Shadow Hunted

by L. A. Johnson

  Thirteen

  Lydia made it out into the street and sucked in a few breaths, happy to be able to walk on her own. She knew Zack would be happy for her. He wouldn’t care what kind of magic it was. She glanced around. Zack wasn’t there. She walked the few blocks back to her car where she found him sitting in the driver’s seat.

  “I don’t think so,” she said, gesturing for him to move back to the passenger’s seat. “I’m driving. Look! I’m feeling better.”

  “You look better!” Zack said, visibly surprised. “Honestly, I figured you’d be awhile. I was settling in. What happened in there? And why do you look so good? I can barely even see the puncture wounds in your neck.” He hopped out of the car and went around to the passenger’s seat.

  “Well,” Lydia said, getting in and shutting the door. “First, Kade made me feel bad about myself, and then he got ready to help me, but then he noticed that I had magic.”

  Zack’s eyes got wide. “I thought you didn’t have magic. You were both pretty clear on that point.”

  Lydia started the car and pulled out. “I didn’t, but I do now.”

  Zack slumped into the seat. “Okay, now I’m confused. Maybe we should grab a bite to eat. You could probably use a bit of a breather before we track down any more magical bad guys, right? And you can explain it all then.”

  Lydia nodded. “That is the best idea I’ve heard all day. I’m starving. And it’ll be my treat. To thank you for saving my life. And I can explain it all to you then. Well, the truth is, I don’t understand it all myself, but I’ll do my best.”

  “Great. I’m all yours,” he answered. “You can tell me all about your new magic and the jerk mages and the interesting discovery you made just before that soul sucker got you. I’m glad you’re okay.”

  Lydia frowned. “I’m okay thanks to you, but I’m afraid I don’t remember what my discovery was. I had a piece of paper, it looked promising, and then I went down. That’s all I remember.”

  He turned to her and smirked. “You mean you don’t remember the part where I grabbed the document you dropped right before we got out of there?” He pulled the folded document out of his pocket.

  “Nicely done! What did it say?” Lydia asked, pulling into a parking spot.

  “I don’t know,” he answered. “I hoped you’d be okay, and that we could look it over together.”

  Lydia drove them to a seedy-looking burger joint with bars on the windows and a sign that would have read Mac’s Burger Joint if all the lights were working, which they weren’t. As it was, it said: Mac’s Joint. The configuration of letters in the sign that were visible were different every time she came, and she had no clue if it was intentional or not.

  Zack shot her a worried look.

  “Don’t worry,” she said, “it’s a good place. And it’s the most discreet place in town. The food is delicious and cheap, and nobody asks nosy questions.”

  They went in and found an empty booth in the back. The place was always dark, and it took a few minutes once they found their table for their eyes to adjust to the light, or the lack thereof.

  “Interesting choice of restaurant,” Zack said, looking around. Once they had ordered burgers and beer, the two of them were in a much better mood. The beers came first.

  “Wow,” he said, taking a long sip. “So Kade was able to heal you? That was fast.”

  “Well, not exactly. When he was trying to figure out what was wrong with me, he detected magic.”

  “Which you didn’t have before,” Zack said.

  “Exactly. So that threw him off. Then he stopped trying to heal me and started ranting,” Lydia said.

  “That’s good, right? Having magic?”

  “You’d think so,” Lydia said. “Kade wasn’t impressed. He said my new magic was dark magic awakened by contact with the soul sucker, which was summoned by dark magic. Either way, the big twist of the afternoon was that Kade didn’t heal me after all, it turns out it was my own new magic that healed me. How do you like that?”

  “I’m glad you’re okay,” Zack said, “I don’t understand why that guy has to be such a dick to you all the time. I mean, you healed yourself, right? That sounds legit. Dark magic, light magic, what the hell’s the difference?” He leaned in to her. “What’s it like? To have magic. Is it weird? Do you feel different? Can you do tricks now?”

