Magic Underground: The Complete Collection (Magic Underground Anthologies Book 4)

by Melinda Kucsera

  “Have any of the other packs had anything to say about this?” Ragged Edge asked.

  “The Blue Moon are as tight-lipped as ever. No one else has a clue.”

  “Did you reach out to Theodore?” Ragged Edge had to ask, even though he knew what the answer would be. Warden scoffed and rolled her eyes. She and Theodore didn’t speak if they could help it. He had his answer. “Right, so where are we?”

  “The veil is holding. People are still getting turned around. Most people have no clue anything’s wrong and don’t have any memory of St. Catherine’s.” Mjolnir rattled off the status report as if it were a shopping list.

  “And the intruder from last night?” Warden scowled.

  “No word yet. I’m due an update in a few minutes.” Ragged Edge reported. “I wish there was a pack over there. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that it was an unclaimed area that vanished, but if it had happened to a claimed area then it would be someone else’s problem.” He let out a gruff bark of laughter. A small ripple of chuckles ran around the pack. All except Warden, who still stood there scowling at the floor.

  “This couldn’t have happened if—”

  “Don’t finish that sentence.” Warden cut off Black Rat. He shifted his weight and held his tongue. “You’re not wrong,” she said, a little more softly. “But we can’t dwell on that.”

  Ragged Edge patted Black Rat on the shoulder in an effort to reassure him. Mercury and Two-Doors-Down were their other pack mates, both had stayed quiet throughout all of this.

  “I need to head to the park now, boss,” Ragged Edge said, pushing himself away from the shelves upon which he'd been leaning. “Doors, lend me a hand, will you?”

  “Sure.”

  “Let me know what they turn up. Can you try Shadow’s Step again, please?” Warden stood up straight and made a show of shuffling papers around on the desk.

  “Roger.” Ragged Edge opened the door and the pack filed out of their Alpha’s office, taking her entirely obvious hint. They made their way out through the back corridors of the museum, not passing any staff on the way. Warden’s staff were used to seeing the pack come and go, but not usually quite as frequently as over the last two days. They stepped out through the back door into the alleyway. It was a brisk day, and Ragged Edge found that he felt the cold more now than in his younger days. “Come on, lad. Let’s go see what our friends are saying. Mjolnir, I’ll catch up with you later.”

  “Good luck.” Mjolnir embraced Ragged Edge and they patted one another on the back. The pack parted ways and Ragged Edge led his young pack mate away towards the park that surrounded the castle ruins.

  They strode into the park and followed a sweeping path downhill away from the castle. There wasn’t much left of it. It was an old Norman castle but only the outer wall and some crumbled remnants of buildings remained now. It was still a tourist attraction, though, it had a little shop and guided tours. Ragged Edge remembered there being a lot more of it when he was young, but it had been bombed during the Blitz. Those memories always sent a shudder through him, even after so many decades.

  He stomped down the path, his trusty staff clunking against the paving. He shook away the thoughts of long-past wars. The two shifters approached the tree line at the foot of the slope, and they stepped across the veil as soon as they were out of sight. They couldn’t contrast one another more. Doors was young, his skin smooth and his eyes untouched by war. He was of Korean descent but had never left Britain. Neither of his parents had been shifters. He was on his own when he changed for the first time and The Watch had found him and taken him in. He was green but had an aptitude for the ritual side of pack life, so Ragged Edge had taken him under his wing.

  On the other side of the veil, the woods were deeper and darker than in the human world. Behind the shifters rose a smooth slope of pristine white quartz. It was tricky to climb up without slipping. That was deliberate. They had shaped it that way many centuries ago and each generation kept it smooth as a defensive measure. Ragged Edge stepped further into the woods, treading carefully in the gloom. Little sunlight penetrated the thick canopy above.

  He pushed his staff into the densely-packed earth and got carefully to his knees. He didn’t need to summon his fae allies. They appeared before him, little shoots rising out of the ground. He beckoned Doors to come closer. The youngster squatted beside him and smiled warmly at the bizarre sight.

