Shadow Hunted

by L. A. Johnson

  “Whatever you need,” Ian said.

  Zack pulled a notebook out of his pocket and handed it to Ian who wrote down the information. Then he texted Zack the grainy surveillance footage. He forwarded it to Lydia. She watched it repeatedly, trying to see as much detail as possible, but the footage was dark and grainy. Just as he said.

  “How did you guys find me, anyway?” Ian asked.

  “Magic rock,” Lydia said, not looking up from her phone.

  “What?” he asked.

  Lydia pointed at the green glowing and vibrating centerpiece. “That rock, there’s a spell on it tracking the person who summoned the soul sucker. It changes colors magically. It led us straight to you.”

  “No shit,” Ian said. “You’re lying.”

  Lydia made eye contact with him. What kind of amateur magician doesn’t believe in magic? She held her hand up, indicating that he could inspect the magic rock for himself.

  He held the object like he was holding a bar of gold. “It’s vibrating. How does it work?”

  Lydia sighed. “How does it work? Don’t you know anything about this stuff? How did you manage the soul sucker spell in the first place? You see, the spell you performed was dark magic and therefore illegal. Illegal spells carry a more distinct magical signature than regular spells. The head of the mage order just enchanted this rock to find the source of the bad mojo and boom, here we are looking at you. I hate to be the one to break it to you, but you were set up.”

  Zack looked at Lydia. “Whoever this evil mage is, he’s obviously being careful. I mean, it’s smart to find idiots to do his work for him instead of performing evil magic and getting himself in trouble. What if we grab something physical this evil mage has handled? Could the mage order track that too or does it have to be magical?”

  “The soul sucker spell document,” Lydia and Ian said at the same time.

  “It’s a physical object. I assume that would work,” Lydia said, “but I don’t know how strong the physical connection has to be. If he doesn’t fall for this message, then we can try to use the document. At least it’s a decent Plan B.” Both she and Zack took sips of their coffee while Ian sat there staring into space. It looked to Lydia like he was trying to not go into shock.

  That’s when Ian’s laptop chimed that a new message had arrived. Ian brought up the message. Then he turned the laptop to face Zack and Lydia.

  The message was from WizardRising. “Hold on, be there in a minute.”

  Zack read the message and then gave the coffee shop a once over looking for trouble. “Do you think he means he’ll message you back in a minute or do you really think he’s coming here right now?”

  Lydia scanned the room herself. “I think it means he’s coming.” She looked at Zack. “You ready?”

  “Okay,” Zack said. “I’ll go find a position close to the front door. You switch seats with me so you’ll be able to see what’s going on, okay? If there’s any sign of trouble, then get the hell out of here.”

  Lydia nodded because it sounded like a good plan. She had no intention of leaving, though, especially if this evil mage had the nerve to show up.

  Zack stood up to head toward the front door. He nearly barreled into the figure who suddenly appeared behind him. “What the...”

  Sixteen

  The figure who appeared to have materialized out of nowhere, was a little taller than Zack, with red hair and a well-trimmed beard.

  Zack reached for his gun, but the guy calmly pointed at the weapon which then left Zack’s hand and re-holstered itself. Lydia stood up and reached for her sword. Zack stared at his gun holster while the guy grabbed a nearby chair and added it to the table.

  “Please,” the figure said, mostly to Lydia, whose hand was on her sword. “Sit. Are we or are we not civilized? Let’s talk. My name is Algorath.”

  Lydia and Zack sat.

  “You’re the evil mage?” Lydia asked.

  Algorath cocked his head to the side and smirked. “Evil, good, what’s the difference?”

  “You had this patsy perform a spell that summoned a monster. That soul sucker killed four people so far.”

  “Hey!” Ian objected, but everybody ignored him.

  “Yes,” Algorath said, staring at her. “But it didn’t do you any harm, did it?” He motioned to someone else, who was over by the coffee counter. “Hey, Brad, get me a latte.” Then he turned back to them. “Brad will join us in a moment. Okay, I introduced myself, and I know that guy,” he pointed at Ian. “By the way, Ian, weak, man. Dark magic practitioners who are serious about their craft do not go around hanging out with this kind of element.” He indicated Zack.

