by Scott Meyer
Martin walked to one of the work tables and felt a piece of dark fabric that was pinned to a pattern. “Do you make things for the other sorceresses?”
“A few things, mostly for the Brits. To be honest, I mainly just make things for fun. What I really enjoy making is outerwear, and we don’t get much call for it here.” She walked to a female dress form that was wearing a sleek moto-inspired jacket that was made from the dark wool material of a longshoreman’s coat.
Martin looked at the coat, and the other projects strewn around the space, and said, “This is really cool, Gwen!”
Gwen smiled, then glanced at Ampyx. She turned back to Martin and said, “Why is he—” She stopped herself, realizing that she was being rude. She turned to Ampyx and asked him, “Why . . .” She stopped again, then realized that she didn’t know how to ask what she wanted to ask without it sounding a little rude, so she just went for it.
“Why are you here?” she asked.
Ampyx said, “I don’t know. He brought me.”
Martin said, “I think better with Ampyx around. He helped me figure out what to do next. Besides, the non-magic folk live in Atlantis too, so they should have a hand in preventing this.”
Gwen asked, “Preventing what?” She looked at Ampyx, who shrugged. Clearly, he was as lost as she was.
“First things first, Gwen. When we were at Brit’s place, and she and Phillip came back from the giant squid implosion, what did I say?”
Ampyx repeated, “Giant squid implosion?” He looked even more lost.
Gwen said, “It’s not what it sounds like. The squid didn’t implode.”
“Never mind that,” Martin continued. “What did I say?”
“About what?” Gwen asked.
“I said that we should look at who had the most to gain from Brit and the other Brit being out of the way.”
Gwen nodded, “Yes, I remember, and we told you that wasn’t helpful.”
“Because?” Martin asked.
“Because you said that the person with the most to gain was Ida.”
“Because?”
“Because she’s the president, and with the Brits gone, she’d be in charge.”
“She is in charge,” Martin pointed out, “but let’s not get ahead of ourselves. You all told me that was a stupid idea.”
“And it is,” Gwen said. “Ida’s not behind this.”
“How do you know?”
“Because Ida knows just as well as anyone that it’s logically impossible for Brit the Younger to die, because Brit the Elder is here.”
Martin and Ampyx exchanged a look, then Martin continued. “Your logic has two flaws. One is that it would appear that harm did come to Brit the Younger, and that it seems to have removed Brit the Elder, but that’s not the main flaw. You couldn’t have known that would happen back then. No, your reasoning has an even more fundamental error.”
Gwen asked, “And what is that?” She did not like the way this was going.
“Gwen,” Martin said, “it’s not your fault. You and Brit, heck, even Phillip agreed, and he didn’t buy into the idea that Brit the Elder’s existence made Brit the Younger invulnerable. You all fell prey to the same fallacy. Ida is smart, isn’t she?”
“Yes. Very.”
“And to even attempt to kill Brit the Younger would not just be immoral, but it would also be stupid, wouldn’t it?”
“Yes, very.”
Martin walked to Gwen, and gently placed his hands on both of her shoulders. “Gwen,” he said, “smart people do stupid things.”
Gwen looked at Martin, her expression a mixture of confusion and disgust.
Martin smiled as if sharing a bit of good news. “Smart people do stupid things!”
Gwen replied, “Smart people do stupid things?”
Martin nodded slowly, and said, “Smart people do stupid things.”
Ampyx muttered, “Like repeating themselves.”
Martin said, “You said that already,” then turned his attention back to Gwen. “Just because someone’s smart, that doesn’t mean that everything they do is going to be smart. Look at you!”
“What?” Gwen asked.
“You’re one of the smartest people I’ve ever known.”
“Go on.”
“But you refuse to admit that you’re crazy about me. That’s stupid! You want something, yet you’re pushing it away. You’re smart, but you’re doing something stupid.”
Gwen shook her head. “I never said I was crazy about you.”
“I know! That’s my point!”
