Beware The Hunter

by Martha Carr

  Immediately, Leira’s detective skills homed in on several people who didn’t seem as though they quite fit. They were rough around the edges, and kept their heads down as they walked through the crowds. She didn’t immediately jump on them, considering she wasn’t sure if they’d had anything to do with it. They could possibly just be loners or magical beings trying to get in and out of the crowds. It was just strange to see in their current surroundings.

  The Mission District was colorful and artsy, and had a mix of both old and new. On one block, you would find a Michelin star restaurant, and the next block might have a vintage thrift store or a private studio for an artist who didn’t want to work from home. There were furniture stores next to art galleries, and a dozen or more small pubs and music venues along the streets. It actually looked like somewhere Leira would enjoy living, if she weren’t there on an urgent matter for the government, that is.

  Leira stepped to the side to let several people walk past her, the smell of patchouli wafting from them as they passed. There were three of them, all hippies, dressed in their broomstick skirts and tank tops and carrying art supplies in small cases by their sides. Leira smiled at them and looked down at Marcel’s pictures again. She didn’t want to walk straight past him on the street.

  “Marcel, where are you?”

  Leira knew she couldn’t just stand there, people watching. She was actually going to have to look for this guy. For whatever reason, the government wanted him, and they wanted him right then. She bit her bottom lip as she tried to figure out exactly the best way to locate him.

  “What was that trick? Oh yeah!”

  Leira took a deep breath and stepped into an alley so as not to draw attention to herself. She sent out a blast of energy, which circled through the crowd and highlighted its marks. Small magical halos surrounded some. There were a few seriously strong Light Elves among the groups, but that wasn’t unusual, especially in front of a Starbucks.

  She turned her attention to the ground, looking at all the shimmering energy trails. Everything seemed normal to her. No strong events had happened there, nor acts of magic that left a trail that she could follow. It was kind of disconcerting, since she didn’t have a ton of information, and had no real idea where to find this guy.

  Leira narrowed her eyes and walked toward the Starbucks. She could sense older trails, ones that were obviously dark magic. She looked down the block again at the shimmering black magic coating the front of the store. It was strange, like either the building had been purposely marked, or something serious had gone down there. Either way, it was a good trail. Now all she had to do was match that magic up with one of the people walking in and out, and she would have her lead. That, however, was a bit harder to do than what she’d figured, considering there were so many people with at least a dot of dark magic in them.

  Leira released the magic and studied the people exiting the Starbucks. She narrowed her eyes and continued to watch, readying herself for anything. “Where are you? I know you’re out there somewhere, Marcel. They wouldn’t have sent me here if you weren’t.”

  A large, loud group of kids in their early twenties came out of the Starbucks armed with iced coffees and frappes. Leira couldn’t sense any magic on them, and just figured they were human patrons of the Starbucks. It seemed to be popular with human and nonhuman alike. She moved to the side as the group passed her and kept her eyes downcast to hide their brightness. She was still shimmering with magic, and she didn’t want to alert anyone to who she was.

  As the group passed, a man came out of the door wearing a black baseball cap, his shaggy blonde hair sticking out from underneath. Leira looked down at the image on her phone, shaking her head. “Not my guy, but that doesn’t mean he’s innocent. I can see the magical trail. He must be one of his fucking thugs. God, what would Hagan do?”

  The guy turned away from her and started quickly up the block. She made the snap decision to follow him and see where he’d lead her. She had a strong feeling about him, and she could sense the dark magic inside him even though she had finished the last spell.

  Leira walked at a leisurely pace, pulling up the dossier prepared by Lois on her phone. She waved her hand at the screen, and Lois’ face appeared in a small box in the corner of her screen. Leira smiled and waved at her. “Nice to hear from you, Lois, even if it’s indirectly.”

  “You too. Unfortunately, have to get right down to business. Marcel, our suspect, has a lot of friends in a lot of low places. Generally, he likes to hang out at a large abandoned warehouse about six blocks from where you are, or where you came out of the portal. It’s exactly what you’re thinking—run down, taken over by thugs and homeless, and not a very safe place to be, especially if you’re not magical.”

  Leira smirked. “It’s a good thing I’m magical then.”

  Lois nodded. “That it is. He has a few known associates. Joey ‘Big Bones’ Malone, a heavy who takes care of the riff-raff. Then there’s Brady Shiflett, someone who works the streets for him and keeps an ear to the ground for any kind of useful information. And lastly, there’s Bruno Smith. All their information is in the folders. Bruno is known to be Marcel’s best friend, so if you find him, then Marcel is close.”

  Leira nodded, going over the information with Lois until she was done. “Thanks for that. I think I’ve got a lead. I’m following him now. I’ll check in with you guys as soon as I know anything.”

  Lois leaned in closer. “Be careful. Streets are dark, and the magic is even darker tonight.”

  With that, Lois hung up. Leira shivered, and an eerie feeling crawled up her spine. “That wasn’t a morbid thought at all. I’m going to have to talk to Lois about her motivational speeches.”

