Damned and Cursed (Book 2): Witch's Kurse (59 page)

Magic spells and recipes always came to him when he least expected it.
 
They usually came when he was at his mostly relaxed, or when he read his spell-book.
 
Being in Leese's company had already conjured up an interesting spell or two in their time together.

It also came to him at his most stressed.

Ingredients and words written in the witch's language flashed through his mind as he headed toward the library.
 
He had to lean against a locker several times, drawing a look from teachers as they walked by.
 
Part of him wanted to focus on the magic and reflect on the new spells, but he couldn't take his mind off of Tiffany.
 
There was the chance she was at home waiting for him, with some kind of crazy story about leaving school.
 
But he simply didn't think so.

Kevin turned into the library.
 
He was ready to search from top to bottom, question whoever he had to, but that wasn't necessary.
 
Luck was on his side, as he saw immediately what he was looking for.

There were about ten children and one teacher in the library.
 
They were performing some kind of fake newscast.
 
Two children smiled for a camera while a teacher flipped through cue cards, and the other children moved background scenery around.

The camera was what Kevin was interested in.

He marched across the library.
 
The children stopped talking as he approached, and the teacher turned around to face him.

"Yes?" he said, irritated at the interruption.
 
"May I help you?
 
Are you lost?"

"I need that camera."

"Who are you—?"

Kevin reached for another potion, and the children and teacher both gasped as his hand disappeared inside his coat.
 
He felt guilty.
 
With all the school shootings and violence, of course they thought the worst.
 
They were only afraid for a second when the vial broke, then they all fell asleep.
 
The two children doing the newscast slumped on each other, while one child fell out his chair.
 
Kevin unscrewed the camera from the stand and left the library.

His conscience tugged at him as he reached for more magic inside his coat.
 
He'd basically just assaulted a school.
 
Children and adults would wake up with questions they'd not be able to answer.
 
Their worlds would change.

As long as he found Tiffany, it was worth it.
 
He'd use everything in his coat to find her.

The playground was nearly deserted as he left the school.
 
Some children ran wild while a few parents talked and gossiped.
 
Melissa and Stacy were still there.
 
Melissa ran with a group of girls while Stacy spoke with two fathers.

Kevin pulled two potions from his coat and mixed them together.
 
It turned bright orange, catching the eye of Melissa and her friends.
 
He examined the camera.
 
The most important accessory it had was a viewfinder, complete with pause and playback function.
 
It was perfect for what he had in mind.

He poured the new potion on the camera, rubbing it into the viewfinder.
 
Taking a deep breath, he tried to wrap his mind around yet another law-bending magic spell.
 
He pointed the camera around the playground, but the viewfinder didn't match his surroundings.

The viewfinder showed what happened six hours in the past.

He caught Melissa's eye, who was whispering with her friends.
 
She looked away when their eyes met, embarrassed.

"Hey, Melissa.
 
Come here a second."

Her friends scattered as Kevin approached her.
 
She lowered her gaze shyly and her cheeks turned red.
 
He dropped to one knee next to her.

"When do you eat lunch?" he asked.
 
"Do you eat at the same time as Tiffany?"

"Uh, yeah," she said.
 
"We're in the same class.
 
Lunch is at eleven o'clock."

"Did you guys play together today?"

"For a little bit.
 
Then we started a game of dodge ball, and she doesn't play that."

"Did you see where she went at all?"

She shook her head.
 
Kevin sighed in frustration.
 
He just needed a starting point, any place at all.
 
With his magic and technology working together, he could see everything that happened on the playground at lunchtime.
 
But the playground was a big place.

"Sometimes she like to climb on that," Melissa said, pointing to a dangerous looking collection of metal bars and swings.
 
"But I don't know if she did today, though."

"Thank you, Melissa."

"You're welcome."

Kevin stood in front of the jungle gym.
 
He pointed the camera at it and pressed fast-forward on the viewfinder.
 
Events from the past flew by as if he were watching a recording.
 
A stray cat walked by, as well as a car in the background.
 
Finally, some children showed up, jumping and climbing, and he knew he was watching their lunchtime.
 
He recognized a girl playing by herself, hanging upside-down and laughing.

"Tiffany."

He slowed the camera to normal speed.
 
There was no audio, but he didn't need any.
 
He watched her play, and then in a fit of boredom, she left the jungle gym.
 
Tiffany circled around the fence by herself.
 
Kevin kept a step behind her, and could feel the curious stares of the few parents remaining as he pointed the camera at nothing.

Tiffany stopped walking as she neared the break in the fence, and Kevin aimed the camera high to see what she was watching.
 
A policeman stood on the sidewalk, next to his parked cruiser.
 
She seemed wary, and it was easy to see she was distrusting of police officers.

Although Kevin didn't believe he was a policeman.

They spoke for nearly a minute, and the policeman inched closer to the break in the fence.
 
Kevin nearly shouted for Tiffany to run, as silly as it was.
 
He had a sinking feeling he knew what he'd see.

He wasn't wrong.

When Tiffany didn't blindly follow the policeman to the cruiser, he grabbed her.
 
With one hand around her waist and the other over her mouth, she didn't stand a chance as he shoved her in the back of the cruiser, in broad daylight, in view of a school full of children.
 
Bold, risky, but ultimately successful.
 
He felt sick to his stomach as he watched the scene through the viewfinder, knowing there was nothing he could do.

