It didn’t stop the hordes of onlookers from parking their cars along the sides of the street and heading into the woods, creating a larger traffic nightmare as a whole lane of traffic on either side of the four-lane road was unusable. Horns blared, and angry shouts rang out.
Jack grimaced and followed the other curiosity seekers through the trees. He trekked through snow and mud, covering his new running shoes with thick, heavy muck.
“I can’t wait to see this,” said a redhead to a brunette.
“Do you know what this is?” asked the brunette. They turned and smiled at Jack, who managed a wan smile.
“What?” asked the redhead. “You know, don’t you?”
“No. I wish I did. I’m just curious like you,” Jack offered.
It was the last he heard from the two women as they entered the packed clearing where John Doe had been found the week prior.
Police officers paced up and down the barriers, keeping people from entering the clearing. Their presence did little to keep onlookers from hiking through the trees. Some of the patrols entered the forest, but resources were thin enough that several people trekking to see the anomaly were finding their way to the fireless smoke.
Soot rained down, covering trees and turning the snow into dirty gray, muddy slush that clung to shoes and clothes. As Jack trudged through the dense undergrowth around the clearing, his eyes darted across the crowd in search of Annie and her team.
The crowd ebbed and flowed; the forest was swollen with people. If Annie and her team were here, Jack figured they’d be inside the portal.
Jack crossed into the clearing, finding a harried police officer ordering a group out of the trees. Jack flashed his badge.
“Special Agent Jack Ramsey,” he volunteered to the officer. “What the hell is going on?” He coughed. A heavy breeze was pushing smoke downwards. Jack inhaled the pungent smell of dung mixed with a musty scent of wet dog.
“The smoke is coming from somewhere in there, but we’ve been through those woods, and there’s no fire,” the officer replied. “No one knows what’s going on. It’s odd.”
“Sounds it. Mind if I head in?” Jack asked.
“If you think you know what’s going on. By all means, please. They’re looking for anyone who can figure it out. And send anyone out who doesn’t belong,” he shouted after Jack.
Jack followed a path that had been beaten down by the hundreds of investigators and onlookers that had combed these woods for the better part of a day. Glancing through bare branches, he followed the billowing smoke until he was standing directly under the location where the smoke mysteriously appeared in thin air.
What the hell?
A strong odor wafted to him. He immediately could tell that it came from another place. It must have floated beyond what should be a protective shield holding the magic inside. Jack closed his eyes, thinking of the black market he had visited, a place where transactions of the legal and illegal variety took place, here and yet not, someplace he couldn’t quite imagine.
Smoked puffed out as if from a smoke stack. Jack could see the single column of blackness as it escaped.
There’s a hole in the protection spell?
Annie had once told him about the protection spell as not only protection for the market from exposure, but as a deterrent for nonmagicals from hanging too long near the portals. She described the icy air, the sense of dread that was always there in the forest. He closed his eyes and felt for the spell, for the chilly air that would be colder than anywhere else in the forest. He shuddered.
“What are you doing here?”
Jack scrambled around until he spotted Milo behind a tree, covered in soot, his clothes singed.
“I can help,” Jack said immediately.
Milo laughed as he pulled himself out of the brush and into the open. His eyes darted across the forest, through the trees.
He’s looking for nonmagicals,
“No. I think you’ve done enough. Good catch though.” Milo grimaced.
“Milo. I can help. Give me something to do.”
Jack felt naked as Milo regarded him and observed his slightest movements. After a moment, Milo waved him over.
“Fine, follow me.” Milo sighed. He led Jack farther into the woods, away from the billowing smoke.
As they walked through the dense underbrush, thick trees, and new growth, Jack found himself alone with the wizard guard behind a large clumping of trees. Here in silence, away from any investigators, animals, or living creatures, Milo gazed into the trees.
“Where is everyone?” Jack asked.
Milo smiled. “They’re in the market. Rescuing whoever or whatever is still inside. Look up.” Milo pointed to the smoke.
