by Simon Archer
When I remembered everything I needed to about the quipu, I concentrated on the cloth on my head. The same massive flash of images occurred again. When it was finished, I accessed my memories and saw the history of the cloth in reverse. Dave used it to cause the tornados and see remnant magic in the alley. That is how he knew about the so-called magic box. It was part of a blanket that was centuries old. It was found with a dead man in a volcanic cave, along with a book, and a rope. The dead man was related to Dave somehow.
Actually, threads from the original blanket had been worn so thin, gold could be wound around them, making a new way for royalty to have flexible ‘blankets of gold.’ The memories came at an amazing speed. It was almost hard to process how much information I knew about the blanket. Then the memories stopped at a scene in a dirty room. The threads were intact in the original blanket, and it was covering an old woman on a cot.
I watched the memory unfold like a movie. The woman under the blanket was Gisele, and the scene was the moment she cast the spell that made Vila a genie. Then the memory disappeared, and I was left with the knowledge that magic had passed from Gisele to the blanket somehow.
I was so shocked at what I’d seen that I didn’t hear Dave walk back over to me.
“Nothing witty to say anymore?” he sneered. I opened my eyes, and his feet were directly in front of me. “Now, where was I?”
He picked the quipu up and rubbed it across my shoulders again while he started in with his chanting. The blanket began to glow ever so slightly. It was only momentary, but it was hanging right in front of my face, so there was no mistaking it. A mild heat from the glow sank into my scalp. Dave must have seen the glow as well because he hooted in triumph.
“Aha! You see that! Just a hop, skip, and a jump away from bringing you down, Mr. Bigshot Lottery Loser!” Dave yelled joyfully.
My heart rate sped up at the possibility that he was correct. I closed my eyes again and concentrated on the rope that bound my hands. After the flash of images, I learned that the rope was connected to Andi’s mother. Part of it was made out of the same threads in the rope that Andi’s evil uncle had tied her mother with. I also saw the rope in the cave with the dead man, only I saw what happened right before he died as well.
That was when the pieces began to fall together. I pulled my mind away from the memories just in time to feel warmth from the rope on my wrists. Dave’s chanting wasn’t what was causing the magic to emit from the artifacts. The magic I was using through the wish to see the items’ histories served as some kind of conduit to let their magic flow into me somehow. I didn’t have time to worry about how especially when I felt the rope go cold again. As I opened my eyes, I suddenly realized that I could move again.
Dave hadn’t tied the rope very well. He probably thought, because it was magical, he didn’t have to. I slipped my wrists out, whipped the rope around Dave’s legs, and yanked. He tumbled to the ground.
“How did you--?” he cried out.
I pulled the blanket off my head and tossed it over to the table. Slowly, I stood up and looked down over Dave’s face.
“There are a few things you don’t know about magic, Dave,” I sneered coldly. “Important things like how magic flows to magic.”
“My spell was working! I saw the blanket glow!” he whined loudly, trying to make sense of the turnaround of power.
“You saw the blanket glow as it generously lent me its potential,” I hissed, leaning over him, close to his ear. “The potential that I am able to do whatever I want with.”
Confusion turned to terror on his face. It was the reaction I was going for.
“Bennett, you know I’d never really hurt you, right?” Dave started backtracking quickly. “I was just upset because of my parents, and you know how family can be, am I right?” His eyes were darting around, and he was attempting to grin.
“I know just how family is,” I replied. “And all of the things you have here belong to peoples’ families who are not yours. I’ll be taking them with me.”
I stood up and walked to the table. Dave must’ve been absolutely terrified because he just laid on the ground where I left him. I had the rope and quipu in my hand. I set them down and picked up the book.
It was the first time I’d seen it. It had been pushed too far back on the table for me to see it from where I was tied up. Then I concentrated, and in an instant, I knew the history of the book. I scanned it for a certain page I’d seen in my memory. When I found it, I set the book on the table, open to that page, and turned around.
“Get up,” I yelled sharply.
Dave’s entire body jumped. He looked to his feet and saw that he wasn’t bound. Hopping to his feet, he sneered at me.
“You just made a huge mistake!” he yelled out. His voice reminded me of a wicked witch from a cartoon.
I chuckled a little and crossed my arms. “Perhaps, or perhaps I want to tell you a little story. How much do you know about the man this book was found with?”
Dave’s eyes shifted around and settled on the book. He looked up at me and shrugged sarcastically. “Quite a bit, actually. Otherwise, how would I have used his things to track your little box, you asshat?” He clenched his teeth in an attempt to look vicious. The result was more like a red-nosed balloon-face.
“Did you know that he is in the book?” I tossed out at him and laughed as his eyes went wide.
“I mean… of course… that’s the first… thing I knew…” he stuttered.
“Ah, good. Then I don’t have to tell you how he got into the book, then. Do I?” I lowered my face and glared at him. Dave stood there, looking from me to the book and back. He put his hand up in front of himself and took a step back.
