How to Hunt a Menacing Magical Shadow

by Christine Schulz

  “Yes. It’s the highest ranking squad, reserved for only the best of the best. The very next day after his death, I made up my mind that I wanted to fulfill his goal for him and one day join the Black Sheep. I learned to fight for myself and I got these tattoos hoping they’d overlook the power they all feared. The day I turned sixteen, I joined the training corps. And fought my way to the top.”

  “Lizzy, that’s amazing! I’m sure your brother would be proud of you.” I reached out to give her hand a comforting squeeze. It just seemed like the appropriate thing to do. She looked down and paused for a moment, then pulled it away.

  “See? This is what I’m talking about. My brother was the only other person who never hesitated to even touch me. You just remind me of him so much, and I...I really miss him.” She grabbed another napkin and dabbed at the river streaming down her face. Lizzy always played tough, but I’ve seen the despair hiding behind her impenetrable wall of emotions. This was the first time I had seen her let it all out.

  “I know how it feels to have lost everything. I lost my family when I was eight. And, well, I also know how it feels to be treated like shit. I buried it deep inside hoping that by ignoring it, it would eventually go away. But you...you didn’t let them rule your life. That’s admirable.”

  “You know, when we get back home, I want to try something…” Lizzy sniffled, wiping her nose again.

  I finally unlocked my gaze from Lizzy and my eyes wandered around the coffee shop. A pair of young women sat at a nearby table, snickering and sticking up their noses in disgusted looks. I glanced the other way and another couple averted their eyes. Lizzy’s crying was drawing attention. Attention I didn’t want. They must have thought...oh, boy. I knew what this looked like. They must have thought I was breaking up with her. Nothing good was going to come from that assumption.

  “Hey, um, we’ve drawn quite a curious crowd. I think we should finish up and get the hell out of here before—”

  My eyes shot to the entrance of the cafe where a tall, muscular man walked in like he owned the place. His raspy cough could be heard even over the loud rattling and clanking of the espresso machines pumping out coffee. He brushed the snow from his nearly shaven head and strutted over to the counter. Looks like trouble just strolled into the coffee shop.

  Chapter 25

  L ieutenant Daley was wearing his police uniform, which meant he was currently on duty. He rolled back on his heels as he ordered his afternoon pick me up. Just my luck.

  I shoved her hand away and shrugged on my coat. “Lizzy, we—”

  She took hold of my sleeve as I rose from the chair, pulling me back down into the seat.

  “Wait a minute!” she shouted as she raised her voice. Several others were now showing interest in our conversation, including Lieutenant Daley. “There’s something I’ve been working on and I want to—”

  “Shhhhh!” I held up a single finger and spoke in a whisper. “Lizzy, we gotta get out of here. You see that officer over there? Yeah, let’s just say we’re not best friends. We need to go. Now.”

  “But—”

  “I promise I’ll do whatever you want. Just, casually put your jacket on like nothing’s wrong and let’s GO!” I could see Lieutenant Daley eagerly assessing the commotion and making his way over.

  “Everything OK here?” he asked, hand casually hanging on his belt bringing attention to his gun.

  I lowered my voice, hoping he wouldn’t recognize it. “Yeah, we’re cool. We just realized we’re late for something and have to go.”

  I clasped Lizzy’s hand and dropped my eyes to the ground, tugging down on my black hat to cover my face. It wasn’t fooling anyone though. It was pretty obvious I was hiding something. Lieutenant Daley chased after us to the door.

  “Hey, wait a minute—” The officer’s meaty hand took hold of my shoulder and jerked me around until we were face to face.

  “You…” His disbelieving eyes were frozen wide in an unblinking stare. Immediately, he motioned to the radio on his shoulder to call for backup.

  “Impetus!” The giant was like a rock statue at the bottom of the ocean, and I knew I wouldn’t be able to budge him with my own strength. I bulldozed my power into his chest before he had a chance to speak, then shoved Lizzy out the door.

