by Martha Carr
The symbols along Leira's arms and on her face started to glow brighter. Her energy pulsed around the girl, drawing closer. The girl held out her hands to Leira but something got in her way. She pounded against the clear wall, leaving hand prints but not getting through, yelling but none of the sounds carried into the room.
"Not a portal." Leira felt a wave of relief.
The girl looked down at her body, shock coming over her. She pointed, jabbing again and again, shaking her head, tears filling her eyes.
"You can still feel everything. That's the sorrow I felt before." She wanted to pull back but resisted. The girl looked up at her and nodded. "And you can hear me, even if I can't hear you. Who did this to you?" Leira pushed harder, sending the flow of magic more tightly around the girl, crossing the barrier between her world and the world in between. An image started to come to her of a balding man, wearing round-rimmed spectacles. He looked surprisingly small but she could feel Casey's surprise at finding out he was freakishly strong. And angry. Images of the last moments flowed up the current of energy and into Leira. It was all she could do to hold on and watch another death scene. And unlike the death of Prince Rolim, this time she could feel it from the inside. She gasped as the gun fired off a shot at Casey. Leira ducked, even though she knew it was all in the past.
Suddenly, Leira's feet moved forward as if she was being pulled.
"No!" yelled Cohen, taking a step back into the room.
The tug was getting stronger. Something from the other side was hooking itself onto her magic and trying to pull her closer. Pull her to the other side. Is that even fucking possible?
Leira fought back, summoning the strong pulse of energy she had felt at Lavender Rock, shoving back at the energy while still trying to hang onto Casey. But the dead girl slipped backward, her arms outstretched toward Leira as a dark energy crept up the trail of magic Leira was leaving behind.
"Not fucking today!" she yelled, summoning feelings of courage to shove back as hard as she could at the advancing menace. Sparks crackled and popped in the center of it like a storm cloud about to throw off lightning. Leira held her arms out, her muscles aching, everything in her body tense as her feet started to slide forward again.
Not like this.
Cohen grabbed the doorknob with one hand and the back of Leira's pants with the other and pulled for all he was worth, sliding with her, his hand slipping off of the doorknob. The darkening cloud grew closer and there was a buzz in the room so loud it was making Leira's head hurt.
"Let go!" Leira yelled over the roar of the hum. "It'll take you too! There's no way out of there!" Her arms vibrated from the flow of energy as the pain from holding onto the stream shot up into her shoulders.
Her feet started to slip over the edge of a void where the floor ended. She didn't want to find out what that meant and doubled her efforts. But she was growing tired. "Let go!" she yelled again at Cohen, but he held on, grasping at the nearby bed, jostling Casey's dead body.
Suddenly, a second energy flow appeared, merging with hers, as the scent of lilacs came to her, growing stronger, pushing back at the amorphous beast. Tears poured down Leira's cheeks. "Nana" she whispered, her arms still aching from the effort. The beast roared and Leira felt the rumble through every cell of her being, wondering how loud it must sound on the other side.
Still, the combined energy held and the mist receded until Leira fell backwards into a heap on top of Cohen, knocking the wind out of both of them.
Leira rolled over, getting up on her hands and knees, trying to catch her breath. "Nana. No, enough." She stood up, feeling the ache between her shoulder blades. "Are you okay?"
Cohen was still lying on his back taking in air in short gulps.
"Take a deeper breath. You'll hyperventilate that way. There you go. Are you hurt?"
He finally sat up, leaning against the bed. Casey's cold arm slid over and tapped him on the back of the neck. He shuddered and moved down. "Yeah, yeah. What kind of mystery shitbag was that?"
Leira sat back. "I have no idea but I have an idea who killed the girl."
"I'm not sure it's worth it to take a shortcut like that!"
"What happened? What happened? Why did you guys toss the room?" Fischer came running into the room, his gun drawn, a look of panic on his face. "Somebody jump you? Killer come back?" He ran back out of the room, down the hallway, and came running back, gun still out.
