Philadelphia Rising

By Amie L Austin

For twenty-eight years, Delphie has unknowingly lived in a shadow, keeping the monsters at bay. Until the day her veil slipped and the frightening truth was revealed. After her ordinary past is shredded right before her, Delphie is rudely thrust into a world where magic is an addiction and some would kill to possess her's. Grappling with th

• Language: English
• Publisher: Palmetto Publishing
• Release date: Jul 21, 2021
• ISBN: 9781638377139

Amie L Austin

Originally from Wyoming, Amie L. Austin is driven by wanderlust, imagination and creativity. Her career as a nurse has afforded her the opportunity to travel and experience the unknown. She finds her imagination often takes flight while bike riding and listening to music. She is the author of Philadelphia Rising, book 1 of The Philadelphia Trilogy. She lives a joyful life exploring the country with her puppy Willow Bean.

Book preview

Chapter One

B

oston, three days earlier

The rain came down in a slow, aggravating drizzle, the constant moisture doing absolutely nothing for Delphie’s hair. Her usual wavy, honey-brown curls now resembled Medusa’s snakes on her head, each trying to snatch at each other. Delphie sighed deeply, reached inside of her leather biker jacket, and pulled out her knit cap. She crammed it down over her hair and continued on to the train. As she hurried, a puddle appeared out of nowhere, seeming to grow little fingers that clamped down on her boot and brought her down, ripping her new jet blue tights.

She growled in frustration, getting to her feet and avoiding the eyes of the few who had seen her rather embarrassing slip. Great, now she was going to be late with ripped-up tights and mad hair.

After thirty minutes of fighting with the elements, Delphie finally reached the courthouse, feeling like a drowned rat. Boston was usually so beautiful in the fall, but this year the weather had been terrible right from the start. It was almost like Boston itself was crying because summer was over.

Delphie checked her watch and groaned, picking up her pace to a swift jog. Her soggy messenger bag tapped against her thigh as she hurried up the marble stairs.

She reached the eighth floor, her legs screaming and her breath coming in harsh gasps. The ethereal Judge Newsom was coming out of her chambers, looking like she’d just sauntered off the catwalk. Delphie immediately attempted to control her obvious signs of being out of shape. The woman was every man’s dream and every woman’s source of envy. Her black robe was open, revealing a muted gray dress wrapped around a perfect figure. Once again, Delphie felt like an inferior field mouse next to her.

Judge Newsom aimed a million-dollar smile in Delphie’s direction. Better hurry in there, Delphie, she said in her thick Chicago accent. Your father won’t wait forever.

Delphie gave her a small smile in return, self-conscious of her own semi-crooked front teeth. Yeah, best not to anger the great and powerful Asa Lincoln, she answered in her own heavy Boston accent. The judge gave her a wink right as Delphie swung into courtroom 308.

The courtroom was already in session and almost entirely full. Not wanting to draw any attention to herself, she poked her head around, looking for an empty seat. Her father certainly knew how to draw a crowd. He was the most powerful and entertaining lawyer in Boston. Delphie supposed that his attractiveness was what really brought in the lion’s share of the crowd, which was made up of single ladies. After some effort, Delphie found her seat. She took a small moment to clear her mind before gathering her drawing supplies together and beginning to sketch the scene before her.

As usual, she started with her father. Asa Lincoln was undeniably a very handsome man. He was tall, muscular, and he had only the slightest amount of gray in his hair, mostly at his temples. It still remained a mystery to most why he wasn’t married. He had always told Delphie that her mother had been the love of his life and no other woman would ever come close for him. Not particularly keen on sharing her father’s love or attention with what would only be a money-grubbing floozy in her mind, Delphie considered her father’s continued bachelor status a blessing.

Everyone naturally assumed she took after her mother, as Delphie lacked all of her father’s exquisite features. They wouldn’t go so far as to call her homely, but stunningly beautiful was definitely never thrown out there either.

Her hair could be pretty if she had the time and inclination to tame it down, but for the most part, it flowed behind her like a nest of ravenous snakes. Thank God she had a good enough bone structure to wear hats. Her eyes, her only remarkable feature, were a peculiar shade of jade green and tilted up at the corners.

