How to Hunt a Menacing Magical Shadow Read online

  I let out a frustrated snort of air and sank into the uncomfortable wooden chair. “What kind of illegal auction happens at 7PM in the middle of a completely public place, anyway?” I wondered, shoving fistfuls of cheese curls in my mouth. The five of us, Porky included, surrounded the dining room table throwing ideas at each other. Three days wasn’t much time to come up with a well executed plan. One wrong move and every crime lord in the city would come after us. I already had the police on my tail, I didn’t need the city’s criminal organizations hunting me as well.

  “The one that’s a clever cover up,” Blair answered. She was analyzing the blueprint of the auditorium map printed on six pieces of computer paper taped together. I would say Eli did a fine job at showcasing his genius tech skills, but some schmoozing with Edna down at City Hall and a visitor tour of the facility gave us all the information we needed.

  Blair glued her eyes to the map, while Eli picked up the conversation where she left off. “From what Porky tells us, the auction is invite-only. No magic items are actually ever put out on display. Instead, non-magic items are used to represent magic ones. For example, the Black Mark may send someone to bid on an ordinary antique vase, but what they’re really winning is a necklace spelled to make one’s entire body bulletproof.”

  “That exists?” I had never heard of a spelled magic object like that before. It would have been a nice asset to have as a police officer.

  Eli shrugged. “It does in our world. Anyway, even if the police suspected something, it’s not illegal to sell a vase and anyone of high importance probably won’t risk being there anyway. They’ll probably send their most trusted advisors. That’s where our targets come in. They’re not known here, but they’re still very powerful.”

  Blair tapped a finger to her lips contemplating something, then twisted her gaze for a split second toward Eli before bringing it back down to the map.

  “What can you tell us about security?” She pointed to the hallway leading to a secret vault. I say secret because it’s not on the map and unless you knew to look behind a cleverly disguised wall you’d never know the vault was there. However, for those of us attuned to analyzing magic energy, it wasn’t difficult to sense the insane magic rippling through the hidden wall. I was not one of those people.

  “Someone with such unique magic powers to this world would be a valuable asset to any illegal operation,” Blair pointed out. “It’s possible they joined the Black Mark or another organization and will be there making bids, or, more likely, they’ll be planning to break in and steal the magic items instead.” The reality hit me like a skillet to the back of my fragile skull. If a group like the Black Mark could get their hands on all these magic objects, who knows what havoc they could wreck in the city. They’d be unstoppable.

  “There are security cameras covering every inch of the place.” Eli pointed to several corners leading to the basement vault. “No blind spots from what I can tell, but if needed either of us can short them out pretty easily with our magic.”

  “Don’t forget they’ll have guards patrolling the halls.” A trail of cheese dust from my fingers marked the likely places they’d be.

  “Right. And there’s also the matter of the spelled lock protecting the vault. Like your magic detectors at the police station, it’s meant to send out an alert when it’s tampered with.” Eli had planted a bug near the vault when we figured out it was there—a literal mechanical magic fly on the wall to monitor the area.

  “If they’re gonna make a move for it, they’ll need to disable the magic alarm system with a key code and an eye scan from the auctioneer to disarm it. The key code is easy enough to hack with any halfway decent tech, but the eye scan will require precision magic from a shifter or some serious magic that can overload the system and open the door without setting off the alarm. Not easily done by a regular with little knowledge of magic, but not difficult at all for someone with the right magic ability.”

  “Or they could just kill the guy and gouge his eyes out,” I added. Disgust dripped down Lizzy’s face and concern flickered in her narrowing eyes. Blair seemed unfazed by the disturbing possibility, instead nodding in agreement.

  There was a brief period of silence, then all of a sudden Blair’s assertive voice commanded the room like an army sergeant barking orders to her squad. “Here’s the plan. Eli, we’ll need you to hack into security cameras and keep us updated on what’s going on. Porky and I will be surveying the area around the building on foot in case anyone tries to sneak in—or out. Adrian and Lizzy, you’re our eyes on the inside. Keep watch for any of our targets. If anything looks suspicious, Eli can follow them through the cameras and tell us where to go.”

