Forced Magic

by Jerod Lollar

  “Where is Fetch? “I thought.

  If he was overhead, he would have been here by now. I was lying face down on the street as my attackers continued to beat on me. I cursed myself for not calling him on the cell phone tied around his neck, as my attackers continued to beat me to a pulp. As I lay there, I began to feel the first spark of the forced magic as it started to build in my body. I found the strength to push myself up which only made them beat on me harder. Another blow to the kidneys turned me around to finally face my attackers. They were ordinary people. Three guys with hoodies and bandanas covering their faces beat on me brutally with baseball bats. They stopped and looked at me for a second. One of them spoke up.

  “Man, I don’t know what you are on dude, but I want it. I saw you drop a wad of money in the club and I’m gonna get that too.”

  He and his two friends continued to beat on me as if they felt they would get nothing from me until I was dead. This struck me as funny. Here I was being so cautious about the magic world that I forgot about the non-magic one. I began to laugh. I could taste blood in my mouth, and, in spite of the changes my body had undergone, I didn’t think I was going to survive this. How could I have forgotten about this world, the one I grew up in? Had all the things that had happened to me changed me so much that the normal world I had been a part of became completely foreign to me? Was this going to be the end of it all? “No!" said a voice in my head. I refused to let this happen to me. I had fought off goblins and even knocked out a wizard in a duel. This should be nothing to me. I was stronger than this. I was stronger than they were. There was no way they could win this. I just let them surprise me, but that was never going to happen again. I felt a surge of strength and I began to stand up. The blows kept coming from these guys but I barely felt them. I grabbed one of the bats, twisting it out of my attacker's hands. I heard the snap and the screech of pain as my grab cause him to break his wrist. I broke the bat in two, and grabbed the next guy by the throat. I shoved him backwards into a wall. He sank to the ground and just lay there. I turned to my last attacker and received a new surprise. He had a gun. I heard the shot go off and felt a strange tearing sensation in my shoulder. I ran at my attacker and smacked the gun from his hand. Even though I could feel no pain, the loss of blood from my shoulder wound was making me strangely dizzy. My attackers must have been on something. Two of them started hitting me again with their baseball bats. The lack of blood made me sink to my knees. I began to crawl toward the club door. These guys weren’t giving up. They followed me step by step in some sort of drug induced fury. I could see the purple troll doorman looking at these guys. He looked confused. Because of the teardrop, he couldn’t tell what they were doing. I imagined that it looked like two guys beating the road with bats. The third one stayed crumpled by the wall where I had thrown him. A wild thought entered my mind. Where were all the creatures from the club? The ones who saw me? Why hadn’t they come out?

  I continued to crawl toward the troll. I thought that if I could get to him and touch him, he would see me and then I could get some help. Not the way I wanted to reveal myself but I didn’t feel like I had too much choice. I heard a commotion at the door of the club. The troll had barred the door keeping everyone inside. He must have thought he was protecting the club goers from the crazy guys hitting the ally floor and shooting in the air. This thought struck me as funny. I started to laugh which just made these guys madder. I continued to laugh as I crawled. Blood was now pouring out of my mouth, and these guys were screaming in rage that I was not dying. As I reached the troll, who, not wanting to get involved with these crazy humans if he could help it, had flattened himself against the wall next to the door, I reached out and was able to touch his big toe. I heard a grunt when I was revealed to him. That was when I heard the roar. Fetch was back and he sounded pissed. He dropped into the alley, completely visible to all. His face was contorted in rage as he rushed at the muggers. Knocking them aside, he shot a flame of healing at me. As it engulfed me, I could feel it start to work. The bullet in my shoulder popped out. A very odd sensation.

  Fetch had turned his back on the boys and one of them took his bat and with all his might brought it down on Fetch's head. It was just enough to stun him and enough to piss me off. With the added fury of Fetch's emotion I turned on my attackers. Hitting me was one thing, hitting Fetch was something else. The healing flame had engulfed me by now and I was rapidly gaining my strength. As I stood up, the color of the flame changed from a bright orange to a deep black with a yellow outline. The troll and my attackers all stood still in shock. Fetch's roar must have been heard by all the people in the club. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see that someone had finally broken through the door and all sorts of creatures were pouring out. I could hear the gasps as I stood there covered in the black flame of Fetch's fire. I could see Fetch shaking his head trying to clear it.

  The girl in the wheelchair came out into the alleyway chanting “Fight, fight, fight” and I heard more than one voice calling me 'dragon survivor'. Not the best way to announce my arrival to the world of magic, but at this point I didn’t care. I was still mad and I was ready to teach these guys a lesson for attacking me.

  I could feel the forced magic building up inside me. It reached the middle of my chest and forced its way out. The fire that continued to surround me added to the strength of my magic. It was now a ball of blue flame about the size of my fist. Grabbing it like a baseball, I threw it in the direction of my attackers. It engulfed them. I could hear them scream and watched as they ran down the alley trying to put out the flames. By the time they got to the end of the alley they were engulfed in it. The two who were still standing fell down and then the flames went out. I looked over at the one I had thrown into the wall. One of the fairies was kneeling down next to him, a strange light coming out of his hands. The fallen man twitched as the light engulfed him.

