working your stuff, boy wonder.”

It reminded Ivan of the times he’d been forced to perform in school plays as a kid. Thrust into the limelight, hating it, wanting to run back into the shadows. The shadows, huh? Seems to be something of a theme now.

He took a deep breath and let it out. The raven perched on a rock a few feet away, watching the proceedings with interest.

Throw me a bone here, Ivan thought.

As if it had heard his thoughts, it winged over to his shoulder, claws digging in briefly as it steadied itself. Ivan put his hand up and lightly brushed the feathers on its back.

He closed his eyes and fell still, trying to recreate how he’d felt every time something weird had happened.

Ivan deliberately relaxed his shoulders, arms, and hands.

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