by Faith Hunter
Of course, Central York wasn’t entirely houses—there was a community tennis court, a golf course, a park in the town center, one retrofitted movie theater, a post office, two government buildings, a couple of delicatessens, and three diners. That was it. Definitely no Chinese—or any other decent takeout—and I guessed only enough jobs for a fraction of the population.
They must commute. After all, Central York, while it might have been granted the status of a town, was really just one developer’s wet dream in downtown New York City. In Central Park to be exact. No one fully understood how the Magical Awakening seventy years ago had caused areas all over the world to unfold and reveal more space. Magic. I shook my head. However it occurred, it was an undeniable fact that if you walked around the outside of Central Park it was exactly the size history books claimed, but if you walked through the center you wound up in Central York.
The police scanner on my dash crackled, as the dispatcher announced a domestic dispute. Two cars responded, and then the scanner went quiet again. I’d been parked for several hours and this was only the second call I’d heard all night.
“Wow, it’s dead here,” I said to no one in particular. I had my windows open, but there was no one on the street to hear me. It was like the sidewalks had rolled up at nightfall. Was there a curfew or—“Have the attacks scared you into your homes?”
There were smoke creatures in the shadows after dark. Not that I’d seen one. Yet.
That was why I was hunting tonight. We didn’t have enough intel on the creatures, and Derrick couldn’t dig up more. Short of a premonition hitting him, the only way we would learn what I was facing was if I bagged one. So, I hunted. Rather passively, unfortunately.
I’d rather have been on the street, but I had no idea how to track the creatures yet. No idea of the territory yet either as the places they’d been spotted appeared random. Which left me only one option—follow on the cops’ trail. So I waited, the Hummer parked to save gas instead of cruising the streets.
Efficiency. Great in theory. In practice I was bored. And my ass was falling asleep. I wanted to be moving, to be doing something. Anything.
I considered the neighborhood around me. I could roam, just a little ways, but I wouldn’t be able to respond as fast if the dispatcher put out a call about the creatures. I glanced from the neighborhood to the scanner and back again. “You couldn’t pay me to live here.” The monotony made the place so very boring. Of course, that same trait gave the residents a certain anonymity, and I excelled at going unnoticed. What with my average height and build and average shade of brown hair and eyes, people tended to forget me as soon as I was out of sight. And that was without adding in my various obfuscation charms. Shaking my head, I amended my earlier statement. “Okay, maybe you could pay me to live here. But I’d have to travel. A lot.”
That trivial decision made, I double-checked the charms and weapons I had on me. It was typically a calming activity, but tonight it didn’t cut through my impatience.
“Come on,” I said, shooting the scanner a hard stare.
As if my glare had power, the scanner crackled again before the dispatcher’s voice filled the Hummer.
“Attention all cars in the vicinity of Blossom and Noir, an unknown entity was spotted at—”
Finally.
—
I spotted the telltale blue lights that indicated I’d reached my destination long before the GPS could announce I’d arrived. The Hummer didn’t have lights or tags—obviously, as it was only a rental—but I still pulled it as close to Robin Street as I could. Then I parked in the middle of the street. Who was going to ticket or tow the Hummer while we chased a creature of unknown origin?
After jumping out of the vehicle, I forced myself to walk, not run, toward the largest gathering of cops. You don’t run toward groups of freaked-out people with guns. The situation rarely ended well. Some of the officers looked up at my approach, but it was the two plainclothes Anti–Black Magic Unit agents who moved to block my path.
“I’m sorry but this area is currently restricted. Please—,” a tall agent with ruffled blond hair told me. But I noticed he didn’t actually look at me; his attention was on something over my left shoulder.
Cutting him off, I pulled my badge and held it above my head. “I’m Inspector Darque from the MCIB.”
The intersection went silent at my announcement. Now the agent looked at me.
“Thank goodness,” a rookie cop said, breaking the silence.
I glanced at him. His caramel-colored skin looked slightly washed-out as if something had scared the blood from his face. He also barely looked old enough to be wearing a uniform. I gave him a smile and a wink as I pocketed my badge. After all, we were both paid to take risks, but I was paid very well to take the more extreme ones.
“Bring me up to speed,” I said as I approached the two ABMU agents. There were grumbles from several officers who clearly considered the scene theirs, but I was dealing with a magical enemy. Many of the officers were probably plain vanilla human norms without a drop of magic in their blood, maybe a few were witches, but the agents were guaranteed to be witches and were experienced in dealing with corrupt magic.
The tall agent looked me up and down, and the crinkling around his brown eyes told me he was less than impressed. He didn’t offer his hand, but said, “I’m Agent Tayler and this is Agent Kelvis. We have agents and officers on the other end of this street as well. The creature was active when the first responders arrived and they managed to get tape enchanted with a barrier spell laid and activated, so we hope we’ve trapped the creature. Unfortunately, two of the officers and one pedestrian were hurt before the barrier went up.”