  Lydia leaned forward to meet him in the middle. If she were on her third drink instead of her first, she might have even kissed him. “You’re awfully interested in all of this magic stuff, for a human. Sometimes I even forget that you’re not a supernatural yourself.”

  “Thanks, I think. Hey, it’s all new to me. Creepy mages, soul sucking monsters, vampire biker bars, gnomes, things that go bump in the night,” his voice trailed off. “Your life is interesting when it’s not trying to kill us. And I’d better talk to you about it because I sure as hell can’t tell my therapist or coworkers. I have enough of a reputation as it is.”

  “I’m probably not helping with that,” Lydia admitted.

  “If I solve their freaky murder for them, they’ll finally have to give me a break.”

  Lydia raised her glass to Zack. “To finally getting a break.” They toasted and drank. Then their burgers came. The two of them wolfed down their food. It had been a long day. For a moment afterward, Lydia stared into space out the window where the darkness had fallen, and the neon signs had all sprung to life. The city at night was a whole different animal.

  Zack broke the silence by pulling the document in question out of his pocket, unfolding it, and placing it on the table. “Let’s see what we have here,” he said. He used his cell phone flashlight to look it over. In the end, he didn’t look very enthused. Lydia watched him. “It’s a bill for legal services provided to a Pacific Holdings, Limited,” he said. “Something about a real estate transaction.” He looked up at her. “I’m sorry, but I’m not sure this will help us.” He handed the document to Lydia.

  Lydia read it herself. He was right, it was boring. “Yes, but it was dated today and it hadn’t been mailed yet. That makes it one of the last things he was working on before he got attacked. And it looks like this Pacific Holdings company was resisting a sale to Rising Sun Incorporated.” She googled Pacific Holdings Limited on her phone. “Holy crap. That’s way too much of a coincidence.”

  “What?” Zack asked.

  “Guess who’s listed as a contributing member of Pacific Holdings?”

  “Who?”

  “Jim Knoff. Isn’t that the name of the victim of the first attack? The mayor’s aide?” Lydia asked.

  The wheels in Zack’s head were turning now. “You’re right. That means both victims of the soul sucker were connected to Pacific Holdings.” He grabbed his phone. “I’ll look up Rising Sun.” He ran his fingers through his hair. “There’s nothing about that company on the internet. I’ll have the guys at the precinct do a records search on that company in the morning and see what they come up with.”

  “What do you think?” she asked him.

  “I think I’ll be down at city hall at first light to get all the information I possibly can about that real estate transaction,” he answered.

  Lydia grinned at him. “And now that we’ve eaten and I feel better, I think it’s the perfect time to use the magic rock to find the idiot who summoned that soul sucker in the first place. I’ve got a few questions for that guy. What do you say? Are you up for a magical scavenger hunt? I think we’re due a little luck.”

  She took the rock out of her pocket and placed it on the table. Now that it had gotten dark, its slight red glow was even more noticeable.

  “Where do you think we should start?” Zack asked. “When we’re not sure where to start, we usually start at the warehouse district.”

  “That sounds good,” Lydia said. “We’re looking for a needle in a haystack and that’s as good a place as any to hide things.”

  “Hey,” Zack said. He motioned for her to wait before getting up.
“Seriously. A little while ago you were at death’s door. I was worried about you. Are you sure you’re okay? And are you sure we should go chasing someone that could be just as dangerous?”

  “I think I’ll be okay,” Lydia said, “but there’s something else you should know. I am now a dark magic fae with a flaming sword.” She made an angry face. “Remind you of anything?”

  “That thing in Luca’s book of monsters! That’s you?”

  “I don’t know for sure, but even Kade thinks it’s a possibility. I may have dark magic now, but I have no idea what I’m doing. I wanted you to know. In case you wanted to bail on me. Now’s your chance.”

  “No way,” Kade said. “We can do this.”

  “Good,” she said, rising and flagging down the waiter to pay the check.

  Zack grinned. “Thanks for dinner. And now we’re on our way to the warehouse district. Let it never be said I don’t show a lady a good time.”

