Into the Wild Dark

CHAPTER 25 - JACK

"It might behoove us to get Jack familiar with Overlay City," Sunny replied. "The more he integrates into the Supernatural community, the likelier our success. Anything can happen to either of us. "

"Planning on going somewhere?" I joked. Neither would exit the mission voluntarily. I didn't want to think about being pulled apart by circumstances beyond our control. Fate wouldn't torment us with a taste of completion just to snatch it back, would it?

Sunny dropped his head, bobbing it up and down. "Darcy can't be the only one with a Plan B. You need to connect with as many allies as you can attract."

"Alright, we go to the city and let intuition guide us on where to network. We don't mention anything related to the vampire. We see where we vibe and who might be counted on later if needed," I decided.

The same tugboat that had ferried us to the Lina was contacted to pick us up. Mal handed the captain a persuasively thick bribe, and we strapped in for a jaunt to the pier where a rideshare waited. I didn't know what to expect of Overlay City. Remaining in close quarters with my companions had given a sample of how it felt to be with Supers, the low internal hum of awareness of their non-humanity. Yet, I had nothing to reference how beings like us lived and functioned on divergent planes of reality. How did one reconcile the contraries?

As I stepped from the car, I got the sense of having done this before. It was a repeat of the drunken night I had told the bartender and his writer friend about Mr. Cyprian. The night they said I had made a deal with the devil. Strange how close they'd been to the truth. But as Mal rose from the backseat and Sunny skirted the rear of the vehicle to take his place on her opposite side from me, I didn't feel like I was confronting the fires of hell alone.

The atmosphere pulsed with people, sights and sounds. Afternoon sunlight glazed the midsize buildings. Venue signs screamed to be read. Glancing left to right, I took off in the direction of a shop I didn't recognize.

Must have been constructed during my time in the pen, I theorized logically. Maybe I hadn't paid attention to it after my release.

Only, the settled quality of its bricks and the weathered lettering of the shop name, Numinosity, suggested it had been there longer. I would've seen it before had it been visible. "This has to be part of Overlay," I surmised when we stopped at its doors.

Pedestrians thoughtlessly filed around us. They didn't notice us obstructing the sidewalk. Was that how it worked? When a person didn't know what to observe, they couldn't see it?

Inside the store, the light of day became the dimness of a treasure hunt. I passed nooks of exotic incense. Bundles of juniper, white sage, and other aromatic grasses filled a basket with a pricetag affixed. There were chunky rock centerpieces and hand-crafted jewelry made of stones and gold wire. Mystery boxes hinted at their contents with labels like "Scrying Hodgepodge" and "Tantric Toy Box." I hurried to a glass case of daggers.

"Jack, I'm glad you chose this spot. You just gave me an idea." Mal searched the nearest shelves with keen eyes.

Sunny paused at my elbow. "Look at this. They sell books on the profane and sacred. At a regular establishment, I'd question the value, but Supernatural writers apparently know their stuff."

"Mm-hm. What do you think she's looking for?" I pointed at Mal with my chin.

Sunny followed her with his eyes. She rushed to another aisle and scanned the assortment. When she didn't find it there, she made her way to a wall where shards of gemstones and crystals filled cubbyholes. Still no luck, she approached the store attendants chatting behind the register.

"Excuse me. I'm looking for a protective amulet."

"Ooh, we sold our last talisman about three weeks ago," a person of indeterminate sex apologized. "The buyer came in with a mermaid and a dragonshifter if I remember correctly." Their coworkers nodded in agreement.