Singer And Sword
By Jack Hillman

  An ogre in the middle of Allentown was unusual, especially at high noon.  Aura moved closer to the street and watched as the ogre slipped into a doorway and began to chant.  The subsonic tones resonated through the crowd of pedestrians at this busy intersection.  Several people looked up for a moment, but all they saw was the glamour the ogre used to hide in plain sight.  Only Aura saw the ogre for what it was.  

  A few people, predominately younger, stopped to listen.  Aura heard a growing hum as pedestrians collected at the southwest corner of the two main throughways, drawn closer to the street by the ogre’s spell.  The dark rhythm of the sounds were painful to her ears, a discord that echoed in her mind.

  And then Aura saw two things happen almost simultaneously.  A young college student, to judge by her upscale jeans and Muhlenberg hoodie, stepped through the crowd which opened to let her pass.  As the student moved forward to the curb, a car wove through traffic at high speed.  The driver could never stop in time for the red light that popped up over the intersection.  

  Aura moved quickly.  Her slim frame slipped through the crowd as they stood, frozen by the ogre’s commands.  As the young girl stepped off the curb, Aura grabbed the back of her hoodie and yanked hard.  The girl flew back.  Her right foot arced up in the air and tapped the mirror of the car as it flew past, cutting a right turn against the light.

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