by June Leung
There was a video on the screen from a car parked near the burning building. Lia and William showed up in the frame. Helen resisted the urge to run away, not wanting to relive what happened.
The event of the day played before Helen’s eyes again. Lia hunched down, holding her head. From the distance of the car camera, she could still feel Lia’s struggle and pain.
In the video, Helen was walking towards Lia and William when there was an explosion. She ran off to block the burning objects and William briefly looked at the explosion. Then the video blurred, as if the camera was knocked off. When it finally cleared, William grabbed Helen’s shoulder. Lia was already gone.
Helen’s eyes widened in shock, she flicked her eyes toward William. He shook his head. “If this is a coincidence, I count myself unlucky. But every video I managed to get is… affected in the same way.”
He proceeded to show a few more clips, some obtained from shops nearby and some from cars. Despite the different angles, in every video, shortly before Lia disappeared, every file was corrupted in almost identical ways.
She stared at William. “How come…?”
“I wish I knew. Now that I think about it, it can only be the dark magicians. I don’t remember any of our magic being able to cause this kind of effect. Hell, I don’t even know what that was.” He rubbed his temple as if torn in thoughts.
“So what are we going to do? Do you know where Lia is?”
“Sadly, no… While I believe the dark magicians are around, I have no idea where they are hiding. They are very good at that: both hiding their physical location and their magical power.”
“Oh…” I don’t even know if this means good news or not. If Lia was with Adrian, he probably won’t come after my head.
“But I think if we get close enough, we can certainly find out something. I guess there’s no choice but to cruise around the city in depth.” His eyes narrowed in determination, clenching his fist.
“You mean going through every spot in the city? That would take a long time we likely don’t have.” Helen frowned. While she wanted to keep Lia safe, this didn’t sound like a good plan.
“I have a list of places that are possible for them to hide. Places I don’t have an eye on yet.”
“What do you mean ‘have an eye on’?”
“We aren’t the only magicians. Maybe I’ve never told you explicitly, but I think you already know. Not all magicians work here. Actually, most of them work in different places, just like the non-magic people. Their power isn’t as strong as ours. They didn’t report anything strange. So we are going other places.”
I knew it. Mike can’t be the only magician not working in the clan with us. Being a police officer must be handy with William’s cases. Adrian now seemed to be even better at hiding than I expected.
“Good to know. When should we start?” she asked.
“Now. Let’s go.” William stood and turned off his computer, tidying up the documents on his desk. He handed her a piece of paper with a few locations on it, none of which looked familiar to her.
“Can I get into the right clothes first? See you in the parking lot in ten minutes?” Helen asked, looking down at her slippers. When William insisted she and Patrick stay inside the clan, it was a bit easier to be in slippers when there was no training planned.
“Sure, I will wait for you there.”
She quickly went back to her room, needing some space to process what was happening. She still had no idea where Lia was. If she really was with the dark magicians, why hadn’t Adrian let her know? But rather than asking him now, it seemed the priority was to help him stay under William’s radar. She didn’t know how much William already knew. From the length of the list of places, he didn’t know much. But he could find out more in any minute. With her hands shaking, she pulled her phone, but then she remembered her messages to Lia weren’t even delivering. She thought of letting Adrian know, but she wasn’t sure whether he knew Lia had gone missing. If Lia wasn’t with him, she would be telling him to hunt her down. She stuffed her phone back into her pocket.
After Helen changed, she headed to the parking lot. She took in the fresh air. Feeling the warm sun after a few days getting stuck in the clan felt great. She didn’t realise how much she enjoyed being outside before.
William was standing beside his car, staring at the ground with his arms folded over his chest as if deep in thought. When Helen walked up to him, he snapped his head up. He pulled open the car door and the two of them settled. The car hummed to life, bringing them to the first location on the list.
They arrived at a luxurious looking restaurant. Helen stared at the well-embellished entrance from the car, then at herself. Em… William should have told me what type of places we were going to.
William looked to be comfortable in his jeans and a random shirt. He got out of the car, looking over the restaurant. Helen stood beside him. “It seems they aren’t open yet. We are too early.”
William nodded faintly. “It is fine. Can you try to feel the magical power here? It doesn’t fade easily. If they’ve been here in the last few days, we’ll know. The dark magic feels different. It lacks the kind of tranquillity our magic has, there’s always something in it that feels dangerous. And maybe your hunch could help.”
She stared at the building in front of her, her mind moving back to her time with Adrian. Their first encounter was nothing tranquil; he was menacing and almost killed her. The magical power from him was frightening. But once Lia stepped in, being around him was bearable. It seemed he could contain his power very well.
Helen frowned - he didn’t give off the kind of feeling that was different from Lia in terms of magical power.
“Feel anything?” William asked. She shook her head.
“Nothing special. This place doesn’t feel important.” She sighed to herself. Her body felt numb since Lia had disappeared. The amber was still in her pocket, reminding her of how Adrian would be on her back and how she failed to help Lia. Hopefully her hunch was still working.
