Southwest Days (Semiautomatic Sorceress Book 2)

by Kal Aaron

  “None that fit the parameters of what you desire.”

  “Then trust me. I know what I’m doing most of the time, and this is one of those times.”

  “You should still exercise the utmost caution,” Jofi replied.

  “I always do.”

  “You sometimes do. You forget how much time I spend with you.”

  “Sometimes life doesn’t leave me a choice.”

  Lyssa chuckled. She needed to avoid the more obvious sorcery like her Dark Steps. Hospitals had good camera coverage. A woman, even one with darkness sorcery, could explain away stray shadows on the edge of a recording or making a brief appearance on a wall, but it was harder to dismiss black steps hanging in the middle of the air.

  A mistake would lead to attention, and attention would lead to the media. Then the next thing she knew, she’d have to deal with Samuel chewing her out for making the Society look bad.

  Lyssa approached the building and pressed her hand against a small shadow. She looked up and took note of the irregular spacing of the darker areas created by a combination of the lights inside and stray headlights from cars on a nearby street. It’d be less like scaling a wall and more like ascending an uneven rockface. She’d dealt with worse in the past.

  After taking a deep breath, Lyssa scurried up past the first window. She was a ghost ready to haunt the hospital.

  She didn’t waste time climbing to the third-floor window of Lucky Nardi’s room. He lay inside, his eyes half-closed. An IV ran into his arm. He was pale, with bandages on his arms and face. His TV was on, playing an episode of Sensual Sorceress.

  “Huh,” Lyssa whispered. “I’ve already seen that episode. What I don’t get is how they managed to film another season of this. I have a hard time believing the guys buy into the act.”

  “Is this the time to be discussing television?” Jofi asked.

  “Just saying.”

  Lyssa took a deep breath before starting her chant for a thinning spell. The only way she would make it into the room was by sliding through the closed window.

  Knocking on the window risked startling Nardi and having him call a nurse before she could talk to him. She didn’t have a lot of time to wait around and try again. The culprit behind the incident might come after Nardi if he felt threatened.

  Lyssa’s already-tenebrous form flattened and shrank until she became a mere suggestion of a human being. She slid through the bottom crack in the window into the room, passed across the floor, and stopped below the TV. The lights were dimmed but not off.

  She released the spell, gasping for breath as she grew and resolidified to her macabre Torch form. Nardi’s eyes shot open, and he jerked upright. The plan wasn’t off to the best start.

  Lyssa put a finger to the bottom of her mask and made a shushing sound. “I’m here to talk, Mr. Nardi,” she whispered. “Don’t worry.”

  The sound came out eerie and scratchy, thanks to her regalia’s natural filter. The Night Goddess couldn’t sound cuddly or soothing even when she was trying.

  “Hecate.” He swallowed. “You’re Hecate.”

  “Yes.” Lyssa nodded. “I’m not here to hurt you.”

  “Are you here to reap my soul?” Nardi asked, sounding serious. “Am I dead?”

  Lyssa strained not to laugh. People misunderstanding sorcery or using terms she didn’t like was one thing, but she wasn’t a supernatural entity.

  Taking a deep breath, she chalked it up to him being on painkillers. She needed to focus on getting the information to ensure no one else ended up in the hospital torn up by a monster.

  “No. I’m here to help you by punishing whoever’s responsible for hurting you,” she said. “And you’re very much alive after being attacked by a venomous monster.”

  Nardi looked confused. “That’s right. A monster got me.”

  Lyssa caught movement out of the corner of her eye. The door was already open. She hurried through a quick incantation and faded into her wraith-form right before a nurse stepped into the room. It was too close.

  The nurse ignored the denser-than-usual shadows in the corner and hurried over to Nardi with a concerned expression. “Are you all right, Lucky? Your heart rate suddenly spiked.”

  Lyssa grimaced. She hadn’t thought of that, though she didn’t spend a lot of time visiting people in hospitals versus putting people in them. Every new contract was a chance to learn how to be a better Torch in different situations.

