Magpie & Jynx (The Twin Cities Series)

By Cameron Jon Bernhard

Half-shifter Maggie "Magpie" Bartlett and Jynx, her siren friend, expected trouble during their infiltration into a human/fae trafficking ring run by the yakuza, but they never imagined things would go so awry! Escaping the syndicate's compound in The Realms, a parallel dimension populated by the stuff of nightmares, becomes a life and death struggle against impossible odds. Their plans for a simple rescue mission turns into a fight for survival as they find themselves in the middle of a bloody war between vampires, werewolves, the yakuza, and a Japanese demon of boundless rage. Forced to put their trust in the unlikeliest of allies, the pair embark on a final scheme to escape the horrors closing in around them, culminating in an all-or-nothing dash for freedom.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Cameron Jon Bernhard
• Release date: May 4, 2014
• ISBN: 9781311448286

Cameron Jon Bernhard

Published since 2013, J.B. Cameron was forced to rebrand under the name "Cameron Jon Bernhard" to avoid conflicting with an identically named self-published writer. Though born in New Brunswick, Canada, his work shows more influence from an upbringing of American TV than his maritime roots. A writer who generally plays loose with the constraints of genre, Bernhard's dark style and black humor typically places fun, exciting characters in situations of suspense or urban horror, making an exciting roller coaster ride to both chill and amuse readers. Author of numerous novels, novellas and screenplays, his first published novel, "Reading The Dead - The Sarah Milton Chronicles," introduces a supernatural detective series unlike anything you'll find elsewhere.

Book preview

Magpie & Jynx

The Twin Cities Series

J. B. Cameron

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, organizations, events, places, and incidents either are the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons (living, dead, or otherwise), events, locales, etc. are entirely coincidental.

Copyright © 2014 by J.B. Cameron. All rights reserved.

Smashwords Edition

ISBN: 9781311448286

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Foreword

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

FOREWORD

The story you are about to read is urban fantasy in the truest sense. A gritty, gothic city inhabited by vampires and other unspeakable horrors awaits you. If you were hoping to read a tale about fairy princesses and hobbits with magic rings, you can stop reading now. The only creatures that don't pose a serious threat in The Realms, the fictitious plane of existence parallel to our own, are humans...

The Twin Cities Series is a collaborative, multi-author book series, whose separate, but interconnected tales paint a picture of the inhabitants of this strange, yet familiar dimension. Secret portals scattered throughout our world, yet concentrated primarily around the twin cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul, lead the way to a gothic metropolis ruled by the vampire Lord, Raven. In his midnight empire, where daylight rarely shines, life is cheap and mortals are merely playthings of their undead masters.

Fighting to protect the downtrodden and abandoned in the grim, unforgiving city are Magpie and Jynx, a half-blood shifter and her siren companion. These unlikely champions, united by their painful past, are among the few looking out for those who would otherwise be lost to the nightmares thriving in this cruel world.

I originally intended to do something quite different with the four-book series that this title introduces. In keeping with the dichotomy of its two main characters, I intended this book and the final one to be in a mixed narrative format. I wrote it with any chapters featuring Magpie showing in first person narrative, while switching to third person during sections in which she was absent. Similarly, book four was going to do the same for Jynx to properly round out the series and provide a glimpse into their personalities and motivations. This structure proved troublesome for some readers to follow, which is why I completely rewrote the book you're reading now in third person, past-tense narrative. This and other revisions make for a more exciting read with (hopefully) nothing lost in terms of character development.

Despite their good intentions, you'll discover that Maggie Magpie Bartlett and Jynx aren't necessarily likeable characters. Jynx, a former addict, may seem weak and vulnerable, while Magpie often comes across as cold and heartless. To this, all I can say is keep reading. By the time the series is over, you might just have cause to rethink your opinion of both characters.

