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  “When you can snatch the pebble, grasshopper…” Roxy couldn’t resist.

  “What was the point?” Sarah blurted.

  “That’s for you to answer,” Chester replied firmly. “Why did you shoot the bodyguard…unprovoked, I might add?” he continued.

  “Why was I given a gun?” Sarah retorted.

  “Perhaps it was to give you choices. You chose to use it. Why is that?”

  Sarah blew a wisp of hair out of her face with a sigh. “Maybe I didn’t think she would give me a second chance. Are you going to tell me weapons are always a last resort?”

  “No. We don’t impose rules on you, we hone your instincts and then we trust them. Even so it takes practice. Everything in your life so far has taught you not to trust your instincts. We’re trying to undo that.”

  Sarah stood silently trying to absorb it all.

  “Go home. Get some rest,” he said sounding like an order. He turned and walked down hall toward the door.

  Sarah watched him go and, when he seemed far enough away, she turned to Roxy and whispered, “What’s all this bullshit got to do with witches and, she struggled for a word, magicians and goblins gobbledygook? Why is it always so much bullshit?”

  Before Roxy could even begin to formulate an answer, they heard Chester let out a sinister but playful, “Muwaaa-ha ha,” before the front door slammed shut.

  Sarah started, “Did he really just…”

  “…Yes, he did.”

  They both grabbed their things and headed for the door.

  “Just suppose, for a moment, you really have a twin brother out there…somewhere. How rad is that? Is he as tall and gorgeous as you are? You have to…”

  “It’s just so much bullshit,” Sarah said as she leaned into the door to open it.

  The City

  Carter crumbled in the corner and looked around the room. Damn the Alliance, he thought. They were fucking with his mind again.

  He wasn’t sure how they did it, but it had a certain feel to it—not a dream, but not reality either. It was a quasi-dream state, that he was somehow not able to recognize while in it, but could always tell as it wore off. They have the most amazing drugs, he thought.

  Maybe it was the subcontractor after all. The freak. Were the little peons always around when it happened? This “trip” was especially distressing because it had involved contact with his twin sister who he hadn’t seen since she disappeared…cripes, he couldn’t remember…no, she was, like, 13.

  His mother had nearly gone insane. She had always blamed the Alliance and, of course, they always denied it. His father spent years searching for her before he died, heartbroken. Carter had always thought he had died of a broken heart but it was just heart disease.

  He wanted to weep but held back. He rubbed the small box in his pocket.

  Now he had seen her dead and wasn’t able to say anything that mattered…

  The front door popped open and Kate pranced in, leaving the door open behind her.

  “I knew you were okay!” He leapt up at the sight of her.

  “Why wouldn’t I be?” she asked looking quizzical.

  Her hair was pinned in a mess up the side of her head and her clothes were careless. He had never seen this side of her.

  Man, she looks HOT, he thought and then wondered what was wrong with him thinking such things at a time like this. She walked with a swivel in her hips he had never seen before.

  He followed her into the bedroom. She was really beyond hot, she was smoldering.

  “What are you doing?” he finally asked as she tore the closet door open and started pulling all her clothes out onto the floor.

  “What do you think? I’m outta here.”

  Carter felt his stomach instantly convoluted. He felt burning tears fill his eyes and overflow down his cheeks.

  Kate looked at him with shock and a smidgen of concern, “What’s the matter with you?” she asked.

  “I don’t know. It’s just that I had such a rough day and I thought I saw my long lost sister, but she was dead and, who knows, I was thinking that we might get…uh, go out for dinner tonight. Maybe it’s just the drugs.”

  “Oh, sweetie, you’re an empath, aren’t you?” Kate blew her bubble gum, and continued, “But I’m with Roger now.”

  “Huh?” Carter turned around to look out the door and collided with a burley biker with tattoos covering just about every exposed inch of skin and probably all the skin he couldn’t see.

  Nuts, how did this Neanderthal get in here without him noticing, he wondered? Carter literally bounced off him, while he stood there grinning. Carter wiped the tears from his eyes, embarrassed to be exposed.

  “Don’t worry, I’ll take good care of your chick for you.” Roger said chewing gum with his mouth open and somehow grinning at the same time.

  “Isn’t Roger just so sweet?” Kate said.

  Carter wasn’t hearing any of it. He was fixated on Roger’s eyes, which he found something behind them he couldn’t let go. This goon was a lieutenant for sure. He didn’t call the shots, of that he was certain. But what’s the game?

  Roger’s expression changed to smug, when he saw that Carter was on to him. He put his hand firmly on Carter’s chest and leaned his face in close.

  “Like the lady says, she’s with me now.”

  Carter wasn’t sure what happened next, but he wasn’t going to lose this stare-down.

  “Come on boys, break it up.” Kate said.

  Is that a Brooklyn accent, Carter wondered? She never spoke like that before. She always seemed so…refined. There has to be some kind of spell over her. His mind screamed, STOP! But it didn’t stop. It all just kept moving forward, not caring the least about how he felt about it. Life was like that.

