The Blade Mage

by Phillip Drayer Duncan

  “Kill that bitch,” Medusa repeated, giving him a fist bump.

  I was shocked to discover she had, in fact, picked up cursing from Axel. Who’d have thought?

  “Real nice, Axel,” Stone said, shaking his head.

  “Come on, Axel,” I said, motioning for him to go to the truck. “We’ve got to go.”

  Axel nodded, then turned to Parker. “This is Medusa. She’s my friend and she’s scared. Don’t let her out of your sight, Parker. There’s a witch after her and I believe she has people in the Cabal. Trust no one.”

  “Excuse me?” Parker said, raising an eyebrow.

  “She can explain,” Axel said, then added. “And she’s allowed to have ice cream for dinner. Any kind she wants.”

  “Really?” Medusa asked. “Any kind I want?”

  “That’s right,” Axel said. “And if not, you let me know, and I’ll sneak into Parker’s house and poop on his pillow. Deal?”

  “Deal.”

  Parker seemed about to protest, but Axel ignored him and gave Medusa another hug. “Be brave, kiddo. I’ll be back soon.”

  “Be careful,” she said, tears running down her cheek. “Mr. Stone says you and Wyatt aren’t too bright.”

  Parker snorted.

  “Mr. Stone is probably right,” Axel agreed. “But he’s also just grumpy he doesn’t get to have ice cream for dinner. Be good for Parker, okay? He’s not that bright either.”

  Medusa nodded but couldn’t speak over her sobs. Axel hugged her once more, then pulled away and we started for the truck.

  “Wyatt,” Parker said, calling after me.

  I turned to face him again.

  “You know the Archmage will send us after you. We will be hunting you.”

  “Yeah, I know,” I said, nodding. “I’m counting on it.”

  Chapter 27

  “So, what took you guys so long?” Axel asked from the back seat.

  I glanced over my shoulder and realized he’d leaned forward, his head between Stone and me.

  “Seriously?” I asked, glaring at him. “We just saved you from having your head chopped off and you’re going to complain?”

  “Just saying, you didn’t have to wait until the last possible second. I mean, I know you two like to be dramatic and stuff, but come on, you couldn’t have gotten me out of there two days ago? I was bored out of my mind.”

  Stone glanced over at me and said, “I’m game for taking him back if you are.”

  “Strongly considering it,” I replied, then turned back to Axel. “You didn’t exactly make it easy for us, Axel.”

  “What? Yes, I did,” he said, giving me an incredulous look. “I practically did all the work for you. Stone, didn’t you get my message?”

  “Yeah, I got it,” Stone said, looking back at him through the rearview. “Were you in the middle of a tornado when you called? Or did you just finish a working that caused the line to be shit?”

  Axel blinked a few times. “Oops. Probably the second one.”

  “The message didn’t give Stone much to go on,” I said.

  “Okay, fair enough,” Axel said, crossing his arms. “But Wyatt, I told you exactly where to find Medusa.”

  “No you didn’t,” I said, turning completely around in my seat to face him. I wanted to slap him. “You said some obscure bullshit about going to the lake house to remember you.”

  “Uh, yeah, and obviously I was trying to tell you where to find Medusa.” He scoffed and shook his head. “I’ve got to be honest, I’m a little disappointed in both of you.”

  “Seriously,” Stone said. “Do you want to take him back to Parker now?”

  “So, where’s Faith?” Axel asked. “Is she close?”

  “We don’t know where she is,” I said, throwing my hands up in defeat. “We lost her.”

  “You lost her? Wow. You guys aren’t very good at this. It’s a good thing I’m here now.”

  “She ran away, Axel,” I said, my temper flaring. “And it was purely by luck I found her in the first place. Or are you going to tell me you gave me some kind of hint about her as well?”

  “Oh, right, I meant to do that,” he said. “I totally intended to give you a hint about her when you visited, but I sort of forgot.”

  “You forgot?”

  “Yeah, Wyatt, I forgot,” he said defensively. “Sometimes I forget things. I’m not perfect. Sheesh.”