Gwen looked like she might explode. Martin held up his hands, and in a calming tone said, “Look, never mind that. Forget I said anything. I’m sorry. Now’s not the time for that conversation anyway. But think about my point for a second. Really think about it. You have to admit, I’m right. Smart people do stupid things.”
After a long, angry silence, Gwen said, “Yes. You’re right.”
Martin thrust a triumphant finger in the air, and yelled, “Ah ha! HA! Ah ha HA!” He turned to Ampyx, smiling broadly, and said, “Huh? Eh?”
Ampyx crossed his arms, nodded in deep satisfaction, looked at Gwen and said, “Mmm-hmm.”
“Oh, what?!” Gwen shouted. “What are you so happy about?”
“I’ve convinced you,” Martin said. “That means that my argument was convincing, and the only example I gave to try to make my point was that you’re into me. If that example convinced you, that means—”
“That you should shut up,” Gwen interrupted.
Martin looked to Ampyx, who nodded silently.
“Okay,” Martin said. “We’ll table that for now.” His words were contrite, but he sounded like he was on the verge of giggling. “We have to go and question Ida.”
Gwen rolled her eyes. “Martin, we’ve been through this. She wouldn’t have thought that killing Brit was possible.”
“Yes, yes, and as such her even trying would be stupid, which I’ve demonstrated, is not the same thing as impossible.”
“But that’s not evidence.”
“I’m not claiming it is. I’m just saying that we can’t rule her out, and you have to admit, she is the person with the most to gain from the Brits being gone. You saw her after they vanished today. She’s practically the whole government now. Even if you don’t think she did it, talking to her is the logical starting point.”
Gwen looked unconvinced.
“Unless you have any better ideas,” Martin added, trying not to sound smug.
After a long, smoldering silence, Gwen said, “It can’t have been Ida anyway. She would have been caught by Brit’s surveillance app.”
“Yeah, I’ve been thinking about that. The app was looking for any known magic users, right?”
“Yes.”
“And since magic was used, but the app didn’t catch anyone, that means it was an unknown magic user, right?”
“Yes, and Ida is well known. If it’d been her—”
Now Martin interrupted, “Yes, I know. Clearly she didn’t actually do the magic, but someone had to, and every legitimate magic user in the city would have shown up in the app, right?”
“Yeah,” Gwen said, wearily.
“Then, logically, it had to have been an illegitimate magic user. Someone who snuck into the city unannounced.”
Gwen said, “Yes, in which case we can’t—”
Martin raised a finger and said, “Or, OR! Or, some magic user gave powers to a local.”
They had both nearly forgotten that Ampyx was still there, but now he reminded them. “Wait, you can do that?”
Gwen said, “No! No we can’t!”
Martin said, “That’s not true. We can, and you know it.” He turned to Ampyx, and said, “I mean, obviously, we can’t. We’re not supposed to. We’d be i
n big trouble if we did and the other wizards found out, and even if they didn’t it would be tremendously dangerous. It’d probably end in horrible bloodshed, so no, we can’t give powers to non-magical folk.”
Martin turned and looked Gwen in the eye. “But, it is technically possible. You know better than anyone, the Camelot shell program gives powers to people who are wearing a certain kind of robe, a particular kind of hat, holding a staff or a wand,” Martin shook his staff to emphasize the point. “Give someone all that, have them recite the Konami code in Esperanto, then memorize a few key phrases, and they’re in business.”
Gwen shook her head. “Martin, Ida would never do that.”
“Why? Because it’s stupid?”
“Martin, I grant you that smart people do dumb things sometimes, but this is Ida. She doesn’t go around doing dumb things all the time. She’s not an idiot. We wouldn’t have made her president if she were.”
Martin slowly took a step toward Gwen. He put his hand on her shoulder, looked deeply into her eyes, and said, “Gwen, I don’t deny that you’re much smarter than I am, and have been around longer, and that you know Ida far better than I do. That said, you just used the fact that she’s an elected official as evidence that she wouldn’t have done something stupid. Are you even listening to yourself?”
