by Logan Jacobs
“And we are thankful for your help,” Sorcha enthused.
“As I mentioned before,” the older lady continued, “we have an understanding with them. It was just unlucky that their scout caught sight of you before I could get you below.”
“Should we stay down here?” Sorcha asked as she hesitated near the ladder.
“It’s clear,” June assured me. “They’ll keep their blockade in place until sunset at least. They won’t want to pass up the chance of catching someone else unawares.”
I gave the blonde mage a reassuring nod, and she started to climb up. I heard her steps as she moved through the kitchen, then I followed June back up the ladder to the top deck. Sorcha stood near the door which she had cracked open so she could peer outside. Then June laughed and gently pushed the younger woman through the door before following her outside.
I stepped through the door and noticed that the scenery had shifted slightly, with lots of older trees along the riverbank. Long limbs arched over our heads while others dipped toward the water. Benny had a look of fierce concentration on his face as he moved the barge between the giant branches, so I moved back to the deck chairs with the women, and dropped onto a box that sometimes served as a table.
“This is the hardest part of this canal,” June confided quietly. “Benny will be worn out by the time we stop for the night.”
“We’ll be stopping?” Sorcha asked.
Of course we would, I realized. Benny couldn’t be expected to direct the boat when he couldn’t even see the water, much less the hazards hidden below. And if his expression was any indication, there were a lot of hazards in this stretch.
“Well, yes,” June stated. “Aside from Benny being tired, we’ll lose the tide. It’s too difficult to navigate against the flow, even for a water mage.”
“Maybe we should just walk the rest of the way,” I proposed.
“Oh, don’t worry,” the older mage assured me. “We’ll be able to leave early. Probably before the sun is even up. You two should stay, have some dinner, and then rest. Besides, you don’t want to be walking through the wilds on the mainland when you’re worn out.”
“She’s right,” I conceded as I looked at Sorcha. “There are some pretty mean creatures around there, both human and animal. It’s why we always have so many people on the cattle drives.”
“It’s settled then,” June declared before Sorcha could reply.
Sorcha shrugged, and I tried to give her a reassuring smile. June carried on a mostly one-sided conversation after that as we wove our way through the branches. There was something eerie about this section of the canal, despite the abundance of birds and squirrels that chattered in the trees. It felt cage-like with thick limbs that loomed around us and blocked an easy escape from the water.
I heaved a sigh of relief when we emerged from the strange forest, and Benny guided the barge toward the shore. We tied up near a decaying building with a large, flat area that I had once heard called a ‘parking lot’. A few rusted out cars sat in the lot, and a teetering sign on one wall said ‘Home Depot’.
“Was it a train station?” Sorcha asked as she stared at the building. “But I don’t see any tracks.”
“A store,” June replied as she glanced up from tying the barge to a new post that someone had recently added to the canal. “We used to go in there sometimes because they had all sorts of useful things like nails and cord, but it’s been picked pretty clean. Mostly it’s just strange, pre-magic things now along with a colony of rats and some large snakes.”
Benny joined us, and he looked even more worn out than I had imagined. June helped him into one of the deckchairs while Sorcha offered to pour him a glass of water, which the older man accepted gratefully. Sorcha went inside for the water while I made sure the lines were secure for the night. Benny looked as if he were about to fall asleep, and he only took a small sip of the water Sorcha handed him before he set the glass on the deck and closed his eyes.
Sorcha, June, and I moved quietly around the barge after that. June had us scour the edge of the canal for the last berries of the season, then recruited us to catch some of the local fish in a small net. Benny drowsed on, unable or unwilling to help. He did eventually drink the rest of the water, and June quietly replaced his glass with another glass of the pale red liquid.
As the last rays of daylight turned the sky orange and pink, we helped June put together a large dinner while Benny watched the sunset from his chair and sipped on a glass of the juice. June swore that it helped him recover faster, though she never told us what type of juice it was. I tried sniffing it when no one was watching, but all I got was the scent of herbs that had been infused into the liquid.
