by Martha Carr
“Hang on Patsy! This isn’t the way we’re going out!”
The building trembled and bricks fell from the top of an outer wall. The blue flame from the Wizard spread out slowly surrounding the building, creeping up the walls.
“If we don’t make a run for it right now, we won’t be able to once that fire closes in.” Lois nodded at Patsy. “You go first and I’m right behind you.”
“Not that stupid, my friend. We go together! Earl would kill me if I left you behind.” The building shook again and the floor opened up in the center creating a wide crack right down the middle.
Hannah did her best to hold back the Wizard from getting any closer but she was losing the battle. Still, she didn’t move, standing her ground in front of the dazed Katie.
Something tapped at the Wizard’s shoulder, drawing his attention, sliding around his waist and gliding up to his shoulders. “What?”
“You really know how to make an entrance, kid.” Hagan stepped out of the darkness beside Leira, the troll sitting on his shoulder. He waved at the Wizard. “Hello sir. Your worst nightmare has arrived you son of a bitch and in a variety pack. You’re fucked.”
Leira stood yards away, her eyes glowing letting an intention loose and following behind the magic as it sought out the Wizard, putting out the blue flame and enveloping him in light.
The troll dropped to the ground, growing to the size of a German shepherd taking his place by her side, teeth bared, growling, pawing at the ground. Hagan pulled his gun and ran toward the gym as students poured out of the nearby dorm and faculty in pajamas and robes came running down the road from nearby houses. “I got this,” yelled Hagan as he ran inside.
Leira looked down at the troll. “Go with Hagan.” The troll nodded and dropped to all fours, easily running to catch up with him.
The shaking in the building started to subside as Lois and Patsy finally lowered their wands. “We’re the good guys!” Lois saw Hagan, gun raised running inside in the dim light. She lit the end of her wand to illuminate the room.
“Hagan! It’s you! You brought a troll! Follow this-a-way! There’s some little twerps we still need to round up.” Patsy ran for the back door as the building let out a loud moan and started to list to one side. “It’s like trying to get off the Titanic!”
The teenage Witches and Wizards could be seen running in the distance. “That’s who we need to grab. They know where that damned necklace is!” Patsy took off at a trot in her Clarke’s, glad she wore comfortable shoes.
“Oh geez,” said Lois. “Not sure magic covers running that fast.”
“This is where all that dieting pays off.” Hagan took off at a clip, running after the teenagers as the troll galloped on ahead, his growl a low rumble. Hagan started to close the gap. “Thank you Rose for all your lectures!”
The troll ran past some of the teenagers and turned around, snarling and raising up, claws bared, sending them running back toward Hagan and Lois.
“Drop the wands and put up your hands. Nice work, Yumfuck.” Hagan held his gun steady as Lois caught her breath.
Lois waved her wand, creating handcuffs out of light, snapping them shut on each of them. Hagan pointed in the direction of the small crowd that was gathering in front of the destroyed gym. “Start moving. Don’t make me ask you twice. I’ve been off sugar for a while and I’m not as easy going.”
“Hagan, this is where we leave you. It’s best if we don’t stay around for too many introductions. Part of our usefulness is that not too many see us coming.” Lois gave him a short hug.
“What, okay, I guess we’re hugging.” Hagan patted Lois on the back as Patsy waited her turn. “Come on Patsy, let’s get going. If I hurry I can catch Earl before he’s asleep. He will never believe this story.”
“Let stop for Taco Bell. I’m starving. All that magic and running really takes it out of you.”
“Taco Bell,” Hagan grumbled. “Eyes front!” He shoved a Wizard who tried to look back at Patsy and Lois as they walked away.
Around front, Leira closed her eyes, trusting the flow of energy and opened her hands wide as the symbols sped up along her arms and neck, spitting out information. It sensed another powerful presence even as it sought out the Wizard in an increasing urgency, silencing his dark magic.
