Wraith stood in the middle of a ruined gothic church. Around her lay battered pews, tossed like some giant kid’s Lincoln Logs set after a particularly nasty tantrum. She turned slowly, taking in the place. Not one stained glass window was intact, and huge sections of the roof were missing, allowing her to see the storm raging outside. Lightning flashed over a leaden sky, but even those bursts of light couldn’t penetrate the gloom of this place. It was cold, dark, and incredibly familiar. The wind that howled through the holes sounded like the cries and moans of countless tortured souls.
Wraith saw movement in the shadows past the pulpit and altar. No, it was the shadows that were moving, and the whole building seemed to lurch as if they were chained to it. Wraith stumbled and took an unconscious step back, but paused when she heard voices. They were familiar but hard to make out over the wind. She crept forward until she could see Shadow and Nightstick facing each other in front of the altar.
“You know what my purpose is,” Nightstick said in a low, harsh tone.
Shadow motioned to the churning darkness that filled the far reaches of the church. “It keeps getting out. We’re doing our best to stop it, but it’s getting stronger. It’s almost like it has a mind of its own.”
Wraith stared, dumbstruck.
Nightstick clenched his fists, then kicked a pew. “I can control it!”
“Really?” Shadow asked. “Because from where I’m standing—”
“Don’t lecture me, little girl. I’ve allowed you and the others to leave—”
“You’ve allowed us?” Shadow asked.
“That’s right,” Nightstick said. “You wander because of my largess, and it’s a gift that can be taken away.”
“Just try and see what happens,” Shadow said.
“Don’t tempt me.”
Anger began to stir inside Wraith.
As if in response, the roiling shadows seemed to grow more frenetic and the wind outside responded in kind.
“Don’t forget that I’m not alone,” Shadow said.
Wraith felt a pervasive sensation of being watched. She glanced around nervously, and that’s when she noticed the carved angels all around her. Every one of them was staring at her.
“You think the lot of you can stand against me?” Nightstick asked.
“If need be,” Shadow said. “You’re just the steward of power, a caretaker. And you know, she’ll never let you—”
“She has what I allow her to have,” he said. “And this is my domain, not hers. She doesn’t want to know. Or have you forgotten as well?”
“You’re wrong,” Shadow said. “Maybe she didn’t, but she does now. You’re just afraid of what that means for you.”
“I’m afraid of nothing!” he bellowed and raised a hand. “I hold power beyond imagining!”
“Leave her alone!” Wraith shouted and rushed forward.
Both figures turned to her and stared. Nightstick’s face was the usual mask of shadow, but Wraith could sense the surprise on his face.
Wraith stepped in front of Shadow and glared at Nightstick. “Don’t you touch her.”
Nightstick looked between the two girls. “You brought her here?”
“No,” Shadow said, shaking her head. “I don’t know how—”
“No one likes trespassers,” Nightstick said, turning his attention back to Wraith.
“Interesting way to word it,” Shadow said.
“I’m just the steward, right? A guard dog,” Nightstick said. “Any issues with the arrangements need to be taken up with management.”
“What the hell are you talking about?” Wraith asked.
She couldn’t say how, but Wraith knew Nightstick smiled. “Unfortunately, management isn’t available just now.”
Something about his voice and the way it echoed here made Wraith more than a little uneasy, but she didn’t move. Nightstick stepped forward. Wraith took a step back and felt Shadow behind her. Somehow knowing her friend was there pushed back at the fear.
“I won’t let you take her,” Wraith said. “I won’t let you hurt her, not again.”
Nightstick froze in place. “What? No—”
Formulations appeared in the air around Wraith and she drew them to her. More calculations began flowing down from the carved angels around her, and without looking, Wraith knew they had followed her movements and were watching her still.
“No,” Nightstick said looking around. “You’re confused, I’m not—”
As her rage began to build, the shadows churned and began whispering in a thousand voices.
“It’s going to get loose again!” Shadow said.
“Get out! Get her out of here!” Nightstick shouted, then turned to the shadows, lifting his shillelagh. “That’s enough from you!”
“Time to go, Stretch,” Shadow said and pulled at Wraith’s shoulder.
Wraith had taken half a dozen steps before she’d even realized she was moving.
Nightstick swung his shillelagh at the darkness, shouting curses. It recoiled from the blows and retreated.
“What is this place?” Wraith said, turning to her friend.
Shadow looked at her with sad eyes, ageless wisdom in those dark pools. “You know it, but you’ve forgotten.”
“What does that mean?”
The building shook around them and the crucifix that hung above the altar fell with a crash.
“Soon,” Shadow said and cupped Wraith’s face in her hands.
Wraith wanted to ask more, but Shadow kissed her forehead and everything went away.
Wraith opened her eyes. She was back in the safe house, lying in bed, her bed. Toto lay next to her, still and sleeping but warm against her side. She didn’t move, just stared at the ceiling, following the lines in the wooden beams, and she knew she’d done this countless times before. She also knew that she’d done it while feeling this same sense of loss weighing on her heart.
But it had been just a dream. Hadn’t it?
She turned her head and saw Ovation, Geek, Con, and Sprout were asleep on the other beds, away from her. That was why the beds had been arrange this way, so she could look over her friends as they rested, even if these were different friends.
She closed her eyes and drew in a deep breath, taking in all the familiar scents, letting them wrap around her like a soft blanket. She went back to the dream, or not-dream, and tried to figure out what it all meant. After a few minutes she let it go, tiring of chasing her proverbial tail. Instead, she decided on a course of action.
She moved carefully, but Toto woke immediately.
“Shh,” she said.
When he cocked his head, she leaned in close.
“I’m going without them, boy,” she said. “They have their own fight, and this one is mine.” She looked around. “They’ll be safe here, no one can get in. Besides, it’s me they’re after.”
Toto looked at her for a long moment, then he rose and stretched.
“No, boy,” she said and glanced at Sprout. “You stay here and watch over them for me.”
Toto whimpered a little and buried his face into Wraith’s neck.
“I want you to come too, buddy,” she said, hugging the big dog. “But I need you here to keep Sprout from getting scared. I promise I’ll come back as soon as I can.”
Toto looked at her then licked her face a few times.
She hugged the dog again, petting him as she did. “Thanks, boy.”
Toto gave her a doggy grin, then he went and settled back on the bed, facing the sleeping quartet.
Wraith got to her feet and gathered her belongings, including the gauntlet and goggles, careful not to make a sound. As she stepped around the room, she instinctively knew which boards creaked and avoided them. When she was ready, she stepped to the door, set the goggles on top of her head, then slipped on the glove and ran her fingers over the doorframe. It was a slow process, gently unweaving the seemingly infinite threads that locked this door, and perhaps every other door as well.
When it was done, she wrapped the door in another calculation and opened it. On the other side she could see a neighborhood just waking up. Before stepping through, she glanced back at her friends. They were her friends, weren’t they? She looked at her bed, where Toto was watching her. She realized she didn’t remember going to it after locking the door, so someone had put her to bed.
“Thank you,” she whispered.
Steeling her will, she drew a breath, and stepped through the door. She closed it slowly and softly, then pulled the equation from it. She couldn’t risk them following her, so she let the door close. She’d come back as soon as she could, probably before they even woke. Then she’d find someplace for them.