Benny finally stirred as the scent of crispy fish and fried onion began to fill the air. June placed several lamps around the deck while Sorcha was tasked with preparing plates for everyone. I noticed that June used a small box to light the lamps and assumed it was a bit of mage magic. She saw me watching and held the device out for my inspection. It was made of red plastic and said Zippo along one side. When I pressed the lever, a short flame leapt up.
“We hoard these,” June admitted as I handed her the Zippo. “But it’s getting harder to find them.”
“They seem really useful,” I replied. “I’m surprised someone hasn’t figured out a way to keep making them with magic.”
“It’s the fuel,” the mage replied. “It has to be dug out of the ground and then processed in some way. That’s what we were told, anyway. And then there’s the plastic. We’re not even supposed to use anything made out of plastic.”
“Still,” I said as I shook my head, “it seems a shame to lose this particular knowledge.”
“Blame the Magesterium,” June sighed. “Who would hire a fire mage or light mage if you just needed one of these?”
Once the lamps were lit and the meal assembled, we gathered in the deck chairs again. Benny was nearly recovered from his magical work, and he ate his plateful of food with gusto. He went for seconds while the rest of still had our first plate, and he only laughed when June reminded him that Doc Parker wanted him to watch his weight.
“That old windbag,” Benny sighed as he devoured a piece of pork.
“That old windbag has kept you alive,” June retorted. “And if he says you need to watch your weight, then you need to watch your weight.”
It was obvious this was an old discussion between the two, and Sorcha and I simply enjoyed it in silence. Doc Parker, I finally gathered, was nearing eighty and had practiced medicine in the pre-magic world at a hospital somewhere on Brook Island. He still saw patients in an office, using whatever tools and medicines he could find. Most of those who plied the canals were regular patients of Doc Parker, including Benny and June.
When we’d demolished the cherry pie and watched the fireflies dart among the bushes, I felt the day’s events start to catch up to me. I started to drowse in the chair and I caught Sorcha as she tried to smother a yawn. Benny had a sleepy-eyed look as well, and only June seemed to still be alert.
“Why don’t you two head on down to the bunks,” June suggested as I fought to keep my eyes open.
“But where will you sleep?” Sorcha protested around another yawn.
“We have hammocks we string up on the deck on nice nights,” June explained.
“We’ll be happy to take those,” I replied. “The bunks are yours.”
“Take the bunks,” Benny insisted as he swatted at a fly that buzzed around his head. “I don’t think I can make it down the ladder tonight.”
“If you’re sure,” Sorcha said in a hesitant voice.
“I wouldn’t offer if I wasn’t,” Benny harrumphed as he settled even deeper into his chair.
“I guess we’ll head on down,” I declared as I looked at my companion.
We stood up together, and after a round of goodnights, we made our way to the two bunks. Like most of the furniture on the barge, they were nailed in place, just across from e
ach other in the tiny space that passed as the bedroom-slash-bookroom.
“I’m exhausted.” Sorcha pulled off her boots and her jacket and flopped onto one of the beds.
“Little tight to be sharing a bunk,” I sighed in disappointment as I took in the narrow sleeping accommodations.
“Maybe that’s what the hammocks are for,” Sorcha replied with a gentle laugh which was quickly interrupted by another yawn. “I can’t believe how tired I am.”
“I guess it was a longer day than we realized,” I agreed as I sat on the edge of the opposite bunk and removed my own boots and jacket.
I tucked the boots out of the way under the bunk and tossed the jacket on the end of the bunk. The mage’s yawn was contagious, and my own mouth soon gaped wide as I laid back against the thin mattress. I was too tired to fold the blanket down, despite the heat that was trapped inside the barge. I rolled onto my side and called out a good night to Sorcha, but all I got in return was a mumbled response I couldn’t understand.
