Nightmare Stalkers (Magic Trackers Book 2) Read online

  “It wasn't pretty,” Destiny said.

  She scribbled down some facts and drew lines connecting them. I could tell she was thinking hard.

  “What time did it happen?” Darius asked. “That might be a clue.”

  “Seven,” Destiny said. “The clock in the dream rang seven times.”

  “Seven in the morning or seven at night?” he asked.

  “It's daylight savings time,” Destiny said quickly. “It's dark at both times.”

  Darius clucked his tongue and shook his head.

  “Well, it’s three thirty in the morning now, so…”

  “I follow you,” I said. “Probably not a bad idea to roll out to the depot to see what's up.”

  “Are you sure?” Allegra asked. “I don't want anyone else to get hurt.”

  I put my hand on her shoulder.

  “Honey, if we don't investigate, more people will get hurt,” I said.

  Allegra looked at me as if she were gathering her courage. Then she smiled.

  “Don't worry,” Darius said. “We’ll make sure nothing happens to you.”

  He snapped his fingers, and green magic swirled around them.

  Allegra’s eyes widened.

  “And my little raunchy sister here is a shifter,” Darius said. “Anybody messes with you, she'll turn into a zebra at a moment’s notice.”

  He threw his head back and did his best zebra impersonation.

  “Gi-yi-yi-yi-yi-gaaaaaah!”

  “Funny,” Destiny said.

  “You three are an interesting team,” Allegra said.

  “Get some sleep,” I said, rising. “Blankets are on the couch. If you need food, the pantry’s yours. We’ll leave here at six.”

  Allegra glanced at the clock.

  “That's only two hours from now,” she said.

  “When you run with us, you run low on sleep,” I said.

  I turned off one of the lights in the kitchen.

  “You gonna be okay?” I asked.

  Allegra nodded.

  “Sleep tight,” I said.

  5

  We woke at dawn and packed into a ride share, yawning as the snowy city passed.

  And the city woke up with us, shutters rising on storefronts, sleepy shop owners carrying garbage into their alleys, the streets slowly clogging into their true congested potential.

  Subway cars ricketed by on an overpass, the rising sun glinting off their graffitied bodies.

  The glass sides of the tall buildings looked like they were on fire as the sun touched them for the first time in twelve hours. Sheaves of ice slid down their sides, breaking on the street.

  My city at dawn. The place where I was born, and the place I was damn sure I was gonna die.

  Funny thing was, this happened every morning. I just didn't get to see it that often. There was something special about a city waking up, getting ready to take on all the day’s shit. Because let's face it: from the contents of Allegra’s dream, there was about to be a lot of it.

  Kemiston Central Station came up quickly, a massive brown building with two-story-tall griffin statues on the walls overlooking the string of traffic that flowed by the building.

  The building’s tall, arched windows had green and red lights pulsing inside them, with the words “Merry Christmas” flashing every few seconds.

  We bypassed the traffic and turned into a U-shaped concourse, slowly maneuvering toward the ride share drop-off near the Kemiston Farmer’s Market, a giant indoor market that was in season year round.

  Darius and Destiny munched on some homemade egg and cheese breakfast croissants that I had warmed up before we left. Allegra sipped coffee from an insulated stainless steel bottle.

  The ride share driver let us out and we gathered on the sidewalk as the last remnants of night disappeared in the sunrise.

  A chilling wind blew so hard it almost knocked me over.

  I flipped up my collar and turned away as the subzero blast ripped right through me.

  When it faded, Darius and Destiny cursed.

  “Gaaaahdamn,” Darius said. “I'm not about to wait around for the next gust. What's the plan?”

  “We need to head to the depot,” I said. “That's where it happened.”

  I started to reply, but the wind blew again, and we braced ourselves, waiting for it to pass.

  “Gotta love our lake effect weather,” Destiny said.

  The wind blew again and we ran to the Farmer’s Market entrance, a long, converted horse stable whose doors were open.

  We entered the Farmer’s Market, an emporium of product stands. The smell of water-kissed fruits and vegetables was heavy in the air.

  We gathered near a stand filled with broccoli.

  “What's the time?” I asked.

  “Six fifty-two,” Darius said.

  “Plenty of time if we walk fast,” Destiny said.

  Darius folded his arms.

  “How does this place connect with the dream?” he asked.

  “It doesn't,” Allegra said. “I don't remember seeing this area in the dream.”

  “The dream started in the central station,” I said. “We moved into the depot after that.”

  I pointed to a sign that led toward the depot.

  “Let's get moving,” I said.

  We passed through the produce section, into another converted stable full of magical charm vendors.

  As we passed, a few vendors called out.

  “Self-defense charms!”

  “Weed lotion. Unlock the power of you.”

  “Depot special! Two for the price of one!”

  The stable glowed from the magic of charms—infused precious stones that one hung around the neck or wore on the wrist. Some were even powders you could ingest. Each had its pros and cons.

  “It's amazing what some of the alchemists come up with,” Allegra said. “I've bought a lot of charms here.”

