by Martha Carr
“My grandmother used to mention this ranch.” The wind was blowing through Leira’s hair as she walked faster, wanting to get closer to the first trees. Those are full grown oak trees…
“Who is your grandmother?”
“Mara Berens, she’s…” Leira watched the Gardener and saw it was his turn to be surprised.
“I should have noted the resemblance. Your grandmother is a trusted friend of the family. She was the Elf who recommended this ranch in the first place. But she stopped coming by the sanctuary years ago.”
“About four years ago? She was trapped in the world in between. Correk and a lot of others helped me to bust her out.” Leira didn’t even look back as she spoke to see the Gardener’s surprise. She was being drawn to what she was seeing as she got closer. The forest was still over a mile away but Leira could see even from the distance that there was movement among the trees and birds flying over the tall treetops. A heron took flight and headed in the direction of the lake and the elephants.
“That’s even possible?” Perrom looked at his friend in surprise.
“Only under the right circumstances with a lot of help,” said Correk, shaking his head. “It’s not something I think we can replicate.”
It was there for a moment. Leira wondered again what Correk still wasn’t telling her. But it passed and she turned back to see the elephants in the distance moving across the prairie, trumpeting with their horns. A feeling of freedom spread through her.
Leira suddenly took off at a run, slowly at first, sprinting toward the forest, building toward a run, grateful to feel her legs strong and healthy beneath her. The wind blew into her face bringing tears to her eyes and it wasn’t until she reached the first line of trees and smacked the bark of a giant tree with a large knot in the center and branches that spread out in a wide canopy. “That’s an oak tree, I was right.” She ran her hands over the deep ridges, being careful not to stand on the large roots. “This looks like five or six trees fused together.”
“Very observant. That is a white oak to be exact,” said the Gardener, catching up to Leira. “Over there are elm trees. Very hard to find in North America anymore and we’ve gone to great lengths to protect them from disease.”
Leira looked up in surprise, her mouth open. “I just saw a monkey! That was a fucking monkey swinging through the trees.” She turned and looked at Correk in wonder. “This is Texas, right? I could swear this is Texas.”
The Gardener nodded his head as Correk crossed his arms and watched Leira, amused.
A herd of dama gazelles ran past, startling Leira for a moment. They looked like goats with longer necks and curved horns.
“Do you keep the predators from going after the smaller animals?”
“No, I have my limits to interfering with nature. When left to its own devices, the natural environment works things out. Tinkering usually leads to chaos.” The Gardener walked deeper into the forest. “Well, come on. You wanted a tour, didn’t you?”
Leira grabbed Correk’s arm, excited.
“We should bring Yumfuck. Let him play here.”
“An enormous troll park. He would love it.”
“You are bonded with a troll. Bring him for a visit. There are some of his kind deep within this forest. But do not bring any sentient beings. No humans, no other Elves, no one. We cannot be sure who is betraying us.”
Leira was reminded of why they were there and an anger rose up inside of her. Someone is after these animals for their own gain.
The deeper they got into the forest, the more the light dimmed under the layers of canopy overhead. Large ferns grew along the forest floor and soft, squishy moss spread out over the ground. It looked like green rolling water, creeping up the sides of trees.
Leira moved closer to Correk in the growing darkness and whispered. “We are so far into the woods I’m sorry we didn’t leave a trail of Jujubes to find our way out. Nothing would try to eat those and live to speak again. Have you tried one of those? Four out of five dentists put their card in the box when you buy them.”
“Yes, I’ve tried the things. Felt like it was ripping out my teeth. I finally had to peel them out. The troll, of course had no problem swallowing them whole. How is a normal being supposed to eat them?”
“My point exactly, you’re not. I think they’re meant to be like wax fruit and someone got carried away.”
“Wax fruit?”
“Long story. I’m not getting a signal. We can’t even see the sky. Maybe my phone’s GPS will work.