A few heartbeats later, I heard her breathing even out and I knew she was asleep. Despite the fact that we seemed to be safe for the moment, the day’s events had left me uneasy. I fought against my drooping eyelids and sat up again. My jacket was at the end of the bed, where I had tossed it, and after fending off another yawn, I dug the snub nose out of the pocket.
The strange iridescent glow was more obvious in the dark cabin, and if I focused, I could feel the magic that rippled along its surface. The connection with the gun helped clear my head as well, and as I sat there with the snub nose in my palm, I could feel some of the tiredness leach away. After a moment of indecision, I tucked it under my pillow, and fell asleep with my hand on the grip.
I don’t know what woke me up. It might have been the sound of someone moving around on the deck or the feel of hot breath across my cheek. Whatever it was, I was awake in an instant and I turned toward a dim light I could just make out in the center of the room.
“She’s definitely a mage,” Benny was saying. “She can sense magic in others, and I’ll bet she can control other people.”
“That will be useful,” June replied. “What about the young man?”
“Not sure,” Benny whispered. “He must have some sort of magic if they really defeated Azra, but I haven’t figured out what it is. Maybe a fire mage or something.”
“Those are always good,” June mused. “You can never have too much fire magic.”
“Who should we drain first?” Benny asked.
I squinted against the light and realized the couple was standing in the narrow space between the two bunks. They both carried bowls and long knives, and they were staring at Sorcha like she was a side of beef they were about to carve up.
“Start with the one we know is a mage,” June replied.
“What the hell are you doing?” I finally managed to mumble just as Benny leaned over Sorcha’s limp form, his knife at her throat.
My brain was still fuzzy, and my eyelids still felt heavy. I realized we had been drugged, even as I struggled to sit up.
“You’re awake,” June observed, though I detected a note of surprise in her voice.
“What are you doing?” I repeated. Sitting up helped clear my head, but not as much as the snub nose did. I realized I must have let go of it in my sleep, but my hand was still under the pillow, and I felt the dimpled grip as I moved my fingers around. I wrapped my fist around the gun and felt the power work its way up my arm and spread through my body.
“I guess we start with the boy,” the husband sighed as he turned away from Sorcha and looked at me.
“You’re going to kill us after everything?” I demanded angrily. “Why?”
“We need your powers,” the older man said with a shrug.
“What does that even mean?” I snapped.
“Your magic is in your blood,” June explained. “By drinking your blood we can acquire your magic. But don’t worry. It’s just like going to sleep.”
Benny actually smiled then and started to lift the knife. His eyes were focused on my throat, and both he and June stepped closer to me.
“Like hell it is,” I growled as I pulled the gun from beneath the pillow.
Benny was so focused on my neck that he didn’t notice the gun that I pointed at his head. There was actually a smile on his lips as I pulled the trigger. In the tight confines of the barge, the boom was so loud that that the walls shook, and the blue-orange flame gave Benny’s face an eerie glow for a heartbeat.
And then his face disappeared in a geyser of blood and brains and fire which splattered everything in the narrow space. I could have sworn I heard something wet splat against the wall behind him, but the ringing in my ears was so loud I couldn’t be sure. Benny’s faceless corpse fell backward onto the floor as the familiar stench of sulfur and blood filled my nostrils.
June had dropped her bowl and covered her ears when the gun was fired, and as she turned to face me, I opened fire again. But June was in some sort of transition, and the cracking sound that filled the tiny space was more than just the snub nose. June had dropped to all fours, and it sounded like every bone and tendon in her body was breaking.
A moment later, a large mastiff stood in her place, and a singed and bloody patch of fur along the jaw traced the line of the bullet I had fired. The alarm was singing in my head as well, which meant I only had one bullet left in the snub nose.
Sorcha, meanwhile, had woken up, and she stared in confusion at the dog, the remains of Benny, and the bowls on the floor.
“What--”? Sorcha stammered.
