How to Hunt a Menacing Magical Shadow

by Christine Schulz

  “You can end this now and come with us, or find out what happens when you show your face at the auction.” The lumberjack stroked his beard, tapping a bat on the ground with his other hand.

  The twitching slowly came to a stop. I inhaled shallow breaths replacing the hot air roasting my internal organs with the fresh, cool air of the room.

  Just as I opened my mouth to say something, a deafening howl pierced my eardrums.

  “ADRIAN!!” The drawn out syllables carried clearly all the way down the hallway into the back of the store where I was lying on the ground in the breakroom. I’m not sure who I’d rather take my chances with: Four gangsters pointing guns and magic weapons at my head or Lizzy.

  To everyone’s surprise, I climbed up from the dirty floor onto a single knee, rolling my shoulder to loosen the tightness in my stiff muscles and brushing off the dust balls and dried up food crumbs that now clung to my hoodie.

  “I don’t know what you think I’m up to, but I’m sure you have this all wrong. You are not the mission.” The last part I spoke sarcastically with Blair’s uncompromising tone, mocking her clear instructions that we were not to meddle with anyone else’s affairs. Not that they would get the jab.

  “So, are you going to kill me or what? Because there’s an angry female sociopath out there calling my name who would love to beat you to it.” I pressed my hand against my knee, ready to push myself up and walk out the door.

  “Get him!” the tattooed monster yelled out.

  “Demitto!” The nerdy looking guy threw a green magic orb into the air. Thankfully, he was as weak as he looked. Before I could get up, I rolled to the side, avoiding the sticky goo exploding against the wall behind me.

  “Too slow!” I teased with an evil grin. The tattooed man lunged forward, ready to tackle me to the ground with his bare hands. I thrust out my feet and kicked him in the chest. Scrambling to get up, I managed to brace my hand on the door and swing around into the hallway.

  They followed and stared at me as I ran down the corridor. They could continue to attack, but everyone in the entire store would then get involved. Not wanting to bring attention to themselves, they turned around and stomped out the back exit.

  I found Lizzy furiously tapping her foot on the floor next to the cashier, carrying half the store in her arms. She was back in her regular badass getup, leather jacket accented with silver zippers and her thin and way too tight navy tank top exposing bits of tattoos peeking out between her belly button and her fitted black jeans. If she didn’t want people bringing up her tattoos then maybe she shouldn’t put them on display.

  Her swirling eyes were tsunamis raging around her pupils. I drew in a deep breath. If she wasn’t angry with me before, she definitely was now.

  “I told you to stay put.”

  “And I told you I’m not a dog.”

  She growled back at me, folding her fingers into a fist that I was certain was about to connect with my nose. Not about to encourage a scene in front of everyone in the store, I just kept quiet, forced a smile, and followed her to check out.

  A female cashier greeted us, shooting me disgusted looks as I stood there and let Lizzy pay for everything. I really didn’t have much of a choice. I couldn’t exactly go apply for a job somewhere or even use the money in my bank account. The second I’d try to access it, the police would track me down. I actually felt a tiny bit of guilt that I was mooching off them. Just a very, very tiny bit. Not that much.

  Lizzy snatched the bags, hurled them into the direction of my chest, and we left the store trudging home as the cold sun began to sink in the evening sky.

  It was a quiet walk home. Lizzy refused to speak to me, pacing at least ten feet in front of me the entire way back. I didn’t read too much into it. I wasn’t here to make friends, and I was sure she’d get over whatever she was fuming about eventually.

  Besides, I had a more pressing issue to worry about. Like What the hell did I do to piss off the Black Mark?

  Chapter 10

  B y the time we got back, Blair had dinner ready. We all sat down for our meal and discussed the plan for the millionth time. Lizzy continued holding her grudge. She sat at the far end of the table, refusing to make eye contact. Her tiny pitchfork was stabbing her lasagna, probably imagining it was my head.

