The Magicians Redemption

Chapter Twenty

      "Here we are." Karda says. "El Diablo."

"El Diablo huh?" I say. "Doesn't that mean 'The Devil'?"

"Indeed." He replies. "This here is sin city. I've only been here three weeks and trust me... I already know."

"Where have you been staying for the past three weeks?" I ask.

"You'll know the whole deal soon enough." Karda says as we walk down a narrow ally littered with trash.

"So..." He says. "These people aren't exactly too educated on the whole... magic situation. So it would be best if you kept that arm hidden as well. The authority has already been informed about it but they have been too busy to get around to it, but if the authority sees that arm of yours... they'll definitely stop you."

"Whatever." I say. "Where are we going? This looks pretty sketchy."

"Don't worry." He replies. "Believe it or not these people are just regular humans... so if anything happens we have magic on our side."

"You have magic on your side." I say. "I can barely move, I have the energy for nothing."

"Anyways, a couple days in after the crash I met this man named Eddie, but he like to be called Ed so don't call him Eddie... he doesn't like Eddie. It turns out he's like... the only person who knows the whole deal about magic, and he's actually been tracking down this fragment for the past three years, he hasn't had much progress obviously since its been three years but... he has some leads." Karda explains.

"Is that right?" I say.

"Alright, here it is." Karda stops at the corner at the end of the ally. He knocks on a metal door with a secret knock, it goes knock knock... knock... knock knock. After a moment a man opens the door.

"Quick, come in." The man says. "Have you been followed?" He asks as we enter into the dark room.

"Come on Ed, I would know if I was being followed." Karda says.

"Yeah... I guess so." Ed says. He is a white man who looks to be in his late forties, he has short dirty blonde dreads and a burly dirty blonde beard. He walks over to a table up against the wall that is lit up by a lamp, it's covered with papers and pictures. He leans over the table as both hands are flat on the table, supporting him.

"Who did you bring with you?" Ed asks, turning his head so he can see us in his peripheral vision.

"This is Ryan." Karda says. "The one I was telling you about, the one in the hospital." Ed turns around to face me, leaning against the table and crossing his arms.

"I heard you were in a bit of a scrape." He says.

"That's putting it mildly." I say. "I was on the brink of death well before help arrived."

"Sounds like you've been through the mill." Ed comments.

"Yeah well... haven't we all now and then." I reply.

"True... but not like you." Ed says. "How old are you?"

"I don't know." I say. "18? It's been a while, haven't really been keeping track."

You've been through a lot and your still just a boy." Ed says.

"What have you been telling him?" I ask Karda.

"A lot." He says. "Come on... the man pays me. What else was I gonna do?"

"Whatever, what's the deal with the fragment?" I ask.

"The deal..." Ed says. "Is very unfortunate, the authority already has one fragment in their possession and they're hot on the trail of the other."