by R. G. Thomas
“There’s something else back there,” Teofil said.
Thaddeus joined Teofil where he stood looking back the way they had come. There was just a hint of orange in the sky around the mountain now, leaving the side facing them black as a moonless night.
“What?” Thaddeus turned to look back up the trail. “Where?”
“I saw something else moving along the trail,” Teofil said. “Something bigger than a goblin.”
Thaddeus gave Teofil’s hand a tug. “Come on, let’s go.”
They didn’t talk on the short walk back to the inn, both lost in their own thoughts. When they stepped in the back door, they found Astrid and Dulindir playing gin, which Thaddeus had taught them.
“Goblins,” Thaddeus said.
“What?” Astrid jumped up from her chair. “Goblins?”
Thaddeus shushed her. “Quiet, do you want Hannah to hear us?”
“Where were they?” Dulindir asked.
“On the trail to the springs,” Teofil replied. “They came after us on the way down.”
“Thaddeus, your shirt is ripped,” Astrid said. “Are you hurt?”
“No, I’m not,” Thaddeus replied. “Its claws ripped my shirt.”
“It was on you?” Astrid asked.
“Both of us,” Teofil said.
Astrid frowned. “Are your pants wet? That’s not blood, is it?”
“No, it’s spring water,” Teofil said. “Where are Mum and Nathan?”
“Upstairs,” Astrid replied. “How many were there?”
“At least two,” Thaddeus said. “And Teofil saw something else up there. Something bigger than a goblin.”
“Bigger?” Astrid looked at Teofil. “How much bigger?”
“It was hard to tell,” Teofil replied. “But it looked like it walked on two legs, not on all fours like the goblins.”
“A person?” Dulindir asked. “Maybe Isadora?”
“We don’t know,” Thaddeus said, then looked at Teofil. “We need to tell my dad and your mom.”
“Goblins on the mountain trail,” Astrid said with a shake of her head. “Do you think the nacht macabre is bringing them out?”
“Maybe,” Dulindir replied. “Or it could be something else. Goblins are scavengers and tend to follow around larger predators and live off their scraps.”
“Gross,” Thaddeus said. “Maybe whatever Teofil saw that was bigger is what they’re following? Could it have been a troll or a reaper grub?”
“It didn’t look as big as a troll,” Teofil said.
“Probably not a reaper grub either. They don’t have legs to walk on, and they kill and eat everything and everyone.”
Teofil let out a breath. “Even after we soaked in the spring for so long, I feel dirty after our run back down the trail. Let’s go tell your dad and my mum, and then I’m going to take a shower.”
Thaddeus nodded. “That’s a good idea.”
They bid Astrid and Dulindir good night and headed for the stairs. Behind them, Thaddeus heard Dulindir say, “Gin,” and then the slap of his cards being laid down on the table.
Astrid groaned. “That’s the two hundredth time you’ve called gin.”
“That’s not entirely true,” Dulindir said.
Even though he was tired and still on edge, Thaddeus grinned at the overheard exchange as he and Teofil climbed the stairs to the second floor. They found his father sitting on his bed on top of the covers, writing in a notebook. He looked up with a smile that quickly faded as he noticed their condition.
“What happened?” his father asked, getting up off the bed and coming toward them. “Are you all right?”
“We ran into goblins on the trail to the hot springs,” Thaddeus replied.
“Goblins?” His father grabbed him by the shoulders and looked him up and down. He then did the same with Teofil, asking questions the entire time but not giving them a chance to respond. “Are you hurt? Did they bite you? How many were there? Did they follow you into town?”
“We’re okay, Dad,” Thaddeus said. “We tripped, and they got on us, but we pushed them off of us.”
His father looked him over again. “No scratches or bites? Goblins carry a lot of germs.”
“No bites,” Teofil said. “I’m pretty dirty, though. I’m going to take a shower.”
“Your mother is in her bedroom,” Nathan said. “Stop in and see her first.”
