road. Swerving around him, I opened my passenger window waved, yelling for him to stop.
The small car sped up.
As I gave chase, I considered shooting him. I could probably bounce a metal bolt in such a way it would pierce the glass and spill its contents on the driver without actually hitting him. There were a lot of variables though, and while I could get away with a lot in my job, even I would get in trouble for shooting a victim for his own protection. Besides, I had no way to control his car. He’d likely end up in worse shape than the victims already affected by the waitress’s spell.
Behind me, three sets of blue lights throbbed in the growing darkness.
Apparently just follow me and hope I pull over. Well, I would as soon as the silver sedan did. Which meant we made a nasty gang of cars flying down the quiet road at breakneck speeds.
Finally the sedan made an abrupt right. I’d been waiting for the move but it still left me wrenching the steering wheel. The Hummer shuddered as it slid into the turn, at least one tire losing contact with the ground.
It didn’t.
I swung it back on the road, still following the silver sedan. Behind me, two of the cops made the turn. I wasn’t sure what happened to the third, but I imagined he’d be joining us soon.
The sedan pulled into the vacant parking lot of a golf course, but even though his car stopped, he didn’t get out. I gave him points for picking a public place to stop—if you think someone is a crazy killer you shouldn’t lead them to your house—but I took away points for it being empty. The clubhouse ahead of me was dark, the course and parking lot lit only by security lighting. I put the Hummer in park but I didn’t cut the engine.
Behind me, the two remaining cop cars skidded to a halt and the officers poured out hot, guns out and ready for action. They barricaded themselves behind their open doors as four guns pointed at the Hummer.
I pulled my ID and badge out of my pocket, unrolled my window and held both my hands—one open to prove I was unarmed and one holding my badge—out of the car.
“I’m MCIB,” I yelled through the window and hoped they could hear it over their adrenaline. “I’m unarmed and I’m coming out. Don’t shoot.” I double-checked that my weapons were hidden under spells and then twisted my arm so I could open the Hummer from the outside, never letting my hands leave the cops’ views. No one shot up my door, so I took that as a good sign and slid out of the vehicle.
Still no shots, but the cops still had their guns drawn.
“I’m Magic Crimes Investigation Bureau,” I told them again and they looked from one to the other. Finally one of the older men made a waving motion and his partner ran forward, his gun still out but at least pointed at the ground and not me. When he reached me he held out his hand and I handed him my credentials.
“She’s legit,” he said after studying the badge and ID extensively.
With his announcement the other cops dropped and holstered their guns; they kept them unsnapped though, as if they expected to need to draw fast again soon. I ignored the implication.
“So he’s a suspect?” one officer asked, pointing at the idling silver sedan.
“Actually, a victim, but I don’t think he realizes that fact yet.” Still, I’d learned a long time ago not to allow a victim carrying an unknown spell to wander around unobserved. You could tie up a case only to discover a new problem had spawned. “He needs to go to a magical containment ward at the hospital.”
The cop glanced from me to the sedan before shrugging and approaching the car. The driver didn’t immediately unroll the window let alone get out. It took the officer knocking on his window twice before the man finally cracked it. The man then went on a too-fast diatribe about how I was a psychotic murderer. I didn’t bother listening beyond the fact that his name was Justin. Sometime during the panicked retelling, the third police car arrived. They seemed more than a little confused by the scene, but didn’t stay long once it was obvious there would be no more car chases and no firefights.
“Sir, please get out of the car,” the officer told the still frantic man.
He refused at first, but like most good, law-abiding people, did as the officer requested. I watched the proceeding idly. As long as Justin made it to a secured location where he’d not only be safe from the magic that I’d seen infect him but everyone else would be safe as well, then my job was done. The police could take it from this point. I had other things I needed to do. Like interview my suspect.
Pushing away from the hood of the Hummer, I turned to go but something caught in the corner of my eye.
What the hell?
I scanned the shadow pooling around the sedan, the man, the cop. There were enough lights in the parking lot that shadows were short, but the man’s shadow appeared to be growing. I squinted. It also appeared to be boiling.
“Get him out of the shadow,” I yelled, launching myself into a full-out run.
Justin and the cops looked at me, stunned. Worse, they didn’t move.
I wasn’t far away, but I wasn’t fast enough. The shadow boiled over and a gaseous figure emerged. Well, I’d been looking for one of these creatures. Now I had one.
At the creature’s appearance the cop stumbled back, out of the shadow, but Justin stood there, his eyes going wide and his mouth opening in a wordless scream. The creature had no features, but it had no trouble zeroing in on a victim. It lifted what vaguely passed as an arm and swung gaseous talons toward Justin’s chest.
I grabbed him by the shoulders and threw us both backward. The talons passed within inches of us while we fell, and I summoned my crossbow. I squeezed and the bolt shot outward, taking the creature in the chest. Purple lightning passed through the shadow and it paused, but didn’t stop.
I hit the ground but used my momentum to keep moving, and rolled over on my shoulder. I landed on my feet in a crouch, another bolt in my hand, but before I could aim, gunfire sounded behind me. A bullet whizzed by and I ducked low. My jacket was spelled to be bulletproof, but that didn’t mean I wanted to get hit—it would hurt like hell. Justin had pressed himself completely flat on the pavement, but he was still dangerously close to the shadows, not to mention the rain of bullets.
“There are people here!” The words didn’t have any effect on the amount of gunfire flying around us.
As the cops seemed intent on emptying their clips, I needed to get out of the line of fire. Dropping, I rolled toward my Hummer. The pavement scraped against my hands, but it took only two rolls to get mostly clear. I ran the last few yards and ducked by the front tire.
The sound of an approaching engine tore my attention from the creature and to Officer Russell Lancaster as he jumped out of his car and ran toward the cover of my Hummer. He had his gun out and at the ready. I looked at it and shook my head.
“You shouldn’t be here, and please do not fire at the creature—there is already enough wasted lead in Justin’s car.”
“I wanted to help.” He sounded very young as he said it, and I tried to force a kind smile to my face.
“You helped already. Go home.”
The sound of guns clicking empty filled the parking lot, and I rose, looking to see if anyone was reloading. They all appeared out.
Charging at the creature, I summoned my crossbow again, this time with a knockout bolt. The shot passed through what passed for its head. No effect.
The creature struck at chest level when I approached, which I anticipated, so I went low, driving the dagger up into the hazy shape. For a moment veins of ice crystals spread around the blade.
I withdrew the dagger, aiming a side kick at the shadow as I holstered the blade. My foot slid into the
