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Chapter Eleven

—

"Justin Russo."

The air rippled, then settled into the image of a handsome young man with green eyes, dark brown hair, and a charming smile.

"Show me Justin Russo," said the woman, and the image changed, flying across the country until settling on a small apartment, where inside lay the young man, only now he looked far older, with grey hair and wrinkles. An attractive woman with white-blond hair lay beside him, laughing at him.

Lawrence stood next to her, frowning.

"What do you see, my love?" asked Anita. Her husband had the special ability to see through all disguises, magical or mundane. "What sorcery is at play?"

"The girl," he said. "She's a monster. Level ten."

Anita gasped, eyes wide. "You don't mean—?"

He nodded.

"We have to warn the Wizard Council," she said. "And then we must do something to rescue this boy. Lord knows the Council won't get to him in time."

"His life is more than half-drained," Lawrence agreed. "I suggest we send the girl."

"She has no powers. She lost the Competition."

He glanced askance at her, and she could see the wheels turning in his mind. She hesitated, then nodded. "Yes," she said. "Yes, I think we can arrange something."

They set to work.

—

"Wizard Police."

"Hi, my name is Jerry Russo and we have a serious matter to report."

The policeman frowned. "We got a call from Tyler Edwards. Who the hell are you?"

"Does that really matter?" burst in Tyler irritably. He had poofed them all to the wizard police station as soon as he had heard the story. "The Russos's oldest son, Justin, won the Wizarding Competition, but he's in serious trouble. None of them can assist him because he's all the way in California and I'm the only one here with any wizarding powers."

"Come on, Pete, you know about the Russos," said a second policeman to the first. "Their kids have caused so much trouble for all of us. And old Jerry here married a mortal."

"Old?" scoffed Jerry, but Max gave him a glare that said Not now, Dad.

"ANYWAY," came Tyler again, "Justin isn't in a position to contact you right now. His girlfriend, Makenzie, who is a wizard, tried to kill Alex Russo a few days ago. She's safe, but Justin is not. Alex believes Makenzie has him under a spell."

"Kill?" The policemen looked at each other. "Where is this Alex now?" asked Pete.

"She's safe," said Jerry. "Somewhere on a boat in the ocean. A wizard on board found her and rescued her."

The second policeman put a finger to his chin in thought. "I wonder if this has anything to do with that Monster Alert we just got. A level ten, out in California."

"Level ten?" Max gasped. "I thought they only went as far as six!"

"Look, we can send over some help, but this is a big deal," said the first officer. "We'll look into it, but we are sending Monster Hunters out to deal with this report. Perhaps there's something any of you can do?"

"None of them have powers!" Tyler snapped. "Only me, and I'm not a full wizard!"

"Okay, okay. I understand your stress. Give us an hour and we will get back to you, all right?"

Begrudgingly, the men returned to New York, and let a frantic Theresa in on what happened.

"That's unacceptable!" she cried. "I want to know how our son is this instant!"

"I could try sending you there," suggested Tyler, "though I've used up a lot of my energy with just these last sends."

"Would you? Oh, that would be so wonderful!" Theresa pulled the boy in for a hug. Max scratched the back of his neck awkwardly.

"We'll wait the hour," Jerry decided, "and then if we haven't heard back, we can take matters into our own hands. Got it?"

—

Alex had to sit down, trying to fully absorb what she'd just been told. Anita sat with her, but Lawrence remained standing.

"This… this can't be true, can it?" Alex asked. "I've never even heard of a… of that before."

"It is true," said Lawrence, "and we've reported it to the Wizard Council. They should be amassing Monster Hunters and sending them immediately."

"Which means you'll need to move quickly if you want to rescue your brother," Anita added. "Monster Hunters… don't necessarily concern themselves with avoiding casualties. Especially not with a level ten. Their priority will be to capture and destroy the soul eater before anything else."

"We would go, but your brother will trust you instantly. We offer this to you because we believe you will do what is necessary to save his life."

"But… what if I don't remember how to do magic?" Alex asked. "It's been some time…"

Anita smiled. "I have a feeling you won't have a problem with this."

"Remember," said Lawrence, "this isn't, strictly speaking, legal. But the choice is yours."

"I still don't understand why you would do this," said Alex. "How does this possibly benefit you?"

"We can discuss that another time," Anita insisted. "If we are to do this, we must do it now. Time is of the essence."

A moment went by in silence, and then Alex stood up, her decision made. "Let's do this," she said, grinning wickedly. I'm going to kill that fucking bitch.

"Hold still."

Lawrence and Anita each took one of Alex's hands and closed their eyes. They began to chant in a language Alex did not understand. Yet, instantly, Alex felt the rush of magic flooding back into her, and it were as if she became lighter, fuller, whole. That part of her that had been with her since birth, that she had lost, came back with a force that nearly overwhelmed her.

This was far different, though, than what she had before. The power was blinding, and she felt like she could destroy and create worlds with her hands, with her soul. She felt like she was glowing—she was glowing, from every inch of her skin.

Then it was over, and Anita and Lawrence dropped her hands, their eyes tired. "You have four hours," said the man. "Use your time wisely."

Her smile was fierce and brilliant, and she lifted herself off the ground. "Thank you," she told them, before vanishing in a flash of light.

Anita smiled at her husband. "The girl has a talent," she mused. "She should've been the one to win the Competition. I wonder why she failed."

Lawrence shrugged. "Maybe she didn't."

"What in the world does that mean?" She stared at him.

"A soul eater's influence is extensive, and only grows the closer they become with their victim. Perhaps she felt it in her best interest for him to win. I could see why. The soul of a full wizard would be quite the prize."

The weight of the implications hung heavy in the air. Anita was glad Alex was not here to have heard them.

—

Thoughts barely came anymore. He didn't remember his name, or who he was, or what was happening. All was a fog.

The girl was resting her head on his chest, growing more and more radiant by the moment. She looked younger than she had, and more beautiful.

"I'm glad your soul isn't as vile as I thought it would be," she said with a laugh, though her words were muffled in his ears. "It doesn't taste bad at all."

He didn't understand. He didn't know what she was doing or how, or who she was. Everything felt so far away.

It all happened so fast.

The front door went flying and shattered against the opposite wall. The girl swore loudly and made a noise in her throat that was feral, animalistic. Her eyes flashed red and she got abruptly to her feet. A blur soared across the room with a scream and hit the girl dead in the chest. She, too, went flying until she hit a wall, crumbling to the floor.

An angel with brown hair and big brown eyes, whose very being radiated with light and magic, came to him.

"Justin," she said, her words clouded and foggy. What was she saying? Was did the word 'Justin' mean?

She collected him in her arms and held him tight. He didn't know what happened next, but he felt himself traveling through nothingness, and then being lain on something soft.

"Justin," the angel said again, but he blacked out.