by C P Sennett
This type of magic can’t get in through old brickwork buildings very well. Thankfully though, this was a new building, less than fifty years old if that and in magic terms this meant I should be ok. Try doing this on some super old church and you’ve little chance of getting anything good unless you have a lot of time to spend on it. Buildings of age have a certain type of resilience to them as do all things, but age, in magic terms, is more than just a number.
I had laid out three small candles around me on metal plates and with a force of will they all lit. Odd, I know sitting in the back of a SUV with glowing candles but the Beast is as blacked out as UK law will let me get it. I know, it looks a little drug dealer like but needs must and I was down a quiet street on a Sunday evening.
I cleared my mind and drove what little ambient sounds there were away from my thoughts. I focused for a second, looking at each candle in turn. My eyes unblinking, trying to see through the flames as they danced. I was focusing on the moment, as the power started to swell inside me. You feel it in the pit of your stomach first for this type of magic. It’s not a divination spell as such, I’m not sure how it’s not. This though, is a similar small school of magic, one which I took to with ease.
I put the index finger on each hand together and the thumbs as well in front of me. Almost like a prayer except the palms mustn’t touch.
As the world started to fade away from me I felt light, almost weightless. Unlike the first time I did this spell I didn’t panic. I was now well versed in it and I let myself float up. Then, to finalise the spell I touched the joined index fingers to my forehead and the thumbs to my nose forming a triangle…then bang, I was floating.
Rising above the black Range Rover and through the darkening sky. I was invisible to anyone around but the streets were quiet. The slowly approaching night and its winds didn’t affect me. My incorporeal self floated over a small industrial building and then I could see where I wanted to head and my mind drove me there.
Rising higher, I could see the raised carpark barriers and two cars parked inside. Both were dark Mercedes and new ones at that.
A man was outside, dressed in a suit and sitting on part of the raised concrete delivery platforms smoking. I glided closer to him and took an educated guess that he was human. A bit too much colour in his cheeks for a vampire. One problem on this is it’s hard to get a really sharp image on detailed things. It can be like going from high definition TV to an old VHS video recording and things can be less sharp. With perfect conditions and over a shorter distance it’s better but I had to work with what I had.
Looking at the wider car park I noticed something I didn’t see from my earlier drive by. Perhaps it wasn’t here at the time but I wouldn’t have seen it from the roadside. A van, a dark red Renault van, unmarked and hidden from view for anyone walking or driving past.
A man was leaning against the van. A man of average height and build with a small beard, the kind which is in fashion now. He had a headphone earpiece in. Not like Steve at the hotel, this was a phone earpiece possibly just left in from habit, or he was listening to music.
It’s hard to get clear sound through this medium all the time, sometimes parts of conversations can fade out. I’ve always thought this magic like a radio or an old TV with the aerials if you remember them. Sometimes, for no reason you would lose the sound or picture.
As I looked at the car I could hear something but as I was concentrating on the incantation I couldn’t take everything in. I needed whatever sound and imagery I could get from my magic.
I’ll be honest though, this was a surprise as I could hear rather well. A voice coming from within the building, yes from within the actual warehouse itself. I tried to listen as much as I could but when you are an incorporeal spirit floating through the air you have no actual ears to hear. There was sound, a voice and my magic was projecting them as a bridge to my brain. As I got nearer the building it was as though I was getting part of a conversation.
“Please, please let me go. I’ve said my father will pay you well for my return.” said a posh sounding female voice.
I couldn’t make out the reply though, that was still unclear.
The now even clearer female voice was sobbing. “I know, I keep asking you to let me go. You can hit me again, I don’t care. You have to tell me why you want me. I’ve been moved around all over. Different places with different people. Have some compassion mister, I’m just 16 years old. I’ve done nothing to anyone. I’ve done nothing to you, so why are you doing this to me?”
Again, the reply from the other party was too weak to hear.
I tried to focus harder but it made no difference. Being honest I’m not sure how I could hear the girl’s voice. Usually I would need to see her to do this. Seeing the person, ideally their lips moving helps aid the return I get as often it’s like a distant echo. Also, if my brain loses the sound often you can lipread or get clues from the body language as to what is going on.
I pushed my ethereal self into the building. It was lit, neon lights and the decor was less tacky than I expected. You know the cliché, Essex vampire club. Come on, I had a low bar in my mind but this was actually ok, in truth it was rather nice looking.
Then came more weak noises. It sounded like a struggle but I could only hear the parts involving the girl. It sounded like she was being restrained or moved. It was now just noises not words.
Then, her voice came through again. Louder now and sounding fearful. “I hope something bad happens to you!” she cursed defiantly but there was genuine fear in her words. This had to be Tabitha, this had to be who I was looking for!
I was floating in the main part of the nightclub now, hovering a foot or so above what I guessed was the main dancefloor. I could see a light up above in a room which looked out over the bar and dancefloor area.
With a concentration of will I drove my spirit form forward as I raced up to the sounds and in through the window ahead but it was empty.