  Leira realized she was following Bruno Smith, one of Marcel’s known associates. She nodded and continued down the block, trying to stay as far behind as she could without losing him. “Must be a reason the good guys picked this location for me to land at this moment. Let’s see how this plays out.”

  Bruno took a left, and Leira sped up. As she turned the corner, she stopped and inched backward. Bruno was in the middle of the sidewalk, talking to someone quietly. He took a small package out of his pocket and handed it to the guy, slapping him on the shoulder before continuing on. Leira waited there for a moment for the guy to disappear back down the alley before following Bruno any farther.

  She peeked down the alley to make sure it was clear, then continued her pursuit. Just before Bruno reached the next crosswalk, he stopped and slowly turned around. Leira dove to the left behind a recycle bin and crouched. She could see him between the limbs. He didn’t physically need to see her, though, because she sensed his energy searching for any intruder who might be following.

  That tingle of stress she experienced when she was in a tight spot moved through her. She remembered a trick Turner had done long before. She took a deep breath, hoping that it would work, and sent energy out to bend his spell back toward him and hide her trail. He stood there for a moment looking through the darkness, and finally shrugged before moving on.

  Leira stepped out of the bush and dusted off her pants. “Why do I always end up in a bush?”

  She followed him down several more streets and across a narrow old bridge that led to the warehouse district. All the buildings were overgrown and broken down, with cracked glass all over the ground and trash scattered about. She walked through the cracked open gate and pressed her back against a cinderblock wall.

  Leira watched as Bruno looked around, making sure that he was alone. She’d assumed he was going to go into the building, but that wasn’t his intention. Instead, he pulled in magic and quickly tore open a portal large enough for Leira to see through from where she hid. Before she had time to move, he stepped through and marched away with the portal closing behind him.

  “It’s now or never,” Leira told herself.

  She pulled energy in. Once she felt it growing in her chest, she set her intention and sent it out. The symbols
on her arms lit up brightly as the magic streamed from her body. It was an incredibly intense feeling, something that took her by surprise every single time she did it. Still, it was necessary.

  The magic raced through the portal before it closed, and Leira instantly recognized what she was seeing. She stepped forward, reading everything her magic sent back to her. “The Dark Forest.”

  She narrowed her eyes. He’d opened a portal close enough to see the spires of the Light Elf Castle in the distance.

  “Oriceran…again.” Leira pulled her energy back and ran toward the spot where the thug had disappeared into the portal.

  After spending so much time as a human detective, Leira had learned that you always had to be ready to run in first and ask questions later…if you survived. Things moved much faster in the magical world than they did with the humans, so she had to make that hard decision almost every time. Her modus operandi now included jumping in headfirst, because even a moment’s pause could mean her life.

  She opened a portal in the same spot Bruno had and let it close behind her. The beautiful sounds of the Oriceran forest surrounded her. She smelled the fresh air, and for a moment felt as if she were home, something she had never felt about Oriceran before.

  “Not far from the Light Elf Castle border. I’ve been here before,” Leira whispered.

  She stood quietly for a moment listening for any sign of the elf who had come in before her. Birds chirped, wild animals roared, and insects buzzed by her ear, but she heard no footsteps or sounds from the thug she had just followed. She touched a plant’s leaves, watching as it swayed toward her and away over and over.

  Leira crept through the woods, being very careful where she stepped. She knew she lacked a full education in Oriceran’s flora and really didn’t want to step on some man-eating plant accidentally. Besides, she had a good idea where the elf was heading, and she knew who she could ask for more information. Everyone talked about the thugs having so many connections, but Leira had learned that connections were the most important thing for her to possess as well.

  Fortunately for Leira, her connection on Oriceran was a little bit more than just some source she had met on the streets in DC. It was her father, and she knew he would help her in any way possible. At that point, she just had to find her way to his house, someplace she had never been but had been told about many times.

  She jumped over a fallen tree and nearly fell, but caught herself on a branch. “All I have to do is get out of the woods before I accidentally impale myself on something.”

  11

  Leira trudged through the woods, thankful that she had worn her favorite tennis shoes. She paused at the edge of a small clearing to make sure everything was safe. When she stepped in, a large beast charged into the clearing and stopped in front of her. She looked at it with wide eyes.

  The beast was covered in brown fur and looked very similar to Earth’s brown bears. However, as it turned slightly, she could see a set of very large feathered wings attached to its back, like an angel’s. The beast eyed her, then softened its look and bowed before running off. It was a little strange, even for Leira after all the things that she had seen.

  Leira scratched her head. “It never seems normal.”

  She continued her trek through the woods, tracking the coordinates her father had given her. She knew his cabin was there, but because of the charm he’d placed on it to keep strangers away, you couldn’t see it from the outside. She stuck her phone in her pocket and cleared her throat, holding her hands out in front of her. Energy swirled through her feet, ankles, then legs as she whispered the enchantment as her father had instructed. “From the ground that twists and turns, a magic place yearns and burns. A cabin small but full of might will appear if you are right.”

  The magic shot out and blanketed the earth in front of her. She watched with childlike wonder as the landscape shimmered and moved, revealing her father’s cabin. She nodded, impressed by what he’d accomplished. She stepped onto the front porch but hesitated before she knocked.