The Twin Cities Series authors are working hard to introduce you to a world full of bloodthirsty vampires, werewolves, shape shifters, trolls, goblins, demons, and much, much more! The characters we produce are among the most unorthodox you'll find gracing the genre, with an unexpected depth that will keep you coming back for more. To maintain world continuity, often we will reference places or protagonists belonging to our fellow authors. Sometimes, secondary characters even spill over into someone else's work. We write separately, yet always with the shared world that we're creating in mind.

As we enter our second season of book releases, we have something even bigger in store for you with our multi-book arc, Nightfall. It will be a significant game changer, setting the stage for exciting and unexpected developments for season three.

Enjoy the adventure! Don't forget to check under the bed before you turn off your lights. The monsters are closer than you think.

- J.B. Cameron

Chapter 1

From Magpie's rooftop perch, the women selling their bodies on the street below looked more like lambs to the slaughter. She hated sending Jynx in as bait to track down the human trafficking ring they were after, but word on the street was that the cartel behind it liked them young and pretty... and, preferably, fae. Fae girls fetched a higher price on the slave market, particularly overseas. Sometimes, mundanes made the worst monsters!

Are these a-holes showing up tonight, or what? Jynx griped in her earbug. These heels are killing me!

Maggie Bartlett, or Magpie as she was more often known, first met Jynx when she was sixteen and in a bad way. She was a runaway who ended up as a vampire's chattel. The bastard had her strung out on crack and was feeding off her regularly. Siren blood is a natural high for fangsters, so spiking hers with street drugs left him feeling no pain. He was still on cloud nine when Magpie dusted him and set his harem free. That was two years ago. Her young friend has been clean ever since. These days, saving the lost and downtrodden was the only rush she craved.

Chill! They'll be here.

Chill is right, Mags, she whined from the alley below. You may be able to sprout wooly feathers from your butt, but the rest of us are freezing our keesters off out here! If they don't show soon, I'm tempted to proposition a john, just to hop into a warm car.

Are you planning on bitching in my ear all night?

What's wrong with bitching? I like bitching! It helps keep me warm.

Then by all means, bitch away, Magpie shrugged. I can always remove the earbug.

Ha! You wouldn't! I know how much you hate putting those things back in!

Magpie shook her head and grinned. She wasn't wrong there.

The earbugs were one of Marlon's little toys. He was a strange old bird who threw them some work from time to time, whenever he needed cryptic writings investigated or magical doodads recovered. The earbugs he fashioned were an essential tool for their work, but that didn't mean that Magpie liked using them. Allowing a telepathic worm to burrow into your ear was every bit as much fun as it sounds.

Magpie spotted the police car approaching from two blocks away. The rook might be the only creature she mastered with her shape shifting abilities, but she always figured that she could do worse. Transforming the lenses and corneas of her eyes to that of her corvid physiognomy provided exceptional eyesight against the glow of the city streets.

Look sharp! she announced. I think that could be them, coming now.

About time! How do I look?

Magpie searched for her friend below her, switching her eyes back to their human form again. Crow eyes weren't the best for seeing in the dark, and she instructed Jynx to lay low in the alleyway until it was time. True to her race, she had blossomed into a fair-haired angel, and the last thing they needed was to attract undue attention.

The street was a bazaar of flesh, and despite the glamor helping to conceal their identities, Magpie could tell that some of Jynx's competition was fae. However, none had the preternatural allure of a siren, especially one dressed to kill. To the drivers circling the neighborhood streets, her presence tonight would be a rare treat for the senses. Magpie could only hope that Saint Paul's finest were as discriminating in their tastes.

Jynx emerged from the shadows, a vision of blonde hair and alabaster skin, sheathed in a crimson dress that left little to the imagination. Magpie envied her sometimes. Even without her powers, her beauty was the sort that kings once fought to possess.

They're not going to know what hit them, she smiled.

Flatterer.

Remember the plan...

The plan you drummed into my head for the past two weeks? That plan? Jynx cried. Mags, relax! I can't sleep without dreaming about the frickin' plan! I got this!