  “You remembered to ask me if I liked the latest Star Wars, but you forgot to tell me about the strange woman, who may, or may not, be the very witch who kidnapped the kid in the first place?”

  “She didn’t kidnap Medusa,” he said.

  “How do you know?”

  “Because she was the one looking for her.” Axel shook his head. “Try to keep up, Wyatt. Does Faith know you found Medusa?”

  Stone and I shared a glance, then I said, “Um, no, Axel, I don’t believe she does. Funny thing, though...Medusa told me she doesn’t have a big sister. And she didn’t know anyone named Faith.”

  “Well, yeah,” Axel said, as though it should be obvious. “She lied. You haven’t figured that out yet?”

  “I have,” I said, trying to keep my cool. “Now, I’m hoping you can explain what’s going on. Is Faith the witch? The one Medusa is afraid of?”

  “She is a witch,” he said. “I think.”

  “You think?” I replied.

  “Yeah, I think she may be. Wasn’t that obvious?”

  I glanced at Stone, who just shrugged and kept his eyes on the road. I didn’t reply to Axel.

  “Wait,” Axel said, pausing to snort laughter. “Did you buy her story about her little sister being kidnapped by a witch? Dude, you are so terrible at this detective stuff. How did you survive these past few years without me? You must be so relieved that I’m here now.”

  “Yeah,” Stone said. “I certainly am.”

  “I bet,” Axel replied, clearly missing the sarcasm. “You really bought that line about the missing sister?”

  “That’s not all he bought,” Stone said.

  “What?” Axel replied, whipping his head toward Stone. “What do you mean?”

  “Do I really have to spell it out for you?” Stone said, glancing over. When he realized how close Axel was, he said, “Sit back and put your seat belt on.”

  “I didn’t realize you were so worried about my safety,” Axel said, ignoring the command.

  “I’m not,” Stone replied. “I just don’t want you sitting that close to me.”

  Ignoring the insult, Axel said, “So, what were you saying?”

  “Wyatt and your little friend got close.”

  “Oh?”

  “In a biblical sense.”

  “Ohhh,” Axel said, nodding. But when Stone didn’t continue, he said, “Actually, I’m not following. What does that mean? Did they pray together or something?”

  I couldn’t tell if the sound that came from Stone was a snort or a chuckle, but he seemed to be enjoying himself. “They had sex, Axel.”

  “What?” he replied, eyes widening. He turned his gaze on me. “You had sex with a witch?”

  I didn’t reply.

  “How could you?” Axel demanded. “You’re the Blade Mage! You aren’t supposed to go around poking witches with your little sword! Well, actually, you are, but not that way!”

  Fuming, I decided to maintain my silence. Glancing into the mirror, I noticed my face had taken on a warm shade of red.

  “I am very disappointed in you, Wyatt Draven,” Axel said, shaking his head. “You were supposed to look after her and protect her, not fondle her giggly bumps.”

  “The fuck is a giggly bump?” Stone asked.

  “It wasn’t like that, Axel,” I said through gritted teeth. “And again, you never mentioned her to me.”

  “I did!” he replied. “It was all on the message I left Stone.”

  “Which we couldn’t understand because you called after working magic.”

  “Well, you understood the part a
bout finding each other.”

  Silence.

  “Wait, you didn’t hear that part?”

  “Stone and I met up by chance.”

  “Really?” he asked. “Dear God, you two are helpless without me.”

  I heard a growl emit from my own throat and Stone looked over at me. “Need me to pull over?”

  I glanced back at Axel. “Why didn’t you just mention her when I came to visit?”

  “Um, because I had Cabal goons all around me who would’ve heard, Wyatt. Think, man. My plan was to give you a vague hint. Then I forgot.”

  “Axel, you could’ve just mentioned your friend Faith, and how you were supposed to have lunch with her or something, and that I should let her know you were all right.”

  He blinked a few times. “Actually, that probably would’ve worked.”