I’ve already seen this.
But here Jack saw several lines of smoke puffing up through the trees from ten feet above the ground. “The protection spell is weakening. Soon, the entire market will be visible to everyone.”
“But where is—”
Twigs snapped and leaves crunched as someone neared them. Milo pushed Jack against the tree and held him there, motioning for him to not speak.
Duh. Of course I’m going to stay quiet.
Jack held his breath as he waited for Milo to remove his hands. Peering around the tree trunk, Milo let go of Jack after a moment and greeted two men and one woman.
“Graham. How’s it going?” Milo asked.
Graham’s eyes were dark circles.
“For now, we’re safe. Looks like the spells are warding off nonmagicals from coming this far in.”
Milo pulled Jack out from behind the tree. “Except for this one,” Milo said.
“Jack Ramsey. So you’re the one we should thank for this. Good catch,” Graham said and shook hands with the FBI agent. They had met several months ago when Jack arrested Wolfgange Rathbone.
“I’m here to help,” Jack offered.
“Good to have you.” Graham glanced up at the blackened sky. Jack noticed that both sleeves on his jacket were singed, and he was covered in ash and soot. “We’re going to add more strength to the perimeter spell, to keep others away from here. At least until we obliterate the market. By the way, Jack this is Allen and Sky.
After they shook hands, Milo questioned, “And the Patagonia portal?” Graham sighed. “Still holding for now. The Wizard Guard teams from Europe and Asia have been blocking their portals best they can. Shapeshifters can only escape through Patagonia. It’s a madhouse in there.” Milo processed the report as he glanced into the forest.
“Maybe Milo, Jack can tour the area, look for stray animals that escaped the portals. Lead them off to the holding area,” Graham suggested.
Milo looked at Graham and back to Jack; a smile cracked his drawn face.
“I can do more than that!” Jack argued. In this sealed-off part of the woods, the silence was eerie in its sereneness; Jack’s frustrated voice bounced on the wind.
“There’s too much work and not enough people. I’ll be walking through the forest too, Jack. You can join me. Help me deal with your people if needed. The market, it’s not safe for anyone anymore,” Milo said.
“Whatever you need.” Jack’s answer was terse and confused.
Milo pulled the three wizards to the side. Though they were not whispering, Jack had difficulty understanding their conversation. Instead he watched the smoke billow out and swirl in the wind.
“Jack, you’ll head with me.” Milo’s voice pulled Jack from his rambling thoughts of Annie and her team.
“We’re looking for shapeshifters.” Milo explained. Jack followed him away from the smoke, farther from the crowds and into the thickest, quietest part of the forest.
“What’s a shapeshifter?” Jack asked. He had been wrapped up in the magical world, but now he glanced around to ensure they were still out of earshot of anyone who might have gotten past the protection spell that Jack somehow managed to pass through.
“Humans that can turn into an animal at will.”
Jack supposed he had heard of them somewhere before, maybe as part of an old folk tale or story from the past.
“How is that… never mind. Magic.”
“Listen. Shapeshifters are rare humans that can change into cats, dogs, or snakes at will and change back again. Hundreds have been summoned to the market, and they’re essentially stuck in their animal form. We’re not sure why yet,” Milo said.
“What happened here?” Jack asked. “This started as a simple murder.”
Their footsteps crunched against the ice and snow. Every time a crack or pop occurred, Jack grew anxious, and his eyes darted across the forest, searching for others.
“So who would do this?” Jack asked, still nervously glancing around the trees.
“The short story is, a wizard named Gladden Worchester made a wish to a creature call a djinn, what you might know as a genie. He wanted control of the market. When you make that kind of a wish, there is always payment, and though Gladden wished to control the market, his payment was a partner in this djinn. Beyond that we’re not sure what this creature did, but the market’s been destroyed.”
“And the body dump?” Without additional information, Jack couldn’t see the connection.