  I was struck with horror on what I had just done. Once again I had shown that I could do amazing things, and, once again, my anger got the best of me. Putting aside my fear that I might have killed them, I rushed over to Fetch. He had passed out. He lay there, very still. I had never seen him look like that before. His breath was shallow and I was afraid he wasn’t going to make it. I put his head in my lap.

  “Hey Fetch, wake up," I said. “You did good pal. Come on and wake up.”

  His silver scales glowed and his black ones changed colors for a second, then with a sigh he opened his eyes. He looked at me as if he was trying to remember what happened. I was so relieved he was all right. His eyes drifted past my shoulder. He had a slight snarl on his face and I turned to see what he was looking at. The entire club had seemed to empty into the alley. At the front of the crowd was my fairy. I still didn’t know her name. I stood up and realized that the spell had exhausted me. I swooned and then fell to the street. Fetch turned me around and was staring at me, his look of concern was matching the one I had just had for him. Other creatures came into view. I saw the purple troll looking at me and could hear Smith calling out my name. I saw my fairy. She was looking at me the same way she looked at me two years ago when I broke my hip. A strange ball of light appeared in her hand, and, before I could react, it hit me in the face. Darkness took me.

  Chapter 32

  There were people talking. I couldn’t tell if it was a dream or not, and I couldn’t tell what they were saying, but there were definitely people talking. I was sore, not in pain, just sore, like I had been working out. I remembered the guys with the baseball bats hitting me over and over again. How could I not be in pain? Fetch . . . Fetch healed me again with his flame. Why was he so late in finding me? Those guys really beat the crap out of me. Fetch. Fetch? Fetch was hurt! He had been hit! Where was Fetch?

  I opened my eyes, coming out of my half sleep dream. Smith was there along with three fey. Fetch was nowhere in sight. I recognized the place as Smith's little cave under the park. When I first met Smith, I thought he was just a type of janitor for the mag
ic world, cleaning up magic messes so the real world would not discover that magic was real. So the real world wouldn't know that the fey, gnomes and dragons were something more than fantasy. Looking at him sitting in his wooden easy chair with three fey circled around him, listening with rapt attention to his whispered conversation. I wondered again if it was an accident when I saved him. It could have been planned. I lay there as still as I could, wanting to hear what he said. I still didn’t know so many things I needed to learn about this new life I was in. Smith glanced over at me and smiled.

  “Ah, our good friend is finally awake,” he said. “Jack, I would like you to meet some very good friends of mine. This is Molly, Peter, and I think you already know this lovely lady, Samantha.”

  There she was. My own personal fairy. She was as beautiful as she was on that first day long ago. She was staring at me with hands on her hips and her mouth a thin line. Molly was looking back and forth between the two of us. The male fey named Peter was standing there, not making eye contact with anyone at all. Slowly, Samantha floated across the room toward me. I sat up and tried to think of something to say. All this time I had thought that she might be trying to kill me. Seeing her here made me feel like I had been wrong the whole time. When she reached my bedside she stared down at me with her eyes narrowed. Any look of concern I remembered her having when she kneeled over me in the alleyway was gone. I had a flash of a thought of the alley, and the strange light that had knocked me out, that had come from her hand. I had a moment of panic as I started to think that maybe she had tried to kill me on the street that day. She definitely was staring at me like she could kill me right now. She was mad and I had no doubt she was mad at me.

  “Uh, hi," I stammered.

  I heard a familiar 'HUH' from over my head. Looking up I saw a long shelf and Fetch's snout peeking over the edge.

  “Fetch!” I said in relief. “You’re ok. Man, you had me worried, you stupid lizard. What took you so long to get to me in the alley? What were you waiting for? They were beating the snot out of me. Do you only attack goblins?”

  I was hyper aware of Samantha and the others staring at me. I could hear Smith chuckling.

  “You see? I told you,” he said. “They are connected and the best of friends. All the rumors are true. I have witnessed them with my own eyes and now so have you. Now do you believe me when I say he has a name?”

  Samantha looked at us in complete shock. When she noticed that I was looking at her, the look of anger appeared on her face once again. Looking at me, she spoke in a low controlled voice.

  “How dare you suggest that I was trying to kill you? I was trying to save your life, you smelly Flap!”

  There was that word again. I was beginning to think that it wasn’t a nice word. I had to find out what it meant. I stared at her, and, to my surprise, I started to feel angry. I mean, who did she think she was talking to me that way? Gritting my teeth and looking into her blue eyes, I spoke in a low voice trying matching her fury.

  “Well, what am I supposed to think? You just appeared out of nowhere and lured me out into the street. I was almost hit by a truck. In fact every time I see you, there is some sort of truck involved. The first time I saw you, I ended up with three pins in my hip. The next time I saw you, Fetch hatched on my leg. What kind of sick game are you playing with me, you fairy tease?”

  I heard a strange metal sound and saw Pete with a large sword in his hand. I remembered him from the club. I didn’t see the other one with the white hair. He looked like he was about to say something when Fetch jumped from his perch, and, quick as a flash, was crouched in front of him growling. Pete had a look of surprise on his face and didn't seem to want to move. Keeping his eyes on Fetch, he spoke to me.