The girls voice cried out in pain again. “Get off me! Get the fuck off me!” she screeched.
I raced through yet another wall feeling the strain this was taking on me. Passing through each solid structure was getting harder. Perhaps somehow, I had tapped into her and this was why it was taxing me but giving me stronger audio impressions than I was used to.
I entered another room and I could see the back of a big man. He was well over six feet tall and heavy set. He had a black hat on, a beanie hat I think they are called.
His black jacket added to the sight of the man’s back and as I moved past him I could see his face. He looked a mean bastard. Pitted skin, indicating a long-time struggle with acne or steroids. Then I followed his big hand pointing ahead of him.
Then, there was what I assumed to be Tabitha. Cowering in a corner I could clearly see her standing and hear her breathing, it was as though I was standing there myself. She stood in the corner of the room in a black, floor length skirt and a plain white blouse with a small, dark tartan fitted jacket. The white blouse had dried blood on it as did her face. Her smudged eye makeup and dried blood around her nose made her look dishevelled. That and her thick medium brown hair all wild around her. Tabitha was trying to cover up in the corner for protection with a hand outstretched as if to keep the big man away.
The big man had his fist raised up, raised high as he stepped slowly towards her. Tabitha screamed out and mentally I winced. “Help me.” she screamed looking toward me as her eyes turned away from the heavy-set man before he reached her. I think her scream was as much in fear as anything else.
The asshole threw a punch to her shoulder. It was a hard-jarring punch and it made me flinch. It was sickening to watch, so much so that I had to regain my composure on the spell. Adrenalin was flooding me seeing this girl being abused and I wanted to help but couldn’t.
The man said something as Tabitha crumpled under the force. She didn’t go down fully though, no, she just about stayed on her feet, brave girl. This punch wasn’t de
signed to knock her out or down though, it was just done to hurt her. The poor girl wouldn’t be doing much with that arm for a while. His punch wasn’t like the ones you see in a film. He wasn’t trying to slap some sense into a woman as they used to in the old black and white movies. It was as though she had wronged him in some way and the man wanted to do some harm to her for some reason. His full bodyweight went into the blow and the sight of it sickened me.
It was too much.
Then he grabbed her by the jacket collar and hauled her back, fully up to her feet, she didn’t struggle. Stunned by the pain blasting through her body he then spun her around with little effort. The hulk of a man then slid his thick arm around her neck and squeezed!
If an astral image of me could have felt sick it would. My mind hated seeing this.
A pretty young girl being manhandled by what was as close to a shaved gorilla as you could get, coward.
He lifted her up in the chokehold and manoeuvred her around. I considered ending the spell and going in blazing, but I was actually shocked myself.
He now stood with his back to the wall and Tabitha in front of him in the chokehold. His thick forearm squeezed around her neck whilst locking into his opposite bicep to increase the power. Tabitha was up on her tiptoes as her hands clawed in vain at his arms. Her cheeks blew out air as she struggled against him. She gasped hard for air but instead she made a pathetic sounding gagging noise as her lungs fought for air. Her eyes were huge now, wide in panic as she coughed. I could hear her struggle as I saw her looking at me and I could do nothing. Her wide eyes looked directly at me and all I could do was look back at her. Her left hand reached out toward me, red painted fingernails clawing in the air, trying to get to me, as her right hand carried on the fight in vain.
I resisted the urge to try magic here. As much as I wanted to, I knew it was dangerous and would most likely really harm, if not kill me. I watched on as an adult might do wanting to comfort the passing of a child, that was all I could do, my presence, for all my power was just a comfort. It was all I could give her.
How she could see me I didn’t know and how I could hear her I didn’t know either. She stared at me, fear in her eyes as they fluttered. They then rolled back into their sockets, her eyes shut and her hands twitched.
I’m gonna get this guy I thought.
The big man then picked the girl up as I watched. Now I was feeling the fatigue of the spell as he checked her. He laid her on a table, on top of whatever items were on the desk with little regard for the girl. Then, he checked her pulse and I could see her chest lightly rising and falling. She was alive, at least for now.
He lifted her with ease and slung her over his shoulder, her head facing down behind his back. The man then moved towards me so I darted away. You don’t want people to walk through you like this. It can cause problem with the spell and you can be detected. It’s that funny feeling non-magical people get when they shiver for no reason. The one where people say someone has just walked over their grave. Although, most of the time it is just your nervous system doing something which medicine still doesn’t fully understand, but sometimes it’s not.
The man went out of the door and down some stairs, as I followed. He then paused, half way on the stairs, to adjust the deadweight Tabitha.
I continued following behind him but then I felt a pain in my head…shit, I was losing the spell.
****
I snapped back to my car with my head aching for a moment and a tingling in my hands as I lowered them from my face. I swore and blew out the candles before putting them in a metal tin and getting into the front of the car. I needed to get around there…
I had to help if I could.
I started up the Beast and headed around to the road where the secretive Valencia club was. I drove up a little way and got out leaving the car running but the lights turned off. Also, I turned off the interior light so if I did get in it wouldn’t light up the street.
