Justice Served Cold: An Urban Fantasy Action Adventure (Rewriting Justice Book 1) Page 12

  “A hit crew,” Leira whispered.

  “A what?”

  “A group paid to kill people. Mercenaries. Very hush, hush,” she replied. “Looks like someone sent them after us. They are the dark magic kind.”

  The men hadn’t spotted Leira or Correk behind the Mustang, so they slowly walked into the center of the lot with their wands out, ready for anything. Leira, pressed her back against the Mustang as she pulled energy from the ground and whirled her hands over each other, forming a large fireball with a glowing orange ring in the center and the intention, Find Your Target.

  Leira nodded at Correk and stood up, spinning to face the hitmen. Before they could lift a wand she threw the fireball and it split into three as it flew toward the men. The first segment hit one of the wizards in the head and blood splattered the ground as his body crumpled into a pile. The second was batted away, the wizard swishing his wand as he dove to the side. The third hit the target in the shoulder, sending him crashing into a fence along the edge of the property.

  “Go,” Correk yelled and both he and Leira sprinted toward the wizards, magic flying in all directions. Leira shot streaks of light from her hands and one wrapped around a wizard’s ankles, tangling his feet and causing him to fall to the ground. She stopped and took a deep breath, holding her hands out in front of her and letting the magic stream to him.

  “Cover him in light,” she whispered.

  The light swirled over his feet and up his body and he screamed in agony. As the energy moved over his face he felt a peace he couldn’t recognize. The dark magic inside of him roared out, intertwining with the light. There was a loud crack and Leira opened her eyes to find a tear leading into the World In Between hovering over his body. She swallowed hard, feeling the dark magic pull her closer as the hitman was sucked inside.

  Correk looked at her, energy burning in his chest as light exploded from Leira. He sent a fireball hurtling at another hitman, striking him hard in the chest and killing him where he stood. Another of the mercenaries ran for his teammate but was unable to pull him from the void. Suddenly a claw reached out and hooked his wrist and the mercenary screamed, shooting magic at the beast’s hand to try to get away, but the beast was too strong and he was pulled into the gelatinous goo that seeped onto the cracked asphalt from the rift.

  Leira’s toes barely touched the ground as she slowly slid toward the opening and Correk ran to her side, sending a strong stream of light at the wizard standing to his left conjuring a spell. The light struck the man in the chest and he fell to the ground, his eyes still open but no life left in him. Correk grabbed Leira’s arm and pushed his energy through her to bring her back down.

  Leira could sense the warmth of Correk’s touch on her arm, but it felt like it was light-years away. The light twisted and turned within the dark magic in front of her like a dance. She was fascinated, almost hypnotized by it, but a jolt of electricity shot up her arm from her bracelet and woke her from that trance. She could feel Correk now, and as the energy seeped back into the ground her feet touched the asphalt. She shook her head, the glow in her eyes dimming and looked at the rift as it sealed shut, revealing the last hitman—the one from the fence— gripping his wand firmly.

  Before Leira could move, he shot a ball of black ooze toward them. Her eyes grew wide as it spiraled toward Correk. Without thought, she brought up her arm and sent a stream of light toward the ball and the two collided, twisting together for a moment before exploding in mid-air. The force blew the goo backward and it hit the mercenary, covering him from head to foot like tar. He screamed, putting his hands to his face and clawing at the bubbling mixture until his body turned to dust.

  “Well, that was a first.” Correk looked at Leira.

  “That was a lot of firsts,” Leira replied. “First gooey mess, and first time we’ve been cornered. Shit is starting to get crazy.”

  Correk sighed. “New problems.”

  “Which mean new rules.”

  Louie hopped off the bus and headed down the street, following the directions he had been given. He pulled his hood up over his head and shoved his hands into his pockets, feeling a bit nervous about what he had decided to do. Leira was being attacked at every turn by Sirius and the dark families. They had no time to focus on the upcoming Golden Age, when the portals would begin to open. He had to do something about that, so he was meeting with the dark family Sirius used to belong to.

