Of Song and Shadow

by Phillip Drayer Duncan

  I shook my head. “I’m fine. Just tired. Paeter was a bit of work.”

  She raised her glass and I followed suit. After a long drink, she asked, “Where did Axel wander off to?”

  I shrugged. “Who knows?”

  She glanced around the bar. He was nowhere in sight, but the place was packed, so he could’ve been hidden in the crowd. Or he could’ve up and left. I found it was best not to spend too much time wondering what he was up to.

  I noticed Valerie studying my face, like a scientist looking through a microscope. She knew how to read people. She was clever like that.

  Valerie Vittoria, Private Investigator. She was damn good, too. Had her own firm here in town. She had a couple of underlings who took all the ‘normal’ work while she specialized in the supernatural. All under the table. She’d only been in town for a few months, just long enough to set up shop and get her business drummed up. When she heard rumors that the Cabal’s Blade Mage had exiled himself to a tiny mountain cabin nearby, she’d gone out of her way to find me. I was skeptical at first, but so far she’d always been straight with me and she paid well. I wasn’t sure what her story was, or how she knew about the supernatural world, but she appeared to be in her mid-thirties, sharp as my sword, a dedicated professional type, and not hard on the eyes. Beyond that, I didn’t know a whole lot about her.

  She tilted her head slightly and said, “You are bummed out. Why?”

  I took a sip of my beer and tried to formulate an intelligent response. When I couldn’t think of one I decided not to reply.

  “Ah, I see,” she said, nodding at me. “It’s the whole Blade Mage thing. You know, you could just go kick down the door at the Cabal and force your way in. Other than the Archmage and his minions, it’s not like they can really keep you from doing your job.”

  I forced a smile. “It is what it is, Valerie. If I could, I’d just give up the sword to a more suitable candidate.”

  “Are you so sure there is one?” she said, a conspirator’s smile across her lips.

  “How 'bout you?” I said, shrugging. “You’re smarter than me. You’d make a good Blade Mage.”

  This made her actually laugh. She took another casual drink from her beer and said, “Well, I know it’s not hunting demons, but what you did tonight helped that poor schmuck out. You brought a concerned woman’s husband home from the brink of utter foolishness. You did good.”

  I nodded. Her words were true, but I’d already tried to explain that to myself several times. The sword weighed on my mind, though. There was more I could be doing, or rather, more it could be doing. Sitting here in the hills, trying to rust, wasn’t doing the greater community much good. I didn’t bother trying to explain it. It was my personal frustration to deal with.

  Valerie tipped her bottle up and drained the last of it. “Fair enough, Wyatt. Keep your brooding thoughts to yourself.”

  I tipped my beer at her and forced a smile. “I am a wizard. It’s what we do best.”

  She chuckled and rose from her seat. “I’ll let you know when I have more work. This time I’ll see if I can find you a dragon to slay or a demon to exorcise. Would that be better?”

  “Paeter was challenging enough, thank you,” I said, rising to my feet.

  We shook hands and she disappeared through the throng.

  I sat alone for a few more minutes until it felt awkward sitting at a whole table by myself. Finishing my own beer, I scooped up Axel’s and headed toward the bar to find a stool. I’d give Axel a while, but if he didn’t show before long, I had no qualms about leaving him behind. It wasn’t uncommon for him to pull a disappearing act. Much like a dog, he tended to wonder off on occasion. He always made it back home eventually.

  The problem was that he was going stir crazy living in my little cabin. He was used to having wealth at his disposal, which allowed him to carry on with whatever craziness he dreamed up. Staying with me was a challenge. We were constantly broke and I didn’t have much desire to leave my cabin, which meant Axel was often bored out of his mind, which generally led to trouble.

  I stared dumbly at the screen above my head. It was turned to some MMA fight. The group of middle-aged men to my right were invested in the match, each yelling obscenities at the screen, but it wasn’t clear who they were rooting for. To my left, an elderly gentleman was leaning in close to a woman half his age, both of them giggling at each other’s jokes.

