Chapter 58: Missing

  “What’s wrong?” I asked.

  While she tried to hide it, I could tell Beth had been crying.

  She stood from the step she’d been sitting on. “It’s Sam. I’m worried something happened to him. He hasn’t been back in a week.”

  “A week?” I asked, realizing I hadn’t been paying enough attention to my best friend’s absence. “Didn’t he get a job at the newspaper?”

  “That’s the thing,” she said, her lower lip betraying her. “I went there yesterday. They haven’t seen him.”

  “They haven’t…” I echoed, unable to say anything else.

  While it wasn’t unheard of for orphans to go missing, our orphanage was largely considered one of the safe ones.

  “I wanted to tell you earlier,” Beth continued. “I was going to tell you. I waited for you, but then she showed up and I just couldn’t. Your friend was so excited to see you.”

  “I know,” I sighed. “Do you have any idea where to look for him?”

  She sniffled. “Gordon thinks he took a job at the docks. You know that’s bad news, Oliver. Do you think you can help him? With your magic? Without getting hurt?”

  The docks were bad news. Orphans knew to stay away. Most of the jobs a kid there could get were highly illegal…but also highly profitable.

  “That doesn’t make sense,” I muttered. “He knows I have money. Why would he need…”

  I trailed off at the same time that Beth explained it. “He probably wants money because you have money. It’s always been a competition with you two.”

  I groaned. “But why do something that could get him in trouble?”

  Beth sighed. “What you’re doing every day is impossible. You bring home money like it’s nothing, not to mention those feasts you had delivered. Face it, Oliver. There’s no way for us to compete with you.”

  There was a way, and Beth and I both knew Sam had found it.

  “I just need more time,” I complained. “I’ll make this into a business that you can all work for. For now, I’ll give you all the money you need. We just need to make Sam see…”

  I didn’t know what I wanted him to see. Would he ever be truly happy working for me? Maybe I could get him a job for the guild or in the shopping arcade. I knew Sam, though. He was too proud to accept a handout. Working at the docks was his way of announcing to the world that he wanted to do it himself. He quit working for the newspaper because it didn’t pay enough. He was looking for a homerun because I found one.

  “I’ll find him,” I promised. “And I’ll bring him back, safe and sound.”

  “Thank you,” Beth whimpered, hugging me as she showed uncharacteristic vulnerability. “I know you can do it.”

  Needless to say, there was no way I was going to sleep after that revelation, so I took to the roof to look over my designs. While I didn’t have an army to power my rituals, I did have a bag that copied things and a partially charged mana battery. Not to mention, a limitless supply of cheeseburgers to refill my mana faster.

  I bit into a cheeseburger as I began the tedious process of fully charging a battery.

  MoonChrome Battery

  Magic Item

  Grade: B

  Condition: 99

  Owner: Evans

  Charge: 1731/10,000

  The math was simple. At level seven, I had a grand total of seven hundred mana. Considering the battery was partially charged, I needed an additional eight thousand two hundred sixty-nine mana. All things said, I could cap it off in just under eleven tries. Twelve if I didn’t fully drain myself each time.

  I steadily ate throughout the attempts. After the second cheeseburger, I decided it was worth the added effort to infuse it with mana to make it taste better. That, at least, made eating the overcooked burger less of a chore.

  I made it through five rounds before I encountered another problem. My stomach rumbled.

  Woodie laughed from its perch on my wrist. “You probably would have been better off doing this project on the toilet, especially if you’re going to eat that many cheeseburgers.”

  “Mind your own business,” I shot back, taking the wooden dragon’s advice even though I didn’t want to admit it.

  I was sure to get a glass of water on the way. Eating all those burgers also made me thirsty.

  “We need to work on your diet,” Woodie decided while I did another round of infusion.

  You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

  I laughed. “This food is much better than going hungry every day. Besides, isn’t all this infusion burning it off?”

  “Actually,” the dragon clacked. “You’ll find that certain consumables provide more mana than others. They are also easier on the digestive system. I recommend a mana regen potion. A normal mana potion will fill you up, but they become less effective if you drink too many at once. A regeneration potion can last for hours and increase your mana regen tenfold.”

  “Do you know how to make one?” I asked.

  Woodie tutted. “You lack the ingredients even if I were to agree to teach you.”

  “But you do know things,” I replied, calling the dragon out on it.

  Woodie clacked angrily, but didn’t say anything. By the time I fully charged the battery, I was exhausted.

  Charge: 10,000/10,000

  I reset the bag by making another cheeseburger and added the fully charged battery.

  Items Registered: Moonchrome Battery, Mana Infused Cheeseburger

  Charges Remaining: 2

  “The battery doesn’t say it’s charged,” I complained to Woodie.

  The unspoken thing I was worried about was not being able to make a copy of the fully charged battery with my mana. However, that fear was unfounded, as when I opened the bag, there was a duplicate. I made the second copy just to be sure, and marveled at the thirty thousand mana worth of batteries that I’d just pulled out of thin air.

  I checked my mana.

  Mana: 73/700

  Cursing myself that I didn’t check before I made the duplicates, I scarfed another cheeseburger and tried again. That time, I checked my mana before beginning.

  Mana: 490/700

  I added the battery.

  Items Registered: Moonchrome Battery, Mana Infused Cheeseburger

  Charges Remaining: 2

  Mana: 527/700

  It either cost nothing or very little to register an item to the bag. That was good to know. The next part was making the copies. I tried making one.

  Mana: 435/700

  “Okay, let’s say one hundred mana per copy,” I announced before making the second copy.

