“Thank you, Paul. You’ve been very helpful.” I stand, and stride towards the entrance, satisfied with the tip about the graveyard. It’s not quite what I was hoping to get out of him, but it’s better than nothing.
“Hey, wait! Let me go! You promised!” Paul yells, and strains against his chains, nearly toppling over his chair in the process.
I turn to face him, a cruel smile creeping across my face as we lock eyes. “I did promise I’d let you go… But I never promised when.”
***
It takes an incredible amount of effort to open my eyes in the morning, and keep them open. I don’t know why; I’ve gone to sleep at more ridiculous hours and woken up fine afterwards. Could last night’s activities have really tired me out that much? I rub my eyes, and start to roll out of bed, but an image of Paul comes to mind, unbidden, and it gives me pause. That’s what’s going on, then. I feel guilty about what I’ve done to him.
I roll over just enough to face my closet, and stare at it, my stomach sinking like a stone. It felt like I’d been doing the right thing last night, but in the light of day, I’m starting to think I’m taking things a little too far. I want to put a stop to the Lost and their deeds, but I never thought I’d resort to kidnapping and interrogation to do it. Hell, I might have even stooped to torture. I’m not quite sure how far I would have gone to get something useful out of Paul.
I roll onto my back, and stare up at the ceiling. I’m a good person, or at least I’d like to think so. But can I be all that good if I’m capable of treating other human beings this way? I’ll fight anyone I need to if I feel threatened, but that’s different. Paul’s just the first terrified spellcaster I could get my hands on. And he’s probably starving right now, if he’s even conscious. I promise myself I’ll bring him some food and water later today. It’s the least I can do.
I hardly even flinch when my ringtone starts blasting near my ear, and I answer the call before the song gets very far. “Hello?”
“Heather!” Krystal’s voice comes through on the speaker, sounding a little breathless. “Where are you?”
“I’m home… why?”
“Get dressed, and get to the meeting place. We have a situation on our hands.”
“What-“
“Now.”
“Why are all these emergency meetings in the morning?,” I ask. But there’s no answer; the line’s already gone dead. I groan, and drop the phone onto the bed next to me. Krystal sounded like she was in a hurry, so I probably don’t have time for a shower. I’ll just have to wear last night’s clothes. I grab my shorts and shirt from off the floor and throw them on, then stop to brush my teeth before teleporting to the abandoned subway station.
When I arrive, there’s hardly anyone around. I must have been one of the first few people Krystal called… either that, or the rest of the clan has an aversion to waking up this early. Alyssa is the next one to appear, looking around frantically until she finds me. “What’s going on?,” she asks as more spellcasters materialize around us.
“I don’t know yet,” I tell her. “What’s going on with you?”
“What?”
“You look like you’re about to panic.”
“Oh…” Alyssa rakes her fingers through her hair, and says, “I can’t find Lily. She disappeared early this morning, and she won’t pick up her phone.”
As she speaks, I recall last year, when Selene kidnapped Rachel to draw me in closer. Could the Lost, her last loyal servants, be pulling the same move? Just to try and rule out that possibility, I ask, “Are you sure she’s not at home, sleeping or something?”
“I checked there first. And besides, she said she wasn’t leaving the hospital until her mom woke up.”
“Then why not follow her energy trail to see where she went?”
“I can’t.”
“You did it with Rachel last year-“
“Heather, I tried.” Alyssa gnaws on her thumb nail for a second, and says, “The trail goes cold right in the hospital room. Both Lily and her mom are just… gone.”
I stare open mouthed at Alyssa. Lily “disappearing” sounds plausible, but why would someone have abducted a woman in a coma from her hospital room? It doesn’t make any sense to me. I pull Alyssa towards me, hold her tightly, and promise, “We’ll find her.”
Krystal appears at the top of the stairs before our conversation can continue, and she waves her hands to signal a request for silence. She gazes out over the still-growing crowd of Caelestia members with a disappointed expression. Whatever’s going on, she’s clearly unhappy about it. “Last night,” she begins, “I got a call from Dillon. He was being followed by the Lost, and he was worried they would corner him somewhere. And as it turns out, they did.”
