Free Hunters in the Night by Ramsey Isler

Europe.”
    “Doing
what?”
    “No
idea.”
    The
night deepened as I continued my slow pursuit. The streetlamps switched on, but
it was still hard to make out my targets with my eyes. I made a brief foray
back into the Rift and I could immediately feel that big blob of nightcrafter
power ahead of me. The group turned a corner. I slowed my pace to not look too
suspicious, thinking I would pass the street they turned on and use my senses
to circle around and follow from a different direction. But something magical
happened right at that moment.
    They
all disappeared.
    “What
the hell just happened?” I muttered. I’d never felt such a strong presence in
the Rift simply disappear like that. Usually when someone cuts themselves out
of the Rift after making a big splash there’s a bit of a lingering presence,
like waves in the pool that remain even when you get out. But this was
different. The nightcrafters had simply been there one second, and gone the
next. I kept walking, speeding up my pace now. I came to the corner they had
turned around. It was a short alley, with a high brick wall at the far side. A
dead end.
    I
heard Newton’s voice, whispering through the tiny speaker. “Kal, what’s going
on?”
    “They’re
gone,” I said.
    “Gone?
Gone where?”
    “No
clue,” I said. “They just vanished.”
    “Do
you think they entered a building on that street?”
    “Doubtful.
They didn’t just get out of my sight, Newton. They’re completely gone. I can’t detect
them using the Rift anymore. So either they all stopped using magic—”
    “Maybe
they spotted you,” Newton said.
    “Maybe,”
I replied. “Or maybe they’re just not here anymore.”
    “Where
could they have gone?”
    That
was a good question. I paused for a moment to consider the answer, but I came
up with nothing. “I don’t know, and I don’t think we’re going to find out.”
    “You
think they’re up to something?”
    “That
many nightcrafters in one spot? Hell yes they’re up to something.”
    “Why
do I get the feeling that this is really bad news?” Newton asked.
    “Because
you’re a smart boy and you know trouble when you see it,” I said.
    “I’m
going to call Dominique,” Newton said. “You should head back here.”
    I
didn’t reply. I just stood there in the street, carefully expanding my reach
into the Rift and hoping I’d find something. I’d never seen that many
nightcrafters in one place before, and I was forced to come up with desperate
guesses for why they would be here. None of those guesses left me with warm
fuzzy feelings.
    * * *
     
    We
waited for hours for any more signs of magic, but gave up after it became
apparent that our group of nightcrafters was not going to show up again. I was
not looking forward to our debriefing.
    After
we returned to the hotel, Newton reported to home base. Later, he told me that
Dominique sounded “icier than usual” when he gave her details of the
nightcrafter disappearing act. A few hours after Newton reported in, we were on
a commercial red-eye flight back to New York.
    Newton
called dibs on the window seat and kept his attention fixed on the city lights
below as we ascended. He was a lot more relaxed than I was, and he slept during
most of the trip back. Sometime during the night, his head rolled onto my
shoulder. I didn’t mind, until he started to drool.
    Seven
hours later, we started the descent to New York City. I peeked around Newton’s
head to get a view of the world below us. The sun was up and the city was
bathed in early morning light. The signature skyscrapers were shining and the
Central Park Lake caught the light just right so it shimmered like a huge pile
of sapphires. After so many long weeks away, that beautiful sight almost made
me cry.
    We
landed, got off the plane, got our bags, and headed out. I took a deep breath
of the familiar New York air as Newton stretched and yawned. “There’s usually
an official briefing immediately after these trips,”