Living Magic and Dead Mages: Chapter 2

An hour. She sat here and argued for an hour. Mike felt exhausted. That had been in the morning, and now it was late afternoon, and he stillfelt exhausted. He propped the door open, letting the warm afternoon air enter the stuff bookstore, while he got ready to close up.

“But these are comics and they’re collectibles,” he said in a high-pitched voice. “My son bought twenty copies!”

Mike grabbed the broom and started sweeping the wooden floor. “And didn’t you consider, Ma’am, that if your kidwas buying twenty copies, so was everyone else?” he shook his head. “Idiot—”

“Are you talking to yourself?” Mike whipped around to see the teen leaning up against the frame of the door. “I mean,” she continued, “If you’re wanting to go nuts and start talking to yourself, a bookstore isn’t the worst place to do it.”

“And if I did go nuts, Mandy?” Mike asked. “What then?”

Mandy giggled and walked up to him, giving him a quick kiss. “Well, I’d just have to tell people to avoid the bookstore on Fifth Avenue,” she said, dropping her voice on the last two words. Mandy pulled back and looked at Mike. “But seriously, what was the issue?”

“My son bought a ton of bad comics and now that he’s left home, I want to sell them,” Mike said. “Starting price, 10,000 a copy.”

“Ouch,” Mandy said. “And what did my boyfriend say?”

“Well, Ms. Chang, I told them that the boss was in on the weekend,” Mike replied.

Mandy giggled. She was shorter than Mike, barely coming up to his shoulder, with her bob of dark hair barely touching her shoulders. “You are going to get fired…”

“Nah, she’ll forget about it by the weekend,” Mike said. He grinned. “And what are you doing here?”

“Just got back from the trip with Cecelia and Diane,” Mandy said. “And I wondered if my boyfriend had survived my absence.”

Mike stared. “There’s no right way to answer that question.”

“Nope! So what was happening here while we were in LA?”

“Well, beyond the fact that I sold some romance novels, got a strange guy showing up who gave me…” Mike turned and walked to the counter and grabbed the book and staff. “This.”

“What the heck are those?” Mandy said. “Some kind of cosplay stuff he was trying to sell?”

“Dunno,” Mike said. He hefted the staff. “Whatever they are, they’re high quality. The book’s probably just a solid block of plastic with a cover on it—at least I couldn’t get it open.”

“And the staff?”

Mike chuckled and handed it to Mandy. Mandy wrapped her hands around the staff…

And then shrieked as it fell to the ground with a thud that sent tremors through the building.

“What the heck, Mike?” Mandy said. “Warn me before you hand me something that heavy.”

“Heavy?” Mike blinked. “Mandy, what are you talking about?” He reached down and grabbed the staff. “See, it’s not heavy…” Mike’s voice trailed off as he stared at the dent in the hardwood floor. “That’s… odd.”

“Have you been working out?” Mandy asked. “That thing weighs at least thirty pounds.”

“No,” Mike said. He raised the staff. “It doesn’t feel like it weighs thirty pounds…”

“I guess you have been working out,” Mandy said. She shrugged. “Wanna go home, catch a movie and get something to eat?”

“My home or your home?”

“Your folks are still out, aren’t they?” Mandy said, walking over and pressing up against Mike. “I think that answers that question. Or we could go to my house and try to have a romantic time… until my little sister demands you play a game with her.”

Mike winced. “Okay, you got me. My home. Just let me close up here.”

“You do that, and I’ll keep a watch out for angry mothers carrying comic books.”

“Let me know in time to lock the door,” Mike called.

*****

By the time Mike got out, the sun had dipped below the mountain range, casting the town into shadow. Most of the stores on the street closed up early, so there were only a few people wandering around, most of them hurrying home, or walking towards Main Street and downtown, where they could get to the more popular stores and restaurants, as well as the nightlife—or what nightlife Stallen had.

Which wasn’t much.

Mike locked the door and then presented his arm to Mandy. “Shall we go?”

“Of course,” Mandy said. She smiled up at him. “I always enjoy walking with my noble boyfriend.”

Mike chuckled. “And how are you handling the last summer before college?”

“Got one more month and then it’s time to head back east,” Mandy said. She shivered. “Back East, where it’s cold. I could have gone to UCLA, but no! I have to go to a high-class college where the snow is going to be up to here!” she raised a hand, indicating a level just above her head.

“You like skiing,” Mike said.

“Sure, where there’s a nice warm lodge. Where we can drive back down the mountain into the land of 80-degree weather.”

