How to Hunt a Menacing Magical Shadow

by Christine Schulz

  “Won’t you order a lady a drink?” The woman finally spoke, a frisky smile on her face. She waved for Colton to come over and ordered a Manhattan, apparently on me. She idly stirred the olive sword around in circles until eventually she took a sip of her drink. Could you spell a cocktail sword to become a real one? Now that would be cool.

  “You’ve been pouting in this corner all night. You seem...defeated.” That was an understatement. I fixated on her body, my lascivious eyes admiring every inch of her pale freckled skin as they assessed hungrily from head to toe. Actually, I was just looking for the Black Mark symbol. But I thought maybe she’d be so offended she’d throw her drink in my face and leave.

  She blushed again, but instead of storming away or slapping me, she leaned over, her bulging breasts gently grazing my forearm. Great, now she was teasing me. “Perhaps you’d like a companion? I’m a good listener.”

  “No.” She was clearly fishing for something other than a conversation. Nothing I wanted to get involved with, especially in a bar like this. I went to chug down the rest of my gin and tonic and leave, when a sneeze caused me to rock my hand forward and spill the drink all over my hand.

  “Careful there. Let me get that for you.” She grabbed a few cocktail napkins from behind the bar and soaked up the liquid from the bar top. She then gently caressed my hand as she brought it to her mouth and proceeded to lick the spilled droplets from my fingers. This lady was the true definition of a psychopath. I yanked my hand back and wiped off her disgusting saliva on my shirt. I sneezed again. And again.

  “Perhaps you should go grab a tissue from the bathroom?”

  She stroked her hand across my face, lifting away the thick hair that hung down my forehead hiding the scar above my left eye. She tilted her head and widened her baby blue eyes, admiring the battle scar.

  I couldn’t take this anymore. I hopped off the bar stool and motioned for the front door, but the uncontrollable sneezing left me gasping for air and dizzy, pain radiating down my spine and paralyzing me with each forceful heave of my chest. I switched directions and blindly made my way to the bathroom, jerking my head up and down with each sneeze and clutching at the strain in my stomach.

  I flipped on the faucet, splashing cold water on my face as I let out another pulverizing sneeze right into my hands. I gripped the side of the cheap laminate vanity as I gasped and struggled to take in a full breath. I realized at this point I was nauseous; the room was beginning to spin around me. Did I really have that much to drink?

  The sneezing didn’t stop, but it subsided enough that I felt I’d be able to slither through the crowd and make my escape. I busted open the bathroom door, and like a true drunk tripped over my own feet and slammed head first into the wall. When I opened my eyes, a pair of perfectly round breasts poking out of a silky red cocktail dress were bouncing in my vision. She was leaning over my fallen body sprawled out onto the sticky floor, holding out a perfectly manicured hand to help me up.

  “I never properly introduced myself. I’m Daisy. I suggest that you follow me, Mr. Cotter.” I slapped away her hand, determined to get up under my own strength. Menacing eyes around me took note of the commotion, ready to throw me out for my mistreatment of Daisy. How many eyes were there? I couldn’t tell. The room started spinning faster and I was seeing double, maybe triple. I wasn’t sure if the front door was still a viable option. Not to mention I doubted I’d survive the walk home like this. Leaning against the wall for support, I stumbled to follow Daisy instead.

  She led me into a private room that I could only describe as a fun house laser show. I saw the blurry outlines of a few cocktail tables, big comfy chairs, and a table I presumed was used for conducting illegal business. I’m sure it looked a lot different than how I was seeing it, but whatever I was drugged with, because I refused to believe I was drunk, had me staring in amazement at the rainbow of colorful floating swirls in the otherwise dimly lit room. Transparent blue, yellow, orange, green, red, purple...all the colors of the rainbow snaked like rivers through the air, intersecting and intertwining together to create a mesmerizing tapestry of new colors and glowing light moving around me.

  Oh, shit. I knew exactly what this was.

  I reached out to touch the twisting canary colored silky threads, a zap equivalent to a static shock struck my finger. I immediately recoiled my hand shaking out the discomfort. Seriously, what the hell kind of drug was this?

