James grunted. “So this is like a date trip for us, then?”
He wasn’t sure if that was a good thing. He was more interested in pushing his adaptation to the limit. Even a few surprise nanoforms would be welcome.
Shay frowned and shook her head. “Nope, not at all.”
“Why’s that?”
“I’m not that worried, but this shit also doesn’t sound simple. I’ve been studying more about the forest, and it’s a fucked-up place. It’s no wonder the Romanian government just sealed the entire place up. Some of the creatures that have been spotted there haven’t been reported for centuries anywhere else, and that’s assuming we don’t fall through some sort of portal. We’re going to have to be damned careful while we’re there. We don’t know what could attack us, and what kind of tactics they might use.”
“Good,” James rumbled. “That’s the kind of workout I want. It’s a good time, too. I just checked the bounty app, and there’s nothing that even looks like a possible level four heading toward LA or Vegas.”
“What about the New Veil shit?”
James shook his head. “I asked Maria to check with the AET and see if they heard anything, and from what she said, the government thinks it’s over; a bunch of terrorists played with something they shouldn’t have and are dead. They are looking for one person of interest, but they don’t think he has any of the crystals. The PDA did some sort of magical tracing thing to confirm it.”
I wonder if Whispy could have protected me from an explosion like that? I doubt the PDA will let me bring over some of those crystals to test it out. Would Shay let me?
Of course, she would. She had too much fun trying to fuck me up when she first realized Whispy was adaptive.
“Huh.” Shay nodded. “So, we should be good to go to Romania and find the Professor’s evil instrument for him once Alison heads back to school.”
“Yeah,” James replied. He furrowed his brow. “Are there vampires there? We’re not just going to fucking Romania; we’re going to Transylvania. I know a lot of that shit is just from the book, but there were legends even before the book.”
“That’s the weird thing.” Shay chuckled and shook her head. “Werewolves in the form of shifters are all too real. We’ve got wizards and witches and all sorts of weird regional monsters, but the Stoker aristocratic vampire-type creature, as far as I know, doesn’t actually exist, and never has.”
James grunted in genuine surprise. “You’re shitting me? There are no vampires in Romania? I always figured there weren’t any over here, but they all still lived in the Old Country. Kind of like you ran into those weird-ass frog guys only in Russia, even if you can find gnomes and elves everywhere.”
“I’ve looked into this a lot.” Shay waved her hand. “I checked out a lot of sources, old and new. There are creatures out there that feed on blood, but most of them are obviously monstrous or bestial. They are nothing like the classic literary vampire, not even the tortured Nosferatu.” She shrugged. “There doesn’t seem to be, even with the gates open, a true vampire in the modern sense. No semi-intelligent human-looking person who subsists only on blood and doesn’t eat flesh, too. There were reports in history of wizards with specific blood curses, and a lot of modern historians wonder if the legends got mixed up with those wizards to explain why we have this idea.”
James grunted. “I don’t give a shit if they live in a castle or like to fuck people. What about just corpses who like to drink blood and have magic powers?”
“Not outside things directly controlled by necromancers.” Shay shook her head, obvious disbelief on her face. “It’s weird. If there is anything like vampires, they’ve been very good at hiding.”
“Turns out there are aliens.” James shrugged. “Maybe there are vampires, too.”
“Maybe. Stranger things have happened. Like you. Alien vampires?”
“That would be annoying as shit.” James snorted. “If we won’t be running into vampires, what will we be running into?”
“I don’t know.” Shay grimaced. “There are all sorts of local legends about different creatures, from dragons to flesh-eating ghouls. I think we should plan for basically everything and anything. It’s time to give Whispy a real workout in an unusual magical area.”
James turned another corner. It would be just a few more minutes until they arrived at the florist. “I’m kind of surprised the Professor thought you needed to go in and get the thing. If this forest is so fucked up and crawling with bullshit, the instrument’s probably safe. It’s not like some random hiker’s gonna go in and grab it.”
“Sure, safe from idiots like the Hollingsworth crew, but not from, say, something like the Council.”
“They’re all fucking dead. We killed them.”
Shay nodded. “Sure, but there’s always another asshole out there, and now we have two planets to provide our asshole supply.”
James chuckled. “And we had plenty of assholes to begin with.”
“Exactly.”
“Not complaining. I’m hoping to get Whispy trained more. It’s just hard to find shit he hasn’t been exposed to. And I’m tough, but given the way the Alliance is wetting their pants about the Vax, I feel like I’m missing out on some shit. Even Whispy says I’m not at my maximum.”
Shay frowned. “You can’t trust that thing, remember? It’s effectively an evil biocomputer that was supposed to take control of your mind. I know I was the one who encouraged you to use him, and I’m not saying you should never use him, but keep in mind what he wants and what you want are two separate things.”
“Yeah, I get that. I don’t trust Whispy, but I’m in control, so don’t worry.”
“Famous last words.” Shay chuckled. “Big change from when I met you. I remember when you used to keep that thing locked up in your so-called warehouse.”
James gave her a lopsided grin. “Some of us don’t need five warehouses. One will do.”
Shay rolled her eyes. “It was annoying as hell to go get it.”