  He turned down a darkened alley, leaving the steady flow of foot traffic on the streets. In the distance, he could hear a band playing on the Navy Pier and sirens. He took another couple of steps but stopped when he heard the shuffle of feet ahead. Two witches appeared, walking slowly, their hoods pulled up over their heads. Louie swallowed hard when he felt the hum of his sword, which was carefully tucked in its sheath on his back…just in case.

  “You want to make a deal,” one of the witches stated and pushed back her hood, which left her long red hair flowing over her shoulders.

  “It depends,” Louie replied, glancing at the other. He recognized her from one of the battles.

  “This is our leader Agnes, and you can speak to her directly,” the first witch told him, taking a step back.

  Agnes tilted her head, narrowing her eyes as she read the energy flowing around Louie. She could tell he had good intentions, but there was still a mixture of dark and light inside him. He was a wizard; not an exceptional one, but good enough to wield a powerful artifact.

  “What are your terms?” Agnes asked.

  “I want you to give us information on Sirius and take the bounty off Leira’s head,” Louie announced, trying to sound determined.

  Agnes smiled and twined her hands together. “And what would we get in return...scavenger?”

  “Good, you know me, so that means you know I’m good at what I do.” Louie smiled. “What do you want in return?”

  Agnes took a deep breath and swallowed, looking Louie up and down. “Since you are the one who set fire to our house, I suppose I should follow the theme. There is an old spell book, one dating from before wizards and witches left Oriceran for Earth. It was lost hundreds of years ago.”

  “You want me to find something that was lost?” Louie asked.

  “No,” Agnes said. “It is thought to be held in a private collector’s arsenal in a New York City high-rise.”

  “Is he magical?”

  “No,” Agnes replied.

  “All right,” Louie agreed, sticking out his wand. “Send me the coordinates and I’ll take care of it.”

  Agnes smirked, holding her wand out and tapping his. Louie shivered as he felt her dark magic surge through him, but he shook it off, still not trusting her in the least.

  “When you’ve secured the book, call us and we will finish the deal,” Agnes directed, pulling her hood back over her head and turning to leave. “Good Luck.”

  “Yeah.” Louie scoffed. “Off to the Big Apple.”

  16

  The portal crackled open in an alley just two blocks from the high rise and Louie stepped through, glancing at the homeless man still asleep in his pile of papers and bags. He carefully shut the portal, which woke the man with its sparks and shimmers, but he didn’t seem to care, only grumbling something to himself and turning over. Louie shrugged and made his way to the sidewalk. There were droves of people still out even though it was late.

  “Great,” he grumbled to himself. “Even more humans. What makes them want to all live in the same place with no trees and no open space to roam?”

  He gazed at the high-rise, which was a block and a half down and had a doorman out front. Louie ducked back into the alley and twirled his wand over him to change his appearance to that of a well-groomed businessman, stepping into the throng and heading toward the building. He was nervous because he had to face people, not just sneak into some underground lair.

  He raised his phone to his ear and pretended to talk to someone, spitting out all kinds of words about mergers and acquisitions, s
omething he had seen on television during a Tom Cruise movie marathon on cable. He was a magical little elf and had really made something of himself on Earth, except for the whole religion thing. That chapped a lot of magical folks’ asses.

  “Sir,” the doorman said, opening the door for Louie and watching him walk inside.

  Louie nodded and continued to yell at no one on the phone, walking quickly to the right and down the hall to the elevators. He looked around before shoving his phone into his pocket and pulling his wand out, as the elevator opened and he stepped inside. He didn’t know what floor to go to since they hadn’t given him that information, but suddenly the sword on his back began to hum and sent energy through him.

  “All right, all right,” Louie muttered, pulling the sword from his back. “Hold your horses.”

  He gripped it tightly, feeling the energy move up his arm and linger in his chest.

  “Where to, Sword of Mystery?”

  Fifteenth Floor, and keep the sword out.

  “You got it,” he agreed, pushing the button for fifteen and leaning against the back, watching as the different floor numbers lit up.

