by Martha Carr
The troll cackled loudly and shook his head. Hagan let out a breath and smiled, then started to open the box. He lifted the edges out of their creases but then stopped as a thought came to his mind. He looked at Yumfuck suspiciously and raised an eyebrow. “How many of these did you lick?”
Before the troll could answer, he opened the box all the way and carefully perused each donut, trying to spot one that looked too shiny. To his surprise they all looked normal, but he was still suspicious since it had been a long time since he had donuts. He knew Yumfuck too well and knew that he had a nasty habit of taking a little off the top before anyone else had a chance.
Yumfuck crossed his furry paws over his chest. “Not a one. Leira made me swear not to touch them.”
Hagan eyed the three-foot-tall troll. “Leira got you to keep your paws to yourself, huh? I don’t know, that doesn’t seem good to me. You guys must need a really big favor.”
Hagan breathed in the sweet aroma of the perfect confections. He carefully took a cruller out of the box and chomped down. “Come to Papa. Oh, how I’ve missed you.”
Hagan shut his eyes as he chewed, letting the sugar melt in his mouth. Yumfuck put his furry paws together and rocked back and forth, doing his best not to shrink down to five inches and leap into the box. It wasn’t very often that there was a huge box of donuts in front of him, but he was capable of keeping his cool. It had been a while for Yumfuck too, but not nearly as long as for Hagan. On top of that, he had promised Leira. He wasn’t going to touch a single donut until Hagan offered.
Hagan took another bite and opened his eyes, watching the restraint on Yumfuck’s face. He snorted, then began laughing and held out the box. “Here, take one. Just one! Gotta share what you get with your best buddy, right?”
Yumfuck shrugged. “Sharing is caring.”
Yumfuck reached in and grabbed an Old Dirty Bastard—a mashup of peanut butter, Oreo cookies, and chocolate. He held it in both paws and licked his lips, opening his mouth wide and chomping his way through. At one point his entire face was buried in the donut, and Hagan couldn’t help but laugh.
Hagan grabbed a napkin from on top of the box and handed it to Yumfuck. “You can’t go walking around here with chocolate in your fur.”
Yumfuck shook his hand at the napkin. “No need.”
Hagan grimaced as Yumfuck swiped his big, long tongue all over his face, cleaning up every speck of the donut. When he was done, Hagan shrugged. “Well, at least you don’t waste a crumb.”
“Waste not, want not, motherfucker!”
Hagan chuckled. “That’s what my grandma always used to tell me. So, you’ll be surprised by the changes we’ve made here. We’ve had so many people coming in and out that we had to make some modifications to take care of them all. Come on, I’ll show you.”
Yumfuck took a deep breath and held his paws out to his sides pressing his middle finger and thumbs together. As he exhaled, he let out a deep hum, getting himself into his Zen master mode. He hurried along, trying to keep pace with Hagan and his long legs as they began the tour of the entire place.
“So over here we put in several other cottages, but they all link back to the main house where we fix dinner, have a game night, and try to help entertain the kids,” Hagan said as he pointed at some small thatched-roof cottages.
Yumfuck oohed and ahhed. “Minimalist living. I like it.”
Hagan chuckled. “I guess that’s what you can call it. It’s amazing, the things I’ve heard and the stories that I’ve been told by the families that have come here. They’ve had to escape from the clutches of the dark families once they were outed. No one really knows exactly who was doing it, but we all suspect the Humans First movement. It seems obvious that they would want the magical community attacked, even the innocent.”
Yumfuck rubbed his chin. “Do they have any idea who’s outing them?”
Hagan shook his head. “Really have no idea how they’re getting this information. Like this family: three kids, a wife, and a husband. They’ve never been in trouble with the human or magical police. They keep their magic hidden, so much so that they say not a single human knows about their skills.”
The three young kids looked up and gasped excitedly, seeing Yumfuck walking toward them. The five-year-old ran over to him, standing about the same height. “Are you a troll?”
“Peter,” the mother scolded.
Yumfuck waved his hand. “It’s okay. You know why? Because I am a troll!”
