by Flynn, Mac
My shoulders slumped, sure I'd been wrong about my suspicions. Then Vince pulled his hand back and slammed it through the wall. It tore through a thin layer of wallpaper and styrofoam. A woman shrieked, and the wall opened to reveal a hidden closet. The witch from the woods, Simone, sprang from the wall. She slammed the door into Vince, scurried past him and to the door, but I tackled her. I ended up on top of her as we both faced Vince.
"Get off! Let go of me!" she shrieked.
I clamped my hand over her mouth. "We're not going to hurt you," I told her.
She didn't believe me and continued to thrash and pull. Vince came over and knelt in front of us. His blue eyes caught hers and she cringed. "Y-you! You're supposed to be dead!"
"You performed the wrong hex," he explained.
"Yeah, you made a vampire live and now he's aging to death," I added.
Simone scowled at us. "Good! Anybody who works for Ruthven deserves to die!"
"We have no affiliation with Ruthven," Vince revealed.
Simone stopped her struggles and blinked at us. "You don't?"
"No, and we need your help with two things," I spoke up. I nodded at Vince. "One, get rid of the hex on him, and two, tell us if you know why Ruthven had your friend Hilda killed."
Simone frowned. "And if I don't?"
Our conversation was interrupted by the howl of a werewolf, and that sound was quickly followed by screams and a panic from downstairs. Vince glanced at the door, frowned, and looked down at Simone. "Then we will feed you to Ruthven's werewolves."
Chapter 13
"Let me go!" Simone yelped. She resumed her struggles to get me off her.
I pressed my weight down on her and glared at Vince. "Vera wanted her back to Witches, Inc., and probably alive and in one piece."
"If she is of no use to us then it would be better if they killed her," Vince argued.
Simone stopped her thrashing and scrutinized us. "Is that it? You just want to know why Hilda was killed?" she spoke up.
We both looked down at her. "Yeah, and to get the hex off," I reminded her.
"I'll do both if you get me out of the city," she offered.
"We promised Vera we'd take you back to Witches, Inc.," I told her.
She shook her head. "That won't work. Ruthven's too powerful in this city. He'll get at me there, but if you could get me out of here and away from him then I'll lift the hex and tell you what I know."
"Lifting the hex now would be really helpful," I insisted.
"I need at least five minutes to cast the anti-hex," she told me.
There came another howl, and I heard the scurry of heavy claws on the stairs down the hall. We maybe had one minute. I whipped my head to Vince. "I'm saying yes to her offer."
Vince frowned, but gave a nod. "Very well, but stay close."
I let Simone up and took her arm. "Like on our heels," I added.
"Follow me," Vince ordered us.
He hurried to the single window and opened the lower part of the glass. Simone furrowed her brow. "You can't get out there. There isn't any fire escape."
"No, but the boards on the exterior may hold a body, and are wide enough to use as hand and foot grips," he explained.
"That's suicide," she argued.
He looked to her and raised an eyebrow. "Unless you know a flying spell we have no choice."
I raised my hand. "Um, I don't really think we want her casting any more spells. I don't want to turn into a flying carrot."
Simone glared at me. "I am a perfect witch when I'm not under pressure."
The howling and clawing reached our floor and scurried down the hall. The nostrils of the werewolves were loud enough I heard their snorts and sniffs. "I think this counts as pressure, so let's do as the nice former vampire tells us and get out that window!"
I pushed her toward the window as Vince slipped out. Though he was aged he was at least still skinny, and the wooden boards of the building held his weight. Simone and I were both petite, and Vince led the way down with Simone above him. I swung one leg out just as something heavy slammed itself against the door. The wood broke in half and revealed a hairy shoulder. The shoulder was replaced with the elongated face of the werewolf, and its golden eyes swept over the room until they fell on me. The werewolf snarled and I sheepishly grinned and waved at it. It howled and rammed its shoulder into the splintered door. The entrance buckled and a half dozen werewolves spilled into the tiny room.
