There was little time to act. Which had been a theme the past day or two and she was really getting tired of it. Just like she was tired in general.
Gods did she need some sleep.
Abigail ducked out of sight, clutched the amulet around her neck and shut her eyes. Quickly the familiar Latin words she’d learned as a child came spilling out in a rush. What followed was a burst of magic and the explosion of a headache. Opening her eyes, wincing through the early morning light which suddenly felt as blinding as the high noon sun, Abigail glanced around the corner towards Principal Dexter once more.
Tess hadn’t noticed him yet, too busy texting as she walked towards the office door with her key out. In her ears, white earbuds drowned out any chance of hearing someone approach. Abigail would scold her about that later.
Abigail focused on Dexter, pushing her magic toward him. Instantly, he stopped in his tracks as her spell reached his mind. She could feel it connect with his consciousness, and felt her headache flare when she searched for what she needed.
There. That fear from their first meeting.
She drew the image of the spectral kelpie from his head and projected it before his eyes so that he saw the ghastly figure, more terrifying in his imagination than it had ever been in real life.
Abigail watched as he stumbled backward, too frightened to speak or even yell.
“I followed you,” Abigail whispered, knowing her voice would reach his ears even from all the way over here. “I know what you’re doing. Run. Run, now.”
Dexter bolted in the opposite direction, tripping over his feet in the process. His shiny black shoes missed the curb, sending him sprawling onto his hands and knees as the briefcase skidded under Tess’s parked car. He looked for it for about a second but seemed too scared to care. As he scrambled to his feet, he left it behind and sprinted as far away from the spectral image as he could. Abigail couldn’t relax until she felt him leave the radius of her spell. Only then did she drop it, leaning heavily on the wall as the last of her energy gave out.
Tess was blissfully unaware.
She entered the building, humming to herself while Abigail forced her feet to move. With each step it became harder to focus, harder to push. She had nothing left. The last of her energy was spent and her body screamed at her to stop. Pausing to dig Dexter's abandoned briefcase out from under the car, it took everything she had to drag herself into the building.
Tess was in the process of putting her stuff on the desk when Abigail stumbled through the doors. The assistant screamed and her phone went flying. The last thing Abigail heard before she lost consciousness was the sound of her name being called.
The next time she opened her eyes, she was surprised to find herself still on the floor of the office.
Tess’s face appeared overhead and she left out a sigh of relief. “Oh thank the gods you’re alive. Where the hell have you been?”
Abigail’s mouth felt like a desert and she could barely speak. “W-Water.”
“Right! Crap, hold on!”
There was the opening and closing of the desk drawers before Tess returned with Abigail’s emergency kit: a bottle of water, two chocolate covered granola bars, aspirin, and a small bottle of tincture mixed just for such an occasion. With Tess’s help, Abigail consumed everything, feeling slightly more human as she laid back down.
“Why am I on the floor?” she asked.
“You passed out.”
“And you didn’t move me?”
“Who do I look like, Wonder Woman? What the hell makes you think I can carry you?”
Chuckling, Abigail looked at the clock on the wall. She had been out for nearly five hours, way longer than she would have liked. But it couldn’t be helped.
“What happened?” Tess asked. “And where have you been? I’ve called you a hundred times and your phone kept going to voicemail.”
Abigail fished her phone out of her pocket. Hard to tell if it was the Fae trip, the swamp water, or lack of battery but the thing was clearly dead. “It’s a long story,” she said, tossing the useless device off to the side. “Where’s the briefcase?”
Tess pulled the briefcase off the desk. “It’s right here.”
“Did you open it?”
“No. I learned my lesson the last time I opened something mysterious that was brought into this office.”
“Well, they don’t call it Pandora’s box for nothing. Here, give it to me.”
Tess held it out of Abigail’s reach. “Not until you tell me what’s going on! You go missing and then barge in here to scare the crap out of me and collapse. At least give me some answers.”
It couldn’t be helped. Abigail needed help and Tess needed to know what had happened. After a deep sigh, Abigail gave her assistant the shortened version of everything that happened since the last time they saw each other. It was comical how wide Tess’s eyes got. Her eyebrows were so high up, Abigail wondered if they would fly right off her face.
“No wonder you passed out!” Tess said. “How are you even alive?”
“Purely out of spite.”
Abigail slowly sat up, leaning heavily against the desk for support. Something jabbed her through her coat and when she reached into her pocket, she found the postcard that had been left on the table. Flipping it over, the only thing on the back were three letters and three numbers: D-S-F-4-2-7
“What’s that?” Tess asked.
“No idea. They left it on the counter. D. S could be Dark Star. Or this could be gibberish. Give me the briefcase. I want to see what’s so damn important about it.”
“Maybe you should rest some more,” Tess suggested, still not handing it over. “Anything could be in here. You have no idea what you’re up against.”
“You’re right, I don’t. I also don’t have time to play it safe.”
“You can’t help if you’re dead, Abigail. Everything you’re dealing with is otherworldly but you’re still human.”
“I’m well aware.”
“Please, Abigail. Just take a beat. You need it.”
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