Hunters in the Night (4 page)

“This
is your brain on nightcrafting,” Newton said.

“That’s
fascinating,” I said. “But what the hell does it mean?”

“Your
brainwaves are at a very specific frequency,” Newton said. "The highest
frequency the average human brain reaches on a normal day is around a hundred
hertz — the top end of the gamma wave range. This range is usually prevalent
during cognitive tasks that combine two different senses, or tasks like memory
matching. But when you’re doing whatever it is you do, your brain wave
frequency gets way above the gamma range, at precisely two hundred and fourteen
hertz. And it never wavers. It’s extraordinary.”

“Okay,”
I said. “I’m glad we’re getting into specifics now.”

“But
wait . . . there’s more,” Newton said with a beaming smile. “Every time you
slip into nightcrafting mode, there’s a low level effect in the area around you
— an extremely low frequency, or ELF, electromagnetic field. Can you guess what
frequency it’s at?”

“Two
fourteen,” I said.

“Exactly,”
Newton answered. “It’s really quite phenomenal. The frequencies are so low it
would be easy to dismiss them as ambient fields from electrical equipment or
something like that.”

“So
what does this mean?”

“I
have absolutely no idea,” Newton said. “So far, all we can get is data. I have
no hypothesis for what that data means. There is no scientific explanation for
what you can do. It is, for all intents and purposes, magic.”

“Well
no shit,” I said. “Magic, you say? I’m
so
glad we went through all these tests to figure that out.”

“You’re
a smart ass,” Newton said.

“You’re
the smart one,” I answered. “I’m just an ass.”

Newton
just nodded and tapped his tablet screen a few times before he said, “Tell me
about your background. Your records show your parents are native Hawaiian.”

“Only
one of my parents,” I said. “My father’s family has lived on the islands for a
couple hundred years at least. My mother’s family came from Japan around eighty
years ago.”

“I
see,” Newton said as he furiously typed some updates. “And you grew up here in
New York City?”

“Mostly.
We moved from Hawaii to the Bronx when I was eleven. I spent a couple of years
moving around New Jersey when my mom took a job that didn’t work out, but other
than that I’ve pretty much just lived in the city.”

“And
you didn’t have any remarkable events in your early childhood?”

“No,”
I said.

“Any
. . . strange family history? Grandfathers who were shamans or Shinto priests
who healed the sick or anything like that?”

“Nothing
that I’m aware of.”

“I
see,” Newton said. “If that’s true it might rule out any genetic factors. Maybe
we should do a historical records check on the Kai family.”

“Good
luck with that,” I said. “Native Hawaiians didn’t even have last names until
European and American influence started. Then at some point they just started
taking on Christian names and using their Hawaiian names as last names. I
wouldn’t be surprised if there are a bunch of people named Kai in the records,
and not many of them would be related.”

“What
about your parents?” Newton asked. “Anything strange about them? Any possible
ties to Satanism or—”

“You
know what,” I said. “We’re
not
going to talk about them. They stay out
of this. You got any other questions?”

Newton
finally took his attention from his tablet and looked back at me with sad eyes.
“I’m sorry. I really am. I know I’m prying. It’s just part of the job. But I
can tell you’re not cool with that right now so I’ll push that task back on
Dominique. How about I just stick to the science stuff?”

“I
think that would be best.”

“Right,”
Newton said. “Let’s move on to the kinds of things you can do with magic. Does
that sound good?”

“I
guess.”

“Great.
Well, we’ve already covered making things disappear and reappear. And
Dominique’s report clearly shows you can magically open locks. How about
reanimating the dead?”

“Can’t
do that,” I said.

“All
right then,” Newton said as he swiped a finger along his computer screen.
“That’s one to scratch off. Any experience with alchemy?”

“Nope.”

“How
about sawing a woman in half? Can you do that?”

I
shrugged. “I can’t, but I have no idea if more skilled nightcrafters can.”

“Okay
then. Let’s . . . rethink this,” he walked over to his desk, grabbed some paper
and a pen, and placed them in front of me. “Write down everything you
do
know how to do.”

