“Okay, explain this to me,” Millie said. “Because those guys have guns.”

“Right,” Dara shook her head. “They’re like bolt throwers, right? Not a problem. Besides, they won’t see me. I can send the fog up in there and…”

“And what?”

“Well, we have a holiday, Wandering Souls Night. It’s when kids dress up as imaginary beings and ask for candy so they can lead the souls they meet to their ultimate destination.”

“We’ve got something… sort of like it.” Millie nodded. “Go on.”

“Sometimes we play tricks or make places where spirits come up and ask them for candy. I mean, they’re not powerful spirits. It’s all in fun, but if you don’t know what spirits are…”

“You’re going to haunt them.” Millie stared at her. “You’re going to turn the spirits of the dead loose on a bunch of drug smugglers.”

“I—no!” Dara shook her head. “That’d be fraud! No mage can bring back the spirits of the dead.”

“Fraud?” Millie asked.

“It… was something that happened a long time ago, but modern mages just don’t say they can do that.”

“So, what are you going to do?”

“I’ll just make some things and let them draw the conclusion.” Dara said. “How long have I got?”

Millie paused and moved to get a look. “A while,” she said. “It looks like they’re divvying up the stuff.”

“Good.” Dara nodded. “Now give me a little time.” She slid back down to the bottom of the ditch, Millie joining her. They couldn’t see anything else, but the fog, dimly illuminated by her staff.

Good. Now… Dara ran through the calculations in her head. It wasn’t something that was difficult, but it took time. Especially since she didn’t have other people to help her with this. She’d done this even before she’d gone to college.

Granted, she hadn’t been trying to scare people who were armed, because even an apprentice could undo what she was about to do, but they didn’t have any apprentices.

Or I hope they don’t. She finished the outer circle. The fog would collect here. Unlike the park, this time, Dara inscribed the sigils that would allow her to direct it, sending it up and over into the yard. As she continued, softly speaking the words, the surrounding air grew damper, thicker, until neither she nor Millie could see more than a few inches.

“Okay, this is spooky,” Millie said. “More so than the park.”

“Right,” Dara said. “Just two more things, and we’re ready.” She held out her hand and spoke some words. Over her hand, a little orb of light sparked into existence, growing into a greenish light that flew up and orbited around Dara’s head. She repeated the act, again and again, until a little crown of stars floated around her head. “How do these look?” Dara gestured and part of the fog spread away from them, leaving a little open spot. Another gesture, and a dense mass of fog formed, looking like a cowled man. Finally, a pair of greenish lights rose up to float within the “head,” for all the world looking like gleaming eyes.

“Like I just stepped into a horror film,” Millie said. “But these guys may not give on that.”

“Which is why I’m trying one last thing.” Dara reached down and pulled out a sheet of paper from an interior pocket. “This will be a little harder, but…” She started writing on the sheet with her scriber, frowning as the complex diagram took form. “My affinity is elemental. That makes this a little easier to make, but it’ll only last for ten or fifteen minutes, and it’s not really strong.”

“What isn’t really strong?” Millie asked.

“My water elemental,” Dara said, finishing the last sigil with a flourish. Then she held it up, as the symbols started to glow with a bluish light. Dara took a deep breath.

I’m gonna sleep for a while tonight. It wasn’t a powerful elemental, but it still took something out of her.

Not powerful at all, in fact. Barely able to fight a person and the kind of thing that even Dara could dismiss with a few gestures.

Pity none of these men know about magic. Then Dara stood back from the humanoid form, gesturing and letting the last two orbs of light touch it, sinking into its head, while the dirty water changed, the exterior of the elemental forming a thick, muddy surface.

“So,” Dara said, “What do you think?”

“I think it’s gonna be pretty scary.”

“Enough to give someone an excuse to not come back?”

“Oh yeah.” Millie paused. “Just remember. Guns. Dangerous. Don’t get killed.”

“You stay behind me,” Dara told Millie. “I’ve got magic.”

“You’re also a teenager, so don’t get cocky. Also, I have an idea, so listen up.”

As Millie spoke, Dara found her eyes widening, and then fought the urge to giggle.

“I can do that,” she said. “Do you think it’ll work?”

“Yeah. I got a feeling it will. Also, try not to blow anything up this time.”

Dara rolled her eyes and raised the staff. The gleaming spheres of light found themselves in the shadowy fog-wraiths, while the water elemental slopped its way up the slope, making squelching sounds with every step. Then Dara closed her eyes and sent her commands, the fog rising up like a white tsunami, before it rolled over the fence and into the junkyard.

Time to see if this works.

James was excited as he stared at the table covered with the bundles of money and the big packages of drugs. The guys were letting him be one of the group. He’d driven from Barstow to here, with just one other guy, Tim, and they’d paid him three hundred bucks.

