Gotta Lose Him.

"My car doesn't stand a chance in a boxing match," you say idly as your eyes scan the road. "We gotta lose him."

You make a sudden left turn through a red light with many horns and squealing tires sounding the disapproval of the other drivers. The truck stays glued to your side as you continue the sharp turn, crossing an incoming lane and pulling into a parking lot. You cut someone off and earn more horn blowing as you bounce across the sidewalk then onto the pavement of the lot. The oncoming traffic slows the truck for a few seconds but her threatens to ram into then and they quickly move aside. The lot has only a single exit and he can plainly see where you're headed.

"He's right behind us!" cries Dani.

"I can see that!"

You come to the exit of the lot and see that the light is green upon your approach. You come up to the line and break hard, knuckles turning white as you grip the wheel.

"What're you doing?!" Dani screams.

"Saw it in a movie once," you quickly answer.

"You what?!"

You check your rearview mirror and see the truck picking up speed, ready to crush your little hatchback. The light turns yellow and you wait a single heartbeat before gunning it. You make it across the intersection just as the other cars start to take their turns crossing. The truck makes it about halfway before a big Jeep smashes into its side, bringing its momentum to a sudden stop. You and Dani watch the crash in your mirrors and cheer, fists raised in triumph. Dani reaches over and pulls you into a deep kiss. It lasts for only a second but the shock threatens to put you in a ditch almost as much as the truck had.

"That was intense!" Dani sighs, face lit up like a Christmas tree.

"Who the fuck was that?!"

Dani shakes her head, "I don't know. But I think we'd better double time it to Silverymoon."

You cock and eyebrow, "'Silverymoon'? That's where we're going?"

"Don't knock it til you try it! Trust me, this lady knows her shit. And where'd you learn how to drive like that, by the way?"

You shrug, "I don't know. Just sort of got into the zone, I guess."

"Well let me tell you, you are stone cold under pressure. I was freaking the fuck out!"

You laugh, "Yea, I heard the screaming."

"But not the teeth chattering, right? Cuz I'd me mega embarrassed if you knew about that."

You both laugh a lot harder than you would have thought. Maybe it's the near **** experience pushing your adrenaline into overdrive. Or maybe it's your new dick constantly reminding you that the hot piece of ass sitting next to you isn't wearing anything under her skirt. Either way, the rest of your drive is uneventful. You pull into a strip mall and park right in front of your target store. The sign is tiny compared to the others on the strip and of a very basic design, a blue-black background with the name superimposed over a crescent moon.

You scan the area and say, "A cell phone store, a nail salon, and expert magic advice all in one spot? Truly this is the American dream."

"Magick!" Dani scolds.

"That's what I said. Magic."

"You're saying it without the k. I can hear it!"

You eye her and wonder if this was such a good idea after all. What was it guys were always telling each other? "Never put your dick in crazy"? But then Dani laughs and pushes you and you let out a little laugh of your own, still not certain about any of this.

A soft chime echoes through the shop as your open the door. It's devoid of customers and much more modern looking than you expected. The walls are lined with metal shelves holding various jars of things you can't identify. The center of the storm is largely occupied by a few bookshelves in neat rows holding a wide variety of tomes and a few display tables holding all sorts of jewelry, knives, fancy cups, and a few other things you can't readily identify. The glass display counter at the back of the store houses more of these seemingly random objects, most of them very shiny. Behind it stands a dark skinned woman in her twenties playing on a phone and dressed in perfectly normal clothes.

"Hey Ms. Opal!" Dani calls out.

"Skipping again, Dani?" asks the woman without looking up from her phone.

"It's an emergency."

The woman looks up and cocks an eyebrow, "Bored is not an emergency."

"How about sudden growth of a penis and...?"

"DANI!!!" you holler.

She looks at you innocently and asks, "What? She was gonna have to learn eventually to help you."

The woman narrows her eyes at you and sets down the phone.

"Is this true?"

Looking around the store to confirm no one else is listening in you give a slight nod. She keeps staring at you for a long minute without blinking. You meet her gaze and silently plead with her, hoping that this hasn't all been a waste of time. Ms. Opal gives a slight nod and wordlessly steps out from behind the counter. She moves to the front of the store and you hear the click of the front doors being locked.

"Come with me."

Ms. Opal leads you into the back room behind the counter. There's a small counter space with a few kitchen basics like a microwave and a sink. Next to it is a table with two chairs. The majority of the room is occupied by various unmarked cardboard boxes of different shapes and sizes. Ms. Opal sits the two of you down at the table and grabs two coffee mugs from the counter, quickly filling them with cool water from the sink and setting them in front of you.

"Tell me everything."

You take a deep breath and begin recounting your tale. You go light on the details when describing the "urges" you've had to contend with all day and you silently thank Dani for not chiming in with a description of how you met. You finish your tale and sit in silence for a moment as Ms. Opal continues to study you. Her expression remains neutral all through your telling and you can't tell if she believes you or not.

"So what do you wish to do?"

Her question makes you lean back in your chair.

"So, you believe me?"

"I do," she says plainly.

"Um, okay. Thanks, first of all. And what I want is for this 'thing' to be gone!"

She slowly shakes her head and says, "That I cannot do. However, this man who attacked you. I'm positive that he's connected to all of this. If you'd like, I could track him down for you. Might take some time though."

You consider that for a moment but shake your head, "He might come after me again. Hell, he might even come after Dani if he recognized her."

Dani blows a raspberry and says, "I'm not scared of him! Let him try and take me on without the truck!"

Ms. Opal considers for a moment then says, "There is another way. A more dangerous way. I could create a talisman to track this man and teach you how to use it yourself. What you choose to do with it then will be your own decision. But I have to stay here at the shop and won't be able to help you for at least a few days. But if you wanted quicker results, that's what I can offer you."

That sounds more promising to you, if also scarier. The guy had been trying to kill you, or at least seriously injure you. Still, he might be your best bet for finding out what the hell happened to you.

"Make the talisman," you tell her. "I'll deal with this on my own."

Ms. Opal smiles and nods.

"Uh, the hell you will!" Dani complains.

You blink, "Dani. You can't want to come along? This guy tried to kill you not twenty minutes ago!"

She puts her arm around your shoulder and pulls you in towards her, "I don't back out on a friend!"

You blush, "We only just met! No one would look down on you for backing out after helping me so much, least of all me."

"That's not how I roll," she says, shaking her head. "I don't abandon anybody whose in trouble."

It's a heartwarming thought to have Dani on your side and you smile brightly at her. Ms. Opal tells you it will take her at least an hour to properly align the talisman (whatever that means) and after gathering a piece of your hair for some reason shoos you and Dani to go grab some food while you wait. Fortunately, you're in a strip mall and you walk to the pizza place down the way and enjoy a weirdly normal lunch with a very not normal girl. You try again to get Dani to back out but she is adamant. She won't let you go it alone. When you return to Silverymoon Ms. Opal has finished whatever she was doing. She hands you a small disc attached to a light chain. Opening it reveals a small suspended needle like a compass.

"Concentrate on your attacker," she instructs you. "Picture him in your mind's eye.

You try but the needle doesn't seem to respond.

"Here, close your eyes," says Dani.

You do as she says and listen to her instructions.

"Don't focus so much on his face. Think about how you felt back in the car. Your fear, anxiety, adrenaline, whatever it was. Think about how he shouted, about the impacts on the car."

You follow her instructions as best you can and upon hearing her gasp you open you eyes. The needle spins for a moment then points towards your right. As you stare in amazement it goes back to pointing straight ahead.

"You must keep up your concentration," says Ms. Opal. "But if you want to find him, I'm certain you can."