“You forget you are magical at the most curious times. This place is overwhelming but you can sense your way out of here. Take it all in and notice what’s happening.”
“You sound like Turner again.” Leira let go of thinking about a case or the troll or Eireka or Mara and became more present, taking in the details around her. That’s curious. Her attention wandered to a rabbit with long fur only on its ears, eating a mouse. Hard to tell who’s the predator and who’s the prey in these parts. Good to know. Ecobalance is shifting. The Gardener really doesn’t play favorites. Okay, Berens, focus. There it is. There was a growing low vibration under her feet. She knew at once what it was. “A kemana.”
“There you go. We are near a kemana that’s not on any map in Oriceran. I suspect your grandmother knew about it and told the Gardener.”
“Nana is a regular Jane Bond when it comes to keeping secrets and sleuthing out things. I come by this detective work honestly. Mom is better at finding a bargain even before the internet kicked in. Used to go on trips with her down back alleys to warehouses and voila, there would be beautiful used furniture at a steal. Guess that was her magic kicking in but how do you sense a good sale?”
“That’s the first time I’ve heard you tell a story about growing up with your mother. You don’t do that a lot.”
“I filed them all away so well it’s taking me some time to bring them back out. Look! A goddamn orangutan! How is that possible? Should we be whispering? Something in here is bound to see us as prey.”
The vibration grew stronger and steady under Leira’s feet and the growth grew denser as they got to a tall pile of boulders deep in the forest. Carved in the side were three symbols. The infinity symbol, a large S and a pattern of four diamonds.
“Another underground city. I know this one. The infinity symbol opens sesame.”
The Gardener put out his arm to stop Leira. “That one will get you killed with a billion joules of energy.”
Correk scowled and whispered to Leira. “Remember, I told you every set of symbols is different. You need a guide when you first enter or at least a map. There is still a lot for you to learn.”
Leira ignored the reprimand from Correk. “A billion… seems like overkill.”
“A lightning strike.” The Gardener put his hand over the carving of a hand as the air around them grew colder and rays of light shot out from the stones in front of them. A rock in the center slid away, creating an entrance and revealing stone steps winding down into the ground. Lavender crystals jutted out from the interior walls, lighting the way with a soft purple glow. “The diamonds were your grandmother’s idea. She has an odd sense of humor.”
“Nana has a fondness for poker.”
The Gardener smiled as he let his skin flow back into scales and the vines reemerged on his head. The titmouse ran out of his pocket and back to the safety of the dreadlocks.
“It’s just like Hilldale.” Leira peered down into the depths.
“It’s connected to a far side of Hilldale by a road that we have kept hidden to everyone except those who we trust to help us with the care of this sanctuary. The kemana helps us to have enough energy to create a low-level glamour over the entire ranch. Just enough to make people bored with the idea of ever venturing onto the property.”
Leira felt the energy swirling around her feet with the chilled air. The more she used magic, the more it was right there, beckoning her to connect with it. Leira’s phone buzzed in her p
ocket, startling her and she quickly pulled it out. She saw the general was trying to call her and had already tried a few times. “Hello, yes sir. I was out of satellite range. I didn’t see your messages. I can do that. I’ll pick up Hagan on the way. Not a problem.” Leira hung up the phone. “Duty calls. I need to get myself to Austin as quickly as possible, which is about two hours due northeast of here.” She gave Correk a hard look.
“Not going to make this a habit,” he said, already forming a ball of light. “Perrom will you make the return visit with us?”
His friend nodded and waited for the portal to open. “I said I would help.” He was holding the glamour, letting his skin stay smooth.
“Can we come back again and go down into the town below?” Leira looked at the Gardener expectantly as the portal opened and Perrom stepped through back to Oriceran.
“You are Mara’s granddaughter. You are welcome anytime if you bring her by for a visit.” The Gardener stepped through as Leira and Correk followed. Leira turned back to watch the large rock slide back into place, hiding the underground world. The portal closed with a shower of sparks and Correk hesitated, letting the air clear before he created another ball of light. “Not the best idea in the world to be doing this.”