I fight to keep my eyes trained on Krystal, though I’d rather be looking down at my feet. I think I know where this is going.
“By the time I called for help, and they arrived at Dillon’s location, they found him on a rooftop on 78th street. At first, they were impressed. They thought he’d taken care of the problem himself. But Dillon confessed that someone else saved him. A spellcaster wearing a skin tight leather outfit and a mask.”
The subway station’s so silent, I’m almost certain everyone around me has stopped breathing. Alyssa looks at me curiously, but I focus all of my attention on Krystal. I’m afraid that if Alyssa sees the fear in my eyes, she’ll know I was involved.
“That’s not all,” Krystal continues. “This morning, a security guard at the Museum of Natural History noticed that none of the security cameras were sending any footage to their monitors. After he reconnected the system, he caught a glimpse of people on the roof, and he called the cops. Now, twenty three people have been taken into custody for trespassing. Each of them were from the Lost.”
Someone down in front raises her hand, and asks, “What does that have to do with us?”
“I’m glad you asked,” Krystal says. “I have reason to believe this vigilante was one of us. And even if he weren’t, he poses a threat to our existence. He may have saved Dillon’s life, but by parading around on the streets, firing spells left and right, trespassing at the museum, potentially destroying both public and private property… whoever is behind this, they clearly don’t care if people know metahumans are real or not.”
I look down at last to see that my fists are shaking, and it’s not because of Krystal’s assessment of our exposure being at risk. It’s mostly because she assumes whoever rescued Dillon was a man. As if women aren’t capable of heroic deeds. Either she’s guessing, she’s accepted stereotypes as fact, or Dillon clearly wasn’t paying attention while I was busy saving his skin.
“It gets better,” Krystal says. “As it turns out, I’m not the only one to come to this conclusion. When I woke up, it was to an email containing a video message from an anonymous sender.”
A confused murmur cuts through the silence as a projector screen slides into place behind Krystal, and she steps down to join the crowd of onlookers. The screen remains blank for a moment, but is soon filled by a russet background, with a humanoid figure silhouetted against it. “Good morning, Andrea,” the figure begins, and I’m surprised by their use of Krystal’s birth name. I’m even more surprised by how familiar the voice sounds; it’s being masked digitally, but I can’t shake the feeling that I’ve heard it somewhere. “I’m sure that by now, you’ve heard about what happened at the museum late last night. I have to say, I’m impressed. One spellcaster against nearly half of my subordinates… and it seems they were hopelessly outmatched. At least, that’s what the consensus was when I bailed out twenty three of them this morning.
“And here, we come to the crux of the matter; I only bailed out twenty three. According to the group, they had originally started out with twenty four. And since the majority of the spellcasters in this city are under your supervision, Andrea, I have to assume that you have something of mine. The Lost may not play nice, but we don’t steal. We have a code.
&n
bsp; “So, here is my proposal. Ask our lost friend where he calls home, and bring him back to us as soon as you can. For every night that he is not returned, I will send out a score of the Lost’s best warriors. And they will hunt down every Caelestia member they can find, and skin them to the bone. And when you have nothing, no one left, we will lay waste to this city from the inside out, and move on to a home where we won’t have to put up with the likes of you.
“That being said, I hope this message finds you well. And I hope to hear from you soon.” The video cuts out, and the screen fades to white, and at first, not a sound can be heard. Then the shouting begins, and I finally let my gaze drop down to the ground. I knew my actions would have consequences, but because of me… strangers, acquaintances, and friends alike are possibly going to die.
23
Krystal tries a few times to make herself heard over the din, but that proves easier said than done. Everyone’s shouting over each other, a few are panicking, and I could swear I hear someone behind me crying. Ultimately, Krystal fires a shower of red and green sparks into the air to grab everyone’s attention. “Everyone, calm down,” she orders, and slowly but surely, the crowd falls silent. She stares out at the congregation grimly for a moment, waiting for the 6 train passing by to glide out of sight to speak. “First things first… if any of you here is the vigilante, or has any idea of the whereabouts of the missing spellcaster, please… speak up now.”
