Alfheim Seoul

by Chris Coleman

  “Hi, I’m Special Agent Karakowski from the FBI.” He offered his hand for Grandpa Dan to shake.

  “Thank you for help.” Grandpa Dan bowed to him in traditional Korean style. Karakowski pulled his hand back and bowed in return.

  “You think we can get this hunk of junk back to the real world?” Karakowski smiled as he gestured toward the truck.

  “I did it once, I can do it again.”

  “You’ve only done this once?” Karakowski’s jaw dropped.

  “Once with the truck. Two other times without it, if you don’t include when I blew up Grandpa Dan’s shop.”

  “I’m sorry I asked. Maybe Grandpa Dan should be the one to get us home.”

  “I no can do this. Too tired. Metal truck require big magic,” said Grandpa Dan, shaking his head. “Alecia something special. She drive us home.”

  “Alright then. I need to go find my happy place,” Karakowski said.

  The truck roared to life and I sat in the driver’s seat letting Karakowski and Grandpa Dan herd the Adra into the back of the truck. I offered to help, but they told me to save my strength for the trip back home.

  “You did good,” Iverog said, dropping down from the ceiling. He found the seat next to me in the cab and sat down. “You really should listen to me more. There were a few times back there I thought we might actually get killed, but you pulled through.”

  “Sorry,” I whispered. I didn’t know how long the others were going to take rounding up the Adra, and I didn’t want them to catch me talking to Iverog.

  “I didn’t have much hope for survival when I chose you as my host, but this is the second time you’ve surprised me. So I thank whatever gods brought us together so I could have more time in this life.”

  I smiled and wiped at a tear.

  “Don’t get all full of yourself now, I still think we are going to die soon. All I said was you impressed me.”

  I laughed and punched at him, but my hand passed right through.

  Grandpa Dan and Agent Karakowski showed up a few minutes later and both managed to squeeze into the bench seat of the truck. The drive to the portal site was over well before I was ready to start casting spells.

  I felt self-conscious working magic with Grandpa Dan watching, like I was being graded. The overhead ley line brimmed with power and I pulled heavily from it in preparation for the spell. Taking the truck through had required a lot of extra magic and I didn’t want to mess anything up. The ball of energy floated out in front of the truck as I shaped it.

  “We ready?” I asked. Grandpa Dan nodded and Karakowski just grabbed on to the door handle.

  I zipped up, forming the portal and drove straight on through.

  I think Karakowski only screamed once.

  * * *

  “Karakowski?” I said, as I walked into Grandpa Dan’s shop. “What are you doing here?” I had stayed home from school the past two days because I needed some time to recoup, but Mom insisted I get out of the house, so she dropped me off at Grandpa Dan’s shop. Iverog had been keeping out of sight as well, I think he realized I needed some time to myself.

  “I was hoping I would see you here,” Karakowski said. “I came by to tie up some loose ends before I left.”

  “You wanted to see me?” After all the trouble I’d caused him, I couldn’t think of any reason he’d want to.

  “Yeah, Mr. Dan was telling me the big news, so I got you something.”

  “What news? I haven’t heard anything.”

  “You no work here anymore,” said Grandpa Dan, walking in from the other room. He wore a white apron over his traditional Korean clothes and carried a charred bamboo container that he deposited in the trash. This room looked almost completely back to normal after the explosion.

  “What? But I just started.”

  “I have new job for you. Come see garage.” He took off his apron and led the way. The outside garage door was open and the old beat-up truck was out in the driveway. In bold, freshly painted letters, the side of the truck now read “Deliveries” and that was it.

  “Is that the whole sign?” I asked.

  “Hmm. Maybe need add ‘fast’ to it?” Grandpa Dan suggested.

  “No, I mean usually there is a phone number or something.”

  “Bah, no like phones. You deliver magic packages. People find you.”

  “What? Magic packages?”

  “Yeah,” Karakowski said. “He just explained how magic messes up certain electronics, so you can’t ship magic things commercially. Apparently there is a real market for someone with your particular set of skills.”

  “Skills?”

  “You took a two-ton truck through a magic portal as easy as driving it around the block. You scare me kid. I do my job and I follow the rules, but nothing we did out there has a form I can fill out. And as near as I can tell, you haven’t figured out how unique you are and that scares me the most. This job will have you delivering packages no one else can, not even those wizards from that magic universe of yours.”

  I stood there for a minute with my mouth agape. My first thought was Why me? But I knew why, I had Iverog to guide me through Alfheim. With his help the trips would be much shorter, though I hadn’t realized driving the truck through the portal had been such a big deal. I’d only taken the truck because I thought I needed it to save Grandpa Dan.

  “But why are you here?” I asked Karakowski.

  “When I realized what your new job was I got you something.” He held up a small package that I hadn’t noticed him carrying. I tore at the wrapping like it was Christmas.

  “A gun?”

  “I already know you’re dangerous, but blowing things up and kicking people in the head may not work in every situation. It’s a CO2 BB pistol and it shoots steel BBs. It’s legal for you to carry this in most states, because it’s not considered a firearm and those steel BBs should inflict maximum damage on anything from Alfheim that gets in your way.”

  “Oh, because iron hurts them,” I said. I’d never had a gun before. “You may need to teach me how to shoot it.”

  “That may be hard. I’ve got some leave and I’m taking all of it. After that, I’ll be on assignment back east.”

  “Thank you,” I said, and gave him a big hug.

  “Stay out of trouble,” he said, and made his way to the front of the shop. I followed him to the front door and waved as he left.

  “Alecia dearie,” a creepy female voice said, from behind a rack of merchandise. I stopped in my tracks, I’d heard that voice before. But why was she here in Grandpa Dan’s shop?

  “Reselda?”

  “Oh good, you remember. That will make this easier.”

  “What do you want?” I said, as I turned to face her.

  “I’ve come to collect the favor you owe me.”

  To Be Continued in Book 2

  Rush Delivery