  I will be taking over now. The voice in my head always seemed to show up at the worst times, always when someone was trying to kidnap or murder me. Well, I didn’t want his pity help.

  “Shut up,” I snapped out loud.

  “No one is speaking, Mr. Cotter.” Daisy dropped something that rolled next to my feet, then spun me around and threaded her arms undermine, holding me in a tight lock. “Demitto.”

  Green liquid erupted from the floor, my feet cemented in place with help from the sticky magic substance. “Ohh, is that how this is gonna play out? I didn’t peg you for the kinky type.” I shimmied my arms, rubbing my entire backside against her body in all the right places trying to make her feel uncomfortable, but she didn’t budge.

  “You really think you can restrain me with magic? I’m Adrian Cotter! The Obsession Killer! I’d like to see you try.” I sneezed. Unable to cover my mouth, a snot storm sprayed across the room. I sniffled, trying to rub the goo off my nose on the side of my shoulder. All I had to do was stop sneezing and clear my head for a split second while I concentrated on absorbing the magic energy from the sticky spell. Although if I had to fight back, there was the slight problem of actually hitting the target. Between the jerking motion from sneezing and the drunken magic euphoria I was currently experiencing, I wouldn’t be able to hit an elephant if it were standing two feet in front of me.

  “I think she is most certainly able to restrain you, my friend.” That obnoxious, repulsive voice was more irritating than a metal chair scraping across a tile floor.

  “Nolan,” I growled as a man emerged from the corner shadows. A khaki trench coat fell from his narrow shoulders, nicely creased dark black pants fell to the floor. He laced his skeletal fingers together in front of him, still wearing those damn white cloth gloves. His speckled hair was gelled and stubble spread out across his chin, giving him that defiant, rebellious look. I’d never actually seen him outside of his work attire. His appearance was startling, taking on a completely different persona than the once friendly, professional work Nolan I once knew.

  “You see, you’re experiencing a heightened allergy attack right now. The magic she released from that flower in her hair has infiltrated your body like a deadly pollen, causing you to uncontrollably sneeze and thrash around. It will limit your ability to form any coherent action. I must say, though, the disorientation is all your own fault. You seem to have had a tad bit too much to drink, my friend.”

  “What do you want?” I jerked my shoulder in a sudden attempt to break free, but got nowhere. Damn this lady was good. Or more likely, I was just that bad.

  “I want you to come with me, of course. Why do you think I keep sending all these gorgeous women after you?”

  “Mr. Muscles was a woman? I find that hard to believe. Either way, he was too much of a...mammoth. You have poor taste. Not my type.” His eyebrows perked up at the mention of the Mammoth. So he was definitely aware of the prisoners who escaped from Iradel. I knew he was leading the Black Mark, but he must have sought these criminals out in the first place. It was no coincidence they all happened to flock to him.

  An unnerving thought entered my clouded head. He said he’s been sending women after me. Was Lizzy a part of this too? Was she acting under Nolan’s command? Was I being played...again?

  A muffled laugh sounded through his tightened mouth. He quickly changed the subject.

  “I see you’ve received your gift. Where did you find it? When I searched your mother’s office it wasn’t there.” He nodded to the watch on my wrist.

  “It was you,
wasn’t it? You...you killed her! And my family!” Rage overcame me. My throbbing veins pulsed boiling hot blood through my body, and my skin slightly heated just enough that Daisy actually loosened her grip. I pulled harder to break free, trying to lunge at Nolan and end this right now.

  “I did not, my friend. The crash was simply an accident. And your mother made the final decision herself to take her life, without consulting me. Her life was the last piece to complete the puzzle she was trying to solve. But you read her note, yes? You need to come with me so we can put an end to this.”

  “You mean so you can end me? Forget it. I’m not that much of an idiot.” The words slurred out of my mouth like I was speaking through a fistful of popcorn. Colorful tendrils around me began swirling faster in a maelstrom of magic, growing brighter the angrier I got. My skin began glowing that familiar orange as I released the wave of emotions riding inside me.

