Hunters in the Night (20 page)

“This
is crazy,” I said. “This might be the first time anyone has ever recorded a
nightcrafter spell.”

“That’s
great,” Newton said, “but not important at the moment. Can you use it? That’s
what’s important.”

“I
think so.”

“Good,”
Newton said. “Go grab a shower and change clothes. We’ve got some experiments
to run.”

* * *

I
showered quickly. I was out of soap so I used some that Newton brought — an odd
brand that smelled like lemons and dirt. By the time I realized the oddness I
was already covered in a thick lather of the stuff. I read the label and rolled
my eyes when I read, “All Natural”.

I
rinsed, thoroughly, and hopped out of the shower after just a few minutes. I
usually prefer much longer showers but Newton’s energetic eagerness had me
rushing and I didn’t even really know why. His enthusiasm is really infectious.
If he could figure out a way to bottle it and sell it he’d be able to solve
worldwide teenage apathy.

I
grabbed a towel and threw on some shorts and a t-shirt before heading down to
the basement. Newton was furiously plugging wires into machines and turning
knobs and dials. “So how does this all work?” I asked. “I hope you’ve figured
out the mechanics of this phasing spell because I sure as hell don’t know what
I’m doing.”

“We’re
reverse engineering here,” Newton said. “That’s a step-by-step process. For
now, I don’t need to know all the exact ins and outs of how it works. I just
need to know if you can do it.”

“And
I guess that’s where the spell comes in.”

“Precisely,”
Newton said. “I’m hypothesizing that all we need you to do is say the spell,
and the rest will just kind of take care of itself. Then I’ll have the sensor
data needed to figure out what’s going on behind the scenes.”

“There’s
no guarantee I’ll be able to get the spell to work,” I said. “I’m a rookie.
They’re veterans.”

“True,”
Newton said. “But you’re the best we’ve got. You’re
all
we’ve got. And so far you
haven’t told me anything about nightcrafting that makes me believe that you
need more than just the spell once you’ve mastered the basics of how to access
the Rift.”

“I
see a potential problem here,” I said. “What if an entirely different spell is
used to come back to this side of the Rift? We have no way of knowing for sure
since there aren’t any microphones over there to record people.”

“I
thought of that,” Newton said. “And you’re right. There is potentially a
problem if there are in fact two spells needed. But, based on the math, the
same effect should be needed regardless of which side of the Rift the spell
caster is on. So I think two spells existing is unlikely.”

“Unlikely,
huh?” I said.

“Sorry,”
Newton said. “That’s as confident as I can get. Worst case scenario: you get
stuck over there for a bit. But if you cast the spell successfully I should be
able to capture enough data to figure out what exactly is going on here. Then
it’s just a matter of time before I can replicate it and bring you back . . .
if it comes to that.”

“I
guess I’ll give it a shot then,” I said. “Where’s that damn spell?”

Newton
handed me a sheet of paper with the spell printed in big letters. I spoke the
words once. Then again, and again. Each word was important. I tried to match
the tone and pace I’d heard the other nightcrafter in the recording use. The
rest of the world fell away. My focus was only on the words. I repeated them
over and over until, finally, it happened.

There
was a shimmering in the air right in front of me. It was like the haze you see on
the horizon on a scorching summer day. I saw it, but only for an instant. Then
I felt the Rift envelop me in a cold embrace.

At
first it was just like being captured by Mater and her gang again. The darkness
surrounding me was complete and unending, and a constant frigid breeze made me
shiver. I reflexively reached out for magic and found it. It was a little
different this time. Maybe it was because I was here on my own terms, instead
of having been forced here by vengeful nightcrafters. Maybe it was due to my
recent encounter in the cave where I learned to love the dark again. Whatever
it was, I felt more at peace this time.

