by Frank Hurt
Dennis grunted, his grim expression unchanged.
“Brilliant. Will that be all, sir?” Ember hoped she was hiding her true emotions well enough.
Duncan’s smirk was replaced with a hint of disappointment. “That about sums it up. Oh, just the keys, please.” His upturned palm extended toward Ember.
Dennis was more than just a driver; he followed her everywhere. As she settled into her cramped supply closet-turned-office, he squatted on a box of copy paper against a shelf. She was surprised it supported his mass.
“Is it really necessary for you to be in here?” Her annoyance was hard to contain. “There’s a lovely break room, you know.”
The man’s huge shoulders shrugged. “I was instructed to stay with you at all times during office hours.”
Ember narrowed her gaze. “Is that so. I need to make a few calls if you’ll excuse me.”
“Then make them.” Dennis shrugged again. “I’ve got my crossword puzzle book. I don’t mind.”
Ember silently cursed her situation. She needed to call Alarik, to cancel their afternoon meeting. She couldn’t just not show up; the Schmitts would lump her in with all the other government employees who have failed them over the years. Just another Malvern, looking down at changelings.
“I need to use the loo. Or do you need to follow me in there, too?”
Dennis grunted. He pulled a tattered booklet from a thigh pocket of his khaki cargo pants and stole a pencil from Ember’s desk. “Just don’t leave this floor without telling me.”
She grabbed her purse and hastened for the women’s restroom. Within the faintly bleach-scented room, she peered beneath the stalls to verify she was alone. I need to make this quick before someone walks in.
Ember found her new cell phone and dialed the phone number on the Schmitt Brothers Welding business card. The display on the phone brightly announced, “NO SERVICE.”
Bloody hell!
She checked the cell phone provided by the embassy. It, too, failed to detect a signal. I’m either too deep within the walls of this old building, or they are blocking mobile signals.
Back at her desk, she nonchalantly checked the embassy cell phone again. Still no signal. I’ll need to find another way to reach him. I need to get outside this building so I can make the call.
Ember logged into her computer and made a few quick queries to the personnel database to find local retirees. From there, she called two Druw residents—one changeling, and one Malvern—living in the Magic City and informed them that they had been randomly selected to participate in the census audit. She scheduled both appointments for later that morning.
“Looks like you’re up, driver.” Ember acted as cheerful as she could.
Dennis folded up his crossword puzzle, tucked the stolen pencil between his ear and scalp, and grunted.
The interviews were uneventful. She asked the standard, boring census questions and acted interested. She did make a mental note that both citizens’ auras were clean from any shadowy spell.
Ember intended on finding a chance to make a quick phone call within the interviewees’ homes. Unfortunately, Dennis didn’t wait in the car like she hoped. Time for Plan B.
They were both walking back to his white GMC Suburban when she said, “Next stop: Plaza.”
Dennis looked over his shoulder but kept walking to the left side of the SUV. “You mean the little Podunk town?”
“Podunk,” Ember repeated. “I don’t know that term. I think we’re probably talking about the same place though. I’ve got an afternoon appointment there. Do you know where it is?”
Dennis swung his door shut and grunted.
With a grumbling badger changeling as traveling companion, the drive to Plaza seemed infinitely long. Ember considered sending a text message to Alarik, but she couldn’t take the chance that Dennis would notice. She gave up trying to make conversation with the brute after his third grunted response to her questions. He cranked his stereo up, filling the cabin with 80’s heavy metal. Ozzy Osbourne’s Crazy Train blared as the Investigator relegated herself to studying the passing landscape and hoping her backup plan would work.
She didn’t mind the music by any means, though it seemed disjointed for the pleasant landscape of rural North Dakota.
Flat plains morphed into rolling hills peppered with wind farms. Fields of brilliant, yellow canola formed hundreds of acres of broad canvases framed by verdant, narrow strips of lush grass. Crops of young sunflowers turned to face the sun as it moved across the sky.
