Page 86 of Magic Claimed

gio says maybe 8 kids have gone missing

its like an urban legend in the game

where u can disappear if u play

but it just makes kids want to try it more

Of course it did. And while this news seemed like confirmation of my theory, it could also be nothing more than conjecture. If a kid suddenly stopped playing, there was no way to really know the reason. Could be a broken computer, being grounded by a parent, starting a new sport, getting a boyfriend or girlfriend.

We needed more. We needed evidence that these kids were truly missing. And we needed to know whether anyone in the game was actively recruiting them—whether they were willing participants or kidnap victims.

thx

let me know if anyone tries to connect with you

makes any crazy promises or sounds sus

I got an eye-roll emoji.

no one says sus anymore

u sound old

Well, Iwasold. Old for my age anyway. What other twenty-six year old was out there trying to raise a teenager, work a full-time job, and act as a private detective, while also dating a public figure and hiding from the law?

“Hey, I think that’s him!”

At first the shout barely registered, but it was followed by running feet and angry voices, and before I knew it we were surrounded by sign-carriers on every side—all of them glaring and shouting at Callum with hostility and belligerence.

“Is it true you’re the shapeshifter king?”

“What are you planning to do about the increasing violence between shapeshifters and humans?”

“Are you here to negotiate for the dragon to be released, or will she be allowed to face justice?”

“I dare you to fight me right now!”

“Even a dragon can’t stop a bullet!”

“How many children have you eaten, you monster?”

Okay, so we were in a really bad spot—in a public place, surrounded by hostile humans who were becoming more and more agitated by the minute. Violence was likely only a few breaths away, and if it came down to it, we were massively outnumbered, and any defensive magic on our part would only fuel the crowd’s ire.

We needed a distraction so we could escape.

Actually, notwe…

The protesters were so focused on Callum, they didn’t seem to notice that we were together. As they pressed closer, they jostled me further and further away from him, and I caught the edges of his panic when he realized we were separated.

If only our bond weren’t broken. If only I could send him reassurance that I was going to be fine. That I would come up with a plan and get us out of here. But this time we had no magic to lean on, no otherworldly connection that allowed us to communicate.

All we had was trust, and as I let myself be shouldered back towards the edges of the gathering crowd, I hoped fervently that he would be able to grant me that trust. That he would know better than to believe I would abandon him.

Once free of the mob, I looked around me, desperate for ideas. What could possibly divert the attention of all these angry people long enough for Callum to escape?

Only some larger catastrophe, and I didn’t actually want anyone to be hurt. I knew that a woman or a child screaming in a public place didn’t always draw the attention one might hope, but there was one thing that drew human ire faster than possibly anything else on the planet…

I didn’t have time to come up with a more elaborate plan, so I kept moving backwards. Hoping to appear as if I were just trying to escape the crowd, right up until I tripped over the edge of a bench—and fell into a clump of bushes. Big ones. Big enough to hide the fact that I never came back out again.