by L Cross
Magic and monsters lived only in my favorite books.
At least that was what I'd believed until a pack of minotaurs chased after me one night and tried to gore me.
Regardless of what I believed, monsters were real. And the only way I could defeat them would be to know more about them.
"Dude, to be honest? I'm looking for everything. Every damn thing."
4
Hide and Seek
Lucia Santiago went to the basement of the New York Public Library.
She patted the lions lazing on the stone pillars that guarded the secret entrance of the Archives. That was enough for the mists to roll away, and she was able to walk down the stairs.
This had been her normal routine ever since she was recruited.
She used to think that she was doing better than all the rest with all the book learning and arcane things that she was able to memorize.
But.
This talk of field work…She wasn't made for that. Knowledge and power went hand in hand. She had expected to get a little dirty.
But the ghoul!
Lucia would have chalked it up to being new, but that Artura Drake was also an outsider, and she single-handedly subdued the monster.
Without magic.
Well, Lucia might not have been the most physically capable girl in her class, but she more than made up for it in pure hard studying.
She wasn't about to be kicked out of the academy, not now that she had been exposed to a world that she knew existed. For the first time in her life, she’d been able to taste a little bit of strength, and she wasn’t going to give it up without a fight.
She just needed to find something that will help her out just a little bit.
And she thought she saw a reference to rising power or embracing magic or something like that in the bowels of the archives.
It had something to do with artifacts of power. Maybe if she could find them, she’d be able to fit in with these legacy students.
The solemn air was full of floating dust motes. The beams of light they were dancing in were nowhere near the fragile books.
Not like the mages would have allowed anything to tarnish these precious works.
"Ah, Ms. Santiago," a voice like a young child rang out clearly.
From the shadows emerged a young girl whose long blonde hair fell straight like a sheet to her waist, held back with a plain black headband. She wore a plain white collared shirt with a V-neck sweater vest with a matching plaid knee-length skirt. White knee-high socks and black Mary Jane shoes completed her look. "It's nice to see you again. Would you like me to start a study carrel for you?"
"Yes, Archive. I would love that."
"Very well." A flash of light appeared and a small study booth complete with desk lamps and the amenities to help her out for a long night of studying. "What information would you like to start with this time?"
Lucia Santiago slipped her heavy bag off of her shoulders, massaging the knot of muscle that was tight underneath there. She took her time to figure out how to frame the question.
Too bad she couldn’t access anything about the artifacts of power. The last time she asked about them, the Archive froze as if she had short-circuited.
That seemed to be one of many taboo topics within their infinite knowledge storehouse.
The Archives could be extremely literal. “Do you have any suggestions regarding a mage increasing their magical power base?”
The girl blinked a few times, indicating that she was at least trying to find the information requested. “There are too many suggestions. Anything specific?”
Lucia had discovered that too specific usually meant that there were taboo items among the search records. Made sense, since the artifacts of power were only referred to in the most vague stories.
The kind that were more myth than truth. Like the Holy Grail and round tables and dragons.
“What creatures grant or transfer power or energy to another?”
The Archive started to list the creatures off. “Angels, Demons, Dragons, Fae—”
Lucia held up her hand to stop her. “Cross-reference and take away any creature that requires skilled bargaining or contract-making.”
She’d heard too many stories about how silver-tongued the Fae were. They might make her give up her soul or something.
And dragons were temperamental. They’d be able to eat her as soon as the bargaining began to annoy them.
Without hesitation, the Archive replied, “Demons.”
Lucia was unsure she heard the Archive correctly. “Demons?” She recalled the ghoul she’d been helpless against earlier. Weren’t those demon controlled flesh?
She asked the Archive.
“There is a spectrum, as there are a spectrum of skills for humans.”
Lucia’s stomach fluttered. Demons might not be a big deal in the magical community, but they still conjured up evil and troubling connotations to her.
“This wouldn’t be any black magic, right Archive? I don’t want to get in trouble.”
The little girl that was not a girl shook her head, causing the blonde silk of her hair to swish around her. She looked angelic like that. “Of course not. Wisdom is power. Black magic thrives on ignorance and deceit.”
Convinced, Lucia ordered up a bunch of demonology records.
“Any specific area?” asked the Archive. “Conjuring? Possession? Bargaining?"
Lucia gave it some thought. "How about let’s start with controlling a demon.” If she was going to ask it questions, she would need to know what would work in her favor.
"Very well." Before the Archive faded to return with the information requested, Santiago added, "Oh, and please let me know when it's seven o'clock. I have someplace to be tonight."
Lucia took her familiar place in her study carrel, and arranged her notebooks and papers in the order of her class schedule. One by one, the records that the Archive fetched for her appeared at the corner of her desk.
One of the books—ratty and worn—stood out from the pile. “Archive, what is this book?”
The young school girl tilted her head to the side, as if seeing the book for the first time. The deep gaze that met Lucia’s eyes was cold and fathomless. She might have looked like a child, but there was no mistaking her for one.