I raised my eyebrow and shot a doubtful glance at the barrier tape. It blocked the road and would have prevented a car from gaining entrance to the side street, but what would stop the creature from just stepping off the road and walking around the barrier? I knew practically nothing about what was plaguing this town, so I held my opinion to myself. For now.
“You said three people were injured? Can you describe the injuries?” Sometimes I could learn as much or more by what a summoned or created creature could do than by seeing the creature itself. The important word there being sometimes.
“I don’t have to describe them,” Agent Tayler said as he started toward the mass of parked cop cars. “They’re still here. A hospital is something the residents are fighting to have built. Until then, the ambulance has to make it here from the city. Lucky for you though, because the boys are still resting in their car.” He pressed his lips together and then gnawed at the top lip as he released the bottom. “So what do you think these creatures are?”
“Don’t know. I haven’t seen one yet.”
Tayler nodded me toward the vehicle closest to the barricaded street. I headed in that direction, anxious to check on the wounds and then pass the barriers to search out the creature. If it’s still here. Stopping beside the passenger door, I grabbed the door handle, pulling hard.
Locked.
I knocked on the window, but the man in the seat didn’t move. He was sitting with both of his legs tucked to his chest, his face buried in his knees with his arms hugging his legs while further obscuring his face. Neither the civilian in the backseat nor the officer in the driver’s seat appeared any more inclined to open the door than the passenger. The man in the back lay in a fetal position, his gaze locked on the ceiling. He didn’t even blink when I pounded on the window.
“Agent, do you have a key to this car? And why are these people alone and sitting if they’re injured?”
“For the latter, you’ll see soon enough. No to the former, but I’ll see if someone else does.” He all but marched toward the crowd of officers. It was a highly controlled tantrum, and I assumed he’d been the agent in charge before I showed up. For dealing with the creature or the witch who’d brought it int
o this town, my badge trumped Tayler’s. Some people just didn’t take that well.
One by one, the officers glanced at where I stood, shaking their heads. Then one officer stepped forward and made his way toward the car and me. It was the young officer who’d spoken earlier. I was glad to see that he wasn’t quite so ashen anymore.
“Hello, ma’am,” he said, ducking his head in a small bow.
“Please don’t call me ma’am. My mother is a ma’am.” I paused. “You don’t really think I’m that old, do you?”
“Oh, no ma’a—Inspector. In fact, I’d love to take you to dinner while you’re in town.”
Now that surprised me. I eyed the kid—okay, he was definitely a man, but he was a very young one. And a cute one. But he was simply too young—I’d feel guilty if I started a short affair with him. Still, I was flattered. And I had to give him credit for his nerve. He might have been uneasy about facing a magical creature, but I had walked in and taken over the scene, and he’d asked me out before he even knew my first name. Ballsy.
“Thanks but—” I stopped. The kid’s gaze had dropped from my face, but he didn’t look like he was undressing me with his eyes. It was more like he was navigating a particularly hard puzzle. I glanced at the bandolier of vials slung across my chest, each vial containing a nasty magical cocktail. Then there were a set of throwing stars as well as two sets of throwing daggers—all enchanted—and my tactical belt filled with more vials, customized spelled darts for my crossbow, more weapons I’d picked up over the years, and some basic necessity charms like a spell checker and a lie detector. And that was just what was visible where my jacket gaped open. It was part of my regular hunting attire, so I rarely thought about how unusual so many weaponized spells could appear. Which is why my weapons and gear are hidden by spells. He shouldn’t have noticed them.
Except he had.
“What do you see?”
The young officer jerked his gaze upward, as if he’d only now realized he’d been staring in the general area of my breasts. He cleared his throat, and if he’d had a lighter complexion, I would have sworn he blushed. “I, uh, I was looking at your weapons—the spelled ones. I’ve never seen a . . . display like that. But, uh, you needed the key to the cruiser.”
He held it out. I accepted the key but shook my head. “You’re not going to slip away that easy, kid.”
“Russell.”
“Huh?”
“My name, it’s Russell. Russell Lancaster.”
I nodded to acknowledge the name. A few minutes ago I wouldn’t have bothered remembering. The last two minutes had changed that. But there was still one more test. I pulled a vial from my bandolier. “What can you tell me about this?” I asked as I passed the vial to him—carefully.
“Whoa, this . . .” He made a face and moved the vial so he held it between two fingers. “It feels like fire, only hotter. More destructive.”
I didn’t try to stop the smile that tugged at my lips. It was a real one after all, and those were rare. Russell stumbled back at my expression. It may have been a real smile but it must have been one of my more predatory. The vial shook in his fingers and I grabbed it from him before he dropped it. Now that would have been a mess.
“You’re a good sensitive,” I said, taming my smile into something I hoped looked professional. I didn’t do professional often. “Are you interested in a little work on the side? I might be able to use you on this case.” Or I might not, but it was always good to have a sensitive waiting in the wings.
“Sure.” Russell leaned back, one hand moving to his belt. “Let’s swap phones and program our digits.”
Not happening. I carried only an emergency phone with me on hunts. It had one programmed number: Derrick’s. Two people call in, Derrick and my boss back at MCIB. No one else. It was a safety precaution. A phone going off at the wrong time could prove deadly in my profession.
