Chapter L

When she and Vinny left the hospital, Alice was surprised to find that it was raining. She hadn’t seen anything in the forecast suggesting that it would rain that night so she hadn’t brought her raincoat or an umbrella. However, she found the light sprinkle to be strangely relaxing and since it wasn’t coming down that hard, she didn’t think it would be too big of a deal, especially since Ralph’s was right down the road. She smiled for a moment, then tightened her grip on Vinny’s hand and continued walking. They made it to Main Street quickly and Alice was grateful that there weren’t too many people out and about. Usually, it was more crowded at that time of night, so she guessed that most probably fled into the surrounding stores and restaurants to take cover from the rain. Luckily, there were overhangs covering most of the sidewalks so she and Vinny were able to stay relatively dry.

Once they reached the crosswalk, Vinny pressed the button with his elbow and, seconds later, the light on the other side turned green. They crossed the street and arrived in the parking lot of Ralph’s Diner. There were very few cars parked there so she figured it was a slow night, probably due to the festival providing plenty of dinner options for its customers. Of course, Alice didn’t mind. If she and Vinny had the place all to themselves then she was okay with that. When they reached the front door, the boy reached out and opened it for her, motioning for her to go in first. She thanked him and went inside, happy to be in a dry and heated room. The two made their way up to the front just as a familiar hostess hurried over to greet them.

“Hey, Al’,” Monica said. “And Mickelson, of course. Table for two, I imagine?”

The blonde girl smiled as she reached under the stand to grab them some menus. While Alice didn’t need one, Vinny hadn’t been there enough times to have a usual.

“Yeah, just for two,” Alice replied, then glanced around at the numerous empty tables in the restaurant. “Not a busy night, I guess?”

Monica nodded as she led them to the table Jay usually sat at against the far left wall. “Yeah, it’s been a slow night. Though, we all kinda figured it would be cause of the festival. Rachel and I are the only ones working tonight, actually. We’ve had one customer and it was Mr. Frank.”

Alice chuckled, knowing old man Frank rarely missed his weekly dinners at the diner. Even if he had gone to the festival, he would have almost assuredly made time to come to Ralph’s. The thought made Alice laugh.

“Makes sense,” she replied, taking a seat at the booth as Vinny slid into the bench opposite her.

Monica set the menus down in front of them and Vinny immediately grabbed his, clearly eager to get something to eat. She imagined he was probably pretty hungry since all he had eaten that day was the giant brownie he had for lunch.

“By the way,” Monica began, “I’ve been meaning to call you and ask, but how’s Brooks doing? Any news?”

The mention of Jay’s name made Alice tense up. She had a feeling Monica would ask about him, but she had been praying that she wouldn’t. After all, there wasn’t any good news Alice could give her. Nothing had changed.

“No, unfortunately not,” she replied. “He’s still sleeping. We actually just came from the hospital.”

Monica nodded somberly. “I’m sorry, Al’. I hope he gets better soon. I’m really starting to miss him. He used to stop by all the time and even now, I find myself getting ready for his after school visits only to remember he’s not coming.”

“Well, be ready cause he’ll get up eventually,” Vinny chimed in, setting his menu down. “He’s a tough bastard. He’ll wake up.”

Monica regarded Vinny for a moment then grinned. “Yeah, you’re right. And I’ll be ready for whenever he does with a Meirion Omelet hot and ready for him to enjoy.”

Alice smiled. “Yeah, he’d like that, I think.”

For a second, the three of them went quiet, and she couldn’t help but imagine Jay sitting at their very table, enjoying that same dish he always ordered. It always made work a little more enjoyable for Alice when she could glance across the diner and see her best friend just relaxing at his table.

“Well, can I get you guys something to drink?” Monica offered.

“Actually, if Alice is ready, too, I think I’m good to order,” Vinny replied.

“Yeah, I’m ready.”

The hostess nodded. “Perfect. Then what can I get for you guys?”

She and Vinny put their orders in, then Monica turned and made her way back to the kitchen. Alice watched her go for a moment before glancing back to look at Vinny. He seemed deep in thought and she knew he was still hung up over Jay. He might have acted confident in front of Monica, but she knew from their conversation at the hospital that her boyfriend was very worried about him. She appreciated how much he cared. For all of his flaws, she knew Vinny Mickelson was a good guy.

Not wanting to stay stuck on negative topics, Alice brought up the festival and the two of them began chatting about how much fun they had. Alice had spent much of the day helping the drama club set up for their performance. She and a few other track members had offered since Matt Briggs’ little sister was in the club. She only had a bit of free time to meet Vinny, Damien, and Liz for lunch. However, she had the next two days free so she wanted to spend it with the Magic Club. She also promised Vinny that she’d get a fortune from them and she was excited to see what ridiculous ideas they came up with.