“So why didn’t you?” Mike asked.

“Mom has a burr up her butt about the biochem program,” Mandy said. “It’s better and has a Nobel Prize winning department head…” she shook her head. “And I’m certain he’ll be teaching all the freshmen classes.” She sighed. “At least it has a decent history department.”

“You know, you like history more than biology, so why not…” Mike shrugged. “Go for it as its major?”

“I like eating and having a nice house,” Mandy said. “No money in history, and the job market is totally impacted.” She paused. “I mean, remember Mr. Jenson?”

“History teacher?” Mike shrugged. “Sure, since we were in his class just two months ago.”

“Yeah. He coaches football, and has a side job tutoring, and that’s with a master’s degree.” Mandy shrugged. “I like history, but Mom’s right, I can always do history in my spare time andnot have to try to get food stamps.” She pointed at Mike. “What about you?”

“No idea,” Mike said.

Mandy rolled her eyes. “No idea? You’re starting school in a month!”

“Sure, and the first two years are pretty much getting all the stuff everyone has to take out of the way.” Mike shrugged. “So, no sense in worrying about your major until then. Least ways, that’s what Mom says.”

Mandy hugged Mike. “Can your parents adopt me?”

“Wouldn’t that hurt our dating?”

“Good point.” Mandy nodded. “We’ll have to break up.”

“Wow,” Mike said. “I thought we were going to do that halfway through college.”

“I—” Mandy stared. “You’re still worried about that?”

“I’m in LA, and you’ll be in Boston.” Mike shook his head. “You know how those stories go.”

“Well, I won’t betray you—” Mandy stared at Mike. “It’ll be you. You’re setting me up.” The short girl put her hand to her head, staggering back. “You’ve already found the harlot you’re going to go with. Tall, blond, from Sweden, with boobs out to here!” She started spinning around. “The betrayal! Oh, the horror! I’ll be in my room, and you’ll butt-dial me and I’ll hear you, and, and, her!”

“Mandy…” Mike looked and waved to a lone person walking their dog. “People are staring…”

“Person,” Mandy said. “Just person.”

“I’m staring as well.”

“Pedant. Besides, I’m your girlfriend. You’re supposed to stare. But fine. People. But doesn’t my sorrow mean anything to you?”

“Okay,” Mike said, holding out his arms as Mandy fell into him, pretending to faint. “I won’t betray you for a Swedish girl. Will you betray me for a Swedish guy? You’re on the East Coast, so you’re more likely to run into one.” He paused. “And really? Harlot?”

“Hey, you said it yourself. I like history.” Mandy pulled away from Hank and grinned. “Don’t worry, we’ll stay together.”

“Well, who am I to distrust my loyal girlfriend.”

“Your smart, beautiful girlfriend, you mean.” Mandy started tugging Mike down the road. “C’mon. I may have graduated, but if we go for too long, I’m still going to get panicked phone calls about where we are.”

“Right,” Mike said. They had passed the last of the businesses while Mandy had been showing off her acting skills and were now in the residential part of town.

Mike and Mandy lived in the older part of town, large houses built in the 1950s and 1960s set back from street. Behind them, the glow of downtown was bright against the darkening sky.

“Like the staff,” Mandy said. “It’s super heavy, but it looks nice.”

“Yeah,” Mike said. “I kept thinking that the guy will jump out with a camera.” He chuckled. “Should have done his research though. He kept asking me about the house at the end of Eagle Road.”

“What?” Mandy blinked. “Eagle Road?” She frowned. “There’s never been any house on Eagle Road.”

“I know, just the road going up and dead-ending into nowhere,” Mike said. Pretty odd, though.It was a good road, and evidently someone was maintaining it, because Mike never noticed any holes or cracks in it when he’d been biking by on the way to high school. Mike shrugged. “But he went all out. Even had a fake picture of the place with this neat fade-in effect.”

“Some kind of viral marketing for a movie?” Mandy asked. “Go to a bunch of places, talk about the house, and drop off some fancy stuff?”

Mike nodded. “Could be. Seems kinda expensive.”

“Depends on how big the movie is.” Mandy grinned. “Hey, maybe they’re planning on actually shooting a film here, and the guy was scouting for extras.”

“I would be…” Mike raised the staff. “The mysterious wizard!!” He slammed the staff down and suddenly the crystal flared, bright enough to cause Mike’s eyes to water.

“Ouch!” Mandy said, shielding her eyes. “Watch the power, Merlin!”