The mother smiled as Yumfuck went with the kids and let them show him their toys. He looked up at the mother and tilted his head. “I’m sorry you have to be here. I know you probably miss your home.”
The mother was hanging a towel up on the laundry line. “If I have to be stuck anywhere that isn’t home, I couldn’t ask for much better than this. The kids can run around and use their magic any way they want for the first time in their entire lives. On top of that, I know that we’re safe, and that’s all that matters at this point.”
Yumfuck patted her on the leg. “Well, hopefully not only can we get you back home soon, but maybe that home will be a little bit more open for your kids to be the magical people they are.”
The mother smiled. “That would be wonderful.”
“Hey, they’re doing a whipped-cream pie-eating contest over there! Can we go, Mom?” The ten-year-old was jumping up and down, really wanting to be part of the group of kids who had gathered there for safety.
The mother lifted an eyebrow. “I don’t know…”
“I’ll walk them over,” Yumfuck volunteered.
The kids cheered when their mother nodded and raced over to the contest area. Yumfuck joined the fun, knowing he could eat them out of house and home. When the contest began Yumfuck started out strong, devouring pie after pie. However, as he watched the joy on the others’ faces, he slowed down and threw the contest so the young wizard could win. By the end of it, everyone was covered in whipped-cream except for Yumfuck, who had licked it most of it off.
Hagan walked over and patted Yumfuck on the shoulder. “Having fun?”
Yumfuck nodded excitedly. “This place is great!”
Hagan laughed as he watched the kids run back to their mother to tell her all about it. He looked down at Yumfuck and gestured toward the main house. “Why don’t we take a stroll over there, and you can tell me about what’s happening on Oriceran.”
Yumfuck nodded and licked off the dollop of whipped cream still hanging from his ear. “Leira was on Oriceran hunting down a bounty. Instead of finding her target, she found a group of dark wizards and witches who had started to form organized alliances and had no problem being out in the open. They immediately chased her away. Luckily, Louie and Perrom were there to help.”
Hagan shook his head. “So not only are things going bad here, but they’re going bad on Oriceran too.”
“Yep! They are taking advantage of the chaos, and the fact that there is no longer a council or the Silver Griffins. We’re looking for a weak spot in the leader, and once we find it, we’re planning on exploiting it until he stops what he’s doing. I wanted to find out if you were in.”
Hagan snorted. “Of course, I am. We could do some research on these guys, talk to some of the locals who aren’t too afraid to tell the truth, then start doing some deductive reasoning to find out what their weak spot may be. We could possibly even hire some spies within the groups. People who are deep enough to be able to dig out the secrets, but not so deep that we can’t trust them.”
Yumfuck gave Hagan a sharp, toothy grin. “It’s good to have you back. I’ve missed my partner.”
Hagan laughed and patted Yumfuck on the head. “I agree, it feels good.”
20
Leira stood next to an abandoned building, peeking around the back corner as a gnome in a black vest and worn-out bowler hat locked the back door. He was a low-level gnome, or at least that was what she had been told. Normally, she wouldn’t be assigned to somebody like him since she w
as far too expensive and her time was extremely valuable, but this wasn’t just some normal gnome—or at least Leira didn’t believe he was. She had the feeling that he worked for the Light Elf Marcel, who was her real target.
Marcel was a hard man to find, and his cronies seemed to be everywhere. All she could do at that point was locate every piece of the puzzle she could and hope that they eventually led her to him. This gnome was shifty and hard to track. Luckily for Leira, Lois and Patsy were constantly on her earpiece, giving her a running information feed.
Lois cleared her throat and whispered, “His name is Milton. He may seem harmless, but it’s no secret that he works with the dark families. If Marcel is really as important as you think, then he will absolutely be in touch with Milton.”
Leira jerked back as Milton turned, scanning the area for anyone watching. She held her breath for several moments, wishing the girls in her earpiece would quiet down. When he had turned away, Leira released the breath she was holding. “I gotta pay more attention to him. Having you in my ear just might get me killed.”