“We don’t have to get all crazy about this, really,” he muttered. “We can just work things out. You know, shake hands, say sorry, call it a day?”
“I don’t think I’m in the mood to shake hands,” I whispered as I walked toward him.
Dave circled around me until he was standing in front of the table, his back facing the book, exactly where he needed to be. I closed my eyes, held my hands out to my sides, and concentrated. A sudden, wild wind whipped through the alley, and a pitchy wail came with it. I opened my eyes to Dave, cowering behind his hands. I looked to my right as a white funnel cloud twisted down to the ground beside me. It instantly vanished, along with the wind, leaving behind a woman in blue. She smiled at me, and I looked back at Dave.
“A friend wanted me to show you something, Dave,” I said to get his attention. He peered out from between his arms and jumped back when he saw the woman standing beside me. The back of his legs hit the table, and he had to grab the edges to keep from falling backward.
“Who… who is that?” he cried out, fearful tears welling in his eyes.
“She brought something for me to show you,” I whispered nastily. I held my hand out to her, and she placed a box in it. It was the box I’d found Andi and Vila’s watch in. “Is this the box you were looking for all this time?” I held the beat-up old piece of junk out for Dave to see.
“Umm, no. I think I was wrong all along about a box. Any box. I have no interest in boxes,” he spat out rapidly.
“Well, Dave, it has an interest in you now,” I said. “Think about all the good magic can do in the world while you are away, and maybe one day, you’ll have a real chance at using magic the way it was intended.”
Dave’s eyes grew four sizes as I held the top of the box toward him and slowly opened it. Once the lid was fully open, a silver beam of light shot out of it, hitting him directly in the chest. He fell back, but the table was there to hold him upright. The beam flowed into his chest and ever so slowly, began to come out the other side of him and arch straight down into the book.
When the full power of it shone all the way through, a massive gold flash rushed out of the box and hit Dave. I marveled at the glory of magical processes as Dave shrunk to the size of a pen and pushed into the book. When he could no longer be see
n, the end of the silver beam left the box and followed him in. Then the book closed, and he was gone. I shut the box and turned to the woman in blue.
“I don’t know how a single bit of this worked, but thank you for your help,” I told her, handing the box back.
“I don’t want that old thing. It’s just a box.” She laughed. “Yes, it had a little bit of remnant magic in it, but you only needed it as a portal.”
“I’ll repeat, I have no idea how this works,” I chuckled. “I only know what I saw in my memory when Andi’s uncle did it to himself.”
“That guy!” The woman rolled her eyes. “He made some miscalculations. You noticed in your memory that his body was found, right?”
“Yeah,” I answered.
“And you see that Dave’s body is nowhere here?” She gestured around the alley.
“Yeah,” I repeated.
“Andi’s uncle put his consciousness in the book without his body!” she roared with laughter. “How did he ever think he was going to get out?”
Even operating from a place of ignorance, the whole thing sounded less-than-well thought out. I smiled while she calmed her laughing.
“Who are you?” I had meant to sound a little less blunt, but once I asked, I couldn’t change the manner in which I had.
“Let’s just say I am intention,” she answered promptly. I waited for a little more information, but it became apparent she wasn’t going to volunteer any.
“How did you send me those dreams? How are you here now? Why did you visit Jack’s dreams too?” I’d only meant to ask one question, but once I started, I couldn’t seem to stop. She giggled at me.
“I took notice of you after you made your first wish last year,” she started. “Only acts with honorable intentions mixed with magic are of notice to me, and your wish accomplished both. After that, we were connected. As for Jack, I needed to get your damn attention. I mean, come on, Bennett… the same dream for a year? Ya didn’t think to look a little deeper?” Her tone was full of playful mocking, and she had a point. Having learned about magical genies, wishes, and such, I probably could have taken closer notice. I shrugged my shoulders and laughed.
“I appreciate your help,” I told her when my laughter had subsided.
“I know you do,” she replied with a grin. “Time for me to be going.”
“Just a few more questions,” I said as rapidly as the words would leave my mouth.
“Maybe later, Bennett. You need to let those girls out, so they know you are okay,” she instructed. She winked at me and turned to walk away.
For once, I was at a loss for words. As she sauntered off down the alley, the woman in blue slowly started to fade away. Just before she faded completely out of sight, she turned back to me.
“By the way, Jack knows about Andi and Vila,” she said calmly.
My heart leapt. How could that be? What was I supposed to do? Question after question bombarded my mind but wouldn’t come out of my mouth.
The woman in blue smiled. “Don’t worry about him. Remember, I was in his dream too.”
Then she disappeared, and I was left standing in the alley, my mouth open, staring at nothing.
24
I shook my head to bring my attention back to the things I needed to do. I reached in my pocket, pulled out the money clip, and rubbed it. Moments later, after another crazy light-ball show, Andi and Vila stood before me. They instantly wrapped their arms around me and squeezed tight. I held them close and felt gratitude flush through me. When they finally let go, they stood back, and each put a hand on her hip.
