The Magic Shop

by Justin Swapp

  When he didn’t get an answer, he turned to see Ellie lathering green cream on Jason’s arm. ”Thank you,” Jason said, the sound of some kind of relief evident in his voice.

  “Can you put this on yourself? I don’t want to get the powder on me.”

  “Once you get some of this ointment on your skin, the body absorbs it, and sends it throughout your whole system,” Jason said, breathing deeply now. “You should both put some on, just in case.” Ellie applied the ointment on herself, and put a dab on Tofu’s nose as well.

  Then, Marcus heard a click from behind, and spun around. One of the prongs sprung out of place and even as he looked, it folded in on itself and disappeared into the center of the disc.

  “What happened?” Jason stepped toward the door. “What did you do?”

  “I don’t know, I just spun the dials around, thinking it might work like a combination lock, but nothing happened. Then I heard a click.”

  “Whatever you did,” Jason clapped Marcus on the back, “do it again.”

  Marcus spun the dial again as randomly as he had before. Ellie grabbed his free hand and lifted his arm, applying some of the anti-itching salve.

  “Thanks,” he said, still fixating on the lock. He stuck his tongue out as he focused. He rotated the prongs again until he finally heard another click, resulting in another golden rod springing. Again, it folded in on itself and, for all intents and purposes, disappeared.

  Marcus tried for some time to get the last two hands on the dial to fold in just as the others had, but he couldn’t. He figured that this was the last step to making the door open.

  “Step back,” Jason said, looking at the dial with his faced screwed up. “Look at this.”

  “But I’ve almost got it. I only need a few more minutes. There are only two hands left to go.”

  “Time,” Jason looked pleadingly at Ellie, “We need to know the time, quickly.”

  Marcus stepped back and stood next to Jason. He opened his mouth, gaping, and raised his eyebrows. He understood.

  Ellie fumbled around in her pocket and finally pulled out her cell phone. She flipped the lid, and read out, “Four P.M., on the dot, why?”

  “Four P.M.,” Marcus said, stepping forward. “Got it. Thanks.” He adjusted the final two hands on the dial to the twelve and four positions, like four o’clock on a traditional wall clock. He stepped back again next to Jason, and waited.

  Nothing.

  “What is this thing?” Ellie asked.

  “Like I said, it’s a key,” Jason said. “But I think it’s a time key, to be more precise.”

  “What?” Ellie asked.

  “It’s four P.M., right?” Jason asked. “You’re sure?”

  “Yes, I’m sure,” Ellie replied. “I know how to read a watch.”

  “Maybe we did something wrong, then?” Jason thought out loud.

  Marcus asked, “I thought you said you knew what you were doing?”

  “Hold on, it’s not like turning a key, man. What time is it now?”

  “4:01,” Ellie responded.

  Jason stepped forward and made the slight adjustment to the disc, setting it to 4:01, but nothing happened.

  “So, if you can get the hands to the right time, the door will open?” Ellie asked. She pushed Jason out of the way, not waiting for an answer, and rotated the disc slightly again.

  Nothing.

  Marcus leaned back against the wall and slid down to the floor, putting his face in his hands. “We have got to figure this out before they hurt Winston or use the skull. The old man was clear about it.”

  While the two argued about how to proceed with the door, Marcus looked around the room. The dial was a beautiful gold color, and it shimmered despite the lack of light in the room.

  Then, Marcus heard Tofu bark quietly. He stood on the chest of the guard they had defeated earlier. A flicker of light from the guard’s arm caught his eye for the first time.

  “Hey,” Marcus shot to his feet and made his way to the guard on the ground, pushing Tofu out of the way, “look at this.”

  Jason and Ellie stopped what they were doing and turned to Marcus, who had now taken hold of a sword and was stabbing it at the guard’s body.

  “What are you doing, Marcus?” Ellie asked, sounding horrified. “The powder wasn’t enough?”

  Marcus lifted the sword, which he had slid under a golden watch on the man’s hand and lifted his limp arm. “Look familiar?”

  Ellie raised her eyebrows and swallowed a sound.

  Jason scratched his head. “The gold looks like—”

  Marcus smirked. “The dial key,” he said, nodding.

