How to Hunt a Menacing Magical Shadow

by Christine Schulz

  This was ridiculous. Magic didn’t even work on me anyway, so why was I here in the first place? Then a lightbulb went off in my head.

  I placed my glowing hand on the side of the windy wall circulating around me. Taking a tip from Nolan, which I couldn’t believe I was doing, I envisioned myself breaking apart the wind, my Nullifier ability tearing it down. A headache crept up on me, blood trickling from my nose, my skull pounded as I pushed until eventually the prison completely disappeared.

  I couldn’t believe that worked. I, sort of, used magic! I was free! I was...flying over the stone walls courtesy of a magical force that erupted from my body.

  Well, shit. I forgot about this part. The chilly coastal air seeped through my clothes and sent a shivering rush over my skin. The massive force of magic energy crushed my body as it propelled me forward toward the village. I had to think of something quick or I’d be cannonballed through an entire row of buildings.

  As panic consumed me, the only thing I could think to do was accept my fate as a human cannonball. I imagined the glowing orange magic surrounding my entire body, protecting it from the impact. I struggled to tuck in my legs and buried my chin into my knees, holding them tight and hoping for the best.

  Pain sparked from the center of the impact, spreading across my skull and down the entire length of my spine straight to my feet. Every bone in my body felt like it was being pulverized into dust. The side of the building was demolished. Wood, stone, and other debris flew chaotically in all directions.

  It didn’t stop there. My body collided into the next wall when another surge of pain radiated through my body. I wasn’t sure how much more I, or my magic, could take of this.

  Finally, after destroying four buildings, my momentum began to slow down. I wished I had a magic sticky bomb to lock myself in place, but I had nothing to use except the power in my magic watch and my wits...both of which were pretty limited.

  Glass shattered outwards as I crashed through a window. My arms and legs flung wildly around me as I plummeted to the street below. Without even thinking, I redirected my magic to my feet and absorbed the impact of the fall to the cobblestone street two stories below.

  The pain was excruciating, but somehow I survived. Not an inch of my body had been spared the agony. Cuts, burns, and punctures tore apart my clothes and skin. A bright spark of pain erupted behind my eyes, and dizziness rode me like one long, bloody wave.

  I told myself it would pass. It wasn’t real, and I had to push on. Then, with a crack as loud as thunder, a lightning bolt appeared high in the sky at the top of the mountain. A building nearby crumbled and vanished into a dusty cloud of smoke. The destruction caused a chain reaction, buildings next to it collapsing as the land started to cave in around it. Before I knew it, I heard the roaring sound of rock and construction approaching nearby.

  Well, I found Blair. Now I had to figure out how I was going to reach her through a landslide of building debris gaining speed and heading right for me.

  With my magic still directed to my feet, I crouched and lifted off into the air. My target was the roof, but I missed my mark and instead smacked my battered body against the hard stone exterior. Just because I could use magic, didn’t mean I understood physics.

  I caught the lip of a window sill, curled my legs, and painfully hoisted myself inside. From there, my wobbly legs jumped out the next window and climbed up to the roof of the adjacent building.

  Blair was about three streets above me near the top of the mountain. I gave myself a running start, and launched to the roof of the next building. I successfully leaped across three buildings when a rock the size of my fist struck me in the head. Dots danced before my eyes, and the throbbing pain I was already experiencing intensified.

  I was determined to push forward, though. After experiencing death endless times in my dreams, this was nothing. I was going to conquer this nightmare and save everyone in the process. At least that’s what I kept telling myself.

  I climbed the mountain one roof at a time, dodging, smashing, and leaping over anything that threatened my advancement.

  Eventually, I reached Blair who had fashioned a terrifying sphere of lightning the size of an elephant.

  “Blair!” I called out from the roof over the roaring sound of another building being annihilated by a spiky porcupine lightning ball.

  “How did you...never mind. Since you’re here, you can help. But if you get hurt it’s on you. I can’t protect both of us.”