And they’d shown him what the package was, said it was important that he knew what he was moving. James wasn’t stupid. They were doing it so he couldn’t back out, but he didn’t want to back out. Three hundred bucks for a single day’s driving. That’d be fifteen hundred every five days. Maybe more, since Zeke said that if he was responsible, they’d give him more duties. That was why he had a gun for defense.

It also made him feel really tough. Nobody was going to mess—

“Where the fuck is that mist coming from?” Zeke asked.

James shook himself free from his fantasy and looked around. The back of the junkyard was a covered garage so no helicopters could see them, but far enough away from the street that they’d have plenty of warning if anyone else tried to raid the place. The back was just a drainage ditch with no way to get to them from the highway beyond, but now…

There was a literal river of fog, already up to James’ knees, flowing in like some kind of living thing. As he stared, another surge of mist filled the room, and the billowing white mass was now as high as his waist, tendrils of fog playing with the fire they’d set in one of the old drums for warmth. But the fog was sucking all the heat out of the air, and James shivered as a coiling finger seemed to tug at his hair.

“Right,” Zeke said, sniffing the air. “This is weird. I—“

There was a clanking sound from the rear of the garage where the fog was densest. James realized that now he couldn’t see to the edges of the garage, the lights and fire barely visible through the dense fog.

Zeke had pulled his gun. James did the same, even though it was a little .25 automatic. But it made him feel better.

“Think something is in the drainage ditch, like some chemicals?” one of the guys asked.

“It doesn’t smell like chemicals,” Zeke said. “I—“

There was a soft moan from the rear, and slowly, cloaked figures just seemed to rise out of the fog. They had glowing orbs where their eyes should have been. The sickly greenish glow of their eyes was the only thing that James could make out with any certainty.

“Oh fuck off,” Zeke said. “Some asshole is trying to scare us. Todd, kick the shit out of them.”

Todd was big and he liked to work out, but James didn’t feel sorry for the people who were trying to scare them. They were lucky that Zeke didn’t just shoot them.

Todd walked up to the nearest cloaked form, flipped his baseball bat from one hand to another, and then swung at it.

And the bat passed right through the figure.

“The fuck?” Todd said. “There’s nothing there!”

The fog just seemed to reform after the bat had passed through it. The only change was that now it was looking at Todd. Todd stepped back and then… Something flashed out of the fog and Todd toppled like a cut tree, vanishing from their sight as fell into the fog.

“Jesus Christ!” Zeke pulled out his gun. “Shoot it! Shoot it!”

James was frozen. The other guys were shooting, but the figures weren’t moving. They were acting like being shot didn’t bother them at all. Then something strode out of the mist, a misshapen creature looking sort of like a man, but puffy, its skin looking like mud, at least as far as James could tell.

Then the lights in the garage died, and they were in darkness, save for the flashes of the gunshots and the sound of people falling over. Someone kicked the barrel over and then there was a flare of light from the wood that fell out. It was on the table now, the drugs and money catching fire. Jake saw Zeke turn and run into the darkness, screaming his head off. Some others followed him.

James was frozen. He couldn’t move.

And then that big thing… turned and looked at him. And one of its hands was holding an unconscious Todd by the hair. It looked at him, tilted its head, and its eyes started to glow a little brighter.

James was knocked out of his paralysis, and with a wild yell, turned and fled from the chamber of horrors.

I can get to the car. I can get to the car! Then I can get out of here and I—

He stopped, because between him and the car, there was a figure, cloaked, shadowy.

A monster, not a person.

“YAAAAAHHHHH!!!!” James screamed and wildly shot with the .25, the cracking sound of the shots loud in his ears.

And he saw some hit it. He could swear that some hit it. It flinched, and he heard the sound of bullets striking the shed behind it, and…

Falling to the ground?

And then the figure was saying words, short, sharp words, before it held out its staff.

“I’m sorry?” he whimpered.

Then there was a flash, and James knew nothing more.

Dara was still cursing and rubbing her head, when Millie gestured for her to follow her. . There was a cheerful flickering light growing in the garage, and Dara paused.

“I thought we weren’t supposed to set any fires.”

“That was before I knew what they were doing. This way, the drugs are destroyed and the money… it’s mostly destroyed.”

“Right.” Dara rubbed her forehead again. “That hurt!”

“What?” Millie asked.

“His gun. I didn’t expect them to move so fast and they came through the hardened air.

Millie fell silent for a moment. Then she shook her head. “Okay,” she said, her voice a little unsteady. “Dara?”

“Yes?”

“That was a little gun. Don’t try that again. Ever.”

“You needed him scared.”

“I don’t need you dead.”

Dara shook her head. “Don’t worry, I won’t. It feels like I’ve been stung by some angry bees.”

