by R. J. Wolf
Their faces were blank and clueless, and Eric knew that while this land was full of magic, the zeroes that inhabited it were ignorant of the arcane power. As another crackle rumbled across the sky, the people turned and went back to their distracted lives.
“What was that?” Eric screamed and grabbed the collar of a frail man as they crossed paths.
The man ran straight into Eric and tumbled over. He stared through him with a bewildered look and shuffled to his feet. Glaring at the ground, the man brushed himself off and continued on his way.
Eric watched him in confusion then turned back in time to see the boy slip into a workshop and vanish. Eric hurried after him, ducking into the shabby, wooden hut. He found the boy crouching on the floor beside a woman cradling an infant. She was young, with smooth caramel colored skin and coiled hair that bounced when she turned her head. She looked up and gazed past him with golden, cat-like eyes and for a moment he was sure she’d seen him.
“Hello?” Eric whispered.
The woman smiled. “What took you so long?”
“What?” Eric asked.
“They know about the child,” a voice boomed from behind him.
A man stepped into the tent and hurried by Eric. He was tall and lean with a diagonal scar running across his face. He took a knee next to the woman and kissed her then rubbed his hand across the baby’s head.
“What do they know?” she asked.
“Enough. Enough to suspect the worst.”
“But, he’s just a baby,” she cried.
“A baby that could change everything.”
Eric took another step forward and looked down at the child. They locked eyes and Eric lost his composure momentarily. He knew everything had to be in his head, but he was certain that like the boy, he and the child were one and the same.
His eyes were the same color as Eric’s, a shade of deep hazel that almost turned golden when the sun hit them. His face, even though it was decades younger had the same angle when he smiled and a look that hid a wisdom that didn’t belong there. He felt a power drawing him to the infant, as well as the boy and he fought back tears of joy and fear. All of his lives were happening all around him, all at once.
“Beautiful,” he whispered and reached out his hand.
The baby cooed and latched onto the woman’s finger. She looked up again and glared at Eric and her eyes lingered far too long to be a coincidence. Shaking her head, she turned back to the infant and kissed him on the forehead.
“Shh,” she whispered then spoke in a language that sent chills down Eric’s spine. He knew those words, spoken to him before by another.
“Lenoir,” the man called. “We have to go. You know what they’ll do if they find him.”
“Where can we go? Where can we be safe? We promised we would keep him safe, let them come, I will kill them all, Ariel!”
Suddenly, the workshop erupted in flames and a chorus of screams flooded Eric’s ears. He covered his head and fell to the floor as the young boy rushed toward him. Unleashing a high-pitched bellow, the boy leapt into the air. Eric closed his eyes as they collided, then everything fell silent.
For a few moments Eric didn’t dare move. He was crouched on the floor with his eyes slammed shut, straining his ears for a sign of life. As the seconds ticked by, he pried his eyelids apart and started to look around.
It was nighttime, and they’d left the quaint village behind. He was back in the city, crouched under an overpass as rain trickled down the concrete columns. The rush from the passing cars sounded like the ocean and even though it was familiar, Eric longed for the foreign world he’d just left.
The boy was standing over him, waiting. He smiled as he met Eric’s gaze then headed off into the night. Eric quickly stood and followed behind him, afraid of being alone. His steps clattered in the puddles of water, drenching his shoes and muddying his pants cuff.
“Who are you?” Eric called after the boy. “Where are we going?”
The boy didn’t respond but stopped outside of a bar and glared through the window. Eric stepped beside him and leaned into the glass. Using his sleeve, he wiped the fog away then cupped his hands to get a better view.
“What am I looking at?” Eric asked as he turned back to the boy in frustration.
Still only silence.
“Look, if I’m gonna be following you around isn’t there something I can call you at least? How hard can it be to give me a name, any name?”
“I am you,” the boy replied.
Eric stared at him for a long time then rubbed his face with his hands and took a deep breath. The boy was him, but at the same time he wasn’t. Eric thought that maybe the boy was what he could’ve been or what he once was. But while there was a connection, there was also something else there, a tension or angst that pushed them apart like the wrong side of two magnets.
“I know who you are,” Eric finally said. “I just need something to call you. I’m just gonna call you, U,” he laughed then turned and looked into the window.
The bar wasn’t very busy. A few sketchy looking patrons sat in dark corners minding their own business. The only time they looked up or acknowledged the rest of the world was to call the waitress when their drinks ran dry. Eric glossed over the sitting area, dismissing each table until he saw something that made his heart punch him in the neck.
“Jesus!” he suddenly gasped and stumbled backward.
“Come,” U said and grabbed his sleeve. “Come now,” he turned and headed for the entrance.
“What…what is this?” Eric asked his face still strained in bewilderment.
“Come!”
U opened the door and stormed inside. Eric stood on the sidewalk a few seconds longer then hesitantly stepped into the bar. He pushed his way through the swirling smoke and found U standing beside the table he’d noticed from outside.
Gary was seated on a bench, tipping back a large mug of ale. Eric, another Eric, was sitting in front of Gary, laughing and talking with wild hand gestures.
