Tracking Magic: A Rylee Adamson Short Story Read online

  “Needs are different for every person. You can’t treat everyone the same, not really.”

  I grunted. Not that it really bothered me; more than anything, I was curious to see the change in my mentor.

  The air around me shifted, like a giant exhale of breath . . . right out of the mine shaft. I scrambled backwards, the ground giving a heave as if trying to vomit something particularly nasty out.

  Milly screamed, her voice pitched like that of a terrified rabbit. “Run, we have to run!”

  Giselle pulled on the girl’s good arm and they ran back towards the car. But not me. No, my legs were frozen in place, fear paralyzing me exactly like Giselle had said would happen. Bravery was not what kept me there, staring as the monstrous creature flowed out of the mine shaft and towards me. Fear froze me to the spot.

  My mind screamed at me, but still I stayed where I was, unable to unlock my joints. Snake. A snake of proportions I couldn’t grasp. Its body slid out of the mine shaft, barely squeezing through. The scales were grey, white and black, and its eyes glittered with the same inky darkness as the inside of the mine shaft. Its body continued to writhe out of the shaft and it stared at me, as if assessing my ability to hurt it. I stared back, unable to look away.

  “Giselle!” I finally managed, pulling my bowie knife from my back, my hand shaking. What the hell did I think I was going to manage with it, I had no idea. I just didn’t want to go down without a fight. The snake hissed, its mouth opening with two foot long fangs lowering from its upper jaw. Oh my God, I was going to die.

  “Kill it!” Giselle yelled back at me.

  Right. That was first on my list, immediately after I pissed my pants.

  The snake pulled back, and I could see the intention. It struck, its four foot wide head flying towards me, mouth open. I dove to the left, putting the mine shaft between me and the gigantic reptile.

  Oh my God. Oh my God. Oh my God. My brain clung to the words, half in prayer, half in utter and complete disbelief.

  The snake was between me and my mentor now, and I held my ground, not knowing what the freak I was going to do. The snake took a long look at me, tongue flicking out; then turned and slithered away. Going straight for Giselle and Milly.

  I’d promised Milly I would protect her. And she believed me.

  The same as I’d promised Berget. But I’d failed my little sister, I hadn’t kept her safe. She was gone and there was no going back on that, no re-dos.

  I wouldn’t make the same mistake twice, I wouldn’t let anything happen to Milly. I couldn’t.

  The fear in me clicked off, and like a new switch being thrown the training Giselle had put into me. All the things she’d taught me rushed through my blood and muscles, kicked me into overdrive. Sprinting around the mine shaft I ran alongside the gigantic snake’s body until I came to the curved line where its head was raised above the ground. The sound of Milly’s sobbing and Giselle’s swearing told me they were close, too close to get away.

  The snake swung its head back, driving a bite towards me. A bite that would cut me in half if it connected. I dove towards the reptile’s body, out of the way of the mouth and fangs, landing directly on its back. The hard glitter of its scales, the feel of the cool skin under my hands, was a brief thought before the coils below me began to buck and thrash. I gripped with my legs but my efforts weren’t enough, as a massive coil from further down the body was flung forward, sweeping me off its back.

  I hit the dirt hard, knocking the wind out of me with a grunt. But I rolled with it, forcing myself to my feet. Sucking wind, I stumbled forward and did the only thing I could. The snake’s tail was the closest thing and I fell on it, driving the bowie knife deep into the flesh right through one of the white scales. The bone within stop the force of my blow. Blood spurted up, brilliant against the pristine scale. I jerked the blade out and stepped back as the snake thrashed its tail, blood flinging everywhere.

  “You would stop me from killing the girl.”

  I blinked up at the suddenly speaking snake. Yeah, say that ten times fast. All I could manage was a simple, “Yes.”

  The snake stared down at me, the voice distinctly feminine. “I do not want to kill you, Tracker. You are far more valuable than you see. But I cannot let the girl live. She is poisoned beyond anyone’s ability to save. Even yours.”

  The bowie knife’s handle was slick with the snake’s blood, and my hand spasmed from gripping it so hard. There had to be a way to stop this. “I can’t let you kill her. I promised her I would keep her safe.”