I did have a regular cell back at the hotel, but I wasn’t about to give Russell the number. I had enough trouble with my mom calling me at all hours—she could never keep up with which time zone I was in—I did not need random calls from a rookie officer with the CYPD.
“How about you just write down your number.”
Russell’s posture deflated, but he was smart enough not to try to insist. Pulling out a small memo pad from his pocket, he scribbled his number and handed it across to me. I glanced at it long enough to ensure it was legible before tucking it away. With a nod, I ended that portion of the conversation and turned back to the task at hand.
The victims. Then the creature.
“Stick around, Russell. Your sensitivity to magic might come in useful as I examine these guys,” I said, and unlocked the cruiser door, unsure of what I’d find inside.
I stepped back from the officer who’d been in the driver’s seat of the cruiser. “I don’t see a mark on her.”
“They’re all like that,” Agent Tayler said, joining me in the street.
The female officer’s gaze didn’t lift with our words. She just continued to stare blankly at the ground. She didn’t even bother to wipe her tear-soaked cheeks, which glistened in the streetlights. She just stood there as if she were empty. The biggest response I’d received from her had been a half shrug when I’d asked where she’d been hurt.
Still, all of that was better than the two men—they were so locked away in their own heads that I hadn’t been able to talk either out of the car. I frowned, thinking about what Derrick had told me about the hospitalized victims.
“These guys are headed toward catatonic, aren’t they?”
Agent Tayler nodded in answer, and we stood in silence.
Damn, what kind of creature is haunting this town? I shook my head. I hadn’t encountered anything like this before. Of course I was getting only portions of the picture. A few more pieces and maybe I’d start recognizing something.
“You sensing anything, Officer Lancaster?” I asked, glancing at Russell.
His face filled with opposing lines as he scrunched his brow while frowning. I started to tell him not to hurt himself, but stopped before opening my mouth. He was a big boy. Surely he knew the limits of his abilities.
After a moment he huffed out a breath and stepped back. “It . . . I can’t explain exactly. It is kind of like they have magical . . . holes.” He shook his head and again stepped back. “Something was taken.”
Yeah, their will to exist. I didn’t say it aloud though. No point stating a guess. If I was wrong, that was all anyone would ever remember.
Nodding, I turned on my heels and headed toward the barricade. Agent Tayler and Officer Lancaster both hurried to keep up. Tayler I expected, but it was time for the officer to go back to the other cops unless he wanted a crash course in monster hunting. He seemed to realize that as well because his steps became shorter, slower, until several yards stretched between us.
“Hey,” he said, stopping completely, “when should I expect—”
I cut him off. “If I need a sensitive, I’ve got your number.” I turned to Agent Tayler. “I’m going behind your barricade. Will you or your fellow agents be joining me?”
Tayler’s eyes narrowed, making them small and dark in the moonlight. He’d taken the question as a challenge, which, admittedly, it was. Of course, all he saw was an average-looking woman in leather—he couldn’t see that I was armed to the teeth.
He met with his partner, exchanging words too quiet for me to hear. Then he said something into a two-way radio before turning back to me.
“Ready?” I asked, already knowing the answer before his sharp nod.
It was time to go behind the safety point. Now, just to hope their little trap had caught something.
—
Well, as I suspected from the beginning, it was a badly constructed trap. Or maybe they were just unlucky. Either way, the ABMU guys—a third had joined us f
rom the opposite barricaded entrance—and I searched every dark inch of that street.
I held my spell checker out in front of me, focusing on the shadows. The small bead in the center didn’t light up—neither, I noticed, did the two ABMU agents’ detectors. The irony of the situation was that the spell checkers had a range of only a foot or two and could tell me nothing more than if a spell was malicious or not, but back behind the barricade was a sensitive whose range was likely several yards and who could not only sense the nature of a spell, but also what it did, if Russell was half as good as he appeared to be. As the tool was available, I was sorely tempted to use it, but I didn’t want to put the kid in danger. It wasn’t his job to hunt monsters. It was mine.
Once it became painfully clear there was nothing to find, I put away my spell checker and said good-bye to the agents. They stayed behind, still searching. And I hoped they would find something—I didn’t actually think they would, but best of luck to them. If they made any discoveries, either Derrick or I would learn of it soon enough.
I cruised the streets of Central York for an hour or two, watching the shadows. I saw nothing unusual and no more sightings were announced by the dispatcher. As late rapidly changed to early, I turned the Hummer around. This town didn’t have a hotel, so I had a ways to go before I would reach my bed. The hunt would just have to wait until tomorrow night.
This case might take longer than I’d hoped.
—
I stopped in front of the connecting door between Derrick’s and my hotel rooms. Our habit was to keep the doors open when we were awake and working a case, but his was still stubbornly closed. Considering I was the one who’d spent the last three nights out on fruitless hunts, he should have been up before me. Hell, even when I wasn’t hunting through the night he was up before me. There was only one situation in which he slept in: when he had a premonition.