I
wrote down the effects of all the spells I could think of. When I was done,
Newton eyed it.

“Interesting
list,” he said. “So you know how to make things lighter?”

“I
don’t know if that’s exactly what it is,” I said. “I’m not actually changing
mass or anything. Just kind of providing some lift, I guess.”

“I
noticed you don’t say any magic words when you do these things,” Newton said.

“Yeah,”
I said. “With practice I can just think about it, and it happens.”

“But
there are some spells you have to speak the words for?” Newton asked.

“Yes.
If I don’t use a spell very often, or if it’s new to me.”

“What
are these spells like? Do they rhyme?”

“No,”
I said. “They’re not like poetry. They’re more like . . . mantras.”

“Could
you try one now?”

“I
could. What kind of spell do you want?”

“Something
you haven’t done in a really long time,” Newton said as he walked over to one
of his sensor gadgets and turned it on. “I’d like to see if the data comes out
differently.”

I
had to think for a moment to recall something that had not been part of my
usual practice rotation during my night watchman gig. The spell I’d used to
evaporate the window in Dominique’s car was one, but since I’d recently used
that maybe it wasn’t the best choice. An idea came to me after about a minute.
“Give me a plain sheet of paper.”

Newton
reached into a nearby drawer and retrieved a plain sheet of white paper, which
he handed to me. I folded it in half to make a good crease in the middle of it,
then opened it back up and laid it on the little table next to me. Then I spoke
one of the first spells I ever learned.

“Wood
that floats upon the air. Wings and wind, wings and wind. Light as a feather,
flapping strong. Wings and wind, wings and wind. Rising high, gliding free.
Wings and wind, wings and wind.”

The
paper twitched, then twitched again. Then the two halves flapped up and down
like the wings of a bird. The paper gradually lifted into the air, flapping its
fake wings with stronger thrusts until it had enough lift to soar across the
room. It flew gracefully for a few seconds before hitting the wall across the
room. My flying paper instantly lost all of its magical life, and fluttered to
the floor.

“It’s
a stupid trick,” I said. “Not useful for anything other than showing off.
That’s why I haven’t used it in a while.”

“I’m
sure it is stupid to you,” Newton said with a wide grin. “But that was one of
the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen.”

“Then
you need to get out more,” I said. “Was the data any different that time?”

Newton
glanced at a few of the monitors arranged around the room. “There was more
activity in a different part of your brain. That’s to be expected since you
were recalling something from memory instead of reflex this time. Other than
that, seems like it was the same as before. Fascinating.”

Newton
kept looking at the screens, alternating his attention from one to the next. He
did this for so long that I thought he forgot I was still there. “So what do we
do next?”

“Oh,”
he said, turning back to me. “I’ll report everything to Dominique and see what
she says.”

“Great,”
I said. “I’m sure that will go over well. If we’re done here, I’ll just take
these gadgets off my head and be on my way.”

“Let
me help you with that,” Newton said. In a few minutes the itchy electrodes were
off and I felt a surge of relief. My stint as a lab rat was over . . . at least
for now.

“Well,
it was nice meeting you, Newton. Maybe I’ll see you around some time.”

“Oh
I have no doubt about that,” Newton said with a wink. “I have a feeling we’re
going to be seeing a lot more of each other.”

At
the time, I thought Newton was just being flirty. I was cool with that since it
had been a while since anyone had shown any interest in me. But it wasn’t long
until I found out what he really meant.

* * *

The
next day, Dominique continued the interrogation that Newton had abandoned.

She
called me into her office. It was a chamber in the core of the United Nations
building, and it was as big as my old apartment — the one I had before
Dominique upgraded me to first class. She wore a simple black dress and a brown
blouse. Her crinkled black hair was pulled back in a simple style. She could
have easily passed for a harmless schoolteacher. Nobody would ever guess that she
was one of the most powerful women in New York City.

“Take
a seat,” she said when I entered her office. “I’ve gotten approval to
officially assign you to a team. Your codename is Shadow.”

“Appropriate,”
I said as I sat down in the polyester armchair across from her. “But not very
creative.”

“I
reserve my creativity for mission planning, not naming things. Now, let’s get
to today’s business.”