I slipped onto the siding and scurried downward to where Vince and Simone awaited. I landed on the ground and my feet sank in a few inches of muck. Our escape had led us to the rear of the establishment which also happened to be near the end of the illegal Underground. I heard grunts and growls above me, and tilted my head back. The werewolf hung his head out the window and tried to squeeze his wide shoulders through the small window. The result was his getting stuck and his companions behind him howling in rage.
"I must remember to dock their pay," a voice commented.
Our attention turned to the opposite end of the building where stood a small, bespectacled man. I recognized him from the Ninth Precinct. This was Ron Field, secretary to Ruthven and creepy-man extraordinaire. His pale lips held a ghost of a smile
"Where the hell is Romero when you need him?" I wondered.
"There's no need for a policeman. I assure you I only want the witch," Field informed us.
Vince stepped in front of our little group and scowled at our old acquaintance. "She is ours," he insisted.
Field's cold eyes swept over Vince's appearance, and his thin lips curled up in a smile. "Did this ignorant witch hit you with a life hex?"
Simone glared at him. "I'm not ignorant, and it was supposed to be a death hex!"
Field reached up with one hand and pressed his glasses against his nose. "I am afraid idle chat is not my forte. Please give me the witch or I will be forced to hurt you."
"No," Vince replied.
"Then goodbye." Field raised his hand and it glowed like Vera's hands as she prepared magic.
Beside me Simone's eyes widened and her voice came out as a hoarse, trembling whisper. "Sorcerer!"
I glanced between Field and her. "So what? We've seen-"
From Field's hand was blasted a ball of crackling energy that, while small, burned off such heat that I felt the warmth on my cheeks at twenty feet. Vince turned, wrapped his arms around both of us, and shoved us against the wall. The ball spun past us and collided with an innocent trashcan and pile of junk. The bystanders were obliterated into specks of dust and their remains rained down on us like a thick snowfall. The thick snow ashes limited our view to only a few yards.
We heard a crunching through the thick snowfall and Field emerged close at hand. He knocked Vince on the side of his face, and Vince flew across the alley and hit his back against the wall of the neighboring building. He made a terrible wheezing sound as the air was forced from his lungs, and I heard bones crack beneath the impact. Field shoved me hard enough against the bar building to knock the breath from me, and he grabbed Simone by the collar. He lifted her off the ground and carried her by his side back from where he'd come.
"Help! Help me!" Simone screamed as she squirmed and kicked in his grasp.
Through my daze I saw Vince stand shakily to his feet. His teeth ground together and his face was pale, but he stumbled forward behind Field and Simone. He held his ring in front of him. The ring glowed with its unnatural light, and from the stone came a net that shot out and wrapped around Simone. I heard a hissing noise when the net landed on Field's arm and hand. Smoke rose from his skin as the net melted into his body. He turned and showed his face was as calm as usual, but his eyes burned with hatred for Vince and the light from his ring.
"I have no instructions to kill you at this time, Vincent. Do not interfere or I may be forced to disobey my master." Field grabbed the net with his free hand and tore it off himself and Simone. It fell to the ground and vanished.
"Is that all you ca
n do?" Simone screeched at Vince.
"Do away with me, but I will guarantee your boss will never see you again," Vince challenged him. He pulled his arm back, and when he flung it forward another, larger net flew out of the ring and landed on the pair, this time covering them both completely. Steam arose from Field's entire body and the smell of burning flesh permeated the alley. I gasped and clapped my hand over my nose.
Field raised his free hand and his light cut through Vince's net. It fell and again disappeared. I glanced to Vince and noticed he swayed and stumbled backward. His hair had grayed more and he gasped for breath. Vera's warning echoed in my head; a human couldn't wield our rings without dying.
"Vince, stop!" I yelled at him.
Field accepted Vince's challenge when he tossed Simone into a nearby trashcan where her rear stuck tight in the mouth. He held his hands one over the other with six inches between them, and in the space between them there arose a new crackling ball of energy. Spikes slid out of the surface and Field spread his hands farther to accommodate their needed space. All their tips pointed at Vince, and they slowly slid closer toward him.