Something shoved against Leira, pushing her backward. Something familiar. Her eyes popped open. “The fucking dark mist. It can’t be.” It shoved her again, pushing her back further as a large rip opened behind the Wizard who was starting to regain his senses and was smiling menacingly at Leira.
He raised his wand to blast her with energy just as the dark mist enveloped him, sucking him backward with a whoosh as the tear in the veil snapped shut. A silence came over the street as Hannah let her arms drop and knelt down to check on Katie. The glow in Leira’s eyes faded as the dean approached her.
“It didn’t want me this time.” It’s gathering more power. I have to tell Turner.
The gym gave out another loud creak and the north wall collapsed in a cloud of dust sending bricks tumbling outward.
The dean looked up at what remained. “We were thinking of remodeling anyway. Is everyone alright?”
“You don’t have a million questions?” Leira looked at him, amazed.
The dean leaned closer as his eyes glowed momentarily. “No explanations necessary. Just glad to see the cavalry arrive. Don’t worry, every student who’s accepted here is sworn to secrecy. We understand quite well the battle between light and dark,” he said with a wink. He looked at the demolished gym, his hands on his hips. “An unfortunate gas leak, wouldn’t you say? Thank goodness it was in the middle of the night. We’ll start a capital campaign to rebuild at once.”
“Is there an artifact buried under all that rubble?”
“Better we keep some of our secrets,” said the dean. “We’ve kept it this long.”
Hagan came around the side of the building leading three teenagers as the troll nipped at their heels, corralling them toward Leira. “Caught these three, at least.”
A fireball came out of the dark aimed at the back of Hagan’s head from a Wizard trying to set his friends loose. The troll jumped in the way at the last moment, batting the fireball back at the Wizard, catching him in the gut and rolling him backward. Hagan ran over and grabbed the kid by his arm, taking away his wand and slapping him hard in the head. “Does it ever occur to you to stop being such a general dumbass?” He marched the kid over with the others and shoved him. “Okay, now we have four.” He peered into the darkness behind him. “Anyone else out there want to make it five?”
The troll sat on his back legs by the teenagers still growling and occasionally showing his teeth. They clung to each other, trembling looking back at the oversized troll.
“Yumfuck, I take it all back,” said Hagan, as he hitched up his pants, putting his gun away. “You’re worth every penny of that forty bucks. Hell, dinner’s on me.”
“What forty bucks? Never mind.” Leira knelt down beside Hannah and looked at Katie. “You got your ass kicked and good. Can you get up?” She held out her hand and Katie reluctantly took it. “Drop the act, Katie. You’re lucky Hannah was here or you’d be dead by now. You can show a little gratitude.”
“It’s okay, it’s part of my oath to the Order. We do what’s right even when no one appreciates it.”
Katie pressed her other hand against her head and let out a sigh. “I appreciate it. It’s new territory for me, losing like this. I think I may be out of a job, temporarily.”
“Maybe use it to rest up. Come on Hannah, we were sent to make sure you got out okay. Turns out Lacey and the general are old friends and Lacey wasn’t taking any chances.”
“Looks like you’re a hero, witchling. You were impressive standing in front of me like that.” Katie smiled, wincing from pain.
“We’ll take care of these teenagers and lecture them till they regret ever showing up on our grounds.” The dean smiled, waving to a few of the f
aculty members who rounded up the Witches and Wizards, marching them off. “By the time we’re done with them, they’ll know church history by heart and be able to recite it.”
The troll shrunk back down to five inches as Hagan held out his hand and put the troll on his shoulder. “Good job, kid.”
“Shark Tank!” The troll let out a soft trill.
“It’s a thing he’s doing.” Leira shrugged as she let out a sigh of relief. The dark mist pushed me out of the way. This time.
The dean smiled warmly and put out his hand to Hannah to shake. “Good show. Sometimes the most powerful magic is an act of courage like yours, standing up to something more powerful than you are and challenging the odds.”
“Did anyone let my parents know…that I’m not a traitor?” There were tears in Hannah’s eyes.