  “What time does it say?” Ellie asked, bouncing in place.

  “The eleventh hour,” Marcus said to himself. Then, realizing he was mumbling, he said louder. “Eleven, flat.”

  Ellie adjusted the dial to the eleven and twelve positions. Suddenly a loud click was followed by the sound of metal grinding. The door sighed and cracked open, like it was loose on a hinge. “There you go,” Ellie smiled and even clapped her hands.

  Marcus said, “Yeah, like you did all the heavy lifting.”

  Jason pulled the door back when Marcus heard a loud popping sound. The disc key fell out of the door socket and just before it made contact with the ground, Tofu caught the disc in his mouth. It looked just as it had when he first put it in the door.

  Behind the door, Marcus saw a large storage room with luminescent shelves of odd artifacts and strange treasures that lined the walls around aisles in the center of the room. A soft, red glow permeated the corners of the walls, and he realized that he was in The Magic Box’s equivalent to the blue room; only it was easily five times larger.

  “Winston?” whispered Marcus as he crossed the door’s threshold cautiously.

  “Don’t,” Winston said, his voice weak and faint. The voice came from the opposite side behind the aisles in the middle of the room. “It’s a trap.”

  18

  The Keeper

  Arms extended like a plane ready for takeoff, Marcus ground to a halt in his tracks and took in a deep breath. “Shh,” he said, wanting to listen to the sound again, but everything was quiet.

  “Did you see something?” Ellie asked, as she followed close behind holding a fistful of his shirt. Marcus shook his head, unsure, and stepped forward carefully.

  In a flash, Marcus felt some unseen force jerk him forward, pulling him from Ellie’s grip. His body was thrown against the far wall, his back slammed squarely on the hard surface. He howled in pain. Ellie was flung forward too, connecting with the wall nearby, and she screamed out in pain.

  Yet they didn’t fall; they were pinned against the wall.

  “I don’t believe it.” Elizabeth dropped down from above, landing directly in front of them. “Huh,” she said, scratching her head. “They were right. They said you might come after the old man.” She chuckled to herself, and started to pace. “No way, I said. There was no way they could get out of those cages.” She paused a moment, seemingly processing something, then spun around to the doorway. “Without help.”

  She saw nothing.

  “Let us go, you witch.” Marcus tried to wrench free to get at Elizabeth.

  “Ah, ah, ah,” Elizabeth leaned in close and wagged her finger, “flattery doesn’t work on me.” She tapped his head with her crystal shard.

  “Ow!” Marcus winced.

  “How did you find me down here?” Elizabeth asked coyly. “I’m dying to know.”

  “Not yet, you’re not,” Marcus mocked. “But soon enough.”

  “Careful, pipsqueak,” Elizabeth raised a clenched fist toward his face.

  “We had help,” Ellie blurted, earning a curious look from Elizabeth, “from him.”

  Elizabeth spun around to find Jason smiling with Tofu at his feet. Without warning he swung a heavy fist and connected with her face, right on the mouth.

  Marcus watched Elizabeth fall to the ground, hard. She dropped the cry
stal shard, which Jason picked up promptly.

  Elizabeth scooted backward away from Jason, and felt her lower lip. “You punched me?” she asked then looked at the blood on her fingers. “A little uncivilized for a magic wielder, don’t you think?”

  “Now you call me a wielder?” he asked. “Pitiful.”

  Jason shook the shard at Marcus and Ellie, and then, as if some unseen force had cut the invisible ropes that held them in place, they slid down the wall to the floor. Marcus stretched his fingers and Ellie rubbed her wrists.

  “That was too easy,” Jason shook his head. He flicked the shard and raised Elizabeth up, then flung her against the wall, and held her, pinned and unable to move.

  Marcus helped Ellie to her feet. “Look at this place.” He approached the nearest shelf, mesmerized. The shelf contained objects of all kinds, things he could only hope to see in the oldest of books. Ancient boxes with odd symbols and writing, weapons of curious workmanship, and everything else he might have imagined.

  “Come on.” Ellie grabbed Marcus by the hand and led him down one of the aisles. “We’ve got to find Winston.”