  Not wanting to deal with a grown woman acting like a drama queen, I cleaned up the dishes, headed upstairs, and locked myself in my room the rest of the night. I had enough on my mind to think about, like the whole “let’s try not to die” speech Blair gave after dinner. Or why the Black Mark was all of a sudden interested in me. What were they planning at the auction? I could only hope Blair and the others knew what they were doing, because I sure as hell had no clue. And now that I was on the Black Mark’s radar, I was sure things wouldn’t get any easier.

  Each day leading up to the auction increased my anxiety, stress, nervousness, and a bunch of other emotions to a new heightened level. Lizzy kept her distance right up until the day of the auction. This woman was relentless. I hadn’t a single idea why she was holding such a grudge against me, not that I could claim I was much of a skirt chaser who understood the warped female mind. The last time I had a real conversation with a female was back in high school, and the only interaction I had with women these days was with those deliberately turning the other way to avoid me.

  The day dragged on. My muscles tensed and nervous sweat formed on my brow. I kept anxiously glaring at the microwave clock slowly changing one minute at a time closer to 7PM.

  I had never been under cover, and it had been two years since I had any serious action in the field. I have to admit the thrill of getting a second opportunity excited me, but at the same time the idea that history might repeat itself, that someone else might lose their life because of me, scared me shitless. Hell, magic in general scared the shit out of me. I seemed to have no control over it, and here we were about to infiltrate a magic auction, going after extremely powerful magic users trying to steal some seriously dangerous magic weapons. Oh yeah, and the Black Mark was going to be there looking for an excuse to chop off my head in a public execution.

  I needed something to calm my nerves. I tore through every cabinet, throwing things off every shelf on a scavenger hunt for a bottle of something to calm me down. Drugs, alcohol, I didn’t care. I just needed something to take the edge off. Unfortunately, I came up empty and the more I kept thinking about it the worse it got. What kind of savages didn’t even have at least a bottle of crappy vodka in the house? Come on!

  I paced back and forth in front of the entryway. Eli and Blair casually stood on either side of me appearing more relaxed than a scotch sipping sloth smoking pot. For me on the other hand, my nerves itched through me prom like night all over again. My palms were clammy, my skin was steaming, and I was sweating right through my white dress shirt. Nothing gives off a stunning first impression like a nervous newbie that reeked of pungent body odor.

  The more nervous I got, the faster I began to pace. The plan was to leave by six and we were already fifteen minutes late. Lizzy was taking her precious time making sure everything was to her liking...her hair, her makeup, jewelry...everything, and refused to leave until it was perfect. Who was she trying to impress in a room full of criminals, anyway? If anything, she should be trying to divert attention from us. I mumbled some obscenities under my breath. She really needed to get her ass in gear.

  Finally, I heard the bedroom door upstairs slam shut. My first instinct was to give her a piece of my mind for making us late, but one glance at her mesmerizing appearance, and everything just washed out of my head.

  Lizzy gracefully descended the stairs, her elegant gait like an acrobat walking a tightrope. The breathtaking gown glistened like that of a midnight sky, tracing every curve of her petite frame from head to toe. The tiny shimmering beads twinkled like shining stars against a deep blue canvas. She settled for a revealing but conservative approach, the tight bodice accentuating her magnificently plump ch
est. Her back was now covered, concealing many of her tattoos. Two pieces of fabric met at her slender neckline, wrapping around like a collar. My eyes teased me with a quick glimpse past a long slit that raced up her thigh, silver stilettos wrapping her feet.

  I pried my eyes away from her body to keep them on her face. I wouldn’t make that mistake again. Her creamy hair was pinned back into a tightly knit bun, an oversized white lily hanging off to the side. At least all that time she spent on herself was worth it. I mentally shook my head encouraging myself to snap out of it.

  Too late. I bowed forward like a prince, holding out my hand to a princess hoping she’d accept my invitation to the ball. “Shall we, my lady?”

  She blankly stared at me and walked out the door.

  Chapter 11

  I dug my fingers firmly around the shoulder of the driver's seat, grasping on for dear life until we reached the auditorium. I wasn’t sure what vehicles they drove in Iradel, but Blair clearly never had an SUV.