Delphie finished sketching her father and took a moment to watch him eloquently torment the prisoner stupid enough to break the law before turning her attention to the judge. Judge Applewhite was her father’s best friend. They were something of a pair, really, both ridiculously good looking and powerful. Klaus, as she familiarly called him, had been at every family function she could remember growing up. Some whispered about them being more than friends, but when Delphie bucked up the courage to ask her father about them, he had simply told her not to listen to idle gossip. Never one to question her father, she never looked any further into their relationship.

When Delphie finished sketching Klaus’s perfect angles, she moved on to the person to his left seated in the chair. Her pencil stilled as she took him in. He was strange, as if something about him was unnatural or a projection.

She blinked several times, but his odd look remained.

Delphie took in his peculiar features as her hand moved about the sketch pad of its own accord. His nose was very long and pointed. His raven-black hair hung in greasy waves down past his ears. His bangs dipped into his eyes, which at first were empty and bored. They stared off into the distance, taking in the ceiling and walls with disinterest. Then suddenly, his eyes lit up with sharp awareness. They roamed around the courtroom, seeking out the source of his newfound interest.

Usually, her father’s presence commanded all the attention and nobody ignored him, but this strange individual was barely listening to what Asa was saying. He moved his body slightly to the left in order to peer around her father.

Delphie continued to draw the criminal, taking extra care on his strange eyes. Being so far away from him, she couldn’t ascertain what color they were, but there was a look in them she wanted to capture.

When Delphie looked up once more to gaze at him, she was shocked to find his unblinking eyes locked on her. The force of his gaze pinned her to her seat, and there was something mysterious behind his gaze as if he knew something about her that she did not.

Her skin crawled with unease, and try as she might, she couldn’t look away from him. Her fingers itched and burned. A bemused, almost cruel smile spread across his face. He lowered his head slightly, nodding at her as if acknowledging her presence. She inhaled sharply.

Finally, the spell lifted, and Delphie noticed everyone in the room staring at her, her father included, with a worried expression on his face.

Delphie gave him a small wobbly smile and an awkward little wave. Slowly, her father turned back around to return to his cross-examination. The prisoner, no longer focused on Delphie, languidly sat back in his chair with his arms loosely across his chest wearing a Cheshire grin on his face.

Asa cleared his throat and turned back to his notes with shaking hands. Delphie had never seen her father rattled by anything before.

The man’s crazy ogling of her and her father’s awkward reaction to it was all very disturbing. Later, Delphie would have to ask her father what the man was in prison for, although she’d never taken an interest in why any inmate was incarcerated before.

A whispered question filled the air of the courtroom, overpowering her father’s words. What is she?

Delphie searched the courtroom. A woman returned her glance, but only because Delphie had looked her way first.

Trying to stuff down the confusion and unease eating at her, Delphie turned her attention back to her drawing.

Why is she hiding?

Excuse me? Delphie asked the man sitting next to her. What did you just say?

Didn’t say anything.

Delphie supposed she was now hearing voices. How much sleep did one have to miss to gain that irritating ability?

Curious, indeed.

A jolt of energy went up her spine, and she swallowed hard. Her chest felt heavy, and the room began to feel too small. Trying not to draw too much attention to herself, Delphie closed the pad and inched out of the courtroom.

Chapter Two

T

he event at the courtroom sat heavy on Delphie’s mind for the rest of the day and continued on into the evening. She joined her best friend at the gym for their daily workout, feeling sick with anxiety.

I’m telling you, Tessa, it was unnerving and weird, Delphie said as she jogged on the treadmill next to her childhood best friend.

Del, everything is unnerving and weird to you these days, Tessa answered back, barely breaking a sweat as she jogged.

Tessa was tall and slim and moved like a jungle cat. They’d met when Delphie was eleven in karate class, which changed to jiu-jitsu when Tessa felt karate wasn’t hard enough for them. Delphie spent most of her time trying to keep up with Tessa. More recently, Tessa had started talking about the two of them expanding their skill set to include Krav Maga, and Delphie knew she would have to put her foot down sometime soon.

