There is always an odd feeling when crossing through the doorway back into the shop. It is like I am momentarily slowed down, like I am pushing through some kind of membrane. I have gotten used to it though. I pass through to the aisle that takes me through the advanced practitioners area. This area is for casters–the true wielders of magic. The space is filled with shelves of old books that have notes, guides or advice from past users, including Eph himself. It is where a lot of the more able magicians that aren't affiliated with the guild study from. There are tables and chairs set up in an open area between the rows of shelves where you can usually find someone reading. The area just past that is where we store supplies for spells and other accouterments. There are lots of cubby shelves and spice racks that hold ingredients for rituals.

This is where I got my Demonsnare, a plant used to lure and catch low-level demons. Last year was my first time using it. I was trying to set a trap, but the stuff also got me really high. I thought I knew the amount it would take for that to happen, but I was wrong and I haven't touched it since. I keep my distance from the Demonsnare we keep in stock and move through to the area closest to the front. All of the faith based magic–things like Tarot cards, divination instruments, and crystals–are kept here. It is mostly for show from what I have seen of who buys it. I am not saying this stuff doesn't work, just that bigger practitioners don't mess with it. Perhaps there aren’t a lot of faith based casters in the city? I’m not sure. Regardless of that fact, this stuff probably sells the most out of the store. I turn my head toward a whispered conversation and listen in when I hear someone in the section talking about a recent encounter.

"I'm not lying, this thing was huge. It was definitely not something that belonged here."

"It was here? Like, in this shop?"

"No, man. I mean like, it didn't belong in this world. Its mouth was huge and it had, like, rows of crazy sharp teeth and-" The hairs on the back of my neck stand at attention and my ears start ringing so loud that I can't hear what else is said. There are plenty of things that have sharp teeth, but only one thing I have run into with 'rows of crazy sharp teeth.'

And that is Rhal.

Loosely resembling a shark and built like three Dwayne Johnsons taped together, Rhal is one of the few demons that frightens me. He looks like DC's King Shark minus the fin, gills and with a shorter snout but double the muscle mass, his form exudes sheer power. Magic and energy manipulation spark fear, yes, but there is something more visceral about a creature that can literally rip you in half. And I have seen him do it. That is how an incubus I was fighting last year, Bezhir, met his end. Rhal dug his claws in and ripped him in two like he was made of paper.

I shiver at the remembrance and take a half step backward, hitting a bookshelf and tipping it slightly. I catch it before it falls all the way, but a few books shake loose and plummet to the ground. I fall to the floor myself as my unsteady knees give out and I try to play it off by scrambling for the books. Making a stack, I lean on it for a moment on my knees, wiping my forehead on my sleeve. It comes away wet from a cold sweat beading on my forehead. I have to take deep breaths to calm my heartbeat, it's pumping double time against my ribcage. I don't know how long I stay like this, breathing deeply through my nose. My stomach drops as my mind sends flashes of the more brutal memories from the fight.

“You okay, Mike?”

Chills run up and down my spine when a hand touches my shoulder, breaking me from my ruminations. I jump to my feet at the unexpected contact and spin around, putting myself into a defensive stance. I don't have an extensive background in any kind of fighting, but after getting the floor wiped with my body last year, I have been taking classes and trying to learn more so I can better defend myself next time.

I really hope there is no next time.

My eyes fall on Eph, who takes a step backward and puts his hands up in mock surrender.

“Hey, my bad, man!”

“Sorry,” I drop my stance. “I was eavesdropping, and you startled the hell out of me,” I say, taking and releasing a final deep breath to push out the tension. Eph laughs awkwardly and puts his hands down, eyeing me suspiciously. I would most likely do the same if our roles were reversed. From his point of view, I have to look a little wild with the spiral I was in.

“Hear anything good?” he asks.

“No,” I say, picking up the stack of books I was leaning on. “No I did not.” I glance up at him.

He frowns and looks like he wants to say something, but turns when the door chime sounds.

“You'll tell me if it's anything that'll be a cause for concern, right?”

“Yeah, I'll look into it and let you know,” I say, focusing back on the stack of books.

“Hm,” he grunts and I watch his feet retreat as he moves toward the door to welcome the new customer. Walking around the shelves to where I heard the customers talking, I see that they must've moved on to a different area. I have to hear more of this rumor. I will do a deeper dive and see what I can learn when I get home. Maybe I will ask my roommate. I meander near Eph and hover until he is done directing the customer.

“Eph, would you mind if I head out a bit early? I'm gonna ask around and see what I can find out,” I ask him after the customer walks off.

“That's fine–we're not too busy right now anyway. Keep me posted, okay?”

“Of course,” I say, and turn to leave.

“Mike? Be careful. Don't get yourself hurt or . . .” he adds, trailing off. “Y'know.”

“Thank you, I will.”