  “It’s not my fault,” Ian protested. “They tracked me with that magic rock.”

  That made Algorath laugh out loud. He grabbed the rock and held it in his hands, staring at it. “The oldest trick in the book, and also the simplest magic trick. Who conjured this low-rent contraption? And who in their right mind would drive all over town playing magical child games when there are literally a million better ways to track people nowadays?” He raised an eyebrow at Lydia. “I’m guessing you’re the lackey and not the conjurer in this case.” His blue eyes flashed from the magic rock to Lydia.

  Lydia studied him. His flaming red hair was the only modern thing about him. There was something muscular, primitive, and savage about him. To Lydia, he seemed like a throwback Viking from the past who was wearing jeans and sandals. And he had a very distinct magical aura. She hated herself immediately for thinking it, but until today she’d never picked up on such things and so she didn’t believe it. His personal aura was even stronger than the magic she felt when she entered the mage mansion’s force field. Kade, on his best day, never gave off a magical signature that powerful. “I don’t see how any of that is your business,” she told him.

  He smiled. “Not yet. Believe it or not, Lydia, all of this is for you. Sort of.”

  “How do you know my name?” she asked.

  Instead of answering, Algorath pointed at Lydia and then leaned forward conspiratorially. “I know who you are, and I know what you are.”

  Lydia’s blood ran cold. “And what’s that?”

  “You, my dear, are special. You are a Shadow Slayer. Incredibly rare. Very powerful. I’m here to offer you a deal, the kind of deal that comes along once in a lifetime. Once in a thousand lifetimes.”

  “Not interested,” Lydia said. Hearing the term Shadow Slayer out loud was more than she was ready for. She was just now getting used to the idea herself. And she still had very little idea what it meant. “You’re going to jail for what you did, or even worse, the mages will bring you to justice.”

  That made Algorath smile. “Oh, that will not happen, I assure you. I’m just getting started. Your local mages have no clue what real power is. They’re stuck in the past and that makes my job so much easier.”

  Brad arrived with two cups of coffee. He gave one to Algorath and then grabbed yet another chair to add to the table which now felt too small for the group of people gathered around it.

  “Hey Brad, get a load of this.” Algorath chuckled while showing Brad the magic rock. “They followed this here to find Ian. Can you believe that?”

  Brad gave Algorath a quick chuckle and sat down between Algorath and Zack. His eyes darted around. There was a cold, dispassionate expression on his face as he stared at the people across from him.

  Brad gave Lydia the creeps. She couldn’t put her finger on why everything about his appearance seemed wrong. His face was just slightly too angular and his body was just a tad bit too skinny. And his skin was so pale it was nearly translucent. That, and the boot camp shaved hair-cut. Those attributes in and of themselves shouldn’t have been quite so bad, but none of it worked on any level together. Something else about him was bothering her too, something she couldn’t quite put her finger on. Her own instincts were pinging off the charts, a sense of danger she had never felt before. She sucked in a breath to calm her nerves.


  “Anyway, where was I?” Algorath asked. “Oh yeah, the limited time offer for Lydia the Shadow Slayer. And the fact I’m here to stay. Here’s the deal. I know what you are. And I can train you. Together, we could be unstoppable. And that’s saying something. The point is, I know exactly how powerful you could be and I’m willing to help you get there.”

  “Hey!” Ian objected. “You said you would train me.”

  “Shut up, Ian,” Algorath growled.

  Lydia took a sip of her coffee to show that she wasn’t intimidated even though she was. It backfired. Her hands were shaking badly. “And this wonderful offer of yours. What would that cost me, exactly?”

  “Swear fealty to me. A token, really. A sentence oath is all it would take. And then I would use all of my considerable magical power and wealth to make you stronger than you can imagine.”

  “Lydia, no!” Zack said.

  Brad turned to Zack with a hiss and opened his mouth wide, revealing multiple sets of teeth.

