by Alex Siegel
"We told some really good lies," Andrew said.
"Great," Williams said. "Every little bit helps. The professional liars will be here soon."
"You have professional liars?"
"Sure. Just wait 'til you see them in action."
The helicopter touched down. Andrew covered his ears and squinted to protect his eyes from blown dust.
As soon as the aircraft was on the ground, a side door opened, and Keene jumped out. His wrinkled face appeared very anxious. The wash from the helicopter made his gray hair dance on his head. He was wearing a brown wool jacket and matching pants.
"What the hell is going on?" he yelled over the engine noise.
Everybody moved away from the helicopter so they could talk without screaming. Charley summarized the situation in crisp terms a sorcerer would understand. Keene listened with a grim expression while Williams stood a short distance away.
Keene sighed deeply. "That doesn't sound anything like the Serkan I know," he said. "Something must've happened to him. Our first stop is the seam. I need to see it up close."
"Wait," Williams said, "before we go anywhere, I need to make something clear. Serkan was your apprentice."
"Obviously." Keene's eyes flashed with annoyance.
"If he's guilty of serious crimes, some of the fault falls on your shoulders. You trained him. You were responsible for him. According to regulations, you'll go to prison for him."
"You're already convicting me? Maybe we should get the facts first."
"The essential facts are beyond dispute," Williams said. "Serkan was in the fire station performing sorcery in a clandestine manner. He had his girlfriend with him. Thirty-six innocent people are dead at last count, killed by a banshee."
"The first lesson of sorcery is that one should not trust appearances. Let's proceed with the investigation."
Keene marched off towards the fire station. He was energetic for a middle-aged man. Andrew and Charley jogged to keep up with him.
Keene glanced at them. "You really defeated a banshee?"
"We did it together," Andrew said.
"Actually," Charley said, "Andrew did most of it."
"That was foolish," Keen said. "You took a huge risk."
"It seemed like the right thing to do."
"Perhaps," Keene said, "but I'm having a hard time believing you survived. The banshee must've been weakened by starvation."
"It didn't feel weak," Andrew said.
"Not to you. You were lucky this time, but don't test your luck again. Next time, wait for a real sorcerer. You're just apprentices."
They arrived at the fire station. Deputies were still standing guard, and emergency personnel were working inside.
Keene turned to Williams who had followed him.
"Clear it out," Keene said. "The apprentices and I need to work alone."
Williams called other BPI agents to help him. After several minutes of flashing badges, barking orders, and threatening federal prosecution, they managed to get everybody out of the fire station.
Keene, Andrew, and Charley went inside. The interior was quiet and a little spooky. All the bodies had been removed, but tape on the floor showed where they had lain.
Keene looked at the seam. "It's a beast. It's amazing the BPI didn't know about it."
Andrew walked around the room. Each seam had its own character, and this one spun like a gyroscope. The outer surface was a moving blur.
"What are we doing in here?" he said.
"Forensic sorcery," Keene said. "A rare and subtle art."
"How does it work?" Charley said.
He glanced at her. "Whenever we work magic, the sprites absorb a little of our power. They remember. I just have to ask them what happened here."
Andrew saw the sprites as pinpoints of energy moving randomly through space. They formed a cloud around the seam, and in their current form, they seemed completely harmless. The banshee had once been one of them.
"I don't think they'll talk to you," Andrew said.
Keene grunted angrily. "We'll see about that."
Andrew sensed Keene's power growing. An invisible black storm always surrounded him, but now it expanded to ten times its normal size. The room seemed to darken, and the walls became hazy, but Andrew knew it was all in his mind. A normal person wouldn't see any difference.
Andrew and Charley backed away fearfully. They hadn't seen a master sorcerer perform a truly powerful spell before. When Tonya practiced, she always did it alone.
Keene raised his hands like a conductor in front of an orchestra. The sprites stopped their random motion and formed a neat line.
"This is organic sorcery," Charley said. "It's forbidden."
"Technically," Keene said, "but these are mitigating circumstances."
His faced became locked in a tense expression. Andrew could tell Keene was attempting a very difficult spell, and Andrew tried to be silent.
Keene wiggled his fingers, and the sprites wiggled sympathetically. Some kind of deep communication was happening. Andrew wished he were skilled enough to participate. It was easy to see why organic sorcery was forbidden and why a reckless sorcerer might try it anyway. Playing with sprites looked like fun.
Keene abruptly dropped his arms and stormed out of the fire station with a furious expression. The sprites returned to moving randomly.
"What happened?" Andrew said.
"I guess he got his answer," Charley said, "and he didn't like it."
They went outside into the bright sunlight. Keene was standing by himself and staring at the ground. Bothering him seemed like a bad idea.
Williams walked up to Andrew. "Do you have anything to report?"
"Talk to Keene," Andrew said, "but I suggest you do it nicely. Or better yet, wait for him to talk to you."
Williams looked at Keene and furrowed his brow.
Andrew's stomach growled loudly.
"I'm starving," he announced. "I'm going to find some food."
"I'll go with you," Charley said.