  I sat through two more beers before I finally decided it was time to call it a night. I was just about to rise from my seat when I felt a gentle tap on my shoulder. Assuming it was Axel, I was prepared with an obscene comment as I turned to face him. Whatever I was about to say died on my lips as I realized it wasn’t him.

  Instead, I found myself facing a woman around my age. Her long dark hair hung down past her shoulders, which, combined with the dirt-smeared white dress she wore, made her look like something from a horror flick. Despite her ragged appearance, she was quite beautiful. She had a strong jaw line with a firm lip that spoke of someone strong-willed, but her eyes had a starry, dream-like look. I wondered if she was even coherent.

  After a moment, she said, “Wyatt Draven.”

  I glanced around, just in case there were any other Wyatt Dravens present, then looked back at the woman. “Uh, do I know you?”

  “I seek the Blade Mage,” she said, rocking slightly on her feet. It was as if she was half asleep, or maybe possessed. I’d seen stranger things, and it wasn’t that long ago that I’d really pissed off a creepy demon. He was dead, but that didn’t mean one of his buddies didn’t want to settle the score. Worse yet, she’d just walked into a public place and called me out as the Blade Mage. My spider sense was on full tingle. Whatever this was, it wasn’t good.

  “I don’t know what you’re referring to,” I said. “Perhaps there’s someone else you need to speak to.”

  “Are you Wyatt Draven?” she asked, her brow furrowing. “I need the Blade Mage.”

  “I guess they’re just letting the homeless walk right in,” the old man with younger female companion said. “You see this shit? She’s probably tweaked out on meth.”

  I ignored the guy and asked, “Who are you?”

  She stared at me for a moment. “I don’t know.”

  “Okay,” I said, not bothering to point out just how weird that was. “Where did you come from?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “Then who gave you my name?”

  “I don’t know,” she repeated, shaking her head. “I just know that I need your help.”

  “Sorry,” I said, stepping from the barstool. I threw a twenty on the bar to cover my bill and started for the door. “I don’t think I’m who you’re looking for.”

  Using mind-speak, I called out to Axel, “Where are you?”

  “Outside the bar,” he replied. “There’s a guy with a violin. Says he has a trombone in his van he wants to show me.”

  “Uh, Axel. I don’t know if that means what you think it means.”

  “What do you think it means?”

  “Well, either this guy is overly enthusiastic about his instruments, or he’s referring to his penis.”

  “Oh,” Axel said and there was a pause. “He did say I was cute. I think I might’ve given him the wrong impression.”

  “Forget that guy and meet me out front,” I said, glancing back over my shoulder. The woman had disappeared in the crowd. “We may have trouble.”

  “What’s going on?” he asked.

  “I don’t know,” I said, then gave him the short version of my meeting with the woman. I was just finishing up explaining when I pushed through the door and saw him waiting for me outside.

  “Is she still in there?” he asked, glancing past me.

  I shrugged, not rightly sure. As far as I knew, she might’ve been some kind of illusion, but I didn’t sense any magic around her.

  The question answered itself a moment later when she came out behind me.

  “Please,”
she said, stopping a few feet from us. “I need your help.”

  I glanced at Axel. He shrugged.

  “Let me try this again,” I said. “Who are you?”

  “I don’t know,” she said.

  “What do you know?” I asked.

  “I need your help,” she said, almost begging.

  “Uh, if I might interject,” Axel said, looking the woman over. “Could you tell us what you need Wyatt’s help with?”

  “I need…help,” she said, her eyes moving between us. “I need… They’re after me.”

  “Who is after you?” I asked.

  She seemed ready to answer but paused. Finally, she said, “I don’t know.”

  I threw my hands up in frustration. “Then it’s not my help you need. Axel, come on, let’s go.”

  Axel stepped in close and whispered, “I’m not sure we should just leave her out here.”

  “And what exactly is it that you think we should do?” I replied. I could feel the tension in my own voice.