32.
Everybody saw them flying down to the ring of grand buildings that surrounded the central park of Atlantis and served as the sorceresses’ seat of power. The sorceresses seldom flew anywhere, deeming it far too ostentatious, so the sight of Martin and Gwen streaking purposefully across the vast empty bowl of the city’s skyline would have gotten a great deal of attention even if Martin hadn’t been carrying Ampyx, who was shouting with glee at the top of his lungs.
They slowed, gliding through the entrance doors and finally landing in the grand space where the summit meetings were held. The tables and chairs had all been replaced, but without Brit the Elder there to assist with the cleanup, the two statues that had fallen were still represented by the shattered stumps and empty plinths where they had stood. If you knew where to look, and Martin did, you could still see the streaks where Phillip’s shoes had slid across the smooth white floor.
“Hard to believe it only happened a couple of hours ago,” Gwen said.
Martin looked at the blank patch of wall that had swallowed Brit and Phillip. “Yeah. Wherever they are, I hope they’re all right.” He turned to Gwen. “So, you say Ida has an office in this building?”
“Yes, there are offices for all three members of the council. Brit the Younger never uses hers.”
“Why not?”
“It has an adjoining door with Brit the Elder’s office, and the Elder doesn’t see a reason to knock, since they’re the same person.”
“Wow,” Martin said. “I’m surprised the Younger didn’t try to kill the Elder before now.”
“We used to joke about that. Even if the Younger did try to kill the Elder, the Elder would remember making the attempt and avoid it.”
Martin said, “You could go crazy thinking about this.”
Gwen glanced ruefully at the empty base of a broken statue and said, “Maybe someone did.” She shuddered. “Come on. The offices are this way.” She and Martin took several steps before they realized that Ampyx was not following them.
Martin asked, “You coming?”
“Should I?” Ampyx asked.
“Sure. Why wouldn’t you? I mean, you locals like the Brits, right? If I’m right you don’t want to be ruled over by someone who seized power this way, and besides, as president, she’s your elected leader. I figure there should be a representative of her non-magical voters.”
Ampyx looked confused. Gwen cleared her throat, and mumbled something that Martin couldn’t make out.
“I’m sorry. What was that?” he asked.
Gwen repeated, only slightly louder, “Um, non-sorceresses don’t get a vote.”
“What? That’s most of the city! A huge majority, and you’re telling me that they don’t get a say in who’s president?”
“Well, the council of three only really rules the sorceresses.”
“Then who runs the city?”
“The sorceresses.”
Martin gestured toward Ampyx, using him as a stand-in for all non-magical Atlanteans. “So they don’t get to pick their leaders, or the leader of their leaders?!”
Gwen said, “I told you, there are things about this city I’m not proud of. I’ve only been here two years. Brit says that they’ll get the right to vote eventually, she just hasn’t told us when.”
“Well I’m sure Ampyx and his friends find that very reassuring, don’t you, Ampyx?” Martin turned to the Ampyx, looking for support.
Ampyx said, “Sure. I mean, I guess. It depends. What’s a vote?”
With that argument ended in a three-way tie for loser, they made their way to a side exit, through a labyrinth of beautifully decorated hallways, and eventually to a door marked Ida Cooke: President.
Martin said, “Let me do the talking.”
Gwen replied, “She knows me, Martin. She’ll be much more comfortable if I ask the questions.”
Martin said, “Which is exactly why I’ll do the talking. Trust me, I know how to handle this. I’ve been interrogated by the best.”
Gwen knew that Martin had once been captured by federal agents. She didn’t know that when he referred to being interrogated by the best, he was talking about his mother.
Martin looked at the closed door and asked, “Does she have a secretary or anything?”
“No. We like to keep things informal.”
Martin knocked on the door, three forceful blows, then waited. After a moment, the door opened. Martin was grateful that Ida herself answered the door, not her violence-prone bodyguard Nilo. She looked tired and concerned, but not overtly so, as if something awful and upsetting had happened, but not to her, which was the case.