  I was starting to consider Stone’s offer to return him to the Cabal. At very least, I wanted to hit him.

  “So, how did you find her, then?”

  “She found me,” I said, taking a calming breath. “Just like you told her to do.”

  “Well, at least someone knows how to follow simple instructions.”

  I took another calming breath and said, “You still haven’t explained anything, Axel. If Faith isn’t Medusa’s sister, and she’s not the witch who kidnapped her, then why was she trying to find her? And who killed Kyle? Who’s behind all of this?”

  “You still don’t get it, do you?” Axel said, glancing between us.

  “No,” I replied.

  “Me neither,” Stone said. “And don’t make another crack about us being stupid.”

  Axel looked like he was about to say something, then paused. The look on his face indicated his brain had just switched gears. His expression became solemn and his voice soft. “Wait, how did you say you lost Faith?”

  “I didn’t,” I replied. “There was a fight at the Pattersons. The demons showed up and one of them was about to kill me. Faith stepped in and used her magic to save me. After that, she ran away.”

  “And she didn’t say where she was going?”

  “No.”

  “She didn’t say anything at all?” he asked, almost pleading.

  “No, Axel. Why?”

  “Oh, Wyatt, you idiot,” he said, shaking his head.

  “What?” I asked. “What did I miss here? Where did she go?”

  He shook his head and sighed. “She went to die.”

  Chapter 28

  Axel paced the floor of my motel room like a man possessed. Stone, on the other hand, was the picture of calm. As soon as we arrived, he’d made use of the motel’s single serve coffee machine. As for myself, I was just tired. All I wanted to do was crawl into a bed and pass out, but we weren’t done. The Cabal would be after us, and I needed to understand what was going on with Faith.

  Despite the fact she’d clearly lied to me, I couldn’t let it rest until I knew the whole story. Axel had tried to explain in the ride over, but once he made the statement about Faith going to die, nothing else he said made much sense.

  As if reading my thoughts, Stone said, “All right, Axel, why don’t you try to explain this again. This time don’t talk so fast.”

  Axel stopped pacing, glanced at each of us, and said, “We need to find Faith. She’s about to do something really stupid.”

  “What is she going to do?” Stone asked. I guess he thought if he kept his questions simple Axel would make more sense.

  “She’s going to try to take on the witch by herself.”

  “I thought you said she was the witch,” I replied.

  “No,” he said, shaking his head. “I said she is a witch. Not the witch.”

  “Okay, so who is the witch?” I asked.

  “Well, if I knew that I wouldn’t have been locked up for killing Kyle.”

  I sighed. It was starting to feel like I was never going to get a straight answer. I held off asking Axel any more questions and tried to put things together for myself. Stone silently sipped his coffee and watched Axel. I guess he had the same idea.

  I closed my eyes and lay back on the bed, trying to clear my tired mind.

  There were things Axel wasn’t telling us. Or rather, there were things he wasn’t thinking to tell us. The type of things a normal person would. The question was, what were those things? I thought through what I knew about my old friend and then it hit me. I sat up in the bed and stared at him.

  “You allowed yourself to be accused of Kyle’s murder to protect Faith.”

  “Well, obviously,” he said, shrugging. “If the Cabal found out about her, they’d have assumed it was her who killed Kyle and she’d already be dead.”

  “But they didn’t know about her, and you knew they wouldn’t kill you outright,” I said, nodding. “But how did you know they’d come get me?”

  “I didn’t,” he said. “In the message I left Stone, I told him to find you. And then I told my captors that having you as my executioner was my last wish. I thought the two of you would be smart enough to solve the crime before the Cabal got around to killing me. It was almost a perfect plan, except the part where you guys nearly didn’t figure it out in time.”

  “Yeah, perfect,” Stone said, taking another sip of his coffee. “So, where does the kid come into this?”

  “The witch. The bad one. She kidnapped the kid.”

  “Why?” I asked. “And why was Faith trying to find her?”

  “I’m not sure,” he said, shaking his head. “But I knew Faith was good, so I decided to help her.”