  “Well, this appears to have escalated quite quickly. If you won’t come with me willingly, then I will resort to taking you by force. This is going to end in my favor no matter what, Adrian. You might as well make this easier on yourself.”

  My muscles tensed, and I ripped my arm away from Daisy’s grip, falling awkwardly to my knees with the sticky spell starting to break apart at my feet.

  Nolan vanished into thin air, and reappeared behind me. He left behind a black cloud of—magic?—laced with a violet hue. I didn’t have time to comprehend what had happened before an elbow came down right between my shoulder blades, the sticky spell finally releasing me completely from my static position. I fought against the fog clouding my mind to suck in the remaining magic before it disappeared.

  “Cresco!” As I absorbed the last of the glue, Daisy ripped off her golden necklace and whipped it out in front of her, the chain extending into a growing vine soaring directly toward my head. I dodged and somersaulted out of the way just as the sharp thorns cracked against a wooden plank creating a gouge in the floor. I scampered over to a worn out leather booth that curled around a small table, using the padded seat for support to stand up.

  “Too slow.” I jumped at the sound resonating behind me. Nolan tightened his white gloved hands around my throat, my back arching over the edge of the booth as I pushed against his inhuman strength. Daisy took the opportunity to reel back her arm, rage fueling her determination to squeeze her magic vine around my limbs until every bone was crushed and severed from my body.

  “He must stay alive, Daisy.” She frowned at the order and dropped the vine, then clenched her fist and punched me across the face. A metallic taste trickled down my throat and I flashed a bloody smile at Daisy. I knew a thing or two about being beaten...her punch was nothing.

  A dust storm of pollen tickled my nose. I coughed, gagged, then launched a spray of blood in a violent sneeze that coated her face.

  A drunken, sadistic laugh penetrated the room. Partly because I was still out of it and having more fun than I should have been, but also because she had no idea what was coming.

  As best I could with Nolan’s hand still crushing my throat, I sneezed back out a golden spray of magic, mixed with some more blood and spit, at Daisy. She jerked her head to the side as the magic bitch slap struck her face.

  “You’ve made progress, my friend!” My hand then acted on its own, sucker punching Nolan across the jaw with a force that could only have come from his gloves. I didn’t even remember focusing on absorbing his magic. Then I remembered the voice earlier. It had said I will be taking over now. Was this me? Or someone else?

  Adrenaline, booze, and magic made a less than pleasant cocktail. Between the magic I couldn’t absorb aching through my muscles, alcohol making the room spin like a merry-go-round, and being beaten by a surprisingly skilled hussy along with my arch nemesis, I quickly reached my limit. I dropped to the floor on my hands and knees. Blackness crept in like butterflies from all sides of my vision.

  “Great. Now that you’ve conceded...” Nolan bent down ready to place some kind of collar around my neck. I had seen it before when Anna used one on the Mammoth. I never found out exactly what it was, but I had assumed they were spelled to stop prisoners from magically escaping their way out of being arrested.

  “Not...so...fast…Impetus!” Before he could lock it in place, I imagined a magical explosion of glowing orange energy blasting directly into Nolan and launching him across the room, giving me the opportunity to scramble my way to the door.

  “What are you aiming at, my friend?” Nolan was still bent down in front of me. There’s no way I could have missed him completely. Unless he could disappear...like a shadow. No...

  Nolan secured the collar around my neck, simultaneously jerking his head around to a wooden door being busted down across the room.

  “Adrian!” I could barely see two feet in front of me, but I knew that voice.

  “Hey, Lizzy! Welcome to the party. Don’t worry about me. I’m...I’m totally fine. I got this.” My head was circling around my shoulders, no strength left to support it. If it wasn’t attached to my neck, it would have fallen off and rolled to her feet.

  I succumbed to the heaviness and closed my eyes, listening to the cacophony of sounds ringing throughout the room. Heavy footsteps of rubber boots grew fainter as they stomped away from me. A female roared in determination, Lizzy’s voice. Wood screeched against the floor as something was dragged out of place, then shattering as it broke into pieces. I squeezed my eyes tight at the forceful slap of flesh hitting flesh, followed by a piercing cry of pain from Lizzy. The wall shook as something...or someone…collided into it.