  Algorath turned to Zack. “This is between Lydia and me. We are negotiating a sacred blood oath. If you say another damned word, I will let Brad bite you. His bite is among the more venomous and deadly things to mankind.” He turned to Lydia. “If Zack interferes again, he’ll be dead within five minutes. Way before he could get to the hospital. So, tell him to butt out if you care for him at all.”

  Lydia nodded to Zack. “I’ve got this.” She turned her attention back to Algorath. “And what if I say no?”

  Algorath sat back. “Well, that would be a real shame. I’m performing a ceremony tomorrow night in the woods.” He stared into her eyes and a vicious smile crawled across his lips. “You know where, don’t you? The ceremony will be held in the place you fear most. There is a special full moon tomorrow night. The Wyrm moon. It’s a once in a generation opportunity. I will have enough power during that ceremony to take away your Shadow Slaying powers. Permanently.”

  “You’re lying,” Lydia said.

  Algorath slammed a fist on the table. “Do you think any of this is a coincidence? This is fate, my dear. And unlike the rest of us, you get a choice. I know this is new to you. You can choose to stay the Shadow Slayer and swear fealty to me, or you can lose your power forever, but you must choose.”

  Zack jumped out of his chair and drew his weapon again in one movement. He held the gun on Brad. “Rude!” he shouted. “This guy comes in here and offers to train you and then threatens you if you don’t take him up on his offer? What the hell?”

  “Sit down, Zack. Before that guy bites you,” Lydia said. “You did the exact same thing to me, saying you needed my help with that murder case and then trying to blackmail me with a bunch of parking tickets.”

  “It wasn’t the same thing at all,” Zack objected. “I was never going to go through with it.”

  Algorath and Brad stopped and looked at each other, trying to figure out what was going on. Then they whispered, probably trying to figure out what to do about Zack.

  “Leave him alone,” Lydia said to the two of them.

  Algorath nodded to her, showing he would not escalate the situation further.

  “Sit down, Zack,” Lydia hissed. “You’re attracting an awful lot of attention, you know.”

  Other patrons who up to this point had simply eavesdropped were now alarmed at the guy pointing the gun at the table full of people drinking their coffee. Zack looked around for a moment and then pulled the lanyard out of his shirt, revealing his police badge. “It’s okay, I’m a cop,” Zack announced, not taking his eyes off of Brad. Then he sat back down next to Brad but kept the gun on him.

  “Okay,” Lydia said to Algorath. “You’re performing a ceremony in the spooky woods. I get it. And I could still take you up on your offer, so I presume your primary purpose for this Wyrm ceremony is something else. What exactly are you going to do tomorrow night in the woods?”

  “Right now that is none of your business,” he answered.

  Lydia crossed her arms. “Well, then I guess we’re at an impasse. Before I swear fealty to people, I like to know what I’m getting into.”

  Algorath laughed. “I can see that you’re not ready to commit. That’s okay, it’s a big decision. Take your time. You have until tomorrow night.”

  “How will you know if I’ve changed my mind?” Lydia asked.

  “I’ll know,” Algorath said.

  Police sirens sounded in the distance. They were getting closer. Lydia knew that none of the current people sitting at the table wanted to explain to the authorities what they were doing here right now, and that included Zack.

  Algorath continued to play it cool, though. He leaned forward. “I have something for you. To sweeten the deal. I’ve taken care of the annoying local mage leader. You won’t have to worry about him anymore. From now on, you’ll be dealing with me.” He and Brad stood up and took a step back, so they were closer to the bookshelf. Algorath winked at her and snapped his finger. Then both he and Brad turned around and walked right through the bookshelf. They both disappeared.

  That left Lydia, Zack, and Ian standing there gaping at where they used to be. Ian gasped.

  Zack holstered his gun. “Lydia, we have to get out of here right now.” He scanned the back of the coffee shop and pointed. “Back door.”

  Lydia grabbed the magic rock and followed him.

  “What about me?” Ian asked.

