I Was a Teenage Necromancer

Chapter 8-Looking for Leads in All the Wrong Places

Scott's boot splashed in a puddle as he limped through town, puffing and wheezing. It had stopped raining, at least, but though the sun was fighting to come out, the wind was picking up to chill him to the bone.

"You doing all right there, champ?" Amber asked, running without effort.

"Stupid...running...too...much..." he huffed, having to stop and catch his breath. Hands on his knees, he wiped his forehead and saw they were two blocks away from the gym. "Okay... record... time..."

"I'll go check." Amber said, and floated off to reconnoiter. There were plenty of people in the gym, but no one around staring in a window. She came back. "I'm not seeing anyone. If they were here, they're gone. If they were the killer, or just a regular old creep. Damn it, I wanna sock 'em one." she said, punching her palm. The young necromancer checked his phone.

"It's only been about fifteen minutes." he said, shaking his head. "We have to be thorough. There's a chance he's still here, or the target moved and he's following her. Either way, they couldn't have gotten far. Let's check again."

After the pause to converse, he set off again a bit refreshed, Amber hovering behind him. They scanned the area as unobtrusively as possible. There was nothing out of the ordinary until they passed the gym itself, when Scott glanced over across the street. There, in the shadows of the alley between the doughnut shop and the laundromat, was a big guy in a black jacket with the hood up, bent over eating a doughnut so they couldn't see his face, but there was unmistakably blond hair spilling form the hood. Scott hurried past him and ducked behind the corner of the laundromat.

"See Amber, he's still there!" he hissed softly. "This could be our chance."

"Um, okay." she said nervously, tugging her ponytail. "So, what do we do now? How do we go about this?"

"Hmm." Scott considered for a moment. "Well, the first thing we do is try to find out who that is. You're way less conspicuous than I am, go and check out his face, see if you can memorize it for later. Then see if you can pull his wallet out and find an ID. If we've got his name, Cross can track him down later if need be. If you need help, just call me and I'll provide a distraction." he said. She nodded, and started to go, but a thought struck her and she turned back to him.

"Hey, Scott? If he really is the killer, and collecting hearts for a magic ritual, would he be able to see me?" Scott opened his mouth, blinked, and cursed.

"You're right. Crap! If he can, he could possibly do something to you if he realizes you're there. That's the rule; if someone can see you, they can touch you. This...could complicate things." He closed his eyes for a moment, reformulating the plan. "Okay, new tactic: go up and walk past, and just say hey or something. If he responds, we'll know he'll be able to see you. You're harder to damage in any case, and I can yank you out of there if I need to." he said, holding up the chain. "Just take it easy. Look casual." She stared at him, nonplussed.

"I am literally glowing green." she pointed out.

"Then...glow casual! You'll find out who he is anyway, let's get going!" He started to push her in front of the laundromat.

"Okay, okay, I got it! Sheesh." Amber straightened up, then slouched over again, trying to look casual. She strolled up to the alley and tossed a "'Sup." at the figure there. He was looking up at the gym again, so Amber got a clear look at him. She froze and gasped.

"What? What is it?" Scott muttered, peeking from around the corner. He was almost bowled over when Amber zoomed back, barely noticing him. "Ooof! What's wrong? Did he see you?"

"No, I don't think so, but we've got bigger problems than that!" she said, flailing her hands. "Scott, its Leo!"

"Huh?"