  “Be a dear, Rog, and grab my stuff.”

  He turned around and she was neatly packed. Who would have thought she had so little in his apartment?

  Kate reached up and patted his cheek as she walked by, “It’s been real, sport.” She said and disappeared out the door—Rog in tow. Rog turned back and smile smugly, “See you around, big guy.”

  Chapter 4 S Shane Thomas

  Alliance HQ

  Sarah dashed out the door after Chester. Roxy’s head tilted to one side and studied the other girl’s gait and pace as she ran. Excellent. My familiar has ingested enough of that maggot human girl to create a passable imitation.

  Ophelia made the sacred gesture that dismissed the Chaos of her illusion. The Alliance building’s hallway dissolved, Chester dissolved, and her Roxy disguise dissolved. The familiar had to retain its insipid human girl form until digestion was complete. However, Ophelia was a mage of Order, and illusory Chaos was a tool for her to control, not a yolk to bear. She patted her short silver hair into place and rubbed a hand over her smooth features.

  The familiar bearing Sarah’s likeness trotted obediently to Ophelia’s side and stared lovingly in its master’s face with the countenance of the cretin that, only moments before, dared to touch her hair, and tried to use her pathetic weapon on them. Ophelia waved a hand over Sarah’s mortal remains, little more than scraps of clothing, hiking boots, clumps of hair, a smart phone, and a pistol. Flesh, bone, and organs had all been devoured and her blood seeped into the dark porous stone on the path.

  “Gather her remains, we mustn’t leave evidence for her Alliance friends to discover. Until Carter is under our control you must not defecate. Your disguise will gain us easy access to that pathetic human organization. Don’t eat anything else either. Your memories are already compromised. Chaos warps them as you digest, of course, but another meal’s life essence will mingle with Sarah’s memories, distorting them further.”

  Chaos. These pathetic humans knew very little about the threat to all of creation. Ophelia thumbed through Sara’s social apps on her phone while the familiar gathered the dead girl’s other belongings. Her pet had recited that Sarah and her twin Carter were estranged since their early teen years, even
though it was common knowledge that the twins completed training for the Coven together as they entered adulthood. A Facebook notification appeared on top of the screen. Carter “liked” Sarah’s status update announcing her arrival at Stoney Palace only two hours ago.

  “We must hurry if we hope to collect Carter, deal with the Alliance, and finish the Order’s spell in time to prevent Chaos from warping our world so severely that no magic could hope to restore it.”

  The City

  “See you around, big guy,” the giant biker said. Roger’s smile revealed endless rows of teeth. The stench of rotting meat emanated from his open maw.

  Kate stood near the stair well blankly staring at Roger and Carter. Roger feinted a lunge at Carter, who involuntarily flinched. Carter opened his eyes to see Roger and Kate disappear into the stairwell. The echoes of their footsteps faded with each step.

  Carter shook his head. This was no Alliance interrogation drug, and that thing in front of them was no human. Carter recognized his dazed sensations for what they really were. That thing was another one of the Order’s familiars, and it was kidnapping Kate right in front of him!

  He shook his head again, then spoke the mantra of clarity. “May I ride the tide of Chaos, may I rise above Chaos and see Truth.”

  His words rang with a familiar feminine echo. Carter spun his head and saw the ethereal form of Sarah. He choked back another sob, she was dead.

  “Chaos has impacted time, Carter. When we first arrived, your apartment was empty. As you packed your duffel, Chaos moved you back. Kate and that familiar had the struggle that trashed your apartment as you finished packing, unaware. I screamed for you, but the Chaos muted me from the living world. The familiar finally subdued Kate and mesmerized her.”

  “We’ve got to stop them!” Carter dashed into the hall.

  “One of those things bounced bullets off its face and then ate me! Let’s rethink this, bro!” Sarah called after him.

  “The Order wants me alive!” Carter replied as he took his first step down stairs.

  “Call my friends at the Alliance! Get help, face them on your terms, not theirs!” Sarah’s ghostly voice rang in his head rather than echoing down the hall. Her form floated next to Carter even as he ran down three flights of stairs.

  What the hell is Sarah doing with the Alliance? The way he understood it, from an outsider’s point of view, the Order sought to control the magical phenomenon called Chaos. The Coven would flow through Chaos to arrive at an ideal outcome. The Alliance had discovered the two magical schools of thought and sought to police both organizations and safeguard humanity against their powers. Chaos, if left unchecked could cause disturbances in the very fabric of reality. It could tear society apart or make minor changes.

  Carter pushed thoughts of the Alliance aside and ignored his late sister’s pleas. He burst through the entry of his apartment building and looked up and down the street. Nearly a block down, he saw the tattooed familiar grab Kate’s arm to lead her into an alley. Carter’s feet slapped pavement and his breath came in ragged gasps. Coven training included an extensive physical component, but that was years ago. His office job only offered short walks to the pub for wings and beer.

