Read Hunters in the Night for Free Online Page A
Authors: Ramsey Isler
in you.”
“Not
intentionally,” I said. “I was kind of a rebel back then. Like most teenage
boys, I was trying to find my place in the world, and reaching an age where I
was aware enough to see just how wrong so much of the adult world was. I channeled that disenchantment and frustration
into a fierce competitive streak. It made me difficult to be around, and my
classmates at the theater suffered. I didn’t exactly play well with others.
“Kellar
saw this and decided I was disrupting his class, so he figured out a way to
shut me up. One day, he gave me a special solo assignment. It was supposed to
be soliloquy, or at least, that’s what I thought it was. It was actually a
basic but long-winded spell. Kellar made me an offer my egotistical little
pubescent mind couldn’t turn down: learn the part to perfection, and he’d give
me a big role in the next show.”
“So
it was a spell in disguise,” Dominique said. “What was it like?”
“It
was a bunch of unrelated phrases, like a song written by a schizophrenic. But
it flowed with a lyrical style that made the mess sound like it had meaning. I was in
love with it. But I only had two days to memorize it, and it was three pages
long. I spent every waking moment trying to get those words to arrange
themselves in my head, and even when I slept, I dreamed about the text.
“Then
my two days were up, and Kellar made me get on stage and recite my lines. It
was just me and Kellar in the theater that night. I remember it clearly. I
wasn’t nervous at all. I had that passage down pat. It was like I had always
known it. And when Kellar turned on the stage lights and gave me my cue, I put
on one hell of a performance. I put every bit of energy and emotion I had into
it. By the end of it, I felt incredible pride. I felt invincible.
“And
as soon as I finished, Kellar turned off the spotlights and used his magic to
drop a lighting rig on me.”
“Wow,”
Dominique said. “Sounds like he really didn’t like you disrupting his class.”
I
shook my head and said, “I was never in any real danger since Kellar was in
full control of the situation. But I didn’t know any of that at the time.
Still, when it happened, I wasn’t afraid at all. The spell had focused my mind
in ways I wasn’t even aware of, and when the cables and lamps and aluminum bars
came hurtling towards me, I tapped into the Rift for the first time.”
“What
happened then?”
“I’m
still not totally clear on that. I just remember looking up at the rigging,
then the next thing I knew I was in total darkness, and a rush of power ran
through me. Then there was a crash when the rigging hit the floor. But I was
fine. Nothing ever touched me, even though I had been directly underneath that
mess. I guess I just knocked the rigging out of my way. But it felt so easy . In that moment, I felt like I
could move the whole world if I wanted to. I didn’t know what had happened. All
I knew was that I wanted more of it.
“After
that, Kellar told me I had passed the test. He told me that I had just pulled
off my first magic trick. He offered to teach me everything he knew, and all I
had to do was pledge my devotion to the craft. He suggested that I take some
time to think about it, but I didn’t need any time. I accepted right on the
spot.”
“And
he taught you magic,” Dominique said.
“Yup.”
“Where
is Kellar now?”
“I
have absolutely no idea. He doesn’t teach at that theater anymore. No one else
even remembers that he was ever there. I wonder why that would be.”
Dominique
smirked. “That little memory magic trick sure would come in handy in my line of
work.”
“Don’t
get any ideas,” I said. “I don’t know that spell.”
“I
figured you wouldn’t,” Dominique said. “But you do have many of other things to
offer. Take this little story you just told me, for example. In a few minutes
you’ve given more information than our people have been able to collect in
years. We
“Not
intentionally,” I said. “I was kind of a rebel back then. Like most teenage
boys, I was trying to find my place in the world, and reaching an age where I
was aware enough to see just how wrong so much of the adult world was. I channeled that disenchantment and frustration
into a fierce competitive streak. It made me difficult to be around, and my
classmates at the theater suffered. I didn’t exactly play well with others.
“Kellar
saw this and decided I was disrupting his class, so he figured out a way to
shut me up. One day, he gave me a special solo assignment. It was supposed to
be soliloquy, or at least, that’s what I thought it was. It was actually a
basic but long-winded spell. Kellar made me an offer my egotistical little
pubescent mind couldn’t turn down: learn the part to perfection, and he’d give
me a big role in the next show.”
“So
it was a spell in disguise,” Dominique said. “What was it like?”
“It
was a bunch of unrelated phrases, like a song written by a schizophrenic. But
it flowed with a lyrical style that made the mess sound like it had meaning. I was in
love with it. But I only had two days to memorize it, and it was three pages
long. I spent every waking moment trying to get those words to arrange
themselves in my head, and even when I slept, I dreamed about the text.
“Then
my two days were up, and Kellar made me get on stage and recite my lines. It
was just me and Kellar in the theater that night. I remember it clearly. I
wasn’t nervous at all. I had that passage down pat. It was like I had always
known it. And when Kellar turned on the stage lights and gave me my cue, I put
on one hell of a performance. I put every bit of energy and emotion I had into
it. By the end of it, I felt incredible pride. I felt invincible.
“And
as soon as I finished, Kellar turned off the spotlights and used his magic to
drop a lighting rig on me.”
“Wow,”
Dominique said. “Sounds like he really didn’t like you disrupting his class.”
I
shook my head and said, “I was never in any real danger since Kellar was in
full control of the situation. But I didn’t know any of that at the time.
Still, when it happened, I wasn’t afraid at all. The spell had focused my mind
in ways I wasn’t even aware of, and when the cables and lamps and aluminum bars
came hurtling towards me, I tapped into the Rift for the first time.”
“What
happened then?”
“I’m
still not totally clear on that. I just remember looking up at the rigging,
then the next thing I knew I was in total darkness, and a rush of power ran
through me. Then there was a crash when the rigging hit the floor. But I was
fine. Nothing ever touched me, even though I had been directly underneath that
mess. I guess I just knocked the rigging out of my way. But it felt so easy . In that moment, I felt like I
could move the whole world if I wanted to. I didn’t know what had happened. All
I knew was that I wanted more of it.
“After
that, Kellar told me I had passed the test. He told me that I had just pulled
off my first magic trick. He offered to teach me everything he knew, and all I
had to do was pledge my devotion to the craft. He suggested that I take some
time to think about it, but I didn’t need any time. I accepted right on the
spot.”
“And
he taught you magic,” Dominique said.
“Yup.”
“Where
is Kellar now?”
“I
have absolutely no idea. He doesn’t teach at that theater anymore. No one else
even remembers that he was ever there. I wonder why that would be.”
Dominique
smirked. “That little memory magic trick sure would come in handy in my line of
work.”
“Don’t
get any ideas,” I said. “I don’t know that spell.”
“I
figured you wouldn’t,” Dominique said. “But you do have many of other things to
offer. Take this little story you just told me, for example. In a few minutes
you’ve given more information than our people have been able to collect in
years. We