  Fourteen

  Lydia and Zack got back into her car. Lydia pulled out the rock and set it on the console between them. It glowed a faint red color.

  “We just drive around playing hot or cold with this thing in order to find an evil mage that might have summoned a murderous monster?” Zack asked. “Do you really think this will work?”

  “I guess,” she answered. “It’s my very first magical rock tracking device.” She put the car in drive and headed toward the warehouse district.

  Zack kept his eyes on the magic rock while Lydia drove. “Hey,” he said a few minutes later, “it flickered yellow a little.”

  “Great. I guess,” Lydia said. “What’s it doing now?”

  “Back to red,” he said. “It was just a flicker.” They continued on in silence for a while. “Hey,” he whispered, “don’t freak out, but it looks like we picked up a tail.”

  Lydia glanced behind them. “It’s hard to be inconspicuous heading out to the warehouse district at this time of the night. How long has it been there?”

  “A few minutes, maybe.”

  “The blue Chevy?”

  “Yeah, that’s the one,” he answered. “I think it’s probably the precinct keeping an eye on me.”

  “You think? I’ll bet it’s the Mage Council following me now that they think I could be a threat.”

  “Take a left up here,” he said. “My money’s on me. I took down an entire organized crime syndicate a few years ago. I’ve got a bunch of enemies.”

  “If you did so much for them, then why are you on the outs with these people?” Lydia asked. She turned left.

  “Oh, I had better training, you know? When I came here with my background, they hired me right away. My superiors liked me, but the rank and file were jealous. If I let them talk shit to my face about how stupid I am, then it makes them feel better about themselves and I prove that I’m not a dick, just an outcast. If I call them on the fact they’re being jerks, then I don’t have the temperament to be a team-player which they use against me in my evaluations. And all of that was before my pysch report gave them the excuse they needed to freeze me out. And you’re one to talk. You do lots of stuff for the Mage Council and they don’t treat you any better.”

  Lydia shook her head. “You’ve got me there. And I’m sorry. That really sucks. But just for the record, I think the tail is after me.”

  “Take a right,” Zack said. “Challenge accepted, we’ll find out in a minute. Stop here!”

  Lydia screeched the car to a halt and Zack tumbled out the door. “Go to the next light and stop,” he said, and then he was gone. Lydia kept driving toward the next traffic light, which was green. She stopped. Stopping at a green light. This is weird, she thought, even for me. It was strange enough to throw off the car that was tailing them, though. The Chevy stopped short when it saw that she wasn’t moving. Right around the spot where Zack had jumped out.

  Now Lydia knew what he was up to. She had to admit; he was good. She did a U-turn in the street and doubled back to approach the Chevy, which was still stopped. The car did not try to get away. Probably because Zack had already jumped into it.

  Lydia pulled the car over and got out. She walked over to the Chevy to see what was going on. She looked in the passenger side window and could see Zack and the driver having a conversation. The driver was in uniform. Not very subtle. She smirked and rapped on the window. “Is there a problem, officer?”

  Zack rolled down the window. “Just catching up with a member of the police department,” he said, grinning. Lydia smiled at the driver. The guy looked pissed.

  “He’d like to know where we’re going,” Zack continued.

  “We’re supposed to tell him where we’re going since he sucks at following people? I’m not sure that’s how it works once you get caught,” Lydia chimed in.

  “She’s right you know. That’s not how it works, at least not with bad guys,” Zack corrected. “But since we’re all on the same team, I guess we can tell him.”

  Lydia frowned. “People on the same team don’t secretly follow each other.”

  Zack smirked. “Sure they do, if they care about you enough. So I’m going to tell you, Lou. For your own edification. That we’re headed down to the warehouse district to scope out some really freaky stuff. And if you continue to follow us, then that’s on you. Plus, if you choose to follow us, then I fully expect you to jump in and back us up, no matter how dangerous the situation is. Since I can officially document your presence here and all. I mean, you could be dragged into all kinds of weird shit that you would then have to explain to your superiors. If you survive.”