  I dropped from the building and tumbled along the cobblestone street below. I then staggered over to Blair, grinned smugly at Raven, and punched my hand into the rocky ground. The earth trembled as a giant fissure separated the land before us. Jagged stone went flying into the air, raining down on both me and Blair. Raven lost her footing, and wrapped herself around a tree that then uprooted from the ground.

  “Adrian, you idiot!” I had only realized my mistake after it was too late. The earthquake I caused destroyed the delicate balance that kept this mountain in place. A few buildings was one thing, but I looked up above us to see giant boulders the size of cars and small buildings rapidly descending down the mountain, taking out everything along with it.

  Raven unwrapped herself from the tree and took a moment to pause from the warfare to respond. The collision did a number on her face, blood trickling down from what appeared to be a broken nose. She casually snapped it back in place without so much as a wince and proceeded. “You see how rude they are? Come, now, we don’t have much time. I will protect you, my dear!” I rolled my eyes at her sappy comment but her words gave me an idea.

  Smaller boulders started tumbling into the uneven street we stood in. Windows shattered, the sides of buildings breaking apart as the debris collided into their walls. She was right, there wasn’t much time. I had to do this quickly.

  I planted myself in front of Blair and spread out my arms wide. “If you want to get to her, you’ll have to go through me.” Blair, being an abnormally tall woman, was peering awkwardly over my scalp. It must have looked hilarious for such a small shrimp to be protecting a giant but it didn’t matter. As long as it worked.

  Blair placed her hand on my shoulder, and I was fully prepared to have her heave me down the mountain herself. Instead, she whispered in my ear, “This doesn’t solve anything if we can’t leave.”

  “I have a plan. Can you get everyone to the rope bridge? It connects the village to the vineyard on the other side of the mountain.” I nodded in the general direction.

  “Sure, but…” A bladed feather dug into the ground at my feet.

  “Don’t be a fool, Adrian. There is no need to protect these people.” More boulders began dropping from the sky, along with trees and anything else taken out in its path. Raven launched another blade at my right shoulder, and I snatched it out of the air with my bare hand. Raven was astonished, and I was sure Blair was as well standing behind me, the blade inches from her forehead. Hell, even I was shocked. How did I manage that?

  Blair turned and took off, sending a radiant arrow in the air toward the rope bridge, signaling the others to meet her there.

  “You see, I don’t think this is your illusion. It’s mine. And I’m taking control of it.” I smashed a tree into splinters with my fist, then pushed a blast of magic energy and hunk of wood at Raven, pinning her against the side of a building.

  “I want you to stay here for a little bit while I go save the day.”

  I was certain she could have simply transformed into her bird form and flew away, but she didn’t. Maybe I really had taken control over this illusion, or perhaps she just didn’t want to fight me.

  I made my way to the rope bridge, dodging the full brunt of the rocky avalanche, but when I approached only Blair and Eli were waiting.

  “Where’s Lizzy?” I questioned, scanning the area to find her.

  “She’s not here. Either she’s injured or she’s having trouble trying to fight her way to get here. We have to go back for her.” El
i’s distant gaze shot past me and flitted about, hoping she might suddenly pop up out of the dust clouds.

  “I will find her. You have to go to the vineyard. The escape hatch is in the shed.” I was lying through my teeth, but if I told them the truth they would never agree to what I was about to do.

  “Adrian, no offense, but—”

  “Do you trust me?” They both paused and glanced at each other with uncertainty. “NO!” they responded in unison with resounding resentment.

  “Well, too bad.” A short burst of magic shoved them both onto the bridge. They hung onto the rope railing as it swayed uncontrollably.

  “Adrian, what are you doing?” I flattened my palm and made a knife with the edge of my hand. The ropes split, and the bridge descended into the rocky canyon below.

  “I lied! You’ll reach the escape hatch when you crash into the water!”

  A chilling scream—not of fear but of anger—echoed from Blair as she plummeted down to the rocky cove below. I would certainly pay for that later.