“I thought it was demonic before, and I didn’t want it to fall into the wrong hands,” James replied. “Now I know it wouldn’t have worked for anybody but Vax.”
Shay laughed. “So since it’s not infernal evil, you can tolerate it?”
“Something like that. At least my soul’s not on the line.” James changed lanes. The shopping center with the florist was coming up on their right.
Shay chuckled. “And it doesn’t hurt to always be more prepared. The worst thing that happens is nothing.”
James turned into the parking lot of the shopping center, the pink sign for the florist visible in the distance. “Hey, were you joking about the fighting plants?”
Shay blinked. “Huh? Yeah, I was.” She laughed. “But now that you mention it, it’s not a half-bad idea.”
12
Dad looks kind of worried, Alison thought. But he always kind of does, even when he’s at Jessie Rae’s.
James pulled the F-350 into an open space in the Starbucks parking lot and put it in Park. “I’m gonna miss you, Alison. I hope your summer didn’t totally suck. I tried to make sure to do more stuff you like this summer.”
“You didn’t have to do that, but I appreciated it.” Alison unbuckled her seatbelt and leaned over to hug him. “It was a great summer, Dad.” She smiled. “And we didn’t have any annoying court cases or reporters this time. Even most of the bounties were fun.”
James looked thoughtful “That’s true. I didn’t really think about that. That’s a real good point.”
“This was a great summer. It’ll be hard to top it next year.”
Alison sighed happily and patted his hand before opening the door. The myriad colors from the souls of everyone inside the Starbucks stood out in her internal darkness, along with the bright magic of the wall concealing the path to the magic train she’d be taking to a Starbucks in Charlottesville before heading back to the School of Necessary Magic.
She grabbed her small rolling suitcase from the back
and stepped to the ground with practiced ease. She offered her father a happy smile. “Every time I talk to you and every time I come back, I’m happy, Dad. And I’m happy you’re getting married. From the moment I met you, I could see in your soul that you were a good man, and you deserve this. I hope you realize that.”
James grunted and looked away. “Have a nice trip back. Say hi to the boy for me.”
Alison laughed. “I will, and I love you, Dad.”
“I love you, too, Alison.”
With a final wave, the teen closed the door and made her way into Starbucks, pulling her suitcase behind her. She didn’t need a magical pulse to help her trace out the locations. The layout of the store was familiar, and she could easily extrapolate a path through it from the position of the soul energy of the various customers inside.
No one would question her small rolling suitcase since people were used to the occasional odd suitcase in Starbucks, even if few realized why an unusual number of magicals had them.
It’s kind of weird that the train’s still mostly a secret. I wonder when it’ll be more known.
Alison stopped and turned around, watching her Dad’s soul colors recede as he pulled out of the parking lot and then up the street. They were a bittersweet mix of happiness and sadness.
I’ve told him about Tanner, but not about a lot of the other stuff. I feel kind of bad about that. Waiting until I graduate is the best plan, though. He’d pull me out of the school if he knew all the crazy things that have been happening. Besides, it’s not like anything that dangerous will happen again. There’s only so much weird stuff that can happen at one school, even the School of Necessary Magic.
Bright anger flared from a man’s soul as he stalked toward the counter. Alison wondered if they’d gotten his drink order wrong, but the fear that flowed a second later from around others and what she could see about the motion of his hand from the extension of his soul energy was familiar enough, if only from her bounties. She couldn’t always make out the fine details, but in this case, she knew exactly what was happening.
Oh, no. He’s got a gun.
“Give me what’s in the register, bitch,” the man screamed.
Some people edged toward the exit, while others rushed straight out. Some people screamed in surprise. The colors of fear, concern, and anger mixed together all over the room.
Alison stood firm as people brushed past her. She squared her shoulders and kept her attention on the robber and his soul energy, looking for any subtle shifts that might announce he was going to shoot. She’d had more than a little practice over the last two summers looking at the energy of dangerous criminals.
With shaking hands, the employee opened the register. Overwhelming shades of fear covered her soul. “There’s only twenty in here. P-people a-almost always pay with their c-cards or p-phones now.”
The man grabbed the woman. “I should fucking kill you, bitch. Fine, you’re coming with me then, in case the cops come. I knew I should have hit the bank instead.”
What would Dad do? He’d try to act like he didn’t want to get involved, but then he’d kick ass.
Alison let go of her suitcase and layered an invisible shield using light magic over herself, then walked over to the man, her hands raised above her head. “Take me instead.”
The color of confusion leaked into the anger and greed. “What?” the man barked.
“You need a hostage, right?” Alison smiled. “The police are less likely to shoot if it’s a young girl.” She nodded toward the employee. Given the woman’s voice and soul textures, she was probably middle-aged.
The man laughed. “You stupid little bitch, you want to be a hero? This ain’t no game.”
“I’m just trying to give you an option.”
“Fine,” the man replied.
Alison couldn’t see the gun, but she could tell he was pointing it at her as he demanded, “Turn around and put your hands on your fucking head.”
She complied and sighed.
Nothing but hate and anger and greed in his soul. Most of the bounties we went after this summer had more beauty in their souls.
