by C. J. Hill
“Not with the flames running,” Dr. B said. “Just normal harmless routines.” He said this as though it were normal to dodge moving blades. “Shang has also been eating Ling Zhi mushrooms. They’re an herbal supplement that’s been used medicinally in China for two thousand years to promote long life and boost spirituality. For all I know, the original Slayers could have used them to help regain their memories.”
Not much was recorded in historical documents about how Slayers could regain lost powers but Dr. B had spent years researching the subject. If Slayers kept away from mind-altering substances, eventually the damaged pathways in their brains would regrow and both memories and powers would return. But the medieval records also talked about a quicker way to recover—an instantaneous method.
“Lately, Shang has added powdered Ling Zhi to his food,” Dr. B continued. “Although the benefits are inconclusive, I feel Shang’s improvement is enough for us to try the powder on another Slayer. Leo, as a shielder, is especially important.”
“Because we’re MVPs,” Bess put in. Shielders could protect people not only from dragon fire but from bullets.
Dr. B opened his briefcase and produced a large vitamin bottle and a Ziploc bag full of what seemed to be shredded brown Styrofoam. Not exactly appetizing. “I’m hoping the two of you can convince Leo to try this.”
Jesse inwardly sighed. This mission was nothing but wishful thinking. The mushrooms might help but might not. Leo didn’t have any memory of his lost powers, Overdrake, or what was at stake. How were Jesse and Bess supposed to convince him to eat ancient Chinese mushrooms every day? The two of them were going to look weird, and not just a little weird, but crazy, laugh-about-you-later weird. Leo wouldn’t go for it.
Unlike Shang and Alyssa, who’d lost their memories and abilities when Overdrake had drugged them, Leo had lost his Slayer identity because he started drinking and at some point had drunk himself unconscious. He’d either been too careless to protect his powers or he’d decided he didn’t want to fight Overdrake. Even if he regained his skills, he might not want to rejoin the Slayers.
Still, Jesse took the bag and bottle from Dr. B. He couldn’t refuse. Despite being mad at Leo for abandoning the rest of the group, Jesse still wanted him back. If there was even a small chance that eating ancient Chinese mushrooms could help, Jesse would do his best to convince Leo to do it. And not only because Leo was a shielder, but because he’d been a friend.
Jesse put the bottle into one pocket and tried to shove the bag into the other. It didn’t fit right, too bulky. “How are we supposed to get him to eat these? What’s our story?”
Bess helped him wedge the bag into his pocket. “I’m doing a science fair project, and I need test subjects who are willing to take Ling Zhi and record their energy levels. I’ve already enlisted your help and I gave you a supply tonight, which is why you have the stuff with you.”
“Okay.” Coming from Bess, the request would seem almost normal. Jesse relaxed a bit. Maybe this had a chance of working.
Dr. B took a remote from his coat pocket and pressed the button. “In case that doesn’t work, I’m giving you permission to tell Leo about the Slayers and to prove you have powers.”
The trailer behind his truck let off a faint hum, the simulator turning on. A moment later, a surge of energy hit Jesse, sharpening his senses. The night seemed brighter, as though the moon and stars had been on a dimmer switch and had just been cranked up. He could hear the music playing from one of the buildings. The smells from the parking lot intensified: spilled oil, lingering exhaust, and old tires. He no longer felt cold. He was strong, powerful, and had to quell the urge to take to the air and fly. He wasn’t here for recreation, no matter how much he longed for that weightless feeling of sailing through the sky.
Dr. B handed Jesse and Bess maps of the campus. “Leo texted his friends about going to a party in Village A. He should be there by now.”
A party at a university. Did his friends realize Leo was only a high school senior?
Dr. B glanced around the parking lot again, a habit of surveillance. “I was able to call in a favor from a professor friend. If anyone questions your invitation to the party, tell them you’re friends of Brock Booher. One of my associates is adding twenty points to his last test in exchange for getting you in.”