The mastiff swung its head around before I could get off my last shot, and in the cramped space, there was nowhere Sorcha could go. The mastiff latched onto Sorcha’s arm with a growl. Sorcha cried out and tried to punch the dog on the snout, but it refused to let go.
But the cramped quarters worked both ways. I pointed the snub nose at the center of the mastiff’s back and fired. The boom of the gun was followed by the crack of bone. A large, black hole appeared in the dog’s back, and the scent of burnt fur joined the mix of odors in the barge.
Even as the snub nose disappeared from my hand, the dog howled and fell to the ground on its side. Its front paws scratched against the wood as it tried to right itself, but nothing below the gunshot worked. The back paws and tail remained deathly still, and June finally collapsed against the floor. She left a trail of blood as her front paws scrabbled against the wood, though she could only pull herself a few measly inches.
“Is your arm okay?” I asked as my eyes flew to my friend’s arm.
“It’s fine,” she gasped as she looked at the dead dog, but I could see blood flowing from the skin.
We’d have to take care of it later.
“Grab our gear,” I instructed as I kept a watchful eye on June’s barely alive body.
Sorcha slipped past the dying mastiff and picked up our boots and jackets, as well as the blankets from the bunks. Our boots were surprisingly clean, though everything else had smears of blood. We managed to get our boots back on as we leaned against the wall, but June watched us the entire time. The mastiff made one last half-hearted effort to snap at us as we stepped around her, but we managed to escape without any more bites and climbed up the ladder.
“Now what?” Sorcha asked as we stood on the deck and looked around at the dark surroundings.
I could hear the sounds of creatures moving in the undergrowth, and the plop of something hitting the water. The dead mages had put out the fire and dimmed all the lamps, and the dark clouds that scudded across the night sky blocked out whatever moonlight might have provided some light.
“Home Depot?” I suggested.
“With the rats and the snakes?” she asked.
“The gunshots are bound to draw attention from anyone else out on the canal tonight, like the Red Rovers.”
I think Sorcha shook her head, but it was hard to tell in the inky blackness. She knelt down and felt around on the deck until she fo
und the board. She placed it on the edge of the barge, then let it drop slowly to the ground. When I heard the soft thunk of the wood hitting soil, I put one foot on the wood to make sure it was secure, then stepped across.
I held out a hand for Sorcha, and she grabbed it tightly as she stumbled across the plank. I grabbed her as she nearly fell and felt the hot wetness of her blood.
“This is a nasty bite,” I said as I touched the sleeve and tried to guess how much blood she had already lost.
“Get me to the Home Depot first,” she muttered. “Then we can worry about the dog bite.”
We started toward the orange and white sign but halfway there, Sorcha stopped, then started to sink toward the ground. I swept her up in my arms and picked my way blindly across the parking lot. At that moment, I really hated the city.
Chapter 10
Home Depot was a curious place, and on any other day, or night, I would have enjoyed exploring it. But I had a woozy mage in my arms, a pair of dead blood thieves on the barge behind me, and the sound of something slithering in the dark to contend with. After banging into plastic barrels and knocking over a collection of pipes, I found the remains of the ‘service desk’ and placed Sorcha gently on the ground behind the hip-high barrier.
“Sorry,” Sorcha mumbled as she tried to sit up. “Whatever they poisoned us with is still affecting me.”
“I’m still a bit lightheaded myself,” I admitted. “But I should take care of that bite before it becomes infected.”
The blonde mage held up her arm and started to tug at the sleeve. I helped her roll it up, then scowled. Even in what little light there was, I could tell there was a lot of blood.
“Those salves that June had,” Sorcha muttered. “There were some for cleaning out the wound, and others that would stop the bleeding. I also think she had some that would heal the flesh though she didn’t offer us those.”
“I’ll go back and get them,” I said, “But I should tie this off first.”
“Might need clean clothes again as well,” she mumbled.
“I think we can guess where all those clothes came from,” I pointed out. “Not so sure I want to wear those.”