  “No one speaks that way to Samantha. She has sacrificed much for you and is next in line for the council.”

  These words meant nothing to me, so I just sat there staring at Samantha.

  “Put it away, Pete,” she said. “It is obvious that Jack here was hit a little too hard to realize what he said. I will let it go this time. His apparent stupidity is enough of an apology for now.”

  At these words, Pete put away his sword, and, with a puff of red smoke in Pete's face, Fetch turned his attention to Molly. He slowly crawled up to her, and, bowing just a little, put his head under her hand and gently gave it a nudge. Molly let out a little squeak and looked over at me, not knowing what to do.

  Glancing at her I said, “He likes to be scratched on the head.”

  I looked back at Samantha. In my mind, all sorts of clever comebacks for her 'stupidity' comment were swirling around in my head, but, after looking in her eyes for a while, all I could manage to come up with was two words.

  “Fairy tease,” I repeated.

  I heard Pete’s sword come out of its sheath again. It was really odd knowing that there was a fairy, standing there in an Armani suit, threatening me with a sword. Samantha raised a hand signaling him to put it away. Fetch was too busy getting his head scratched by Molly to come to my rescue this time. Samantha turned her hand in the air palm up. A strange glow appeared in the center of her hand. It was a ball of white light. She looked at this ball then back at me. She smiled. It was a sweet smile, one that could melt your heart. I felt my own heart skip a beat and I was about to apologize for my 'fairy tease' comment. I even opened my mouth to begin to apologize, when she gently flicked her hand. The ball of light shot out of her hand and hit me square in the forehead. It knocked me back and flipped me over Smith's small bed. There was a loud clatter as I landed on the shelves, knocking down and breaking dishes and bottles. I heard Molly let out a little squeak and the familiar 'Huh' from Fetch. I was SO glad he was enjoying this. Samantha’s face appeared above me. Hovering in the air, she had the same sweet smile on her face. I didn’t find it so appealing anymore. It was silent in the den, and, as I lay there, sprawled in an awkward position, Samantha spoke.

  “So,” she said in a sweet voice, “call me a tease again, Jack. I dare you.”

  You could have heard a pin drop. Nobody moved. Nobody breathed. I realized that this was a defining moment for me. This would determine how the fey in this room would treat me. Perhaps it would determine how all fairies would treat me from now on. I looked at Samantha carefully.

  I opened my mouth and with apparent slowness I said, “Fairy---Tease.”

  The air seemed to go out of the room. The look on Samantha’s face made me think that she had never been talked to that way. All the color drained away from her pretty face. No one had challenged her to this point, and I had crossed some line and could not come back from it. I knew I had gone too far, but I was not about to back down now. I felt a stubborn pride as I lay there staring defiantly into this fairy princess's eyes. Her beautiful face contorted into a mask of rage.

  “This is going to hurt,” I said to myself.

  Before anything could happen, a high-pitched laugh rang through the air.

  “Friends, friends, please,” said Smith. “This must end. I don’t think my home can take much more of this. Samantha, please, Jack has been through so much and you did startle him with your appearance that day. Can you blame him for thinking you might try to do him some harm? Jack, you must forgive me as well. If I had known it was Samantha that was your fairy, I would have reassured you that she meant you no harm. Now we must start over and all be friends."

  Samantha backed up a little as I scrambled around trying to get on my feet. After I slipped around trying to stand, she offered me her hand. Reluctantly I took it. There is no way to describe the sensation of being given a helping hand from a fairy that is hovering in the air. As I stood up, she leaned in close and whispered in my ear,

  “This isn’t over, you flap."

  "Not by a longshot,” I retorted.

  I made a promise to myself to ask Smith what flap meant.

  “Now that you have met Jack, Samantha, it is your turn to meet Fetch, “said Smith.

  Fetch had stayed by Moll
y’s side during the altercation and he moved over to Samantha. She had a look of complete wonder on her face as Fetch, in what I understood as a complete, over the top, grand gesture, bowed low to her. Then, looking her in the eye, he lowered his head like he had with Molly and nudged her hand. She gently scratched his head, a true smile on her face. There was a look of complete joy in her eyes, and, once again, I was mesmerized by her absolute beauty. Mentally I slapped myself in the face. I needed to keep it cool. I knew if she ever found out how beautiful I thought she was, it would be the end of me. Smith had told me something that came back to mind 'Never make a fairy angry'. I had done just that, even though I felt that it wasn’t fair. After all, how was I supposed to react to a fairy appearing in front of me in the middle of the day? I began to realize it was just my attraction to her that had mesmerized me to the point of wandering into the street.

  This only made me more angry and stubborn. I made a promise to myself that I would not let her beauty affect me that way again. In my mind it was still her fault I was almost hit by that truck. It still wasn’t clear why she had appeared to me that day, or why she was there the day I broke my hip. She saw me staring at her and the look of wonder left her face.

  “You are a lucky person,” she said. “By all rights you should be dead.”