Voices From The Other Side

by Brandon Massey

  “Are you all right?” Angelique asked.

  “No-no. It’s hard talking about the Order, even to you. When I left, I had to accept a silence spell, to keep certain facts about the Order secret. We’re so close, the spell doesn’t detect you as a separate person. It’s as though I was talking to myself. But even with that it’s hard.” She took another drink of water and chanted in a whisper:

  “My mind is one.

  I am alone.

  The binding holds,

  The binding holds.”

  “Maybe you shouldn’t—” Angelique started to say.

  “No, I’ll be okay.”

  “So, the executive board didn’t find anything wrong, but I was having strange dreams of being controlled and held. The more I slept, the more tired I became. My work began to suffer. I couldn’t concentrate. I decided to leave the Order. Clint and I argued. It was terrible. He kept saying it was Gray Magic.”

  “Your magic turned negative back to you?” Angelique asked.

  “Right, as if I haven’t taken into account the repercussions of magic I’ve done. I may seem reckless, but not with magic. I’d know the difference anyway.”

  Brenda pulled her knees up and wrapped her arms around them.

  “Anyway, the dreams became worse after I left the Order. I started losing the line between waking and sleeping. Even when I was awake, I felt like someone else was looking through my eyes. I began making mistakes at work. My latest project was suffering, so I took time off. I hoped to find out more about who was involved, but they’re hiding too well.” She shook her head. “I can feel them when I wake. Shadows, like birds, flapping in my mind. They’re very strong.”

  “Do you have any idea who it is?” Angelique asked.

  Brenda closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “I suspect a couple of people. I’ve looked all over for some sign of something placed inside my apartment, some kind of charm used to link them to me, but I haven’t found anything. Did you pick up anything when you came in?”

  “Just your protective spell,” Angelique said. “Although, when I woke just now, I thought I saw something move in the shadows.”

  Brenda grabbed Angelique’s hands. “What did you see?”

  “Nothing I could describe. You know how we used to dream when we were younger, and could shape the shadows. I don’t think it was someone else. There wasn’t anyone else in here except me and echoes of you.”

  “Are you sure you didn’t feel anything else in the apartment?”

  Angelique held Brenda’s hands in hers. “Nothing else,” she said. “What are they after?”

  Brenda looked away and then back at Angelique. “I don’t want to say too much. It’s better you don’t know.”

  “Better how? They probably know I’m here, since I had to break you out of that dream. You might as well tell me.”

  Brenda fingered a bracelet of charms on her right wrist. “It’s about my work. I’ve been doing genetic research, working on gene therapy.”

  “What’s that got to do with magic?” Angelique asked.

  “I’ve been working on a personal project at the lab.” Brenda struggled to her feet, and stretched. She paced as she talked. “I’ve found something fantastic, Angelique. The thing I’ve been looking for.”

  “The magic gene?” Angelique asked.

  “Something like that. Our team’s been working with chromosome nineteen. Its network of genes controls the repair of DNA damage caused by pollution and radiation. You know how we’ve always wondered why some people have more power than others?”

  Angelique nodded.

  “I’ve found some sequencing data that implies chromosome nineteen makes repairs in DNA that increases the ability of people to access their power. I’ve been doing my own research on the side, looking at my chromosomes and yours.”

  “Mine, but how—?” Angelique frowned. “Oh, I guess you could have gotten a sample of my DNA from any of my visits. You should have told me.”

  “I’m sorry. I meant to tell you what I was doing. I’ve always believed there’s a scientific explanation for magic. I think nature tries to fix us, and ends up making us different. The next question is whether we could manipulate someone’s DNA to enhance or turn on their power. I’m afraid this is what they’re interested in.”

  She stopped pacing and sat on the bed. “There was a break-in at the lab, but I don’t keep the results there. I always download the data when I leave. Two weeks ago, there was a break-in here while I was at work. That’s when I knew someone was after my research. Now they’re trying to break into my mind and make me show them what I’ve discovered.”