According to Vinny, they didn’t get too many customers, something they had all predicted would be the case. Though Brad Fischer had stopped by, as well as Lilly’s older sister, a girl Alice had never met. Vinny had told her about what happened and seemed fairly determined to try and help Lilly, though she and Damien had convinced him to leave it to Eric.

Although, I do wish we could do something to help, Alice thought. I still owe Lilly after everything she did for Jay and I. I wonder if there’s something I could do.

After fifteen minutes, Monica came back with their food. Both of them had ordered Meirion Omelets since their earlier conversation had put the meal on their minds.

“Alright, enjoy, guys,” Monica said. “And don’t hesitate to wave me over if you need anything.”

With that, the hostess turned and headed off. Both of them immediately began digging into their food. It was only then that Alice realized how hungry she had been, too. She’d been better about getting food at the festival but, seeing as it was already eight o’clock, she realized it was far past her normal dinner time. They stayed at the hospital longer than she planned to.

“God, I forgot how good this omelet is,” Vinny said between bites.

Alice laughed. “Yeah, and I’ll never forget the first time you had it. I’ll admit, you made an odd first impression.”

He cringed. “Please…don’t remind me.”

The first time she and Vinny had ever truly interacted, Alice had been in Jay’s body on the day her best friend had stolen the stone from Lilly. Vinny had been under the impression that she was Jay, so he took Jay’s omelet and began eating it in front of her as he pretty much insulted her. When he realized she wasn’t actually Jay, the look on his face had been priceless.

“That was back in August, huh?” Alice murmured. “Time really does fly, doesn’t it? Soon enough, it’ll be summer again.”

“I know, it’s weird,” he replied. “As chaotic as this year has been, it feels like it all flew by too fast. I mean, we’ve got a little under two months until junior year is over.”

She took another bite of her food and sighed. “Yeah, it’s been chaotic, that’s for sure.”

It was then that she heard the sound of the diner’s front door opening and she glanced curiously over to see who was coming. However, the moment she looked, she couldn’t help but frown. The person who had entered was wearing a pure white cloak with the hood pulled up over their face. Based on their small stature, it may have been a woman but Alice couldn’t be sure. Regardless, it was a strange sight and one she couldn’t help but stare at for a moment. When she stayed silent, Vinny glanced up to see what she was looking at and frowned as well.

“What the hell?” he muttered.

Monica didn’t immediately come out to greet the person so Alice assumed she must’ve been in the bathroom. She expected the hooded figure to stop and wait but, much to her surprise, they never broke their stride and instead turned to walk toward them. Alice and Vinny both sat up and she could see her boyfriend tensing up a bit.

What does this weirdo want with us? Alice wondered.

As the figure got closer, Alice could better see the curve of her body and was able to confirm that it was a woman. However, she kept her head lowered so she couldn’t make out any of her facial features. The individual stopped only a few yards away from their table.

“Uh…” Vinny stuttered. “Can we help you?”

“Yes,” the woman replied. “I was wondering if either of you knew an Eric Reiner?”

Alice and Vinny both looked at her in surprise.

Eric? This woman knows Eric? How? And why would she think either of us knew him?

“And what if we do?” Vinny replied, slightly more harsh than Alice would have liked. “How do you know him?”

The woman clicked her tongue. “I’m…an old friend of his mother’s and since I was in town, I thought I’d pay him a visit. Unfortunately, the Reiners moved since the last time I was here. You wouldn’t happen to have their address, would you?”

Alice suddenly felt a shiver go down her back. For some reason, her instincts were shouting at her not to let this woman have what she wanted. There was something off about her. Alice wasn’t sure what but she knew it was there.

“I’m sorry, we don’t know,” she said firmly. “Reiner’s just a classmate. We’ve only ever spoken to him once or twice.”

The woman didn’t immediately reply. Instead, she stood there silently and Alice could feel her eyes on them despite being covered by her hood. “Is that so?” she murmured. “Interesting. So you can’t help me then?”

Vinny shook his head. “We can’t. Sorry.”

“Then…” The woman paused. “You’re telling me that neither of you have ever swapped bodies with another?”

Alice exhaled sharply and she immediately cursed herself for being so obvious. She just couldn’t help herself.

This woman knows about the stone?! How?! How is that possible?! Who is she?!

“Oh?” A dark smile twisted the corner of her lips. “So you do know what I’m talking about? Curious. I thought you didn’t know Reiner? But you know of his stone?”

Vinny immediately jumped to his feet then approached the woman with his fists clenched at his side. Despite being a few inches taller than her, she seemed more intimidating. Alice’s instincts were screaming at her to get Vinny to back away.

“Who the hell are you?” he demanded. “How do you know about the stone?”

The woman laughed softly. “How do I know? Simple. It’s mine.”

Hers?! So she’s the owner of the stone?!

Vinny obviously tensed up and he took a step back, his features contorting in shock. “Y-you’re saying…it was yours?” he uttered. “But…who are you?! How do you know about magic?”

