Chapter 4

After dropping my apprentice off at my house, I began to pull out of the driveway. A blur of motion landed in front of me, and I stopped just in time to avoid hitting a raven in the middle of the gravel road. Its wings were so dark of a red as to appear black, in sharp contrast to its golden eyes. It looked up at me and took off again, following the road.

Out of curiosity, I decided to follow it. Following the raven wouldn't take more than half an hour, and it was only three, so I still had plenty of time to find out where Sarah Oris lived.

It flew higher when we reached downtown Shepherdstown, forcing me to crane my neck to see it. Winding its way through the town center, we soon reached the outskirts of town, where it came to rest atop the house of Mr. and Mrs. Pennington.

"Curioser and curioser," I muttered to myself as I shut off the engine and got out of the truck. I walked up to the house, ducking under the police tape at the gate. The police had put a padlock on the door. Going to the window, I found it unlocked, but stuck. I stuck my knife between the window and the frame, whispering "dorosh" as I used magic to lever the window open.

I slipped inside and was instantly surrounded by the black magic I had sensed before. It was slippery and corrupt, but not as potent as it had been. I closed my eyes and opened my Sight, the cords of magic that surrounded the room coming to life as I did. I focused on the threshold, millions of strands of white light that were woven together to create an almost impenetrable wall.

Except where someone had blasted them apart. The threshold simply did not exist at the door, or for two feet two either side of it. Where the hole began, the edges of the cords were charred and shredded. That was mortal magic, and a lot of it. I was reasonably sure that I could accomplish it, but that meant there was another wizard at least as strong as me in Shepherdstown.

I turned back to the room, bracing myself mentally.

It was not what I had expected.

Instead of mind-shattering horror, tendrils of wispy, black ink swirled randomly, turning the room into a macabre kaleidoscope. Reaching down, I touched one of the tendrils, feeling the raw power coursing through it. The energy itself wasn't evil; it was excited, hungry, strong, and alive.

I shuddered. The enticement of that much power was undeniable. And if it wasn't inherently evil, then the right person might be able to use it for good. Maybe…

I climbed back out the window, making sure to close it behind me. I walked to my truck, as a jogger approached. I readied myself, but didn't look at her as she drew near.

"Ryan Ashwell?" she panted. I turned to face her. She was attractive, but not unreasonably so, and was currently bent double, resting her hands on her knees.

"That's me," I said, lowering my guard. I hadn't a feeling she wasn't going to murder me in the next minute or so.

"My name is Jackie Oris," she said. Giving out her true name like that meant she wasn't from the spooky side of the fence. Also, if she was related to Sarah, then this case was about to open right up.

"What can I do for you, Ms. Oris?" She straightened up, and I could see the worry drawn across her face.

She thought about it for a moment and started to turn. "Never mind. Maybe I should just wait. This is stupid, and I don't want to bother you."

"Wait!" She turned back to me. "Look, Ms. Oris, if there's anything I can help with, please just let me know."

She looked pensive for a moment, but I could see her resolve harden. "My sister's been gone for two days," she explained. "She's an adult, and I wouldn't be worried normally, but something about it just seems weird."

Always trust your instincts, kids.

"How so?" I asked. I didn't want to push her too far, but I had to get something out of her.

She frowned. "It's dumb, and the police don't think it's odd, but" she trailed off. She sighed. "She didn't even feed her cat. She wouldn't forget that; the cat means the world to her."

It was certainly interesting. "When was the last time you saw her?" I was new to the whole investigation thing, but I knew how to look for people. More often than not, it required a little magic and a whole lot of knowledge.

"Three nights ago," she said. "She went out for her run and never came back. She was supposed to run that morning with me, but she got called into work."

The run hadn't been planned, which meant that she had probably just ended up in the wrong place at the wrong time. An attack of opportunity, exactly how predators hunt.

"This may sound odd," I said, "but do you have any of her hair, or a piece of jewelry she liked?" She looked at me like I was crazy. I probably was, but that's beside the point. "It will help me find Sarah," I assured her.

