I was half-expecting the Doctor to be waiting for me when I got off work. He wasn't, of course, and I was surprised by the pang of disappointment that ran through me. I stuffed my hands into my pockets and sighed. Time to head over to that bar, then. Fab.
I had barely enough change to catch a bus downtown. It was pretty packed, full of people heading home after work. I was squeezed in the back and all but jumped out the door when the bus pulled up to the stop. The bar –it doesn't have a name, and it's more of a pub anyway- was located in a little side alley off the library. There's one of these places in every major city, a safe gathering spot for practitioners. I'd been there once or twice before. Didn't like it very much. They wouldn't let me play my guitar.
I walked down the alley. It was deserted and poorly lit, which was more than a bit unnerving. The bar had wards around it too keep regular people from wandering in, but still. It wouldn't kill anyone to put a few more lights up, would it?
I was about ten feet away from the front entrance when I heard the noise. I spun around, bringing up a spell, ready for whatever mugger or stray dog or something that wanted to rip me into small pieces. All right, maybe I'm a bit paranoid, but it's better to be safe than sorry.
The noise came again, a kind of shuffling sound. Seemed to be coming from behind the trashcans outside the bar. I walked over cautiously, still keeping the spell in my mind. There was a sudden explosion of movement and a figure popped out from behind the trashcans and started booking it down the alley. I caught a glimpse of them as they went by.
It was the guy from yesterday, the picture-taker. I reflexively darted after him and reached out an arm, grabbing the hood of his jacket. He jerked to a stop, letting out a choked sound. "Well, well," I said, pulling him back. "Fancy meeting you again."
"Let me go!" He squirmed out of my grip and I quickly moved to block his escape.
"Nah, don't think so. I just wanna talk, okay? What's your name?" He glared at me, then over my shoulder at the street just beyond the mouth of the alley. "Don't think about trying anything, kid. There's about fifty wizards in that bar who'd be more than happy to help me out." Okay, I might've been exaggerating, both in the number and willingness of the bar patrons. Kid didn't need to know that, though.
He continued to glare, then looked down at the ground. "Sasha," he muttered sullenly, kicking at loose gravel.
"All right then, Sasha." I leaned back, crossing my arms. "You wanna tell me what's going on?" The kid didn't look up. "Who's this Sabbath? What's he done with Sam?"
"Who?" He glanced up, genuinely baffled. I bit my lip, frustrated.
"Sam Jones! The girl he kidnapped?" I might've jumped to conclusions, but it made sense. The Doctor said there'd been bad magic around her house, and if Sabbath was a warlock…
"I don't know what you're talking about!" Sasha protested. "He just told me to keep an eye on you and that other guy, okay? That's all. I haven't done anything wrong!"
"Pretty sure stalking and taking pictures counts as an offense," I shot back. "Look, kid, here's the deal. Tell me where I can find this Sabbath and I'll forget we ever met. Okay?"
"No way." Sasha's face went pale. "You don't betray Sabbath and live. I-" His eyes widened suddenly. "Look out!"
"Yeah, like I'm falling for that," I scoffed. "Who do-" I cut off with a yelp as something heavy slammed into my back. I went down, skinning my palms on the gravel. Sasha seized this opportunity to escape, darting out of the alley and vanishing down the street. I groaned and rolled over, looking at the thing that'd hit me.
It looked like a man. At least, it did until its jaw unhinged and it shrieked in my face. I scrambled away, ignoring the stinging in my hands. Hell. I did not want to deal with a ghoul right now. I glanced at the bar, debating about running inside and screaming fro help, but the ghoul was blocking the way. I froze, debating what to do. There was no way I'd be able to outrun it, but if I at least got into the light…
I turned around and sprinted out into the street, hearing the ghoul scream behind me. I skidded to a stop beneath a streetlight, glancing around frantically. Why the hell was everything so empty tonight? "Now'd be a great time to show up, Doctor," I muttered under my breath, bringing up my strongest spell.
The ghoul bounded out of the alley, heading towards me at an alarming pace. "Überschallknall!" I shouted, attempting to aim the spell at the ghoul. I missed.
A car at the end of the street blew up, spraying debris all over the place. "Shit," I breathed, staring at it. A flying chunk of glass whistled past my face, sinking into the ghoul's neck with a gross, wet sound, right as it leapt at me. The ghoul fell to the ground with a gurgling cry and I backed away, gathering up another spell. Setting the thing on fire might put a stop to it. I hoped.
I was about to throw fire magic at the ghoul when I heard the sirens. The ghoul heard them too and it shook its head before staggering away. Smart. That probably meant it was working for someone. I didn't want to wait around for the cops to show up and took off running, just as a police car swept down the street.
"Damn it," I muttered, reversing direction. There was an exploded car, a puddle of blood, and me, a fleeing, shifty-looking man. It all looked pretty suspect.
"Stop!" One of the cops had gotten out of the car and was chasing after me. I glanced over my shoulder quickly, catching a glimpse of a stocky, redheaded woman. I tried to speed up, but using that big a spell had wiped me out. I was breathing hard and my ears were ringing, which seemed like a bad sign. The cop quickly caught up to me, grabbed my shoulder, and pinned me against the brick face of a building.
"You're under arrest for disturbing the peace," she was saying. Or at least that's what I thought she said; my ears had given up at this point. "You have the right…"
Sometimes I really hate my life.