Growing up, Delphie had wanted to be a ballerina. She’d loved the colors of the clothes, the buns in their hair, and even the tights. She had begged her father to let her take ballet lessons, but he was raising her as a single dad in Boston, and he’d felt that martial arts would be a better investment of his money and her time.

So from the tender age of eleven, Delphie had learned to literally kick some ass. Every time she’d asked her father to let her quit, he’d given her the same speech about how she was a Lincoln and Lincolns weren’t quitters. When Delphie got into high school and the hormones took over, she’d thrown back at him that she’d wanted to be a ballerina, not an MMA fighter. He’d shrugged off her complaints and grounded her for insubordination.

Her unfulfilled love affair with ballet aside, Delphie felt comfortable walking alone at night anywhere. Unless guns were involved, which sometimes they were—this was Boston after all—but that was where Tessa came in.

Tessa loved guns.

She owned about five of them in all different sizes and carried a small hand pistol with her even when they went out clubbing in their early twenties.

Tessa was an FBI agent who took down more baddies than any other female agent ever had before. And these weren’t the average run-of-the-mill baddies, but high profile been-on-the-wanted-list-forever baddies.

One year as a Christmas present, Tessa had bought Delphie a 9mm Glock. It now sat in the drawer of her nightstand, never to be taken out because, unlike Tessa, Delphie hated guns.

This time it was weird for real.

Sweat ran down her neck and dripped down into her cleavage. She wiped at it and took another deep breath.

Remember that guy at the grocery store the other day? Tessa reminisced. You thought he was stalking you in the produce section. Like, literally you were afraid he was going to come up and snatch you up like a kidnapper.

Because he was. He followed me around for ten whole minutes, sneaking little glances at me.

Delphie, Tessa sighed. The most that man would’ve done, I’m afraid, is stammer out some lame excuse for a pickup line. He was attracted to you, not trying to kidnap you.

Delphie chortled loudly. Attracted to me? Tessa, when was the last time someone was attracted to me? I’m not pretty.

Yes, you are. You are very becoming.

Shut up, Tessa. I’m nothing like you or Judge Newsom.

Tessa slowed her jog to a walk. Delphie did the same, inwardly celebrating that Tessa had been the first to slow their pace.

You have seriously got to get over this strange girl crush you have on that woman. Seriously, you’re building her up in your head like she’s some goddess, and trust me, she’s not.

Are you kidding me? Delphie defended. She’s flawless.

Tessa shook her head, her blond ponytail flowing side to side, No, she’s not. You are so much better than her.

Delphie rolled her eyes and smiled at her best friend. You’re stupid, but I love you regardless.

Ditto, Frito.

I asked you not to call me that.

Frito was a nickname Delphie had earned at summer camp one year after eating too many Frito pies. Vomit had poured from her like a volcanic explosion. It was disgusting, and sadly, the name stuck.

Tessa laughed and got off the treadmill. Tell me more about this curious man.

They walked over to the weights. Tessa pulled off a pair of twenty-five-pound dumbbells and started doing bicep curls. Delphie reached for the fifteens but halted when she heard Tessa clear her throat loudly. Girl, don’t cheapen this workout.

Knowing it was futile to argue with Tessa after her endorphins had kicked in, Delphie bit her tongue and picked up the other twenty-fives. Krav Maga sprang back to her mind, making her cringe. Quickly, Delphie diverted her thoughts back to the courtroom.

There was something odd about him. It was like he was a projected image or something.

What? Tessa scoffed. "Like in Star Wars when Leia speaks to Obi-Wan Kenobi through the robot? Help me, Obi-Wan, you’re my only hope!"

Delphie, becoming annoyed with how flippant her best friend was being, snapped, C’mon, Tessa. Please be serious about this.

Tessa sobered up. Sorry. Continue.

He just looked…off. And he had this expression that I couldn’t get right. Then he stared right at me, which then prompted everyone else to, including my father. Totally embarrassing.

Sure.