  When the door opens, throw the sword to knock out the camera.

  “Sounds simple enough,” Louie replied, straightening up as the elevator reached the fifteenth floor.

  As soon as the doors slid open he threw the sword and it struck the camera, sparks dropping to the wood floors. He lurched forward and caught the sword before it hit the ground, wanting to at least attempt to make a quiet entrance. Turn right. Louie walked to the right, staying close to the wall and slowing down as the hall turned to the right. Chokehold...NOW!

  Louie whipped turning the corner quickly and leapt onto the guard’s back, putting his arm around the man’s neck and using the other to stabilize his head. The guard twisted and turned, digging his nails into Louie’s arm. He fought him for a good two minutes, but the man finally lost enough oxygen to stumble backward, pinning Louie to the wall as he sank to the floor. Louie shoved him off and wiped the sweat from his forehead, and continued down the hall. When he reached a doorway he paused, waiting for the sword to speak to him.

  Swing.

  He swung the sword, skimming the backside of another guard. The behemoth turned with anger on his face and a gun in his hand. He opened his mouth but Louie was faster, grabbing his wand and shooting a spell to hold his mouth shut. The guard’s eyes opened wide and his fingers clawed at his mouth. Louie rolled his eyes and flipped the sword over, and when he hit him hard in the head, the man dropped to the floor, unconscious.

  “You big guys don’t even put up a fight.” Louie chuckled.

  Suddenly a large man came from the side, grabbing him by the neck and pinning him to the wall with his feet dangling. Louie gasped for air and dropped his sword to the ground, but kept hold of his wand. The man pulled out his gun and pointed it at Louie’s stomach.

  “Hey, no need to be hasty,” Louie sputtered. “Why don’t you put that down?”

  He flicked his wand, the magic striking the gun and sending it flying down the hall. The guard watched it go, shocked by what he had just seen, and Louie seized his chance to get free. He looked down at his dangling feet and winced. “Sorry, man.” He kicked the guard’s crotch as hard as he could as the man crumpled to his knees, releasing Louie. He got up and looked the guard in the eye, giving him a smile before rearing back and punching him as hard as he could in the jaw. The guard wavered back and forth before falling, no longer able to move.

  Louie grabbed the sword and moved down the hall toward a pair of wide wooden doors at the end. He crept close and swung a door open, looking both ways before entering. The room was clear so he stepped inside, leaving one of the doors open for a quick getaway. It was a large room full of relics and statues, historical monuments from Earth days of old. Louie walked over to a picture of the businessman and some big-boobed woman sitting on the table.

  “I know this asshole. He owns just about everything,” Louie whispered. “He’s well connected, rich, and is known to not play by the rules. Guess he will get a taste of his own medicine.”

  He turned to look at the room. “Now, where is this book?”

  He scanned the room and sent out an orb to find anything magical. The orb slowly moved across the floor, stopping as it bobbed up and down over a glass-covered pedestal. Louie squinted and walked over to see a very old book with handwritten spells he recognized from old magic on Oriceran.

  “Interesting,” Louie said, lifting the glass off the pedestal.

  The book was large and heavy, bound in some sort of animal skin. I really hope this isn’t human- or elf-skin. He opened his book bag and dropped it in, zipping up the pouch. When he turned he saw a guard running down the hall and more coming into view behind him. Above him an alarm began to blare, alerting everyone that Louie had taken the book.

  “Shit, shit, shit,” Louie snarled, looking back and forth. He tried opening a portal and was surprised to see one ball of light after another fizzle and fade in his hands. “What the hell… Plan B. Too many muscle heads to fight.”

  He made a run for the balcony doors, stepping out and looking down over the edge. The cars were tiny below, and there was no stairwell down.

  “Oh, hell no,” Louie exclaimed and turned back to see a large man with biceps the size of Louie’s head coming toward him, cracking his knuckles. “Okay, maybe hell yes.”

