The Vaga by S. A. Carter

on my magic, and for the first time something really strange happens…it doesn’t turn on. I do it again, pushing my power to the surface where I feel it ripple from my core and flow out into the other areas of my body. I look down at my hands and a faint speckle of light puffs out of my fingertips, like a match that just won’t light.
    Holy crap
!
Why is this happening
?
    For the first time in forever I can’t call on my magic. A feeling of dread runs through me, and I know that without it I am a big, fat, sitting duck.
    Where are you, Mags
? I all but scream out loud. Why can’t she hear me? My pulse is racing and I push my pride aside and call on Isis’ essence, hoping she’ll be able to push through whatever is blocking my power. I feel her trying to force her way through, her magic causing my core to flare with heat, but she can’t reach the surface either.
    I am in big trouble.
    A low whining sound coming from further in the gallery sends a cold shiver up my spine.
What the hell was that
? As I stare into the darkness, I wait for whatever is in here to reveal itself. My hands clench nervously at my sides and I cautiously back up, knowing that the exit is only about sixty feet behind me. If I could just get to it…
    The whining noise comes at me again, but this time it sounds more like a dog in pain.
Magi
? It then falls away before turning into a high-pitched growl. As my eyes are directed towards the sound, I see a tail swish its way behind one of the stand-alone gallery walls. Fear travels up my spine and goosebumps flood my skin.
    That is definitely not Magi
.
    My body tenses with fear, and without waiting to see what will emerge from the other side of the wall, I turn and run. The high-pitched growl turns into a deep rumble, and without looking back I know that the
thing
has launched itself after me.
    I make the entry and take a sharp left, my bare feet skidding against the tiles. Sprinting towards the escalator I can hear the sound of claws against tiles behind me and fear fuels my adrenalin. I reach the escalators quickly and for a split second I dare myself to look back, but something warns me against that. Without thinking I slide down the escalator handrail, reaching the bottom in a millisecond.
    The thing scrambles down the escalator after me as I run back through the Great Hall, heading towards the storage room. It screeches, the horrible sound echoing through the empty museum. I try my magic again, praying for it to turn on, to do
something
. But nothing happens.
    I keep running, but I don’t hear the thing chasing me anymore. In its place is an eerie silence, and this time I dare to look back over my shoulder to find that there is nothing behind me. Where did it go? My run slows down to a jog and I can’t help thinking that this thing is stalking me.
Just like in the park
.
    Julian’s warning sounds out loud and clear in my head, ‘The Vaga are here to kill you.’
    As I turn down the corridor leading to the storage room, I freeze and back myself into the wall quickly, hoping there is enough darkness to conceal me from the shadow that has just fallen across the doorway to my only exit point. Its tall frame lets me know that it’s probably human, but I’m not taking any chances. Heart thumping wildly, I slink back further into the wall and quietly move out of the corridor and back towards the animal exhibit, keeping an eye out for the creature that I know is still out there.
    My breath is coming hard and fast and I try and slow it down for fear that the sound will give me away. Moving into the exhibit room, I look beyond the vast array of animal species, both large and small, for an exit out of this museum of imminent death. The only way out seems to be through the glass windows on the other side.
    Out of options, I realise that I may have to risk multiple injuries by crashing through them. What’s a severed main artery when there’s a creature on my tail, right?
    I hear movement behind me