“It holds information that pertained to your search. Will that be all?”
Lucia dismissed the Archive with a little more decorum than usual. She wanted to remain in her good graces, powerful magical being and all.
As Lucia opened the notebook, a fine film of gold and silver dust sprayed onto her face and eyes. She sneezed, trying not to gag at what had to be centuries-old mold, dust mites, and other crap.
She took out a tissue and attempted to wipe as much of it off of her as possible.
At least no one was able to see her screw up again.
Blinking the water from her eyes, she focused on the inscription written on the page:
For the worthy.
With a breath hitched in her throat, Lucia flipped through the book.
Painstakingly tight handwriting lined each page, front and back. This had to be from a powerful mage, given the intricate spells that were written here.
Some of these glyphs were completely alien to her, and she’d been poring over a variety of text every day for weeks.
Lucia flipped back to the beginning.
For the worthy.
The words seemed to pulse with a life of their own. Each glyph begging to be read. This had to be something. This had to be a spell of some sort that would only be bestowed to the worthy.
Lucia needed to have it.
As she copied the passage into her notebook, she sounded out each word. It was an old study trick she used to use to help her remember facts better.
She didn’t know what the words meant, but she’d be able to translate it later with the Archive’s help.
When she finished, she leaned back and read over her work. Her handwriting
was a weaker copy of the original, but she still admired her calligraphic skills, no matter how shaky some of the loops were.
This time, Lucia recited what she had written down, and to her delight, the words on her page began to glow, too.
She read through the words a third time, feeling like her belly was full of butterflies taking flight.
Something was happening. Something real and tangible, and it was all her. She was able to do this.
Giddy, she kept reading her newfound spell, even though the words were so bright now, she had to squint against them to finish.
Shading her eyes with her hands, she finally finished the passage. Gold shimmering dust lifted from the page, swirling in a tornado that swallowed Lucia down.
Her screams were drowned out with a hollow roar of ancient magic.
In a wink of light, Lucia Santiago disappeared from the Archives.
5
Tag Team
"Were we supposed to meet out here?" Kat asked, looking at her watch.
We were out in front of the newest laser tag club in the city, checking every car service that slowed to a stop to see if they contained our friends.
Blazers was set up in what was once a warehouse. The “Z” in the name was larger than the other letters, and blue-animated flames shot out from it. The design concept made it look more like a gaudy thrift store specializing in cheap business suits than an extreme sports arena, but I wasn’t one to judge.
Besides, all the reviews said they had awesome food.
"I say if they don't show in five minutes, we should just go in and wait for them inside.” Where we wouldn’t be so obvious.
Kat saw through me. "You're just saying that because you want to avoid—"
"He who must not be named," I said before she could mention the name Morgan. I swear just thinking about him would make him appear.
“If you didn’t want him to come, you shouldn’t have invited him!” Kat teased, knowing full well I did no such thing.
I glared at her. “I didn’t invite him. Lance overheard us talking about going here, and he thought it would be cool.”
“Well just because he thought it would be cool, doesn’t mean he’ll show,” Kat said.
“I actually don’t mind if Lance shows. He’s cool. I just don’t like that other one who shall not be named.”
At that moment, Hanami popped up beside me, a vision in pink and sparkles. "Who must not be named?" she said in her bright voice.
Kat and I jumped. "Dammit, girl, you were about to be missing a head!" Kat’s short sword was already in her hand.
Hanami snorted. "Please. Like I'd let you mess up my hair." She flipped her extensions off her shoulders. Today, she rocked pink ombre hair parted down the middle, then pulled up into high ponytails. Blunt bangs covered her forehead, ending at her eyebrows.
Normally, Hanami came up to my shoulder. She was the shortest of all of us at five-foot-two, but she made up for her lack of height with outrageous shoes.
Whatever she had on were at least four-inch platforms for her to be at eye-level to me.
Her eyes glowed a grayish-green, and she added a smattering of freckles across the bridge of her nose and on her cheeks that weren’t part of her natural appearance.
It was a toss up whether or not her additions were from magic or makeup.
For me, they were the same thing.
"One of these days, you're gonna need to teach me how you appear from out of nowhere like the other mages," I said.
“Screw that, you have to teach me how to change your hair and eye color like that,” Kat said in awe as she inspected Hanami’s hair.
Hanami giggled. "Sure thing. Teleportation and glamour are all part of your curriculum, anyway, why not get a head start!"
Must be nice to use magic for something other than seeing monsters all around you.
"Wait, seriously? I was kind of kidding.”
Hanami shrugged, looking from Kat and me. "Well, yeah, you two are on track to being part of the Knight program, right? Those types of magics are exactly what you'd learn anyway. This way, you'll get to the head of the class."
Kat and I squealed and high-fived. "That would be awesome!"
Dara waved at us from the back of her cab. She paid, then skipped out of it, straightening her skirt. "What’s so exciting?" Dara asked.