  Was this really happening? I could see past the snake, see Giselle pulling Milly along. I had to give them time. Even if it mean I died. With that new understanding of myself settling over me, everything in me calmed. The last drops of fear dissipated, the panic evaporating under the knowledge that I would die, so Giselle and Milly could live.

  The snake tipped her head. “This is as it must be. I will not kill you, not this time. But the other one must die. There is no other way.”

  There was no warning for what happened next. Her tail flipped up, coiled around my body, and pinned my arms to my sides. She crushed me, and I felt ribs pop inside my chest like bubble wrap being cracked by an overzealous kid. I tried to scream, had no air to draw breath. Time. I had to give Giselle time. The world spun as the snake bore down on me. Maybe she wasn’t trying to kill me, but I could feel my body starting to fade, to pass out. I still had my bowie knife; I wasn’t helpless yet. I clenched the hand holding the knife, and with a flex of my wrist sliced into the coils that held me tight.

  “You Trackers, all the same,” the snake hissed, bearing down on me even as I pushed harder with the blade. “Stubborn. Fine, then you can die first.”

  I had no words, felt the last bubble of oxygen in my blood stream crap out and darkness called, drawing me deep into its coiled embrace.

  CHAPTER 5

  “Rylee, Rylee, wake up!” I didn’t recognize the voice, not right away. Blinking—my eyes full of grit—I stared up into Milly’s face. The sun was behind her, highlighting her head like a freaking halo.

  “Am I dead?” I whispered, wincing as even that slight movement of breathing and speaking shot sharp stabbing pains across my chest.

  “No, you gave us enough time. Giselle made it to the car and she had this sword and while the snake had you in its loops, Giselle cut its head off.” Milly took a deep breath. “You really meant it, didn’t you. That you’d keep me safe.”

  I closed my eyes, tried not to move anything but my lips. “Yes, I meant it.”

  The sound of cloth rustling made me open my eyes. Giselle crouched down beside Milly, sword in hand. “You did good.”

  “I would have been killed if you hadn’t been here. I don’t think that’s too good,” I said, as I rolled carefully to one side, easing to my hands and knees. Damn, broken ribs, who knew they could be so incapacitating?

  Giselle helped me to my feet, a funny little smile on her face. “Sometimes the fight isn’t about winning. Sometimes it’s simply about getting the job done.”

  I lifted my eyes to the sky. “No more life lessons today. I’ve had about all I can handle.”

  The three of us made our way back to the car with no more surprises. Once we were on the highway heading home, I asked about the snake’s body, what would happen to it?

  Giselle didn’t answer me, not right away. “You don’t touch a supernatural’s body once they die. They all have their ways of being taken back to the beginning.”

  Milly asked the question that hummed through me. “Won’t the humans see it though?”

  Checking her shoulder and merging into the slow lane, Giselle then shook her head. “No. Humans see what they want to, not what truly it. Get used to it girls. This is your life now.”

  We didn’t go to the hospital. Broken ribs sucked, but I couldn’t take pain killers, they made me loopy. So we went straight home.

  Milly crashed almost immediately when we got back home, slumping on th
e couch in a deep sleep that could only come from exhaustion. Giselle beckoned to me with one hand. I followed her out onto the porch, shuffling along as best I could, one arm around my middle bracing against the pain.

  Closing the door behind us, Giselle put her arm around my shoulders and leaned in so she could whisper in my ear. “Milly still has the demon stone. We must remove it from her.”

  I blinked several times; tired and hurt I wasn’t at my best. “She said she threw it away.”

  Shaking her head Giselle’s eyes were sad. “She’s lying. I can read the darkness on her, like an imprint. I didn’t see it at first I was too busy trying to keep Seps from crushing you.”

  “Seps . . .you mean the snake?”

  Giselle nodded, a frown on her face. “Don’t ask me about Seps. That is for another time. Right now we must deal with Milly. She carries the demon stone still and it is infesting her.”

  Neither of us heard the door open.