  Nardi shook his head. He was trying not to look toward the corner of the room containing Lyssa, but his gaze kept darting her way. “There was just a big surprise on the show I was watching. Sorry. I didn’t mean to freak you out.”

  “Oh.” The nurse smiled. “Don’t scare me like that! Feel free to press the button if you need me. I’ll be here another three hours before shift change.”

  “Sure thing,” Lucky said. “Hey, could you do me a favor and close the door? The light’s bothering me.”

  “Of course.” She headed toward the door.

  Lyssa waited until the nurse closed the door to step to the other side of the room and stand in front of the empty second bed. The position kept her away from the door and gave her time to disappear if someone else showed up. Satisfied with her repositioning, she dropped her wraith form.

  Nardi’d had a chance to tell someone she was there and hadn’t. That was a good start.

  “I’m surprised you didn’t say anything.” Lyssa inclined her head toward the door. “I get that I can be scary.”

  “I figure it’s a dumb move to piss off a Sorceress,” Nardi replied, his voice straining. “Sorry. They’ve got me high as a kite right now. I didn’t even believe it was you at first. I thought I was hallucinating. Between the pain and drugs and nightmares, I can’t always tell what’s real. It’s weird.”

  “I’m all too real. A nightmare.” Lyssa stepped toward the bed. “And I only need one thing from you to avenge you and Jake. You can sleep knowing Hecate, Torch of the Illuminated Society, will help you.”

  “What do you need?” Nardi asked. He blinked several times but remained glassy-eyed. “I already told the cops everything I saw.”

  Interrogating a drugged man could easily produce a false lead, but it also ensured his defenses were lowered. Damien had tried earlier, but getting the right information was often about asking the right question at the beginning.

  “I need the truth.” Lyssa folded her arms. “I went to the mine. It was infested with a horde of those creatures, including a queen laying new eggs.”

  Nardi swallowed. “The monster got Jake, pulled him away. I ran. There was nothing I could do. You have to believe me. I didn’t have a gun. I wouldn’t have run away if I had a gun.”

  Lyssa shook her head. “You did the only thing you could. No one is blaming you. You would have died, too, if you’d tried to fight them.” She leaned closer. “Don’t worry. I destroyed those things. I killed the monster that hurt you and your friend. I destroyed it and all its friends.”

  “Then what do you need from me?” Nardi blinked a couple of times as he tried to focus on Lyssa. “Isn’t it over?”

  “There could be someone or something else behind this,” Lyssa replied. “You don’t need to worry about the details. You only need to understand those monsters were almost certainly put there by someone. Those kinds of things don’t just pop into existence.”

  “It was put there by another one like you?” Nardi turned his head to look out the window.

  “Yes, a rogue Sorcerer.” Lyssa shook her head. “Monsters are real, Mr. Nardi, but they aren’t natural, even in this new world. Someone used sorcery to make those things, and the Illuminated Society doesn’t tolerate that any more than your people do.” She curled a hand into a fist. “That rogue murdered your friend the same as if they put a gun to his head. When my kind does something they shouldn’t, people like me clean it up. That person needs to pay for your friend’s death, but I can’t make them pay if you don’t help me. And that starts wit
h you being completely honest with me. I’m not here to accuse you of anything. You’re the victim. But I suspect you might know more than you’ve passed along.”

  Tears leaked from Nardi’s eyes. “It’s my fault.”

  “How?” Lyssa asked, trying to keep her tone neutral.

  Nardi whined, “The email. This isn’t real. You’re not real. This is a dream. It has to be.”

  “What email?” Lyssa struggled to keep her tone even. “If this is a dream, it doesn’t matter what you tell me. A figment of your imagination can’t hurt or blame you.”

  “It’s a secret account I keep on the side,” Nardi replied. “It’s a throwaway thing for when I want to sign up on forums and sites without it being connected to my real address. I don’t pay much attention to it.” He moaned. “I should have ignored it. None of this would have happened if I’d ignored it.”