The general store was the only obvious source of sustenance so they walked over. It was a single-story brick building. A sign on the front read, "Cheap 'N Good General Store," but Andrew had his doubts. There was no competition in town and therefore, no reason to be cheap or good.
The interior reminded him of an ordinary convenience store. Dry goods and household items filled most of the shelves. A refrigerator in back held milk, soft drinks, and meat.
All the snack foods had been raided. He didn't see a single candy bar, packet of nuts, or potato chip anywhere. Even the ice cream shelves were stripped down to bare metal. Two men were arguing about who would get the last bottles of water. One woman was clutching two loaves of bread like they were the only food on Earth. The line at the cash register snaked back and forth and down an aisle. Andrew and Charley stared in horror.
"I guess we're not eating here," he said.
"Nope," she said, "unless you're hungry for laundry detergent."
They went back outside. At least the weather was very pleasant.
"Hi guys." Agent Dan walked up to them. "I was looking for you."
He was still wearing his standard blue business suit, but it was getting dusty and rumpled. It had already been a long day, and it was only half-over.
"Hi," Charley said. "We're looking for food."
"I suppose we can dip into the emergency rations."
"What are you talking about?"
Dan led Andrew and Charley back to the black limousine. It was still parked in the grass by the road. Less than two hours had passed since their arrival, but it seemed much longer.
Dan opened the trunk. He pulled out a cardboard box marked "emergency rations" and tore it open.
"You were serious," Andrew said.
"The BPI is prepared for all contingencies," Dan said.
He handed out chocolate bars, packets of dried apricots, almonds, and beef jerky.
Charley held up the food. "What is this stuff? It'
s not lunch."
"Emergency rations. High-energy foods that can be stored for months without refrigeration. Eat."
She had a dubious expression, but she nibbled on the apricots and almonds. Andrew didn't understand her reservation. He ate his entire portion and felt satisfied even though he wasn't really full. Dan handed out juice boxes to wash the food down.
Andrew looked at the crowd in the streets, and the scene reminded him of a county carnival. More civilians had arrived to add to the unruly mob, and he guessed that many were curiosity seekers. He wondered what kind of sick person would visit the site of a mass murder for fun.
"Do you think Keene is ready to talk?" Andrew said.
Charley shrugged. "We can ask. I wish Tonya were here. I hope she's on her way."
"I'm sure she is, but getting here from Chicago on short notice will be tough. We're in the middle of nowhere."
"The BPI will use a private jet and get her as close as possible," Dan said. "There must be a county airport or something nearby. We probably don't have long to wait."
A commotion in the middle of the street caught Andrew's attention. Men and women in white lab coats were setting up a ring of tall antennas. Wires ran between the antennas and a computer in the center. A portable generator provided power.
"What the hell?" Andrew said.
Dan chuckled. "They must be our professional liars. Let's go watch the show."
The three of them walked over to the group of scientists. A man with curly gray hair and round spectacles seemed to be in charge. He was giving orders to the others with phrases like "Mach flux actuator" and "relativistic sheer stress."
Andrew was part of a large audience who gathered around the scientists. It was the only interesting thing happening. Reporters also drifted over with camera crews in tow.
The scientists fiddled with their equipment and grew increasingly excited. Apparently, an important discovery had been made. The crowd pressed forward eagerly. The scientists begged everybody to stay back and not disturb the "delicate equipment."
Eventually, the police got involved. They formed a perimeter to separate the scientists from everybody else.
Agent Williams joined Dan, Andrew, and Charley.
"They work for you?" Andrew whispered.
Williams nodded. "For the Bureau. They're real scientists though."
"But this is just an act."
"Carefully scripted."
The chief scientist gathered up all the reporters in the area so he could have a press conference.
When all the cameras were pointed in his direction, he announced, "I'm Dr. Laurence Biddle of the Atlanta Advanced Research Center. For years, my team and I have worked on the theory of lambda wave energy transmission, but we haven't seen the dangerous phenomenon outside the laboratory. I can now confirm today's tragic deaths were caused by what we call a lambda wave burst. More specifically, a shift in the gravitational field..."
"Nonsense!" a man yelled from the crowd. "Utter nonsense!"
The heckler forced his way to the front. He was a short, round man wearing a black suit. A bad toupee looked like a dead animal sleeping on his scalp.
"Dr. Maeder," Biddle said with utter contempt. "Did you come to witness my moment of triumph?"
"No. I came to make sure nobody was fooled by your laughable theory. Lambda wave energy transmission was discredited years ago."
"By you and your cronies."
"We found the error in your equations," Maeder said.
"And I found the error in your error!"
Andrew looked back and forth between them. It was a good performance, and the crowd was fully engaged. The news cameras were recording it all.
"Pah!" Maeder made a dismissive gesture.
"Come see," Biddle said. "Check the readings with your own eyes."
At Biddle's insistence, Maeder was allowed past the line of policemen. Maeder studied the readings on the computer in the middle of the antennae ring.
His eyes widened. "My God! You may be right!"
Andrew almost laughed out loud at the exaggerated drama. The actors needed to take it down a notch.
Charley tapped him on the shoulder and whispered, "This is a waste of time. Let's go talk to Keene."