Dr. B had been a professor at Georgetown for years but had gone on sabbatical after he learned that Overdrake knew who he was. The Slayers weren’t the only ones that had to worry about Overdrake finding them.
Jesse surveyed the maps. The first was a layout of the nearby buildings. The Village A apartment complex was circled. It was about a dozen buildings, separated into blocks. The second was a map of the complex itself—or rather four maps, since the footprint of each story in the main buildings was different. Catwalks connected five of the central buildings. Staircases sprouted throughout the complex like weeds. Could there really be that many stairs scattered around? Why? The place looked like a maze.
Jesse turned the paper even though he knew seeing it from a different angle wouldn’t help. “Who built this thing?”
Dr. B slipped the remote into his pocket. “Someone who was trying to steer away from the usual sort of floor plan, I’m afraid.”
Bess only gave the papers a glance. “The place was obviously designed by someone trying to replicate King Minos’s labyrinth. Which means we may have to fight a minotaur once we go inside.”
Jesse turned the map back around. Usually he tried to memorize a place’s layout, but this time it was impossible. He wasn’t sure he could decipher it, let alone remember it. “How are we even going to find the right apartment?”
“The party is on the rooftops.” Bess pointed to some horizontal lines on the drawing. “A catwalk spans the length of the buildings on the fourth level, so once we get there, we should be able to stroll along here until we spot the party.”
“You understand this map?” Jesse asked.
“Nope. Dad took me around yesterday so I’d have a feel for the place.”
Good. At least they had a chance at figuring it out that way.
Dr. B lowered his voice. “If you have to show Leo your powers, check for security cameras, and make sure no one else sees you. We don’t want odd videos of you turning up on the internet. Also, be on the lookout for any of Overdrake’s men. He may have someone watching Leo.”
Jesse folded up his maps. “Why would Overdrake waste manpower on Leo? He isn’t exactly a threat anymore.”
“Because Leo could regain his powers,” Dr. B said. “But more importantly, Overdrake knows the other Slayers might visit him. Therefore, Leo is effective bait.”
Bess tucked her papers into her pocket. “That would be a cushy job: Getting paid to watch some kid on the off chance his old camp friends stopped by.”
If Overdrake wanted to use ex-Slayers as bait, he would have had someone tailing Alyssa as well. He knew where she lived. But Dr. B had never mentioned any sort of suspicious surveillance there and he’d done recon on her house more than once so Lilly and Rosa could visit her.
“Nothing has ever turned up with Alyssa, has it?” Jesse asked.
“That doesn’t mean Overdrake isn’t watching Leo.” Dr. B folded his arms behind his back, undeterred in his opinion. “He knows how valuable shielders are.”
“True,” Bess said with a smirk. “It’s like I said, we’re the MVPs.”
Jesse put his maps away. “I think you mean: MVSs. At any rate, you have my vote. We have plenty of flyers, and we usually botch things.” Neither said what they both knew. The flyers carried most of the burden of killing the dragons. They were the ones who confronted them in the air, avoiding fire and teeth in order to remove the Kevlar shield that protected the one vulnerable spot on a dragon: its underbelly.
“Lastly…” Dr. B reached into his breast pocket, then handed Jesse and Bess each a small dart. Tranquilizers to attach to the bottom of their watches. Once loaded there, they could be shot by pushing
a button.
“I’m hesitant to provide such scant protection,” Dr. B apologized, “but it seems unwise to try and gain entrance to a party while armed. If anyone checked for weapons, you’d find yourself in serious trouble.”
Jesse and Bess both loaded their darts into their watches.
“Any questions?” Dr. B asked.
“Yeah,” Bess said, pushing her sleeve away from her watch. “What sort of parties did you go to in college that you’re worried about pat-downs and metal detectors?”
“If you wish to take handguns,” Dr. B answered patiently, “I’ll get them from the truck, but we’ll need to go over reminders about shooting near crowds.”
Bess held up her hand to stop him. “We’ll be fine.”
Their heightened senses and extra strength were more than enough protection from drunken frat boys.