“Who am I?” the woman parroted once more. “My name is Album Luz and I’m a Master of Ijiria. To dumb that down for you, I’m one of the most powerful magic users in existence. So…I would warn you not to be so antagonistic.”

Alice’s mind was spinning as she desperately tried to figure out what to do. Even though she didn’t know what a “Master of Ijiria” was, she didn’t think the woman—this Album Luz—was lying. Alice could feel the power emanating from her. She quickly jumped to her feet to stand beside Vinny.

“Please!” she said. “We don’t want any trouble. If you want the stone, we can—”

Alice stopped mid-sentence as she saw Monica approaching them from over the woman’s shoulder. She looked concerned and could almost certainly tell that something was wrong.

“Is everything okay over here?” Monica asked. “Can I help you, Miss?”

Album turned her head to look over her shoulder and shook her head. “No thank you. I’m perfectly fine as is. And for that matter…” She raised her voice then, as if addressing somebody not in the room. “Nigreos, I think I’m good. Go ahead.”

Before Alice could even wonder what she meant, something so terrible happened that she could hardly process it. A shadow in the shape of a spike shot from the ceiling directly at Monica. It was so quick that Alice wasn’t even sure she’d seen it correctly. But then, a mere second later, the blade of shadow pierced the girl’s neck and emerged on the other side, her blood spurting out with it and splattering across the floor. Monica’s eyes were wide and blood was leaking from her open mouth. Alice could only stare, trying desperately to process what she had just witnessed. Monica’s eyes slowly shifted and looked directly at her, and Alice knew at that moment that she would never forget that sight for as long as she lived.

“Moni…” she uttered.

She didn’t get the rest of the word out before the shadow faded into nothingness and Monica’s eyes glazed over as her body crumpled to the floor, unmoving. Then, before either she or Vinny could do anything, the lights in the diner all shut off at the same time. The only light came from the streetlamps outside in the parking lot. Alice knew she had to do something but she couldn’t tear her eyes away from the corpse of her coworker and friend. She could hear shouting from inside the kitchen but it only lasted a few seconds before everything went quiet again.

What should I do?! Is she…dead?! Is Monica…? I need to run! I need to run!

“What the hell?” Vinny uttered. “What is thi—!”

She turned her head frantically as Vinny grunted and when she did, Alice could only continue to gape in utter terror, unable to move or make a sound as her brain refused to react. Her mind was running too fast for her body to process. Album had shoved her hand straight through Vinny’s chest, her fingers protruding from the other side.

“Vinny?” Alice breathed.

She could just barely make out a twisted smile on Album’s lips as she spoke a single word.

“Erasurei.”

Album then wrenched her hand from Vinny’s body and her boyfriend stumbled backwards, staring down at his chest, stunned. Then, a tremor seemed to shoot through him, and he simply fell apart. It was as if his joints all turned to sand. His arms, legs, fingers, and even his head separated from his torso with grains of dust seeping out rather than blood. The pieces of his body fell to the ground and Vinny never made a single sound. It was so horrifying that all Alice could do was scream. She lost feeling in her legs and collapsed to the ground. All she could do was shriek as tears poured down her cheeks. She knew she had to run. She was going to die. This woman was going to kill her. But she couldn’t look away from Vinny. The pieces of his body just crumbled into dust until there was nothing left of him.

Wait…what am I doing? I need to run? Monica’s dead! I need to get out of here! She’s going to kill me!

Coming to her senses, Alice jumped to her feet and sprinted toward the front door of the diner, desperate to get out to Main Street and call for help. There had to be somebody out there that could do something. Monica was murdered right before her very eyes. Her friend had been killed! She was dead! Alice burst through the front door and out into the rain, but the moment she stepped into the parking lot, she lost her balance and fell to the ground.

Damn it! Not now! This isn’t the time to fucking fall!

She went to scramble to her feet but, to her shock, she only stumbled again, but this time she hit her head against the concrete. She was seeing stars but her instincts kept urging her to run. She tried to get up a third time but couldn’t feel her right leg. She desperately looked back to check for the woman in white only to realize why she couldn’t stand. There, by the door, was her leg, severed from the knee down. She went to scream…but not a sound made it out.

Her body was suddenly wrenched into the air and it felt like something was invading her body. All around her, she could see shadows swirling and forcing their way through every orifice she had. It felt like something thick was filling her lungs, her veins, her intestines. Her entire body felt full and she couldn’t breathe no matter how hard she tried. It was horrifying. She felt claustrophobic and she desperately flailed her limbs to try and escape. The pain from her severed leg was catching up with her now and she could feel herself losing consciousness.

No! Please! I don’t want to die! Not like this!

Just as her vision began to fade, Alice could just barely see a man in a black suit approach her, before everything faded into unconsciousness.