Kevin paused the camera as the cruiser started to pull away.
 
He lowered his gaze to the ground and squeezed the fence until his fingers turned red.

Tiffany, the young girl he was responsible for, was kidnapped.

Fear laced with anger flooded through him.
 
The parents were still giving him sideways looks, and it was tempting to toss every sleep potion he had across the playground, give them a four-hour break.
 
Instead, he jogged toward Stacy, Melissa's mother, who checked messages on a cell phone.

"Excuse me, Miss Stacy," he called.

"Kevin, please.
 
Just Stacy."

"I don't know this area very well, and I have someplace I need to be.
 
Could you call me a cab?"

"Well, yeah," she said, confused.
 
"I could.
 
But you need a lift?
 
I could drive you wherever you need to go.
 
Is Tiffany okay?"

"Everything's fine," he said, trying to keep his voice from breaking.
 
"And no, thank you.
 
I just need a cab."

Stacy obliged, and Kevin paced on the sidewalk as he waited.
 
The minutes stretched.
 
He peered into the paused viewfinder every so often, wondering if the crazy idea in his head would work.

He even pushed the camera
into
the cruiser.

It was strange, watching a moment frozen in time.
 
Tiffany was standing on the back seat, pounding on the cage separating her from the front.
 
The man dressed as an officer drove, his eyes on the road, but there was a man sitting next to him in plain clothes.
 
He was turning in his seat, in the middle of shouting at Tiffany.
 
Kevin saw the gun in the passenger's hand, and the lump grew in his throat.

He had to get to her.

"Hey, buddy.
 
Nice coat.
 
Are you okay?"

He looked up from the viewfinder to see the cab next to him in the middle of the street.
 
The driver had an amused smile and shook his head.

"Are you one of those goofy film weirdos?" he asked.
 
"I swear, you kids today, with your picture phones and everything."

Kevin said nothing.
 
He simply climbed in the back and pointed the camera forward, keeping the cruiser in the center of the viewfinder.

"Whoa, now.
 
You're not filming me, are you?"

"No.
 
Just…don't worry about it."

"Where are we heading?"

"I'm not sure yet."

The cabbie laughed.
 
"That might make getting to our destination a bit hard."

"I'll tell you where to go.
 
It'll be a pain, I know.
 
But I'll guide you."

"Hey, you're the boss."

Kevin imagined it was the strangest car chase of all time.
 
They pursued a police cruiser from several hours in the past, driving the speed limit.
 
He didn't know the names of the streets, and had to settle for giving the cabbie simple directions of left and right.
 
They missed one turn, and Kevin had to pause the camera while they circled around the block.

The drive took nearly twenty minutes.
 
They ended up outside town on a lonely stretch of dirt road off the highway.
 
Trees were on both sides, and the road stretched on over a hill approaching.

"Uh, kid?" the cabbie said.
 
"Do you have any idea where the hell you're going?"

Kevin still watched the cruiser in the camera.
 
The cruiser went over the slight hill, with the cab following.
 
There was a building in the viewfinder, in the distance.

"Stop!" Kevin shouted.

The cabbie slammed the breaks, and they both lurched forward.

"What the hell is your problem?" he said.
 
"This is getting too damn weird for me."

Kevin kept his eyes glued on the viewfinder.
 
The police car drove forward, toward the building.
 
It looked like a hangar or warehouse.
 
It stopped near a large open bay door, and he could barely make out two adults, one carrying Tiffany, leaving the cruiser and going inside.

"Back up," Kevin ordered.
 
"Go back over the hill."

"Okay, that's enough," the cabbie said, although he did drive in reverse.
 
"You're not getting me involved in some kind of crazy drug deal.
 
I'm dropping you off right here."

"You're right, you are."

He fished in his pocket for one of two hundred-dollar bills he kept with him, from Jack's money.
 
Handing it over, he didn't bother asking for change.
 
The cabbie's attitude shifted.

"Do you need me to wait here for you?"

"No.
 
I'm okay."

"Really?
 
You're just gonna walk back to town?"

"Not quite."

Kevin didn't wait for the cabbie to drive away before he started walking.
 
He didn't follow the road.
 
He crossed the open field to the trees, keeping hidden.
 
The police cruiser still sat where it parked several hours ago.
 
There were flashes of movement just inside the open door, and he thought he heard a laugh or two.

He left the trees and walked straight for the side of the building.
 
With the large field and strip of pavement nearby, Kevin assumed it was a private airplane hangar of some kind.
 
He felt exposed and vulnerable as he neared the siding, but the thought of Tiffany pushed his fears aside.

There was laughter inside, with animated conversation.
 
He pulled out his eyeglasses and slipped them on, standing mere inches away from the wall.
 
His eyeglasses were a cheap pair of reading glasses he'd picked up at a pharmacy.
 
With a simple touch from him, they let him see through anything.

The hangar had two aisles separated by huge metal racks.
 
Most were empty, but there were a few skids sitting about.
 
A long table was near the other side of the hangar, full of weapons.
 
Two men were doing an inspection, while three others walked aimlessly, drinking beer.
 
A van was parked near another bay door.

Tiffany wasn't far away, sitting in a chair in the corner.
 
Her hands gripped the arms, and he could see she was restrained in some way.
 
A blindfold was wrapped around her eyes.
 
A camera sat on a tripod across from her, with wires running all over the floor.