Chromamancer Chapter Five

My training continued through the rest of the week.  Tommy would keep me company around the compound when he wasn’t doing something for Sam, I had no idea what errands he was being sent on back then. Rachel and Vee were the two agents Sam sent out most of the time, and when they came back they would bring some other potted plant for me to work on.

At first, all I did was make a connection to them like I did with the other two plants, and there would be no way of predicting what would happen. Nine times out of ten the plant would grow in some strange fashion, either flowering or make some sort of seedpod. I got a Venus flytrap to grow three times it’s normal size, almost the size of a shrub, before it’s traps turned into flowers. I also killed one, a tomato plant that exploded because the energy I pumped into it made it grow too fast. Rachel and Tommy were with me when it happened. Luckily the tomatoes hadn’t had a chance to ripen, so it wasn’t like we were covered in red. Rachel tried to brush off some of the tomato bits, but her clothes were stained with juice. “And that’s how not to make a salad. “ she said annoyed. We all shared a laugh about it, but I remembered how I did it, just in case.

It was a few weeks before I got brought into Sam’s office again. By this time I was living at the compound and had quit my job at the electronics store. In reality I was fired, but I felt better if I told myself I quit.  Vee, Rachel, Tommy, and I all stood in front of Sam’s desk as he pulled up some data on his computer monitor.

“I still have a couple of friends in the police department, and they forwarded me this.” He said as he showed us a map of the city, and a cluster of red pins sitting around one street corner.  “These are all calls made to the police that are of a curious nature that haven’t involved a crime in the past couple of months. As you can see, they are all clustered around this intersection.”

“Where is that?” I asked.

“Corner of Banner and Zenith, it’s a nice part of town. Wish our little headquarters was there. “ Rachel answered.  

“The calls range from electrical lines shorting to cracks in the pavement appearing from nowhere. One call even says that a woman’s drink began floating out of her cup.” Sam continued.  “The Conduit has caught wind of this, and they’re hunting for the cause.  One of my friends said they heard talk of it being from a Chromamancer.”

“I thought you said that was a theory.” I interjected.

“I did, but if the Conduit think they found a Chromamancer in my city, I’ll be damned to let them have it without a fight.”

“What’s our play?” Tommy asked.

“All four of you go to the intersection of Banner and Zenith, and stake the place out. Find some reason to stick in the area and keep your senses sharp. If a Chromamancer is causing this, you’ll feel their energy when something happens.” Sam ordered.

“Wait, you want me going out too?” I asked.

“Is that a problem mister Garrett?”

“No, but I’m not sure I‘ll know what to do in a fight.” I answered.

“Just stick with your fellow mages, they’ll keep you safe.” Sam said with a wink. “Unless any of you have other questions, I suggest you get a move on.”

And like that, the four of us were out the door.  Rachel and I got in the car she took from the electronics store, and I finally saw how she got it to start. She set her hand on the dash, right above the speedometer and the other instruments. There were a couple of sparks, then the engine turned over.  

“Beats having to hotwire it, right?” I asked

Rachel gave me an oblong look. “I didn’t steal this car you know.” She replied.

“Is that so?”

“After I borrowed it from the owner, and I mean borrowed, Sam bought it off him. “

I still had a little recollection from that night. “You pulled me into this car right out of the store, there was no way you could have talked to the owner.”

Now Rachel was really flustered. “I didn’t steal this car, alright?” she said, exasperated.

“Okay, you didn’t steal it.” I said with my hands up.

The two of us drove to the intersection in silence.. We parked on Zenith Street and got out, walking to a café on the corner. The two of us ordered some drinks, I got some water while Rachel got an espresso. We sat together and looked for anything out of the ordinary.  Tommy and Vee had found a place to lay low for a bit, at least that was what the text on my phone said. We were there for a couple of hours before the show started.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a girl. She couldn’t have been more than sixteen or so, and the hoodie pulled over her head obscured her face. A few strands of blazing red hair were peeking out from the collar, but other that that I had no idea what she looked like. She was of a smaller build, no more than five foot three by the looks of it, and she was skinny to boot.  She walked by a jewelry store on the corner, stopped by one of the window cases, and peered inside. I couldn’t see what was in the window case, but I could fell the wind around us shift from a light breeze from the north, to a gust from the east.  