"Put that away. We're okay," said Leira, stretching. Every square inch of her body ached.
"The hocus pocus got turned up a few notches," said Cohen, as Fischer helped him to get up.
"That was pretty brave of you. You didn't have to do that," said Leira. "I even told you to cut it out."
"Look, we're kind of assholes to newbies, granted. But we defend our own with our lives, if necessary. No exceptions. Welcome to the team," he said, holding out his hand.
"Hell of a first day," said Leira, shaking his hand.
"You want to tell me what cavalry that was that came in and saved our asses from the gates of hell?"
Leira hesitated.
"It's okay. We were told to expect secrets. They created a whole new level of clearance just for you." Cohen brushed off his pants. "Just tell me what we need to know. Who's the bastard who did this?" He pointed to the body. It was rolled onto one side.
"His name is Perry Jones. You'd pass right by him if you weren't looking for him. Casey's not his first kill. He didn't know she was an informant. And you're right. Talking to the dead is too dangerous. But there are easier ways to at least find Perry Jones. Give me a minute. His trail has a very distinct quality."
"Then we go get him?"
"Then we capture his ass."
"Welcome aboard, Agent Leira Berens. I'll buy lunch." Cohen pulled out a white handkerchief and wiped the sweat off his face. "Let's never do that again."
Leira drove slowly home, the nylon jacket with the large PDA on the seat next to her. Cohen told her to take a beat before stopping by the field office to fill out the paperwork. He was shaking his head when he said it. "Good luck. I hope they rewrote the little boxes you have to check off."
She was still shaken by the experience of almost getting dragged into a netherworld by something she couldn't quite explain.
"Malevolent." Leira said it out loud to try and shake off the feeling. She gripped the steering wheel tighter. "Not working," she said, between clenched teeth. "Nana." The feeling of her grandmother's energy streaming in to save her ass was still vibrating in her chest, making her teeth chatter.
A measure of fear always brought out defiance in Leira. But this time it was mixed with something sharp that threatened to break her heart. "No!" Leira hit the steering wheel, startling the driver in the car next to her as they waited at a light on 5th Street. Leira wasn't in a mood to make anyone feel better. She glared at the driver till he looked away.
Tears filled her eyes, catching her off guard. She sucked air in between her teeth and jackrabbited off the line when the light turned green, turning sharply and squealing the wheels.
"I'm fucking angry!" she screamed from inside the car. She pulled over to the curb and beat the steering wheel with her fists till the pain made her stop. "My grandmother deserves better." Leira hunted around on the floor of the car and found a napkin with a few familiar orange streaks across it. "Cheetos." She pressed her lips together, squeezing her eyes shut, feeling the pain wash over her. "Enough," she whispered, opening her eyes. "Okay, new agent for the Feds, we don't stare at problems. We go hunting for solutions. What would Hagan tell me? Look for clues. I can do this."
She shut her eyes again and let the scene replay in her mind. What did I miss while I was trying to save my hide? There it is. That thing broke apart. Wait... I can feel it.
Her eyes popped open. "Not one being. A mass of them. Well, well, well, the baddies have formed a band in the world in between. Okay, the start of a plan," she said, wiping snot off her nose with the napkin. She looked in the
mirror and saw the start of an orange moustache. "Fuck! Stupid Cheetos dust! Like a dye pack went off on my face!" She scrambled for the glove compartment, pulling out the wipes. "Should have reached for these in the first place. Dammit!"
She pulled out a wipe and rubbed the smudge off her face, looking over at the empty seat next to her. "What would you say Hagan? Come on. Shit doesn't happen to you as much as it just happens. Get over yourself and let's figure out the next thing to do."
Leira sat back against the seat and breathed in deeply, letting go of some of the pain as she breathed out. "There has to be a solution." A bright white light suddenly filled the car. "What the fuck? First hell almost finds me and now heaven is tracking me down?"
