by M. J. Caan
The technologist nodded and moved over to the foot of the stretcher. “I’ll take him in. This might take a few minutes, so you all wait out here.”
Torie, Jasmin and Opal moved to sit on chairs that were arranged along the wall opposite the desk where Gerald had been sitting.
Elric didn’t move, giving the X-ray tech a stormy look.
“Why can’t we go in there with you?” he asked. “Maybe because you’re going to make off with whatever you find inside him.”
“What? What are you talking about?” said Gerald.
“He’s right,” said Fionna, moving to stand next to Elric. “This is important. It will help me to protect Glen. One of us should keep an eye on you.” Her hands were balled into fists as she took a step towards her friend.
“Hey, I don’t need you stepping in to help me. Mind your business,” said Elric. His voice was low and impatient, and he stared hard at Fionna.
“Actually, I don’t need either of you watching over me telling me how to do my job,” said Gerald. His eyes flashed dangerously, flickering yellow briefly in the dim overhead light.
“What are you going to do to stop us?” said Elric. “Flap us to death with your wings?”
“Hey, hey, hey,” said Jasmin, eying the three shifters. “What is going on here?”
“What’s going on is someone needs to teach this hawk some manners when he addresses a shifter above his weight class,” said Elric, advancing on Gerald.
“Elric,” said Torie, rising from her chair. “What has gotten into you?”
“Oh no,” said Opal.
Before she could say anything more, all hell broke loose as the three shifters charged one another.
18
Torie screamed as pandemonium broke out.
In an instant, Elric had vaulted across the stretcher and was pummeling Gerald with his fists. Fionna let out a screech that nearly pierced Torie’s ears as she darted around and leapt on Elric’s back, grabbing a handful of hair to pull his head back.
That gave Gerald the opening he needed to throw his one punch, landing a blow to Elric’s midsection that knocked the breath out of him. As he staggered backwards, Fionna leapt off his back and threw a series of high kicks at Gerald’s face. He parried them, then, moving swifter than even Fionna expected, lunged forward and grabbed her by the throat.
Grabbing the much larger man’s arm, Fionna swung her legs up and around his shoulders, seeking to close them on his neck. Before she could complete the deadly move, Elric had recovered sufficiently enough to throw himself against both of their entangled bodies. Lifting them from the ground he twisted, throwing them behind the desk.
A high-pitched screech rang out from behind the desk, and suddenly, a large hawk appeared. Wings stretched outward as Gerald completed his shift. In response, Elric dropped into his wolf form, baring his fangs as he settled his weight on his hind legs, preparing to spring at the hawk shifter.
Before he could attack, a wall of blue light separated the two of them. Jasmin held up both hands, her magic flowing forward to create a divide.
Fionna was not trapped by the mystic wall, however, and wheeled on Jasmin. Baring her teeth, she leapt at the witch, only to be caught in midair by a wave of white power cast from Opal.
“No, not them,” shouted Torie, cupping her hands around her mouth to be heard over the din of shifters hell-bent on killing anyone they could get their claws into. “The golem! Cast a shield around him!”
Opal nodded in understanding.
“Sorry, Fionna,” she said. She gave her magic a small mental nudge, just enough to send the squirrel shifter bouncing away from her. Before Fionna could regain her balance, Opal turned and cast a shimmering white globe around the golem, enveloping him completely.
Almost at once, the three shifters ceased their struggling. Elric and Gerald regained their human forms, each looking dazed and confused as they took in the scene around them.
“What…what just happened?” said Elric.
“You just went full-blown wolf and tried to have some bird for dinner,” said Jasmin, nodding at Gerald.
“Oh no,” said Elric, looking around for Torie. “Did I hurt anyone?”
“No, but not for lack of trying,” said Opal.
Fionna approached, shaking her head as if to clear cobwebs. “I am so sorry, Opal…I could see what I was doing, but I couldn’t stop myself. I was just so angry all of a sudden; to the point that I lost all control.”