Vast prairie potholes served as basins in which the spring rains collected with nowhere to escape. Those cattail-lined ponds were magnets for countless geese, ducks, gulls, and pelicans.
Ember got excited when she saw buffalo grazing in a pasture along Highway 23 and pointed them out to Dennis. He was far less enthused by her finding than she was.
“Where to now?” Her driver growled.
Ember glanced at the digital readout on his dash. “We have another 45 minutes before the scheduled meeting. I could fancy a bite, how about you?”
He muttered, “There’s a café.”
“Oh, I don’t know about you, but I wouldn’t mind an adult beverage with lunch.” Ember acted apathetic. “Looks like there’s a bar right over there.”
Dennis said nothing, but the Suburban turned towards the bar.
Now, to get a message to Alarik by way of Anna.
After 45 minutes of blaring classic metal riffs in an enclosed vehicle, it was an abrupt transition to the twangy country-western sound in the bar. The Grub and Pub was notably empty, except for the bartender—a bartender who was not Anna.
Ember chose a seat, but Dennis continued walking. “Gotta go drain the dragon,” he explained.
“Delightful.”
The bartender wandered over to her table. “What can I get you?”
“Menus, please. And, I don’t see Anna.” Ember surveyed the room. “Is she in back somewhere?”
“Anna? Oh, no she had to take the afternoon off.” The man scratched his stubbled chin with the edge of a small, laminated menu before setting it down on the table. “I’m filling in for her. She had some sort of family thing she had to deal with.”
Bloody hell. Time to adapt. Ember took a quick glance at the menu. “You know what, I’ll just have a bottle of water and a plate of chips, please. I guess I’m not that hungry after all. I’ll be right back.”
Ember quickly left the bar, pulling out the burner cell phone from her purse as she did. She redialed Alarik’s number and squinted at the bright sunshine as the line rang softly in her ear. The prairie wind tugged at her hair and blew dust in her face. Her eyes watered as she unblinkingly watched the front door, expecting Dennis to emerge at any moment.
Her call went to Alarik’s voicemail.
“Shite. Um, this is Ember. Ember Wright. I’m in Plaza, but I’m not alone. They’ve sent someone to babysit me. We’ll have to—”
The bar’s door opened. Ember quickly snapped the phone shut and stuffed it into her purse.
“What’re you doing out here?” Dennis growled.
Ember blinked in the sunlight and could see the changeling’s badger subform was irritated. “I just needed to get some air. And…um…to get away from that music for a moment. Honestly, I don’t know how anyone can listen to such depressing songs.”
Dennis simply shrugged. He held the door open for her, though she suspected it wasn’t out of newfound courteousness.
He washed a greasy burger and onion rings down with a pint of tap beer while she nursed her bottled water and a small bag of Ruffles, served to her on a ceramic plate. I ask for chips, he brings me crisps.
They were back in the SUV when he asked, “Where’s your appointment?”
“It’s just outside of town. A…let’s see…” Ember pulled the legal pad from her satchel. She made a show of flipping through her notes until she found what she was looking for. “A Ronald and Muriel Schmitt. Changelings.” She gave h
im directions as he drove. We’re committed now.
The wind seemed ever brisker as they drove into the Schmitt family farm. Several pickups were parked in a row in front of the house. An American flag whipped and snapped noisily on an aluminum flagpole surrounded by freshly mowed mixed prairie grass. Several puddles of mud were in varying states of evaporation throughout the yard.
“Is it always this windy here?” Ember repurposed a rubber band from her census packet, using it to keep her blonde mane in a hasty ponytail.
Dennis snorted. “What, this little breeze? It’s nothing.”
As they exited the SUV, a large German Shepherd ran up, barking loudly. Ember closed her eyes and realized it was simply a dog—not a changeling. She wasn’t sure why this surprised her, but it did. She shifted her satchel to her back so she could lean down to pet the animal, digging her fingers into its deep coat. She cooed, “Oh, you’re a pretty baby. Yes, you are! What’s your name?”
“She’s Lucky.” A familiar voice answered. “And who are you?”