She nodded, pretending to understand. She reached up to her neck, unclasping her necklace. "She has a matching one," she explained. "Will it help?"

I took it graciously and nodded. "I'll find her," I promised. Dead or alive, I thought cynically.

Jackie beamed. "Thank you so much, Mr. Ashwell." She jogged away, and I was left wondering how the hell I was going to find out what had taken Sarah.

"All in a day's work, ma'am," I said to no one in particular.

I got back in the truck. I drove to the canal and got out of the truck. A wizard's life is nothing, if not repetition.

Extending my senses, I started walking down the trail.

I began thinking about the events that had happened that day. First the murders, then the woman with the ankh, then Artemis, the raven, and Jackie. An unsettling notion began to creep over me: someone was guiding my steps. I didn't care if it was a god or goddess; I was no one's pawn.

I was so distracted by my thoughts, that I almost missed the sounds of life fifty yards to my left. I walked slowly toward it, being careful to avoid being heard. In the remnants of a small camp, a family of raccoons rummaged through some trash. Ashes from a fire no more than a day old, still smelled like wood smoke. This was definitely the spot.

I found a hidden spot with a view of the camp and waited. I meditated for several hours, before I heard the first human footsteps through the underbrush. I opened my eyes. The sun was setting, and the last rays of golden sunlight began to dwindle over the horizon as wisps of purple and pink turned grey.

Several people entered the camp, two men and three women. I slowly left my cover, projecting a sense of calm over the camp, and approached them. They looked up at me as they saw me, and I saw several hands go to concealed weapons. I held up my hands defensively, simultaneously channeling power into my staff. It never hurts to be prepared.

"The fuck do you want?" asked one of the men, his voice gruff from a hard life and too many cigarettes.

"I just have some questions," I said. "My name's Ryan. I need to know if anyone's gone missing lately."

The expressions on their faces in the firelight answered my question. It was right in front of me, the tension was drawn across their faces. It must have been happening for months. No wonder they'd almost drawn weapons.

"How long?" I asked softly.

The man who had spoken looked into the fire. "Six months. It started off slowly; at first we thought it was just arrests." He looked at the people around him. "But then it just exploded. Every day, there were half a dozen or more gone."

"Holy shit," I muttered. That was a lot of people over the course of six months.

"I saw one," one of the women said. "There was nothing holy about it." Another woman wrapped her arms around the first. I wasn't going to push it.

The man looked back at me. "You're the wizard, right?"

I nodded. The staff was probably a give-away.

"Then you know what they are," he said. He looked right into my eyes, and I met his gaze.

He changed in front of my eyes as we were sucked into the soulgaze. In his place was a soldier, wearing chainmail and wielding a longsword, his shield the only defense for his chosen family against the night. I looked into the darkness opposite his shield, and instantly knew what they were fighting.

For a wizard, I was sheltered. I had never met another wizard, except my mother, brother, and apprentice. I had seen demons, and the occasional werewolf, but Shepherdstown was not exactly a hotbed of supernatural activity. I had never seen what I saw in his soul, but I knew them from stories.

Vampires.

The soulgaze ended, and I swore loudly. The people in front of the fire looked at me cautiously. "It's the goddamned Red Court."

He nodded. "Please, help us," he asked. His pride was broken. The vampires may not have him yet, but they had gotten his spirit.

And that made me angry.

"I will destroy them," I promised him. "Each and every one."

I walked back to the truck. Righteous fury bubbled beneath the surface of my mind. I had dealt with monsters before. Each and every one had learned an undeniable lesson: the mortals in the area were under my protection. I was brooding in a way that only a wizard could, and I almost walked into my truck.

I fumbled for the keys, dropping them as energy from my shield necklace flared up, catching something behind my neck with so much force that my head slammed forward into the truck. My vision swam as I hit the ground.

A man with a baseball bat in one hand, and a .45 in the other, stood over me. He smiled and I saw his fangs. He pointed the gun at my face, giggling with malicious glee.

"Fuck you, wizard," he drawled in a smooth southern accent. I saw his finger move as he started to pull the trigger.

My day was just getting better and better.