“Same here,” said Gerald. “That was an awful feeling; something I never want to experience again.”
“It was the golem,” said Torie. “He was also at the bakery and the bar, and he created the same affect among the shifters there.”
“But how?” asked Elric. “I sat right next to him on the car ride over. I didn’t feel anything like what just happened.”
“Yes, but you were the only shifter around him then,” said Jasmin. “It could be that when more than one of you from different shifter families comes into contact with him…or more likely with the magic that is powering him, it triggers this violent reaction until he is removed from the equation.”
“I’ve heard of weirder things,” said Opal as she walked over to the encased golem to stare at him. “Shifters are creatures of magic. Some of the oldest creatures in the supernatural world; second only to vampires in their creation. The magic that flows in you is instinctual; part of nature. What is in this golem is something not meant to occur in nature. It’s disrupting the natural order.”
“But…if it’s my magic, why would it behave like this?” asked Torie. “I don’t harbor any ill will towards shifters.”
“I don’t think you have to,” said Opal. “It may be your magic, but it is unconstrained now. It is wild magic; and wild magic with no master brings chaos.”
“The quicker we get a peek at what’s inside him, and maybe get it out, the better,” said Jasmin. “What if he isn’t the only one that this could happen with? Elric said the humans are playing with magic…what if the same thing happens with them? Or worse, it infects the rest of the shifters in the community?”
“Wouldn’t they already feel the effects?” said Fionna. “I mean, it hit me so fast, with no warning. What if it’s already happening?”
Jasmin was shaking her head. “Doubtful. We’re in the closest hospital to town and it’s very quiet so far. My bet is this is a unique case. Golems are not found in nature; they are made. By skilled wielders of magic. This one was made by a human using borrowed magic. It is disrupting everything. That’s why it is causing havoc when it encounters the shifters. At least, that’s my theory.”
Opal nodded. “It’s as good as anything else we have to go on. Plus, containing it seems to have broken the violence, so that lends credence to your theory.”
“So, what now?”
“Same plan,” said Opal. “Gerald here takes it in for X-rays. Only this time I’m going with him to keep the room sealed up tight so no energy from him can leak out.”
Torie nodded, unable to find the words to express what she was feeling. She watched as Gerald pushed the stretcher into the room, followed closely by Opal as she maintained the integrity of her shields. As they disappeared behind the swinging doors, she moved back to the wall and plopped down onto one of the chairs.
Jasmin made her way to the chair next to her.
“You okay? You’ve seemed off, and I know it’s not just being in this hospital.”
Torie sighed and looked at her friend.
“I was just getting to the point that I accepted the loss of my magic. I was almost at peace with it. But then, I let myself get caught up in hope, only to find out that…that what I did was so bad. I’m responsible for those hurt shifters in town. I’m responsible for the creation of that golem. I mean, what must that poor woman have gone through to want to do something like that?”
“Hurt. She went through love and loss, Torie. That kind of pain…who knows what it did to her? But think of it l
ike this; your act allowed her to spend some time with something, with a remembrance of her husband.”
Torie looked at her, trying to force a smile. “And who knows? Maybe what I did is the reason your daughter is here.”
Jasmin looked away. Now it was her turn to hide her emotions.
Torie reached out and gave her hand a squeeze. “Why didn’t you ever tell me?”
“I was ashamed. I tucked that shame so far back into my mind…I just wanted to forget it. I had no idea it would come walking into my life as a grown-up assassin-for-hire one day.”
“We can fix this,” said Torie. “All of it. Maybe this happened to me because I don’t deserve my magic.”
“Then by that logic, are you saying my daughter is here because I didn’t deserve her?”
“No. I think that is because you do deserve her. She didn’t kill us, remember? For that matter, she didn’t kill Elric and maybe hasn’t killed Max yet either. Maybe deep down inside, she’s not what she pretends to be, and part of her wants us to realize that.”
Jasmin looked at her and smiled, slowly shaking her head.
“You are something else, you know that? After all the horrors you’ve seen you still want to see the good in people.”
