my fears, only for Kik to turn up, leaving me looking like a paranoid maniac.
“It’s nothing,” I say, unclenching my fist to lay my pen down. “Let’s . . .”
Grey liquid drips from my hands onto the table. Bill-E pulls a face. “What’s that?” he asks. “It looks like mercury.”
I don’t reply. I’m staring at the liquid, the last few drops dripping from my fingers, black ink bubbling on my palms. It’s the remains of the pen. The steel ballpoint I was holding.
I melted it.
Night falls. Kik hasn’t been seen all day. Kuk’s not the only one worried about her now. Her father’s frantic. The search has intensified. The security forces have been deployed in earnest. Davida even suspended shooting so everyone could the search parties and help.
I’m with a group exploring the eastern end of town, going through all the real buildings, checking behind the façades of the fakes. Trying to focus on the search. Trying not to think about the pen and how I melted it. But I can’t
not
think about it. There
could
be a scientific explanation. But I’m certain the melting had nothing to do with science. It was
magic.
I’m not a natural magician. Dervish told me that only one or two real magicians are born every century. There are others like Dervish and Meera Flame — mages — with the potential to perform acts of magic, usually with the aid of spells. I could maybe do that. But I never have. I don’t care for magic. Plus, there hasn’t been time. Dervish was a zombie for more than a year, and hasn’t been up for teaching duties since he recovered.
So how did I melt the pen? There’s only one answer I can think of. When demons enter our universe, they affect the area where they cross. They’re creatures of magic, and that magic infects the world around them. When my parents were killed, I was able to tap into the magical, demonic energy and use it to escape. I did it again, later, in the secret cellar, when I fought Artery and Vein.
I think that’s happening now. There’s magic in the air — the magic of demons.
We don’t find Kik. The search concludes after midnight. Everybody turns in. Most people reckon she ran away. The guards say they’ll search for her beyond Slawter tomorrow, take Kuk and his father with them.
I haven’t told anyone about my fears. No point — I’d only be laughed at. But I can’t sit back and do nothing. I have to try to help Kik, assuming she
can
still be helped. So I track down Dervish. He’s been searching with Juni and a few others. He and Juni aren’t an item yet, but they’ve been spending more and more time together, and she’s with him now. He says she’s helping him cope with his nightmares, that she’s taught him how to control his dreams, to keep the monsters of his subconscious at bay. But I think he’s more lustful than grateful — he’s practically bathing in that new after shave now!
I get my story straight before I hit Dervish with it. I say I saw Kik yesterday, near the D workshops. Tell him I think she found a way in, that she’s hiding inside, possibly trapped. “Maybe something fell on her. She could be pinned to the floor, crying out for help, nobody around to hear.”
Dervish doesn’t think she could get in — security’s too tight. But Juni says they should check it out. “Grubbs is right. It’s the one place we haven’t explored. If she did some-how sneak in, and had an accident...”
Neither Juni nor Dervish has the authority to enter the D workshops, so we go to Davida. We find her in her office, discussing the next day’s shoot with Chuda Sool. Davida’s tired and irritable — the delay has put her a day behind schedule. She hears us out, then shakes her head. “We already checked. Grubbs mentioned the D earlier, so the guards who were on duty this morning — and last night — were questioned. They all said they hadn’t seen her.”
“But they wouldn’t have if she snuck in,” Dervish
“It’s nothing,” I say, unclenching my fist to lay my pen down. “Let’s . . .”
Grey liquid drips from my hands onto the table. Bill-E pulls a face. “What’s that?” he asks. “It looks like mercury.”
I don’t reply. I’m staring at the liquid, the last few drops dripping from my fingers, black ink bubbling on my palms. It’s the remains of the pen. The steel ballpoint I was holding.
I melted it.
Night falls. Kik hasn’t been seen all day. Kuk’s not the only one worried about her now. Her father’s frantic. The search has intensified. The security forces have been deployed in earnest. Davida even suspended shooting so everyone could the search parties and help.
I’m with a group exploring the eastern end of town, going through all the real buildings, checking behind the façades of the fakes. Trying to focus on the search. Trying not to think about the pen and how I melted it. But I can’t
not
think about it. There
could
be a scientific explanation. But I’m certain the melting had nothing to do with science. It was
magic.
I’m not a natural magician. Dervish told me that only one or two real magicians are born every century. There are others like Dervish and Meera Flame — mages — with the potential to perform acts of magic, usually with the aid of spells. I could maybe do that. But I never have. I don’t care for magic. Plus, there hasn’t been time. Dervish was a zombie for more than a year, and hasn’t been up for teaching duties since he recovered.
So how did I melt the pen? There’s only one answer I can think of. When demons enter our universe, they affect the area where they cross. They’re creatures of magic, and that magic infects the world around them. When my parents were killed, I was able to tap into the magical, demonic energy and use it to escape. I did it again, later, in the secret cellar, when I fought Artery and Vein.
I think that’s happening now. There’s magic in the air — the magic of demons.
We don’t find Kik. The search concludes after midnight. Everybody turns in. Most people reckon she ran away. The guards say they’ll search for her beyond Slawter tomorrow, take Kuk and his father with them.
I haven’t told anyone about my fears. No point — I’d only be laughed at. But I can’t sit back and do nothing. I have to try to help Kik, assuming she
can
still be helped. So I track down Dervish. He’s been searching with Juni and a few others. He and Juni aren’t an item yet, but they’ve been spending more and more time together, and she’s with him now. He says she’s helping him cope with his nightmares, that she’s taught him how to control his dreams, to keep the monsters of his subconscious at bay. But I think he’s more lustful than grateful — he’s practically bathing in that new after shave now!
I get my story straight before I hit Dervish with it. I say I saw Kik yesterday, near the D workshops. Tell him I think she found a way in, that she’s hiding inside, possibly trapped. “Maybe something fell on her. She could be pinned to the floor, crying out for help, nobody around to hear.”
Dervish doesn’t think she could get in — security’s too tight. But Juni says they should check it out. “Grubbs is right. It’s the one place we haven’t explored. If she did some-how sneak in, and had an accident...”
Neither Juni nor Dervish has the authority to enter the D workshops, so we go to Davida. We find her in her office, discussing the next day’s shoot with Chuda Sool. Davida’s tired and irritable — the delay has put her a day behind schedule. She hears us out, then shakes her head. “We already checked. Grubbs mentioned the D earlier, so the guards who were on duty this morning — and last night — were questioned. They all said they hadn’t seen her.”
“But they wouldn’t have if she snuck in,” Dervish
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