Magpie changed her eyes back to her bird form and watched the approaching SPPD cruiser. The cold nipped at her skin. She tucked her arms under her legs for warmth and grew a plume of warm down over her concealed neck and cheeks. Over the years, she discovered that she could manipulate crow down, feathers, and tissue into leathery clothing, suitable for most environments. Though it meant she was always wearing black, she saved a fortune on her wardrobe!

She wished that she shared Jynx's faith in the plan. She was in the business of helping others long enough to know that most strategies go out the window shortly after the ball starts rolling. Once things get hairy, it often boils down to whoever stays on their feet the longest.

Jynx stepped halfway out to the curb, where she awaited her ride. Her siren's tongue, source of the bewitching harmonics that once lured sailors to their doom, was already turning heads with the nervous hum escaping her lips. Her sisters in solicitation gazed upon her arrival with a strange mix of frustration, jealousy, and desire. Jynx licked her lips in the face of their carnal lust. Sirens were fundamentally predisposed to entice others. Magpie figured that as far as curses go, it wasn't such a bad deal.

Magpie studied the policemen through their oncoming windshield. The driver was soft and round, while his partner was a gawking ferret who ogled the cavalcade of female forms as they drove past. Officers Malloy and Fassbender, if the information she bought from her snitch held water. The only thing her informant knew about the shady organization responsible for the rash of disappearances on these streets were the identities of their uniformed errand boys. Whoever was pulling their strings, they were keeping a very low profile.

The officers spotted the blonde siren posing on the sidewalk and Malloy practically rammed the brake pedal through the floor. Lights flashed red and blue. A police siren issued a solitary wail. In a heartbeat, they pulled off the road in front of Jynx. The other streetwalkers casually wandered off, throwing looks over their shoulders that ran the gambit from satisfaction to disappointment.

Jynx glanced up at Magpie, worried. The figure on the ledge shot her a thumbs-up.

Fassbender lowered his window. Both men stared at Jynx's figure with a wanton craving. She played it safe and kept her distance from the car.

Hey, girlie, Fassbender slurred. You're new around here, aren't you? Haven't seen you before!

What's your name, honey? Malloy inquired.

Jynx.

Well, you look like you're anything but bad luck, Jinx, Fassbender sneered. Where're you from?

The Realms.

Magpie smiled. Jynx was sticking to the plan beautifully. The cops were both mundanes, so they might not have known that their prize hen was fae. With this confirmed, her value just skyrocketed.

I'll tell you what, Jinx...

Fassbender climbed out of the car and adjusted his utility belt around his scrawny waist. He gave the girl his most charming smile. Jynx halfheartedly returned it. Fassbender looked as though he was only a fur pelt and whiskers away from perfecting his weasel impersonation.

Why don't you hop into the back seat and we'll take you home? he offered, holding open the door for her.

No, I'd rather...

Don't make a fuss, girl, Malloy growled. You can either take us up on our more than generous offer of assistance, or find yourself cooling your heels in a jail cell tonight. What's it gonna be?

Well, Jynx shrugged, since you asked so nicely...

Jynx climbed into the back. Fassbender cupped a palm to the top of her head to help her in.

Get comfortable! he sneered as he slammed the door shut behind her.

Talons burst from Magpie's fingertips. If it weren't for the fact that she needed these two alive to lead them to the source of their illegal operations, she was tempted to jump down there now and rip them both apart.

Malloy flipped off the lights and pulled out. They started down the road, heading due east, towards the secret crossroads that existed between Saint Paul and Minneapolis.

The real sibling of Minnesota's twin cities hid in plain sight, its gateways known only to the paranormals who lived there. It was a world of near-perpetual darkness, lorded by creatures of myth and nightmares. Those who knew of its existence call it The Realms. Jynx and Magpie called it home.

Magpie raced along the roof after them, breathing hard, feeling the blood rush in her veins as her heart hammered in anticipation of the coming change. Over the lip of the building ledge, she watched the police car speeding away, fleeing with its precious cargo. She leapt off the edge, spreading her arms wide as gravity took hold. Her descent was