The employee collapsed to her knees and started sobbing, then scrambled into the back on her hands and knees.
Alison sighed. At least now that the hostage was gone, she could handle the robber as needed.
The robber forced Alison outside, her hands still on her head. She walked slowly and carefully so as to not trip, but the man hadn’t seemed to realize her sight issues. More souls marked by fear, concern, anger, and even curiosity stood around the edge of the parking lot or across the street. Sirens wailed in the distance.
“It’s not too late, you know,” Alison told him. “You can put the gun down and end all of this before it goes too far.”
The man jammed the gun against her back. She hoped he couldn’t tell there was a thin magical layer between her and the weapon.
“You shut your mouth, bitch. You’re my ticket out of this mess. You shouldn’t have volunteered if you didn’t want to be a hostage.”
Alison almost rolled her eyes.
I was obviously doing it to save the woman, not because I wanted to be a hostage.
“You don’t understand,” Alison explained. “I’m not worried about getting hurt.”
“Then what are you worried about?”
She turned her head. “You getting hurt.”
The man scoffed. “You fucking kidding me?”
“The thing is, I really don’t want to hurt you if I don’t have to.” Alison sighed. “But if you don’t surrender, I’m going to have to. There are still too many people you might hurt.”
The robber laughed and repeated, “You fucking kidding me? Do you understand the situation, you little bitch? You make one wrong move, and I fucking shoot your ass. You get me? You will die.”
“Why did you even try to rob a Starbucks?” Alison frowned. “It doesn’t make a lot of sense.”
“I don’t need to answer to you, and I’m tired of listening to your mouthy shit.” The man raised his arm and tried to pistol-whip the back of her head. His gun and hand bounced off the shield, and he stumbled back. “What the fuck was that?”
Alison stood there smirking, her hands still on her head. Her shield magic was strong enough now that she’d be able to take a bullet without too much concern, but she didn’t want to risk someone else getting caught in the crossfire. She’d accomplished her primary goal of making sure he didn’t take a hostage who might get hurt, and it was time to end this farce of a robbery.
“Maybe the world’s trying to tell you something,” Alison suggested and turned around, a tight smile on her face. “You might want to listen before you end up regretting this day for a long, long time.”
The robber swung his fist at her face. It bounced off her shield, and he followed up with a kick. He connected and found himself off-balance when his attack didn’t send Alison to the ground. He leaned forward too far and fell to the ground as she stepped back. His gun skidded away.
Alison blasted a pulse of magic into the ground, just enough to highlight the area and the gun. She sent a thin wall of magic toward the gun. The impact shoved the weapon to the other side of the parking lot.
“You’re a fucking Ori,” the man growled. He stood. “I’m gonna tear you up.”
Alison sighed and shook her head. “You know what Staff Sergeant Royce would say?”
“Who the fuck is Staff Sergeant Royce?”
“The man who taught me about Sun Tzu. And that’s what you’re missing.” Alison sprang forward, not bothering to dodge as the robber threw a punch. Her shield would handle it. She threw a quick jab to his throat.
He gasped and fell to one knee.
“Here’s a little move my mom taught me. It works even better with magic.” Alison jumped forward, her knee out and still shielded. The man’s head snapped back, and he dropped to the hard asphalt of the parking lot, groaning.
The girl shook her head and sighed. �
�You can’t say I didn’t warn you.”
Loud sirens signaled the imminent arrival of the police.
Alison knelt by the semiconscious man and patted him on the shoulder. “You just got Brownstoned. I’m sure if you tell the guys you’re gonna meet in jail, they’ll be impressed.”
She stood and hurried into the Starbucks with the help of a few magic pulses; it was harder to judge the layout without other people inside. She grabbed her suitcase and hurried toward the wall leading to the magic train.
Alison let out a sigh of relief as she passed through the wall. The dozens of souls inside and the heavy magic of the train station was a stark contrast to all the fear and anger outside. Other than a few strands of frustration and annoyance, no one in the hidden station seemed to have even noticed there had been a robbery attempt outside.
I wonder if they would have stopped it if I hadn’t gotten involved, or if they even knew.
She reached into her pocket. Her Braille-adapted phone was handy enough outside the School of Necessary Magic, although some of the more recent spell and ward changes had made it fairly useless inside most of the time. She was going to have to rely on calling her dad from outside the school grounds.
Alison entered a quick text to her dad.
At the train station now. There was a minor problem but I cleared it up.
The police officer sighed as he tapped in the arrest notes into his tablet. He looked at his cruiser, where they’d secured the suspect. The man sat in the back in handcuffs, forlornly staring out the window.
Another officer smiled and nodded toward an elderly man. “Thank you for your information, sir.” He headed toward his partner.
A woman stood in front of the first officer. She’d just completed a witness statement he hadn’t even asked for, but the police officer didn’t see a reason to not collect more information. There were still several aspects of the incident that remained unclear.
“Let me get this straight,” he replied. “The guy comes out of the place with some girl with dyed white hair as a hostage—some teenager, you said—and he tries to hurt her, and not only does he not pull it off, but she beats him up? Would you say that summary is accurate?”
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