“Very well,” Dr. B said. “I’ll wait here unless you request backup. If you need a police distraction, I can always call and report underage drinking.”
Jesse adjusted his watch making sure it would fire straight. “I doubt we’ll need backup.” It would be his luck to be caught in a raid, dragged to the police station, and then have to call his parents to pick him up. They wouldn’t let him out of the house again.
As Jesse and Bess turned to go, Dr. B gave them a fatherly smile of encouragement. “I’m glad we’re doing this. It’s time we reminded Leo who he is.”
If only it could be that easy. Hey Leo, you’re supposed to fight dragons…
Jesse and Bess headed across the parking lot, walking close together. The lampposts cast tangled shadows of the barren trees across the pavement.
“Leo will ask why we’re at a college party,” Jesse said. “We need a story.”
“I thought of one on the drive here,” Bess replied. “We’re out on a date and I wanted to go to a chick flick but you wouldn’t take me because you’re a guy and therefore hate all movies that aren’t peppered with weapons. You thought we should go paintballing, but hello, I spent time doing my hair. I obviously don’t want it covered in paint. Your friend Brock told you about the party and you wanted to check it out. I may or may not be so annoyed that I’ll ditch you and go off with Leo.”
Perhaps Bess had too much time on the drive to concoct a story. “Why do I have to look like a jerk in this scenario?”
She fluttered a hand at him. “Sometimes it can’t be helped. The necessities of plot and all that.”
They came to the walkway that led through the red brick buildings. Fall leaves, turned gray by the night, littered the ground. “How about we’re together tonight because my girlfriend dumped me for another guy. You’re not seeing anyone, so we decided to hang out.”
The part about his girlfriend dumping him was true, even if Bess didn’t know it yet. Or maybe she did. Tori might have told her about Dirk. Jesse wasn’t about to ask. He already regretted not coming up with a different story. Thinking about Tori made his chest feel like he’d been punctured and his soul was slowly seeping out into the atmosphere. Which was why he was supposed to stop doing that.
“Speaking of me not seeing anyone…” Bess let her sentence drift off uncertainly. “Do you and Ryker ever talk about girls?”
They’d talked about Tori. More specifically, Ryker had told him, “You’re way too invested in her. She’s Senator Hampton’s daughter. She’s going to dump you, go for someone rich jerk, and you’ll be carrying your heart home in confetti-sized pieces.”
And that’s pretty much what had happened last Friday. Tori could claim she kissed Dirk for strategic reasons, but she and Dirk had a history. They’d gotten together last September. For that matter, they’d gotten together her third day at camp. The two apparently couldn’t be alone together for long without their lips meeting up.
“And if you do talk about girls,” Bess said, bringing him back to the present. “Does Ryker ever talk about anyone in specific?”
“We mostly talk about training,” Jesse said.
“Have you ever talked about me?”
Oh, that’s where this was going. He should have guessed as much. Whenever Bess was around Ryker, she always got either flirty or demure. She’d even started wearing makeup to practice.
“He’s not seeing anyone right now if that’s what you’re asking.”
“I know that much. Willow and I talk.” Ryker and Willow had stayed at Dr. B’s house when they first became Slayers. Might still be. Dr. B kept those sorts of details secret. “I was wondering,” Bess continued, “since you’re his counterpart, if you knew what he thinks of me.”
“He thinks you’re an amazing Slayer and he likes you.”
She cocked her head, trying to read more from his expression. “How much does he like me?”
“I don’t know.”
She let out a sigh. “You’re his counterpart. If he liked me, you’d know, which means he must not like me that much.”
“It’s not that.” Ryker was just smart enough to realize that girls made confetti out of your heart. “He’s too busy thinking about dragons to think about girls.”
Bess kicked a loose stone in their path, sending it skittering down the walkway. “That’s one more reason to hate dragons.”
The music grew louder, percussion and angry electric guitars. They’d reached the Village A apartment complex. From the outside, the structure looked normal enough, boxy red brick buildings interspersed with terrace patios and the occasional balcony. A sign on the sidewalk read: If you SEE something SAY something, then gave the number of the Georgetown police department. Hopefully no one would be calling about the two of them.
