Undercity: Manifest

Chapter Four

The buzzing in Zach's pocket was an unwelcome interruption to his drive home. His plan was to fall into bed after a shower. It had been a long day for many reasons, and he was ready to see the back of it. He pulled his phone from his pocket and noted the name before answering on a sigh.

'This had better be important Ben'.

'Hi to you too'. Ben's reply was full of its usual youthful warmth and Zach couldn't help but fall into pleasant conversation with him. Ben was one of the many unmanifested mystics who worked within the human sector. Their job was to notify the Coven of any supernatural activity so it could be dealt with away from prying human eyes. Ben's position on the police force was deliberate and one of the many strategies employed to keep their true identities secret.

'I've had a long day.' It was all Zach was willing to provide.

'It's about to get longer. This couldn't wait until tomorrow'. It wasn't unusual for Ben or any of the other unmanifested to call, but the unexpected urgency in his voice caught Zach off guard.

'What is it?'

'I attended a call tonight in the lower North sector. It sounded like a simple human mugging when it came in. We've been quite tonight, so I attended with the other dispatched team. The girl was pretty banged up and it was all standard procedure, but there was something about her I couldn't put my finger on'.

That sounded familiar to Zach. He pushed the thoughts of Sadie from his mind and urged Ben to continue.

'Zach, she was wearing a suppression stone. I don't think she knew what it was, and I only realised when she took it off and I sensed her energy. It was weak, barley noticeable, but it was there'.

Zach stopped abruptly and pulled his car over to the side of the road.

'That's impossible. All Mystics are registered from birth'. Zach knew that Ben was aware of this, as were all Mystics. He said it out loud in an attempt to make sense of what his friend was saying.

Ben continued, 'I don't think she knows what she is. I got the feeling she was holding back from telling me something. I'm pulling the camera footage from the alley; it might take a few hours, but I'll send it over as soon as it's been pulled'.

'How can she not be aware? It doesn't make sense for her father to have kept her hidden. I've never known of it happening'. Zach's questions weren't for Ben to answer, that was his job as a Manifested Elite. His final question was for Ben to answer. 'What's her name?'

'Sadie Maston. Do you need her address?' Ben's answer momentarily stunned Zach before he cleared his throat.

'Send over everything you have'. It can't be the same Sadie. His thoughts overlapped his final request before he hung up the call and placed his phone down on the passenger seat.

It only took a few minutes before his phone buzzed on the seat with the incoming information from Ben. Zach didn't hesitate to pick up his phone and open the message. After scrolling through the profile his hand stilled over the image of a necklace. The same necklace Sadie was wearing when he met her that evening. That explained why she could see his mark. It didn't explain why she seemed to have no idea what she was or why she was wearing a suppression stone. They were rare, spelled to supress the magic of a Mystic. She couldn't have manifested, that would explain the weak energy Ben had described sensing from her. The only way to manifest was to kill another Mystic and she had never been to the initiation events held at the arena. Zach could be sure of that. It was his responsibility to report back to the Coven and record all manifestations.

What the fuck is going on. His thoughts didn't provide any answers as he resumed his drive home. All ideas of sleeping were abandoned as soon as he entered his penthouse. He unceremoniously threw his keys down on the coffee table nearest the door before making his way into the large chrome kitchen. He pulled open the fridge and retrieved a beer, popped the top off and practically threw himself onto his sofa. It only took one pull of beer for him to reach for his phone and re-read the information Ben had provided about Sadie.

2

It doesn't add up. His thoughts were interrupted by an email arriving with a file attached. The CCTV footage Ben promised was there along with Ben's message; you're going to want to see this.

Zach opened the link and watched with a death grip on his beer as a masked man pulled Sadie from behind causing her to slam into the ground. She looked terrified. He didn't take his eyes off the screen as the man struck Sadie across the face. That was the part that finally caused the bottle to explode in his hand. He wanted to throw his phone across the room, but he had to watch this play out. Then, everything changed.

It took three re-watches before Zach finally accepted what he saw when Sadie's manifested power blasted her attacker across the alley. She's manifested. Fuck!

Make sure the footage is deleted from all human databases. Zach's reply to Ben was unnecessary, he knew it would already have been done. The final part of his reply was unexpected even to him; Keep this between us for now.

Zach knew his duty was to report this to the Coven, but something about the shock on Sadie's face when she accessed her power removed any doubt in his mind that could have known what she had done. Someone had gone to great lengths to keep her hidden- even from herself. He needed to find out why.