The Hidden Paths to Power

by D. A. Smith

  “After the recent discovery in the Rocky Pines neighborhood, I felt the community deserved some good news. I will not share the details of where I have been hiding or what I have been doing. Though I’m out of hiding, every picture of me, is nothing more than volume dial for Ryan to continue to grow worse. I realize, all of you have jobs to do, but I ask that you care enough about the public safety that you not go out of your way to make a public spectacle of me. Do not give Ryan Gilpatrick anymore fuel to add to his obsession than can be helped.

  “Be happy that I’m safe and have gained the strength, to care enough about this community, to no longer only concern myself, for my own safety. I’m simply an average girl who has gained a horrible admirer. I have no designs to be a celebrity. I also wish it known that, any pictures of my loved ones, will also gain negative reactions from Ryan, as he seems to harbor jealousy of them. The fact that, I let them be a part of my life, and not him, is what got Megan Donahue and her parents killed.

  “Please, if not for my sake, but for the sake of the public safety, I ask in the strongest terms, you let this press conference be an end to it, and let me go back to being the average girl that can walk the streets, without a dozen cameras pointed at her.”

  One of the reporters in the back introduced himself as Fred Kilenger, “We cannot be held accountable, for the actions of those, who read or see our reports. What gives you the right, to ask for a limit on the freedom of the press?”

  “Legally, you can’t be held accountable, but I hold you morally accountable, for the lives in the Denver area. How would you feel, if it was your report that stirred Ryan’s fanaticism, and he kills more people based on that? How can I not hold you responsible, if it was your report that got one of my friends or family killed? That goes for all of you. After this one showing of myself, in a controlled and friendly manner, you can expect that, any time I see a camera pointed at me, the only words you will hear out of my mouth, will have to have a million bleeps from the censors. You will not get one kind word said to you. I will not be friendly or civil. If you want to take tapes back to your editors that will have only five usable words on it, go ahead. I will make your jobs worthless. I will put the lives of the citizenry ahead of your need to be nosey.”

  I could see many angry faces but they had to weigh the worth, of getting nothing usable, versus hounding me all the time, and stirring Ryan up. I would be tested but, after the first few times, I kept up a running list of invective that would have the censors working overtime, the media took me seriously.

  After visiting with Harold, Debra and Tina for a while, I had Tina drop me off, roughly a mile from Doriane’s house, then found a way back to the house without being followed. My ID was expired and still showed my parent’s old address.

  Doriane deliberately kept herself out of it, so we wouldn’t have to disappear immediately.

  I had a feeling, I was going to have to play the disappearing act again, but in a slow and controlled way, until Deana Boller, was nothing but a footnote and I took a new name.

  I laughed uproariously a couple weeks later, when the news was detailing reports, of the citizenry showing support for me and my words.

  Many media personalities tried to go on record condemning me for what I said.

  When the people started to hear this, they changed the channels immediately.

  Those that kept track of ratings for the stations took notice, the health of their ratings, raised and lowered significantly, based on how many complaints there were about my calling them out so boldly. The stations received many letters and e-mails, all supporting my decision to drop into the background, and a boycott would ensue, for any station that continued to make me too much of an issue.

  I saw many average citizens, going on public record, thanking me for caring more about the welfare of the citizens, than any notoriety I could gain from this.

  Doriane said as soon as my mirth cooled, “You handled that about as well as you could. You weren’t mean, until they tested the sincerity of your words then ensured, they wouldn’t be able to make use of anything but the pictures. Since Harold hasn’t been on camera, saying more bodies are showing up, I think Ryan’s family is holding to their word for now. Eventually, they will let him out. What do you want to do now?”

  “I’m content for now, just holding up here, until people get used to me not making many appearances. Mom and Dad are due to visit tomorrow and will be staying for a week. I know it’ll put a dent in my training time but they seem to like living in Florida. Now that I’m grown and showing signs of taking care of myself, they have no intentions of coming back to stay. My grandma is sending guilt trips, through my mom, that I should visit her soon, so she can see I’m safe with her own eyes. I figured, I’d give my extended family one more time to see me, then I’ll start pulling back. I’ll keep my contact to those who are closest to me, for a while longer, but I’m ready for Deana Boller, to be the name only known to guardians and be someone else.”

  This was a calm period for me, training with Doriane, seeing my parents and visiting friends, when I found ways to get away from my residence.

  I managed to convince my neighbors to stay quiet about where I lived.

  I think that was mostly so they wouldn’t see Ryan come here, though he knew about this place.

  It was in October that things started to heat up again with Ryan.

  I grew very concerned, on a chilly Wednesday, when I was reading in the library, and felt the warning on Tina’s amulet go off. She was in her final year of college and was at class today.

  I closed the book on healing spells and glanced across the table.

  Doriane looked up from her own book, “You felt it like I did. Do you feel confident enough to check it out alone?”

  “I can handle it. Weren’t you going to visit with Marcus today?”

  “Yes. He wanted me to look over some old family records he found. He thinks he knows, how a family of dark users was able to move here, without us knowing about it.”