  She shook her head and glanced around. “This is not like me. Screw it. I’m knocking.”

  Inside, she heard a dog barking, and she reached up to rap on the door. Before she made contact, the door flew open. She teetered forward, almost thumping Louie on the head.

  Leira looked at Louie in surprise and practically shouted, “Louie, what are you doing here? Why aren’t you on Earth?”

  Louie lifted an eyebrow and chuckled, leaning against the doorframe. He seemed entertained by how out of sorts Leira appeared. Occasionally, the random visitor showed up, but she was not at all who he’d expected to see when he’d opened the door. In fact, he was always a bit surprised that anyone knocked on the door at all, considering that her father had put such strong magic on his house that people were rarely able to find him, even when he gave them instructions.

  Leira lifted her eyebrows. “Well?”

  Louie smirked. “I could say the same thing. I’m from this neck of the woods. I still have a business to run, you know?”

  “You still do that?”

  Louie straightened and crossed his arms over his chest. “Of course, I do. I didn’t spend my whole entire life building my business just to give it all up because I live on Earth. I mean, it’s not like I’m here all the time. I just check in now and then to make sure everything’s going smoothly. I also like to check in on your father. He tends to wander off sometimes, and I think it’s a good idea for someone to at least know where he is.”

  Leira snorted. “You make him sound senile.”

  “Not senile, just used to being independent. You should see the look on his face every time I tell him that people care about him and that he needs to be careful. He looks at me like I’m a three-headed monster, though we do have those here in Oriceran.”

  Leira grimaced. “You also have bears with giant wings.”

  Louie laughed. “You saw a Rockland Long Back? That’s pretty impressive, considering they are few and far between at this point. I’d be interested in seeing one.”

  Leira shook her head. “I think once was good enough for me. I’m looking for my dad. Have you seen him? I need some help with a case.”

  Louie yawned and stretched his arms over his head. “He’s actually on Earth right now. He’s visiting Brittany. How weird is that, right? You’re here, and he’s there. Small worlds.”

  “Well, damn,” Leira grumped looking over her shoulder at the forest behind her.

  “Can I help you with something?”

  Leira looked at Louie for a second and nodded. “I got a bounty from the government, and they said it was urgent. There’s a lot to it, but basically, I’m looking for a man named Marcel. I need to find him as soon as possible. One of his thugs came through a portal into the Oriceran woods, but I couldn’t track him once I was here.”

  “Interesting… Okay, what do you need from me?”

  Leira thought for a moment. “Do you have informants here too?”

  Louie stood up tall and proud, tugging at the collar of his shirt. “I have connections everywhere, and if I don’t, my best friend does. Ronnie is low enough to the ground that he’s unnoticed a lot of the time. Comes in handy. If there’s anybody who knows about bad dealings happening on Oriceran, it’ll be him. First, I have to take care of your father’s dog, then I’ll take you over there. Gotta warn you though…the dark market isn’t like it was when you were here last. Rhazdon is gone, and it’s under new management. Not really the type who’ll like a Jasper Elf walking about freely.”

  Leira shrugged as if it didn’t bother her at all and followed Louie into the cabin. As he prepared a bowl of food for the dog, Leira knelt and ran her hands through the puppy’s fur. He was cute, with matted black and white fur and a big happy grin. When Louie put the bowl down the dog bolted over, and Leira stood up, looking around her father’s cabin.

  It was exactly what Leira had expected—stark and empty. The furniture was all hand-carved, but not by a
professional—more like her father got bored and made some furniture. Unlike Earth, there were no televisions or radios, and the couch faced the large fireplace. It was one large room with the kitchen to the right consisting of a large island, several pots and pans hung from the ceiling, and another fireplace of sorts with a large pot sitting on top of the ashen remains of a few logs. It was the Oriceran version of a bachelor pad.

  “You ready?” Louie asked, pulling Leira from her thoughts.

  She took one last look around the room and nodded. “Of course.”

  Once outside, Louie reactivated the charm so no one else would be able to find the cabin while he was gone. “The charm’s pretty cool. You can’t hear the dog if you’re standing outside the door. Your dad’s pretty talented.”

  They walked down a dirt path past several small cabins that seemed either neglected or abandoned. Louie followed Leira’s gaze and started to explain. “Some of the people who live in these cabins are old and don’t take very good care of them. A lot of them, though, went ahead and moved over to Earth before the mad rush. They figured it would be easier for them to get settled in human life if the world wasn’t erupting over magical beings.”

  Leira nodded in understanding. “Did they think about the fact that humans only live seventy to ninety years on average? It’ll be a little odd when Mary Jane celebrates her hundred and tenth year with the company.”

  “I guess they’ll figure it out as they go.”

  Leira watched the side of the path as she walked. The large flowering plants bent toward her and followed until their roots snapped them back into place. Some of them hummed quiet tunes, while others reached toward the sunshine. The sounds of wings flapping caught her attention, and she saw a passenger pigeon flying overhead with mail in its beak. She smiled, feeling like things on Oriceran were a lot simpler than they were on Earth. At least, that was what it looked like from the outside.