“You said that. One Mississippi, two Mississippi…”
The Gardener gave out a loud whistle and there was a crashing in the forest as the lion made his way back by the Gardener’s side. The Gardener climbed atop the lion, holding on to the mane. “Take care of the Two Moons. Find out who’s causing all this mayhem and let me know.” The Gardener was looking directly at his son.
That’s not going to be good for anyone. “Let’s get going. That was fifteen Mississippis, more than enough.”
“A foolproof system, I’m sure.” Correk formed a light ball, opening a portal as the three stepped through to Leira’s living room. The troll looked up, surprised to see Perrom with them and stood up, opening his arms wide. “Welcome home motherfuckers!” He chirped and let out a loud belch, swallowing hard as he licked his lips. “Taste it twice!”
He was surrounded by oversized bags of Cheetos and Doritos that were all empty. Correk looked at the troll and back at Perrom, hissing in a low voice. “Those were mine…”
Leira gave a crooked smile as she went to the lockbox in her bedroom and got her gun. She passed by Correk and whispered, “You know it’s an addiction when you want to hide it from your friends.”
Correk scowled and looked up at Perrom. “They’re unbelievable. One of the better things about being here. You’ll see.”
“Play nice everyone. I’ll be back as soon as I can. There’s something afoot at the Driskill Hotel. I shouldn’t be gone too long.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
“Tell me this again. Getting ahead in the artifacts race won’t just stop others from stockpiling energy it may save an animal sanctuary. Do I have that right?” Leira and Hagan were sitting in Guero’s Taco Bar on South Congress near the ten-foot white guitar painted in splashes of red and blue. The Tailgators were setting up to play. “Is there anywhere in Austin that doesn’t have music?”
Leira bit into a taco and shook her head, swallowing. “Even the laundromats have a little stage tucked in a corner. Some even sell beer.”
“Slow down, we’re not on call anymore. You’ll give yourself heartburn. Magical shenanigans are on pause for five minutes. That was quick thinking you had back at the Driskill.”
“That’s only temporary. I couldn’t very well tell them we may have created a thinner veil between this world and the world in between. The ghost stories there have really picked up. Blaming it on the plumbing won’t work for long.”
“Not an easy fix to that one.”
“No, there is not and we have bigger problems. All the big players on this world seem to know about magic. Every side has their own agenda and it’s some pretty serious shit. The Silver Griffins must be on high alert, twenty-four seven.”
Hagan held up his hand counting off the different groups vying for artifacts, or seeds, or animals. “You have the different governments on this planet. It is just this planet, right?”
“Far as I know. Other side has magic. They want technology.”
“We’re part of the government groups. Then there’s the different corporations from different parts of the world, and some of those have joined forces with each other. Have to figure that some of them will do a little back channel dealing and cheat each other out of something, so that’ll probably shift. Then, there’s the… what’d you call them… scavengers? In the good old days at the precinct we called those thieves. Much easier. Those are from Oriceran.”
“You’re right on track. There aren’t many scavengers. Not many good ones anyway. It’s only one that I can think of who’s good enough to get there ahead of us.” Leira bit down hard on a taco just thinking about being inches from the drum as the portal closed on Louie’s smiling face.
“What did that taco do to you? Okay, those are the players we know of but that doesn’t mean we’ve seen them all, or does it?”
“I’d say no, it doesn’t and only because so much is at stake. But I can’t get over the feeling that somehow all of it is connected. Don’t know if it’s a person or a goal.”
“Let’s put that aside for now and look at this thing like two old detectives. At least one of us qualifies for that distinction.” Hagan sat forward, pushing his tie down in front of him and brushing away the bits of shredded lettuce on the table. He took a quick sip of his coffee and put his hands on the table. “Way I see this is we go at it from the angle of what the thieves want. All of them. And we cut off their supply.”