The hushed crowd begins making noise again, but this time, it’s more mutinous murmurs than outright shouting. Nobody here knows anything about the incident. Nobody but me. And I’m certainly not going to give myself up.
“Fine,” Krystal announces after a minute or two have passed. “Nobody wants to confess, that’s fine. Just know that our lives are depending on you.”
“She doesn’t need to confess!,” shouts someone to my left. The people around him start shouting in agreement, and my blood runs cold. I don’t like where this is going.
“What do you mean?,” Krystal asks.
“Think about it,” adds someone down in front. “Whoever this person is, they managed to take down twenty four of our kind single-handedly. And there are only three people in this city with that kind of freakish power. One of them is you, Krystal. Then there’s the Conduit. And then there’s the She-Hulk.”
A ripple of agreement passes over the crowd, but I’m the only one who seems to be confused. I have no idea what She-Hulk has to do with anything that’s going on. Not until Alyssa squeezes my hand, and asks, “How come every time something goes wrong around here, it’s automatically my fault?”
Nobody speaks for a moment; it seems nobody can think of a good enough answer to her outburst. Krystal tries to get everyone back on track by saying, “We’re not accusing anybody right now-“
“Really? Cuz I’m pretty sure that’s what it sounds like. And I’m sick of it.” Alyssa glares at the people around us, and several of them back away. “Seriously, every goddamn time! ‘The Lost wanna come after us? Alyssa’s a spy. Masked warrior on the loose? Gotta be Alyssa. My nose is bleeding? Alyssa kicked me. I can’t get it up? Alyssa gave me erectile dysfunction.’ I’m starting to wonder if you people are discriminating against me because I’m into girls, or if you’re all just mentally unbalanced.”
In the hush that follows, I take the opportunity to add, “Allie couldn’t have done something like this. For one thing, she wouldn’t have bothered wearing a ridiculous outfit. And for another, she was in the hospital all night.”
“Then what about the Conduit?,” someone shouts from the back of the crowd.
“Nice try,” I shout back, silently thanking Rachel for giving me an alibi. “But I was on a date last night.”
“This is getting us nowhere!,” Krystal shouts over the response to my claim. “The sooner we stop blaming each other, the sooner we can start working on a solution.”
“What solution is there?,” someone asks.
“We split up, and search the entire city. Maybe ask a few people if they’ve seen anything. There are enough of us that odds are, we can find him by tonight.”
The rest of the clan grudgingly agrees, even though I know it’s pointless to search. Nobody would ever think to look on the docks in Brooklyn. There’s also the fact that we don’t have many people in our clan who can sense others like Alyssa, Krystal, and I can. And even if there were more people capable of tracking like us, the enchanted chains holding Paul restrict his power, making him stick out no more than a normal human. The chances he’ll be found before I bring him back are slim at best.
Krystal breaks us into two person groups, giving each of us ten block search parameters. Alyssa and I are lumped together, and told to sweep every building along a limited stretch of 5th Avenue. We’re told to look for alleyways, garages, warehouses, condemned buildings, any place it would be convenient to store an entire living person. She even suggests some places one would find a body, and I fight back a gasp. In my rush to attend the meeting, I’d completely forgotten to feed Paul. And now that Alyssa’s tagging along, I don’t think I’ll get the chance for a while.
As soon as everyone knows where they’re heading, the meeting is dismissed, and each of us heads to our designated areas. Alyssa and I walk along the tracks for a stretch, aiming to just get on the subway and ride to our destination. Once we’re well out of earshot, Alyssa announces, “I’m splitting. What are you gonna do all day?”
“What? Where are you going?”
“I don’t know. I just know I’m not wasting my time looking for someone when you know where they are.”
I freeze, and grab Alyssa’s arm so that we both come to a stop. “Are you seriously accusing me?,” I ask.