  Not until we were both bound by invisible threads and dragged inside the house, did I realize we were in deep shit. Again. Whatever held me pressed into my ribs, constricting the broken bones and jamming them against my lungs. Fuck. I couldn’t breathe.

  Milly stood there in front of us wringing her hands, her eyes wide. “I’m sorry, I can’t let you take the stone from me. It’s the last thing I have of my father’s.”

  “Please,” I whispered. “Can’t breathe.”

  The bands around me loosened up a fraction and I slumped against them, still held in the air, but no longer fighting for breath.

  Beside me, Giselle glared at Milly. Milly shook in front of us, her whole body quaking. “I can’t let you take the stone.”

  “I got that much,” I said. “But why? Why do you need a demon stone?”

  Big, fat, tears leaked out of her eyes and streaked her dirty cheeks. “My father sold me to him. I don’t have a choice. I’m sorry.”

  The bands around me tightened again and I squeaked in protest. “No, don’t squeeze me. Who were you sold to?”

  Milly slid to the floor, her legs buckling under her. “My master’s name is Orion, like the constellation. But he’s not kind or good, and I can’t escape him. If I lose the stone, he’ll kill me.”

  What a big ass mess this turned out to be. A quick glance at Giselle showed me what I was already thinking. This kid was in trouble, but I didn’t think Milly had it in her to be malicious. At least not intentionally. The fear on her was obvious, everything she was doing had been done because she was terrified.

  “Let us go, maybe we can help you,” I said. “I told you I wouldn’t let anyone hurt you,” I took a breath and winced, “I meant it then, I mean it now.”

  The young witch covered her face with her hands and the air within the house quivered like a bow string being pulled taut. Milly’s head snapped up. “He’s here. Oh God, I’m so sorry. He’s here.” She scrabbled away from us as footsteps echoed through the hallway.

  Giselle jerked within her bonds, her eyes bugging out as a brawler of a man sauntered into the living room with us. Broad across the shoulders and all muscle that moved with a predatory grace made me wish the snake had finished me off, but his size wasn’t what made me wish for Seps. There was an aura about him, a presence that my body naturally recoiled from in an uncontrollable attempt to throw myself away from him at all costs.

  You are staring at a demon. My mind told me the truth, but I didn’t want to believe it. Milly had brought a demon into our home—was somehow trapped by one. This was it. We were all going to die.

  The demon, Orion if I believed what I’d been told, stared down at me but spoke to Milly. “Your bonds won’t hold her much longer. She’s an Immune, though it is just beginning for her. Certainly, it won’t be long enough to help save her.” His voice vibrated through me, striking chords of fear I never knew existed. This was terror. This was abject panic when you were bound and helpless and a demon stood in front of you speaking as if you were already dead.

  “Fuck you, you piece of shit asshole eating demon!” The words poured out of me, the pain in my ribs nothing compared to the need to do something, anything.

  His eyebrows rose and he stepped towards me, a smile on his lips. “I like it when they fight.”

  The thing was, once I opened my mouth, I didn’t seem to be able to stop. “Yeah, well tying up women, that’s one way to get your rocks off. I suppose all the other nasty fuckers you hang with think you’re pretty tough. Scaring kids and killing helpless women. What a brave little fucker you are.” I snorted. I actually snorted at him as if he didn’t scare the living piss out of me, as if I would be able to actually stand and face him if the bonds holding me were released.

  Orion continued to smile. “I like this one.” He leaned close, his nose at the hollow of my throat where he took a deep breath. “Ahhh, I see now. A Tracker. I have not met one of your kind for many years. Perhaps I was being too hasty. You could be useful.”

  Shit, that wasn’t exactly an improvement. What was the saying, death before demon enslavement?

  Milly crept closer. “I don’t want to kill them, master. Please, they saved me from Seps.”

  “Did they now? Well, I suppose if you must have pets, then these two will do.” He waved a hand in our general direction. “Wipe their memories. Of everything. You are capable of that much, aren’t you?”

  “Yes, I remember what I’ve been taught. They won’t remember any of this.”

