How to Hunt a Menacing Magical Shadow

by Christine Schulz

  “No, you don’t understand. I trusted you once, and I won’t do it again.” And with that the man grunted with all his strength and ripped through the restraints like they were mere pieces of paper.

  My fist, blazing with intense orange magic, punched Nolan in the gut as he winced and dropped to the floor. Whatever Nolan did to Rezith, he no longer trusted him either.

  Daphne swooped in from the side, but Rezith’s just turned and held out his hand. A blast of powerful wind shot toward her, sending her crashing into the metal table behind her and knocking over the glass equipment on it. Several jars and containers rolled off the table and shattered, while others spilled their contents onto the counter.

  Who the hell was this man? What intense—and dangerous—magic he had. The power of a Paramount.

  Rezith wrapped his hands around Nolan’s polo shirt, then shoved him against the stone foundation. Several glowing magic energy ropes climbed like vines that twisted and curled around him, binding his arms and legs to his sides.

  “I will make you suffer greatly for what you did. But not now. Not until I get my full strength back.” Rezith then turned to make his way up the stairs, leaving Nolan in the basement tied up like a dog in a mess of knotted Christmas tree lights and Daphne seeing stars on the floor.

  At the top of the stairs, Rezith examined the hideous clothes I was wearing and scoffed at the ridiculous attire. I guessed he preferred tight pants that rode up his ass. Regardless, he pressed on to find a way out of this prison.

  Let me out. I beat against the barrier wondering if it was enough to cause some type of disturbance.

  “Not yet. I have business to conduct first,” he spoke to himself out loud. Not yet? Then when? I needed to get out of here. I couldn’t have this man running around the city in my body wreaking havoc. I was already in enough trouble for things I wasn’t responsible for, I didn’t need to add more to the list.

  As Rezith turned the corner of the long hallway, I felt a powerful force knock me on my ass from inside the barrier. Rezith simply stumbled backwards. In front of me was the bald monster from earlier standing like the solid stone statue he was blocking the path forward.

  A moment of disbelief froze his face, and Rezith took that opportunity to send a blast of magic energy toward the man’s chest. The burly man merely stumbled at the feeble attempt, then red speckles of magic circled in the air around his hand. The crimson particles created tendrils of blazing magic twisting and weaving themselves into a deadly broadsword.

  “A sword? How outdated. You must be the one they call the Termite. Isaac, was it? A dust user whose magic can eat through anything. I read about you. Very fascinating.”

  The man reached forward. Rezith curved his stomach inwards and leaped backwards narrowly avoiding a slash to the gut. Matching the man’s brilliant crimson magic, Rezith held out his hand where swirls of the same color took shape into an exact replica of the dust user’s weapon. Sparks of colorful magic collided as they danced in a dangerous game of who would end up skewered first. So this was the power of a Paramount...someone who could use any type of magic.

  I can help you. I commented to the frail fighter, who definitely had some skills but was a bit rusty after nearly twenty years of not using them.

  Very funny. He replied without speaking. It was worth a shot. I could actually help him by absorbing the bald man’s magic attacks and then releasing them right back at him. Maybe. He looked pretty powerful. Really, I just wanted to be back in charge.

  Isaac was clumsy, slashing and thrusting chaotically with no apparent means of attack. He finally clipped the loose fabric of the t-shirt hanging from my body, the end withering away as the crimson magic ate through it.

  “I guess playtime is over.” Rezith sighed and fell back, then swung his arm as an unexpected sharp blade of thick magic leapt from the sword and sliced through the air. A hole burned through the man’s white shirt, a dark red stain soaking the fabric. He dropped to the floor clutching the wound across his stomach.

  You killed him! I exclaimed to myself.

  “The magic will only burn through the surface of his skin. Nolan can fix it.” Rezith continued moving forward toward the foyer where I had first entered with Nolan. Raven and Daisy, anticipating our arrival, stood blocking the exit.

  “Get out of my way,” Rezith demanded in a deep growl, paying little concern to the two women standing in front of him.

