Chapter 11

Human beings are afraid of the dark. It's a fact. We are scared of the things that wait for us there. Of the things we cannot see, of the things that can see us, the hungry things. That's why our cities are flooded with light, why we sell flashlights, why you leave the light on the front porch on. And the hungry things that wait in the darkness know this. So, from past experience, when you here the call of a distressed young girl, followed quickly by someone shutting off all the lights, it's never good news.

That's why, when plunged into darkness, wizards always do one thing. I pulled out my mother pentacle and willed some power into it and held my Wizards Light aloft, and looked around as it lit the room.

Mac blinked at me. He looked at the cooker and grunted, "Power grid."

I nodded and spun around. Mac's grill and fridge ran of his own personal ancient generator. They were still running. Their hum was barely audible over the nerves muttering and exclamations being made by the occupants of the pub.

I willed more power into my pendent and allowed it to light the whole room. Familiar faces blinked at me and fell silent. The pub was half full of the usual crowd of the "occult", and they were looking at me expectantly.

I drew myself up. "Ok everyone. This is the deal. There is something out there tonight that's dangerous, and now the power has gone out. I don't think it a coincidence. All of you need to get behind thresholds, but make sure none of you go out alone. Pair up, move out, stick together."

I dropped the pendant and took hold of Mouse's lead. "Grasshopper. We got to move."

"Got it," Molly answered.

Mac shone a torch at me and waved it at the door. I grinned. "Right, Mac."

I ran for the stairs, Molly hot on my heels.

As I flew into the night I was hit with a more solid form of the apprehension I had felt earlier. There was a sort of charge in the air that made me jumpy. The hairs on the back of neck bristled as I got the urge to look over my shoulder. Alicia's place was a good fifteen blocks from Mac's, and a very nasty idea had occurred to me.

A. There was something that was attacking Alicia. B. Something was also giving me the hebby gebby's. C. Said hebby's were probably coming from the thing attacking Alicia. D. Thing was 15 blocks away. I was getting the hebby gebby's from something 15 blocks away. Feeling power from 15 blocks. How powerful was this thing?

I ran a little faster.

We piled Mac's car. I jammed the keys into the ignition and raced onto the streets, which were in chaos. The traffic lights weren't working and the cars were at a standstill so I had to take a more…unconventional route.

Molly clung to the inside of the car, and screamed "Harry! Hydrant!"

I pulled at the wheel and narrowly missed the red block of vehicle-destroying metal. Well, it would have destroyed the Beetle at least. I pressed my foot on the accelerator and continued shooting down the sidewalk.

Eventually Molly's knuckles started to turn white where she was clinging to the dashboard. "How much further, Harry? I don't think I can take another set of steps."

I gripped the stirring wheel harder and spoke through my teeth. "One more block. Just one more block."

My heart was pounding and there was a sick feeling in my stomach. As we swung onto Alicia's street, Mouse started to growl. I very nearly drove right past her house as I stared at it. I slammed on the brakes and jumped out of the car without putting it into park. I threw myself over the hood and pulled the blasting rod out from under my coat.

I stood there, listening to Molly gasping as she put the car into park and let Mouse out. He bounded up and stood next to me, still making a low growling sound that scared the crap out of everyone. Molly ran out of the car leaving her door open and stood the other side of me.

And we stood there. Just stood there. Cos' we had no fucking idea.

Alicia's whole house, all three stories, was covered in a shadow. A slimy shimmering moving living shadow. The demon shadow that Nicodemus cast was a child's drawing compared to this…thing. The houses around Alicia's had tendril creepers, spreading out around from her house, like a gangrenous wound. The windows were dark and there was no light coming from anywhere but the moon and stars. The air stunk of decay and damp.

And on Alicia's doorstep, was the silhouette of a man. It was just a shape, no real presence, like condensed smoke. And that shadow turned towards me.

I was filled with fear so strong that it took my breath away and made me want to curl into a gibbering heap. Next to me Molly gasped and raised her wrist. On it was a bracelet with a small silver cross that seemed to swell with blue wizards light. It lit up the area around her, in a circle of blue. Molly started to take deep rattling breaths.

It was then that I realised three things.

Firstly, the shadow wasn't looking at me, something that made me want to cry with relief. Until I realised that it was looking at Molly.

Secondly, tendrils of shadow had crept across the ground towards us, had wrapped their way around Molly's legs, and were slowly creeping up her body. And lastly, that Mouse was barking.

Mouse was running into the shadow that surrounded the house, blue Elmo's fire licking at his paws, and at every point that his feet touched, the shadow retreated with a pained hiss. Mouse opened his mouth and let forth a noise that was more like a battle roar that a bark. But it had the desired effect. My ears rang with the noise and my body shook with the force of it. A strange cry filled the air, like a large bird of prey mixed with a man's. The silhouette sunk to its knees and puts it hand over its ears. Mouse pounced. He flew through the air at the figure. It snapped straight and knocked Mouse aside. Mouse was fired back at the ground. He hit with a heavy thump, and bounced. He spun himself in mid air and landed on his feet and slid further back to level with the car.

The tendrils of shadow that were wiping in the air suddenly froze. They seemed to pull back a little, then the shot forward towards us, with a deadly certainty.

I took my staff in both hands and held it above my head, focusing my will and pouring power into it, forming the intent in my mind, the tendrils closing fast. I screamed, the shadow inches from us, "LUX!" and the whole area was exposed with a blinding white light, as I turned my staff into a miniature sun.

And so I saw that the shadow did not disappear in the light. I was left facing a writhing black mass in front of me. My heart dropped out of my stomach. If I was scared before, now I was crapping myself. The thing screamed again and the tendrils rushed back to the figure who, with his hand over its face, lunched its self into the sky, pulling the shadow from Alicia's house, and disappearing entirely.

The light from my staff faded and I found myself in darkness.

I was shaking. I realised that I was so terrified that there were small whimpering noises coming from my throat. I took a deep breath, smelling the now fresh and clean air. I slowly lowered my staff from above my head and lent on it for support.

Mouse's growls were fading, and he trotted straight past me to Molly who was lying on the floor, sobbing.

I fell to her side, dropping my staff and letting it clatter to the floor. I gathered her into my arms and she clung to me, her body shaking with sobs. I stood with the help of Mouse who leaned against my legs to support me. I turned to the house and set towards the steps that lead to her front door. Mouse stopped to pick my staff up, and held it firm with his teeth. He walked just behind me.

As I neared the top of the steps, the door was pulled open by a trembling Alicia. She rushed out towards me, barely managing to cover Molly in the blanket she was holding with her shaky hands.

She looked at me and asked, in what I finally realised was a Welsh accent, "What the bloody hell was that?"