My eyes widened when I realized Field meant to launch them at Vince. My heaving, gasping partner was barely able to stand, much less dodge so many spikes. A slow, wicked grin slid onto Field's face. "Farewell." He quickly pulled apart his hands and the spikes sprang from the ball.
I pushed off the wall and launched myself at Vince. I jumped in front of him with my face toward the oncoming spikes, and instinctively I flung up my arms in front of me and slammed my eyes shut. A bright light burst through my eyelids and the expected piercings and unbearable pain never came. I dared open one eye and saw a wall of light in front of me. The light originated from my ring held out in front of me. I blinked and lowered my ring hand. The barrier lowered with me.
"Cool," I whispered.
A hand clapped onto my shoulder, and I turned to see Vince's haggard, wrinkled face staring into mine. He looked eighty now, and his face was scrunched up in pain. Vince nodded at my barrier. "Bring it down," he hissed.
I snorted. "And let us both die?" I countered.
"Your hands," he rasped.
I glanced down at my hands and noticed they were aged twenty years. The ring's energy drained my life, too.
"You have a quick learner with the ring's power, but your bodies won't last long," Field spoke up. He formed another ball of spikes between his hands.
Vince tried to pull me behind him, but his strength failed him. I pushed him behind me and raised my ring hand and with it the barrier. This time I felt my life energy sapped from my body, but Field didn't let me take a break. He created a ball twice the size as the original and flung the spikes at me. They sped across the short distance in the alley and slammed into my barrier. Each pound sapped a little more energy from me as the barrier tried to keep itself alive by killing me.
Oh hell no. I was not going to die in this crummy alley with magical spikes impaled in my shriveled body. I set my jaw in a tight scowl and clasped my right hand in my ring hand. My barrier walls thickened and I stifled a cry from my throat as the transfer of life changed from a slow slide to a hard, fast, painful yank. I ground my teeth together, leaned on my barrier, and marched forward. The spikes pounded in my barrier, but none penetrated the thick walls. On the other side of the barrier Field's eyes widened and he took a step back as though to flee.
"Oh no you don't, asshole!" I yelled at him.
I pushed through the remaining spikes and charged him. He lifted his glowing hands to perform some other pain-in-the-ass trick, but I slid up to him and pulled back both my hands as though I held a bat. The barrier mimicked my movements when it pulled back and formed itself into the baseball equipment with my hands wrapped around the handle. I swung and the bat connected with the side of Field's face.
I expected the slam to knock him to the ground. What I got was a home run. Field flew backward down the alley and into the next block. Or maybe the block after that. He disappeared from my sight and I heard a crash from far away.
"And don't come back," I wheezed.
I set the top of my bat on the ground, but the light disappeared and I tumbled to the mucky alley floor. I tried to get up but my strength failed me. Vince's face appeared over mine and he lifted my upper body so my shoulder leaned against his chest.
"You should not have done that," he whispered.
I smiled up at him. "You're welcome." A coughing fit overcame me, and when it finished I felt as weak as a lamb. I was also tired, so very tired. My eyes wouldn't stay open. "Guess I overdid it," I whispered.
"You were very foolish," he agreed.
I managed a weak chuckle and I raised one hand and cupped his wrinkled old cheek. "Did I ever mention that I don't really hate you?"
A few loose tears slipped from his eyes and he clasped his hand in mine. "No, but I will make a note of it," he promised.
There came a crash and a tumble, and in a moment I noticed Simone over Vince's shoulder. I noticed her lips moved fast, but I heard no sound. Maybe it was because the world was fading to black. Everything faded to dull-colored hues and was quiet. I just wanted to rest. I couldn't keep my eyes open. Over me Vince's eyes widened. I felt him shake me, but I couldn't move my mouth to reply. I couldn't move anything. There was just this soft warmth and a strange light through my closed eyes.
"Liz!"