Eph is one of the only people, other than my mom of course, who has shown any interest in my well-being. It is more comforting than I would have thought. There is also my old mentor, Sweet Vic. But that is more of a, “I care because then I'd have to kill you,” kind of relationship. She owns a club downtown that caters to all manner of non-humans–not that humans aren't allowed, it's just usually not their scene. Plus, they can't even see it unless they're invited. The building is disguised as a fulfillment center for an online store. I don't know if she was the one that cast the illusion or if she hired someone to do it, but it is a powerful spell.

Aside from owning the club, Vic also has a program for wayward 'enhanced' youths. This is actually where I met her. The program is something like a mix between scared straight and military school. She deals with all kinds of supernatural beings and knows what everyone's lineage is with just a look, but I have yet to meet someone who knows what she is. Everyone knows Vic, but no one knows Vic, just that she's got a very powerful aura. She also packs a mean punch with ample strength to back up her threats if you push her too far. I wouldn't do that again. Zero out of ten, would not recommend.

She helped me have some come to Jesus moments last year, but has become more of a resource since then. Over the summer, we had a gremlin outbreak in the city. There was a small leak between here and the fey world, and they came in and did what gremlins do. I mean the real gremlins, not the movie gremlins–though there is not that much of a difference. These were the kind that can get people killed with their mischievousness. They were ripping up chunks of the roads, breaking windows in storefronts, starting fires, and their games had caused multiple deaths because of things 'malfunctioning.' She assisted in locating the rift they were coming through and told me how to get rid of them. I may have to stop at her place soon to see if she has heard anything about a creature with an abnormal number of teeth.

I walk behind the building and into the parking area. I am still feeling shaken from hearing that conversation and hoping it isn't true. Rhal's power was scary enough, but his brutality is what really got to me. The fight between him and Bezhir was a hellish experience–no pun intended–but it wasn't my first encounter with him. He had made a base of operations in a house with new owners, so it didn't quite have a strong Threshold barrier yet. The Threshold is a way for humans to be safe in their own home. It is an old law backed by big magic, the kind of magic legends are made of. Fortunately, it has not been circumvented for the most part, but some creatures have discovered certain loopholes.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

Rhal took the family hostage while they were moving in and when one of them tried to fight back, he ate their hand. I am sure he would have happily eaten the rest as well if he had not made me his priority. He knocked me unconscious and kidnapped me. When I came to, I was in their basement, my head aching from where he hit me. I remember him pacing in a circle around me and the situation giving me the sense that he was playing with his food. Fortunately for me, he needed me for information and we made a deal. A condition of our deal was that the family be let go without any further harm. He didn't really agree but didn't injure them further, so I counted it as a technical win. I called the wizards to help them, unsure if he would return. When they arrived, they almost killed me, thinking I was the one who had attacked the family until one of the kids spoke up saying it was Rhal.

After that, I lured him into a fight and used my ability to try to get a favorable outcome for myself. The ability I have is something that others have called 'void.' I don't know if that is what the energy is made of or why that is what it is called, but I am learning. I found that if I cover an area in it, I have a form of control over what happens within. I have not yet mastered it to be as good as the others have made it sound, but I'm working on it. The more I use it, the more it feels like it's changing or growing. I'd used it as well as I could when Bezhir and Rhal were fighting. I'd ordered the void area to contain the energy blasts that both were using as a killing blow and to detonate it on my command. After Rhal killed Bezhir, I released the trapped energy. I really thought he'd die from it too. I mean, he was missing one arm up to the neck and one leg up to his abdomen for Pete's sake. I lost track of him after the detonation of magical energy destroyed the building. That's when I hobbled to my car unaware that he chased me and he nearly wrecked it. It was one of the wildest things that I'd ever seen. I hate giving him so much of my headspace, but it might be like this for me until I know he's gone. I finally reach my car and unlock the doors with the FOB. I walk around the other side and kneel down, taking a second to look at the areas he impacted when chasing me. The craters he left in the body on the rear passenger side have been pulled out and re-touched, but I will never forget it.

I stand up and there's someone standing right next to me.

“Hey. Hey, you–” I hear them say in a raspy voice, and a cold sweat beads my forehead for the second time in an hour. Dropping to the ground, I sweep the figure's legs out from under them. I scramble on top and draw back my left fist, clutching their coat in my right hand.

“Hey, man! I was just gonna ask for some change, you don't gotta hit me!” His skin is covered with smudges of dirt and his clothes look like they've been worn every day for the past few years. Wisps of white hair dangle from under a frayed and partially disintegrated beanie. Etched on his face is a look of utter terror. I drop him and unclench my teeth. “What the hell's wrong with you?” the man asks, backing away from me on his hands and feet.

“I'm sorry, I . . . h–here.” I pull my wallet out of my pocket and grab a few bills, offering them to him.

“I don't want nothin' from you, man!” he yells before standing up to run away.