Ember looked up to see Alarik watching Dennis from the porch. His thumbs were hooked in the front pockets of his blue jeans, which he wore overtop brown leather cowboy boots. The sleeves of his collared plaid shirt were rolled up above his elbows. She resisted the impulse to whistle. He cleans up nice.
Without missing a beat, Ember extended her hand and a wink, hoping he would catch it. “I’m Ember Wright, and this is my driver, Smiley.”
Alarik shook Ember’s hand, studying her briefly. “Nice to meet you. I’m Rik.” He then glanced at Dennis, who didn’t need to walk up the last porch step to match Alarik’s height.
“Dennis,” the man said simply as he shook Alarik’s hand.
Lucky let out a bark as she leaped up the stairs and forced herself between Alarik and Dennis. The dog bared her teeth at the bearded man and growled low.
“Lucky! Down, girl.” This new voice belonged to an older version of Alarik. The same square jaw, dark steely eyes, weather-worn face. He had less hair and it was greyer, but there was no doubt that this was the patriarch of the family.
Ember blinked and identified him as a changeling grey wolf. She couldn’t help but notice that the man’s wolf subform had the same distrustful expression as Lucky showed toward Dennis. I’m liking this family already.
The dog stepped back obediently, but she never took her eyes off Dennis. The low rumble in her chest didn’t cease, either.
“I’m Ronald. You needed a driver to find us?” The elder Schmitt raised an eyebrow.
“Special circumstances,” Dennis grinned. “She’s a blonde, and a woman, and from England to boot. She’d get lost trying to find her way out of a parking lot. Am I right?”
Ember was surprised when Dennis answered with more than a grunt. Unfortunately, she wasn’t surprised by the content of his response. Neither of the Schmitts so much as cracked a smile at Dennis’s misogynistic joke, but that didn’t stop him from laughing loudly.
“Hmm. Right.” Ronald exchanged a look with Alarik, then glanced at Ember. “Well, everyone’s waiting inside.” He held the door open for her and stood back.
Ember gripped her satchel and smiled at Ronald. “Thank you. Um…but…everyone?”
She soon discovered who “everyone” was: Anna and Alarik of course, but also Muriel (Ronald’s wife, a grizzly bear changeling), Boniface (Ronald’s brother, whose subform was a red fox), Stephanie (Arnold’s wife, a mink), and her twin children, Maxim and Marta (who at ten years old had not yet reached their Manifestation Day). It was a veritable Schmitt family gathering, it seemed.
But no Arnold Schmitt.
“I thought this was supposed to be an interview with Ronald and Muriel,” Dennis folded his arms as he stood in the doorway of the living room. “Not a whole clan.”
Ember shot a glare at Dennis. “And I thought that I was the one doing the interview, not my driver. So, I guess that means we’re both disappointed today.”
“Cute. Have you two been married long?” Boniface and his fox subform grinned in unison.
Dennis snorted. “Me? To her? Never in a million years.”
Ember rolled her eyes, “Oh come now, sweetheart. I know I’m repugnant, but let’s not make a scene.”
Chuckles emerged from the Schmitt family, evolving into full laughter when Dennis scowled.
He may be a mountain, but his ego is fragile. Ember smiled at the family as she pulled the binder and legal pad from her satchel. “Since you’re all here, I will take advantage and include each of you in my census audit. That is if you don’t mind?”
They didn’t mind. Stephanie sent Maxim and Marta outside to play. Ember asked the same boring boilerplate set of questions as she had during the two interviews in Minot earlier that day. Dennis sat against the wall and worked on his crossword puzzle, a scowl affixed to his face.
The Schmitts indulged Ember’s charade, much to her relief. Still, she kept wondering when Arnold would walk in so she could meet him. Barring that, she tried to think of a way to get her babysitter to leave the room so she could just ask about Arnold.
“I should go check on the kids,” Anna announced. The woman glanced at Ember, her head turning to match her gaze a moment later. Ember thought she noticed Anna’s eagle subform wink at her. A short while later, Anna returned. “I’m sorry to interrupt you—Ember, is it? Can I borrow your driver for a second? The kids were throwing mud at each other, and your windshield is all splattered. I’ll hook up the garden hose and help you wash it off.”