“These people may be dumb as bricks, but they were right about one thing. There are only a handful of people in this city who could have handled a fight that big. And it wasn’t me or Krystal, so you do the math.”
“I was out all night! Just ask Rachel, or Nick-“
“Heather. I know you too well. The whole masked hero deal has you written all over it.”
I roll my eyes, and start walking further down the tunnel. “Even if I were involved in this guy’s disappearance, what would you do about it?”
“Go with you when you bring him back.”
“How did you know I was going to-“
“Again, Heather, I know you too well.”
“Either way, my answer is no.” I steady myself against the wall, and immediately wish I hadn’t; I don’t know what substance my hand just came in contact with, but I know I no longer want it on me. “You’re not coming with me.”
“Why not? We make a good team, and-“
“Allie, this isn’t just a delivery. I grabbed him so I could get inside information on the Lost. So I could take down the whole clan. It’s going to be dangerous.”
“I laugh in the face of danger.”
“Be serious! You could get hurt, or worse.”
“You’re the one being ridiculous! Heather, if this is going to be so dangerous, then why are you so adamant about going alone?”
I try to come up with an answer, but to be honest, I can’t think of any good enough reasons to keep Alyssa away. She’s handy in a fight, and we make a good team. Her help could only improve my chances of success. “Fine,” I mutter when I’ve made up my mind. “Meet me at my place before sunset.”
“What’s the plan?,” Alyssa asks. I might be imagining it, but I could almost swear she sounds genuinely excited.
“The Lost don’t want anything to do with us. They follow their leader’s orders because they’re all cursed. If we cut off the head, there shouldn’t be a problem anymore.”
“Got it. Anything else I need to know?”
I stop, and turn to look at Alyssa before answering. “Yeah. Wear something black.”
***
I have all day to get ready for what I have planned, so when Nick calls and asks if I’d like to come over, I gladly say yes. I walk over to
the condo as soon as I’m showered and wearing brand new clothes. I’m careful to wear another quarter sleeve shirt; the bruises from last night are starting to turn a sickly purple, and Nick will definitely ask questions.
I walk into the lobby of the condo, expecting to ride the elevator up to Nick’s floor, but he’s already waiting for me just out of sight with a bag slung over his shoulder. He kisses me as soon as we’re close enough to touch, then grabs my hand and leads me back out the front door.
“Where are we going?,” I ask as we step onto the sidewalk.
Nick grins at me, and says, “To the far away land of… across the street.”
As it turns out, he isn’t joking. Nick and I cross to the other side of 5th Avenue, and through one of the many entrances to Central Park. He leads me along the winding paths, ever deeper into the park, past picnics and softball games and people lounging in the sun. Surprisingly, I refrain from asking where we’re going. Part of me is excited to see what Nick has planned; he hasn’t surprised me like this in such a long time, I can hardly even remember when the last time was.
We finally stop at an unclaimed patch of grass by the lake, and Nick kneels on the ground to dig in his bag. He pulls out a blanket, and hands me one corner to help unfold it. We find some rocks nearby, and use them to hold down the corners before Nick takes a seat near the middle. I plop down ungracefully on the blanket next to him, and gladly accept the sandwich he offers. “What’s all this for?,” I ask before taking my first bite.
“I don’t know. It just felt like a good day for a picnic.” Nick lies down beside me, just watching me carefully. “I guess I just want to make the most of these kinds of days while we still can.”
“While we still can? What, are we dying or something?”
“No, it’s just… things are gonna change soon. You’re gonna start getting noticeably bigger, people are going to find out, you’re eventually going to have the baby, and we’re both gonna be busy.”
“Yeah, you’re right.” I grab a drink from out of Nick’s bag, and try to imagine our future together. The baby’s going to make things challenging, but I’d like to think that if we both get jobs, and ask friends to help us out, things will work out fine. I’m not worried in the slightest about what lies ahead for us. As long as Nick and I are together, I’m sure we can handle anything life throws at us.
Shattered (the Spellbound Series Book 2) Page 17