  “Cresco!” A long, rhythmic ping of glass rolled against the ground. An explosion rang out and crunching, creaking magic warmed the air. Several grunts and growls wailed around me, a melodic symphony of swishing and snapping noises reaching my ears as Lizzy hacked through Daisy’s vines.

  “Leave Adrian alone,” Lizzy’s enraged voice commanded.

  “He doesn’t belong to you,” Daisy retorted.

  “He needs us,” Nolan added.

  A crack of magic startled me. Daisy yelped, although I couldn’t discern why. Wind whipped through the air, glass crashing to the floor, and then it was silent. Now that I had stopped focusing on the sounds around me, I realized my mind began slipping further into a magic induced drunk coma.

  A cold hand forcefully struck my cheek.

  “Get your ass up, Adrian. Let’s go.” I blinked my eyes open to see my guardian angel, glowing with a sparkling white light as I came to. She manifested a pin from somewhere on her body and broke apart the magic collar. Hoisting me up, she draped an arm over her shoulder and dragged me toward the back exit. I stole a glance down the hallway on our way out and saw a very angry mob of bar patrons assembling, ready to bludgeon whoever just broke their golden rule: no violence.

  “We need to get out of here. Now,” Lizzy picked up the speed, drawing us away as fast as she could from the stampede quickly approaching.

  “How did you find me?” I asked in a daze, still not quite aware of my surroundings.

  “Where else would a delinquent like you be at one in the morning?” She slammed the back door shut, stacking a couple heavy trash bags in front of it to buy us a few extra minutes. She then made her way over to a black sports bike parked next to a dumpster in the alleyway behind the bar.

  “Get on.”

  “Ohhh, a motorcycle! Where did you get that? I looove motorcycles.”

  “I stole it. Now get your ass on the back of that bike so we can get the hell out of here before the bar owner and the rest of his buddies come after us too.”

  “But it’s so cooold.” I crossed my arms around my chest and pretended to shiver. My winter jacket was still somewhere inside the bar.

  “Come on, you wet sack of shit.” She put a hand under my knee, the other bracing my hip. Barely able to stand on two feet, I hopped on one foot then lost my balance. I collided into Lizzy, my arms wrapping around her neck. Her warm breath grazed my cold lips. />
  “Hi, Lizzy,” I said in a giggling voice. She leaned back slightly at the uncomfortable closeness of our two bodies awkwardly fondling each other.

  “Ugh, stop breathing. Your breath reeks.” She wrinkled her nose and twisted her head away from my face while trying to heave my leg over the motorcycle seat.

  “Vroom, vroom! Let’s go, Lizzy!” Was it my imagination or was I getting drunker?

  She hopped on, placing a helmet over her head. “I don’t have a helmet for you. Here’s a bubble, although it won’t protect you as much as a real helmet.” The bubble encased my head, the warmness of the magic caressed my skin.

  “Woahhhh!!!” I poked the bubble, and immediately it popped. That would have come in handy a couple weeks ago when she was trying to kill me with it.

  “Ugh, forget it. Just...don’t fall off and kill yourself. Hold on.” I jerked backwards as the bike peeled out of the back alley, my body bobbing with each turn like a bouncing spring wildly being thrashed around by a kid jumping on a bed.

  It was already freezing, but the arctic breeze rushing over me from Lizzy zipping through the city streets completely numbed my body. I squeezed my arms around Lizzy’s slim waist, then rested my throbbing head against a shoulder pulling her closer to me for warmth. She had acknowledged previous warning from the last time we went out and was now wearing a thicker winter jacket.

  She jerked the bike slightly at the unexpected intimate gesture.

  “Lizzy, thanks for saving me. Again. Man, I gotta catch up. I’m falling behind.” I doubted she could hear me, but my drunken mouth kept vomiting out words anyway. “You’re...you’re a good person, Lizzy. Maybe one day we can—”

  The bike abruptly stopped, the back tire skidding across a patch of black ice. But it wasn’t the ice that caused us to spin out of control.