  “Run!” She took off like a prancing deer, paying no mind to the slippery sidewalk. I tailed right behind her. Jumping to his feet, Lieutenant Daley was hot on our heels.

  “Left!” I screamed to Lizzy as we neared the corner of the street. She shot right.

  “What are you doing?” My puffy jacket swished as my arms pumped back and forth, my clunky snow boots crunching against the light snow on the recently shoveled sidewalks.

  “We can’t go home. He might follow us.” I banked across the intersection right in front of a moving car that barely stopped in time before slamming into me. I could hear wailing sirens racing to the scene growing louder in the distance.

  We zig zagged around the city for what seemed like an eternity, but was more likely only a few minutes. Each stomp of my foot to the ground sent a shockwave of pain up my legs. My arms felt like jelly donuts. The cold air burned my lungs as I fought to breathe. I was in no condition for this, and it was very apparent. The distance between me and Lizzy grew larger, while Lieutenant Daley started closing the gap.

  Lizzy abruptly turned down a wide alleyway. I slipped on an ice patch trying to keep up, catching my balance on the concrete wall. We zipped down the dark alley, shadowed by two large buildings on either side. She came to a halt at the eight foot barbed wire fence that met us at the end.

  “We’re screwed!” I threw up my hands in frustration, searching around for a fire escape or something we could climb instead.

  “That’s what he’ll think. Capto!” Lizzy started running up the concrete wall. Some kind of spelled gravity boots? No wonder she always wore them.

  “What the hell? How do I compete with that?” I glanced behind me to see the officer lifting his gun, lethal metal bullets whizzing by my head, knocking a garbage can over and sending bags of trash sprawling across the ground.

  “You have magic. Use it.” Lizzy called down to me from the top of the fence. “Let’s go!”

  Just like in Raven’s illusion, I imagined the glowing orange magic surrounding my feet. Having never done this in reality, I really hoped this was going to work. I crouched down, ready to push off when I heard the officer scream something from close by.

  “Fodio!” Before I could take flight, a blast of energy struck me down to the cold asphalt. I flopped like a fish as the energy spell rendered me paralyzed. I knew it would only last a few minutes, but those were precious minutes I didn’t have.

  “Adrian!” Lizzy jumped down from the fence.

  “I don’t think so, sweetie.” The officer threw a glowing green magic bomb at Lizzy, trying to stick her feet in place. A swirl of black smoke left her body and shaped into a dark shield edged in glowing white.

  “What the…” Dumbfounded, the officer switched back to his gun. Lizzy lunged forward and rammed into him with full force. To my surprise, her petite frame easily knocked the monster clear off his feet. He fell, slightly skidding across the light coating of slippery snow. She then kicked him in the nuts for good measure.

  “Get up, Adrian!” My muscles wouldn’t listen. I squeezed my eyes tight, clenching my teeth trying to will my Nullifier ability to kick into overdrive.

  With no time to figure out how my magic worked, she hoisted me off the ground and draped me around her shoulders like a human cape. “Hold on. And since we’re keeping score, this is the third time I’m saving your ass.”

  Without hesitation, she braced one foot against the side of the building. Then the other followed. She couldn’t work very quickly now that she was carrying more than twice her body weight.

  Lieutenant Daley stumbled to his feet and stammered in our direction.

  “Hu—Hurr...ry,” I forced out of my mouth.

 
“I’m trying! Maybe if you laid off the cupcakes...” We were steps away from the top of the fence when a hand locked around my leg.

  “Got you, you son of a bitch.” He yanked down on my ankle, Lizzy’s boots slipping down the wall from the force pulling us in the opposite direction. She held firmly onto my arms, refusing to let go as my body stretched like a piece of bubble gum.

  “Do that thing you did to Blair,” she grunted, trying to heave me over the fence. If I could, I would have already. The problem was, I had no idea what I had even done.

  My feet started to tingle. The spell was wearing off, but perhaps not quick enough. Lizzy’s boots scraped against the wet concrete wall, and inch by inch Lieutenant Daley dragged us down.