Maybe Annie could clear it up for me.
“The victim, a man named Benaiah, was involved with this djinn, though we’re still hazy about the why.” Milo paused for a moment and watched the stacks of smoke rise in the air. Before he could blink, one of the lines disappeared without a trace; he sighed in relief. “The victim was a member of a secret society and was here to sell an artifact called the Ring of Solomon, something his organization was sworn to protect. Hence, why he was selling it. Which gives us motive for his murder,” Milo explained.
The Ring of Solomon?
“You mean, THE King Solomon?” Jack asked, trying to control his voice and not alarm Milo with his growing stress.
“Yeah. That’s the one.”
Jack thought back to his Sunday school days and vaguely remembered the story about the king.
But I don’t remember hearing about a ring.
“What does that have to do with the shapeshifters, the fire, and the destruction of the black market?”
Milo watched another smoke stack disappear. He sighed. “The ring was said to control the shapeshifters. We can guess all we want as to why the djinn wanted the ring. We think the djinn wanted to protect himself from Gladden, who wasn’t happy with his new partner. We think once the shapeshifters are out of the market and in a controlled environment, the ring should turn them back to human.” He stopped for a moment, still staring in the sky as another tower of billowing smoke disappeared. “But the rest, it’s guesses. Someone inside the market was trying to fix a whole host of errors, and it just got out of hand. Now we’re stuck cleaning up the mess.”
After finishing his explanation, Milo looked into the low bushes and crouched behind a downed tree to investigate a set of paw prints in the mud. He pinched a beige hair from the print.
“What is it?” Jack asked. Milo held up his finger, signaling he needed a minute to investigate, and followed the track. A female lion lay on an open patch earth, licking her paw. Jack jumped and backed away. The lioness glanced at them, yawned, and placed her head on top of her paws.
Laughing, Milo said, “This would be a shapeshifter. I’m sure you’re aware lions aren’t native to Busse Woods.”
Jack observed Milo cautiously approach the animal, holding his hand out for it to sniff. The lioness took a breath, gave a lick and lay back down. “I’m sending you off to the Argentina portal. You’ll be safe there, honey.”
Jack watched in awe as Milo held his palms above the majestic beast; it glistened as it disappeared.
“Why Patagonia? Seems a bit rough.”
Leaves rustled above them. Milo glanced up as if he was expecting a flock of birds to descend on them. Bare branches swayed in the wind, scratching against each other.
“It is. But it’s also the least-used portal in the world with virtually no nonmagicals within a hundred miles of it.”
“Shapeshifters take the form of any animal?” Jack asked as they meandered through the trees.
“Cats, dogs and snakes. Usually they’re not big cats or wolves. Domesticated, mostly.”
“Why a lion then?” Jack asked, confused.
“We’re finding other species in the market that act rather human. Not sure how or why that is, but it is. We can figure it out later,” Milo answered.
Branches cracked. Animated voices shouted, growing closer to their location. Milo pushed Jack behind the fallen tree where they sat in the wet earth.
“It’s sooty here. Smell that.” Fire rescuers hiked through the trees, bending and searching. Their footsteps grew louder, closer.
Jack felt his heart racing; it rang in his ears. Holding his breath, he watched Milo rise just above the felled tree. The wizard waved his palm, increasing the strength of the protection spell. The boost of magic created a chill, a warning to the rescuers to leave.
“It’s not here. There’s no fire,” shouted a firefighter. The men in their heavy gear backed away and headed in the opposite direction. “Over here, the fire has to be over here.” They headed west, away from Milo and Jack.
“Don’t know why the shapeshifter took the form of a lion,” Milo said again. He sat back in the mud. “We don’t know why some things are happening.” Sinking lower, he sighed.
“Is this how it always is?” Jack asked.
“It’s not normally this bad,” Milo answered. “This is the worse exposure risk we’ve ever had. Not even your princess was as complicated or as close as this is.” Milo lay his head against the tree and closed his eyes, waiting for the next group of nonmagicals to sneak inside the forest.
