by Logan Byrne
I felt bad, mostly because I missed them and wanted to see them, but I knew what they’d say. They’d all tell me to go back to the camp, hang out there, and at least be taken care of. I’d have a bed, hot food, and lots of things to do, but I just felt so stifled there. Pote wanted to keep me caged like a dog, but I needed to spread my wings and be free, at least for a little while.
I walked into my old pub later that night. The bar was still the same law-free zone I’d grown to love during my tenure as a thief. Officers of the law weren’t allowed here, which was one of the main reasons I hadn’t been back since I left that life that night when Mirian tracked me down.
“What’ll you have?” the bartender asked, polishing a glass.
“Whiskey and cola, on the rocks,” I said, handing over some coins from my now emptying pocket. Sometimes you just have to treat yourself, even when you’re down to your last dollars.
I kept my disguise up, pulling down my scarf just enough to suck down the drink. It burned on its way down, just like I remembered. I looked around the room, the sound of clanking pool balls being drowned out by the hearty laughs of the bikers and other not-so-law-abiding patrons they were talking to.
I got up, walking towards a board on the side of the pub that listed ads for various, well, services. They were always written in code, a way of wording that would never outright say what they wanted, but I knew what they meant. You were indoctrinated into it if you hung around long enough.
“Quick job for quick cash. Fifty gold,” one flyer said, catching my attention. “Need something picked up for delivery.”
The job was simple—a steal, or possibly a heist, judging by the wording. I considered it, my stomach rumbling, as I weighed the good and evil inside me. I thought about the money, all fifty gold coins, but then I remembered where I came from. I left this life, abandoning it for something much better. I helped people as an auditor, and I would be hurting them if I took this job. How could I make a switch like this?
I tore off the flyer, stuffing it in my pocket, before polishing off my drink and setting it on the counter. “Hey, girl,” slurred a slobbering, stumbling man as he grabbed my arm and squeezed tightly.
I glared at him, my eyes piercing, before I looked down at his hand on my arm. “Let go of me,” I said, in a calm yet stern tone.
“Take off that disguise and let me see you. I want a kiss,” he said, laughing, as the other guys from his table joined in.
“I said to let me go,” I said, my voice rising.
The bartender heard the commotion and came over. “Let the girl go, she don’t want to be with you,” he said, waving his hand.
“I get what I want, and I want her,” he said, taking another gulp from his stein of lager.
“Have it your way,” I said, pulling out my wand. Before he could react, I shot a bolt at him. The spell hit him square in the chest and blasted him back against the wall. He fell like a sack of potatoes, grunting and staying down. “Anybody else?” I asked, looking at his friends.
They all shook their heads, and the bartender shook his head at them too. “They never learn,” he said, before going back to polishing glasses. Yeah, you’re right, I thought as I went out the door. They never do.
“Lexa,” I heard someone call softly as I walked outside. Startled, I reached for my wand, before noticing it was Charlie. He was standing in the shadows next to Britta, who was peeking her head out as well, as the two of them motioned for me.
“How did you know where I was?” I asked, a little paranoid, looking all around.
“As if I didn’t catch your scent when you got near the precinct. Besides, Mirian—” Charlie said.
“Mirian, of course. I asked him not to say anything, but I guess he couldn’t help himself,” I said.
“He didn’t tell us where you’re staying, although I think I have an idea. I believe you and I visited there, didn’t we?” Britta asked.
“I can’t talk about it,” I said, looking away. “Why are you guys here?”
“It’s Pote, she wants to talk. I think she wants you back, or has a job for you or something. She’s worried about you,” Charlie said.
“Worried about me? She just wants to keep an eye on me,” I said.
“What’s so bad about that? Having somebody who cares about you and your safety isn’t exactly horrible, you know. Maybe she’s a little overbearing at times, but Mirian will talk to her about it. He already said as much,” Charlie said.
“At least meet with her and see what she has to say. Maybe her terms are good and the job she has for you could be interesting. Besides, it isn’t like she’ll keep you there against your will. If you really don’t want to stay or work with her, then leave,” Britta said.
They both looked at me intently, hanging on my every breath, as they waited to hear what I had to say. I rummaged around in my pocket, feeling the flyer for the gold, and realized as I crumpled it in my hand that it wasn’t what I wanted, at least not anymore. I didn’t want to be a thief, especially not to get by. I didn’t think that I would stay in the camp, but if Pote had a job for me, a legitimate job that paid well, then I would take it.
“Fine, but only if you guys come with me. I won’t do it alone,” I said.
“That’s fine!” Britta said, excited.
“We’re more than happy to,” Charlie said.
“One thing, though. Why isn’t Blake here right now?” I asked.
“We didn’t want to tell him we were speaking to you,” Charlie said, scratching the back of his head.
“And why not?” I asked.
“He, you know, wants you to find your way. If he knew we were talking to you, and persuading you to see Pote, he wouldn’t be happy,” Charlie said.
“He just doesn’t like to see you upset, and he wanted you to go back on your own, without any kind of enticement,” Britta said.
“Good man,” I said, my arms crossed.
