Dark Magic by James Swain

flashback,” Liza corrected him.
    “No, I mean I went back in time.”
    “Come on, that isn’t possible. Not even for you.”
    She laughed at him with her eyes. Why couldn’t this be easier? He tried to continue when his eyes were drawn to the paper bag the bagels had come in. The Order of Astrum’s shimmering symbol had appeared on its side with bright red blood oozing from its center.
    “Please give me that bag.”
    “Don’t tell me you saw a roach crawling out of it. Yuck.”
    “No. It was something else.”
    By the time the bag reached his hands, the symbol had vanished, and been replaced by the bagel store’s cartoon logo. It was a sign from the other side. He needed to act quickly.
    “I need to make a phone call.”
    “But you hardly touched your food,” Liza said, sounding put out.
    “I’m sorry, but this is important.”
    A hurt look crossed her face. “Whatever you say.”
    “I’ll explain everything later.”
    “You’re acting weird, Peter.”
    He hurried upstairs to the bedroom. Snatching Schoch’s card off the dresser, he punched the detective’s number into his cell phone. “This is Detective Schoch of the NYPD,” a cheery recorded voice answered. “Please leave a message at the tone and I’ll get right back to you.” Straight to voice mail. Damn it. He told Schoch it was urgent and hung up.
    He was pacing the floor when his cell phone vibrated.
    “Hello, Peter. How are you doing this morning?” Schoch said.
    “I need to speak to you about the Order of Astrum.”
    “What about them?”
    “I know the real reason you came to see me last night.”
    “Really.”
    “Yes. I had a vision.”
    “You don’t say.”
    “I mean it. My parents’ murders play into what’s going on. The Order had them killed, and now they’re after me. That’s why you and your partner came to see me, isn’t it?”
    “Don’t say any more. I’m driving in to work right now with Dag. Give me your address, and I’ll come by, and we can talk.”
    “I live at three hundred and twenty East Sixty-second Street.”
    “I’ll be there in ten minutes.”
    “I’ll be waiting,” he said.
    *   *   *
     
    He returned to the kitchen to find Liza rinsing the breakfast dishes in the sink. His plate of food sat on the table, covered in plastic, while the other delicacies had been put away. When he came up from behind and tried to touch her, a plate slipped from her hands and broke.
    “Shit,” she swore.
    “I’m really sorry,” he told her.
    She faced him. “I don’t like it when you keep things from me. You do that a lot.”
    “I’m sorry.”
    “You need to be more open with me. All of this secrecy is driving me crazy.”
    He’d never seen her this angry, and mumbled “Okay” under his breath.
    “Is that a promise?” she asked.
    “Scout’s honor,” he said.
    “Were you ever a Boy Scout?”
    “What do you think?”
    “Damn it, Peter, I’m trying to be serious.”
    She was boiling mad, ready to walk out. He’d stepped over a dangerous line.
    “I promise to start acting normal,” he said.
    “I’m going to hold you to that.”
    The conversation had turned awkward. It was hard to live a lie, harder still when it was with the woman you loved. The doorbell rang, saving him.
    “I’ll get it.”
    He sprinted down the hallway and opened the front door. Schoch stood on the stoop wearing a beige raincoat and looking straight out of the pages of a glossy women’s magazine. Behind her, Dagastino was parked at the curb. He still looked angry about last night.
    “We got here as fast as we could,” Schoch said. “Now, tell me about your vision.”
    Peter stepped outside and shut the door. “I know you’ll think this is crazy, but I went back in time last night. I saw the three men who killed my parents. One had the Order of Astrum’s tattoo on his neck.”
    “Hold on. You went back in time ? How does that work?”
    “The spirits do it. It’s how they reveal things.”
    “The