  “I need to know about this email you received, Mr. Nardi,” Lyssa said. “I need you to focus and tell me all you ot know. Time is short, and I don’t want whoever did this to get away with it and hurt someone else, but I can’t do that without your help.” She took a deep breath. “You’re not just helping me. You’re helping Jake.” She considered what he’d said. “You told the EAA that this was about changing up the channel, but that’s not the whole truth, is it?”

  Nardi blinked away his tears. “I got this email, and it talked about the show. I was freaked at first because I didn’t know how they figured out it was my address, but then I kind of got excited when I read the rest of it, even if it was weird. The message talked about how we were losing viewers, and he said he had a solution. He said we could make our show about haunted stuff. All that stuff I told that EAA guy was true. I was desperate. We have half as many subscribers as we did a year ago. Everyone says we’re stale and do the same things over and over.”

  “Why would you listen to some random email?” Lyssa tried for a soothing tone, but the natural gravelly nature of her regalia voice made it come out menacing.

  “I’d been telling Jake for a while,” Nardi replied. “I said we couldn’t do the same stuff anymore. People were getting sick of it, sick of us. The diehards wanted us to do crazier pranks, but I didn’t want to turn into an asshole. We started the channel to be fun. That’s what it was supposed to be, fun.”

  “You didn’t answer my question.” Lyssa stepped away from the bed and minimized her shadowy aura. Spooking the man might spike his heart rate and get the nurse back. “I need to know why you listened to the email. What got your attention?”

  Nardi rolled back to face her. His face contorted in pain. “Because it said we could find actual magic crap in the mine. I told Jake this was our chance. It didn’t matter if we couldn’t line up more stuff like that in the future. If we got there and showed actual magic on the channel, we could do way better than the wannabes. But he didn’t want to.” He shuddered. “He said it wouldn’t be fun. He wanted to do pranks and convince people we were magic, nothing real, but I convinced him to check it out. I told him I had a good feeling. I convinced him to go because of that stupid email.”

  “Why didn’t you tell the EAA about this?” Lyssa asked. “Do you feel guilty?”

  “You’re damned right I do.” Nardi closed his eyes. He grew quiet. “And I was scared. I didn’t expect anything like that to happen. I figured it’d be like a floating rock, and then the monster came. But after that, when I woke up here, I thought, ‘Damn it. What if it’s our fault? What if we played a prank on some Sorcerer, and he had it in for us? If I say something, he’ll finish me off.’”

  “No, Mr. Nardi.” Lyssa shook her head. “Rogues aren’t allowed to operate freely. The Society will make him pay. I swear it. I am a Torch, and I’ll burn away the impurities of this world.” She growled, angrier now that she’d verified they’d been sent there. “I need to know specifically what the email said. Or you can tell me the account and the password.”

  “It doesn’t matter. I feel better, but you’re just a figment of my imagination. You have to be.” Nardi managed a weak smile before his head lolled to the side. “I wish this were all real. I wish you were more than just a dream.” His eyes closed. “Everything should be a dream. I’ll wake up, and Jake will still be alive.”

  “Mr. Nardi? Lucky?”

  He started snoring.

  She walked toward the window, casting a glance at the wounded man. The incident hadn’t been an assassination attempt. A Sorcerer wouldn’t kill a shadow in such an elaborate way and risk exposure. They’d been lured to the mine for a reason.

  Lyssa looked out the window. “I’m getting closer, you bastard.”

  Chapter Seventeen

  Lyssa didn’t wait to talk to Damien. The days were ticking by, and the threat of Halloween loomed heavy over the investigation. Her news was promising and increased the threat of a rogue.

  She’d contacted Damien on her way back to Maricopa County and laid out the information she’d uncovered before asking him to check into the email using his resources. She agreed to come to the parking lot of the building at noon the following day. That wouldn’t bother anyone inside or raise unusual suspicion. It was a reasonable compromise.