Lois snorted. “Killed by Milton? I think not. I could be wrong. He could’ve had a whole bunch of training by now, but the people you usually have to worry about are the ones who surround Milton.”
Leira leaned back against the building out of sight. “What kind of name is Milton?”
Patsy chimed in. “His mother had a thing for a comedian. People can be weird when they name their kids, especially magical folks.”
Leira shook her head, hearing a loud crunching in the special earpiece Lois had made for her. It wasn’t exactly Bluetooth, but an advanced piece of new technology that at that moment was on its trial run.
Leira watched as Milton opened a portal and straightened his hat and vest, waiting for him to step through. “Well, ladies, I think it’s time to see if the connection can hold between two worlds. He’s getting ready to step through a portal, and I see Oriceran on the other side.”
Patsy whistled. “This is the big moment. I’ve been waiting for this for a while now. I designed these things well, and I don’t think it will be a problem between the two worlds.”
Leira lifted an eyebrow, knowing how unreliable technology could be. She had grown up on Earth, which meant she had gone through the barrage of devices from pagers to car phones, then to smartphones, all of which always had some sort of issue. She only hoped that the magic in her earpiece surpassed smartphone technology.
Leira chuckled as she touched the earpiece. “We’ll see. I know with my smartphone, if I walk around too many corners or go into a building with a tin roof, I’m lucky to have enough signal to send a text.”
Patsy scoffed. “Maybe if you had magic in that smartphone…”
Leira chuckled and shook her head as Milton jumped through the portal and hurried away before it shut. She waited several moments, then took off across the back parking lot to the portal and peered through it. Milton was already out of sight, so she quickly stepped through and let the portal shut behind her.
“Now I gotta track him,” Leira told the girls, waiting for their response.
Lois’ voice fluttered in and out, but she was there. “Ten-four, Leira. Let us know what we can do to help.”
First, Leira tried her magic to track the gnome, but it quickly became obvious that he was adept at hiding his trail. Leira sighed and rubbed her hands together. “I guess it’s time to pull out some human detective skills to track this guy since my magic isn’t going to work.”
There was something about the way the gnome hid his magic that reminded Leira of Rhazdon. She was capable of hiding her trail at all times, even when she wasn’t thinking about it. Luckily, though, Leira was well-equipped to track the gnome the old-fashioned way.
She didn’t have to track him far, either. The footprints and telltale signs of his passing led her to the edge of the Dark Forest. In front of her was a very familiar trail that led straight to the dark market.
“Hey Ronnie, how’s it going today?” Milton said after slipping into the market.
Ronnie grumbled. “Ever since that issue the other day I’ve had to keep a low profile. It took a couple extra gold coins and a favor I was owed to get my booth back up front. Of course, I had to lie and tell them I was just helping my friend, but I had no idea what was going on.”
Milton shook his head. “Well, at least you’re back in here. I thought for sure they’d have your head.”
Ronnie swallowed hard. “I like my head right where it is, thank you.”
Milton chuckled. “I don’t blame you.”
Leira was back behind the crowd, with a shawl over her head to hide her face. She was milling around the various booths, trying to follow Milton as far as she could without getting caught. It was unlikely she wouldn’t be recognized after she’d caused such a ruckus just a week before, so she had to be careful if she wanted to continue the project.
Leira noticed that the crowds shoving and pushing around her had not only grown larger, but they’d gotten rougher as well. It was surprising since it had only been a week since she was there, but it gave her a good insight on how quickly things were changing on Oriceran. She stood behind a large rack of Afghans, peering through them as the two gnomes spoke. She trusted Ronnie and knew that it wasn’t anything he was connected to.
“We hope not, at least,” Lois commented. Her voice cracking over the earpiece.
Leira rolled her eyes. “I’m sorry, Lois. I keep losing you. I’ll let you know if I need anything.”
She’d heard Lois perfectly but didn’t want to start talking about Ronnie or his background. She knew it couldn’t have been fantastic. He was working at the dark market and was pretty well versed in the riffraff around there. Still, he had proven himself, and she wasn’t going to judge him after what he had done.