“U…what is going on?” Eric whispered as he leaned closer and stared at his doppelganger.
“Learn,” U replied.
Eric turned back to watch them. He stared into the eyes of his other, studying his face and identical mannerisms. It was unsettling to watch, but also familiar like déjà vu.
“Two more,” Gary called out as he raised his hand to flag down a waitress. Then he reached across the table and grabbed Eric’s glass and finished it.
“Come on man. You’re gonna need to start attending meetings pretty soon,” the other Eric laughed.
“Just needed that last bit of courage. You ready?”
“You just ordered drinks.”
“They’re for after.”
Eric nodded then swallowed like he was building up to something. Gary’s hands started to glow with a soft blue light then they both jumped to their feet and stormed toward the bar. Gary snapped an arm out and all the lights dimmed except for his own radiance. Power emanated from all around him, making his skin glow in a translucent hue that Eric had never seen.
“The commission has deemed this establishment unfit,” the other Eric spoke in a booming voice. “You are all to be remanded to the gray as you await further processing. Please come quietly…or don’t.”
The patrons of the bar turned to face them one by one. An aging bartender glared anxiously as he cleaned a mug and set it onto the counter. He swept a bundle of braided, silver hair across his shoulder and laughed.
“The two of you…a drunk witch and…and whatever you are, you’re going to take all of us?”
“That’s the general idea,” Gary said with a smile.
The man growled then hurled a fireball toward them. Gary raised his hand to parry it, but Eric stepped beside him and caught the flaming sphere in his hand.
“It’s amazing how little you lower demons know about psychics,” he said.
Rolling his other hand over the ball it started to change colors. The flame
s flashed from red and orange to a brilliant white with traces of blue.
“Assault on a commission agent is punishable by death,” Eric growled then threw the ball.
The icy, white fire hit the man in the chest and he toppled over. Before his body even fell to the ground he burst into ash, leaving a cloud hovering in the air.
“Anyone else want to resist?”
“Run!” someone screamed in panic.
The bar broke out in a commotion as the patrons and workers scurried for the doors. Gary worked his magic, wrangling the darkkin together one by one, but there were too many. Eric constructed a shield as spells raced toward them and crackled into the walls. The air around him sizzled with power and he drew it in, adding it to his own.
“Well this isn’t going how we expected,” Eric laughed as he stepped closer to Gary. With a flick of his hand, a table soared through the room and bashed into the side of a Lycan as he tried to shift.
“This was your idea,” Gary replied. “I just wanted to drink.”
Gritting his teeth, he dropped into a crouch and started to tremble. His hands flashed and swirled with power then a light exploded from him, showering the entire bar and sending the darkkin collapsing to the floor.
“Is that better?” Gary asked.
Before Eric could respond a loud clap echoed from the back and a slender, pale skinned man emerged from the shadows. He scanned the room as he applauded, smiling like he’d just finished watching a Broadway musical.
“What a lovely show,” the man said as he ran his fingers through strands of midnight.
“Cortez,” the real Eric whispered under his breath.
Gary straightened up and cocked his head to the side. “We’ve already got this one, Cortez. Why don’t you find another hole to crawl in?”
“Funny, Gary. Unfortunately for you, this is darkkin business. And now you and your puppet have gone and made a mess.”
“This is our bust, pale face,” Eric growled.
He made a slight twitch and a dozen sterling, silver knives rose into the air from behind the bar. The blades twisted and faced Cortez, hovering just over his head.
“Spare me your threats, mind reader. You and the old man can leave the rest to me. But this isn’t your case and it never was.”
Gary tightened his fists and clenched his jaw. Eric spared a glance at him then snapped his fingers and the knives streaked toward Cortez like jagged missiles. Cortez laughed and swept them to the floor like they were children’s toys.
“You were warned,” he snarled.
In a flash Cortez moved across the room and grabbed Gary by the neck, lifting him into the air. Eric shifted a table and it slammed into Cortez, exploding into splinters. Cortez didn’t even flinch as he threw Gary into a wall then turned to Eric.
“What else will you do? Tickle me? Read my future?”
Eric retreated and conjured a protective shield around himself. Cortez stared him down, his dagger-like teeth shinning under the dim light. Suddenly, Gary leapt onto his back and grabbed the sides of his face. Scorching blue flames engulfed his hands and spread over Cortez’s head, singing the skin from his ears.
Cortez screamed in pain and shuffled backward. He swung from side to side, but Gary had latched on like a leech. Rancid fumes rose into the air in a tainted plume as they rambled into tables and broken chairs.
“Burn you vamp!” Gary roared.
Cortez fell to his knees and Gary wrenched his head backward and sent another jolt. The vampire hollered then fell onto all fours. Roaring, he bucked then pushed himself into the air and together they slammed into the ceiling. Slabs of plaster and metal frame crumbled as part of the roof fell in.
Gary lost his grip and fell head first onto the floor. Cortez growled as his face started to heal then turned to Gary and grabbed his arm. He snatched him off the ground then threw him through the window, onto the sidewalk outside.
“Enough games!” Cortez said angrily.