The
thought of the cave made me reflexively turn in the direction I thought it
would be in. It was a purely subconscious act, and I wasn’t actually expecting
to see anything. So imagine my surprise when, off in the distance, I saw
swirling spots of fluorescent greens and oranges, and my tongue tasted a hint
of citrus. It was the Rift-kind I’d encountered in the cave. They were miles
away, but I could still detect them. I stood there for a long while, thinking
about what this could mean. I had been thinking that I’d only had my weird
sensory experience in the cave because the creatures were on our side of the
Rift, but in their natural environment they were just the same. Of course the
creatures weren’t really emitting light; there was no natural light in the
Rift. But maybe the Rift-kind had some sort of senses of their own, and through
the nightcraft I was starting to understand the world as they did.

At
some point I realized I’d been there far too long, and the cold of the Rift was
making me shiver pretty badly. It was time to return to Newton. But now that I
knew how to get here on my own, I had a feeling I’d be coming back to this side
of the Rift more often.

I
spoke the same words that brought me here, and this time instead of seeing a
hazy shimmer I saw a vertical streak of grayness. It was like darkness, but not
as complete and unyielding as the rest of the world surrounding me. It lasted
only a moment, and then I was back in the cabin, with Newton furiously typing
on his laptop which now had a new odd gadget attached to it via several snaking
wires. The little machine looked like a satellite dish and a portable radio had
angry sex and made a baby.

“How
long was I over there?” I asked.

“Five
minutes,” Newton said. “I was starting to get a little worried when I realized
how long it had been. But I had some work to distract me.”

“I
can see that,” I said. “So what do you know now that you didn’t know before?”

“Well,”
Newton said, “now I know for sure what happens when the nightcrafters disappear
and reappear. The next step is to disrupt the forces at work so we can stop
them.”

“And
how do you intend to do that?”

“I
think I already have,” he said. “While
you were over there I analyzed the scans I just got when you succeeded with the
spell. That was the last bit of data I needed to confirm the math. Now I can
enter in the final settings that will put the finishing touches on this little
baby.” He patted the machine connected to his laptop.

“And
what exactly is that?”

“A
prototype,” Newton said, tapping a button that caused the machine to emit a
high-pitched whine. “Try to use the phasing spell now.”

I
spoke the spell, glad to have another reason to go back beyond the Rift again.
But nothing happened.

“Doesn’t
work,” I said.

Newton
just gave me that goofy lopsided of grin of his. He didn’t say anything for a
moment. He was letting the gravity of his accomplishment soak into my brain. I
smiled and said, “You did it.”

Newton nodded emphatically. “I’m quickly
discovering that all this magic shit is just about resonant frequencies.”

“What
does that mean?” I asked.

“Have
you ever seen video of an opera singer breaking a wine glass just with their
voice?”

“Yes.”

“The
glass breaks because it has a natural resonance,” Newton said, “which is a
frequency where the glass readily vibrates. Add enough sound volume to the
equation and the glass will vibrate so hard it’ll break.”

I
nodded. “And the same thing is happening to this membrane between us and the
Rift.”

“You
learn fast,” Newton said.

“So,”
I said as the wheels in my mind started turning, “the trick is to change the
natural resonance of that membrane between the two worlds. And you can do that
with this little gadget of yours?”

“Yup.
Well, just that one for now. We’ll need a bigger one.”

“How
much bigger?”

Newton
held his hands about three feet apart. “About that big. Significantly larger
than the prototype to increase effective range, but even then it would only
cover about a hundred miles in total diameter.”

“That’s
okay,” I said. “It’s still enough to keep the nightcrafters from popping in and
out of the Rift around New York City. It’s a start.”

“For
sure,” Newton said. “But there is one problem. We need to find a point where
the Rift magic is very strong so the signal will spread as far as possible. Got
any ideas?”

I
thought for a moment, and had a sudden realization. “Yes, actually. I know just
the place.”

“This
is the creepiest place I’ve ever been in,” Newton said, “and that’s saying
something considering I’ve been to Dominique’s house.”

We
were in the basement of the old elementary school where Kellar had brought me;
the place where my career as a nightcrafter had come to a screeching halt. The
basement was just as I remembered it. It had the same rubber cement smell, and
the same loose sheets of paper shuffled under our feet. Newton had brought an
electric lamp with him for added protection from the Rift-kind, and it
illuminated the halls with bright light. There were parts of this building I
hadn’t actually seen with my eyes before, so I understood Newton’s surprise and
discomfort. Now that I could see it, I realized that this place was creepier than
I remembered.