  I turned to face the village and tried to remember where the three initial crash sites were. She could be anywhere in this mess.

  “Hold on, Lizzy. I’m coming to find you,” I spoke the words out loud, a reminder to myself that she would be just fine. This was my illusion now and she couldn’t die here because I wouldn’t allow it.

  Meanwhile, I had a thirst for vengeance, and boy was I parched. I marched my way back into the village, magic guns ablaze. I was ready for some bird hunting.

  Chapter 22

  “G et your ass out here, Raven!” I waited in the street as she flew to my position, descending to the ground in front of me. Between our destructive fighting and the rockslide, the village was completely destroyed. For the most part, though, it seemed everything had finally settled.

  “So, you do like my ass?” She giggled, cupping a hand around a cheek.

  “I’m done playing games. If you want to fight, then let’s fight.” I rolled up the sleeves of my dusty, torn up hoodie and balled my fists full of magic energy now glowing like a blazing sun.

  “Oh, my sweet Adrian. Are you sure they are worth fighting for? There is much you don’t know...”

  “Like what?” I asked, not bothering to disguise my impatience.

  She bit her chalky lacquered nail, sharpening it like a deadly pointed talon. Her beady black eyes were distant, contemplating what to do next.

  I made the decision for her.

  A super powered bitch slap hammered her face. She touched a finger to her lip, examining the shiny red liquid leaking from a fresh cut.

  “Ouch! Why did you do that?”

  “Are you the shadow hunting me in my dreams?”

  “I would never hurt you! But I do know who would...”

  “Who?” A defiant smirk appeared on her inky lips. Her glistening hair crossed over her body along with her arm anticipating my next attack.

  I clasped both hands together, index fingers pointing directly at her well-padded chest. A sphere of energy ignited from my fingertips, the orange flash exploding like a bomb.

  The ground quaked. More unstable buildings crumbled, the roofs caving in. Sparks went flying as ashy smoke started billowing toward the sky. Raven emerged from the rubble unharmed, unraveling the cocoon of air around her.

  “You have this all wrong, darling. We’re not the bad guys. Your friends are.” She snickered at the word, waving her palms out in front of her hoping I wouldn’t come any closer. It was an interesting choice of words, since I never officially called them my friends and I wasn’t sure I thought of them as such.

  I wrapped a tendril of my magic around a wooden cart and whipped it out of my path, landing near a burning tree taken out by the rockslide. Within an instant, the flames engulfed the cart and turned it to ash.

  “Next time, that’ll be you. I will make you suffer just like the rest of them.” I inched my way closer to Raven, still lying in the rubble.

  “Stop! Look around you, Adrian!” I shot a speeding bullet through her windy shield, now weakened from overexertion. She clutched her fingers around the hole in her abdomen as she crawled along the debris and braced her hands against a broken bench beside her.

  I turned away for just a moment to see blazing hot flames hungrily devouring the village...and its people. It was spreading like a cancer, destroying houses and burning everything to ash.

  For the first time, I really noticed the villagers. A cacophony of panicked noises stirred around me. Small children were crying in the middle of the streets. Courageous men fled to help the injured as they attempted to move the massive boulders trapping them. Some didn’t beg at all, their mangled, bloodied bodies lay motionless on the ground. It didn’t appear they knew of my presence, but they were suffering the consequences of my actions.

  Were these people real? As much as I knew this was all an illusion, I couldn’t help but wonder if they endured the same pain I did when I was attacked in my dreams. I didn’t want to see these people suffering, real or not.

  I angrily threw my magic at Raven and began squeezing her into a glowing orange box. She wailed in horror as it slowly caved in on her. I didn’t know if my magic could even do something like that, but in my illusion I made the rules.

  She choked against the pressure crushing every bone in her body and suffocating the air out of her lungs. She clawed her fingers against the impenetrable orange box. “Look at what you’re doing, Adrian! Please, stop this atrocity and come with me! Let’s end this purgatory!”