  “What did you find out?”

  “He is hidden. Something is masking him. He left Hepethia last night and he had help with him.”

  “Hmph,” Ragged Edge huffed. “A demon? Did he conjure it?”

  “We do not know,” the little plants whispered. “The constructs who see everything say he emerged from Hepethia and promptly vanished as if cloaked.”

  “Interesting.”

  “How will we find him? He knows about us. He’s a security risk.” Doors sounded mildly panicked. Ragged Edge glanced his way and saw his wide eyes.

  “He might be. We don’t know that yet.”

  “He shot Black Rat,” Doors said, glaring at Ragged Edge.

  “He did. He was terrified. Didn’t you smell the fear on him when we caught his scent?”

  “Not in this form, I can’t get as much detail as in wolf form.”

  “I suppose not.” He chuckled. He forgot sometimes how powerless young cubs were. “My guess is that he stumbled over here by accident, somehow, and saw us. He was scared, alone and trapped in that building. He did what he had to do to get away. I’m interested to know why he had a gun, though. You don’t see those much around here.” He shook his head and got to his feet. The little sprouts disappeared back into the earth and Ragged Edge gave them a little nod of appreciation as they went.

  “What if you’re wrong? What if he’s hunting us?”

  “Then we’ll deal with him, and whatever demon is cloaking him. Trust me, this is not the disaster. St. Catherine’s is the serious issue. That’s what we should focus on.”

  “What can we do to bring it back?”

  “I’m not sure. Our investigation was cut short by the shooting.” Ragged Edge pulled his staff out of the ground and crossed the veil back into the woods at the foot of the hill. Doors followed him, still looking worried. Ragged Edge pulled a small pocket knife from the inside pocket of his long, weather-beaten coat and cut into the pad of his thumb. He reached out and smeared the blood that oozed from the cut onto a low-hanging branch nearby.

  “What are you doing?” Doors asked, his voice light and curious.

  “Calling another ally.” He looked up into the canopy, which was rapidly growing thin with the falling of the golden leaves. A black shape fluttered among the branches and moved down with a rustle of wings. A big, black raven landed on the branch right where he had smeared his blood. “Greetings. Could you ask Shadow’s Step to meet me at the southern border of his territory in twenty minutes, please?”

  The raven bobbed its head as if nodding. It gave a rough squawk before taking flight again. Ragged Edge watched it soar away across the open field and over the castle ruins.

  The two shifters set off back up the path towards the road. They crossed the main road and strode across the bridge, into the city centre. They followed the river north, into China Town where a vibrant street market bustled with mid-day shoppers and tourists. The mild, October sun filtered through the thin clouds and took the chill out of the air. Ragged Edge remained vigilant as they walked, his eyes darting from one side to the other, taking in the movements of people around them. It was a deeply ingrained habit that he would struggle to break even if he tried.

  The city all seemed normal, which saddened him in one way, but was probably for the best. Humans were so easily hoodwinked. They were fragile in both body and mind. A whole area of the city had vanished overnight and no one now was any the wiser. Except maybe one man. But this was exactly why it was a good thing that humans didn’t often notice the supernatural elements around them. On the rare occasion tha
t someone did get a glimpse of the truth it never ended well for them or others. Whoever this mysterious shooter was, he had done something that no other human in the city had done in the middle of this crisis - he had not only overcome the barrier around St. Catherine’s, he had crossed into Hepethia and taken a shot at a shapeshifter. It was unprecedented.

  The city centre and China Town were both unclaimed, so passing through them was no problem for members of The Watch. However, when they reached the edge of China Town, Ragged Edge felt the familiar tingle down his spine that told him to go no further. It was a primal instinct that told him the way ahead was claimed by another. He knew this, of course, but that didn’t stop the instinct from kicking in. The northern district of Caerton, St. Mark’s, was claimed by The Blue Moon. The river formed a border between St. Mark’s and St. Catherine’s. The Blue Moon claimed everything from the east bank of the river across to Redfield Park over in the east of the city. He halted at the border and Doors stopped alongside him.