  “We have orders not to kill Adrian. You are not Adrian.” Raven threw out her hand, the whizzing movements of a black projectile rustled my hair and passed by my ear as Rezith twisted just in time to avoid the attack. A thin line of skin split open along my cheek and blood slowly trickled down. I could feel every bit of the stinging pain while trapped from within.

  “The next one won’t miss.” A bluish-black aura emanated from Raven’s body. With several bladed black feathers in her hand, she readied herself to launch them directly at the man controlling my body. And, since I couldn’t exactly escape the crossfire, that also included me.

  Daisy sent a whirlwind of sparkling grassy green magic pollen trying to incapacitate Rezith. With a flick of his hand, Rezith incinerated the pollen mid-air. Daisy’s face widened in horror at the monster in front of her. This man held the power of a Paramount, capable of using any type of magic. To anyone else, it would have been difficult to spot a cloud of pollen swirling in the air. But he could see the trail of magic it left behind and literally burned it right in front of her. He was unstoppable.

  Tired of playing games, Rezith raised his palms above his head. The colorful magic haze around him began flowing inward, wrapping around his hands like a magic vacuum sucking in the energy. He then drew his arms back and launched the magical storm directly at Raven and Daisy. Lightning, fire, and wind gathered into a massive supernova of energy that exploded against them. Both women were thrown off their feet, landing hard on the marble floor and sliding across the glossy surface slamming into whatever crossed their path.

  Just as Rezith was about to make his exit out the front door, the pattering of dainty little feet and a ferocious female shriek echoed from behind. Rezith turned as Daphne lunged toward him with a syringe in hand.

  Rezith dodged to the side, avoiding a stab to the neck, but she managed to inject the neon green concoction into his bicep instead. Rezith ripped the needle from his arm, throwing it, and then Daphne, across the room. Daphne sprawled out across the floor. Her frail body was not conditioned for such aggressive violence. Rezith walked over to her, then used my bare foot to roll her over onto her back. With her glasses in pieces, he took in her narrow face and sunken eyes as she breathed heavily gasping for air. I wondered what Nolan had been forcing the poor woman to do. She looked like a zombie.

  Rezith rummaged through the unconscious bodies on the floor.. When he didn’t find what he wanted, he then smashed his fist into the entryway mirror. Tiny shards of glass stuck out of my skin and blood smeared across the large piece he held in his hand.

  What the hell? That hurts!

  “I suppose this will have to do,” he sputtered to himself, ignoring my protest.

  I could sense his magic was draining. The intense burning sensation was now turning to cold ice freezing my insides. He began to stumble, rubbing his arm where the needle had pricked him. He then began heavily heaving in and out, coughing like he had just been pulled from nearly drowning in a river. The same sensation rippled throughout my own mind still locked inside.

  It’s not too late. I can still help. Now was my chance. Whatever Daphne had injected into his arm was weakening him. I pushed against his waning magic, trying to retake control of my body.

  Rezith scoffed. “You are in no condition to do anything helpful in your shameful state. If you try to absorb this much raw magic, it will overpower you and we will both die. Let me handle this.”

  We headed outside and walked along the driveway, the late afternoon sun offering little warmth. Unlike back in the city, there was no snow here, bu
t it was still chilly. My bare feet numbed under the frozen ground, my arms shivering with nothing to cover them from the icy wind.

  Rezith marched on and eventually placed the glass shard on the grass. He began gesturing his hands in a fluid movement of circles and lines, colorful strands of magic swirling in the air around him. The glass glowed softly in front of him. “Recludo.” He then tapped the mirror with his index finger, and it rippled like water from a gentle breeze on a lake.

  This must be the same transportation magic spelled onto the mirrors in Lizzy’s bedroom, something Rezith could easily cast on the fly thanks to his ability to see the magic to replicate the spell. But how the hell did he expect to fit into a piece of broken glass the size of a cocktail napkin? And more importantly, where the hell were we going?

  It won’t work. You need a mirror on the other side to get through. I pressed my hands against the magic barrier, continuously trying to will my magic to absorb it and let me free. But just as how Rezith couldn’t simply let himself out, neither could I. He had to set free.