Leira took her by the hand. “Already taken care of, and in fact I have it on good authority you’ve been promoted in the Silver Griffins. You have quite a career in front of you Hannah Beecham and a couple of parents who are anxious to see you.”
“Let’s stop for dinner. I’m even gonna take a short break and eat real food. I’ve earned it! Don’t anyone tell Rose! Yumfuck, you ever had a hotdog? You’re gonna love it. Tube of hot meat in a bun.”
“Yumfuck!”
“We need to get it to go. Hannah’s parents want to see her and Correk and I have something we need to do. You can buy as many as you want. We’ll take them on the plane.”
Hannah laughed, tears on her cheeks. Going home, at last.
“Yumfuck! Hotdog!”
“Definitely making sure you get a few. Pile on the toppings, too. You saved my ass out there today.” Hagan rubbed the back of his head. “Thanks, little buddy.” The troll let out a soft trill.
“Do you know what he was having you look for in the gym?” Leira put an arm around Hannah as they headed to the rental car.
“He only said it was a powerful artifact. A backup plan. There’s a problem. Some of the old families who deal in dark magic have taken over the necklace and are refusing to give it back to the new Rhazdon followers. A war is brewing among the different dark sides.”
“How many sides want that damn thing now? It’s hard to keep up.” Hagan counted them up. “That makes, what, I think five.”
“That Wizard wasn’t with the families, I take it. Do you know who was giving him orders?”
“An old Gnome wearing a dark blue robe. It’s all I know.”
A prophet. Not possible, thought Leira. Rhazdon turned a prophet. Things are getting worse.
Chapter Fifteen
Charlie Monaghan was whistling as he drove down the long winding road to the manufacturing plant nestled in the farmlands of Linn County, Missouri. He loved this part of the drive. Nothing to see but open farmland for miles and miles and most of it belonged to his company. There were only a few family farms still dotting the landscape here and there and Charlie knew every one of them. He sent the people cards at Christmas along with a gift basket and a reminder of his generous offer. In the spring, he sent daffodils and the offer of help relocating at no cost to them.
Soon enough, we’ll pick those up too. That one…. And then that one…
A farmer walked across the land, watching the Lexus cruise past. He knew the car well. Charlie Monaghan was back in the area. “Hmph, another basket of pumpkin spice everything should be on its way soon. The wife will love that.” He snorted to himself, bending down to run the dark, rich soil through his hands. Family farm for the past hundred and thirty-two years. Not quite done with it yet, Monaghan. The offer was tempting. None of his children were interested in staying on the land, especially since so many of the families had already sold and moved on, cutting down on all the social activities the farmer remembered from his childhood. Tempting but not quite yet.
The wind picked up, blowing the seeds across his fields. The seeds had started riding the current from miles away till they came to settle on his acreage. Nothing magical involved. Just basic weather. It wasn’t the first time. More and more the seeds were blowing in and taking root in even rows as if they knew what to do with themselves once they landed in dirt.
They settled into the small farmer’s ground and soon enough began to sprout into seedlings even though it was winter. Even the short rainfalls didn’t deter them. They moved gently in the breeze, leaning toward the sound of the chimes that hung from the house across the way and played constantly, especially when the wind was blowing. Magic was gaining root on Earth, even in the soil.
The farmer came out every day to watch the plants, amazed at his luck. How was this possible? He saw the videos online with Penny Ryan and the prophets and wondered, but just for a moment. Not all the way out here. That’s ridiculous! Just having an unusually good year a little early, that’s all.
Charlie drove by the last farm that wasn’t part of the family of Axiom companies that made up the conglomerate, as he liked to think of them. He noticed the rows of green heads budding. He saw them all leaning in the same direction, waving their tiny leaves as if they were dancing to music.
He hit the brakes, the tires squealing and got out to take a closer look. Sweat quickly gathered on his brow and he turned in a circle wondering what to do next.