“Let’s head elsewhere, then,” William sighed, getting back into the car.
“You really think we can find Lia by going to all these places? Zitannas is a large city.” Helen raised her brows as she fastened her seatbelt.
“I don’t know… Maybe I am just trying to do something instead of sitting around.” He shook his head, wincing as they waited at a red light. Helen reached for his shoulder and gave it a squeeze.
“We can do it. Lia is tougher than we expected.”
“Very confident there, huh?”
Helen gulped; she hoped she was confident. She had no idea what was happening with Lia either. Though she wasn’t sure whether Adrian even knew about what happened, she didn’t dare contact him. “I don’t know. It’s just a feeling, but I think Lia is OK. She will wait for us to find her.”
William eyed her for a moment too long, and the cars behind them started honking. He stepped on the pedal, turning to the road. “I hope your hunch is right. It usually is, so fingers crossed it is also right this time.”
The next location was a cafe. The bell rang gently as the two of them walked in. Helen took in the scent of coffee, the pleasant smell cleared her thoughts and her lips curled up on their own.
William picked a spot beside a bookshelf and Helen sat opposite to him. She said, “This seems to be just a comfy cafe.”
“Yeah… You don’t expect them to have a big sign somewhere, do you?” He sat back on the sofa, his face solemn. Helen faintly nodded as she surveyed the scene.
A half-bald old man was sitting next to a cupboard with a middle-aged woman next to another bookshelf across the cafe, and a nerdy-looking guy with messy hair and a pair of square glasses was burying his head into his laptop. It looked to be just a normal cafe, at least the patrons looked and felt to be normal people.
The barista approached them with a menu in her hand. “What will it be?”
William glanced at the menu, ordering for both
of them. After the barista walked off, William flicked his eyes back to Helen. “Feel anything here?”
Helen looked around the cafe, closing her eyes briefly. She could feel a low hum of something magical. “Something magical is around, but it is very, very weak.”
William rubbed his chin, looking around. The patrons were busy with their own business. The barista served them coffee and left quietly, as if not wanting to interrupt their conversation.
Helen couldn’t peel her eyes away from the barista. She was around twenty, probably working in the cafe part-time in between university courses, something Helen also did herself. She swore she saw a mischievous glint in the barista’s eyes when she set down their coffee. Now she wasn’t sure whether she wanted it or not.
The barista was tidying the counter, piling up the menus for the next patron, oblivious to Helen staring. Helen narrowed her eyes, focusing all her senses on the barista. It was her. The weak tingle of magic came from her, but at this intensity, she likely didn’t know magic, but simply had the potential to develop it.
Helen looked back just in time to avoid getting caught staring. William was eyeing her with raised brows. Helen traced her fingers along the rim of her cup, wondering whether she should take a sip. William was waiting for her observation, she didn’t know whether she should tell him or not. Who knew whether that girl had some correlation with Adrian? But if she pretended to not know something that obvious, would William find her suspicious? “The barista feels like someone with potential, but she doesn’t actually know magic.”
“I see… That’s also my thought.” William nodded, flicking his eyes to the barista briefly. There wasn’t any new patron, the barista was now busying herself on her phone.
During their stay in the cafe, Helen often took a peek at her. “Will you go dig her potential like you did for Lia and me? Maybe she would join the team.”
“Maybe. If she can learn about her magic, we’ll go from there, but not before I figure out the dark magicians, otherwise, it will be even more dangerous to her than now.” William took a sip of his coffee. Helen’s eyes widened momentarily, but he gave away nothing. Maybe the mischievous glint in the girl’s came from how the two of them stared too much at others in the cafe.
Helen flicked her eyes to the barista again. Her breath caught when she was also looking her way. Helen gulped, wondering what the barista was thinking. She smiled warmly at Helen with a nod, but had no intention of walking over to them.
Helen frowned deeply, not sure what to think. She took a sip of her coffee. If something really is wrong with the coffee…magicians heal quickly, I guess. She set down the cup with a soft sigh. William looked at her with raised brows.
“I’m just missing Lia. Any information from Mike?”
William ran his hand over his face, shaking his head. “The videos you saw earlier are from him. I already asked him to pay extra attention, but there isn’t anything noteworthy yet. Oh… unless you count the unusually slow business in the hotel in the city center. The Orbit, I think. Those luxurious places aren’t for me anyway.”
“What kind of slow business are we talking about? It is the largest in the city, right?”
“I think so. There are fewer cars than usual going in and out. But that happened before Lia disappeared. Also, I have not been looking at a hotel. What if it isn’t the best use of our time?”
“But then when did the business of a hotel become interesting to the police?”
“I have no idea. While Mike is pretty high up there in the force, there are still people over him.”
“You think there’s more to it?”
“It could be.”
After they finished their coffee, they proceeded to a few more places, but nothing was noteworthy. It took almost the whole day before William finally called an end to it. Helen got back to her room, took a shower, then collapsed on her bed. Focusing on spotting magic with the intention of not finding anything related to Adrian and with the intention of not letting William know what she knew was mentally exhausting.