  Charms were helpful for anyone, but especially for people who couldn't use magic. In some cases, like with self-defense charms, they leveled the playing field. If I was a woman like Allegra, I'd have bought every charm in the place.

  We passed from the charm stable into the meat section, a freezing cold stable with cuts of chicken, pork, and beef hanging in meat lockers. We passed quiet, sullen farmers who didn't bother calling out to us.

  We reached a ramp that led up several steps into a long hallway with murals of a long locomotive on the walls. A picturesque, it showed hundreds of people gathered at the base of the train—a conductor, running to jump aboard, a man and woman carrying luggage, smiling gaily, a shoe shiner, a news boy.

  They were all white, of course.

  We followed the long mural into the depot.

  The depot looked exactly as it did in the dream; enclosed glass and rivets that glimpsed out at the snowy city. A long train platform that used to function as a station for locomotives. The rusting tracks were replaced with subway tracks, the old handwritten arrivals and departures were replaced with digital screens and televisions. Aside from that, little had changed.

  A few small crowds of people had gathered, waiting for the next train. Most of them were in uniform, ready to take the train to work.

  I hadn't been here in a few years. Kemiston Central Station was a little too close to downtown for my liking. Too many tourists, downtown hipsters in a hurry, beggars, and pickpockets. But it was beautiful.

  “How does it look?” Darius asked.

  “The same,” I said.

  I looked around for Destiny.

  She was gone.

  A German Shepherd trotted up to me and Allegra, sniffing us both.

  Allegra bent down to pet it.

  “That was fast,” I said to the dog.

  The dog lolled its tongue.

  Then it barked and growled at Darius.

  “I dare you to start something,” he said.

  The dog ventured away from us, sniffing the ground and following its nose.

  I jammed my h
ands in my pockets.

  “Time?” I asked.

  “Six fifty-seven,” Darius said, checking his phone.

  Destiny skirted the edge of the platform, weaving between several people waiting for the next train. Someone pretended to kick the dog, told it to shoo.

  I glanced at a digital screen with arrival and departure times.

  “The next train should be arriving at six fifty-nine,” I said.

  As soon as I said it, the ground shook slightly.

  A piercing white light appeared in the arched tunnel in the distance.

  My heart beat fast.

  The white light made me shield my face.

  Allegra and Darius did the same thing.

  An intercom sounded.

  “Train approaching the station.”

  “Something’s not right,” I said.

  “Train approaching the station,” the intercom said.

  The people lined up on the platform in anticipation of the train.

  I expected screams, but there were none.

  Instead, a regular subway car blew past and slowed to a stop, carrying a handful of people in each car.

  The doors opened and the crowd gathered on the platform streamed into the car.

  Destiny trotted to my side and nudged me on the knee. I pushed her away.

  We stared, mouths agape at the subway car as the doors closed and it pulled away from the station.

  “That wasn’t supposed to happen,” Allegra said. “Is it morbid that I was expecting death?”

  “I was thinking the same morbid thoughts,” I said.

  Somewhere, a clock chimed.

  Bong…

  Bong…

  Bong…

  Bong…

  Bong…

  Bong…

  Bong…

  Then the intercom chimed.

  “Welcome to Kemiston Central Station. We have extended our hours for the holidays to serve you better…”

  “This didn’t happen like it was supposed to,” I said. “And for now, that’s a good thing. Right? Right?”

  Darius shrugged. “I see this as a victory. It means we can finally have faith in the Kemiston Transit Authority for being on time.”

  Allegra breathed a sigh of relief. “At least no one died.”

  “Yet,” Darius said.

  Allegra’s face transformed from a smile into a frown.

  “The clock chimed seven times in the dream, right?” Darius asked. “That means if it didn’t happen this morning, it’s definitely gonna happen tonight. Means we got twelve hours to figure out what’s going on, or shit’s gonna go down for real.”

  “Thank you for stating our situation so eloquently,” I said.

  “Maybe we should go to the police,” Allegra said.

  “That would be a mistake,” I said. “When it comes to magical crimes, it’s best to have a reason to go to them. If you tell them you’ve been having strange dreams, you’ll just put yourself in the psychiatric ward. Mmm mmm. Better to have proof.”

  I looked down at Destiny.

  “Anything?” I asked.

  Destiny turned around and walked toward the other end of the depot.

  We followed her, weaving around columns until we reached the end of the platform, where a spiral ramp led up into the main concourse of the station.

  We ran up the ramp, where the majestic splendor of the first floor awaited—the place where Allegra’s dream began.

  The marble floors reflected the morning light. Christmas music played from speakers overhead. Despite the hour, there weren’t many people in the concourse.

  Destiny barked.

  In the distance, a figure in a black hoodie hurried through the concourse. It wore a skateboard and backpack.

  “It’s just a teenager,” I said.

  Destiny barked again and growled.

  In a flash, she took off toward the figure, barking.

  A transit authority guard saw the dog and yelled, “Dogs aren’t allowed in here!”

  He took off running after Destiny.

  “Great,” I said. “Now we’ve got an animal control problem.”

  The figure saw Destiny running after her and unhooked the skateboard from the backpack and threw it down, jumping on it.

  “No skateboarding!” the guard cried.