  “I can’t believe this.” Angelique stood up. “You steal my DNA, do research I’m sure your lab didn’t approve and now put us both in danger. I don’t know how someone so smart can act so stupid sometimes.”

  Brenda shook her head. “You’re right.” She grabbed Angelique’s hands. “But now that you’re here, maybe together we can find out who’s after me.”

  “And then what?” Angelique asked, pulling away. “There aren’t any magic police to protect you. Do you at least have the information in a safe place?”

  “Very safe. I’ll figure a way out of this.” Brenda looked at her watch. “Isn’t Tempus Fugit playing at Sara’s club tonight?”

  “In about three hours, but—”

  “I need to get out of here. Why don’t you shower and dress here for tonight. We’ll go to the club together. I’m starving. Sara’s kitchen still makes the best po-boy sandwiches and onion rings around. By the way, how’s Milez?”

  “He’s been fine.”

  “Good, I’ll give him a quick checkup tonight, free of charge.”

  “You still haven’t told me how you’re going to handle this . . . attack,” Angelique said, leaning against the doorway with her arms crossed.

  “Don’t worry, I will.” Brenda rushed to the living room.

  Angelique closed her eyes and massaged her temples. She was going to need something for this headache, and she had a feeling things were just going to get worse.

  Angelique changed into the black bodysuit designed to communicate with Milez. Before they left for the Funky Piranha, Brenda stopped at the door. “Remember the protection spell you created when we were kids?”

  Angelique nodded. They held hands and recited it together:

  “Goddess of Day,

  Complete the way.

  Goddess of Night,

  Surround us with Light.

  I call upon thee,

  I call upon thee,

  To protect us two,

  Protect us twice.”

  Warmth encircled them. Brenda gave her cousin a hug. “I’m so glad you’re here.”

  When they entered the club, Brenda went straight to Milez. Angelique talked to Sara and the three members of her band as she watched her cousin talk quietly to Milez with her hand over his open interface panel. Tendrils of blue protoplasm moved over her right hand and wrist, and danced around her bracelet.

  She walked over to Brenda. “So, what’s going on?”

  “Just catching up. I ran a quick check of his system, and he’s in excellent shape.” Brenda caressed his casing with her other hand.

  “I’m always good around you, Brenda,” he said. Lines of neon light fanned out of the interface panel, filling the ceiling of the club, as the protoplasm melted off her hand back into the container.

  “Show-off,” Angelique said, smiling. “Save the pyros for the show tonight.”

  “Don’t worry, I’ve got plenty where that came from,” he said.

  Brenda sat at a small table next to the long bar opposite the small stage. The sound check didn’t take long. Once Sara opened the doors to the public, the small club filled up quickly.

  Sara turned down the lights. The band opened with “Combustion,” a piece written by Angelique. Milez made his way to the top of his casing in slow, graceful, neon-bright blue drops, like rain falling up. Angelique rifted on the
acoustic with one hand; the other hand lay over Milez’s open interface panel. As the blue protoplasm touched her hand, it poured up and over her hand and arm, until she was spotted with glowing dots. Milez picked up the sounds from the piano and broke the chords into sharp, harmonic bursts to complement her playing. The bass, drums and violin danced in and around the main movement. The dots slithered and swirled into lines and patterns over her body. She played with her eyes closed, occasionally humming and scatting. Milez picked up her voice and morphed the sounds to play back against the original sounds. They teased back and forth, building and juxtaposing each other’s harmonies. At the climax of the piece, Milez threw a rainbow of laser light into the air, the thin lines flashing into flame shapes overhead. The audience erupted into whoops and applause.

  The rest of the evening went quickly. The band played two long sets, with a short break in between, to a standing-room-only crowd. The band finished well after midnight.

  Brenda drank juice with her meal. In spite of being at the club all that time, her aura was brighter than when they had first arrived.