“Okay, I know who Ronnie is now. He’s got sticky fingers.” Patsy chuckled.
Leira smiled. “Yeah, but he’s a good guy. He would never intentionally harm anyone, even if he collects an artifact or two from time to time. He’s got the same mentality as all the other vendors: you do what you have to do to sell the best products to make a living. I’m not advocating thievery by any means, but he fought by my side just a week ago, and I gotta give him props for that. He may be loyal to Louie, but it looks like he’s loyal to light magic as well.”
Leira watched as Milton strolled away from Ronnie and out of sight. She tightened the fabric across her face and hurried over to Ronnie’s stand. “Hello, Miss. Can I offer you a beautiful blue magical artifact?”
Leira chuckled, realizing he didn’t recognize her. He looked up and she moved the fabric from her face quickly, then put it back. His eyes grew wide, and he leaned toward her. “Leira! You know you shouldn’t be here. If they find you, they’re going to chase you down again.”
Leira patted him on the hand. “It’s okay. I’m trained to do this.”
Ronnie shook his head as she winked at him, making him chuckle. “What are you here for?”
Leira nodded in the direction Milton had walked off in. “What you know about Milton?”
Ronnie lifted an eyebrow. “He’s my cousin. Why?”
Leira hoped that family blood wasn’t a deal-breaker for his loyalty. “Milton’s a known associate of the Light Elf, Marcel. He’s into some pretty bad things with some pretty bad people.”
Leira felt herself slipping right back into her old detective skills. No matter what magic she had, they were still useful in almost every situation. Ronnie bit the inside of his cheek and acted like he was showing Leira a watch. “Is someone really guilty, or does it just seem that way?”
Leira gave him a smile, understanding why it was hard for him to swallow that. “I don’t know, but I’ll find out, I promise. In the meantime, can you hook me up with some connections?”
Ronnie rolled his eyes and sighed, turning to the booth next to him. “Hilda, would you mind if I borrowed a couple of your pixies to watch my table? I have to take care
of something important.”
Hilda nodded and sent two flying toward the table. Ronnie looked at them and narrowed his eyes. “Don’t play with the merchandise. Talk to people. Take their money, but don’t play.”
Both pixies nodded and giggled. Ronnie tied his satchel to his belt as he came around the table. As they walked, he whispered to Leira, “You’re not exactly an unknown quantity here. This may not be as easy as you would like it to be. Even if these people are loyal to dark magic, they’re loyal to themselves. They know that if they get caught talking to you or helping you, they will not only lose their table here but most likely their life as well. Things aren’t as protected as they used to be here on Oriceran. I told you, times have changed. I’ll do my best to try to get a couple of people to speak with you.”
Leira nudged Ronnie and smiled underneath her shawl. “I knew you liked me.”
Ronnie grumbled, “I don’t like you, but I do like being alive, and considering who your father is, I figured the best bet would be for me to treat you well.”
Leira just smirked and didn’t say anything else as she followed Ronnie through the aisles and into the tent. They stopped at a center table, and Ronnie nodded at the store owner in the back.
Ronnie kept his voice low. “I need information about Milton.”
The guy looked around. “I don’t know what you want from me. That’s a death sentence.”
He glanced at Leira and Ronnie held up his hand. “She’s trying to help us all.”
The guy’s eyes opened wide. “I can’t believe you’d bring her here. I can’t help you.”
The guy walked away. Ronnie grumbled as he led Leira to the next booth. A large male Crystal lumbered forward, eyeing Leira. He narrowed his eyes and bent down as Ronnie whispered into his ear. Leira watched as the man looked at him, then at her, and then back at Ronnie. He shook his head and Ronnie sighed, dusting the cold embers from his shoulder.
He walked away with Leira and peered up at her. “It’s not easy to get people to go along with this. They’re just as afraid of him as everybody else. This is their livelihood, and they have no place on Earth until they’re forced to go there. They know you’re the enemy, and if they talk, it could mean their heads.”