  “The event is invite only. How are we getting in?” Lizzy asked while turning to Eli.

  “Leave that to me and Porky. We have enough information to forge a believable invite and add Adrian’s name to the guest list.”

  This was all happening too quickly. They were shrugging it off like they’ve done this a million times, but I hadn’t. I didn’t like the idea of being a decoy. I was essentially confirming to everyone that I was the evil bad guy they all thought I was...all in an effort to further their own agenda. What if someone ratted me out? What if they held a grudge against my dad and wanted revenge? Most of all, I didn’t like the fact they weren’t even going to try to stop the auction, letting these dangerous people—gang leaders, mobsters, and people like Nolan who wanted to harm others—get their hands on these reckless magic weapons. They had one goal in mind and it wasn’t to protect this city from crime. Blame the police officer in me, but I wouldn’t stand for it.

  My fists came crashing down on the table, sending Eli and Lizzy jumping back at the sudden noise. My voice escalated along with the fury building up inside, penetrating the room with a terrifying aura. “We can’t just let them auction off black market magic objects to these savage people!”

  The whole table shook from the impact and a tingling feeling shot up my arm as the solid surface countered with an equally forceful punch.

  Blair scowled, her displeasure as clear as my 20/20 vision could see. “Stopping this event is not our concern. Our mission is to bring back those who escaped our prison on Iradel. Getting entangled with criminal organizations is a dangerous game and we don’t need a target on our backs.” Lizzy and Eli agreed with Blair.

  “Maybe you forgot, but I already have a target on my back. You’re pretty much just handing me over to these people on a silver platter to be skinned alive.” My fury rose at her lack of concern for the big picture here. I racked my spinning brain trying to come up with something to convince her these criminals needed to be stopped. “You know, it would be a lot easier to steal something once it’s stolen from the vault. Who’s to say your runaways won’t go after the items once they’ve been released? Not to mention, it would be a lot more difficult to track down every buyer in this city should they attack each individual afterwards.”

  “He has a point,” Lizzy backed me up. “People on Earth don’t know about our skills. It would be a lot easier for one of the fugitives to pretend they’re unarmed, sneak up on someone, and attack. Plus, if they get their hands on the items, we’ll have them and magic weapons to deal with.”

  The steam was fuming out of Blair’s ears, the static electricity building up around her. “Our mission is to prevent that. What do you expect the five of us to do, anyway? We’d be dead in twenty four hours, if we even make it out of the auditorium alive in the first place. We stick to the mission You will not detract from it. We will deal with any complications later if they arise.”

  Blair and I locked eyes, lightning sparking in a turbulent storm heating up around us. I was hoping this moment would choose to unlock some secret hidden mind control powers like Lizzy and I could convince Blair to change her mind. Unfortunately, she was right. There was nothing we could do against an entire city of heavily armed and extremely violent thugs who wouldn’t hesitate to put us down like rabid dog
s.

  I backed off, not satisfied with her answer but realizing there was nothing I could do to change her mind. This is why I never trusted anyone or made any attempt to make friends. People just complicated things. I preferred to be alone, solving my own problems. I found that, no matter how much you think they may have your back, whenever you really needed them the most they wouldn’t hesitate to turn against you.

  My back slumped in the chair, arms folded and fingers gripping so tightly around my bicep I was pinching my skin. I didn’t speak a single word as Blair finished going over the remaining tasks. In fact, I wasn’t even paying attention to her at all. My nostrils flared and my breathing became labored. I struggled to keep myself from going off the deep end. I was furious, manic...ready to unleash a raging tidal wave of destruction, annihilating anyone or anything that got in my way. I really was becoming the Obsession Killer…or at least Destroyer.

  I can help.

  After what happened last time, I think I’ll pass.

  I didn’t like this new occurrence of the voice now speaking outside my dreams. It had spoken to me when I was battling Nolan, and again later that day in the holding cell. The man’s firm voice was confident he could help me, but in the end if it hadn’t been for Lizzy, I would already be dead. I couldn’t even trust the voice inside my own head.