“Okay.” Teofil grabbed Thaddeus’s hand and gave it a squeeze before leaving the room.
“You’re sure you’re not hurt?” his father asked.
“Yes, I’m sure,” Thaddeus replied. From the room next door, they heard Miriam let out a short cry, and Thaddeus figured Teofil had just told her about the goblins.
“Well, good.” His father nodded and took a few steps back. “Okay. Good.”
“Teofil said he saw something else farther back on the trail. Something taller than the goblins.”
“Taller?”
“Yeah, right. Like it walked on two legs. He didn’t get a good look at it, though.”
“Hmm, I wonder what it was.”
“Could it have been Isadora, do you think?” Thaddeus asked.
His father regarded him a moment. “I would think if it had been Isadora she would have made herself known, don’t you?”
Thaddeus shrugged. “Maybe. I guess.”
“So you and Teofil were up at the hot springs before all this?”
“Yeah. It was nice up there. Well, until I fell asleep in the spring and had a crazy dream.”
“Dream?” Nathan stepped up closer. “What was it?”
Thaddeus closed the bedroom door in case Hannah walked past on her way down from her room on the third floor. “It was like that vision I had out on the ladder. I was in a place with stone walls. A woman was shouting somewhere close by in a really mean voice. Then I felt pain and all I could think about was getting away from there. That’s when I woke up.”
“Interesting,” Nathan said. “Do you think it means something?”
“I don’t know,” Thaddeus replied. “I’d like to think that I’m connected with Mom somehow, you know? But I can’t be sure.”
“If that’s true, and I’m not saying it is, but if that’s what it is, then it would appear that Isadora has found her already.”
Thaddeus nodded. “I know. And I don’t like to think about that.”
“Neither do I,” his father said, then turned to walk back to his bed. “I have to say the goblins are a more immediate concern right now, wouldn’t you?”
“Yeah, but I wish we could get on our way already,” Thaddeus replied. “It feels like we’re wasting time just sitting here while Isadora might be hurting Mom.”
“We’ll leave as soon as we can,” his father said. “I promise. I’m working as hard as I can to get what we need.”
“I know you are.”
They were both quiet a long, awkward moment, and then his father asked, “Did you see where the goblins came from? Is there a cave or something where they might have a den?”
“No, we just heard them behind us on the trail.”
“The nacht macabre is an interesting find around here, but I’m not certain that’s enough to draw them into town,” his father said, then sat on his bed with a sigh. “I just don’t know enough about goblins and other creatures that thrive in darkness and death.”
“Dulindir wasn’t sure either,” Thaddeus said. “But he told us goblins are scavengers and follow larger predators around waiting for scraps.” He shuddered at the thought before moving toward the bathroom. “I’m going to take a shower and read for a bit.”
“Yeah, okay,” his father said. But he sounded distracted and was already turning to look at his notebook.
Thaddeus got some clean clothes from the closet and looked up at the top shelf to make sure his canteen was still safe. He entered the bathroom and closed the door behind him, then removed his dirty clothes. In the morning he would run his and Teofil’s clothe
s through the wash. For now, he wanted a shower and then some time with a book he’d found on the shelves downstairs. When he did fall asleep, he hoped he could avoid dreaming.
Chapter NINE
THE FOLLOWING morning, Thaddeus’s father woke him up so early the room was still dark.
“Dad?” Thaddeus sat up. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing’s wrong, it’s okay,” Nathan said. “I know it’s early, but I need to be at work soon. Do you want to work on some magic before I go in?”
Any residual sleepiness vanished, replaced by excitement. “Yeah, sure!”
Nathan smiled. “Get dressed and meet me in the kitchen.”
As Thaddeus pulled on clothes, he paused with his hand above the bit of asphalt he’d first summoned behind the movie theater. He didn’t know whether he needed it or not, but he picked up the rock and slipped it into the pocket of his jeans anyway. The others were still asleep, and the house was quiet as Thaddeus descended the stairs and stepped into the kitchen. His father waited by the back door with a couple of bottles of orange juice and some granola bars.