"Hanami said she'd help us get a head start on some Knight stuff!"
Dara shimmered. "That's amazing! Go team!" She looked around. “Are we waiting on anyone else?”
I peered down the street. "I'd invited Santiago to come along too.” We each craned our necks, peering over and around the groups of people that all decided to walk on this one street at the same time.
“Oh, there she is!” Dara said merrily.
Her height was definitely an advantage in these situations.
I watched Santiago coming up the street, and when she was close enough to see us clearly, I waved at her.
"Hey!” I shouted at her. “I didn't think you'd make it!"
Santiago flushed, and straightened her glasses. “Yeah, I lost track of time. Library." She shrugged as if that explained everything.
Dara clapped her hands. "All right, let's go!"
We checked in at the front, and followed the associates’ directions regarding our gear. Loaded up, we waited just outside our starting point.
It was a re-imagined city skyline, with images of landmark buildings and bridges painted on the murals. Twinkly lights set into the wall recreated a starry night sky.
Just as the “get ready” lights started blinking at us, a familiar voice called out.
“Well hello, ladies! Fancy meeting you here!" Lance with his all-American good looks swaggered in. His sandy-blond hair and cornflower blue eyes went real nice with that muscular body that stretched out his shirt.
He made the silly laser-tag vest look like real armor.
I rolled my eyes to hide the fact that I was straight staring at him. Besides, he knew he was gorgeous, there was no need to feed his ego. "A coincidence? Had nothing to do with the fact that you overheard Kat and I talking about going laser-tagging tonight during the weapons class?"
Weapons had been a joke. It was the three of the resident knights, Wyn, Lance, and Morgan posturing about who was the better swordsman, and then introducing the ranking system to us before being dismissed. Hopefully, it would be more interesting once the actual instructor was back from whatever field assignment he was on.
"What? Why on earth would we care about what you girls like to do in your spare time?" Lance asked. His smile lit up the room, and my brain was in danger of melting out of my ears.
Steady girl. Try not to drool.
Hanami snorted and stomped over to Lance. "Because you're hoping to get some ass?" She narrowed her gaze at him. "Speaking of ass, I thought you preferred giving yours up to other dudes?"
Kat and I exchanged startled looks. What the hell was this now?
I didn't know how Hanami managed to stare him down—she barely reached his chest—but she was doing an impressive job at intimidation.
Lance's cheeks flushed which only made the blue of his eyes more intense. "Oh Mimi, when are you going to learn that not everything concerns you."
"And when are you going to learn that you're not as charming as you think you are."
Pure electricity crackled between them. If looks could kill, they would be shooting lasers from their eyes.
Dara leaned over and whispered loudly at us. “I think they used to date."
“Obvs,” Kat said while I responded, “Clearly.”
I was so distracted by Lance and Hanami’s drama that I didn't realize the others that had come in with him.
Lots of others.
Like an entire unit of knights. One of whom was the very last thing that I wanted to see, and that included the ghouls, trolls, and minotaurs that have been thrown my way this last week.
"What the hell is the hold up?"
Hearing Mor
gan’s voice was like a punch in the stomach. Seeing him, well, made things worse. His shock of platinum hair and icy blue eyes complemented his cold, alien beauty, and made it really hard to hate him.
"Unclench, Morgan," said another familiar voice. "There are rules we all need to follow."
Wyn. Where Morgan was cold, he was warm and inviting.
With Morgan and Wyn here and others that I didn't recognize, this waiting area was feeling more and more claustrophobic.
The face-off between Lance and Hanami was far from over.
"It's nice that you're gonna warm up the guns for us,” Lance crooned.
"Big talk. Then again, we all know that you're all talk and no action." Hanami said.
"Fine. Why don't we ask the manager to change this into a versus game, and we can see who's got what."
"Yo, H we got your back, but some of us haven't played this before," Kat loud-whispered to Hanami.
"Does it have to be a versus game? Why don't we just kill the bad guys together?" Dara’s Summer Fae nature practically glowed with the need to make everyone happy.
"Yes," I said jumping on that bandwagon. "Let's keep it as is, and just ask them to do a melee style battle so we're killing the same enemies." Plus, this way I could ignore Morgan completely, and just stick with Kat and Dara.
Or, rather Kat, since Dara seemed to be making googley-eyes at some large piece of Viking-looking man meat.
"Fine. But we're keeping track of the score," Hanami folded her arms across her chest.
"Loser pays," Lance sneered.
At the mention of money, I bit my lip. I could practically hear my bank account squealing in pain at the possibility of paying more than my budget for anything. "Hanami, is that ok with you?"
"Of course. Since we're going to win."
Okay, fine. Clearly, that outcome was decided. I sighed and shrugged at Kat. “I guess we’re winning.”
Thankfully, Morgan was too busy talking to the other guys to notice what was going on. Maybe he wouldn’t be playing after all. He wasn’t even holding his laser gun. He probably thought games like this would be too beneath him or something.