He zipped across the room in a streak of darkness and slammed into Eric’s shield, obliterating it. Cortez landed on top of him and bared down with a menacing snarl, his face still scarred from Gary’s attack.
“You won’t mind if I take a bite, will you? I’m hungry.”
Cortez stretched his mouth open, exposing his elongated canines. Eric squirmed under his impossible grip, shrinking away with fear written all over his face.
“No!” Eric yelled in vain.
Cortez hovered just above his face, so close he could see the saliva rolling down his teeth and feel the waft from his hot breath. Eric cringed and tried to push him away, but the vampire was far too strong. Cortez surged toward him, but the door suddenly burst open.
An olive-skinned woman with fierce, emerald eyes stormed inside. Her long, amber brown hair flowed over her shoulder as she straightened her leather jacket and stuffed her hands into the pocket of her jeans. With an audible clatter from her heels, she marched across the bar and stopped in the middle of the floor.
“Hell of a party,” she said with a snarky grin.
“Run back to your coven witch, this is invite only.”
“Anna,” the real Eric mumbled.
He watched as Cortez turned back and bared his teeth. Anna laughed and sent a spell hurling across the room. It hit Cortez square in the chest. The force of the spell sent him tumbling head over heels through a wall in the back of the bar and into the alley outside. A trail of smoke fizzled behind him.
“You commission folk are always in need of a helping hand,” she said with a laugh.
Anna reached out and helped Eric to his feet. Their eyes locked onto one another and everything abruptly stopped. Time stood still as they held each other’s gaze. The air crackled with power and the real Eric could feel the wieldy coils sending shockwaves out into the world. He trembled from their presence and felt himself momentarily fade away.
U quickly grabbed his hand and they spun into a blur and reappeared in a drab apartment. Rain pattered against the window as obtuse, gray clouds slinked across the sky like a herd of elephants.
“Just give it back to me,” Anna giggled.
Eric turned around to find her laying on the bed with his mirror-image cradling her in his arms. He stroked her hair with one hand while he held a picture in the other of Anna when she was a teen.
“So, magic turned your hair green,” he said.
The real Eric leaned forward to get a better look at them, but U snagged a hold of his sleeve and tugged. They twisted into nothing and moments later he found himself back in the same room on a cold winter day. Through the foggy window he could see a blanket of snow and kids running back and forth across the street.
The other Eric was kneeling in front of Anna holding an ancient-looking ring. Tears rolled down Anna’s face, but her mouth was stretched into a beaming smile.
“I…I’m less than half a man without you. You’re the heart that beats beneath this chest,” the other Eric said in a low voice. “Will you marry me?”
“Yes!” Anna cried out.
U grabbed him again and they left the apartment behind. Suddenly, they were in a dark room with a candle glowing in the corner.
“I…I don’t know what they want. I swear,” a ratty looking man pleaded.
Eric didn’t know how, but he recognized the man as Hansel, a drug addicted Lycan. He had stringy brown hair that fell over his face and when he spoke his crooked, decaying teeth gleamed like a muddy river.
“I think you know more than you’re telling us,” Gary said. “What do you think?”
He turned and looked at the other Eric. He shook his head from side to side and placed his hand on Hansel’s shoulder.
“I’m trying to work with you, Hansel, but you’ve gotta give us something.”
Hansel mumbled a string of inaudible words and Gary’s face lit up. U grabbed Eric by the arm and swept him away before he could find out anything else.
He raced through more visions like he was rifling through
a filing cabinet. Images of Anna and Gary and people he only remembered after seeing them. Everything felt so real, but it was the life he had known, the life that had been stolen from him.
They paused momentarily at a vision of Eric arguing with a tall, arrogant man outside of the police precinct. The man was nearly seven feet tall with thin, blonde hair and a scruffy beard, peppered with white and gray.
“This isn’t your business!” the man roared.
“The hell it is!” Eric shouted back and threw his hands into the air.
The man bared down on him, grabbing Eric by his shirt and slamming him into the wall. Eric slapped his hands away then shoved him backward with his mind.
“Come,” U called.
Exhausted, the real Eric stepped forward and U pulled him into another memory. As the world spun around him he heard a voice that made the hair on his arms stand on end. A chill rushed through his bones and he winced.
“Yours is now mine,” the demented voice cackled. “Join me, it will be your home forever.”
Eric watched his other self, fall to the floor and squirm in pain. He could feel the darkness seeping into him, pulling him down like an anchor. He felt the screams of agony like he’d bellowed them himself and the fear that pumped through his heart was unlike any agony he’d ever known.
“What’s happening to me?” Eric asked U. “What is this?”
His voice trembled with terror and he resisted the urge turn and run out of the room. U stared at him then grabbed his hand and squeezed it. Eric looked down and U smiled.
“It’ll be okay,” he whispered.
They both watched as the other Eric burst into flames. His skin charred and burned, the ash floating away into the air. The smell made him double over and puke then he wiped his face just as U pulled him away into another vision.
They landed on a stone deck overlooking rolling hills and a vast countryside. A full moon blazed high in the night sky as a blanket of stars lit the background. Two figures stood near the railing with their backs turned, but Eric knew immediately who they were.