  “That’s at least as important as what I have to do. Tell Marcus I said hi and want to hear that story, he blushed over, when you threatened to tell me.”

  Doriane giggled, “It’s his story to tell but it was what had him in the casting room learning the vision spell shortly after.”

  I went up and climbed into my car.

  My father managed to get it to me, by driving here when they visited, then taking a plane home. It was a yellow, VW Beetle, but I loved it and glad to have my own transportation back.

  I was armed with my wand and a couple of other little magical gizmos, as I drove to Boulder. I wasn’t rushing because I trusted, Ryan would be feeling the impact of the spell but had to check it out.

  As I reached the campus of CU, I saw a small army, of local police, getting ready to fan out and search the grounds. That meant Ryan had been seen.

  I parked and started to walk toward the building where Tina would be but one of the officers spotted me and ran to walk beside me.

  The young black-haired officer had a kind face as he asked, “Are you sure you want to be here? Ryan Gilpatrick was just seen a short while ago puking his guts out on the campus grounds then he ran off.”

  “I’ll trust you to do your job, and I’m going to check on the reason he was here. I’m not running anymore. Maybe if he sees my face, it’ll cause him to trip and fall, and you can get him.”

  “I have a feeling, it’ll take something like that to catch him. He’s a slippery devil.”

  “Too many years to get good at it unfortunately. I‘ll be fine and you better not test the patience of your sergeant too much.”

  He looked over his shoulder and saw his superior with eyes that asked why, he wasn’t in his assigned search area.

  With a comical gulp that made me giggle he ran off then I walked into the building where Tina had most of her classes. It took a dedicated search but I found the class she was in and waited until she came out.

  After a quic
k hug, I asked, “Did you see Ryan?”

  Her eyes widened as she answered, “No. Why?”

  “There’s a small army of police outside searching the grounds again. You would be the only reason I can think of why he would be here.”

  Tina seemed shaken, “Then, why are you still hanging around?”

  “I’m the safest one here. I was coming to see if you wanted to have lunch. Are any of the classes you have left today important or can you skip a day?”

  “I can skip the two I have left. How was Ryan seen?”

  “Somebody on the campus recognized him, as he was puking up his guts. He must have caught a stomach virus and still felt it was worth it, to see if you were vulnerable.”

  “Are you sure I was the reason he was here?”

  “Unless he was visiting somebody, I can’t see why he would risk being seen, for anything less, than still trying to punish me, for not responding to his undying devotion. It hurts him, to see me accepting you in my life, but not him.”

  “Have you ever spoken to him?”

  “You mean after all this started? Twice; when he approached me here, and I started the first search for him on the campus, then once later on. I told him he lost his chance for there to ever be any good between us, with the first life he chose to take.”

  Unfortunately, my friend got to see the ugly side of my reality, when we were coming out of the building.

  I looked around as we came out, to see the officers still carefully searching but knew they wouldn’t see anything, then my eyes took in the feet of someone lying between two parked cars.

  The shoes were those of a police officer and he wasn’t moving like he was checking under the vehicles. He wasn’t moving at all.

  I said to Tina, “Can you get yourself home? It looks like I’m going to be busy here for a while.”

  Tina looked where my eyes were pointed and nearly burst my eardrums with her scream. I got her calmed then led her, to her car.

  Once she was behind the wheel she asked, “What do you suppose happened to him?”

  “I’ll say one word; Ryan. I think I know who I’m going to find over there. There was a certain young officer, who drew some positive vibes from me, when he asked if I was sure I wanted to be here, after Ryan was seen.”

  “I love you and you better not get hurt or killed trying to help bring him in.”

  I leaned down, kissed her cheek and replied, “I love you too. I’m more worried about you at the moment. If he’s still here, you’re in danger.”

  Tina smiled then started out of the parking lot.

  When I saw she was speeding away at a good clip, I went to track down a functioning officer. As it happened, the first one I saw was the sergeant.

  Getting his attention, I said after inspiring him to walk with me, “I don’t want to alarm you but I think Ryan just turned cop-killer.”

  I saw the brown eyes of the salt-n-pepper sergeant turn hard as I said this. He followed and called out for others to follow, as we came upon the feet sticking out.

  I owed it to the young officer to see what Ryan did. I needed to see if, I could figure out how Ryan did it, while the campus was swarming with cops.

  It was the young black-haired officer, who had a hole blasted though his chest.

  I looked at his name tag, so I could add his name to the list that Ryan would pay for eventually. Todd Green was his name, then I got out of the way, as the officers made sure to care for their own. I was released after I told them what I’d seen.

  It was depressing, while driving away from the campus that even an innocent giggle, in response to a small bit of humor, was worth someone’s life, when it was me giving that reaction to someone.

  I called Doriane, while I was on the road, and discovered she was still at Marcus’ place. I gave her a quick rundown of everything that happened, and told her I’d fill in more details later at home. She and Marcus were deep in records and would be at it for a while so I decided to drive over to Tina’s.

  My dirty-blonde friend pulled me into the apartment she shared with Debra. It was the perfect size for two people who were just making their way in the world.