  “Are you expecting Shadow’s Step to have news?”

  “Hoping, rather than expecting.” Ragged Edge began to pace back and forth across the wide path that followed the river. People rushed past, muttering in frustration at having to change course to avoid him as he paced. He ignored them. Doors stood still, keeping a watchful eye on their surroundings. Ragged Edge allowed him to practice the habit, even though he was still on high alert himself. In the mid-distance he had a clear view of Red Bridge, the impressive suspension bridge that spanned the river and connected St. Mark’s and St. Catherine’s. It was deserted, most unusually.

  A prickle ran up his arms and he stopped pacing to look ahead up the path. A slim man with dark skin and piercing eyes approached, a small smile playing at the corner of his mouth. Ragged Edge relaxed a touch and opened his arms to greet his friend. The two men grasped each other by the forearm and Ragged Edge patted Shadow’s Step on the shoulder.

  “Brother,” Shadow said.

  “How are you?” Ragged Edge asked as they released arms.

  “Good, puzzled, obviously, but good.” He glanced towards Two-Doors-Down and gave the youngster a nod. “Doors.”

  “Shadow.”

  “What can I do for you?”

  “Have you managed to learn anything about this business?” Ragged Edge jerked his head across the river towards St. Catherine’s. The view across the river looked normal at first glance, but it was perfectly still. On the opposite bank there wasn’t a single moving car or person in sight. “Warden didn’t have much luck with Fortune.”

  Shadow’s Step chuckled and shook his head. “I wouldn’t be an Alpha for all the gold in Valhalla.”

  “It does tend to cause problems trusting others, doesn’t it?” Ragged Edge said with a resigned cluck of his tongue.

  “But no, we really haven’t found much. There are myths of such things happening, but nothing concrete, as far as I can tell. It’s possibly the work of a powerful demon. I wondered if something big crossed the veil and caused such bad damage to it that St. Catherine’s got sucked through the hole.” Shadow’s voice had such a deep, soft quality that Ragged Edge always found himself leaning in to hear him clearly. He nodded along to Shadow’s words.

  “We found terrible tears and a gaping wound that you could see right into Hepethia through. Most unusual. But Hepethia seems relatively untouched by the event. The human element isn’t in that realm. If it did indeed get sucked across the veil then it went somewhere beyond our reach. It’s an interesting theory. Have you been over there?”

  “No. We scouted across Red Bridge but no further. The barrier is turning humans around. There were several serious crashes yesterday. The authorities have closed the bridge, declaring it structurally unsound. So, no one’s getting close enough to experience the disorientation now.”

  “Humans,” Ragged Edge said with an affectionate smile. Shadow chuckled. “Well, we should all be vigilant and keep one another informed.”

  “Of course. I’d better get back. Good to see you,” Shadow said. Ragged Edge grasped his forearm again and they exchanged solemn looks.

  Shadow’s Step turned and strode away, back into his territory. Ragged Edge watched him go, chewing over his thoughts. Doors cleared his throat and the old man looked at him, half surprised to see him standing there.

  “Right. We’d better get going ourselves.”

  “He is so odd.” Doors was frowning and still watching Shadow’s Step departing.

  “We’re all a little odd, my boy. Come on.” Ragged Edge set off, stomping his aching feet and tapping his staff on the ground beside him on every alternate stride.

  Felix released Emma, gently placing her feet on the ground. He stroked her hair and smiled down at her. She smiled back at him, a dreamy expression on her face.

  “I wasn’t expecting that,” she said. Her voice was deep and husky.

  “That was my plan, to catch you off guard.” He grinned. Felix lifted his gaze to the narrow street around them and saw that they had moved further away from the main road. He looked over his shoulder and looked straight into that eerie blankness. Emma gasped and he returned his gaze to her. She had a hand pressed to her lips and was staring past him.

  “Where’s the street? What am I looking at?”