“We can get away tomorrow and pick you up to take you to the camp. I take it Britta knows where you’re staying?” Charlie asked, looking back and forth between the two of us.
“Do I?” Britta asked.
“Yeah, you guessed right,” I said, realizing that my hideout wasn’t that amazing if one of my best friends knew of its existence.
“See you around noon,” Britta said, before pulling out her wand and grabbing Charlie. They vanished in front of me, leaving the cold dark alley vacant, aside from me and my thoughts.
I took the crumpled advertisement out of my pocket and tossed it in a trashcan before closing the lid on it, literally and metaphorically. Maybe I grew up a thief, and in the past I would’ve jumped at the chance for fifty gold coins, but no more was I that woman. I couldn’t be. I might not have had an actual position with M.A.G.I.C. anymore, but I was still an auditor, and I would always uphold the law and never break it again.
That was my vow.
2
My kettle whistled loudly as I walked into the kitchen and turned off the heat. I’d found my grandmother’s old kettle hidden deep within one of the broken cupboards two nights ago, and I was finally getting some use out of it. Setting an old chipped cup on the counter, I put in a used teabag from yesterday and poured the scalding hot water over top.
I wiped the crust from my eyes and yawned, scratching my side as the color of the water slowly began to change. My toes curled on the cold floor as my bare feet turned pale and blotchy. I took my tea and sat down in the front room on top of my sleeping bag.
The room was eerily quiet; the sound of children playing off in the distance was the only thing I could hear. I looked at my phone, seeing it was thirty minutes until noon. I had to get ready.
I took a few gulps of my hot tea before grabbing my wand and standing up. Being a witch came with many luxuries, such as the ability to mostly clean myself and change clothes with only my wand. I didn’t do it often, because the process left what felt like a thin film over my skin and hair, so I preferred the old-fashioned mor
tal way of getting it done. They’d figured that one out perfectly.
After getting dressed I surveyed my outfit: thick wool socks tucked into my brown boots with a thick pair of black leggings accented by a burgundy knit sweater I’d bought when I was still employed. I took my scarf from yesterday, wrapping it around my neck, before sitting back down cross-legged and finishing off my tea.
“Lexa, this isn’t great,” Charlie said, walking through the door a few minutes later with Britta.
“Charlie,” Britta said sharply, slapping him. “It’s her childhood home, not some house by the train tracks she’s holed up in.”
“It’s okay, Britta. I know it’s not exactly up to par with most things these days. It’s a roof over my head, though,” I said.
“Yeah, that’s going to collapse at any moment,” Charlie mumbled, and Britta slapped him again.
“Does Pote know I’m coming?” I asked, standing up.
“We got word, yes. Mirian knows as well, though he can’t be there,” Britta said.
“Should we go?” I asked, rubbing my palms against my legs. I was nervous, but I didn’t know why. I’d lived in the camp, twice, and I’d been there so many times before. It was like going to meet up with somebody you had a falling out with—it was exactly like that, actually—and I wondered what Pote’s demeanor was going to be like. She could yell at me, telling me how stupid I was to leave, or even tell me that I was never allowed in the camp again. She could be loving and caring, begging me to come back and offering me whatever I wanted, including free rein of the premises. Would I come back if she did? I didn’t know. The thought of staying there and being able to come and go as I pleased was a tempting thought that I couldn’t ignore.
But I was getting ahead of myself. I didn’t even really know why she was calling me, other than to talk about some job or assignment. That was probably all it was, another job for me to do, or another errand for me to run.
“Are we ready?” Britta asked, before I grabbed my jacket and pulled it on.
“Now is as good a time as any,” I said, and she grabbed Charlie and me.
Within seconds I was standing outside Pote’s tent, my feet planted firmly in the mud, as I looked around at the camp. Nothing had changed. Celerius, a centaur, glanced at me and nodded with a small smile. I nodded back, always loving to see him, when Britta broke my attention.
“Okay, are you ready?” she asked, nudging me.
“Yeah,” I said, and the three of us walked inside.
“Welcome back, Lexa. I’m glad you decided to come speak with me, it’s important,” she said, sitting behind her desk.
“Thank you for considering me for this job,” I said, nodding.
“I’m going to be absolutely blunt with you, Lexa. I need something stolen,” she said, her fingers laced in front of her.
“You what?” I asked, in shock. I was almost blown off my feet. I couldn’t believe it, and I didn’t want to. I just gave up a job stealing a lot of money to do this, which I thought would be honorable?
She sat there with such conviction, saying it as if in passing, while I felt a turmoil of emotions roil inside me. I didn’t want to steal from people any longer. I wanted to leave that behind, but my past always came back to visit me again no matter how far away I ran. I guess I’d always be looked at as a thief.
“I know you must have a million things running through your mind right now, but I can assure you this is both safe and the right thing to do. You aren’t stealing from a person,” she said, standing up, before walking to the table in the center of her tent.
“Okay, that makes it a little better, I suppose,” I said.
“We need you to find something, an artifact, that has been lost for three millennia,” she said, pulling out a file and opening the folder. “It’s called the Oxinora, and it’s a large crystal that Merlin himself is said to have searched for and failed to find.”