“Breakfast of magical champions,” he said with a grin.
Thaddeus took the juice and a granola bar, then followed him outside.
“I thought we could walk up to the movie theater again,” Nathan suggested. “It’s across the street from the store, and it’s not too far for you to walk back on your own.”
Thaddeus rolled his eyes. “I can walk a few blocks back on my own, Dad.”
“I know, I know, but what with you and Teofil being attacked by those goblins yesterday, I think all of us need to be extremely careful.”
“Do you think the goblins have been called here?” Thaddeus asked. “That Ruby is calling them with all the nacht macabre she’s planted?”
“It’s hard to say,” his father replied. “I just don’t know enough about the plant. I’ve asked Dulindir about it, and he thinks we should hunt down the goblins.”
“Hunt the goblins?” Thaddeus frowned. “We don’t know where they live, though.”
“That was my point,” his father said. “But Dulindir thinks we need to check every vacant house in town until we find them.”
“That might draw a lot of attention to us. And probably an arrest.”
“We should keep a close eye on Ruby, however,” his father said.
“Could she be a witch?” Thaddeus asked. “Maybe a supporter of Isadora?”
“Maybe,” his father replied. “Just can’t tell. She also might not know the dark magical properties of the flower. It could just thrive in this climate and she’s planted it to dress up the properties she’s trying to sell.”
“Do you believe that?” Thaddeus asked.
Nathan smiled. “I’m trying to convince myself. But keep your distance from her, okay?”
“No need to tell me twice,” Thaddeus assured him.
They reached the abandoned movie theater and walked down the sidewalk to the parking lot behind. The sun was just peeking over the treetops of the Lost Forest in the distance, and the light was enough for them to see that new weeds had sprung up in the path Nathan had magically created the last time.
Nathan chugged the last of his juice and crossed to the other side of the parking lot. He set the empty plastic juice bottle on the ground in the middle of the tall weeds and then walked back to Thaddeus.
“Okay, I want you to get a feel for the bottle in your hand,” Nathan said. “It’s the same as the one I set in the weeds.”
Thaddeus nodded and tightened his fingers on the plastic bottle, the force of his grip making it crackle. He concentrated on the feel of it as he stared at the bottle on the other side of the lot. Taking one hand off the bottle he held, he reached out toward the other, calling to it, striving for it. The asphalt rock in his pocket shifted position, startling him and breaking his focus.
“What happened?” Nathan asked.
“I brought the rock with me,” Thaddeus replied and pulled it from his pocket. “I know it so well, I keep calling to it instead.”
Nathan held out his hand. “Let me hold it.”
Thaddeus surrendered the rock and then returned his attention to the bottle across the lot. He concentrated on the one in his hand and projected that sensation out into the weeds, imagining the bottle sitting there, waiting to be picked up, waiting to be summoned. The sun had moved up higher, and it shone on the tall weeds before him. When the weeds trembled in the still air, Thaddeus felt a surge of excitement and tried to center his concentration even more precisely on the bottle.
“Just pull it to you,” Nathan said in a low voice. “Visualize it coming out of the weeds and into your hand.”
The weeds shuddered as the bottle shifted a bit.
“Good, that’s good,” Nathan said. “Now focus just a bit more. Feel the bottle in your hand, and use that touch to summon the one over there in the weeds.”
Thaddeus felt sweat bead across his forehead as he narrowed his focus to the empty bottle. It would be light and easy to grab, lighter even than the small piece of asphalt.
Nathan gasped. “Ouch!”
The bit of asphalt smacked into Thaddeus’s open hand, and he grabbed it tight. He looked at the rock he held, then at his father. Nathan had a finger stuck in his mouth, but he was smiling around it.
“You really like that rock,” his father said as he took the finger from his mouth and looked at it. “You tore it right out of my hand.”
“Oh, sorry. Did it cut you?”