Torie nodded. “Of course. If you go around looking for darkness, that’s all you’ll find.”
“You know, if this doesn’t work out; if you don’t get your powers back, I want you to know you still have a home here.”
Torie laughed. “Technically, I don’t have a home any longer. Pretty sure mine is now condemned.”
Jasmin looked at her, her face deadly serious. “You have a home with me. Always. I have more room than I know what to do with.”
“Thank you, Jasmin. I mean that.” She felt a lump form in her throat. Her friend’s words were spoken from the heart and were so pure and authentic it made Torie’s heart ache. “But…we’ll see.”
Jasmin knew not to push it. Instead, she elbowed Torie and nodded in Elric’s direction. He was pacing in front of the desk in a way that made the women think of a caged animal.
“He’s worried about Max,” said Jasmin.
“As am I. We need to find him. Soon.”
Jasmin nodded before leaning in to whisper in Torie’s ear. “You know I want all the details, right? I mean, I need to know all the nitty gritty. I’ve always heard that wolves are the best lovers.”
Torie looked at her friend in shock as her face turned beet-red.
Jasmin howled with laughter, throwing her head back. “I knew it! At least tell me he was better than your ex-husband. Cos, really that’s all that matters.”
Torie tried to stifle a laugh at her friend. “Well, anything was better than that.”
“Yeah, he looked pretty tame. Like missionary all the way I bet.”
Torie tried to feign shock but could only laugh even harder.
“How sad,” said Jasmin. “What a waste. My motto is that anyone who can’t see beyond that tired old position does not deserve all the sex I have to offer.”
“Jasmin! Is this the right time for such talk?” She cast her eyes down as guilt crept over her.
Jasmin placed a hand on her friend’s shoulder and made her look at her. Then, she placed the palm of her hand on Torie’s chest.
“Do you feel that, Torie? It’s joy, and life, and hope, and happiness. Even if only for a moment. You felt it. I’m betting there is plenty more where that came from. And you know what? That all came from inside you. It wasn’t magic: it was Torie. Don’t feel guilty for allowing yourself to feel good. Remember that in the days to come; no matter what happens.”
Again, Torie felt at a loss for words. She could not imagine feeling any more accepted than she did at that moment. She realized how lucky she was to have a friend like Jasmin, and looking up at Elric, she knew that even though she might be powerless, she would help move heaven and earth to help him. Elric stopped his pacing and looked over at her, arching an eyebrow.
It was times like this that she really missed their telepathic rapport. But even without it, she had a feeling he knew exactly what she was thinking.
The doors swung open as Gerald pushed the stretcher through, followed by Opal and Fionna. Even though the glow of magic still encapsulated the golem, Torie saw Elric take a few steps back from them, isolating himself behind the desk.
“Well, did you find anything?” asked Torie, jumping to her feet.
“Oh, you could say that,” said Gerald. He stopped rolling the stretcher and picked up a couple of sheets of X-ray film that was resting on top of the golem. He held them up to the light and motioned for Torie and Jasmin to come take a look.
“What are we looking at?” asked Torie.
“This is his abdomen,” he held the film up and indicated an outline of structures shown in varying shades of black and gray.
“They just look like a hodgepodge of weird shapes,” said Jasmin. “Not like the X-rays that are always hanging up in the background of Grey’s Anatomy.”
“Exactly,” said Gerald. “That’s because there is nothing inside him. Just a bunch of stuff that seems to be free-floating. There is the basic outline of a skeleton, but that’s it. He has no internal organs at all.”
“Well, so much for finding something hidden in all that,” said Torie dejectedly.
“That’s what I was thinking,” said Gerald, “but then I noticed this.” He held the film back up and pointed to a small speck of white to one side of the film. “See how this shows up whiter than everything else around it? Well, the denser something is, the less it’s being penetrated by X-ray; meaning the harder it is.”
“Like a piece of rock or crystal,” said Jasmin, her eyes wide.