The two apprentices pushed their way out of the crowd. Agents Dan and Williams followed.
"Do you think people will really buy that stuff?" Andrew said.
"Some will," Williams said. "We also have a team handling social media. Websites touting the importance of lambda wave energy transmission are already in place. Which would you believe? A new scientific theory or an insane story about a killer ghost? A lie only has to be slightly more credible than the truth."
"Good point."
They found Keene still standing near the fire station. The master sorcerer was pacing back and forth and wringing his hands.
"Are you ready to talk to us?" Andrew said timidly.
"No," Keene said. "I want a second opinion. Disclosure will have to wait until Tonya gets a chance to examine the evidence."
Andrew and Charley exchanged worried glances.
"What are you hiding?" Williams said.
"I'm not hiding anything," Keene said. "I don't want to leap to rash conclusions."
"Then just give us your opinion."
"When Tonya gets here."
The two men stared at each other for a long moment.
"Fine," Williams said at last. "She'll be here soon."
* * *
Andrew was watching Dr. Laurence Biddle work. The scientist was proselytizing the religion of lambda wave energy to any and all who would listen. He spoke with an authoritative tone and sprinkled in just the right amount of scientific gobbledygook. It was a strong effort, but the audience was losing interest. Even the most gullible sucker could take only so much bunk.
There was a break in the patter when Biddle realized nobody was listening.
Andrew approached the scientist. With his gray hair and soft, round face, he looked like a gentle old man. It was hard not to trust him.
"Hi!" Andrew said.
"Hello," Biddle said.
Andrew lowered his voice. "You're a pretty good actor."
"What do you mean?"
"You don't have to pretend with me. I'm with the BPI."
Biddle furrowed his brow. "You don't look like a federal agent."
"I never said I was."
"Oh." Biddle's eyes widened. "Are you one of them?"
"Maybe. Who are them?"
"The people I'm not supposed to know about. The danger we're trying to hide from the public."
"That's me," Andrew said. "A top secret freak."
Biddle took a nervous step backwards.
"You're a real scientist?"
"That's right. A botanist actually."
"How do you reconcile the lies with your scientific integrity?" Andrew said.
Biddle thought for a moment. "I was told it's a matter of national security. It is, isn't it?"
Andrew considered that question. He didn't know the exact definition of "national security," so it was hard to answer. Somebody's security was certainly at stake. The banshee's killing spree proved beyond any doubt that the danger was real. Was it a threat to the nation? Possibly.
"Sure," Andrew said finally.
"You don't sound convinced."
"It's a complicated issue. I'm not exactly a fan of the BPI. Some of the things they do really bug me, but I have to admit they serve a purpose." Andrew looked at the mess all around. "Your work is necessary, unfortunately. Keep it up."
He felt a tingle of familiar energy. Tonya had arrived.
Andrew weaved his way through the crowd. It wasn't as dense as before, but it was still a mob and not a pleasant one. He guessed lack of food was making a lot of people irritable.
He reached the edge of the village. A black Jeep was approaching, but cars blocked the road, so the Jeep was forced to drive on the dirt. It bounced over rocks and sticks, and the big wheels kick
ed up clouds of dust. The Jeep skidded to a stop in front of Andrew.
Tonya opened one of the rear doors and climbed out. She stood on wobbly legs for a moment.
"That was the worst trip of my life," she declared.
She was wearing a purple coat with two lines of buttons. The coat was more appropriate for Chicago weather than Georgia. Clips held back her blonde hair. Her blue eyes were bloodshot.
"The absolute worst?" Andrew said.
"Top three, certainly."
Charley came running up. She gave Tonya a hug, but the master sorcerer handled the affection awkwardly. She clearly wasn't used to even casual intimacy. Andrew kept his distance, but he was also very glad to see Tonya. She would set things right.
"Let's get right down to business," Tonya said. "I've heard the rumors, now tell me the facts."
"Let's talk while we walk," Charley said.
The three of them headed towards the fire station. Along the way, Charley gave a full report. Andrew mentioned a few details, but there wasn't much to add.
They skirted the crowd in the streets and walked through grassy fields instead. Uneven ground kept tripping Andrew. He had to watch his feet to avoid stepping in a hole or on a rock.
"You actually fought a banshee?" Tonya said in a tone of disbelief.
"Maybe it was weakened," Andrew said. "It was far from its seam."
"Still, I'm not sure whether to be impressed or horrified by your recklessness. I honestly don't know how you survived."
"I just had to get into the right frame of mind."
"It takes more than a positive attitude to kill a banshee. Regardless, don't do it again until you're much further along in your training. OK?"
Andrew and Charley nodded.
Keene, Dan, and Williams were waiting at the fire station. Keene and Tonya gave each other a long look, but their faces didn't show any emotion.
"Go in," Keene said. "Talk to the sprites. Hopefully you'll reach a different conclusion than me."
Tonya went into the fire station.
Everybody else stayed outside. Andrew knew what she was doing without seeing it. He felt her energy gush forth like an erupting volcano, and it made him nervous even at a distance. The magic had a violent, angry character.
"Sprites?" Williams said. "I'm not an expert, but I thought screwing with sprites was against the rules."