  The floor sloped downward and the skateboarder picked up speed, barreling toward the front doors. Destiny hit the ramp and picked up speed too.

  “Darius, can you hit him with a spell?” I asked.

  “If I want to go to jail,” he asked. “I can’t just hit some random person with a spell, cuz.”

  “Cast a spell and lock the door,” Allegra said.

  “That too would get me in trouble,” Darius said. “Let’s hope Destiny can stop him.”

  The skateboarder reached a steep set of stairs that led up to the front doors. Flipping the skateboard into his hands, he dashed up the stairs.

  But Destiny gained on him.

  WOOF!

  She sank her teeth into his backpack.

  The figure slid out of the straps and pulled it.

  Destiny growled as she pulled back.

  Riiiip…

  Something tore.

  The skateboarder dashed up the stairs and pushed the metal doors open into the sunlight.

  Destiny sat at the foot of the stairs, a black fabric in her mouth.

  Darius tore past her, flew up the stairs, and burst out of the door.

  The guard caught up with Allegra and me just as we reached Destiny.

  “This your dog?” the guard asked.

  I was too busy panting to reply.

  “What the hell’s the matter with you, bringing dogs in here?” he asked. “Come with me. I’m turning you over to the authorities. There’s a ticket with your name on it waiting for you.”

  Destiny barked, growled, and morphed into her human form. The black fabric hung from her mouth.

  She pulled it out.

  “I’m nobody’s dog,” she said.

  The guard frowned.

  “Why didn’t you say so?” he asked. “Again, what the hell are you kids doing here?”

  “Nothing,” I said. “We’ll be out of your hair soon enough.”

  “No, no, you’re coming with me,” he said.

  I nudged Allegra, then pulled her arm.

  We took off running before the guard could catch us.

  “Get back here!” he cried. “You’re on the cameras. Don’t think we won’t catch you.”

  We broke through the doors, outside into the subzero air.

  Darius stood on the sidewalk among a long line of buses and taxis. He was doubled over, his hands on his knees.

  “He got away,” he said.

  “Bigger issues,” I said as we ran down the stairs.

  Darius glanced back.

  “Aww, shit,” he said. “What the hell did y’all do?”

  “Bus!” I cried.

  We ran to a metro bus parked on the curb. We passed a crowd of people pouring off.

  We swiped our bus passes, and I threw in some change for Allegra.

  The bus pulled away, and we watched as the guard ran alongside the bus, beating the windows.

  But it was too late.

  We settled into seats, trying to catch our breath as the bus eased into the morning’s rush hour traffic.

  6

  We walked straight to the back of the bus. There were only a few people onboard.

  “We’ll have some quiet back there,” I said.

  “Let's plan on transferring in a few stops just in case that guard sends some police after us,” Destiny said.

  I plopped into the rearmost seat, happy to see Kemiston Central Station far behind us.

  “Things got weird pretty quick,” I said.

  “Tell me about it,” Allegra said. “Darius, where did that guy go?”

  Darius shrugged. “He jumped on his skateboard and took off toward Tucker Street. I lost him in a crowd of p
eople at the crosswalk. He looked suspicious as fuck, though.”

  “Something was off about him,” Destiny said. “My canine senses pointed me directly at him.”

  The bus hit a pothole, jolting us around.

  “Was he just suspicious or was he suspicious in relation to us?” I asked. “There are plenty of suspicious people in the subway terminals.”

  Destiny sighed angrily and held out her hand.

  On it was the black fabric.

  I took the ripped fabric, inspected it. Imprinted on it was a pattern of golden spiders. Their bulbous bodies were human skulls. The gold shone when the sunlight hit it.

  “There's a company name,” she said, pointing at a small printed name: Leather Skull, LLC.

  “Never heard of it,” Darius said. “And trust me, I know street fashion.”

  He unzipped his puffy coat, showing off a t-shirt with glittering dollar bills on it.

  “Umm, no,” Destiny said.

  “Leather Skull,” Allegra said, pulling out her smartphone. “Apparently, they're an apparel shop specializing in one-of-kind prints.”

  We all pulled out our smartphones.

  “I'm not pulling it up,” I said, craning to get a look at Allegra’s phone.

  “Me either,” Destiny said.

  “I just searched for the company name,” Allegra said, shrugging. “They're located at 789 Wynecia Street.”

  “Not familiar with that street,” Darius said.

  All three of us knew the city very, very well. It was rare for us to encounter a street that we hadn't at least heard of before.

  “It's about twenty minutes from here,” Allegra said. “If we hop off in three stops, it should be walkable.”

  Darius groaned.

  “It's colder than a motherfucker out there, man,” he said.

  “Rub your hands together and get ready,” Destiny said.

  “Let's hit the shop, see what we can find, and decide from there what we want to do,” I said.

  “Only problem is they don't open until eleven,” Allegra said.

  Darius whistled.

  “Kemiston Memorial Hospital is on the way there,” he said. “Can I make a suggestion?”

  “No,” Destiny said.

  “Listen, it’s early enough that there won't be a line,” he said. “We’ll be in and out by the time The Leather Skull opens.”