“Exactly. So I took a second image and cranked up the radiation to the point that it blacked out everything else; but this thing still showed just as bright as a little sun.” He held up a second film, this one nearly black with only the white substance clearly outlined. It was the size of a quarter and could clearly be seen floating in the blackness of the image. “This was just to demonstrate that whatever it is, it’s not your normal foreign body. My guess is this is exactly what you are looking for.”
“Has to be it,” said Jasmin. “Question is, how do we get it out?”
“That’s easy,” came a voice from behind them. “I use this.”
The hunter was standing just outside the main corridor looking at the group of friends. In her hands, she twirled a silver blade that gave off an ominous hum as it spun around her fingers.
19
Tension and fear crept through the space.
Opal summoned ghostly tentacles that wrapped themselves around her as she backed up to where Jasmin and Torie stood. Jasmin called on her full hex power in the form of glowing spheres that flashed around her fists and placed herself between the hunter and Torie. A growl echoed from behind the desk as Elric shifted into his full wolf form. On his back crouched Fionna in her squirrel form. The two of them were poised to spring, not taking their eyes off the hunter.
“What’s going on? Who is this?” asked Gerald cautiously. “Damnit, Fionna I told you not to bring your mess to my house like this.” Unsure of what to do, he turned and ran back through the double doors that separated them from the radiology department.
“Easy there,” said the hunter. “I am not here to fight.”
“That knife says otherwise,” said Opal.
“No, this was just to get your attention.” She stopped twirling the knife and slowly re-sheathed it back into the leather holster strapped to her hip. “You have something I want. Actually, you have two somethings I want.” She cut her eyes to Elric behind the desk. He growled, baring an impressive set of fangs. “Easy there, Cujo. My knife is made of pure silver. It’s sheathed, but I’m willing to bet that no matter how fast you are, I’m faster. Why don’t you shift back to human form and move over next to your friends so we can all chat?”
Torie peeked from behind Jasmin and motioned f
or Elric to come over to them. Reluctantly, the werewolf shifted back to human form, as did Fionna. Together the two of them walked slowly across the room to where their friends stood.
“That’s better,” the hunter said. She walked casually to the desk and jumped up onto it, sitting cross-legged. She stared at the golem on the stretcher for a moment before focusing her gaze on everyone across from her. “I have to say, seeing you all together like this is strange, to say the least. I mean, witches, werewolves, weresquirrel and a…witch has been? Is that what you are?” she said to Torie.
No one responded, so the hunter just shrugged before continuing.
“You know why it’s so weird to me? Because you’re all supposed to be enemies. Witches are not friends with shifters. And they certainly don’t sleep with them! And you,” she pointed at Fionna, “little tree rat, they definitely eat your kind. I don’t get what’s happening here. And the only witch I’ve ever known was definitely a loner. I mean, the only reason you all would be pals would be to steal magic from one another.”
“We aren’t like that,” said Torie. “We are like family to one another.”
The hunter flinched and her face grew hard as she stared at Jasmin. “I take it you recognized the locket?”
Jasmin swallowed hard and nodded. “If this is about me, let’s talk about…”
The hunter held up a stiff hand to cut her off.
“Nah, there is nothing to talk about. I’ll get to you in a minute.” Her eyes bored into Jasmin and her hand twitched as it rested next to the hilt of her blade.
“Why don’t you tell us what you want?” said Torie, seeking to defuse the situation as much as possible.
“Where’s Max?” asked Elric, his eyes glowing as he stared at the hunter.
“Oh, he’s safe. I’ll take you to him in just a bit.”
“No one’s going anywhere,” said Opal. “I’m not sure what you’re after here, but we have numbers and strength on our side. And you’re not catching us off guard this time.”
“Well, look at you, Auntie. Being all big and tough. I’ve done my research on you. Have you told them why you’re really up here? Cos it sure as hell ain’t to cure a witch who lost her powers.” She glanced over at Jasmin. “What did she tell you her little smoke monster is? Cos trust me; it’s not a familiar.”