  “Uh, well, I don’t know,” he replied.

  “Oh, great, now you’re doing it too,” I said, shaking my head. I turned back to the woman. “Look, whatever is going on, I’m sorry. But I don’t just help random strangers.”

  She took another step toward me and in the neon light of the bar sign I saw that she was crying. “Please, there’s no one else. I need your help.”

  “Why do you need my help?” I asked, then put up my hand. “And don’t say you don’t know.”

  She didn’t reply.

  By this point, other people outside were watching us. I turned to Axel and said, “Come on.”

  We started down the street with the strange woman in tow. If nothing else, I wanted to continue the conversation away from civilians. At any moment, I expected her to transform into a demon and try to eat my face. When that happened, it would be best to not have any bystanders around. Also, my truck was parked just down the street.

  The woman followed and I noticed she kept glancing behind her, as though she thought something might jump out at her at any moment.

  I wasn’t sure what to do. I didn’t want to leave some poor disoriented woman alone in the middle of the street, but every warning siren in my head was turned up to eleven.

  As though reading my thoughts, Axel said, “Maybe she really needs help.”

  “And maybe she’s a demon who’s planning to rip our hearts out,” I replied, my tone a little more forceful than was intended. I dialed it down and continued, “Do you think I haven’t thought of that?”

  “I don’t know what you have or haven’t thought,” Axel said, his expression serious. “If I did, I probably wouldn’t find you nearly as amusing as I do.”

  “Thanks.”

  “Seriously, though, maybe we should try to help her.”

  “Maybe,” I replied.

  “But you remember what happened the last time you decided to help a strange woman?”

  I stopped walking and glanced over at him. “Last time was your fault.”

  “That’s not the point. Last time the woman turned out to be a witch.”

  “Which was something you could’ve warned me about.”

  “Stop making this about me,” he said, shaking his head. “And I couldn’t warn you. I was imprisoned, remember?”

  “Yes, and I also remember that Faith was a good witch.”

  “Yes, she was, but that wasn’t point. The last time you helped a strange woman, she ended up dead.”

  “I haven’t forgotten, Axel,” I said. This time I intended my voice to be forceful.

  We walked on in silence, my truck just ahead.

  After a few moments, Axel said, “Still, maybe we should help her.”

  “Make up your damned mind,” I replied.

  “Hey, you’re the one she asked for help.”

  “Well, I don’t know what the hell to do,” I said as I fished for my keys. “Maybe we should at least hear her out.”

  “Uh, that might be a challenge,” Axel replied, “since she’s about to be murdered by shadow creatures.”

  I glanced back up and for a moment, I thought Axel was messing with me. Then I saw them. They crept just outside of the street lights, hanging to the shadows. In fact, they looked as though they were actually comprised of shadow, save for their glowing white eyes. They were humanoid in shape, but extremely thin and lanky.

  “What the hell are those?” I asked, glancing at Axel.

  “I don’t know,” he replied, biting his lip. “But they look scary.”

  We watched the shadow men move closer around the woman. Their intent was clear. Well, at least in the sense that she was their intent. What they planned to do to her, I couldn’t say.

  “You know,” I said, shaking my head in frustration. “Nothing that scary looking is ever nice to us. As a rule.”

  “An astute observation, my dear Watson,” Axel replied. “So, I guess we should make a decision, like, pretty quick.”

  I cursed our fortune and started toward the woman, who stood trembling beneath a streetlight. Her head whipped back and forth in near panic as the creatures closed in on her.

  Ignoring us completely, they tightened their circle around her.

  “Glad we brought weapons yet?” Axel asked as he pulled his drumstick from his pocket.

  I didn’t bother with a reply.

  The woman dropped to the ground in front of the streetlight, trying to get away from the shadow monsters reaching for her. I caught one last glimpse of her face before the creatures blocked my view. One quick image of the tears streaming down her cheeks as they huddled around her.