  The gentle touch of a comforting hand reached for my shoulder. I snapped out of my self-loathing trance to see an empty table and Lizzy standing over me from behind.

  “Come on. End whatever pity party you have going on here and let’s go. We need to find something to wear.” The words rolling off her tongue provided no comfort, but the mischievous smirk on her face somehow lifted my spirits. What was she up to?

  “Fine. Let’s go. I need a break from this nightmare anyway.”

  Chapter 9

  W alking around the city did nothing to calm my nerves. A few dry, dead leaves crunched under my sneakers as the chilly fall breeze tousled my shaggy curls. I flipped up the hood of my pullover and tucked my hands inside the single oversized pocket sagging in the front.

  Paranoia weighed me down heavier than all the combined pounds of cupcakes I’d eaten in my lifetime. This was the first time I’d been out of the house since the incident. Every squawking bird, every car rounding a corner, every audible word that hit my ears made me jump out of my own skin. Thankfully, there was nothing really discerning about my normal brown hair and boring brown eyes. Aside from the new badass scar forming on my forehead, which was mostly covered by my hair anyway, I blended in with everyone else. In fact, people more often gawked at Lizzy and her unusual tattoos than they did at me.

  Although we didn’t venture too far away from the apartment, I knew where we were. Peterburgh wasn’t quite as hustle and bustle as downtown Lorith, but the large suburb just outside the city had many places still easily walkable or transit accessible.

  A bell jingled as the heavy door dragged across the entrance mat of the thrift store. Immediately, I was hit with an overpowering stench of damp mold and mothballs suffocating my nose. An older male gentleman behind a counter gave us a nod, and we scurried past to find any semblance of some kind of formal wear.

  Racks upon racks of unorganized clothes created a complex labyrinth impossible to navigate as we searched to find what we came for. Lizzy eventually plucked a few dresses off a rack and went to go try them on.

  “Stay.” She stood in front of the dressing room entrance pointing her finger in my face. Her wicked, aggressive eyes rimmed with smokey powder were asserting the control she thought she had over her little pet.

  “I’m not a dog,” I barked back at her. They didn’t fully trust me yet, and if I was being honest I didn’t fully trust them either. As a result, part of the deal was everywhere I went, someone had to always be glued to my hip. I sucked it up and played along. I liked to think of them as my own personal super magic powered bodyguards. Although I was pretty sure if anyone actually came after me, none of them would think twice about throwing me to the wolves to save their own ass.

  Since Lizzy was on babysitting duty, I loitered like the world’s most obvious pervert right outside the women’s dressing room waiting for her to finish. I decided to waste my time scouring the internet with the new cell phone Eli gave me, reading what ridiculous new accusations they had to say about me. More murders. More attacks. Just fantastic.

  I lifted my gaze and stretched my neck from side to side, and to my surprise Lizzy rounded the corner of the dressing room entrance striding toward me like an over compensating runway model. With one hand on her hip, the other lightly swaying by her side, she stopped right in front of me a little too close for my comfort.

  Her cotton candy pink gown glided like silky strawberry syrup dripping across the floor, the shiny, sparkly material like sugar sprinkles glistening in the overhead lights. The pink gown was a stark contrast to all the black ink covering her body, but complemented her platinum hair and porcelain skin quite nicely. She did a little twirl, her long rope of braided hair whipping me across the face and the train of her gown slapping my ankles. The cascading fabric rounded her back down to her tailbone and the sleeves draped off her shoulders exposing several tattoos I’d never seen before.

  “I like this one. The slit is high enough I can still kick ass without ripping the fabric.” She confidently modeled a few different poses, waiting for me to comment.

  The words went in one ear and right out the other. “What are the bubbles for?” I asked with a baffled stare, pointing to three small bubble tattoos on her lower back. She quickly turned away, her hands frantically trying to hide the tattoos exposed on her naked skin.