  He rounded the corner in a dead sprint and then stars burst in his vision. Pain blossomed from his left eye. Carter staggered back a step and his right eye focused on Roger’s massive fist.

  “You’re making the Order’s work easy, big guy,” Roger said.

  Kate stood in the middle of the alley, a blank stare on her face. Her messy appearance suddenly made sense to Carter.

  A thick finger jammed into his chest.

  “I would like you to speak with Ophelia. If you come with me, then we can let little Kate here get back home to tidy things up,” Roger growled.

  Carter clenched a fist, building Chaos into energy for a blast. His other hand raised, fingers splayed toward Roger. “Take your true form,” he said.

  Roger hissed as vapor rose off his body to reveal a bark skinned, black eyed familiar. Even while Roger’s form was unveiling, he pounced upon Carter, knocking them both to the street. Jaws snapping like a rabid starving hound, the familiar tore at Carter’s chest with jagged claws.

  Carter’s fist flew up from his side and connected to its chin. Energy burst as he connected and sparks mingled with bark-skin chips as Roger’s jaw exploded off his face. The punch sent Roger into a reverse somersault that ended the familiar on his feet next to Kate. His hand blurred across the wall of a building, then the familiar, no longer in the guise of Roger, half its jaw missing, bolted down the alley.

  Carter scrambled to his feet and chased after the creature and his love. He rounded a corner, and looked about a busy intersection. The church bound masses had flooded the street. An Episcopalian church’s doors were open wide, mid-morning sun glinted off the stained glass windows. A depiction of a dragon coiled around the virgin caught his eye for a moment. A Catholic church on the opposite corner had also just dispersed its congregation as well.

  Carter’s eyes scanned through the crowds, everyone was garbed in their Sunday best. No bark skinned monster, no disheveled, kidnapped Kate. Carter’s breaths came quicker and he cast his eyes about. Which way did they go?

  A familiar voice broke through the confusion, “I wish the circumstances for a reunion were more pleasant, Carter, but I’m glad to see you nonetheless.”

  Carter spun about and faced Edgar, a friend from the Coven’s training program. He wore a black uniform and calf length cloak, enchanted to prevent humans untouched by magic from seeing its wearer. Evidently Edgar had completed training and become a full member of the Coven.

  “Edgar, I need help,” Carter grabbed his friend’s arm.

  “More than you realize. I’m here because there is a familiar in the city. I’m guessing by your appearance that you are, too?” Edgar stared at the ghostly form of Sarah. “Are you…?”

  Carter felt ice run up his spine. Sarah and Edgar barked startled cries. A tide of Chaos crushed down upon reality, and Carter felt for a moment like the very air was pea soup, he couldn’t breathe, he couldn’t see anything.

  A moment later he inhaled once again. His left eye had swollen shut from the punch, but Carter realized he had squeezed his right eye shut. He opened it, and gasped.

  Chapter 5 Unanimous Author

  The City

  Carter knew that a powerful force was close by, he could feel it. Not just the weight of the chaos bearing down on him but another force was also present. As he opened his good eye again, he saw a Capri pant suit and pumps… and two familiars beside them.

  “Hello Carter,” Ophelia said smugly, but not without sweetness. “We meet at last.”

  Carter tried to look up into her face, but turned away. There, down the alley Kate appeared in a doorway, as if beckoning him to follow her, but he couldn’t be sure what he saw. Even so, he made a run for it.

  “For the love of…,” Ophelia was exasperated, but let him run. She knew he couldn’t get far and if being in the presence of Kate would settle him down then, so be it.

  As Carter approached, Kate stepped backwards through the door, leaving it open. Carter rushed through it followed by Ophelia and her two lackeys.

  She was so confident in her control of the situation that Ophelia barely noted the door swinging closed behind her, although it did register vaguely with her that it had the resonance and feel of a vault door shutting.

  Ophelia stood in a small, narrow, darkened room staring at Carter and Kate at the opposite end.

  “Isn’t this sweet,” she said, still with her patented smug countenance.

  Then she sensed something she missed before—something that didn’t feel right. There was a dullness in the room. It was like it was dead. She sensed…nothing. She was disconnected. Ophelia remembered feeling scared as a child, but for the first time in her adult life, she felt frightened, real fear and nauseatingly so.

  “This isn’t goo
d,” she muttered breathlessly.

  A chill ran up her spine as a clear crystal wall shot up, closing off the space in front of her and separating her from Carter and Kate. Her two familiars looked to her for reassurance and got none.

  Carter looked startled, Ophelia noted, but Kate was definitely in on something. What was it?

  Ophelia did her best to not let her terror betray her, but could barely keep her knees from buckling. She tried to maintain her smile, but she could feel her upper lip quiver uncontrollably, though she doubted they could see it on the safe side of the wall.