When I looked back at my sketch, I saw I had finally gotten the eyes right, but the thing is, I don’t even remember sketching them.

Tessa’s brow furrowed. Do you have this sketch with you?

Yeah, I do, actually. Want to look at it?

Tessa shrugged. I guess so. I’d like to see what strangeness was lurking behind his veiled eyes.

Stop mocking me.

Tessa laughed softly, putting the weights down. Seriously, though. Let me see this fear-provoking man.

Even though Tessa’s attitude was beginning to wear on Delphie, she wanted to know what Tessa thought of the situation after looking at her sketch.

They walked over to their bags, and Delphie took out the sketch pad. Tessa visibly froze the moment she took in the drawing. Concern washed over her face, but Tessa quickly covered it up.

Delphie’s stomach twisted in alarm. What? Do you know him?

Yeah, but only because I hang around criminals, Tessa said nonchalantly.

Is he really bad or something? Delphie prodded, hoping for some insight.

Not any worse than everyone else your dad sends to jail.

Well, then why did you have that look on your face?

What look? I didn’t have a look. Tessa feigned confusion, but Delphie saw right through it.

Yeah, Delphie said, you did. He scares you.

No, he doesn’t. Geez, back off, crazy. Seriously, you have got to get more sleep.

Tessa turned and went back to the weights, leaving Delphie alone staring down at her sketch pad. She examined her best friend’s back. Tessa’s muscles were definitely more tense than normal.

Delphie mumbled to herself as she shoved the sketch pad back into her bag, I get plenty of sleep.

Chapter Three

A

sa Lincoln was a well-respected defense attorney. He had saved a lot of people from being wrongly accused and sent to prison for more years than he’d ever admit out loud.

His best friend, the Honorable Judge Applewhite, sat by the grand fireplace, sipping an award-winning scotch. His iron-straight silver hair spilled over his shoulders and flowed down to his elbows. In public, Klaus kept it under wraps, as he liked to say, so nobody would guess exactly what he was.

A strong jawline and perfect angles made up his handsome face. Thick black eyelashes perfectly framed eyes the exact same color as his hair. The dark glasses he wore also kept them veiled from the public. Of course, if human beings weren’t so stupid and self-involved, they would know exactly what Klaus was.

It must feel good to put away yet another criminal from the streets, Klaus commented in his melodic voice. He continued to sip at his scotch. Asa shuffled through some pages on his desk. Klaus observed him under his heavy lashes. Interesting day in court today. Don’t you agree?

Are you referring to that magic-obsessed cretin making eyes at my daughter? he asked. Asa couldn’t stop his mind from wandering back to that heart-stopping moment when he’d thought for sure everything was going to change in a second.

Of course. Klaus swirled the scotch in his glass. You saved an innocent person from going to prison. Let someone else take the bastard down.

The event in the courtroom had been incredibly uncomfortable on more than one level. Asa had never felt that amount of panic before. He had barely been able to concentrate on what he was doing, and his mind had kept reaching out for his daughter, practically begging her to get up and leave the courtroom. When Delphie had slipped out, the largest wave of relief had washed over him. His eyes had met with Klaus’s, who, for his part, had pretended to know nothing of what had just gone on in his courtroom. The two of them had been friends for too long, and Asa could read Klaus like a book.

He was also worried.

Do you think he knew? Asa asked softly, unable to look at his best friend.

Klaus finally met his eyes with a steely gaze. How could he not? Her veil is starting to slip. You need to get the doctor back in here soon.

Asa was becoming increasingly uneasy. Do you think he will come after her?

Klaus took a moment to think. His silver eyes bore into the glass of scotch as if it were a crystal ball.

"No, not yet. I don’t believe he knew exactly who he was looking at, just what. He probably found the veil to be more interesting than who was beneath it," he reassured. Asa felt the slightest amount of relief.

Besides, Lucinda is always with her. She’s prepared Philadelphia how to physically fight. I believe Krav Maga has even been thrown out once or twice.

"You are correct there. Even though Philadelphia has fought it her whole life, I feel better knowing she can at least protect herself if anyone