“Had the same thought.” Leira held up her hand for the waitress.
“I miss those days,” Hagan said, wistfully. “Eat what you want, burn it all off. Now, I settle for living vicariously through you.”
“You still eat as much as I do.”
“True. It’s my boyish figure I miss. Managed to lose a few pounds walking with Rose every night I can. That doesn’t even feel like exercise.”
Leira gave a crooked smile and looked at her old partner. “You’re a good guy, Hagan.”
“Don’t start with the emotional crap. We’ve managed to have a very nice thing going here for years now. Back yourself up and eat your taco. Magic has given you a soft chewy middle.”
“You’re comparing me to a Tootsie Pop.”
The waitress came up, her pad already out. “What’ll it be? The usual?”
Hagan looked at Leira. “Been short order cheating on me?”
“I do occasionally get really nice fast food without you.” Leira looked up at the waitress and smiled.
“Doesn’t hurt my feelings honey. Food is good, don’t need to get you to agree with me. Speak up, day is moving along!”
“Four more tacos, all beef, cheddar on two, feta on the others, hot salsa on the feta.” Leira wiped her mouth with a small paper napkin.
“The usual plus two regulars. You got it!” The waitress was gone, off to give another table water.
“Two of those are for you. While we can, we should just enjoy the moment and sit here and eat at a table like real people.” Leira shook hot sauce on the last bite.
“Way I see it, a lot of this is a human problem. Greed. We look at what they’re after and do a cost benefit analysis. What’s easiest to get to and then head there first. Just so happens, I’ve been tinkering around with just that. Turns out I may have a knack for this world domination business.” Hagan pulled out his iPad and opened an Excel spreadsheet.
“Okay, I’m a little impressed.”
Hagan looked up from the screen, an eyebrow cocked. “I’m with the online shit. I know my way around a Google doc. What? You’ve seen me fill out more than one report and we’ve been using those laptops in squad cars for years.”
“I also know you still have a landline and an AOL account. I know you can do it, I was thinking you had a thing about old school. I
kind of expected you to pull out a notebook.”
“That’s not old school. It’s more like inertia. Well, some of it. I like having a landline. Always know where to find the phone. You drop a six-hundred-dollar phone just once in a gas station urinal and suddenly a twenty-dollar cordless looks pretty good.”
Leira made a face. “Good thing those tacos won’t be ready for another couple of minutes. And I’m going to spend that time thinking of anything else.”
“I got lucky. It landed on the urinal cake.”
“Define lucky for me.”
Hagan gave a shrug and put up his hands. “It didn’t get wet. Just a little damp on one side. Seemed like a win.”
“Suddenly I really want to talk about hunting bad guys and morphing animals into bio-robots. Remind me to never use your phone.”
“You should have seen some of the pay phones back in the day. Woof! Okay, look at this spreadsheet.” Hagan scooted his chair closer to Leira, showing her the screen. “These are all the players we know about and these are all the places on Earth that have something they want.”
“Kind of covers the globe, doesn’t it? Look how connected we all are.” Leira quickly scanned the chart, amazed.
“Here’s the cost of mounting a search, probability of finding a prize. Dammit.” Hagan jostled a bottle of sriracha sauce, tipping it over and leaving a dotted trail across his iPad. He dabbed it with a napkin and licked his finger, wiping away the rest.
Leira raised her eyebrows, giving her head a quick shake. “Don’t ever change.” She pointed at the screen. “I see you put the food chain in its own section.”
“Yeah, the crops are a little harder to calculate. Their supply line goes to Oriceran where things get dicey to calculate. We’d have to reverse the strategy for that one and cut off where they can sell it.”
“Finding something else they want and bargaining for it may work better.” Leira sat back. “We’re still missing something. I can feel it and it’s not magic talking. It’s that gut feeling from working with you. There’s a connection here.”