Free Inherited Magic by Andrew Gordinier

expression of his pain. Jimmy looked out over a part of town he was still getting to know and suddenly knew he was a fire god. He felt the heat in his veins and the hot power with every breath.
    “What the hell happened? Are you all right?”
    Jimmy turned to see his stunned uncle standing in the doorway, pale and shaken from not only the shock of the explosion but from the sight of Jimmy standing bloody and calm in front of what was once a wall but was now an expansive view of the city’s northside. His uncle had always irritated Jimmy, but now he looked small, weak, and worthless.
    “Fuck you.” As he spoke, he felt himself will the fire into his uncle. It was easy, easier than speaking the words. The result was satisfying. His uncle clutched his chest and struggled briefly before blood and steam erupted from his nose, ears, and mouth. He fell to the floor, convulsing and trying to scream through his own boiling blood.
     

Chapter 20
     
    Uptown and the North Side of Chicago are by no means quiet and peaceful. The area didn't have the reputation that the south side did. It was still rough though. The area had gone through a brief and hearty attempt at gentrification, but when the economy turned bad, the area regained its gritty edge with a vengeance. Don't think that there were muggings and rapes in every alley; no city is that serious. The real story was the vast diversity of the people that lived there, not just in an ethnic sense but also in an economic sense.
    BMWs parked next to cars that were a few pounds of rust held together by paint. Condos with million dollar views of the lake and the city shared the same street as halfway homes. Facilities for the mentally ill and homeless sat next door to restaurants known for their eighty dollar steaks. People will tell you that every city is like that, but not every city is the same, and no city is like Chicago.
    So residents of Chicago’s north side were used to police sirens and helicopters. There was the occasional fire in a high rise, and every so often a pipe burst in winter and froze rich and poor to the pavement together. Normally, sirens and helicopters just signaled to the local population to watch the evening news. This time, there were explosions. Gang members used the better part of judgment and got off the streets. Average, everyday people tuned to the local news or asked each other what was going on. Those who were better off oddly shared the same instinct as the gang members they loathed . . . and simply hid away and waited for things to quiet down. Because, say what you want about that part of the world, it is not every day there are explosions and burning bodies in the alleys. That only happened in distant lands in front of news cameras, not here, never here.
    Owen and John had a very different reaction, though. True, they shared the dread and fear that others did and they hoped no one else got hurt, but as they sat in the shop and watched the news on TV, both of them felt connected. It was too crazy and too close to home for their liking, and both suspected that someone was doing evil things with magic.
    “You had better go home.” Owen used one cigarette to light another. “See what you can see.”
    “The cops are all over my building. You saw the news.”
    “Don't go in your building; don't admit you live there, just wander past. It's amazing what you can learn from news crews and bystanders at a crime scene. Just don't get photographed; they take pictures of the crowd sometimes.” Owen was pretty sure this was John’s fault. There were too many connections to ignore. He just wasn't sure how yet.
    “I'll be careful.”
    John feared someone had found The Book. He also wasn't happy about the fact that he couldn't talk to Owen about it, no matter how many times he tried.
     

Chapter 21
     
    John stood at the Bryn Mawr L stop, looking at his building. Looking almost directly into his apartment as people in white suits and wearing masks and goggles