  Mana: 342/700

  I knew I was regenerating mana, so it was hard to tell the exact amount, but I was satisfied that I could quickly duplicate the batteries, and, better yet, sell the empty ones to other crafters. It was like printing money. The very thought told me I had to keep that particular trick close to the vest.

  I didn’t know what time it was when I made it to bed, but I fell asleep the moment my head hit the pillow.

  The next thing I knew, someone was shaking me awake. It was Gordon.

  “Wake up, runt,” he bellowed. “I know you have food. Cough it up.”

  I was tempted to regurgitate some of the cheeseburgers I ate before bed, but decided to go the easy route and fished a pair of cheeseburgers out of the bag.

  “Will that do?” I grumbled, wanting to roll over and go back to sleep.

  “Two more!” he barked.

  I did as requested and tried to get some information out of the bully. “How do you know Sam went to the docks?”

  Gordon raised an eyebrow, trying to stuff an entire cheeseburger in his mouth. I thought he was going to choke on it, but he finally swallowed. “Not bad, that burger. The reason I know he went to the docks is because I followed him. I knew something was wrong when he quit that slick job at the newspaper. I didn’t expect him to fall in with that crowd, though.”

  “What crowd?” I asked

  Gordon shrugged. “Not the good kind. I can tell you that much. Besides, why else wouldn’t he come back?”

  He had a point. That’s when it dawned on me. It was too quiet.

  I sat up with a start. “Where is everybody?”

  Gordon laughed. “Gone. You slept in. It’s already ten.”

  “Ten?” I gasped, nearly bowling Gordon over in my haste to get out of bed. “I’m late!”

  “Late for what?” Gordon asked, nearly choking on the last cheeseburger. “You already missed breakfast, not that there’s much left when the suits get done with it.”

  “I know,” I replied. “I’ll bring home something better tonight.”

  “These were fine,” Gordon replied, licking his fingers. “Thanks for that.”

  I gaped at him. I’d heard of body snatchers on the radio, but never seen them in person.

  “Are you sure you’re okay, Gordon?” I asked.

  He raised an eyebrow. “Don’t make me give you a swirlie.”

  “Sorry,” I raised both hands defensively. “But I don’t have time for that. I’m supposed to meet someone.”

  To my surprise, Leslie was still waiting when I arrived at the diner. Her face lit up when she saw me, but then she scowled, punching me in the arm when I sat beside her. “You’re late!”

  “Sorry,” I replied. “I overslept. Something happened last night, and I couldn’t sleep.”

  “What happened?” she asked, dropping all pretense of anger.

  “It’s Sam,” I said, a wave of dread washing over me again. “He’s missing. Beth thinks he went to the docks.”

  “The docks?” Leslie asked, looking confused. “Why would he go there?”

  “Money,” I said matter-of-factly. “That’s the only reason anybody would go there.”

  “Don’t they only hire adults?” she asked.

  I shrugged. “The only thing I know about the docks is it’s bad news for orphans.”

  Leslie stood, her stool toppling over behind her. “Then forget about breakfast. We need to rescue him.”

  Mishun chose that moment to come out of the kitchen. “You will not be skipping breakfast. Not on my watch. Now, Leslie, go see Leila before you run off to do anything stupid. You owe her at least that much.”

  “Come on, Oliver,” Leslie reached for my hand just as I packed away a bundle of food from Mishun. “Miss Aires is right. We need to talk to Leila.”

  I pulled away once we left the restaurant. “Leslie, I can’t ask you to go with me. It’s too dangerous.”

  “Like hell, I’m not!” she replied, grabbing my arm again and heading for the stairs. “We’re either getting backup or I’m going with you alone. Those are your two options.”

  When we got to the stairs, I pulled away again.

  “What’s wrong?” Leslie asked, reaching for my arm again.

  “I need to use the toilet,” I announced, heading for the facilities.

  “Uh, ok,” Leslie hesitated before disappearing up the stairs.

  As soon as she was out of sight, I changed direction and raced for the exit. “Sorry, Leslie. This is too dangerous.”

  The smell of diesel fuel permeated the air as I arrived at the docks. It took me about ten minutes to get there at a brisk walk from the Chrysler Building. As usual, it was bustling with activity, ranging from men loading and unloading massive ships to others loitering while hoping for any kind of work available.

  While there was the random kid scampering about, I didn’t spot Sam.

  I sighed. “This is going to be harder than I thought.”

  “I could have told you that,” Leslie made me jump when she appeared at my side with her hands on her hips. “You couldn’t have waited five minutes, seriously?”

  “Uh,” I stammered. I was busted, and we both knew it. “It’s just that, uh, it’s too dangerous for a, uh, girl to…”

  She rounded on me, shutting me up with a glare. “First off, there’s nothing a boy can do that a girl can’t. Second, you’re a crafter, not a fighter. If anything happens, and we need to fight our way out, you’re going to be thankful that I’m here with you.”

  At that moment, I sincerely regretted not waiting for Leslie to get Leila and her Lackies. If it came down to a fight, I would never forgive myself if Leslie sacrificed herself for me. Unfortunately, what was done was done. All I could do was go forward.

  “Do you have a plan?” Leslie asked.

  I looked down. Searching for my best friend wasn’t like making the perfect omelet. There was no recipe for it…or was there?”

  “Hey, Woodie?” I summoned my tool. “Is there anything I can make to locate a person?”

  The dragon didn’t uncoil from my wrist, probably to remain incognito in the crowd of non-magic folk. “You can create a tracking beacon, but only if you have something belonging to the missing person.”

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