  Marcus broke hands with his sister and looked back. Jason mumbled something and flicked the shard at Elizabeth, as if he were an artist stroking a paintbrush over a blank canvas.

  Elizabeth kicked her feet just above the floor. “No…” she whined and placed her hands over her ears, then over her temples, “don’t take my mind.”

  “Not your mind, Elizabeth, just your memory.” Jason gazed intently into her eyes, focusing. “See, I knew I was better than you.”

  Then Ellie’s voice broke his curiosity.

  “Come quick, Marcus,” Ellie said urgently. “I found him.”

  Marcus stared off to find where his sister had gone and nearly tripped over Tofu, who had been standing behind him. ”Dumb dog,” he said as he stumbled.

  Passing shelves of ornate masks and oddly-shaped lamps, Marcus turned down an aisle laden with rings, bracelets, amulets and medallions.

  “Here.” Ellie whimpered.

  Rounding the end of the aisle, Marcus halted in his tracks at the sight of his grandpa, as old and frail-looking as he had ever seen him. Granpa sat in an antique chair with a confounded look. No visible chains or manacles held him down and he held a large pulsating crystal ball, much like a brim.

  “Winston,” Marcus said, glancing back the way he came, “let’s go. We don’t have much time.”

  He didn’t move.

  Ellie swallowed hard. “Gramps,” she said quietly and reached out to touch his arm, “Come on, please.” Then Ellie screamed and was tossed back against the wall again.

  “What happened?” Marcus asked. His eyes darting around. “Ellie?”

  “The ball… I touched him, and it shocked me… threw me back.”

  “That must be what’s imprisoning him in that chair,” Marcus said, uncertain what to do. “The ball.” He looked to the aisles behind him. “Jason, a little help over here, man!”

  Jason hustled over to them and knelt by Winston. Tofu scurried off behind an aisle out of his way. “Oh,” Jason said with a deep breath. “This isn’t good.”

  “No kidding.” Ellie rubbed her arm where she had collided with the wall.

  “What?” Marcus asked.

  “It’s The Brim,” Elizabeth said with a menacing laugh while hanging from the wall, “the first brim. Winston is a powerful wielder, and we couldn’t take any chances.”

  Ellie asked, “What’s it doing to him?”

  “It’s paralyzing him and holding him in place,” Jason answered. “It has rendered him a shell of a man.”

  “Well, how do we stop it if we can’t even touch it?” Marcus asked.

  “You have to kill its master,” Elizabeth laughed wickedly. “And Faustino’s no slouch. Good luck with that.”

  “Maybe we can pick up the chair,” Marcus said, racking his brain for some way around their problem, “and carry him out without touching the Brim itself. When we get him home, Elba or Charlotte will know what to do.”

  Tofu barked.

  “It’s worth a try,” Ellie said, positioning herself on one side of the chair. “Come on.”

  Marcus situated himself opposite Ellie, and Jason got behind the chair.

  “On the count of three,” Jason said, taking a deep breath. “One, two, three.”

  They had barely lifted Winston and the chair off the ground when they heard something, causing them to put him down.

  “And where might you be taking the old man?” a low, thunderous voice asked from behind them.

  Marcus whirled to see Faustino looking down on them, his hands behind his back, as if he were taking the stage for the first time that night.

  “Faustino?” Elizabeth asked incredulously. “What are you doing here? I said I had this situation handled.”

  “Yes, I can see that, thank you,” he said without looking at her. He walked around the chair, taking each step slowly.

  Faustino clicked his tongue. “Who do we have here? So this is how the rug rats escaped from their cages, then.”

  “Wait,” Jason said, shielding his face with his arm, “I can explain everything.”

  Before Faustino could say anything else, Elizabeth spoke up, “Aren’t you going to get me down from here?”

  Faustino chuckled. “If I’ve learned anything, it’s that I can’t trust an intern.” He spun around to look at Elizabeth. “You were supposed to bring me the whole family, remember? I gave you specific instructions, and all I got was this old bird. You cost me Sol’s confidence, and so, naturally, you lost mine.”

  Faustino turned again, and quick as a cobra, snatched Jason up by the neck. “And you,” he spit as he spoke, “you simply betrayed me.”