  Lydia stifled a laugh.

  Lou’s expression over the course of the conversation had changed from angry to worried. “Fine,” he said at last. “Officially, my report will read that I stopped to render assistance to a resident in need and then lost track of you. I don’t know why I was picked for this crap assignment anyway. The last thing I want to do is get involved in this, whatever this is,” he said it while pointing a finger from Zack to Lydia and then back again.

  “You wish,” Lydia said. “Bye, Lou. Don’t let the car door hit you in the…”

  “Take care, Lou,” Zack interrupted, getting out of the car and waving to Lou. Then he and Lydia walked down the street back to her car.

  “Tact,” he said when they got back into her car. “You have to have some tact in these situations, Lydia. Sometimes people just need wiggle room to save face when they make mistakes.” He shook his head. “You’d make a terrible police officer.”

  “Well,” Lydia said, “I’ll say this. You certainly go out of your way to be nice considering the treatment you get.”

  “I want to be there,” he answered, staring out the window. “I’d really like to get along with them eventually. You know, to finally feel like I belong?”

  “That’s the difference between you and me,” Lydia said. “That ship sailed for me a long time ago. There’s no use in me pretending otherwise.” Her gaze went down to the magic rock that was still glowing red. She had almost forgotten about it with the distraction.

  “Well, I won this round,” he said turning to her and smiling. “It was my tail.”

  “Fine, it was your tail,” Lydia said. “Listen, Zack. We will stop all of this. I promise. And then you will be a hero.”

  “How?” he asked. “I’m going to arrest an evil mage who summoned a magical monster? Not sure that will get printed in the papers.”

  “Maybe not, but when we stop this crime spree, then all of those scared cops will know that it ended thanks to you. We’re going to get this soul sucker and then you can carry its decapitated head through the precinct and lay it on the captain’s desk.”

  “Wow, that escalated quickly,” he said. “I have to admit, it does sound pretty good. And you have a point. Until it’s over, they’ll catch heat for the crime wave. Once it’s done, the public won’t really care how it ended, as long as it’s over. And when it’s over, that’ll make the police department look good.”
>
  Lydia stopped the car. “Here we are. The warehouse district.”

  Zack looked down. “The magic rock is still red. I guess we should drive around a little more to see if we get any hits.”

  Lydia drove again. “You sure the rock is still red? This is the perfect place for an evil mage to hide. Is that thing even working?”

  “I’ll keep an eye on the rock and tell you if anything spikes,” he answered.

  “Anything from the rock, now?” she asked, growing increasingly irritated.

  “Nothing.”

  “Damn it.” Lydia hit the steering wheel. “I should have known better. Do you think Kade is just making fun of us? Having us run around the city on a wild goose chase while he...” She stopped to think about it. “Why does he have us running around the city? And after that weird skirmish he was very hush-hush about?”

  “Maybe he wants us to find and kill the evil magical monster like he said?” Zack offered.

  “Or maybe he gave us this extraordinarily time-consuming task to keep us out of the way. Because he’s hiding something.” She picked up the rock and held it in her hand. “I mean, this has to be the most stupidly devised and inefficient magical tool ever created. It’s an insult.” She turned the car around. “That does it. I’m going straight back there to find out what he’s hiding from me.”

  “Whoa,” Zack said. “You don’t think you’re overreacting? I mean sometimes a magic rock is just a magic rock. How do we know that it’s not working? I mean, it turned yellow that one time. For a split second.”

  It didn’t matter anymore. Lydia was speeding out of the warehouse district and back toward the mage headquarters.

  “You know, you spend a lot of time at that mage mansion for somebody who hates them all.”

  “I don’t hate them. Not really. I just don’t trust them any further than I can throw them.” Lydia slowed slightly, checked carefully, and then ran a red light.

  Zack looked behind them. “Well, if anybody else from the police department was following us, then you got rid of them for sure.”