  I was determined they would have a chance to fulfill their lives.

  Both Tina and Debra had their jewelry boxes prominently displayed in their rooms.

  Since Doriane made Debra’s first, I would get the warnings from hers first, but I felt good knowing, there were eight chances that I’d be warned, if Ryan ever got in here to plant surprises.

  It cheered me up, to have a couple hours of simple girl talk, and Debra just added to it, when she got home. She was concerned too that Ryan seemed to be making an effort to get to them. They were aware now so would keep their eyes open.

  Then I drove home.

  A night of slow passion with Doriane helped to balance me.

  The following day we went to Marcus’ place.

  Within the flamboyantly styled house, Doriane showed me what they discovered so far, “You’ve heard me talk about how small the population of mystics there are. You see, the spirits ultimately decide how many, who come from human ancestry, are allowed to have these skills. They even control the dark users. When we’re tested, the spirits know quickly, how many are presently active, so even dark users can’t start activating anybody they wish. They wouldn’t want to anyway because they hoard their knowledge jealously and demand stiff prices to teach. That doesn’t necessarily mean, we know how many there are, or who; only the spirits know that.

  “What has been confusing us is, how an entire family of dark mystics, was able to go for so long, without the guardians catching on to them. Mystical families are very rare because the concentration of magic within a confined area, would generally put magic at risk for discovery, unless the head of the family had an iron-handed control on the lot of them.

  “I swallowed my bile long enough, to call the dark mystic in Kansas; the one I told you about that Marcus and I generally keep an eye on. Of course, he wasn’t willing to be too helpful, but did say, one of their own has been making them jumpy for the last thirty years or more. He wouldn’t provide me with a name but commented that, this one managed to kill his teacher before being fully trained. After getting rid of the willies, for having to deal with a dark mystic, I grew concerned. It usually takes a dark mystic about sixty years or more, before their mentors can teach them any level of restraint. They are aware their actions put the balance at risk. It just takes that long before they learn any semblance of caring about it.

  “Marcus has been looking into public records as much as he can. We’re certain Gilpatrick is a cover identity just like we use. There are patterns that we can search for. I’m sure you remember me mentioning, how tricky moving can be for mystics. I’m old enough and powerful enough, I’ve learned a spell or two that makes it easier, but it’s not simply like picking up and changing residences. Obviously a lot of work goes into building the casting rooms below. I’ll show you more about that the first time we have to move.

  “The primary things we can look for is, the date when the property gets purchased, and for dark users specifically, when official complaints start appearing by neighbors, because of foul odors and yards that show signs of disease. When we find these, we find ways to get close to these properties. If it is dark magic, we start a full investigation to find who lives there. The casting rooms are built after the house is purchased and usually filled in before the house is sold. As I think you can imagine, some dark users don’t care, and after taking the tools of their trade out of the room, leave it for the next owners to deal with. That’s the next thing we look for; houses where the new owners pay the cost to have the rooms filled in. The people, who usually do this, don’t have a use for the room, and don’t want their children getting hurt playing in them.

  “Unlike with the house Ryan grew up in, because his parents were killed and couldn’t stop whatever they were doing, the negative energy usually dissipates within a few weeks after they leave. Tha
t’s the next thing we look for; when the official complaints by neighbors stop. It isn’t an exact science but gives us a general understanding of where these people might be.

  “Marcus came across the land record for a house that has been abandoned for the last thirty years but in all other aspects, fits the criteria. Neighbors complained of foul odors and the yard always looked sick, and a few complaints about late night activity that woke them up some times. The house was owned by a woman named Regina Compton. What I was doing yesterday was, researching why this property has remained vacant all these years. I came across an old news story about that house. I need you to brace yourself because some of the details are disturbing.

  “The property was originally in the name of George Compton; Regina’s husband. It wasn’t until after they moved in that Regina met her teacher. I haven’t discovered who it is but given the shaky nature in the voice of the man from Kansas, I have my suspicions. He was in Colorado fifty years ago, which is when George and Regina Compton moved into the house. As a young newlywed, Regina was gorgeous and much admired by her neighbors. At first, George’s chest was filled with pride, he got to show off the prize he captured the heart of. That was until his wife started to turn distant and uninterested, like a woman who found something new to capture her interest.

  “Regina met a new man and started having an affair. I’ll never get Samuel Perkins to admit it but when he lived here, his house was only ten blocks from the Compton residence. Roughly ten months after his wife started showing signs of pulling away from him, George started to investigate. When he caught his wife with her new man, he didn’t rage about it; he turned cold. Walking away from the room, he went to find his gun. George had a reputation as a good man. All his neighbors said he was quick with a helping hand and a friendly word to everyone. When he had his gun, he went to the front yard and shouted to everyone within hearing that his wife was a whore then shot himself in the head.

  “Regina gained two black marks on her reputation. First, George was so well liked and respected, when people heard his shout, they believed him instantly. The second was, Regina couldn’t even pretend to be upset about his death. At the funeral, she was even seen to be joking with one of the other attendees. George’s brother was heard to shout publically that he would kill her, if he ever laid eyes on her again.