  Tofu peeked from behind the nearest aisle and whimpered at the ugly scene.

  “The kids,” started Jason, “they put some kind of spell on me. I didn’t want this.”

  Faustino asked, “Elizabeth?”

  Elizabeth looked confused as she spoke. “I was putting the final preparations on the room, traps and all, and then doing what you said with the Brim and the old man, then,” she paused, squeezing her eyes tightly for a moment, “then I don’t know. I mean, I don’t remember.”

  Marcus didn’t know how they could get out of this situation. While Faustino focused on Jason and Elizabeth, he crab walked back to the corner of the room and pulled out his brim.

  Considering Elizabeth for a moment, Faustino sighed. “You never were a good liar, Jason.” he shook the boy by the neck.

  In that moment, despite how he might have felt about Jason’s cowardice, Marcus decided he had to do something, or Faustino would kill Jason.

  Holding out his brim, Marcus focused his mind. His thoughts, however, weren’t about Faustino’s magic this time, about draining him of that intoxicating energy, or to see those friendly wisps bounce around in his sphere like trapped treasure. No, this time he wanted to be rid of Faustino forever; he wanted to protect Jason.

  Faustino must have seen the green glow reflected on the wall, or must have sensed something because in the moment before Marcus’s brim discharged a large green blast of raw power, Marcus witnessed Faustino’s mixed expressions. Anger, fear, even confusion, but most of all, Marcus saw disbelief. How arrogant Faustino was; unable to believe that Marcus was capable of doing this.

  In what seemed like an instant, Faustino’s eyes sparked. Tiny bolts of electricity crawled along his face and back into his gaping mouth. His grasp on Jason loosened and Jason fell, collapsing to the floor.

  Marcus concentrated and delivered another energy surge that sent Faustino zooming across the room and boring into the wall. He groaned.

  “Whoa,” Ellie said, getting to her feet. She stepped over Jason, then turned and gave him one kick in the ribs before returning to Marcus. “Where did you learn to do that?”

  “I don’t know.” Marcus felt as confused as she seemed to be. “I just… did. I had these fee
lings of anger and fear, but not like before. They weren’t consuming. I just wanted to be done. I just wanted Faustino—gone.”

  “Unexpected, yes,” Faustino growled angrier than Marcus had ever heard him before. “But not enough to finish The Great Faustino.”

  In a flash, Faustino was on his feet. Marcus pushed Ellie to the ground to get her out of the line of fire. Faustino darted toward Winston, and Marcus feared for the worst. But rather than doing something heinous to the old man, he reclaimed his brim from Winston without the same ill effect that it had caused Ellie earlier. As the sphere shrunk to a manageable size in Faustino’s hand, Winston fell out of the chair and onto the floor.

  “Now you will see what real magic is!” Faustino extended the Brim, which glowed a bright, hot yellow. The beam connected with Marcus hard and fast. Various streams of light shot out at him like fiery rays from the sun.

  The pain was nearly unbearable. Marcus shrieked as he felt each ray of light pierce him to his center. He thought that this is how it must feel to have a tattoo removed, if tattoos covered your body, and you could get them all removed at once by scraping them off with toothpicks. He toppled over straight onto his back, the impact shot agony from his core to his limbs. The worst part was that he didn’t lose consciousness. He suffered through the damage, but the pain was too much. His hands and feet convulsed, and he let his last chance for survival roll out of his hands. His brim was gone.

  “Thought you could best the Great Faustino, did you?” Faustino circled over Marcus, breathing heavily like a vulture over carrion. “Thought you could just walk right into my house and take what was—”

  Confusion suddenly overrode Marcus’s agony. He watched as Faustino’s body seized up without warning, mid-sentence. Marcus heard a scream, but the scream was not a scream of pain or suffering, nor was the scream Faustino’s; it was shrill.

  Faustino collapsed next to Marcus with a thunderous clap. His fingers clawed at the floor. He trembled under a radiant beam of red light, bright blue spheres of energy pulsating along the red ray, zeroing in on the square of his back. Standing just behind where Faustino had been stood a panting, vicious-looking Ellie holding Marcus’s brim. She yelled out again, sending more energy and more pain into Faustino.