  When she rolled into the lot, it wasn’t hard to find Damien in the mass of nearly-identical-looking government sedans and SUVs mixed with personal vehicles of startling uniformity. Damien stood outside with his arms folded, leaning against his black car. It was yet another vehicle that looked like dozens of others in the lot.

  With her bike still looking like a specter’s chopper, Lyssa drove right up to the EAA agent and pushed down her kickstand, ignoring the odd looks from people walking through the parking lot. At least they didn’t look as frightened as the people inside. After her visit the other day, everyone must have gotten used to the idea of visits by Hecate.

  “Does this work better?” Lyssa asked, motioning around the lot.

  Damien gestured toward the building. “I think meeting in the parking lot is worse, and that’s before we worry about cameras and drones.”

  “Huh. You didn’t seem bothered when I contacted you earlier.”

  “Because I didn’t want to waste a lot of time on logistics.”

  “And by the way, who cares about drones? Everyone knows I work with the EAA. What other problems are there?” Lyssa looked at the sky. “I’m not seeing any drones.”

  “It looks like we’re trying to be shady meeting out here,” Damien offered a weak smile. “The truth is I was going to ask you to reconsider where we’d meet, but you seemed kind of wound up, and I didn’t want to piss you off. I still haven’t got you figured out, but I’m getting there.”

  She needed to do a better job of communicating with him. Not all their complications were his fault, but for now, she needed to keep control of the conversation.

  Lyssa chuckled. “If you don’t want to piss me off, tell me you’ve got something for me. I’m not Samuel. I know how to use a computer, but that doesn’t mean I can get access to someone’s private email account easily, and I don’t know how to do it without leaving a trail I don’t want to leave. I’m hoping our mystery suspect isn’t an expert either.”

  Damien’s huge smile reminded Lyssa of a happy puppy. Every man wanted to be useful, and it could be hard to work around someone with a power like sorcery.

  “I did my work and then some,” he said. “I’ll spare you the epic tale of bureaucratic wrangling, but the finished product was an expedited warrant to have the FBI check out email accounts accessed from Nardi’s phone.” He pulled out his phone and tapped it a few times before handing it to Lyssa. “And I think this is what you want.”

  It was an email message from a nonsensical address of random letters and numbers. She leaned forward to read it.

  Lucky,

  I love your channel. You and Jake are geniuses.

  A man with your name deserves more from life. I was doing some research for an unrelated project, and I recently stumbled across your channel. At first,
I thought it was pointless and stupid, but I soon began to see the value and genius, which is why it’s painful to see you’re hemorrhaging subscribers.

  I’m not in internet show business, but I understand how difficult it is to be constantly fresh. I know how much effort you put into things.

  You can feel free to ignore me, but might I suggest a solution? I’ve seen some similar channels shift focus to paranormal content, but it’s all fluff and nothingness.

  You can do something different. I happen to know a place where you can document spectacular proof of the power of sorcery, a haunted mine in Arizona. You could drive there in less than six hours from Los Angeles.

  Don’t worry. None of the ghosts there can hurt people, but you’ll get excellent footage. I know you two can do it.

  I’ve been there and seen impressive things. It’s changed everything I believed about life and Sorcerers. Most of us only see their power on recordings, but you’ll get to personally record an impressive display of magical occurrences. The Society and the EAA won’t be able to filter it, but I promise it’s not dangerous.

  You might not believe me, but I’d argue there’s little for you to lose. A smart man like you must understand it’s inevitable your show will fail. You’ll be on a treadmill, working harder and harder, only to fall into nothingness and obscurity and end up working in some soul-crushing job forever, clinging to a mere memory of what you once had. You don’t deserve that.

  But if you start your new show as a supplement, you don’t have to give up the foolish but challenging antics you two so clearly enjoy.

  I don’t call you a fool to insult you. A true fool is someone who can stand up to a king and his self-important knights. Your humor is a weapon that unlocks truth, and it has gotten me through tough times in my life. For a serious man like me, it’s been helpful.