  “Remind me how you became an expert in magic spells? If we are to survive this, I need as much of my magic energy as possible. And as you already pointed out, it’s quickly diminishing.” Dammit. I had forgotten that he could hear everything I was thinking. But why couldn’t I hear his thoughts?

  “Idiot. Your power destroys magic. I create it. Do the math. You have no magic to read my thoughts. Although as the barrier weakens, more of my thoughts will spill into yours anyway until eventually you have none of your own left. And to answer your previous question, I know what I’m doing. Consider this a one way trip. I think we can both agree neither of us wants to come back here.” I thought about that for a moment. No, I definitely didn’t want to come back here as his prisoner again, but if we could come back here full force and ambush him...maybe…

  “You will never be able to infiltrate this compound. Everything is spelled from each stone used to build the perimeter wall to the spoons in his kitchen. You wouldn’t even make it past the front lawn, not to mention his army of criminals backing him up. We were lucky more of them weren’t here. Now shut up for a minute. And hold on.”

  Hold on? To what? I’m a lost conscious inside your brain...wait, my brain? Our brain? This is confusing.

  Cold, pale light reached down from the clear sky above, hitting the mirror and splitting the magic energy into spears of multicolored blinding rays before us. Rezith stepped right through. Within seconds, we were back in the alley where the last thing I remember was Nolan grabbing my shirt and me, totally out of my mind, waving goodbye to Lizzy before I disappeared.

  We were approximately three blocks from the apartment. Normally, this wouldn’t be a problem but Rezith was now dragging his feet and moving at a snail's pace. I had doubts we’d even make it one block before he passed out next to a trash can on the side of the road. What would happen then? If anyone thought his actions looked suspicious, they’d immediately call the cops. I couldn’t let him do this.

  Where are we going? Let me out!

  “I told you I have business to tend to. Now shut up so I can conserve my power.” A child passing by with her mom gawked in curiosity at the barefoot man wearing nothing but sweatpants and a t-shirt in the freezing cold of winter while having an argument with himself. The mother grabbed her daughter’s arm and rushed her along as far away as possible.

  About one painstaking hour later, the scent of freshly baked bread warmed my nose. We had reached the apartment building. But why were we at the apartment? What business did Rezith have here?

  He didn’t answer, but rounded the side of the building and began crawling up the stairs on his hands and feet to the second floor. He reached for the door handle when his hand slipped and slapped to the floor no longer able to move.

  A fuzzy male voice hit my ears as the door swung open. “Shit, Blair, it’s Adrian. Help me get him inside before someone sees.”

  No! That’s not Adrian! I screamed out inside my own head. But it did no good. They couldn’t hear me.

  They dragged my body inside and shut the door. In an instant, Lizzy came galloping down the stairs and, upon seeing my dire condition, slipped into the bathroom. Seconds later she passed the medical kit to Blair and kneeled by my side.

  “You came back…” She held my icy cold hand in hers while Blair rummaged through the medical kit searching for something. I could feel the warmth of Lizzy’s soft fingers brushing against my face, providing a sense of comfort. But she wasn’t comforting me. Or even touching me. She had no idea the man she was talking to was the man she had been trying to save me from becoming. A tear glided down my cheek as I stared at her helplessly from inside my own personal prison. The same disheartened tear must have rolled down Rezith’s cheek as well since she used the pad of her thumb to wipe it away.

  Reith mentioned he had business to deal with, and that business led him here. Knowing now that Nolan was somehow acquainted with Rezith, I had a sinking feeling he wasn’t here for a happy reunion amongst old friends.

  I paced back and forth, kicking up dust on the cave floor. I inhaled deeply and tried to clear my mind from all the racing thoughts. If I couldn’t absorb Rezith’s magic, how was I going to get out? I searched the cave hoping for a miracle, but came up empty handed. If there was a way out, Rezith would have discovered it already.

