Summer's Stolen

Chapter 4

Four

The area was crowded with pedestrians milling about the Common, taking the Freedom Trail tour or out for a late lunch. The homeless population, usually a staple in the area, was nowhere to be seen. Sure, summertime meant they spread out throughout the Common and surrounding area. Still I’d been hoping they might have seen something and the promise of a little cash might loosen their lips. I made a mental note of their absence as we crossed the street by Park Street Church, stopping in the middle of the path directly in front of the inbound exit.

“You sure all you got was a location? No details about how she went missing?” Jacquie prompted.

I should have just taken the report, passed it off as a printer error when my colleague had come looking for it. Or I should have copied the information, a feat a little magic could have accomplished. “I was in a hurry,” I finally answered, avoiding her gaze.

I may not have put enough thought into jumping on this case before running off, but there was something I could do. I closed my eyes and slowed my breathing.

“Are you about to do what I think you are?” Jacquie hissed.

“Try to sniff out the abductor and see if they used magic? Yep,” I answered.

“It’s a bit public and broad daylight,” she replied.

“No one’s paying us any attention. Just keep your badge out of sight and pretend you are just another tourist,” I told her, turning my attention back to my breathing.

With each breath, all sound vanished and the people passing us by faded to nothing until I stood alone. I opened my eyes and took in the magical currents all around me, begging me to tap into them, to have them aid me in whatever spell I needed cast.

That’s the funny thing about magic. It’s everywhere and it wants to be used. You just have to know where to look and have the gift to use it. The currents ebbed around me, bumping up against my own magic as if it were a tangible thing. I did a three-sixty on the spot, unsure of what I was looking for at first.

“I need to see whose magic has been here recently,” I muttered to myself, the words were swallowed up by the world around me as soon as they left my mouth.

Apparently speaking my need was enough for the fabric of the world around me to obey. Whether it was a bonus of being the Savior or just being this close to the Solstice didn’t matter. I’d take the supernatural assist. The scent of strawberry enveloped me as my own magic poured itself out of every pore in my body. Slowly, an image resolved in front of me. A young girl with what appeared to be dark curls stood amongst a throng of people waiting to cross the street in the direction of Winter Street. She had a cell phone pressed to one ear, her lips moving in a conversation I couldn’t hear. The words weren’t important—not yet, anyway.

My nose twitched as a new scent tickled it, something like brackish water. I moved toward the afterimage of Carly and the scent grew stronger. She smiled at something said on the other end of the line before the scent of magic flared and suddenly she vanished. The phone reappeared on the ground a moment later as the crowd surged forward crossing the street.

I let out a gasp as the world came back to me. I let the smell of my own magic reassure me that I was okay and took a hit from the sandalwood charm to clear my palette. Jacquie loitered by one of the vendors selling Boston-themed t-shirts. I caught her attention and gestured for her to follow me. We wound our way through the paths in the Common until I was certain we were out of earshot of anyone who might be listening.

“Well?” Jacquie said pointedly.

“She was definitely taken and whoever did it used magic. We need to be on this case.”