“What does it do?” Britta asked, her studious mind tickled and intrigued.
“The legend says that it has the ability to give eternal life to the person who possesses it. That explains why Kiren wants to find it. It would prevent death from ever knocking on his door,” Pote said.
“Why did Merlin want it so badly, and how did he, of all wizards, fail?” I asked.
“He wanted to destroy it, actually. He thought that sort of power was far too much for any single person to possess, and that it would be especially fatal in the wrong hands,” she said.
“Shame he couldn’t do it. It would be saving us a lot of fear with Kiren,” Charlie said.
“He probably didn’t find it because it wasn’t hidden to be found. They say it’s a fable, a myth, that was put out there to taunt those who seek to control the power of immortality, but we know it’s real. It’s just finding it that will be the issue,” Pote said.
“Why do you think I’ll find it if Merlin couldn’t? Surely he was a better mage than I am,” I said.
“Because I have faith in you, Lexa. You’ll also have our full support and resources, which Merlin didn’t,” she said. “We are also prepared to compensate you for your troubles.”
“What exactly are we talking?” I asked.
“Fifty gold if you are unsuccessful, and two hundred if you bring it back to us in one piece,” she said.
My heart dropped, my stomach clenching up, as I tried to run the numbers through my head. I could go and come back with nothing, and I’d still get paid fifty gold coins, let alone if I actually found it and brought it back. I could do anything with that kind of money.
“So, what do you say? Are you in?” she asked.
“Yeah, I’ll take that,” I said happily.
“You’ll need a partner for this task. It’s too dangerous to do it alone,” she said.
“I’ll do it,” Charlie said, stepping forward.
“Charlie, I appreciate your willingness to help your friend, but we need to make sure you aren’t found out,” Pote said.
“I have vacation time, I’ll use that. Lexa and I are partners, and we’re fully in sync. If anybody is going to one-hundred-percent have her back out there, it’s me. I want to do it,” he said, with a hard conviction in his tone.
“If you would like to do it, then it will be done. I must warn you, though, the trip won’t be easy, nor will it be forgiving. The terrain you will be in is dangerous to even the most seasoned and experienced veterans,” Pote said.
“I can handle anything,” Charlie said.
“Where exactly are we going?” I asked, never even thinking to ask where this crystal was supposed to be hidden.
“Africa. Your journey will begin inside a little oasis which I believe the two of you are very familiar with,” Pote said.
“Oh no, not that place again,” Charlie said, shaking his head in disgust.
“We’ll leave in the morning,” I said, and the three of us left her tent.
“Lexa, this is insane. We weren’t exactly welcome visitors there before, you know,” Charlie said.
“Yeah, but if anybody is going to know about this thing, it’s going to be criminals. We won’t stay long, just long enough to find out where the crystal is. It will take two days, maybe three, and we’ll make out like bandits,” I said.
“You will, not me, but I’m happy to help,” Charlie said.
“Are you sure you want to do this?” Britta asked, looking at Charlie. “This is a big commitment.”
“She needs me. I can’t have Pote partnering her with some random person from the camp. She needs somebody she can trust, and somebody she can count on. That’s me,” Charlie said, pointing his thumb at his chest like only he would.
“Fine, but please be careful. A few days, remember?” she asked, before leaning in and kissing him goodbye.
“A few days, I promise,” he said.
“Are you ready to go?” Charlie asked, as he slipped his backpack around his shoulders. His looked stuffed to the brim, filled with beef jerky no doubt, while mine was
a little more normal. I didn’t pack much—some snacks, clothes, including a few fresh pairs of socks, and my spell book to read in case we got ourselves into a dilemma. I figured I wouldn’t need much to get around out there in the desert.
“Let’s go for it,” I said.
“Wait!” I heard, and I stopped and pivoted to see Pote coming towards us.
“What’s the matter?” I asked.
“Here, take these,” she said, handing over a bunch of coins. “You’ll need these for any food or drinks, as well as housing and possibly bartering.”
“We aren’t going to be gone long,” I said, smiling.
“This crystal hasn’t been seen in millennia, and I just don’t want you both to be stranded without what you need. I’ll see you when you return,” she said, before walking off.
“Looks like we’re going crazy tonight,” Charlie said, reaching for the coins.
“Don’t think so,” I said, quickly closing my hand and putting the coins deep within my pack. “Let’s go.”
I took out my wand, imagining the little sandstone outpost we’d once visited, before Charlie grabbed onto me and my magic sucked us into a vacuum. We fell from the sky, about five feet up, face-planting into the hot Moroccan sand. It was so fine it fell off my hands like water.
“Great landing,” he said, brushing the sand out of his hair.
“Be glad I have the powers to teleport us. You’ll be happy about it later,” I said. It was just like old times already, bickering like an old married couple on the job. I couldn’t say I’d want it any other way, though.
The sandstone building appeared even more weathered than the last time I’d seen it, the same rusty metal sign swinging above the building entrance. I took out my wand, tapping it on the cracked wooden door, before the seal broke and sand flew around us in the wind. “Candelae,” I said, my wand lighting up the barren weather-abused room.