  “You knew she was good?” Stone asked. “How?”

  Axel shrugged. “I just did.”

  I rubbed my face. “Axel, if I ask you how you knew Faith was a witch, will your answer basically be the same?”

  “Pretty much.”

  “Okay,” I said, nodding. “So, why do you think Faith was trying to save the kid from the witch?”

  Axel took a deep breath and said, “I think Faith was trained by the witch. Raised by her, or maybe even enthralled. But somehow, Faith managed to get away. Yet she knew the witch would just claim another. So, she went back to try to stop her. That’s why Faith was looking for the little girl. She didn’t want her to suffer what she went through.”

  “That actually…would make a lot of sense,” I said, staring at him dumbfounded. “You’re sure she didn’t tell you that?”

  “No, of course not. That’s very private and it would’ve been rude to ask.”

  “Okay,” I said. “So, you think she knows how to find the witch?”

  “If the witch raised her, then they’d have a strong connection, right? So, I think it’s quite possible.”

  “Old Man Patterson said the witch was an Obayfio?”

  Axel nodded. “Yeah, he or she, can take different shapes. Nearly impossible for one of us to find.”

  “So, it could be anyone,” I said, shaking my head. This wasn’t helpful news.

  “Let’s step away from the whole witch thing for a moment,” Stone said. “How did Kyle end up dead?”

  “I don’t know for sure,” Axel said, pacing again. “I brought him into this. I should’ve never told him. He wanted to help. He begged me to let him help. He said he could go to his father, but I advised against it. I thought someone from the Cabal might be involved.”

  “Why did you think that?” I asked.

  Axel shrugged. “Just thought it was likely.”

  “Why?” I asked.

  “Well, I don’t know,” Axel said, raising an eyebrow as he thought about it. “Faith had reported the missing child and the involvement of witchcraft to the local constables. They’d started an investigation, but then it was shut down.”

  “Wait,” I said, holding up my hand. “Faith told me the witch stole her from their home, but obviously they didn’t actually live together. So, how was Medusa really taken?”

  “I don’t know the details. She wouldn’t talk about it, but her family was murdered when she was taken.” />
  “Where is she actually from?”

  “Arizona, believe it or not,” Axel said. “I spoke to one of the low-level constables. It took a little prying, but he finally told me they’d received a report that a witch had kidnapped a kid and was believed to be in the area. They get a lot of false reports like that, so they didn’t take it too seriously at first, but he said they were able to find information on the family’s murder. They were just about to make contact with the Western Temperament when they got new orders… Stop the investigation. They were told the Shamuses were looking into it and to leave it for them.”

  “Were they?” I asked.

  Axel shook his head. “If they were, Parker Grimm would have known, wouldn’t he?”

  “Unless he was involved,” I said.

  “Don’t be ridiculous,” Axel said, shaking his head. “Parker is good people. A douche sometimes, but good people.”

  “How do you know?” Stone asked.

  “I just know,” Axel said, as though that was proof enough.

  “Okay, so someone, presumably someone with influence, convinced the constables to drop the matter.”

  “Right,” Axel said, pointing at me. “Top marks. So, I knew I couldn’t trust anyone in the Cabal, except maybe Kyle.”

  “Not even your father?” Stone asked.

  “Especially not my father,” Axel said. “I couldn’t help but suspect his involvement.”

  “Why?” I asked.

  “Because he’s an asshole.”

  “He’s also one of the Arcane Guardians,” Stone said.

  “Yeah, I’m aware. He’s very important.” Axel paused. “Okay, so I know he’s not involved, but I also knew he wouldn’t listen to me. I wanted…I wanted to do this without him.”

  Axel looked away and the conversation lulled.

  “So, what happened when Kyle was murdered?” I asked. “What had you guys found?”

  “Oh, that’s when I found Medusa,” Axel said. “Yeah, I rescued her from the Pattersons, hid her at the lake house, and then headed over to Kyle’s place to let him know. When I got there he was dead. And then the goon squad charged in and arrested me.”