  Help me. I suddenly found myself begging the voice in my head. He was always trying to offer his help, and I was always reluctant to accept it. But right now, I didn’t see any other choice. We’d both be in trouble, and I didn’t want to take Lizzy down with me.

  You will owe me. All of a sudden a blast of energy shot out of my feet. The officer shot clear across the alley crashing into the side of a dumpster. The explosive magic energy flung us barely over the metal fence. My jeans dragged against the barbed wire as I sunk into the undisturbed snow drift on the other side, grasping Lizzy as she smacked down on top of me. The sudden rush of pain came back all at once, reminding me my aching muscles would make me pay for this later.

  The unshoveled snow on the other side somewhat broke our fall, but made our disappearing act a little more difficult. We trekked through the heavy snow until it opened into another main road.

  We still needed to be cautious on our way back home. The police would be teeming the streets searching for us. I stuck close to Lizzy as we eventually made our way back to Daven Park and through the bustling neighborhood. Some people might say they'd need a drink after this, but I sure as hell wanted a cupcake. Maybe a drink too.

  We took a very roundabout way back home, averting search teams and patrol cars roving the streets. But eventually, I breathed a sigh of relief as we stomped up the steps to our second floor apartment.

  “That was exhilarating!” I was glad Lizzy was enjoying this, because I wasn’t.

  “Are you insane? That was too close. And now they know I’m still in the city. Using illegal magic. And working with someone. They won’t stop until they find me.”

  Blair’s menacing stare beamed down at us from the top of the stairs. What now? My body couldn’t take another beating today.

  “You are all over the evening news. What the hell did you do?” We hovered in the hallway. Eli’s door clicked open at the sound of Blair’s furious voice scrutinizing us.

  “Hey, I told you I didn’t want to go out. But you totally made me.”

  “What?!” Lizzy jabbed her elbow into my side.

  “What. Happened.” Blair demanded with a dark edge in her words.

  “Um, ran into an old...friend...at the coffee shop. Then we lead him on a wild goose chase around the city. He may know I have a magic object now...and obviously that I’m still in the city...but I don’t think he cares too much about Lizzy. That man had it out for me from the start.”

  I waited to be electrocuted, but instead she tapped her hand to her chin, her emerald green eyes deep in thought pondering something.

  “They’ll be looking for us. They may even start knocking on doors, searching buildings. I...I shouldn’t have come back here. I need to go.” I started pacing in the hallway, raking my hand through my sweaty hair.

  “Go where?” Blair retorted. Was she OK? Normally I’d be half dead by now. Well, fully dead. The little stamina I had left I was using just to keep myself from falling over.

  “I don’t know...anywhere but here. What if they come searching?”

  Eli stood behind Blair’s shoulder, Porky at his feet. “The safe house,” suggested Porky. “Eli can take him to the safe house and we can call in someone to place an illusion spell on their bedroom doors so it looks like just part of the wall. They won’t even know a bedroom is there.”

  “Safe house?” I cocked my head in confusion.

  “I will go.” Lizzy stomped a foot in front of Blair. I know we just cleared the air of some bad blood between us, but I wasn’t sure how I felt spending who knows how long with her...alone...at an undisclosed location.

  “Oh, no you don’t.” I waved my hands at her. “I can go with Eli.”

  “You promised you’d do anything I wanted!” She poked her finger into my chest, her eyes pleading with me to give in.

  “You whaaaaaaat?” Eli growled in a low, teasing voice.

  “Oh, shut up,” I snapped back.

  Lizzy voiced her concerns. “We don’t know if they’re after me too. Or if they’ll recognize me if they do actually find the apartment.”

  Blair calculated the possible outcomes in her head. A few agonizing minutes later, she finally spoke.

  “Very well. I’ll get the medical kit. Both of you, go pack a bag.”

  I had no idea what was going on, only that I was getting out of here. I scrambled to shove a random assortment of clothes into a backpack and met Lizzy in her room.

  “Ready?” Lizzy slung her bag over her shoulder.

  “I guess? I have no idea what’s going on.”