Helen took out the piece of amber from her pocket. She toyed with it in her hand, tracing its cool surface with her fingers. Now that Lia had disappeared and William was dead set on finding the dark magicians, there was no way things would revert to their old ways. She let out a sigh.
At the buzz of her phone, her heartbeat quickened, hammering in her chest. Something with the message felt different without her reading it. She hurried to lock the door to her room. She laughed at herself. It was just a message. Why was she getting nervous about the text?
She took a seat on her bed, pulling out her phone. Her fingers shook as she turned on the screen.
It was Adrian.
Chapter 20
Lia
Slowly, the darkness and the numbness faded into the background. Lia fought to open her eyes. Her eyelids heavier than she remembered. It was dim around her. As her senses came back, the cold metal surface behind her sent a chill down her spine. She tried to move her arms, but they were chained out to her sides along with her legs. She struggled against the restraints, but all she got was the clinking of the chains. Faint footsteps approached her. She squinted, barely making out a silhouette in the dim lighting.
“Finally, you are awake! You got me worried.”
The light turned on, she winced from the brightness. After she got accustomed to the light, she opened her eyes. “Ben?”
Benjamin stood in front of her with a cheerful grin, his eyes travelling from her head to toes. Lia froze. Why am I tied up?
“Lia, how are you feeling?”
“I feel constricted, and probably betrayed. What is happening?”
His eyes widened, he flinched. “Woah,woah, easy! Not betrayed, of course. If I dare to even think about it, I would be very dead before I could move a finger. I got lucky fishing you out under William’s nose without him knowing what happened and finding out about your dark magic. We had to tie you up so you didn’t hurt yourself…” His phone beeped. He pulled it out to check, winking playfully. “If you are feeling alright, Adrian is waiting to see you.”
Lia raised her brows, she swallowed dry. The last thing she remembered was helping to save victims from the fire. It was the first time she had been outside of the clan since they fought at The Orbit. Then she blacked out. Did Adrian tie her up because of her power? Or did he tie her up because she pushed him away? Was she too mean for thinking he would do that?
She rolled her eyes at the thought, and decided to play along. If Adrian thought he could do whatever he wanted, he was dead wrong. She took a deep breath and nodded. He took a step closer, unlocking the chains. Soon, she was free again, she rubbed her arms, stretching them. He gestured for her to follow.
“Adrian wanted to stay until you woke, but I urged him to find some distraction for himself. He will fill you in with what happened,” he said as they walked through corridors.
Lia looked around. She didn’t recognize the surroundings. The walls of the poorly-lit corridors were made of grey bricks with wooden tiles. She could see her shadow when she walked past the light bulbs that pretended to be candles. The place looked old, but well-maintained.
Does Ben know what happened between Adrian and me?
They arrived at a heavy wooden door with no sign on it. Benjamin knocked, and they went in.
It was dark, without a pinch of light. Lia wanted to walk further inside, but Benjamin held her elbow, urging her to stop. She squinted and tried to look around. When he closed the door behind them, the room was completely dark. A suffocating magical power filled the room. She could faintly hear Benjamin breathing next to her, her heartbeat could interrupt the silence.
Slowly, as her eyes got used to the darkness, she could make out someone sitting on the floor in the center of the room. She wondered what was happening. She wanted to ask, but Benjamin seemed to read her mind. He tightened his grip on her arm before she opened her mouth. The figure in front of them stood as the lights came o
n.
“Adrian? Oof—” Before Lia could finish, he rushed forward, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her into a tight embrace, with a sob.
Wait! What is happening? He really thinks he can make me his by locking me up? I know he never follows rules, but really?
She wanted to push him away and perhaps slap him in the face, but despite her wish, she patted his back. Was it wrong to find comfort in his arms after what he did to her?
“What is happening?” Lia looked at Adrian for the first time in a while. His hair was dishevelled, there were bags under his half-opened eyes. Faintly, she could smell alcohol. Her heart ached as she furrowed her brows. All her anger seemed to disappear. “Are you drunk?”
He shook his head, pulling her into another hug. “Lia, are you feeling well?”
“Not until I know what’s happening.”
Adrian nodded, taking a few steps into the center of the room. Lia looked around at the wooden weapons hanging on the walls. The floor was covered with soft rubber mats. He was barefoot, so she took off her shoes and followed him. They sat, leaning on the wall. The brick wall was cold on her back.
“Ben fished you out. By the time you were here, your power was already overwhelming you. You almost broke his shoulder. You should go thank him later.”
Lia struggled to remember what happened. She remembered helping a kid escape the fire and helping Helen blocking off burning objects, but then she drew a blank.
Adrian continued. “I tried my best… I… I was worried that you wouldn’t make it. Hell, these have been the longest few days I’ve ever lived. I had to tie you down so you didn’t hurt yourself and for us to keep an eye on you. Hope it was fine with you.”