“Sorry,” Mike said. “I…” He felt the crystal. “It’s not hot… some kind of LED?

“Dunno,” Mandy said. “But it sure seems a bit more than you’d be giving out for a PR stunt.”

“Yeah.” Mike shook his head. “I hope this isn’t something the guy stole.”

“Well, I think he’d be a little more careful,” Mandy said. “I—are those coyotes?”

Mike opened his mouth, then closed it. There were barks and yips in the air, but they didn’t sound like coyotes. They sounded…

Different.

And it was then that Mike looked around. “Mandy… when did it get foggy?”

Because it was. Mike could see the tendrils of vapor rising above the pavement and around the neighborhood, twirling around lights and trees.

It was getting thicker. It was getting thicker, fast.

And it was cold. Mandy shivered and leaned into Mike. “It was hot today, and this is California, how the hell…”

“I don’t know,” Mike said. He sniffed and then sneezed. “Can you smell that?”

“Sweet,” Mandy said. “Rotten. Like the time fridge died and nobody noticed it until the end of the week.” She pulled out her phone. “I’m going to cal—huh, no connection?” She swallowed. “Okay, this is pretty weird.”

“Yeah,” Mike shook his head. “Let’s get to my house.“

“Good idea—” Mandy fell silent as a burst of yips and howls came through the fog, and now it was so thick that he couldn’t see the pavement even though the mist was only waist high. The moon and stars were casting a pale light over everything, while the street lights…

Mike looked up. The streetlights seemed to be shrouded in the fog like it was climbing up the poles and smothering the streetlights.

Okay, that’s weird. That’s weird and creepy.

And then there was a howl and…

Mandy cried out. “What the fuckis that!”

Mike stared at the… thing that had just come into the road.

It looked like a dog. Sort of. The body was too long and lean to be a dog.

And the eyes were glowing red. That was sort of important.

But even worse, the dog was made of fog. It seemed to be denser than the surrounding fog, but it was fog. Behind him, one of the street lights flared and died, plunging the street into greater darkness.

And then another dog, and another, appeared next to the first one.

Mike raised the staff, the metal cold under his fingers.

“What are you going to do?” Mandy asked. “Cast a spell on them?”

“Nah, hit them really hard,” Mike replied. “Fuck… what are they?” Maybe some kind of special effect? Maybe this isa prank? If it was, it wasn’t funny. Mike could feel Mandy shivering, and he knew why. There was something about the dogs. They didn’t feel like a special effect, they felt real. And they were very creepy.

“Let’s just… Walk home.” Mike kept between Mandy and the… whatever the hell they were. “If we run, they might—”

And that was when, with a howl, the shadowy forms attacked.

*****

Mike raised the staff and swung it as the first dog jumped for him, its body seeming to float through the air.

The staff hit it and almost flew from Mike’s hand because there was no resistance. The tip flared with light and suddenly the dog was flying into shreds of vapor, howling in pain.

“Okay, let’s ru—”

“Mike!” Mandy’s scream was the only thing that save him. Mike spun around to see the dog that he’d hit, just reforming out of the fog, and leaping at him again, its red eyes blazing with hatred.

“Fuck!” Hank shouted, and this time he stabbedit with the tip of the staff.

And suddenly, the crystal blazedwith light, as bright as lightning. The entire street was illuminated by it…

And the dog howled in agony, impaled on the staff, writhing and struggling…

But it didn’t help it. Its body just seemed to be shredded by the light, fading out, even as it struggled and fought to pull itself towards Mike and Mandy.

The last thing to vanish were its eyes, hatefully glaring out at Mike.

And then it was gone. Mike spun around to see the other dogs were gone, as was the fog—nope. It’s coming back. It was rising up, replacing the fog that the light of the staff had banished.

“Can you use that again?” Mandy asked.

“I…” Mike lifted the staff up. Nothing. “Light!” he shouted. “Fire! Make with the sparky-sparky!”

“Sparky-sparky?” Mandy asked.

Mike glared at her. “You wanna try?”

“No, I think we need to run to your house.”

Mike nodded. They were closer to home than they were to the bookstore, and every store along the road was closed and locked up. There’d be no help in that direction.

“Yeah. We probably—” Another set of yips and howls interrupted him. “Yeah. We need to go.” He grabbed Mandy by her free hand. “Hang on to the book.” Mike looked around and nodded. “Let’s go.” The two teens started running down the road, and behind them, the fog rose, indistinct shapes following them.