“Right. Okay, give me a hand.”

Dara shook her head and gestured. Moments later, the water elemental came sloshing out of the garage. “The elemental can carry him. They’re not that strong in a fight, but carrying stuff is easier.”

Dara took a deep breath. The stunbolts, calling the spirit, the fog… she was tired. But they weren’t done yet. They quickly went back to the drainage ditch, the fog flowing back from the garage. Millie paused to make certain the fire wasn’t going to go anywhere else, before she turned and joined Dara, stepping between the unconscious forms.

“How long will they be out?”

“Five, maybe ten minutes,” Dara said. “I put a lot into the magic.”

“That won’t hurt them, will it?”

Dara shook her head. “It can only stun. The rules of magic don’t let it do any more than its purpose.”

“Interesting.”

Nobody saw them as they moved down the drainage ditch, although Dara heard the sound of sirens rising in the distance.

“Someone called the guard?”

“The way some of those guys tore out of here? Someone saw them or heard the shots and screams. Don’t worry about it. This isn’t nearly as unusual as what happened at Hancock Park, and well, guys who deal drugs tell a story that sounds like only someone out of their mind on drugs could come up with…” Millie paused. “Speaking of that, you got some juice for one last bit of magic.”

“What?”

“Just looking pretty. And here’s our car!”

Dara and Millie maneuvered the unconscious teen into the front passenger seat. Then Dara dismissed the elemental, the form dissolving into a puddle that swiftly sank into the dry ground. Then she got into the back seat.

I wonder if this is going to work? They’d have to see. Millie started the engine and pulled out onto the road, the motion feeling odd from where Dara sat. Slowly, the teen started to come to, then started and cried out.

“Where the fuck am I, man?”

“You’re lucky,” Millie said. “Your mom called and boy, is she scared! Said that her kid is involved with bad people. I said, ‘James? No, you gotta be shitting me. I got him out of trouble once, so he woudn’’t get right back into it, would he?’ But then I find you trying to speed run a felony.”

Dara took her cue. She leaned back in the seat, the darkness rendering her into an indistinct figure. Then she cast another cantrip, two greenish-blue orbs growing just in front of her eyes.

“What, look I can—“ James looked back and screamed. “It’s in the car! It’s in the fucking car!”

Millie glanced into her mirror. “What are you talking about? There’s nothing there.”

“It is, can’t you see it?”

“Wow, no, but then I wouldn’t.”

“What?”

“Haven’t you ever heard of revenants? Pissed off ghosts? They like to follow those who wronged them.”

“Wh-what? I didn’t do anything—“

“You were working with those guys, and I bet they don’t carry guns for show. I mean, revenants don’t generally pop up because you let your dog crap on their lawn.”

“What’s it—why is it back there?”

“Nothing’s back there, like I said.” Millie glanced back at Dara, and Dara nearly forgot that spirits of the dead didn’t panic, even if Millie wasn’t looking at the road. “Nope, nothing. I mean, if there was something, it wouldn’t be sitting in back unless…”

“Unless what?”

“Well, maybe it figured you aren’t a lost cause. So it’s giving you another chance. But I mean, that’d require there’s something back there.”

“I shot it—“

“Bullets can’t kill something that’s already dead.” Millie paused. “I mean, good news. From what I’ve read, if it’s just following you, it’s probably wanting to make certain you don’t go back to that gang. Or any other. Most of ‘em also got blood on their hands, and you know, the next revenant might not be so understanding.” She paused, then laughed. “If they existed, but you know, we’re talking about stories.”

“I—I…” then they were turning the corner and pulling into the parking lot to a small apartment complex.

“C’,mon, I’ll take you home and keep you from getting murdered. But just remember, if you’re worried about running into any kind of spooky critter, just don’t keep bad company and you should be safe.”

“But… how did you know where I was? Why are you here?”

“Your friend.”

“What?”

“Your friend, with the whispery voice. He called me on your phone and told me you’d need some help tonight.”

“I—I…” James pulled his phone out, and turned the screen on. “I didn’t—nobody has used this phone,” He whispered, then swallowed.

“Don’t know what to tell you. Huh, that’s strange,” Millie said, consulting her phone. “I don’t have a record of the call either. Huh. Guess it was your ghost buddy.”

James whimpered again, then opened the door and spilled out onto the pavement. There were no lights in the parking lot, and the lights from the apartments were barely enough to illuminate the car.

He turned and looked back, and Dara did exactly what Millie had told her to do. The cantrip’s lights spread over her form like the lightning that sometimes clung to a ship’s rigging, and she raised one hand and then very deliberately wagged her finger in a reproving motion. Then she made a shooing motion towards the apartment.