  Sara locked the door after the band, bartender and bouncer left.

  “How about we have some of my best scotch, to celebrate the three musketeers?” Sara asked, as they sat on the edge of the stage near Milez.

  “The three of us?” Brenda asked, pointing to Sara and her cousin.

  “No, silly,” Sara said, laughing. “You, Angelique and Milez. I’ll meet you in my office.”

  “You enjoy the scotch. I dig the juice in your club, Sara,” Milez said, sending sparks into the dimly lit room.

  “You can have as much electricity as you like,” Sara said.

  “Do you need me anymore tonight, baby?” Milez asked.

  “No, you can sleep,” Angelique said.

  “Nighty-night, girls,” he said. The soft glow of his suspension liquid dimmed and went out as his protoplasm settled into the dark base.

  Someone banged on the front gate of the club. Sara pulled the curtain aside and peeked out. “It’s the bartender. He must have forgotten something. You two go on. I’ll be there in a minute.”

  “We’ll pour one for you, Sara,” Brenda said as they walked to Sara’s office in the back of the club. “The band sounded better than ever.”

  “Thanks. It’s been a long night,” Angelique said, sitting on the small couch. “What are you going to do about your problem? You can’t hide from them forever.”

  “I know, but I don’t think I’ll have to.” Brenda sat in a chair next to the couch.

  The office door opened, and Sara came in. Angelique started to speak, but the look on Sara’s face stopped her. A large man and a tall woman came in behind her. Only after they shut the door behind them did Angelique see the guns. She began to rise when the Asian woman gestured with her weapon to sit down.

  “Brenda, good to see you again,” the man said. He had strong Native American features and wore his long hair in two tight braids wrapped in leather strips. Silver and stone charms hung from his multiple earrings. Power vibrated around him, like the sound of fine glass being gently struck.

  “Mac, it’s been you all this time,” Brenda said.

  “I had a feeling you knew that,” he said, walking over to them.

  “You know these people?” Sara said.

  “Unfortunately we used to belong to the same club.”

  “Gun club?” Sara asked, sitting down at her desk.

  “You’re funny,” Mac said. “Not many people can maintain their sense of humor with guns pointed at them.”

  “You should come to this club during Mardi Gras.” Sara leaned back in her chair.

  “Mind your manners, and you might get to see Mardi Gras this year,” the Asian woman said.

  Sara opened her mouth, then crossed her arms over her chest and glared at them instead.

  Mac leaned over Angelique and caressed her face. “So, this is your cousin.” He closed his eyes for a moment and took a slow breath. “The power runs deep in your family. Imagine the children you and I could make.”

  Brenda stood, and pushed him away from Angelique. “Did you come here to look for a wife?”

  He grabbed her arms and pulled her close. “You know what I came for,” he whispered. “We’ve played around long enough. I can’t wait to get the information from you—even with my skills, you’ve kept me out.”

  “Why are you doing this?” Brenda asked.

  He released her and laughed. “You can’t seriously be asking that. The potential of your discovery is obvious. Everyone wants more of what they have, whether it’s money, beauty or power.”

  “You’re one of the strongest in the Order—”

  “This has nothing to do with them.” He leaned against the wall opposite her. “They’re small-minded humans doing little tricks. I have bigger plans, which need bigger power. You’ve found the path, and now you’ll share it with me.” He spread his hands in front of him. “Why fight me on this? Your resistance can’t keep me away forever. Why not work with me? I’m certainly a better match for you than that wimp, Clint.”

  “What’s he got to do with this?”

  “Nothing now.” Mac smiled. “He has no more power than most people, making them very easy to manipulate. Like your albino friend here—a simple glamour spell, and she believed someone she knew was at the front entrance.”

  Brenda balled her hands into fists. “You influenced Clint to break up with me?”

  “Should you be saying this in front of her?” the woman asked Mac, gesturing to Sara.

  “Don’t worry about her,” Mac said. He turned to Angelique. “But you’re worried about her, aren’t you?” He nodded to the Asian woman.

