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Granted, it’s not like I blew a hole in the machine or anything. Still, it was a lot stronger than the last time I tried to use magic. Something strange is definitely going on, not the least of which are shadow goblins trying to follow Pax.
“You okay?” whispers Paxton.
“Yeah.” I stare at the char mark on the top of the earthquake simulator cabinet. As enormous as the machine is, my accidental ‘strike’ hit a point at least fifteen feet away from the boys. It’s by no means a shot I’d have risked consciously. “Just startled by that sudden bang is all.”
“Was that you, ma?”
“Kinda. Not sure what happened.”
Things settle down after only a few minutes. The museum staff turns the machine back on and it’s none the worse for wear. Paxton’s class group makes their way out of the geology wing and into a room with a bunch of physics type displays—like an enormous pendulum tracing patterns in sand to demonstrate the rotation of the Earth.
Everything is normal for only another half hour… then a shadow goblin appears up in the rafters. Grr. These things are persistent. Hmm. I wonder…
Apparently, my magic really wants to be let out of the box today. That first lightning ball happened, I’m guessing, entirely as a reaction to my protection instincts kicking in. What’s going to occur if I actively try to nuke that thing? Control, Sam. Think control.
I keep the little fiend in view out of the corner of my eye, so it isn’t obvious I’ve seen it. The creature scurries along the exposed steel ceiling beams above us like a capuchin monkey, keeping itself close enough to not lose sight of Pax.
Okay, whatever you are. It’s time for you to go back from whence you came from.
Concentrating on magic like Allison’s been coaching me to, I focus my intent on the creature and build up the desire to zap it—only not with an enormous ball of lightning. A few seconds later, I raise my hand up as if to tuck my hair behind my ear and subtly point one finger at the shadow goblin.
A thin strand of lightning—or perhaps raw magical energy—instantly connects my fingertip to its forehead with a flash and a pop not too much louder than someone clapping their hands once. The noise barely registers over the din of all the kids and machines and people talking. It totally looked like a camera flash that time.
The shadow goblin explodes into a cloud of black smoke.
I’ve no idea if it’s a demon or something else. It kinda died like a demon, meaning there’s no body or physical remains left. If it is a demon, it’s not really dead… merely kicked back downstairs. To really kill it, I would need the Devil Killer.
Then again, these things might not be demons at all. I’ve never seen anything like them before.
No one around me notices the zapping… except Paxton. She didn’t actually notice the zap itself, but picked up on the satisfaction I felt at getting away with it and gave me a quizzical look. I made a finger gun and blew ‘smoke’ off the tip, which got her giggling.
Now she feels safe.
I don’t know what these creatures are… but I do know they’re not going to hurt anyone while I’m on duty.
For the next hour and a half, I follow the class while playing magical Johnny Ringo with these little bastards. Whenever they pop up, I zap them. By the time the class trip is preparing to head back to the school, I’ve gotten pretty good at being sneaky with the lightning.
Still not sure why my magical abilities decided to wake up or invent this new trick. It worked, but it’s left me feeling anxious. Why are these things after Pax? Also, why don’t they seem to care that I’ve blown almost thirty of them up into clouds of smoke? They haven’t done anything different despite me ‘killing’ them. No hostility from them… yet. They continue merely spying on us.
This is definitely strange. Thankfully, I specialize in strange.
Now all I need to do is figure out some answers...
Chapter Seven
So Many Questions
Things are relatively quiet for a day.
To no one’s surprise, the internet is sorely lacking on credible information about magic. I can’t throw away too much time while I am supposed to be working. Background checks are not the most exciting thing; however, I can’t lose the contract with the security company. Also, it wouldn’t be fair to Tammy to leave her doing most of it while I waste time Googling about magic.
It would be easier to justify if good information about magic actually existed out there online, but no such luck. Magic is not real… or so society generally believes. No one with any true knowledge of the supernatural posts about it openly on the internet. If something’s online, there’s a 99.999 percent chance it’s made-up nonsense. Some of it is so ridiculous it makes reality television seem genuine and not scripted.
Tammy and I burn the whole day working, one of the few times we legitimately put in an eight-hour day. Once my reasonable obligations are taken care of—at least for the time being—it’s time to scratch that annoying itch that’s been bothering me ever since I nearly burned out an earthquake simulator.
I text Allison to make sure it’s okay to drop by. As soon as she replies with ‘sure,’ I summon the dancing flame and step through into her living room.
She’s flopped on the sofa in an old T-shirt and sweat pants. Her hair is not ‘outside ready.’ Looks like she just woke up. This is how I know we are close friends. She does not freak out at me seeing her in this ‘condition.’