  Then Axel fired a blob of white energy at them and yelled, “Hey, shadow dicks! Over here!”

  Best guess was that Axel had just summoned a ball of raw energy. It hit one of the creatures in the back, crackling against its dark body, then dissipated. It didn’t seem to have much effect.

  However, all at once, their glowing white eyes turned to face us. I couldn’t tell where one ended and the other began. I made a quick guestimate that there were around ten sets of eyes total.

  “That’s right!” Axel said, stopping his charge to focus on a ranged attack. He hurled another blob of white energy at them. “You fellas ready for a flashlight enema?”

  The creatures started toward us, perhaps intrigued by this new threat. Not knowing what they were, or what they were capable of, or what could hurt them, I probably should’ve stood back with Axel and hurled magic until we figured out what hurt them. However, I did not.

  I charged right at them, and they charged back.

  As I closed in on the nearest, I drew Drynwyn from my back. This time it appeared as a katana, which it tended to do when I was in a scrap. White flames leapt down the blade.

  The nearest creature tried to slow its charge, but it was too late.

  I swung my blade right through its abdomen, the light of my sword burning through its inky flesh. The whole creature disintegrated in a puff of smoke.

  Its buddies screeched the highest pitched, most terrifying wail I’d ever heard. Like the cries of a thousand cats being shoved in a bathtub. Such a horrifying melody it actually staggered me. Then, it just sort of pissed me off and I got back to work.

  The next shadow creature met the same fate as the first, then they wizened up and backed away from me. I moved toward the woman. She was still at the base of the streetlight and crying, but she seemed unscathed.

  “Come on!” I said, grabbing her by the wrist and pulling her to her feet.

  “Uh, Wyatt!” Axel yelled. “May need some help here!”

  I glanced back toward my friend. Having realized they couldn’t do anything to hurt me, the shadow creatures had set their sights on him.

  I half-dragged the woman behind me as I started back toward him. “Light show, Axel! Do your rock 'n' roll light show!”

  “That takes preparation!” he yelled back. The creatures were moving in quick.

  “The new one
you told me about!” I yelled back, running now. “The one you specifically said didn’t take any preparation!”

  “Oh, right!” he said. “Dammit! I was saving it to be a surprise!”

  The monsters were almost on him.

  “Do the fucking light show!”

  “Fine!” he yelled back, mumbling curses. With a drumstick in each hand, he moved through a choreographed dance. Something between Disco Fever and the Macarena. The shadow creatures might’ve had him if they weren’t just as surprised as I was. Quick to get back on task, they closed in. At the last possible moment, Axel raised both drumsticks into the air and yelled, “On the first day, Axel said…let there be light!”

  There was a concussive thump, like a bomb dropping on a target, and then there was…light. Lots and lots of light. As though someone dumped gasoline on a pile of fireworks and lit the whole thing on fire.

  Searing white sparklers danced up from his feet, rays of brilliant blues and greens fired in every direction, breaking off into little explosions, and a neon hue fired to life just behind him. Every type of firework imaginable, all at once.

  The nearest of the creatures evaporated into dust. The remaining shrieked and fell away, smoke rising from their black forms. They slithered on the ground in agony, puffs of them disappearing into the night air.

  “Come on, Axel!” I said, running past him for the truck. “Let’s go!”

  “You haven’t even seen the best part!” he cried back, but reluctantly followed. “The giant penis rocket hasn’t even launched yet!”

  “You can show me your penis rocket another time!” I yelled over my shoulder, only realizing what I said a moment too late.

  Axel giggled like a child and said, “All right, well, you said it.”

  I ignored him and dug for my keys once more, glancing back to where the shadow creatures still struggled on the ground. I unlocked my side and tossed the keys to Axel so he could open the passenger side, while I helped the strange woman into the bench seat from the driver side.

  Once we were all in, I fired my truck to life and put the shadow creatures in the rearview.

  Chapter 4

  “What the hell were those things?” I asked, glancing toward the woman. “And why are they after you?”