Ida smiled and said, “Oh, Gwen and . . . Martin, isn’t it? Hello. I don’t believe I’ve met your servant.”
Martin stared at her silently, radiating anger.
Ida narrowed her eyes and asked Martin, “How can I help you?”
Martin continued staring directly into her eyes. Gwen and Ampyx fidgeted uncomfortably.
All friendliness drained from Ida’s demeanor. She glared at Martin, and spat her words. “Do you have something you want to say, Martin?”
Gwen started to speak in a conciliatory tone, but Martin raised one finger and glared over his shoulder at her. He turned his attention back to Ida with one raised eyebrow and a grim smile on his lips.
Ida’s shoulders slumped inward slightly and she seemed to age ten years in a single second. She sighed and said, “Come in. I’ll try to explain.”
As he entered, Martin looked at Ida with cold contempt. Gwen and Ampyx tried not to look amazed.
Ida closed the door behind them. Her office was, like almost every other room Martin had seen in Atlantis, beautiful and serene, made up of clean lines and uncluttered white, polished surfaces. The room was dominated by a large desk that looked exactly like the desk of the President of the United States, only smaller, and made of milky-white glass. Ida walked around the perimeter of the room and sat behind her desk. There were chairs and a couch, but Martin chose to remain standing. Gwen and Ampyx followed his lead.
Martin sneered at Ida, and asked, “Why?”
Ida slumped in defeat. “He wanted it so badly.”
Gwen asked, “Who? Who wanted what?”
Ida, furrowed her brow, looking at Gwen. Then she looked back to Martin and asked, “You didn’t tell her?”
Martin smiled.
Shock registered on Ida’s face as she said, “You didn’t know?” Her eyes darted across the faces of her three visitors, then she said, “Nothing! I’ll say nothing
further. Get out of my office.”
Martin turned to Gwen and Ampyx, and said, “Nilo. Nilo wanted powers.”
Her brief hopes dashed, Ida looked even more defeated.
Gwen was stunned. “Ida, why did you do it?”
“It started innocently, Gwen. I love him, and I couldn’t bear the idea of him getting old and dying, not if I could prevent it.”
Ampyx said, “You can prevent that?”
Gwen turned to him and said, “We’ve been through that.”
Ida smiled at Gwen, pointed to Ampyx, and said, “Oh, you and him?”
Martin said, “We’ve been through that too.”
Ida shrugged, and continued. “So, I fixed that for him, then I told him what I’d done, you know, as a gift for him.”
“That’s some gift,” Martin said.
“I know, right?” She turned back to Gwen, “But you know how men are. They always want more. Anything he saw one of us do, he wanted to do it too. I set him up with kind of a simplified, baby set of powers. I made him impervious to physical damage. He can teleport within Atlantis city limits.”
“Of course,” Martin said. “That’s how he got up to where I was so fast. You know, when we were chasing the arrow guy.”
Gwen shook her head. “No, he sprinted up the stairs. I saw him do it.”
Ida got a dreamy look in her eye. “Yes. He just doesn’t get tired. He can go like that for hours.”
“Thanks to you, I suppose.” Gwen said.
Ida smiled. “No. That’s all him. He’s always been able to do . . . that.”
Gwen and Martin rolled their eyes. Ampyx smirked, and nodded approvingly.
Gwen was at a loss. “Ida, I can understand wanting to keep him alive, and giving him a few small powers was wrong, but understandable, I guess. Why would you ever give him the power to blow things up and enchant arrows?”
Ida shook her head. “I didn’t!”
Gwen looked relieved. Martin looked concerned.
Ida continued. “Not really. Not at first.”
Gwen looked concerned. Martin looked relieved.
Ida waved her hand dismissively. “I made him the arrows, and some little lumps of clear putty that explode with the force of a pound of C-4, but the damage is contained and shaped into a wedge so he could direct where the statues would fall, like a lumberjack chopping down a tree. I set it up so he could trigger them, though. Makes him feel powerful.”