Free Sixpence & Whiskey by Heather R. Blair

and wishing things could be different. Me, I didn’t give a shit about power then and I don’t give a shit now. But I do protect my own.
    “Just keep your hunts out of my city and we won’t have a problem, sunshine.”
    My use of her old nickname makes her start, but she covers quickly. “Wake up, dammit. It’s not gonna be your city for much longer, Seph.”
    Before I can ask her to explain that little nugget, she vanishes into the moonlight. I catch a flash of blood-tinged eyes low to the ground and then she’s gone.
    A howl echoes down the canyon a minute later, a howl that makes me almost as cold as Jack’s magic.
 
    After the encounter with Luna, I don’t wanna go home, so I head to the bar. It’s only about a forty-minute walk from Congdon to downtown, so I hoof it. I like to walk, what can I say? It usually helps me think, but tonight there just seems to be too much to sort through as I wind down the hill and finally hit Superior Street.
    Snow starts flirting with me as I get closer to T&T. It’s thinking about falling for real, pressing what feels like teasing little kisses to my hair and cheeks. A smile tugs at my lips until it hits me why this feels so damn familiar.
    Jack holding me down against the grass, grinning as he makes snowflakes fall over my hair and face…
    I enter the alley and stop short. Because there he is, standing right outside T&T, watching me.
    I fucking knew it.
    “Bar’s closed, asshole.”
    Jack leans against the brick wall by the door, arms folded, looking all long and dark and dangerous, watching me approach.  “I want to say I can’t believe you own a bar now, but it actually makes perfect sense.”
    “As the guy who gave me my first taste of whiskey, you should know.”
    He chuckles. “I can’t regret that, you were cute as hell. Your eyes all watery, cheeks bright pink… hell, you could barely talk, but you still asked for more.” Jack shakes his head. “Typical Seph.” The warmth in his teasing unsettles me, and I can’t reply for a beat. When I do, I get right to the point.
    “Why are you here, Jack?”
    “Maybe I wanted to see your place.”
    “At four in the morning?” I shake my head. “You’re stalking me, why?”
    He just smiles. “Apparently, I’m not the only one. How’s Luna?”
    I roll my eyes and give him my shoulder while I unlock the door, just wanting to be inside and alone. Then I hear it. A whisper against the stones, a touch of magic brushing my cheek. I turned my back on him. Again.
    Just how much of an idiot am I?
    I whirl, my fingers sliding over his forearm, the series of runic tattoos there buzz lightly under my touch. I yank my hand back, cursing. They used to do that now and then, like brushing against a weak electric fence. He never would tell me what those particular runes meant, or why they sometimes reacted that way to me. His other ink doesn’t do that. I learned to avoid touching him there, but I’d forgotten.
    After the bullshit went down between us, I tried to find those runes in our family library, but I couldn’t. Another mystery I failed to solve. I glare at the twisting symbols, then Jack’s face.
    He’s already backing off, hands raised. “I wasn’t—”
    I don’t believe him. Rage bubbles up from somewhere deep inside me, taking over.
    Rage for the memories that won’t stop messing with me ever since he showed up again. Rage at the pain and confusion they cause. Rage that I can’t seem to stop myself from going soft anytime he’s around. I can’t afford that, not again.
    I’m done .
    Time to see just how immune Jack really is to my magic.

10
    “What are you doing, Seph?” Jack’s voice takes on an edge.
    One that I ignore.
    He has to touch me to freeze my magic, and I don’t plan on letting him get close enough for that. My innate magic will be worthless on him, but I can still cast.
    Jack stares as rainbow-colored sparks dance over the backs of my hands. So do I.
    Witch magic is rarely visible to