  I bent over forward, clutching my head in my hand at the sharp pain throbbing against the back of my eyes. A mental image of a lifeless man surfaced in my head. Back when I was beating the crap out of Nolan, a similar image flashed briefly of man suffering a similar fate. Why was I seeing this? Was this part of her illusion?

  I peered into her compassionate eyes, a completely different Raven from before. I sensed sympathy, like she was truly aching to fix whatever was wrong with me. But there was nothing wrong with me. If Nolan hadn’t started this whole mess, I’d still be working sixty hours a week, pushing paperwork, and eating cereal in the darkness of my cockroach infested city apartment by myself. This was all his fault.

  “I am not a killer!” I clenched my fist and angrily squeezed my magic harder.

  As much as I tried to convince myself it wasn’t true, a small seed in the pit of my stomach blossomed into my conscious wondering if maybe some part of it was. I was currently crushing Raven’s body into a compact cube. I let a thief escape who ended up killing a woman. Nolan murdered Sarah Canmore, the CEO of Arcane Enterprises, to frame me. Even if not directly by my hand, they died because of me. And how many others had been seriously hurt? Blair and Eli could have died here in this illusion. My stomach sank at the thought of Lizzy. Was she even still alive? Maybe I would be better off living the rest of my life alone in a cottage somewhere in the mountains, away from any people. Somewhere like...this village. Simple. Remote. Peaceful. Until I had arrived anyway.

  “My dear, you need to face the truth. Please, come with me.” She tried to reach out a hand. Instead, I heard a snap as it bent backwards under the increasing pressure of my magic.

  “No. You’re working with Nolan. He framed me for murder. He’s trying to kill me. And now he’s sending his cohorts out to finish the job.”

  “Not true. Remember...I came here to bring you back alive. To save you from yourself.” Tears streamed down the side of her face, soaking into her long black hair that draped over her shoulders.

  “You’re full of bullshit. And I don’t need saving. I never asked for your help. I’ll be leaving now. Tell Nolan I will clear my name and make him wish he killed me when he had the chance. And if he ever touches anyone in my name again I will personally hang him by his fingernails and drown him in his own blood while strangling him myself with those damn gloves of his.”

  “Very well.” She whimpered in despair. Not because I just threatened to torture Nolan, but becaus
e I was leaving her again and she wouldn’t get to take me home like a cuddly new puppy.

  I left her trapped inside my magic, and threw some boulders on top for good measure. I was sure once I left this place the magic would disappear. I wasn’t going to kill her, although a part of me was willing to if it would end this. I seriously contemplated it, but I told myself I had to hold on to whatever rationality I had left in those three brain cells that hadn’t yet been destroyed.

  Find me!

  You again, huh? Well, sorry to burst your bubble but there’s a black-hearted madwoman out there probably dying right now who needs my help. Maybe another time.

  Something urged me to head toward the base of the mountain, so that’s where I started.

  “Lizzy?” I called out as I surveyed the mountains of rubble lying in the streets. I knew she was around here somewhere. I just knew. I had a strange feeling.

  “A…dri…” The faint moan came from a pile of debris that accumulated at the base of the mountain where the village met the docks. If this is where Raven had launched her, then she would have had no chance at escaping the blast. Half the mountain and the village had tumbled down the slope and ended up here.

  With magic surrounding my hands, I began digging away giant boulders, furniture, trees, and whatever else had landed in this heaping mess. Eventually, I saw a glimmer of creamy white hair emerge, followed by a bloodied, nearly unrecognizable face.

  I pulled her out of the rubble, surprised that she could even still stand. She threw her arm around my neck and collapsed into me.

  “Idiot,” she whispered in my ear.

  “Yeah, I know. My therapist is making millions off me.” I chuckled softly, glad she was still enough of herself to scold me.

  She insisted on walking herself, but after a few minutes she begrudgingly gave in and allowed me to carry her on my back until we reached the cliff where the rope bridge once hung. My legs were screaming in pain, but that was nothing compared to what Lizzy must be feeling right now.