  Louie pulled the straps of his bookbag tight and waved his wand over one hand, and the other. The light glowed brightly for a moment, covering his palms. He watched as they morphed, his fingers melding together to create two very large suction cups. He lifted an eyebrow and looked back at the guard, who was now reaching for the handle of the balcony door.

  “Here goes nothing,” he muttered and climbed over the edge, carefully sticking his hands to the smooth glass surface of the building.

  He moved quickly to the side and went around the corner out of the guard’s sight. He looked down with his wand in his mouth and his eyes grew big. He blinked over and over, taking a deep breath and moving down the side one hand at a time. When he reached the fifth floor he chuckled. I’m in the clear.

  Sparks came from his right hand and it morphed back to normal.

  “Whoa,” he cried, attempting to hold on with his other hand.

  He grabbed the wand from his mouth, but before he could cast a spell his other hand came unhinged, sending him plummeting from the fifth floor. He tried to conjure somewhere safe to land, but he was too late. He closed his eyes tightly, waiting for impact, but hit the canopy above the front door and fell through it, landing on the ground in front of the doorman.

  “Ugh,” he groaned, rubbing his butt. “Elevator was taking too long.”

  The doorman pulled his brows together and tilted his head to the side, confused at what he had just seen. He stepped forward to stop Louie, but the wizard was already on his feet. He shook the doorman’s hand wildly and took off down the sidewalk, weaving between the people. He turned the corner and sprinted back to the alley where he had originally appeared, breathing heavily.

  “This better be fucking worth it.”

  Louie opened a portal to his apartment and stepped inside, shutting it quickly behind him. He tossed his bag on the couch and pulled out his phone, scrolling to the contact he had been given for the dark family. The last thing he wanted to do was hold on to that book any longer than he had to. He had no idea what kind of magic was hidden in the pages, and though he was normally curious, he knew not to mess with this. The phone rang and rang, but no one picked up. Louie sighed impatiently, hoping he hadn’t just royally screwed up.

  Suddenly there was a loud crackle behind him and he whirled to find one of the dark family’s guards on the other side of a portal. Louie pulled his eyebrows together, still holding the phone to his ear, and wondered how they had found him so fast. He shoved the phone into his pocket, then grabbed his bag and climbed through. The portal snapped shut with a bang, m
aking him jump.

  The guard stared at him blankly for a moment before turning and walking down a long hallway. Louie rushed to catch up, looking around him and gawking at the artifacts on the walls. It was like a scavenger’s dream, but he knew better than to touch anything. He was so busy looking around that he didn’t notice the guard stopping in front of a large steel door and he ran right into his back.

  “Whoa! Sorry there, big fella,” Louie called, rubbing his head. “Those are some hard muscles.”

  The guard grumbled but opened the door and pushed Louie into the room. He stumbled forward while staring at the vaulted ceilings, enchanted with the night sky.

  “That was fast,” a voice said from across the room.

  Louie dragged his gaze from the ceiling to find several witches and wizards gathered around a large table. They stared at him with sneers on their faces and he realized they had brought him to one of their many mansions; he had no idea which. The guard came up beside him, grabbing his shoulder and stopping him just short of the end of the table.

  “Yeah.” Louie chuckled, looking at Agnes. “No sweat.”

  “Let me see the book,” Agnes demanded.

  Louie lifted an eyebrow and took off his bag, opening it and pulling out the large book. She stood up and motioned to the guard but Louie pulled it away, surprised at his own gumption. “Not until I get what I wanted.”

  Agnes gritted her teeth for a moment as she calmed down. Killing the fool now would only make more problems for her. She sat back down at the table and folded her hands in front of her. “Half now, half when you hand over the book.”

  “Deal,” Louie said. “See? We can compromise.”

  “Sirius is in Chicago. He has finalized his assault on the Silver Griffin’s vault and will attack any day now,” Agnes told him.

  Louie’s eyes went wide and he handed the book to the guard, who carefully carried the artifact to Agnes. He walked back over to Louie and stood a little too close for comfort. When she opened the cover and flipped through the pages, a deep smile moved across her lips.