Shifting Life

37. Lit

"Something a bit more stealthy."

"We have plans?" he said.

Jacklyn arched an eyebrow. She hadn't told him yet.

Matt shot her lingering glance.

"Okay, babe" he said. "How stealthy?"

She pointed to a grey Honda Odyssey, the region's standard soccer-mom vehicle.

"That's hard-core," he said.

"Yeah. You up for it?"

Like she needed to ask.

He pulled her in. "You're sure you're fine?" he asked. "You know, like ready?"

It had been a close call.

"I'm as good as new," she said even though the scar still pulsed with a low key beat.

Matt's eyes glittered. He leaned in and kissed her breath away. "Stay that way."

"Stop talking. Steal the car."

* * *

After picking up supplies from Jacklyn's wish list, Matt parked the car across the street. Jacklyn looked up at the building where the Visionary lived. Even though it was late, the lights were on.

"Were there alarms when you broke in? You know, the supernatural kind?" she asked.

"I wouldn't know," he said. "I didn't believe in magic back then."

Jacklyn remembered not believing. The good old days. At least until Matt.

"A few alarms of the regular kind," Matt continued. He rubbed his chin, eyes narrowing. "It was almost too easy. That's why I took the Ferrari. I needed the challenge."

"And the iron heart?"

"I basically walked into the display where the Visionary keeps his collection," he said. "I found the coat and put it on. I liked the look of the iron heart. It was a good size, too. I swear, getting the Ferrari out of the garage was the hardest part. The car and the garage had state of the art alarms."

"You were set up," Jacklyn mumbled.

Matt frowned. "What kind man takes no precautions whatsoever for his priceless collection, but sets the alarm in the garage? After he's had other items stolen?"

"You're saying the Visionary wanted the things gone?"

"I'm thinking maybe he wanted it to look like he got robbed."

Nothing made sense.

Frustrated, Jacklyn got out of the car. She closed her eyes for a moment, letting horsey sense grasp for things out there. She didn't pick up on anything amiss.

"Let's get the toys and go play," she said to Matt.

* * *

The fire alarm howled. The hallway was thick with smoke from the small fire Jacklyn had started. The door to the Visionary's apartment opened. A tall man with dark skin and a sunflower colored robe stepped out. He looked more annoyed than worried.

"That's him," Matt whispered.

They were spying from an apartment at the end of the hall, lucky that no one had been home.

The Visionary joined the other pajama clad tenants moving down the stairs. No one panicked. Jacklyn had wanted more smoke than fire at this stage. It seemed to be working. Or maybe they had fire drills every week in this neighborhood? Jacklyn thought.

When the Visionary was out of sight, they moved.

Jacklyn had placed an extra smoke bomb in a pot with a realistic looking plastic palm tree close to the Visionary's door. The smoke made them invisible.

"Ready?"

Jacklyn nodded, the straps from the heavy backpack digging into her flesh. She held the nozzle in a hard grip. Matt reached for his nozzle. He looked great in goggles, she thought. If anyone saw them they'd think the ghost busters had arrived.

Matt flung the door open.

Jacklyn ran after Matt inside. She noted a yellow theme in the rooms they passed. Something about yellow silk tugged at her memory, but she pushed it away.

The Visionary housed his collection in a large living room. Compared to the sleek, less-is-more style of the rest of the apartment, this room was cluttered with smelly, strange and mismatched objects.

Jacklyn felt the latent power of the magic things almost like a shimmer. Good mojo, evil mojo and bottled up pain percolated side by side. Horsey wanted to run the hell out of there before any of it latched on to her.

Jacklyn exchanged a look with Matt. He grinned. She realized there was a tight grin on her face, too.

Jacklyn opened the doors to a glass cabinet and aimed the nozzle at one of the shelves. The flame flew like a flash, engulfing the cabinet in a massive fireball. Matt blazed a collection of shrunken heads hanging from the ceiling.

Jacklyn sensed them shriek in another realm, not sure if it was pain or a cry of freedom she heard.

They moved fast, torching everything they saw. Trapped energy filled the room. She felt the same tingling sensation as on the bridge. Not as strong, but heady anyway. She felt a surge when Matt touched her elbow. For a brief moment they formed a conduit with the energies filling the room. Raw power hit her in an instant addicting high.

She knew they had to get out. She knew that's what Matt's hand on her arm meant, but a part of her was dying to stay to make this tingling feeling last forever.

The growing fires blazing around them quickly devoured the oxygen. The heat exploded. The smoke tasted acrid in her mouth and throat.

Horsey sense finally kicked in and she ran, Matt close beside her. They left the heavy flame throwers behind like shells of strange insects.

A siren blared right outside, killing her eardrums. The fire department had arrived. They had to get out fast.

Jacklyn and Matt raced down the stairs, meeting the first responders on their way up. Dropping a last smoke bomb on the first floor, Jacklyn eased into horse form, Matt fluidly jumping on her back.

Jacklyn barged through the tiny lobby, firemen tripping like bowling pins to get out of the way. She drew a deep, delicious smoke free breath coming out of the building. Jacklyn looked around. In the corner of her eye she saw a glimpse of a yellow colored robe.

Jacklyn fell into a powerful gallop before the Visionary got a better look at them.