  “I’m not staring at your ass or anything. I’m just curious what they’re used for. Can anyone get magic tattoos or is it a special magic ability?”

  Lizzy’s cheeks flushed the same shade of pink as the dress. She angrily stomped her heel down on my toes, pinned her gaze on my bewildered eyes, and firmly planted her palm across the side of my jaw.

  “You’re an idiot,” she wailed, then turned back into the dressing room and slammed the door. After several minutes of waiting to see if she’d come back out, I decided to ignore her request to stay put and headed over to the men’s section to see what I could find for myself. I picked up the first suit that fit me decently well and called it a day. Lizzy seemed fixated on trying on every piece of clothing in the store, so I continued to wander around while she contemplated her decision.

  My eye caught a glass display showcasing a collection of men’s watches. I clasped my hand idly around my bare wrist, rubbing the heel of my palm with my thumb.

  My mom had gifted a watch to my dad when he was promoted to lieutenant. It meant everything to him that she never complained once about all the crap she had to put up with concerning his dangerous and demanding job, and that she still loved him and supported him, proud of what he was doing. After her death, everything happened so fast. I packed up my things and left that home in the past, leaving everything behind but a single photo. I wished I had taken the watch with me, but I was just a scared little kid. I didn’t know any better.

  “Looking for a new watch, son?” The older bald gentleman from the front of the store stood behind the display case, his gut hanging over the glass.

  “Just looking.”

  “Perhaps you should look for something a little more...special.” The last word slipped off his tongue like melted butter as he directed his eyes over to the women’s dressing room. I scrunched my eyebrows, no idea what the hell he was talking about.

  He let out a cheerful laugh. “Come on. Follow me. Someone recently dropped off a much nicer suit we haven’t put out yet. I think it’s more your style than that.” He nodded to the suit bunched up in my arms, then waved his wrinkled hand inviting me to tag along.

  I peered over to the dressing room, searching for any sign of Lizzy. I probably should stay put, but I was bored and I needed something to do. “What the hell,” I shrugged, answeri
ng out loud to myself.

  I followed the smell of popcorn into a small room in the back, a break room from the looks of it. A space heater was plugged in on the floor, but it did little to provide much heat. A rounded oak table sat in the center, old and nicked up like a piece of forgotten furniture originally tossed out on the street as trash.

  Three intimidating men and one scrawny looking dude were sitting in farmhouse chairs around the table playing a game of cards. They rose at the sight of me, guns, knives, and bats in hand. And magic spell bombs.

  Unfortunately, I didn’t think they were going to share their popcorn while we played a friendly game of Go Fish. Instead, that something special the shop attendant mentioned was about to be my ass being whooped.

  “Apsilio!” A grizzly man wearing a black leather vest with washed out jeans threw the magic bomb with the force and precision of a professional baseball pitcher. The glass orb burst, and a storm of tiny energy spikes shot out, pricking everything from my head to down below the belt. I collapsed to the floor, paralyzed and convulsing under the magic energy current searing through my muscles. My chest burned on the inside while the cold air in the room chilled my skin on the outside.

  “Our boss wanted to send a message. He knows what you and your crew are planning, Mr. Obsession Killer.” Ha. He said my crew. That was amusing.

  A tattooed man with a mountain of roiling muscle stepped forward, shadowing over me as I flopped around the floor like a fish out of water. He rolled up a shirt sleeve, revealing a black outline of a sniper’s crosshairs tattooed on his forearm. My eyes widened in terror and dread overcame me. That symbol was unmistakable.

  “If...you...you know...I’d...love...to get in...in on the..pla...plan.” It was hard to get my words out struggling against the uncontrollable twitching. I’m pretty sure I shouldn’t have been able to even talk.

  Of the two remaining assailants, one reminded me of a lumberjack with his built physique, unkempt facial hair, and red plaid button down. The other was more of a scrawny nerd pretending to look tough holding a magic bomb in his shaking hand. He was failing miserably at his attempt to intimidate me with his twig like arms, bowl cut, and thick black rimmed glasses.