He took pictures with his phone and made himself get back in the car. “If anyone finds out what we did. Where we got those plants!” He hit the steering wheel with his fists. “Now wait a minute. Wait a minute.” He took in a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Maybe it’s not so bad. The word is already out about Oriceran. People will understand. This is a good thing. Yeah, a good thing.” The panic started to settle and his feeling of control returned. This will be good for everyone. Feed more people. Make the economy grow right along with it.
Charlie started the car back up and drove off, convinced the next step was an easy one he’d done a hundred times before. Sue the bastard. Hell, maybe I can even keep the rest under wraps. Skip the damn FDA and all their red tape and delays. No one needed to know he had Langston open the portal a few times to let his team venture over into Oriceran on fact-finding missions. The prophets were all too eager to accommodate his request to receive larger supplies of a variety of seeds.
It didn’t take Charlie long to realize there was a profit to be made if he moved fast. He knew what a good idea it was to transplant the seeds from Oriceran to Earth and that every other company would see it too. He needed to make the first footprint and get to the market first. Hell if I’m going to let some stubborn farmer take it away from me.
He hit the gas, speeding past the company farms, already lost in thought, planning his next move, tapping his finger on the steering wheel, humming a song.
“What are we doing in America’s heartland?” Correk sat on the passenger side of the rental car as Leira navigated their way to the large corporate campus in Linn County, Missouri. He looked over at Leira who was stealing glances at him, puzzled. “I read it on a cereal box. Most of your food source comes from a place called the heartland.”
“I’m going to show you a library as soon as we get back. No Gnomes, by the way. You can check out almost anything and no one cares. We’re here because General Anderson thinks someone has made a deal with the prophets and is growing food on Earth that came from Oriceran. Is that bad? I mean humans can eat the same things, right? We’re not talking about a mass poisoning?”
“No, more like a mass indigestion and noxious fumes. We’ve learned over the years that some of the food on Oriceran doesn’t go down so easily with humans. The humans who live on Oriceran all know what to avoid but even if someone eats a purple carvet or a red bart the worst that can happen is gastrous distress. Most of it anyone can eat just fine. That hairy limeola you loved so much is suitable for anyone.”
“Then, this is more of a problem with diplomatic relations. Good to know. Makes it easier to negotiate.”
“Slow down a little.” They were passing by the large open fields with tall plants poking their hea
ds out of the ground despite the frost. Correk opened his window and formed a ball of light in his hands, singing into it and holding it out the window, letting the wind take it. The blue ball of light danced over the fields, releasing the song as the plants all moved in time to the music. “Bingo, we have a winner. They’re not even doing a good job of hiding what they’re doing.”
“I doubt they anticipated a site visit from Light Elves who worked for the U.S. government. I suspect this is one of those times a corporation hoped to ask for forgiveness rather than permission. And that’s after they showed all of us a cheaper kind of food.”
“You think they’d make Oriceran food into some kind of snack like Cheetos?”
“I think it’s second nature to us and they’re probably already trying. Oriceran plants grow faster and their love of music over light and water even, makes them a cash crop for Earth. But no testing is making the Feds nervous. These things have a way of biting us in the ass in ways we can’t predict.”
“Like turning people a pale shade of purple.”
Leira looked over at Correk, her eyes widening.
“Never mind. Forget I said that. It was from a long time ago and the plant is quite rare. I’m sure those aren’t part of the bargain they made with the prophets. I suspect the prophets made the deal to help ease the opening of the gates. If humans start to see Oricerans as a positive then it’ll be easier for us to emigrate here.”
“Don’t underestimate how fast we can change our minds. Takes us about an hour of tweeting and things could go sour and back to welcoming and then onto a travel ban, just like that.” Leira snapped her fingers. “Of course, how we’d enforce a travel ban against a bunch of magical beings would be interesting to watch.”
“Especially since there are already so many of us here.”
“Yeah, let’s keep that to ourselves for as long as possible, if we can. There’s the Axiom headquarters.”