Then, I walked up the road as casually as I could, appearing as though I was just out for a walk. Pretending to be listening to a call on my mobile phone.
I walked up past the gate. I watched, seeing the two dark Mercs in the carpark but I couldn’t see the red van due to it being out of sight behind a wall.
I leaned against the wall with one foot against it casually playing with my phone.
I waited for a minute or two in silence. Then I heard a door open, not a car door but a big metal door. It didn’t sound like one of the roller shutters though as there was no frantic metal on metal noise that they make on their runners. This was just a heavy door somewhere, opening and closing on the outside of the building.
I could hear the sounds of footsteps and someone coughing.
Then I heard the door open again and a voice called out. A female, rich sounding with an accent I couldn’t place. Continental, European I thought but I couldn’t place it.
“Remember, you’ve enough fuel to get to St David’s. No stops, none at all, understood.” she snapped.
“I’ll do exactly as instructed. She will get there fine.” replied a man.
Then the sound of a diesel engine started up. I could hear the man shout back as he opened a door to a vehicle, most likely the van, before slamming it shut. This meant there was a driver as well as him. Possibly the big man and the smaller bearded one I had seen earlier. This left the smoking man possibly still in the building, maybe others as well.
“She will be delivered fine.”
“See that she is.” said the accented woman.
Then another door opened and closed. It was at this point I walked past the car park entrance. My head down, looking at my phone with the screen lit up. I had to get back to the Beast to follow them.
I guessed the woman was the club’s owner that Stone had told me about. Abby Oaks, another vampire. Hopefully the guy speaking was the brute from earlier and from what I could hear the voice seemed to fit with how I expected him to sound.
I didn’t look up as I passed. I walked by and hoped anyone watching me would have their eyes fixed on my bright phone screen.
I walked down to the Beast before realising that I hoped they didn’t turn left coming out of their carpark or they might see me. As big as my ride is it was partially hidden behind a big old skip transporter truck, with a skip on the back.
I got into the Beast and waited. Thankfully, I could see ahead a little from my driver’s position. I watched for a minute or two, fighting my nervous tension before the red van pulled into view. As it did I waited for a bit to see if it came past me.
It didn’t. Then, at this point I knew it had gone the other way and that I had better get after it.
****
I didn’t think I had picked up a tail and I was a good few cars back so hopefully they hadn’t realised I was tailing them. Catching up to the van was fairly easy. It was less than a year old based on its plates and the drivers were not in a hurry.
I had to take an educated guess that the girl was in the vehicle but I was confident. I knew she was being moved tonight, I knew this club was something to do with it and I had seen a girl of the same age get hit by one of the goons inside. The problem now was when to make my move. It looked like they were heading out of Colchester via the back roads.
I followed them for some time, keeping a good distance away but as we were getting into more rural parts it was becoming harder to keep the Beast low key. Its bigger lights and higher ride position made it stand out a bit when tailing someone.
After a bit of driving we moved onto more remote roads. Less traffic around for me to blend in with so I was going to have to make my move soon. I needed to hit them quickly or I was going to be spotted and they could speed off or call for assistance. Also, it wouldn’t be long before I was out of my depth location wise. I didn’t know the back roads around Essex well enough and I was getting near the end of my knowledge. I knew that some distance ahead was a tennis club and perhaps I needed to hit them before that. It was sec
luded enough around there and given the time and it being a Sunday there would be less traffic than normal.
There were currently no cars between me and the van. Also, there were none behind me so I lowered the driver’s side window. I couldn’t believe I was actually going to do this I thought as I considered taking a shot at the tyres of a moving vehicle whilst still driving myself. Thankfully though I didn’t need to.
They put on their hazard lights and started to slow up. The downside was they probably wanted to see if I was following them. Crap, I’m sprung I thought.
This wasn’t going well. I decided to try and take the ‘concerned motorist’ approach. I flashed my lights at them and then indicated to pull over. I’m not sure why but it seemed a natural thing to do. My plan was to appear as a concerned motorist. I was hoping they may think that if I was directly after them then I would have blocked them in some kind of special forces manoeuvre so they couldn’t get away. With this method, I hoped to be just a nice concerned average Joe.
I pulled in and lowered my window waiting to see who would get out. Sod’s law…it was the big guy from earlier who got of the passenger side door. The one who had I had seen hurting Tabitha.
“Hey buddy, can I help?” I shouted, sounding as warm as I could.
“No, we’re good.” he replied walking around the back of the red van nearer to me.
“It’s ok, I’m a mechanic mate, perhaps I can help.” I lied, reinforcing it by enthusiastically getting out of the driver’s door. I kept my eyes on him and he didn’t seem to approve one bit of me getting out.
He moved quickly for a big guy as he started to come around the front of the Beast. “Get back in your car. I said we’re good.” he ordered.
I stepped back from the Beast. Hands up trying to look non-threatening. “Wow mate.” I said stepping away from my still running vehicle. “I said I’m a mechanic, I’ve got tools here and can help.”