Even through I could only see her back, I could feel her energy pouring into the very air around us. I looked at Rachel; she was staring at the same girl.  We had found our target.  As we got up, Rachel set a twenty under her cup, more than enough to pay for our drinks and a good tip, and we started moving in the girl’s direction.  At this point, I could see she was still looking at that case. There was this sense of longing I could fell from her. Not that she wanted what was inside for the money or the looks, but that it would help her find out something about herself. As we approached, I could see Tommy and Vee coming our way from down the street.  I kept my focus on the girl, but Rachel was looking all around, probably looking for Conduit mages. If we had felt her power, then they could have too.

As Rachel and I stopped behind her, I could see what was in the case. It was full of diamond rings, necklaces, and bracelets.  Her energy was being pushed through the air, the glass, and then into the diamonds before manifesting itself as a stiff wind gust. She looked at our reflections in the glass, then wheeled around.  I could finally see her eyes, a fierce green to match her red hair.  She was cute, a small line of freckles lining the bridge of her nose and right under her eyes.  She conveyed pure innocence, like she had been completely untouched by any negative thought or mannerism. Not to say she was a push over, the look in her eyes was more than enough to make second guess getting on her bad side, even if she didn’t have powers.  “What?” she asked us. Her voice even had an innocent quality to it.

“I see you like diamonds.” I said casually.

“What of it? It’s a free country, I can look at them all I want.” She snapped back at me. This one was a spitfire.

“Do you feel a connection to them?” Rachel asked.  She had to bail me out because I had nothing to say.

“Not anything that would make me break the law to get them.” The girl replied. She continued to eye us for a moment. “There’s something odd about you and your boyfriend.” She observed.  Now the energy she was letting off was making my ears ring it was so intense.  

“He isn’t my boyfriend.” Rachel spat back.

The girl continued to eye us, then a mischievous smile played at the corner of her mouth. “Only a matter of time.” She said as she shrugged and began to walk away.

Rachel darted her hand out and grabbed the girl on the shoulder. Before anything could be said, the sidewalk light sparked and a bolt of electricity lashed out and hit Rachel.

The girl jumped, then turned to see Rachel on the ground. “Oh my God, I am so sorry. I didn’t mean it to happen.” She began to apologize.  The two of us got her to her feet; she wasn’t harmed from what I could tell.  “This kind of thing keeps happening to me lately.” The girl continued.  “Ever since I’ve started getting these attractions to gemstones, weird things have begun to happen.”

“Weird how?” I asked.

“Stuff like this.  One time it was fire and another time it was water. I haven’t quite figured it out yet, but it changes depending on what stone I’m close to.”

Tommy and Vee caught up to us, and just in time. Before anyone could say anything, two other men started to come toward us.  Suddenly another focused blast of air struck us, sending everyone but Tommy sprawling to the ground. Tommy pushed his arms out, sending a return blast. The enemy Aeromancer quickly recovered, and I got a good look at him. It was the same man that was in my apartment when I first met Rachel. His face was scarred from the electrical burns she had given him. He recognized us, then grit his teeth in rage. He generated a swirling javelin out of the air itself, and aimed it at us.

The girl grabbed my right arm, the same side I wore my mother’s ring on, and held out her hand. Suddenly, a wall of yellow dust sprang up infront of us, taking the blow of the javelin. The air construct detonated on impact, shattering the wall and moving it around our attackers. The two men began sneezing uncontrollably, completely incapacitated.  We used that to our advantage, slipping away and getting the girl to Rachel and I’s car while Tommy and Vee did their own thing.

“Okay, that was crazy.” Our new companion said in shock as we closed the doors and sped away. “How did that happen?”

“You grabbed my arm, you tell me.” I replied as I turned in my seat to look at her.

“I just acted on instinct I guess. What is happening to me?”

“I know someone who might be able to help with that, you impossible girl.” I replied. “What was your name anyway?”

“Clara, Clara Smith.” She said with affirmation.

We had found our Chromamancer.