  “This is what I saw last night.” He took her hand and together they walked a little closer. There was no crushing dizziness, they weren’t turned back. Nor was there a gaping hole in the fabric of reality. There was something like a scar hanging there; a faint line, shimmering slightly. It was as if the hole had been stitched up. He reached out a hand and ran his fingers through thin air. “So odd.” His voice was barely above a whisper.

  “How can this be real?” Emma said.

  “Have you ever seen anything like this before?”

  “Never.”

  “What about odd people? People with funny names, or who can do things that no person ought to be able to do?”

  “What do you mean?” Emma gave him a bemused sort of smile. “Felix? Have you seen something else?”

  He wasn’t sure what she would make of the rest of his story. He was afraid of pushing her away. Yet, here she was.

  “I’m afraid you’ll think I’m crazy.”

  “With what we’re standing in front of right now, I think I’d believe just about anything you told me.” She gestured towards the emptiness before them and Felix had to laugh. It was a surprising sound in the peculiar quiet of the street.

  “Last night there was a hole here. There was this blank space and just here, where this line is, there was what looked like a tear and through it I could see stars. I went through and there was this whole other world. The ground was like crystal. As I walked along it started to look like bits of St. Catherine’s that I remember, but derelict, ruined. Like some sort of post-apocalyptic future. Then I saw people and they could turn into wolves. I ran back out of there and went home. That was when I called you.”

  “Felix.” Emma stared at him, her eyes wide, her cheeks flushed. “That’s incredible!”

  “Do you believe me?”

  “Yes, I do. But I also understand why you were reluctant to tell me.”

  He had missed out the part about shooting one of them. He wasn’t entirely proud of that part.

  “I thought Julie would be through there. I was sure of it. But there was no sign of life at all, apart from the werewolves, or whatever they were.” He felt ridiculous saying the word out loud. “But now that the hole is gone, I have no leads left, no hint of how to find my sister.” A tremble leaked into his voice and he felt his cheek twitch, as if tears were moments away.

  “There must be other people with missing friends and family. You won’t be the only person in the city in this situation. You need to find them.”

  “How?”

  Emma pulled her phone out of her pocket and loaded up a social media app.

  “What hashtag do you think would cover this? Missing in Caerton?”

  “T
ry it.” He watched as she searched. A great long list of results came up and Felix stared with disbelief at all of the conversations that were happening. Post after post showed photographs of missing people, questions about places that he remembered from his childhood, people begging for information. Below them were comments that were heart-breaking; comments of hurtful disbelief and ridicule. The people who were not missing anything personal from their own lives simply refused to accept that anything was wrong.

  “Cut it out, stupid. There’s nothing wrong with Caerton.”

  “What a load of bollocks.”

  “Stop whining and get over it.”

  “This is awful.” Felix shook his head and looked away.

  “Always look for the helpers.”

  “Sorry?”

  “It’s why I joined the army, Felix. To be one of the helpers, one of the heroes. Whenever tragedy strikes, you will always see people running in to help. Ignore the people denying the problem and look for those who are trying to help. There’s a meeting this afternoon at a church hall in Old Town for people with missing friends and family. You should go.” Felix looked at the post she was indicating and saw where the meeting was being held. It wasn’t far from his flat.

  “I will. Thanks. You have to work, right?”

  “I do. I’m sorry.”

  Emma looked back up at the strange, empty street. She took another step towards it and held out her hand. Felix watched, apprehension bubbling up inside. What if she got sucked into oblivion? But nothing happened. She withdrew her hand and shook her head in mild disbelief. She turned to him and stepped right up into his personal space. He stroked her hair and kissed her again, though with less intensity than before. This kiss was soft and tender, one full of promise. She stepped back and gave him a stunning smile.

  “Talk to you later.” She turned and walked back towards the main road while Felix stood staring after her, surprised and more than a little happy.

  “Don’t get distracted,” his dark passenger sneered.

  “I’m not,” Felix replied. He set off walking after Emma but turned the opposite way at the end of the street. She was heading for a bus to work, he was heading back into Old Town for the church she mentioned. “You got us through the dizziness, didn’t you?” He spoke under his breath, unsure whether he really needed to speak out loud to the thing in his head.