  Blair put her hand on Lizzy’s shoulder, and guided her to the mirror. “I will contact you when all this blows over. Be safe. If anything happens while you’re there, retreat. Immediately.”

  “Isn’t a safe house supposed to be, um, safe?” I questioned with more than a little caution. Blair’s uncertainty made me panic a little. I was beginning to shake a little, now realizing how serious the problem really was. This wasn’t Raven’s illusion. This was reality. My reality. And I dragged them into this fiery hell pit with me.

  “We don’t know the extent of the situation. It could very well just be the police looking for you, but since you’re on the Black Mark’s radar as well we don’t know what they might try planning. Now go. I will be in touch hopefully soon.”

  Lizzy pulled a circular mirror off the wall and placed it onto the carpet. She gently brushed her finger over it, mumbling a nearly silent word to activate the magic. When the mirror began rippling, she threw in her bag first, then a foot followed. I met Blair’s eyes one last time, and she nodded as if giving me approval to leave. And so I did.

  Chapter 26

  I was fully expecting some kind of dungeon basement, water dripping from the ceilings and mold climbing up the walls. Maybe a single small cot in an otherwise empty room, leaving me to sleep on the cold stone floor crawling with spiders while Lizzy took the bed. But on the other side of the large bay window, a beautiful golden sunset over a magnificent ocean stared back at me. For a moment, I thought it might be another illusion. But when I slid open one of the windows and breathed in the warm, refreshing air, I knew it was all real.

  “Where are we? And can we move here permanently?” I watched as a seagull squawked, circling the white sand shimmering in the sunset lining the deserted coastal beach. Give me a strawberry daiquiri with a little umbrella in it, a lounge chair in the sun, and I’d never move again.

  “I have no idea, actually. The military relocation team puts all this together. It’s supposed to be a safe place because no one, not even the team members, actually knows where it is. And only certain people can activate the spelled mirror to get here.”

  I wondered if we were in some like...alternate world. Some place that was literally off the grid and protected by magic. I shrugged at the thought. It really wasn’t important. I was just happy to enjoy myself while I could, despite the constant reminder of why we were here in the first place.

  I inspected the house, marveling at the luxuries it contained. It reminded me of a rich person’s summer home, one they paid a million dollars for but only visited once a year because they had a dozen other, ten million dollar mansions in more exotic places.

  As soon as we entered through the entryway mirror
, we were greeted with a spacious living room lined with windows filling the space. The evening sunlight cast through onto the glass coffee table dispersing a magnitude of colorful spears into the air. A moderate sized TV was mounted on the wall above a floating shelf lined with DVD’s. Opposite it, a beige sectional curled around the wall and into the middle of the room. Beachy photos and decorations of sea life gave the dwelling that “summer home” feel.

  The large archway off the living room led into a gourmet kitchen with a breakfast bar lined with five stools, marble countertops, and glossy white cabinets stretching along the entire wall. Off to the side, a dining room table sat in a sunroom surrounded by floor length windows that nearly reached the ten foot ceiling.

  You’d think a safe house wouldn’t have so many windows...but who was I to judge?

  Upstairs were two bedrooms, an office, and a bathroom three times the size of my bedroom back at the apartment. I could only hope they’d never stop hunting for me and I could live here forever.

  I threw my backpack on the full sized bed in the smaller bedroom, which was still ten times the size of my old room, leaving the master suite to my over-scrupulous female companion.

  When I came back downstairs, Lizzy was patting her hands down across the front door frame. A small oak side table sat beside it, and she opened every drawer and checked every shelf searching for something. She then made her way around the house and did the same to all the windows.

  “What are you doing?” I asked, picking up the remote from the coffee table, the couch making a whooshing sound as I plopped down on it.

  “Searching for signs of intrusion. Microphones, cameras, things out of place...anything to indicate someone might have been here and knows where we are.”

  “Oh...can I help?” Lizzy shot me a puzzled look, probably just as confused as I was. I didn’t think I’d ever willingly offered to actually help with anything, but it kind of just blurted out of my mouth.