Dennis left in a huff. After he stormed past Anna, she looked straight at Ember and gave a wink. There was no mistaking it this time.
As soon as Dennis and Anna were out of the house, Ember blurted out, “I’m so sorry about this guy. I don’t know how much Rik has told you, but I’m more convinced than ever that someone at the embassy is trying to keep me from discovering the truth.”
Ember met each family member’s gaze as she talked. She had to convince them of her sincerity.
It was Ronald who spoke. “He’s told us everything. And for better or worse, we believe you. I don’t know how much you’ll be able to do for my boy, but it’s nice to meet a mage who actually gives a damn about us.”
“I don’t know how much time we have,” Ember admitted as she pointed a thumb over her shoulder. “I’d really like to meet Arnie now.”
Alarik directed his question to Stephanie. “Do you mind if I take her upstairs to show her?”
Stephanie bit her lip and nodded twice. She looked like she was doing all she could to keep from crying. “Just…just keep it quick.”
Ember followed Alarik down a hall adorned with family portraits and up carpeted stairs to the second floor. The man walked with an easy lope, lighter on his feet than his size would suggest. Beneath her feet, on the other hand, the floorboards creaked with each step she took.
“He has good days when he can get outside. He’ll ride along with me to well sites and help me with projects.” Alarik’s voice got quieter as they approached a closed bedroom door. “Then he has…shitty days. Where he refuses to get out of bed and he just sleeps.”
Alarik placed his hand on the door handle and whispered. “He’s having one of those days.”
Ember wasn’t sure what she would see when she followed Alarik into the dim bedroom. The curtains were closed, letting only a hint of the bright sunlight in. A man laid on his side, clutching a pillow against his chest.
“Arnie,” Alarik whispered. “Arnie, there’s someone who wants to meet you.”
A pathetic whimper left Arnold’s throat, but he rolled over to face them. His face was pale, his hair was thin, and he trembled constantly. The look in his eyes revealed that he was in a state of incredible misery. Arnold’s aura was weak and twisted, distorted into itself like knots in a rope.
She had never seen anyone so sad, so pitiable. Ember looked away and was ashamed for it. When she looked back, she closed her eyes and focused on Arnold’s subform so she cou
ld gauge its health, though she suspected that it would as pained and sorrowful as the changeling’s human form.
Try as she may, Ember could not see Arnold’s subform. It was as though the changeling’s animal side was stripped away from him completely.
13
Casual Interrogations
It was early evening when Dennis dropped Ember off at her apartment building. The wind had waned, making for a pleasant early summer evening to wrap up the hectic day.
As she rode the elevator up to the third floor, Ember couldn’t help but replay the sight of Arnold Schmitt’s twisted aura. She’d never seen anything like it. The fact that his animal subform didn’t even exist—that it was somehow taken from him—explained a lot in the way of why he was having trouble functioning in everyday life.
“He hasn’t been able to change since he was recovered from the Mandaree fog. It’s tearing him up.” Alarik told her in the hallway after introducing her to his tormented brother. “His animal form is a coyote. Same as mine. He says it’s run away and he can’t call it back.”
She recalled how Alarik winced with that admission. He had swallowed hard and looked at her with wet eyes when he asked, “Can you help him?”
“I don’t know. But I’ll try.” Ember whispered the promise to herself as the elevator doors opened.
Her neighbor, M. Anderle, had another package waiting in front of his apartment door. This time, it was a bulky envelope with no return address. Her Investigator’s curiosity had her wondering what her neighbor was like and when she would see him. That incessant curiosity had earned her the nickname “Miss Doosinspect” from her Year Four teacher, Mrs. Oderman. Early signs of an Investigator in the making, I suppose.
In her own apartment, she rifled through the refrigerator and then the cabinets. Though she had purchased groceries, there was one critical item she couldn’t find in the store: her comfort food.