  Orion smiled, reached out and stroked her hair. “You are a good pet. The Reader, that one” he pointed at Giselle, “Give her the madness. It will cover much of what must be done, it will make her doubt everything.” I stared at Giselle, saw the blood drain from her face. She couldn’t speak, couldn’t even fight back. All because of a one tiny piece of magic we never should have gone after. A fucking chunk of rock.

  The demon turned his back on us and I couldn’t hold back one last insult.

  “I’ll kill you, Orion. I will. You will regret the day you let me live you nasty motherfucker!” Oh yeah, not so smart. Why the hell was I antagonizing a demon for god’s sake? I couldn’t seem to stop myself, even though a part of my brain was freaking out that death was what I was trying to avoid.

  Again though, he seemed more amused than anything as he walked away muttering to himself. “Trackers, such fun they are.” The air seemed to groan as Orion disappeared into the hallway, his presence leaving the house causing a physical ripple through the building, pushing the very structure to one side on a wicked slant. With him gone, I was sure I could talk Milly out of wiping our memories clean. She had to have been just going along with him to keep us all safe.

  Milly stepped in front of me, her hands gripping a shimmering red and black stone the size of a golf ball. Spikes erupted out of every piece of it, like a porcupine on steroids, some straight, some twisted like corkscrews. The main stems were black, the tips red as if dipped in blood.

  “Milly, don’t do this. He’s gone now. You can let us go and we can find a way to stop him,” I said as she held the spiked stone up and began to chant.

  The words melded into a white noise that embedded itself in my brain, wiping away everything I’d experienced in the last two days. Apparently I was wrong; I couldn’t change her mind.

  My experiences with Martin, Seps and Orion were gone in a flash. Next the encounter with O’Shea, and the drive out to the mineshaft. Everything to do with the demon stone washed out of my mind, I let it go, none of it vitally important. And then came the part I did fight.

  The ability to Track. That was the only chance I had at ever finding my sister, and Milly was going to take it away from me. I bucked against the bonds the witch held me in, fought the white noise as it scrubbed my mind clean.

  “NO!” I screamed as the understanding I’d gained left me, despair settled in, and the blackness took me over once more.

  CHAPTER 6

  I woke up in the hospital next to a kid I didn’t recognize. She introduced herself
as Milly Waters, the new girl Giselle was going to help mentor.

  According to what everyone told me, I’d taken a tumble down the stairs in the middle of the night, smacking my head—hard—along with breaking a bunch of ribs. I couldn’t remember a damn thing about it, but Giselle nodded when I looked to her.

  “I heard you tumble down; the noise woke me up and I found you at the foot of the stairs,” she said. “When you go down, you really go down. I can’t believe how badly you were hurt.”

  “How long have I been out for?” I croaked, my mouth and throat as dry as popcorn farts.

  Giselle handed me a paper cup of luke-warm water I greedily slurped back. Nothing had ever tasted so damn good as that stale, cardboard flavoured water.

  “You’ve been out for nearly a week.”

  “Holy shit,” I grumped. A week? Damn, that was a long time.

  Milly stepped forward, big green eyes staring down at me. “I stayed with you a lot. I wanted to make sure the doctors took good care of you.”

  I gave her a smile. She reminded me a little of my sister and a pang resonated through me. “Thanks.”

  The kid pulled up a chair, sitting right beside me, her fingers tentatively curling around mine. “I think we’re going to be best friends. I just have a good feeling about you.”

  Something about her was familiar, a recognition so strong and immediate. Like a dream I couldn’t quite recall. I nodded and squeezed her hand.

  “Yeah, I think so too.”

  AUTHORS NOTE

  Thanks for reading “Tracking Magic”. I truly hope you enjoyed the introduction to Rylee’s story, her friends, and the world I’ve created for them. If you loved this book, one of the best things you can do is leave a review for it. Amazon.com is where I sell the majority of my work, so if I can only ask for one place for reviews that would be it it – but feel free to spread the word on all retailers.

  Again, thank you for coming on this ride with me, I hope we’ll take many more together. The rest of The Rylee Adamson series, along with my other novels, are available in both ebook and paperback format on all major retailers. You will find purchase links on my website at www.shannonmayer.com. Enjoy!