“There’s a staircase this way,” Bess said and strode to some concrete steps that led to the main level. Once there, they walked to a set of narrow metal stairs that zigzagged up the side of the building. Even from down here the scent of beer was overwhelming. He’d be able to smell it even without the help of his Slayer senses.
Bess went up the stairs, taking them fast. They passed so many discarded red Solo cups, they might have been left as a trail by Hansel and Gretel in their later, drunken years.
A few people were coming down the steps in various stages of soberness. Jesse and Bess remained silent when anyone was nearby, but after they’d passed by the last couple, Bess said, “Let me do the talking to Leo. I’m his counterpart. There has to be some part of him I can reach.”
“If anyone can bring him back, it’s you.”
Leo had been the quietest Slayer, but he’d also been the first to notice if anyone was homesick so he could lend a listening ear. He’d been the last to insult anyone and the easiest to make blush. The one who was so unlike Bess, at least until the two of them got together. Whenever Leo had been around Bess, he was quicker to smile and laugh. The two of them always had some running inside joke that lasted all of camp.
Bess’s pace increased. “I keep wondering if I could have done something to stop Leo from losing his memories. Maybe I should have warned him more to be careful. Maybe I should have broken the rules and kept in contact with him.”
“It wasn’t your fault,” Jesse said.
“I know. But knowing something and feeling it are two different matters.”
They turned from one staircase, twisted around and went up the next.
Finally they reached the top floor and the main catwalk which had not one, but two railings—a simple tan one that resembled a picket fence and a sturdier gray one that had obviously been added later when the first proved unsuccessful at keeping students on the right side.
From up here, the map of the complex made more sense. The footprints for the stories were different because the building in front of them was only three stories, the one in front of that was two, and on the other side of the road where the land sloped downward was another line of two-stories.
The view was worth creating buildings in a stair-step fashion. Past a row of trees, the Potomac River flowed by like a wide dark street. Beyond that, the city lights of Rossl
yn glowed.
Jesse pulled his gaze away from the attraction of the landscape to the apartments on his other side. Each building had two apartments side by side that shared a large deck. The catwalk connected them all, leaving ten-foot gaps between the terraces.
Several people jostled by Bess and him on the catwalk. More than one party was going on up here. Looked like three. The one in the middle had a table set up and a group of people gathered around, cheering on a couple of guys who were playing beer pong.
“Do you see Leo anywhere?” Jesse asked.
“Not yet, but if he’s here, I’ll find him.” Counterparts could always find one another when they were close.
They wandered past the first party. Bess shook her head and kept going. “If he’s not on any of the terraces, we’ll have to go inside the apartments to search for him.”
They reached the middle party. A food table sat between apartments and a few people milled around it. A couple of guys were filling cups from the keg at the end of the table. A row of space heaters did their best to warm the area.
“This one,” she murmured, and they strolled that way.
Two upperclassmen guys stood nearby monitoring the traffic. Jesse smiled at them in a casual manner. “Hi. Brock Booher invited us.”
“Great,” the first guy said, friendly enough. “Cover charge is ten dollars.”
Jesse pulled out his wallet, but Bess beat him to it with a twenty. “Thanks.”
She and Jesse made their way onto the terrace, trying to spot Leo among the people talking there. He was tall and thin with shaggy brown hair.
“There he is,” Bess said, pointing to the food table. She hurried that way and Jesse followed, still not seeing Leo. He couldn’t be either of the guys filling glasses at the keg. They were too short and stocky. The only other guy nearby had hair past his shoulders and wore a trench coat.
“Leo!” Bess called.
The guy in the coat turned. Jesse had to blink twice before he recognized him. Quiet, reserved Leo had turned goth. A swath of hair swept across his face, nearly hiding one of his eyes. He wore skintight black jeans, a T-shirt with skulls, and…was he wearing eyeliner?