What the hell is wrong with me? I can't just go around attacking people that remind me of someone else. If I had given it a moment, I would have been able to tell that that guy was a human by his aura. Being this tense is not a good thing for me. I need to get home. I'm not in a good place and I need to clear my head. My aura senses quickly probe the area around me before I get into my car and start it. Sitting back against the seat and running both my hands down my face, I smack my cheeks before putting it in drive and pulling out of the parking lot.

Driving helps keep my mind in the present. Some of the streets are covered in different color leaves and, though it’s been cold, we haven't had our first snow yet this year. By this time last year it was already snowing and icy. The coldest day was when I had my confrontation with Christine. She was the one that kicked everything off. I discovered she was my half-sister on my father's side, and she was cursed with phenomenal power, but it came with an insurmountable cost. It was an insatiable hunger for the energy or life-force of others. Ultimately, it consumed her while I held her.

She turned to ash in my hands.

It was . . . horrifying, and it is an image that will stick with me forever.

This is exactly why I have to keep my mind occupied. I am thinking about everything again. I try to force these memories from my head and concentrate on the drive by turning on the radio. I usually play songs from my phone, but the radio should be fine. Unfortunately, the channel it is on is just some kind of interview. I almost change the station when they start talking about a large creature that has been terrorizing certain areas of the city.

“–nesses say they haven't gotten a good look at it, but have said it was 'as big as a full grown mountain lion.' Other interviews attributed the attacks to something looking like an emaciated bear with black skin. It has been seen chasing animals and people and a few remains have been found, which could be potential victims. The Mayor has considered issuing–” I keep listening, hoping for more information, but the segment ends shortly thereafter and they move on to other news. It does not sound like Rhal but, they might not have enough sightings yet to make a real report. He did not seem like the wild rage type. He was very methodical and deliberate with his brutality. I don't know if he can change his form either. Last year, he was a water predator, but maybe he can change into a land predator. I have to know if it is possible. I am gonna stop by the club and check with Vic first.

The guy guarding the door to Sweet Vic's, the club she owns, is one that I've run into a couple of times. It is usually never a good thing for him and I am pretty sure he hates me. His eyebrows crease when his head turns toward me. He is always wearing sunglasses, but I assume the look in his eyes is not a positive one.

“Aw, man,” he says with a sigh. “You know the drill.”

I put my arms out to my sides and stand still. “Good to see you too, buddy.”

He looks at me and smacks his teeth. “I ain't your buddy,” he says, grabbing his wand to scan me. The device he uses looks like a metal detector wand–but it's not. And I hate it. It is some sort of device that shows the inner self of the person–if there is one. On humans, it just reads their abilities or aptitude as a practitioner. On me though, it makes me partially burn. Burning is what I call when my demon and I combine abilities and I let him take over some of my actions. It also changes my appearance, burns away my clothes, and gives me physical advantages. The changes in appearance come in the form of gaining height, muscle, horns and catching fire. My skin also turns a molten orange and black and looks like charred, burning stones. Burning doesn't hurt me, but the forced burn that this device initiates, brief though it may be, does not feel great. It makes me feel like I am nauseated and there is a migraine strength headache. Those effects pass quickly, it just sucks when it happens.

I groan as the wand passes over me. “Ugh, do you have to do that every time?” I ask.

He smiles broadly, “Probably not, but I take my job very seriously.” Yep, he hates me.

“Fine, we good?”

“Yeah, go on in, you know the rules.”

The rules are, in a nutshell, 'don't be a dick.' This is a place for any being to come for pleasure in the various forms that may take–but no violence, and no touching without permission. I have not seen anyone break that rule and, while I am curious what happens if you do, I am not curious enough to risk Vic's ire.

My eyes take a moment to adjust to the dark interior. Once they do, I see the person at the desk. She’s a greeter, and I’ve seen her twice before. I think Vic called her Crystal? The first time she saw me, I was in good-ish health coming in here to meet with an acquaintance. The second time, however, was right after the confrontation with Rhal. I have not seen her since that second time.

“Hi, welcome to . . .” she trails off. I think she remembers me.

“Hey, I'm just here to see Vic,” I say, smiling. She just stares at me. “Vic, the owner of this club?”

“Right, I'm sorry,” she says, shaking her head slightly, “Madam Victoria isn't here.”

“When will she be back?” I ask, looking at my watch.

“She's actually . . . out of town right now, at a conference.” She smiles again, putting the greeter/customer service face back on that she had before.

“Oh, do you know how long she'll be gone?”

“I don't, I'm sorry.”

“Ok, thanks anyway,” I say, turning to leave.

“I hope your day continues in a way that you don't come back here covered in blood and wounds,” she says.

I laugh, “Yeah. Me too, thanks.”

I walk out through the doors and into the brightness of the day, squinting my eyes.

“Changed your mind?” the doorman asks.

“Came here to see Vic,” I say with a shrug.

“Better luck next time.”

“Sure.”

Well, crap. That’s one resource down. I’ll just head home and see what else I can find out.