Chapter 14
My eyes shot open and my head rolled so that I looked to my side. The grimy scenery of the alley was gone, replaced by the grimy scenery of an unknown sewer culvert. The slippery, molding walls flew by at superhuman speed, and beneath me was a familiar pair of arms. I looked up and found myself staring into Vince's face. His lips were pressed to thin lines and his face was pale. Gone were the wrinkles and all the gray hairs but a few streaks along his temple. He carried me in his arms and we sped through the culvert.
My lips felt parched and my limbs were stiff. "Vince?" I croaked.
Vince didn't look down at me, and his voice was a ghost of a whisper. "Quiet," he replied.
I heard a soft whooshing noise to his right and in front of me. My eyes fell on Simone who rode beside us on a spindly, worn broom. She sat low on the wooden wreck and faced straight ahead. More sounds caught my attention, and these came from behind. I turned my head and could just barely look over Vince's arm. Even in the blackness of the tunnel I could make out dark shapes as they splashed through and jumped over puddles that Vince silently flitted through and Simone flew over. The dark shapes had yellow eyes and sharp teeth, and every now and again they let out horrible grunts and growls. Werewolves, and they gained on us.
"We're not losing them!" Simone shouted at us. Vince slid to a stop and turned around. Simone pulled a u-turn a couple of yards ahead and flew back to us. "What are you doing?" she shrieked.
"Take her." Vince handed me off to Simone, and she unwillingly cradled me atop her broom and against herself.
"What? Why?"
My eyes widened when Vince raised his ring hand. "No," I hoarsely protested.
"You're not strong enough yet! It could kill you!" Simone also argued.
Vince looked straight ahead and narrowed his head. "That doesn't matter anymore," he answered.
A faint light erupted from his ring, and the familiar bubble of shining crystal spears burst from the surface. The culvert glowed with the unnatural light and the dark creatures of the sewers scrambled away from its brilliance. The spears flew from the bubble and across the fifty-yard distance into our pursuers. The werewolves howled and fell to the floor writhing in pain. The light from Vince's ring disappeared and the tunnel returned to its natural darkened state.
Vince turned back to us and took me from Simone. We rushed down the tunnel once more, and in a few minutes there came a light at the end. Freedom was granted when we reached a grate like that under the bridge, and Vince returned me to Simone while he used his strength to tear the metal from the mouth and fling the grate ten yards
beyond the opening. He took me back and the three of us hurried into the light of the clear night sky.
The culvert we exited came out somewhere on the outskirts of the city. Behind us lay the lights of the metropolis, and in front of us lay the long, uninterrupted shadows of the countryside. Simone stepped off her broom and stood in front of us while Vince set me down on the ground so my back lay on a nearby rock.
"Mind telling me what happened?" I choked out.
"The witch returned my unlife, and saved yours," he explained.
"And just barely," Simone spoke up. "A few more seconds and you would've been able to say hello to Hilda for me. You're just lucky I was there to save your soul."
I looked past Vince and glared at her. The anger that welled up inside me returned some of my energy to me. "If you wouldn't have put the hex on us in the first place a lot of this wouldn't have happened," I shot back.
Simone frowned. "You'd be paranoid, too, if Ruthven was after you."
Vince stood and turned to her. "We made an agreement. You have lifted your hex and we have led you from the city. Why was Hilda killed?"
Simone rubbed her chin and her eyes flickered between us. "I suppose you've held up your part, but I can't quite tell you why Hilda was killed because I don't really know myself."
"What?" I yelled.
Vince held up his hand to me and trained his eyes on Simone. "Then why was Ruthven after you?" he questioned her.
"Because he wanted to know where Hilda hid something. When I asked what it was she hid, all she gave me was this." Simone reached into her pocket and pulled out a slip of paper. She handed it over to Vince who unfolded it.
I struggled to see what he held, but my legs wouldn't let me stand. "What is it?" I asked him. He shocked me when he obliged by kneeling at my side and holding out the paper to reveal a folded half of a queen of hearts. "A card?" I wondered.