  I was expecting some kind of unmarked van that we’d park on the side of the road and hop out the back, just like in the movies. Unfortunately, this wasn’t the movies. The large, black SUV looked more along the lines of something a transportation service would use to drop you off at the airport. It wasn’t in terrible condition, having that “I haven’t been a new car in five years” smell wafting off the cracking gray leather and fabric floor mats. The only problem was I didn’t exactly have a seat to sit in.

  The SUV, which normally fit five, only sat two tonight: Blair and Lizzy, Porky perched between them on the middle console. Eli had pushed down the back seats flat into the floor to create enough room to haul all his surveillance equipment. That meant the two of us were tumbling around the trunk chock full of expensive magic powered equipment like we’d been thrown into a washer machine set to an extra heavy duty spin cycle.

  “Watch it,” Eli threatened me, guarding his precious, irreplaceable magic powered computer. Well, not replaceable on Earth anyway. A thunking noise rattled the car as the tires met a pothole, bouncing me into the air and sending me crashing against the passenger seat where Lizzy was sitting. She squirmed uncomfortably out of the range of my hands clasping onto the headrest.

  When we neared the auditorium, Blair parked the SUV down the street, close enough where Eli could tap into their security system, yet far enough away that hopefully it wasn’t suspicious. I cautiously opened the passenger side door to crawl out, a curious old lady catching a glimpse of this absolutely stunning well-dressed gentlemen in a wrinkled suit emerging from what probably looked like a car full of junk to her.

  I used the rearview mirror to fix myself up. A twitch of annoyance overcame me when I realized the agonizing thirty minute ride to the auditorium in downtown Lorith ruined my nicely combed hair that I had attempted to slick back with an entire bottle of gel.

  Lizzy pulled down the sun visor in the front seat and flipped open the mirror, dabbing a little bit of makeup on her face for some final touches. When she snapped her purse shut, I opened the passenger door and again tried to offer my hand as she pretended not to struggle getting out of the elevated SUV in her evening gown. She refused, straddling the seat and the handle inside the door instead.

  The four of us stood there on the sidewalk, shivering just a tad as the brisk breeze of the oncoming night bit through our clothes. Porky, the smart one, waited in the car.

  “OK, remember the plan.” Blair then specifically addressed me. “And stick to it.”

  “Right, right. Stick to the plan. Keep an eye out, don’t make a scene, avoid getting into trouble. Got it.”

  “Wait a second,” Eli opened the tailgate and reached into the junkyard of equipment to grab a box missing half its contents, the other half no doubt hiding somewhere in the piles of electronics scattered throughout the back of the trunk.

  He emptied several tiny devices from a black pouch into his hand and closed his fist to activate them with magic. “Sermo. Everyone take one. We’ll communicate through these.”

  I watched as they attached their communication devices to the inside of their ear and attempted to follow suit, shoving the tiny beige colored cupcake sprinkle hopefully into the right spot.

  “And one more for you, Adrian.” Eli handed me a navy blue clip-on bowtie that conveniently matched the color of Lizzy’s dress.

  “Seriously?” I contested, declining the offer and pushing his hands back into his chest.

  “You have to wear it. It connects to my feed so I can see what you’re seeing.”

  I begrudgingly unknotted my tie and clipped on my new accessory. If the plan involved flying under the radar, we were doing a terrible job. Lizzy, flaunting her attractive figure and tattoos from head to toe would make anyone stop and stare. And then me, her weird date wearing a second hand tux with baggy dress pants and a boxy jacket like he had shrunk several inches on his way out the door. Wait, was this a date? How would I introduce her if someone asked? This was going to be a night full of splendid awkwardness.

  I tucked the specially made invite into the inside jacket pocket, then fastened the single button on my black tuxedo. Each invite was spelled with a magic word that lit it on fire when you spoke it. This way, it would be impossible for anyone to forge a real invite since, to my knowledge, the only people who knew how to spell an object worked as magic technicians at a magiceutical company. Of course, that failed to take into account magic super users from another world. Here’s to hoping Eli’s craft skills were up to par.

