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always so simple as stories would make it believe.” Amy warned. “Evil,
     as you would call it, can often triumph.”
    “It shouldn’t.” I said, firmly.
    “Then, Eric, you would help others with your gift? Use it so you can protect, aid,
     and heal?”
    “I’m not a hero. But I’m willing to learn what you’ve got to teach.”
    She held out her right hand. “You will learn from me then. You will learn how to use
     your powers, and I will teach you as best as I can.”
    “You’ve got it.” I shook her hand. “So, when do we start?”
    I realized that was my first mistake. Never give the universe that sort of invitation.
    “Why, tomorrow.”
     
     
Chapter 7
     
    The next morning, I was hiding under my covers when the sun peeked though my blinds.
     I grumbled to myself in muted frustration.
    Amy had paid for my cab home, and I crashed the moment I was in bed. From the encounter
     with Darius, the information overload Amy had heaped on me, and my first time sensing
     magic, I was exhausted.
    I wanted to say that I was able to just get up and go about my business. But that
     part of life was over. Amy yanked the blanket off. “Come on, Eric. Get up. We have
     got work to do.”
    I looked up at Amy. She was wearing a t-shirt, olive drab jacket, and jeans. Her hair
     was pulled back in a pony tail, and the look on her face was stern.
    “Work? What the hell are you talking about?” I was maybe more than a little drowsy.
     I’m not the best morning person.
    She rolled her eyes. “You said you wanted to help people. We are getting an early
     start.”
    “Early?” I mumbled. “What time is it?”
    “Eight.” She said. “Come on, we have got places to go, things to do.”
    I rose and sat up. “Well, okay, where are we going?” I asked as I immediately trudged
     towards the bathroom.
    “We are going to be looking into Samantha Coolidge’s disappearance.”
    “Wait, what?” I stopped, and looked back over my shoulder. “You’re kidding. You want
     us to look into the disappearance that already got one guy killed?” I paused a moment.
     “Yea, I would suppose that makes sense.” After all, his death meant someone else was
     looking for Coolidge. And if Darius last night was any indication, we wanted to be
     the first people to find her.
    “Good.” She said. “Get showered, and…well, do you have anything better than that?”
     She gestured generally towards me.
    I folded my arms across my chest. “And, just what is that?” I asked, mimicking her
     tone.
    “Your clothes. We are going to be masquerading as private inspectors. The least you
     can do is look the part.”
    “I’ll see what I can do.” I said, and turned back to my dresser. I rummaged through
     it, finding a pair of jeans that were the least beat-up, and grabbed a black button-down.
    I showered and dressed while I was still in the bathroom. I came out to see Amy eating
     at the small table that sat in a corner of the main room. “Yea, sure, make yourself
     at home.” I murmured as I went to grab a bowl of cereal.
    Amy explained the game plan for the day as we ate. “We have to figure out where Raymond
     Francis had left off. We are going to his office today, and we are going to look around.
     Hopefully, that will bring us some sort of information on what Francis knew.”
    “And we just go from there?” I asked.
    “That is the general idea, yes. After that, we might want to see if we can track down
     this Darius vampire, see what he knows.”
    “I might just be able to help with that.”
    One of her eyebrows perked, Spock-style. “Really, and how is that?”
    “Well, I think he might be dating one of the girls at the bar. After all, how many
     vampires named Darius are living in San Francisco?”
    “That is not something I can say. After all, I could not tell you how many vampires,
     period, there are in this city.”
    “I thought there was supposed to be a supernatural registry or something.” I said.
    “Yes, but