  I sat down and crossed my feet when I felt a tug on my consciousness, like someone was calling to me. There was no voice, but the feeling of warmth and compassion overwhelmed me, encouraging me to push through my troubles like a mother comforting her child during a frightening thunderstorm.

  It startled me for a moment, but the soothing feeling allowed me to surrender and give in to the desire.

  I drew in a deep breath and calmed my nerves. Just as I had been training, I focused on seeking out the mixed magic flowing through me. I could do this. I was stronger than him. The one thing he couldn’t do as a Paramount was nullify magic. It was a unique ability only those without magic could do.

  Rezith’s warming Paramount magic mingled with my Nullifier powers. I began pulling it in, fighting against the strength of the barrier. The mysterious warmth shrouded me, like it was providing extra support and that nudge I needed to give me the slightest advantage. His magic was growing weak, but it was still more powerful than anything I had felt before. My head was pounding, my veins throbbing with a mixture of searing hot and arctic cold magic flowing through me. Just when I thought I couldn’t go any further, I pushed myself just a smidgen more. Until eventually my body completely shut down, and so did my mind.

  Chapter 32

  A n annoyingly loud tapping noise awakened me into a flustered mood. I lifted my head from the edge of the couch, the pain pounding against my skull like a jackhammer. A light fleece blanket was haphazardly thrown on top of me. They must be getting tired of me showing up half dead at their doorstep and didn’t feel like dragging my ass up the stairs to my bedroom. I padded at my chest to make sure it really was me. Yup. Me. I was back in my own body.

  I threw off the blanket and shuffled over to the kitchen to get some water. After chugging nearly an entire gallon straight from the sink, I canvassed the room and noticed it was dead quiet. It was late evening. They definitely weren’t sleeping, and they would never leave me here alone without a babysitter. With all the chaos that’s happened over the past few months, they would no doubt be overly cautious of leaving me by myself.

  I tiptoed up the stairs, the whole absence of noise only making my brain seem to pound louder in my skull. I idly rubbed my wrist, ready to activate the magic in the watch should I need it. My heart jumped when I realized it was no longer there. That son of a bitch Nolan still had my watch! There was no way I’d ever get it back now.

  At the top of the stairs, no one came rushing out of their rooms to tackle me. All voices were absent, so I took this opportunity to make a run for it. To the bakery. Downstairs. I know, such a rebel.

  I slippe
d on some fresh clothes, freshened up in the bathroom, and quietly left the apartment. I looped around to the front of the building and entered the bakery.

  The tantalizing aroma of sweet confections wafted across my nose as I closed my eyes and drew in the air to savor every last bit of it. My diet lately has been mostly blood, alcohol, and magical toxins. I couldn’t wait to dive into something else.

  I perused several glass cases lining the counter that ran along the side of the store. There were rows of colorful cupcakes with swirled frosting and sprinkles, over stuffed cream puffs, mounds of cookies, elegantly decorated cakes, and fresh baked loaves of bread, among numerous other goods. But there was no question what I wanted to sink my teeth into.

  I waited in line to place my order. This was the first time I’d actually set foot inside the shop. The place was nothing special. So much of the space had been taken up by the kitchen and mouth-watering displays that it left room for only five tables shoved into the back dimly lit corner of the bakery.

  I approached the counter, ordering a red velvet cupcake and a cup of freshly brewed coffee to go. I handed over my credit card, then stepped to the side. While I was waiting, I noticed a woman huddled in the farthest corner of the bakery trying to hide in the shadows. She was sitting at one of the tables endlessly typing away on her laptop, ignoring the living world around her. She flipped her bangs away from her face, looked up at the ceiling for a moment, then continued tapping away.

  I grabbed my order from the counter and strolled over to her.

  “Hi,” I said directly.

  She pushed her glasses up her nose, then darted her head back and forth around the bakery as she jumped in her seat. “Um, are you, uh, following me? I, uh...just...just do what you need to and get it over with!”

  “Despite what people think, I’m not a violent person. Unless I need to be. Anyway, I thought you were following me. Can I sit?” I didn’t wait for a response and pulled out the chair on the opposite side of the small table.