"Thank you. I'm not usually associated with such a nice place." An elderly well-dressed man using a cane was taking mincing steps toward the corner. He turned and looked directly at Leira over half a block away. "I was wondering when you'd turn your attention to the answers instead of the problem. Could hear you from a block away. Sounded like a lot of whining." An ethereal white light swirled around him.
Leira's eyes grew wide and she realized he was creating sound tunnels. "Hey, excuse me! Big dark thing like jello, tried to turn me into the living dead." She threw up her hands, feeling a little ridiculous arguing with an old man standing so far away. "What are...?"
"Light Elf, if you have to ask. You need to learn to recognize your own family."
"You need to wait till you get a complete sentence. What are you doing? Why are you going to so much trouble to talk to me? Have we met?"
"That's a lot of questions. Like an old time interrogation. Look kid, I felt your pain and reached out to check on you. Could tell from the trail you left that you're family. Another Light Elf. Horrible place that world in between. Remember, just because someone hasn't found a solution is not the same as there being no solution to find. You may have to be resourceful but from the energy you give off, you may just have a shot." He leaned forward, both hands on his cane, chatting with Leira like they were standing next to each other. No one else meandering down the street even noticed. The entire time his body swirled with a white glow that reached all the way to the Mustang.
"I'm new to all of this."
"No shit. What? You didn't think the elderly swore? You're fucking right I do. I'm almost a thousand years old. Yes, a millennia. Your surprise tells me there is much for you to learn about yourself. I've earned the right to not have to dress it up for anybody. You're barely an Elven toddler and at least you've figured that one out. You have a potty mouth, child." He cackled, straightening up for a moment before going back to leaning.
"But you need to put a little more spit into it," he said. "Helps get the point across if you land a little something on someone. In the history of the world, nobody likes getting schmutz on themselves, especially when it's not their own. There you go, a smile, even if it's a small one."
"Who are you?" Leira resisted the urge to lean forward in order to make herself heard. Instead, she sat back, doing her best to relax and gather information.
"Much better. Sit back, listen. You don't know enough to be asking so many questions, anyway. Forget about it. My name is Turner Underwood. I'm known among certain magical locals as the Fixer. I carry a lot of knowledge up here." He tapped the brim of his hat. "Strange how life works. I'm starting to finally feel my age and wondered who would take my place. Just like that," he said, snapping his fingers, "there you are. Like a spell was cast! Who knows, maybe I'm better than I realize."
Leira's curiosity got the better of her. She turned off the car and opened her car door.
"No, no," he said, waving a finger "not now. Soon enough. But when we can be sure no eyes are on us. You need to learn more about who you are and what you can do before you even think about stepping into my shoes. Ask that Cousin of yours who's been hanging around to tell you more about the stories of Light Elves from thousands of years ago."
Leira started to interrupt him but an angry look passed across his face. "You insist on playing by the rules that you know," he said, slamming the tip of the cane against the hard concrete. "That will not work here! Mind your elders! Don't make me use a spell."
He gave a shake all over as if he was casting off a bad mood and started over, moving his hands quickly, bending his fingers. A thin streak of sparkling red and gold light shot through the sound tunnel straight to Leira's hand, pooling the light in the center of her palm.
A red poppy appeared, growing from a bud into a flower as if she was the soil, opening its petals. "What?" Leira watched in amazement.
"You learn a few things to dazzle the ladies with when you live to be my age. I need an edge of some kind over the younger Elves who've only been here for a few hundred years. They've still got their looks. I know how to make women smile. It's really the best kind of magic."
Leira lifted the flower and was surprised to find that it had a scent. "I do have so much to learn," she said, awe in her voice.
"I'll leave you with this. I sense a strong force is unleashed among us again. An unfriendly sort. I'd say more but I don't speak of certain things before I'm ready and I'm not ready. Too much information is lacking. It would just be speculation, which is worth nothing. For the addle-brained." He waved his hands in disgust, one hand still holding on to the cane, and made a face like he was tasting something sour."