“Okay,”
I said. “What do we need to do?”

Dominique
leaned back in her chair and said, “Tell me more about your history with the
nightcrafters.”

“Really?”
I said. “I thought you knew everything you needed to know already.”

“Not
nearly,” Dominique said. “Thanks to Newton, we know a little more about what
happens when you do what you do. But at this point I’d really like you to give
us some more . . . let’s call it insider knowledge. We still know very little
about the life of an average nightcrafter. And since you didn’t seem to be in
the mood to answer some of Newton’s questions yesterday . . .”

“What
makes you think I’m in a better mood now?”

Dominique
gave me her best non-threatening smile. “We have a history, you and I. We’ve
been through tough times.”

I
took a deep breath, let it out. “So what do you want to know?”

“Anything,”
Dominique said. “Start from the beginning if you have to. Who brought you into
this little club?”

“My
mentor,” I said. “The same guy who kicked me out of the club.”

“What
was his name?” Dominique asked.

“Kellar.”

Dominique
wrote it down. “Is that his first name or last name?”

“No
idea,” I said. “That’s the only name I’ve ever heard him use.”

“Why
did he expel you from the training?”

“I
wasn’t what they were looking for.”

“You
seem pretty adept at nightcrafting to me.”

“You’re
not qualified to make that call,” I said. “Just trust me on this. At a certain
point in my training it became clear to Kellar that I did not have the
personality traits he wanted, and I never would.”

“Did
your expulsion bother you?”

“Not really.
I’d rather be out of the club. Kellar and his friends regularly pull things
like that nachtjäger out of the Rift, and they don’t give a damn about the
consequences. I just can’t be that kind of person. It’s not in me, and I’m okay
with that.”

“Interesting,”
Dominique said. “Is it customary for expelled students to just be sent back
into the world with all that dangerous knowledge intact?”

“Of
course not,” I said. “Normally nightcraft students who wash out have their
memories altered.”

Dominique
raised an eyebrow. “But Kellar didn’t do that to you?”

“He
didn’t,” I said. “I still know the nightcraft, obviously.”

“Why?”

“That
is the question that I’ve been trying to figure out. Your guess is as good as
mine.”

“But
surely he was monitored by the other nightcrafters, and punished for letting
you go.”

“Maybe,”
I said. “But I doubt it. Nobody ever questioned him. Kellar was like the
Michael Jordan of nightcrafters.”

“Is
that so?” Dominique asked.

I
nodded. “I didn’t get to see many other nightcrafters while I trained with
Kellar. But whenever I did happen to witness a meeting between him and some
other crafter, they always spoke to him in reverent tones. A lot of people
asked him for help and advice, which he always gave, but everyone seemed very
cautious of him. I can’t say I blame them for that. One time, I saw him get in
a serious fight with another nightcrafter. They never did find the other guy’s
body.”

“What
did you do to earn the attention of such a prestigious instructor?” Dominique
asked as she scribbled in her notebook. “Why did he pick you as a student? How
did he even know you’d be able to learn?”

“I
passed the test,” I said.

“The
test?”

“Let
me lay it out for you,” I said, leaning forward on my elbows. “Nightcrafters
aren’t born, they’re made. Nobody comes out of the womb with a natural talent
for this shit. So when the nightcrafters want to expand the ranks, they have to
train people for the job. But most people aren’t cut out for this kind of
stuff. That’s where the test comes in.”

“Go
on,” Dominique said.

“Your
average nightcrafter who’s looking for an apprentice is going to look for
somebody smart and mentally tough. But, most of all, they have to be
ambitious.”

“Why
ambitious?”

“Because
the student will need to have incredible drive to keep going. The craft is far
from easy. Intelligence helps, but the most important trait you need is
persistence. You’ve got to be willing to fail a thousand times before you get a
spell right, and the only way most people keep up that kind of persistence is
if they’re fiercely competitive and ambitious. You’ve got to want this power so
bad that nothing else in the world matters — not sleep, not food, not love, not
even your own safety. You have to suffer for your craft. But during all that
torture, you know you’re getting close to being special.”