Though I was a newbie to this city, I appreciated that in the center of town there was an old, dignified clock tower – one of those beautiful Georgian affairs that marked the center of town with a measure of old grace.
Unlike ordinary clock towers, on the hour, its bell rang to the exact count. That was if it was eight o’clock, the bell rang eight times. Now, the bell struck seven times. Which meant I had seven whole minutes until the next victim was killed.
I had never run so desperately in my life. Nor had I so frantically tried to call on my powers. Because that’s what I did now. Though I still had precious little idea how to summon them, I clenched my teeth and wished with all my might. I begged my clairvoyant ability to show itself. I gritted my teeth and wished for those fireflies to spark through my vision.
Except, nothing happened. I didn’t suddenly draw to a standstill as I entered the mind of the killer. Instead, I just ran. Ran.
Fortunately, this courtyard did have an exit. It wasn’t some grand magical trap. Nope, just a well-appointed garden belonging to one of the expensive hotels in town. I surprised quite a number of patrons when I suddenly burst through the door and into the lobby.
The checking staff looked up from behind the counter, shooting me suspicious looks.
I didn’t give them the opportunity to check me for stolen shampoo and hotel towels. I powered past, brushing past the doorman as I spilled out onto the street.
I was no runner – I preferred to get my exercise by arguing with Max. But you couldn’t tell that right now, because I dug deep and scrounged up every last reserve of energy. I ignored my panting breath and drumming heart and just ran.
All the time, I kept the crumpled photo in one hand, while I concentrated on my watch in the other. I saw the minutes tick down relentlessly. There was no reprieve. No reprieve.
I had 10 minutes left. Then nine, then eight.
Why wouldn’t it work? Why couldn’t I call on my power now, when I needed it most? What had I done this time? Yes, I turned away from Max, so was this my punishment?
I had no idea where I was running to – none. Yet, though I couldn’t appreciate it at that moment, I wasn’t headed in a random direction. Though I wasn’t consciously aware of my ability, it was still guiding me. Or maybe I was guiding it. Because I was determined – soul-crushingly determined not to let anything happen.
Everything became a blur, a blur of my goddamn ticking watch as my 10 minutes became five, then three, then two.
I found myself in a car yard.
Suddenly, I stopped. Before I could stream past and continue my frantic, useless run, for some reason, I hooked a right into the car yard.
It was deserted – it was after business hours, and all the employees had obviously gone home for the night. So why could I hear voices? High, stressed, terrified?
Following nothing but instinct, I ran full pelt into an open garage.
And there I found the owners of the voices.
A faceless man with a strange gun was facing off against two identical twins. Or at least, at first glance they appeared to be identical twins. At second glance? They were more than identical. It wasn’t that they simply looked alike – it was as if they were perfect mirror images of each other. For as one sneered, brought her hands back, and seemed to activate a magical ring on her index finger, the other did the exact same thing.
I hardly announced myself as I rushed in, and the garage was so chock full of cars that while I could see the man and women through a gap in two large red SUVs, they could not see me.
I didn’t have to look at my watch any longer to appreciate how little time I had left. Maybe a minute, maybe half a minute, maybe 10 seconds. I had to do something. I had to do something now.
I wasn’t thinking. It wasn’t as if I had any magical abilities, save for the rather hit-and-miss ability to sometimes see into the future and to sometimes see into the past. But I didn’t think of myself. All I thought of was the happy woman with the crinkly black hair and the crinkly smile from the photo.
As I ran past a workstation, I grabbed a crowbar. I also saw an opportunity – one of those dangling electronic levers that raise cars up. The controls were right by my hand. I shoved forward, and a second before I pressed the button, I saw myself doing it. So I jammed my thumb into the big blue button, and the large black sedan in front of me suddenly began to lift with a groan.
It was just in time – just in time. The faceless man suddenly fired. Except the bullet didn’t simply slam towards one of the witches. Instead, somehow, it split, heading towards both. While I couldn’t protect one of the women, I managed to save the other – the sedan drawing up in front of her and blocking the blow just in time.
I skidded to a halt by her side, trying to swallow my grief and horror as I expected the other woman to fall down, dead. Except, that’s not what happened. Even though the bullet struck her, it turned to dust, being eaten up by some kind of magical field.
The woman stared at me, and I spluttered in surprise as I skidded to a halt by her side.
“You’re in danger. You’re in danger. He’s about to kill you – about to