Chapter 30
Bitherby raced into the dormitory as the smoke flowed outward. Annie and Shiff crawled to the door. The smoke overwhelmed them; hot air and the stench of body odor and dung seeped through their masks. Annie coughed and sputtered until Shiff cast a spell upwards, pushing the smoke against the ceiling.
The incinerators rumbled beneath them. Pressure built quickly, and the ground shook and popped; an explosion burst from one of the incinerator tubes. Annie fell forward and held herself steady against the door frame.
“Bitherby!” Annie shouted, but her cries were drowned by the fires, the explosion, the screams wafting to her from below. He was lost in the darkness.
Rock walls vibrated, and chunks of stone crashed against the rickety wooden steps. Hesitating to take her first step Annie turned to Shiff. “We’ll teleport if we have to.”
“I got ya,” he responded and followed her down.
Their flashlights cut through the smoke in the stairwell. The fire and heat rendered the wood brittle. Annie held tightly to the handrail as if that would stop her from slipping and falling. It barely held against the wall.
Sweat beaded down her forehead and dripped to her chin. Panicked, terror-filled shouts drew her downward, growing louder as her boots moved forward on the earthen floor.
The room swung to the right, where they found themselves in a large room filled with tiny creatures hiding under chairs and tables, behind dirty mattresses, or under oily rags. Some ran in panicked circles across the basement room, screeching.
“Oh, shit! Bitherby, help them upstairs!” Annie screamed through the chaotic shrill of voices. “Take this.” Bitherby ran with the flashlight back to the stairs, dragging several other creatures with him.
“Now, this way!” he called out with a deep command in his voice. “Come now, follow the light!” Scared creatures peered over their hiding spots and gingerly stepped into the open, following the light out of the basement.
Without a flashlight, Annie couldn’t see the detail of the room; she crashed into an overturned bed, sending shocks of pain through her shin. Losing her view of Shiff, she glanced upwards; shadows, smoke, and fire twirled
and twisted toward the center of the room where he guided it away from everyone in the basement. His arms shook as he engaged the spell, holding it steady. Cautiously, Annie followed the firelight, avoiding lumps and piles on the floor, though she missed an outstretched foot and tumbled to the ground. The rest of the body lay under the bed. She slid the creature out and felt for signs of life.
Her hands shook as she lifted the still-breathing elf and ran the creature back to Bitherby at the stairs.
“Miss Annie!” Bitherby looked horrified.
“Take her. She’s still alive.”
Bitherby whipped his friend over his shoulders and carried her up the staircase.
“Up this way!” Annie shouted, her voice becoming the guidepost out. The exodus of creatures grew thicker. “One at a time, this way.” Her fingers grazed shoulders as they passed.
Fifteen made it out, I think.
Amongst the deafening fire, she heard grunts and strained cries.
Shiff!
“Annie, help!”
The smoke and fire whirled above her. As Shiff grew weaker, the smoke dropped closer to the floor, ready to engulf him; he was tiring from the expenditure of magical energy. With a burst of energy, Annie jumped over a broken chair.
“I’ll take over.” She raised her arms, pushing the spell from the ground. Gratefully, Shiff lowered his shaking rubbery arms, wiping sweat from his forehead and neck.
Even with the smoke away from her face, the stench was pungent; she felt a wave of nausea and dizziness creep in on her.
“Do you have crystals?” she shouted above the roar.
“A few.”
“Take them out and summon mine,” she ordered. Her arms shook, she clenched her muscles.
“We have seven,” Shiff said. Following her train of thought without Annie needing to say it, he waved his palms across the first.
Her legs and core muscles shook.
Depositing the first, he lit a second, adding additional magic, making the crystal’s light strong and visible in the smoke and dark. Lighting all seven, he created a trail out of the dormitory.
Black Market (The Wizard Hall Chronicles Book 2) Page 29