“It’s not bad. I’ll put a bandage on it at work.” He put out his other hand and curled his fingers slightly. The empty juice bottle practically erupted from the weeds and flew into his hand.
Thaddeus blew out a frustrated breath. “You make it look so easy. I’ll never get anything but this stupid rock to come to me.”
“You’ll get it. It just takes time.” Nathan checked his watch. “I have another half hour. What do you want to work on?”
Thaddeus thought a moment. “You know, when Teofil and I were up on the trail and the goblins were coming after us, I really wanted to conjure another ball of light.”
“Good idea. Something like this?” His father held out his hand, and a tiny yellow flame sprouted from the middle of his palm. It cast a golden glow across a small area around them.
“Wow, that’s awesome.”
Nathan grinned. “Thanks, it’s been a while since I’ve been called awesome.”
Thaddeus grinned. “Aw, you’ll always be awesome. Even now when you’re so old.”
“Old? I’m teaching you magic,” Nathan reminded him. “So you might want to watch what you say.”
“Yes, sir!” Thaddeus gestured to the flickering flame. “How come I conjured a ball of light when I was in the Wretched River and not a flame?”
Nathan closed his hand into a fist and the flame vanished as if it had been crushed. “Something like this?”
He flicked his wrist and a bright ball of white light materialized in the space between them. It was so bright, Thaddeus had to squint as he looked at it.
“It looked like that. But mine was up higher.”
Nathan gestured slightly and the ball of light drifted higher. “Good?”
“That’s it!” Thaddeus smiled as he looked up at the light. Magic was amazing. And to be able to learn it from his father made it all that much better.
“Okay, let’s work on that before I go to work.”
In that half hour, Thaddeus was able to generate a few tiny flickers that looked like cheap Fourth of July sparklers, but no dancing flame or hovering ball of light. He was frustrated by the time his father told him he had to go, but Nathan squeezed his shoulder as they stepped out of the weed-covered parking lot and onto the sidewalk.
“You’ll get it, son. I had trouble with all of these spells at first too.”
“You did?” Thaddeus looked up at him. “Who taught you?”
“My dad, mostly,” Nathan replied.
�
�Mostly?” Thaddeus asked.
Nathan glanced at him but looked away as they came to a stop on the sidewalk in front of the theater. Pigeons rustled around in the shadowy space under the marquee, and from somewhere in the direction of Aisha’s neighborhood a motorcycle rumbled to life.
“Well, you need to remember it was very different back then,” Nathan said. “It was a magical community, all of us living together pretty much away from the eyes of the ungifteds.”
“You make it sound like some kind of hippie commune,” Thaddeus said.
Nathan laughed. “That is a very apt description. Leopold was there, of course, and he taught several of us. Some of us did better than others.”
“Oh? Which group were you part of?”
The lights inside Heap’s General Store flickered on, attracting their attention. Nathan grinned at Thaddeus and squeezed his shoulder. “That will have to wait until later. I need to get to work.”
Thaddeus sighed. “Fine.”
“You be careful walking home,” his father said.
“I will.”
His father pulled him close for a strong hug and, to Thaddeus’s surprise, kissed his forehead. “I love you, Thaddeus.”
“I love you too.” Thaddeus pulled away. “And that doesn’t get you out of telling me more about you learning magic later, just so you know.”
“Oh, I didn’t think it would, trust me.”
His father crossed the street and disappeared into the shadows of an alley between the store and a pharmacy. Thaddeus stood on the curb for a moment with his head back and face turned toward the sun. A breeze rifled through his hair and brought with it the smell of grass and maybe a hint of rain.
“Well, someone’s up and at ’em early!”
Thaddeus jumped a bit and opened his eyes. Ruby stood before him, wearing her pink jacket and holding a bunch of flyers in her hands.
“Oh, good morning, Ruby. Yeah, I guess I am up early.”
“Early bird gets the most scrumptious worm,” Ruby said and licked her lips, then giggled. “What brings you into town before the Gulch Gulp has even opened?”