And then Dara released the spell, the lights swiftly fading out, and from the view point of someone looking at the car from the apartment, those lights playing over the car’s windows, it would look like she had vanished into the darkness.

James didn’t wait for Millie. He turned and ran for the apartment building, as Dara waited in the car, and resisted the temptation to rub at the welts that the bolt thrower had left on her.

“I’ve gotta figure out a better shield if I’m going to keep doing this,” she said to the empty air.

When Millie got back in the car, Dara was still in the backseat. She waited as Millie pulled out onto the road and started back to her house.

“Was it wise to frighten him like that?” Dara asked.

“Sure was. Getting scared by a ghost is a hell of a lot better than doing ten to twenty in the state pen, or worse, getting killed.” Millie shook her head as she pulled out onto the road leading back to the freeway.

“And this will keep him safe?”

“Sure will.” Millie smiled. “From our chat with his mom, this was the first time he was allowed to get into the real business. So he’s not been around enough to be known to the cops, at least not for this. As for the others talking about him… Well, I bet that by the time they get interviewed, the cops are going to assume they were high on their own supply. Since James won’t be talking about this, nobody is going to worry about him testifying.” She paused. “And… Well, they have family up in Northern California. I sort of suggested that maybe, in a few weeks, moving back there, just in case James thinks about backsliding.” She chuckled. “She offered me some money as a fee, but I told her to keep it. That should help them.”

“You waived your fee.”

“Yep, they need it.”

Dara closed her eyes for a moment. “The fee you need for rent.”

“I’ve got some other plans.”

“Do they also involve waiving your fee?”

Millie glanced back at her. “Hey, wizard from another world or not, no teenage snark in the car.” She paused and looked back to the road, which made Dara feel much better. “Besides, I got you a present.”

“What?”

Millie reached down into the seat by her and pulled up a bundle of money. “Payment for your compass.”

“What?” Dara asked. “Wait, if you have that, we have the money for the rent!”

“No, we don’t,” Millie told her. “Here’s the thing, buying scrap platinum and gold jewelry? I can do that at swap-meets, and nobody really cares about it. We hand in a bunch of cash to pay the rent, and there’s every possibility that someone may wonder where we got all that cash, and we don’t have a good answer.” Millie paused. “And John’s… pretty anal about stuff like that. Just hand him money and he’ll want to make certain it’s clean—and John’s been a lot nicer than he has to be, so I’m not going to risk it in any case.” She pulled onto the freeway on-ramp, heading back to the house. Dara glanced at the cars zipping by outside. Even now, with the sky dark, there were dozens, hundreds of vehicles zipping by the car.

It’s night. Do people ever sleep around here? But then, they kept their lights on all the time. Dara stared at the city as they passed it, the lines of cars and bright lights showing that even now, people weren’t even thinking of sleep.

Back home, the shops would be closed and the people would be sleeping, talking, or studying. Sure you have to stay up now and then, but why do this all the time?

Dara shook her head. “So can we buy the materials, but not pay for your rent?” She closed her eyes, a wave of dizziness coming over her.

“Well, not directly, but if we have stuff left over, we can always sell that back and get more money, but I don’t always do freebies. This was special.”

“Right.” Dara felt an uncomfortable fluttering sensation in her belly. “I… I feel a little strange.”

“Your magic?” Millie asked as she changed lanes.

The sensation got worse.

“No,” Dara said. “It’s like I feel dizzy and a little nauseated. Magic doesn’t do that.”

“No it—ah, hell.” Millie started moving to the side of the road. “You’ve never been in the back seat of a car before.”

“No, I—“ Dara swallowed. “Oh, gods…”

“Okay, um, see, we have something called motion sickness. So we’re just going to pull over here…” Millie pulled the car off the side of the freeway, grabbed a bottle of water, and then jumped out, opening the door on Dara’s side. “Okay, out you go!” Millie said, helping Dara get out. Dara barely pulled her mask down before she fell over onto her hands and knees and noisily vomited everything she’d eaten out onto the cold ground.

“Isn’t this great!” Millie said. “Your first vomiting on planet earth and you didn’t even have to get drunk.

Dara looked up at Millie, and said nothing as Millie offered her the water. She washed her mouth out and spat onto the ground. Then Dara got up, walked to the car, put her hands on the roof and waited until the spirit-dammed world stopped moving around. When it finally did, she looked over at Millie, who still had that infuriating smile on her face.

“I hate everything about cars, and I will never sit in the rear seat again.”

“Well, at least not until you get a boyfriend and can’t find a hotel room.” Millie winked. “C’mon. Motion sickness usually isn’t a problem if you sit in the front seat and I can whip up some light soup when you get home.”

Dara winced at the thought of soup, but…

Great, now I’m sick to my stomach and hungry.

Stupid, stupid car!