  Lydia and Zack were already on their way out the door, though. “Honestly,” Lydia said to Zack on her way out, “I forgot he was even there.”

  Seventeen

  With the police closing in, Lydia was glad that her car was parked well away from the front of the coffee shop. She and Zack got in quickly and then Lydia sped off, leaving the sirens and the police lights in the rear-view mirror.

  “You’re not thinking of joining that guy, are you?” Zack asked.

  Lydia wheeled on him. “No, you idiot. But how far would ‘no’ have gotten me when he was already talking to us? What kind of cop are you, anyway? You never stop the bad guys from talking once they get started. I thought that was a rule. At least it is in all of the cop shows I watch.”

  “I don’t watch cop shows,” Zack said, crossing his arms.

  “Well, you should,” Lydia said. “They’re great. No matter what anybody tells you, the entire point of watching cop shows is to figure out how to outsmart them all. To see if you can come up with a way you can prove that you’re smarter than both the bad guys and the cops.”

  He turned his head to stare at her for a moment. “You were playing him?”

  “Of course I was.”

  “Well, what happens now? Where are we going?” Zack noticed how fast they were going and pumped his imaginary brake. “And why are you speeding even more than usual?”

  “Because all the cops in the city are back at the coffee shop so I don’t have to worry about a ticket,” she answered. “And because I have to drop you off in time to go warn Kade.”

  “Drop me off where?” Zack asked.

  “The police station,” Lydia said. “Isn’t that where your car is parked? It’s been fun, but I need you to be at city hall tomorrow morning like you said. If we’re gonna get ahead of this Algorath guy once and for all we will have to figure out what he’s up to.”

  “You’re going to go and help that jackass Kade? After everything he did to you?”

  “Yeah,” Lydia conceded. “He’s a jerk. But it sounded like Algorath was taking him out for me, and that’s not right. I’m going to at least give him a heads up.”

  “Are you sure you don’t want me to come with you?” Zack asked.

  Lydia pulled into the police station and shook her head. “Trust me, I’m just going to warn him and then go home. I’ve got enough to deal with as it is. We’ll touch base tomorrow, okay?”

  “Okay,” he said, getting out. “Call me if you need me.”

  Lydia got to the mage mansion fast. There was hardly any traffic out this late at night, and she was in n
o mood to draw this out. Get in, get out, get on with my life. As she stared straight ahead at the mage mansion, though, she saw something very odd. In fact, she slammed on her brakes in the middle of the road and stared. “What the hell?”

  Hell was the operative word here. The mage mansion looked like it was under attack. Full-blown, glow in the dark spectre attack. Well, she thought, at least Algorath was a man of his word.

  She parked the car. The scene around the mage mansion looked like a cheesy movie. Even at the late hour, civilians were milling around and taking pictures. Normally, the mages would be out there in the street, shooing people away and surreptitiously using magic to fry the phones so that the images didn’t make it onto the internet.

  Frying people’s phones was a zero-level difficulty spell that even she had pulled off once or twice, magic or no. And yet there was nobody official out here to put a stop to it. Other than the gawkers, it was eerily quiet. She got a bad feeling.

  As she approached the front door, pushing past the crowd, she noticed two things. One, the spectres flying around the top of the mansion were, in fact, fake. Maybe that was why nobody was out here shooing them away. That actually would have made Lydia feel better, except for the second thing she noticed, which was the fact that as she approached there was no magic force-field guarding the door.

  She knocked twice, then she waited. There might not have been magic at the front door, but there was some sort of terrifying electricity inside that Lydia could feel. All the hairs on her body stood on end. Again. She was getting tired of being on red alert all the time. She watched in wonder as her arm hairs stood straight up.

  Then she realized she had been standing there too long and knocked on the door again. Still nothing. She held her ear to the door for a minute. She couldn’t hear anything, but she knew that the door was soundproof. Anything could be happening in there. She tested the doorknob, and it wasn’t locked.

  She took her sword out, then she took several deep breaths. Here goes nothing. Then she threw open the mage mansion door.