  I watched as Blair rummaged through the mess of boxes and equipment in the trunk, pulling out a sponge, popcorn kernels, a bottle of aspirin, a travel sized bottle of hairspray, and a bunch of other random stuff from a plastic bag. She hid them in several pockets of a vest underneath her leather jacket.

  “Are you planning on having a spa day or something while we’re out fighting crime?” I asked amusingly. Although Eli was planning to stay with the SUV, he was snapping on a vest full of random objects as well.

  “They’re obviously spelled. They’re just less conspicuous and fragile than those little glass marble things you guys carry around.”

  “I wouldn’t say tucking a bottle of hairspray and a sponge into a tactical vest counts as less conspicuous. What do they do?” This wasn’t the time for a class on Foreign Magic 101, but I was genuinely curious.

  “The hairspray can hold almost anything in place...people or objects. The sponge can absorb things, like poison. The gel is a healing ointment for minor injuries. You get the idea. I’m not going through them all. You have a job to do.” Blair zippered up her jacket and moved from behind the SUV to the sidewalk.

  “My favorite is the popcorn kernels. When you activate them, they explode creating a loud bang and a steamy smoke screen.” Eli grinned like he was imagining blowing up the whole auditorium.

  “That’s cool. So where’s mine? You’re not sending me in there unarmed, are you?”

  “Sorry, man.” Eli scratched his head, darting his eyes away from me to hide his discomfort. “We can’t take the risk. Your inability to control magic could blow up the whole plan in seconds. Besides, you’ll be with Lizzy. And you’ve had police training so...just whack them over the head with a chair or something.”

  On the outside, I just tensed my shoulders. But on the inside I wanted to let loose my inner beast and rip these people apart like a vicious hyena. I was a local police officer, not the CIA. How could they send an unarmed, untrained, wanted fugitive into a combat zone without any way to defend himself other than his bare fists? At least Lizzy had her tattoos. I had nothing.

  The longer I waited around, the more my rage meter increased. So I turned my back to them and started walking. Lizzy and I strolled down the block in silence, her high heels clicking fiercely against the rising sidewalk.

  We stopped at the bottom of three lengthy levels of granite steps leading up to the massive auditorium positioned directly in the middle of downtown Lorith. Its towering white marble col
umns and ornate golden facade were both intimidating and imposing. Well positioned spotlights illuminated the skillfully crafted wrought iron vines embellishing the rich double arched mahogany doors. The regal structure loomed over us from atop the hill as if reminding us low class pedestrians we weren’t worthy of embracing its prestigious beauty.

  I finally broke the silence between us, realizing Eli was likely listening in. “You know, this is going to be a long night if you continue to ignore me. Can we just put aside whatever...this...is going on here and try to stay alive long enough to talk about it tomorrow?” I waved my hand in the air from side to side in the vast space between us. I didn’t know why, but her rejection was starting to bother me.

  “Fine.” It was only a single word, but we were at least making progress.

  “Ah, she speaks!” I joked, trying to lighten the mood a little. She twisted her head and started ascending the torturous number of stairs to the entrance.

  My eyes observed an older couple approach next to us, smiling with their overly joyous expressions and linking arms as they climbed the stairs. Lizzy followed my gaze as the couple giggled with excitement.

  I pushed out my bent elbow next to her arm. “Gotta play the part, right?”

  She thought about it for a moment and gave in, our arms uncomfortably connecting like a ball and chain. We continued trudging up the stairs to the top. At some point, Lizzy started dragging me along like the heavy iron ball I was attached to her. As if I wasn’t sweating before, I definitely was now. Why were there so many damn steps?

  When we finally reached the outside of the entrance, I pressed my hand against one of the towering marble columns, wheezing as I hunched over to catch my breath. Lizzy stared at me impatiently, tapping her stiletto and urging me to hurry up to check in so we could get this over with.