"There may be some harder days ahead for you, my dear Leira. But occasionally take a look around, a real look around and notice how many of our kind are passing right by you. You may need all of us some day, Agent Berens. That's right, I know all about you. For now, I'm glad to see you survived the ordeal. Rough business. You take care of yourself. I'll find you when the time is right. Good day."
He tipped his hat and turned around, the cane tapping against the sidewalk as he continued on his way. Leira started the car back up and headed back into traffic. She got to the end of the block and looked to her left, hoping to spot Turner but he was nowhere to be seen.
"How did such an old man with a cane move that fast?" Leira drew on the energy from the ground beneath her, searching for his magic trail. She was met with a dazzling panorama of white light that made her blink till she realized the light wasn't blinding. "It's like he was everywhere at once."
A car honked behind her, two short taps. The Austin version of an angry driver. Leira gave a short wave in her rear-view mirror, saving the one finger salute for below the windshield.
"Childish!" rang in her ears. It was Turner, still speaking to her from a distance. Leira leaned forward, taking a look all the way around but couldn't see him.
"How?"
"There are amazing things in the world, Agent Berens, some good, some not so much. Just remember, if I could see you, then others might as well."
"Creepy thought," she whispered. She heard a raspy laughter that spread out through the white light as the car behind her honked again, this time a little longer. She turned the corner, the laughter still in her ears as the light flew back out again leaving everything looking a little duller.
Leira let out a sigh. "How many people have to absorb this much weird just to start a new job? Screw taking a beat. Might as well head to my new office and find out just how ready they are for the likes of me."
Chapter Three
Eireka looked at the cell phone Leira left for Correk, marveling at all the apps on the screen. "They had most of these things before I was taken away, you know.” She laughed softly, pushing the button for Candy Crush. "What's the point of this one? I don't get it."
"Good, I'll stop worrying about you. It's virtual anesthesia. Will numb your brain within five minutes. You don't even need to count backward."
"This thing says someone has played it almost a hundred times already."
Correk hurriedly took the phone from her. "Yes, well, I was on a winning streak," he said, sheepishly, sitting down on the couch.
"You okay, Correk? Not enough bacon this morning?"
&nbs
p; "Huh?" The troll looked up from the TV. He was wrapped in a wash cloth, watching Golden Girls, cackling every time Rose said anything.
"What are those orange dots all over his body? Are you sick little fellow?" Eireka reached out a finger to rub his head.
"Be careful. The way he eats he may bite down on the end of your finger. Those orange dots represent a large plastic container of cheese puffs I just bought from Costco. He dove down the center of them and ate until there was just dust left. I scrubbed off what I could."
The troll let out a large belch and smacked his lips together.
"What was all that screaming he was doing earlier?"
"Can't be sure." Correk tried to change the subject. "Did you try Words with Friends? You can play Scrabble with people from everywhere. Well, this world at least." He swiped, starting a game for her.
"But he even started to grow. He looked like an angry blue poodle. Like a punk rock star's idea of a pet. You were throwing spells right and left! Come on, what does all that mean?"
"That he's a pain in my ass and a standard issue troll."
Eireka took a long look at Correk, studying his face as he continued to play the game on the phone. The conversation was only reminding him of what he witnessed. The troll's sudden deep blue color was a sign. Leira was close to something dark enough it could sever the connection she had with the troll. The troll let out a painful roar as the blue had rapidly streamed out along his fur, covering every inch of him. There was very little that could tear the tie once a troll bonded.
Death, the world in between. He glanced up for a moment and smiled at Eireka, raising his eyebrows before looking back down at the different-colored gems, stacking and restacking them.
"It's like having a teenager in the house. Okay, keep your secrets. You and Leira really are like brother and sister more than cousins. If you need to protect her by saying nothing, I will live with that for now." Eireka took a step closer to Correk and leaned over until she was inches from his face. "But if my daughter is ever in danger and you don't tell me, I'll show you what a determined momma from Texas who knows a magical thing or two looks like protecting her cub. And let me clue you in, it's the Texas part you need to worry about most." Her voice came out low and even.