  She pressed her gun against the side of Sara’s head. Sara reached up to push the gun away, and the woman released the safety, Sara threw her hands in the air and slowly lowered them to her lap.

  Angelique jumped to her feet. “Don’t hurt her.”

  “Don’t. I’m fine,” Sara said.

  “Yes, I thought so.” He shoved Angelique back on the couch. “The air is thick with the attraction between you two. The thing is, I don’t want to hurt anyone. I just want the information your cousin has gathered, and then I’ll leave.”

  “What makes you think I have it here?” Brenda asked.

  “Because if I were you, I’d keep it nearby, and we haven’t found it anywhere else. We could search every inch of you—that might be fun—or we could go a more traditional route to convince you to cooperate. It’s kind of low-tech on a magic level, but it can be persuasive.” He nodded to the woman. She took a slim laser knife from her jacket pocket, clicked it on and swiped at Sara. Two of her long, pale dreadlocks fell to the floor.

  Angelique started to stand, but Brenda grabbed her hand and squeezed. A spike of electricity rushed between them.

  “There’s no reason to overreact,” Brenda said.

  “Then give me what I want,” he said.

  Brenda took a long breath and pushed out from the center of her body. The air in the room compressed.

  “I was waiting for you to try something like this,” he said. He waved his hands in the air, clenched his hands into fists and grunted. The pressure in the room disappeared.

  Angelique squeezed Brenda’s hand and took a breath at the same time she did, pushing out from her center. They worked together, their power joining, and pushed the air toward Mac and his partner.

  “Sara, run!” Brenda said.

  There was a loud boom overhead. Lightbulbs exploded. Their ears popped as an invisible hand shoved them away from each other.

  Brenda ran out the door, through the club and into the crowded street. She turned around and saw Sara but not Angelique. Sara stopped and looked back at the same time.

  “Keep running!” Angelique’s voice whispered urgently in her ear. She still didn’t see her cousin, but grabbed Sara’s arm.

  “We have to get farther away,” Brenda said.

  “What ab
out Angelique?”

  “She’s okay. Let’s go.” She pushed Sara in front of her. They shuffled through the packed streets. Sara ducked into an alley, and Brenda followed her, as they ran left and right through the alleys.

  They climbed over a low fence, sprinted through a yard, and ran in the back door of a bar. The bar was an old neighborhood hangout, a safe haven for natives when the French Quarter was swamped with visitors. Sara grabbed Brenda’s arm and led her through the crowd to the bar.

  “Hey, Sara, what’s up?” the bartender yelled over the jukebox.

  Brenda looked at her and shook her head.

  “Just out for a little downtime,” Sara said.

  The bartender poured two beers into frozen mugs and slapped the mugs on the bar in front of Sara and Brenda.

  “We have to go back and get Angelique,” Sara said.

  “She’s safe for now,” Brenda said. “He’ll use her to get the information from me.”

  “You know that for a fact?”

  Brenda nodded and looked across the bar at the wide mirror. A shudder went through her.

  She was back in the club, sitting in a chair. She tried to move, but ropes held her tight. A silence spell kept Brenda/Angelique from talking. Through Angelique’s eyes, the images were warped and stretched.

  “Brenda, I know you can hear me,” Mac said. “It’s fortunate that you and your cousin are so close. It saved her life.”

  Mac passed the laser knife in front of their face. “I can start carving your cousin up, or you can give me what I want. And just so you know, I’m serious.”

  He walked behind Brenda/Angelique. She heard the high-pitched sound of the laser coming on. They struggled in the chair, and screamed at the jolt of pain in her right hand. The pain dulled to a throb. Mac showed her a fingertip.

  “I sealed the wound, so she won’t bleed to death. Just the little finger, above the knuckle. Something that can be rebuilt. But I can do more, much more.” He waved his hand in front of her face, and the silence spell lifted briefly.