Our only
companion on this task was the machine Newton had built. He’d taken to calling
it the Rift Inhibition Device, or RID. Newton and I carried the RID between us,
which would have been somewhat difficult if I hadn’t cast a featherweight spell
on it. It was three feet long, two feet wide, and weighed more than me. Using a
magical tether, I dragged it far behind us so light from Newton’s lamp wouldn’t
affect the spell.

The RID was the
product of non-stop work during the two weeks since we left Newfoundland.
Newton improved upon his prototype and the RID had passed a litany of tests.
While he built his masterpiece, my days and nights had been spent hopping into
and out of the Rift. Each time, I carried a number of Newton’s gadgets with me
so he could get more data. It was all in preparation for what we were going to
do tonight.

I’d
brought us here because Newton’s machine needed a place that would amplify its
unique signals through the Rift, and this was the best place in New York that I
knew of. The plan was simple: jump into the Rift with the machine, leave it
there, jump back out. Then we’d wait for signs that the nightcrafters were
pissed off, and we’d know it had all worked.

“You’re
sure you’ve got the spell perfected?” Newton asked me.

“Yes,”
I said. “What are you so worried about?”

“I
don’t know. Maybe you get attacked by some creature over there, or you slip on
some nachtjäger piss and crack your head on the ground and can’t remember the
spell. I just want to be sure you can get back if something goes wrong.”

I
smiled. “Aww. You’re worried. That’s sweet.”

“I’m
doing my job. I’m keeping you alive.”

“Uh
huh.”

Newton
blushed a tiny bit. Then he turned his attention to the RID and started hitting
buttons and flipping switches, making the device come alive. “Once this thing
is activated, you won’t be able to use the spell that brings you back. So I put
it on a timer. After you flip the last activation switch, you’ll have two
minutes to get your ass back over here. After that two minutes, the RID can’t
be turned off. You won’t be able to use the spell that brings you back here
unless you destroy the device. That’s a last resort though. I didn’t have time
to build a backup, so try not to break this one unless you absolutely have to.”

“Got
it,” I said. “Piece of cake. I’ll be back in a jiffy.” I grabbed the RID with
both arms and cast the spell that would allow me to slip into the Rift. The
magic ran its course as it always did, and I was quickly enveloped by the now
familiar icy blackness. I carefully placed the RID on the ground and clicked
the on switch. The device chimed softly, letting me know that it was
functioning and the timer countdown had begun. That sound was music to my ears,
and I was just about to pop back out of the Rift when I heard something else.

There
was someone here.

They
were practicing new magic. I could tell because I could hear the nightcrafter
speaking the words of the spell. I couldn’t figure out exactly what the words
were, or if it was even English. Through the Rift I could feel this
nightcrafter’s presence create a huge disturbance here — an aura pulsing with
power and sending cascading waves through the Rift. And I recognized that
voice.

It
was Kellar.

In
the span of about two seconds I had several thoughts. First, I cursed my luck
for coming here the same night Kellar decided to bone up on some new magic.
Secondly, I wondered what my odds of surviving this would be. Finally, I
wondered why my body was hurting so much all of a sudden.

The
pain was so excruciating I didn’t have any more thoughts for a while after
that. I swore I could see a bright light even though I was surrounded by pure
darkness. It felt like every bone in my body was slowly exploding. Somehow, I
remained conscious long enough to feel Kellar’s hands lifting me off the
ground. I hadn’t even realized I’d fallen.

“What
are you doing here, Kal?” Kellar growled.

“R-ruining
. . . your day,” I said.

I
only had one chance. I pushed away the pain, and acted on reflex. I had cast
the Rift ripping spell so many times by now that it was like second nature. I
grabbed Kellar just as I felt the Rift give way. The familiar gray slit in the
air appeared, and then we were back in the school basement.