“What the hell was that?” Vila popped off. I really couldn’t tell if she was upset or not.
“Yeah,” Andi chimed in. “Why did you send us into the money clip?” They stood there, tapping their feet, impatiently waiting for an answer.
“Dave didn’t see you when you came before. I sent you back so he wouldn’t know about you,” I told them matter-of-factly.
They stared at me with straight faces, glanced at each other, and shrugged.
“Okay,” they called out in unison. The answer was so simple it made me nervous.
“Okay?” I asked.
“Yep, okay,” Vila answered cheerfully. She spun on her heel and walked over to the table. Andi stood in front of me and smiled.
“You know we were on our way to find you, right?” she asked, rather indignantly.
“I did not know, but I assumed.” I flashed her a smile.
“You interrupted our plans to find you with that little rubbing-of-the-clip act you pulled,” she replied, pretending that her feelings were hurt.
I wrapped my arms around her and hugged her to my chest.
“I’m sorry, Andi. Next time I’ll wait, magically tied up in an alley with a psychopath, for you to find me,” I gushed sarcastically.
She pushed me back and whacked me in the shoulder. “Not funny!” she hollered humorously.
“Kinda funny!” I said and dodged another swing. “Now, can we please get out of here?” I glanced over at Vila, who was studying the artifacts on the table.
“What is all this stuff?” she asked. “I know the golf club and the table, but what about the rest of this stuff?”
Andi and I walked over to her. I touched the pot to see its history because I hadn’t checked to see if it was magical yet. It turned out to be a regular pot.
“The pot is a cooking tool,” I said dramatically. They both hit me in the arms that time.
“For real, what is all this?” Andi echoed Vila’s question.
“I think you’ll find this one particularly interesting, Andi,” I said as I handed her the rope. She took it from me and examined it closely before looking back up at me.
“Why?” she asked, confused.
“Because some of the same threads in that rope were in the ropes that your mother was tied with,” I told her. I had rehearsed the explanation in my head a few times while standing there because it didn’t seem like a good memory to bring up. However, she had the right to have anything connected to her mother.
Andi looked back down at the rope just as it started to glow blue, and a tear fell down her face.
“Blue was her favorite color,” she whispered as she smiled. She slowly walked away, staring at her rope. I turned to Vila.
“I have something for you, too,” I said and held out the scrap of blanket. She almost looked afraid to take it from me. I lifted her arm and placed the blanket in her hand. It started shining instantly. It was bright white and twinkled. Vila smiled from ear-to-ear.
“It’s the same sparkle she had in her eyes,” she said happily. “It’s from her blanket, isn’t it?”
“Yes,” I answered. She clutched the cloth to her chest and then looked at it again. She wandered over to Andi, and the two of them explained their artifacts to each other. After several minutes, they came back, all smiles.
“You girls ready to take me home?” I asked humorously.
“Absolutely!” they answered at the same time.
“We are going to have to get all this stuff back to the house, too.” I waved my arm over the table.
“Hey, what’s that?” Andi pointed to the book.
“That is a spellbook used by your uncle after he was banished. He put his consciousness inside it when he realized he was going to die before figuring out how to use the remnant magic in the items you are holding,” I explained. “You two are going to have to tell me what the heck remnant magic is, by the way.”
“How about we get home first?” Vila chuckled. She looked at Andi and tipped her head toward the table. “You got this?”
“Yeah, I’ll meet you two there,” Andi replied.
Before I had a chance to ask, Vila snapped her fingers, and we were standing in my bedroom. I opened my mouth to ask about Andi, and then there she was, along with my table and all the items on it. She had even brought the chairs to the table which I hadn’t seen in the alley. When I eyeballed the chairs, she giggled.
“One of them was in the alley, the others I had to make a pit stop and pick up,” she said.
“How did you know where they were?” I asked. I honestly thought I wouldn’t see them again.
“I magically conjured a genie who could use the power of her mind to see the location of lost items,” she shouted cheerily out as she spun around the room, dancing. She stopped suddenly and looked over at me.
I just stared at her.
She laughed. “I saw them in a car just outside the alley.”
“Stick with the magical genie story. That sounds more interesting,” I joked with her. I turned around to ask Vila why we’d landed in the bedroom, instead of the foyer like we usually do when traveling Air-Genie, but Andi’s yelp stopped me.
“Is that blood on the back of your head?” she screeched. I reached up and touched the back of my skull.
“Yeah, I took a header to the brick wall somehow,” I said. Remarkably, it had stopped hurting. It must have been adrenaline.
“My God, Bennett! Get downstairs so we can look at that!” Vila yelled when she made it behind me to look for herself.
“It’s okay! Besides, why do we need to go downstairs to look at it?” Their logic wasn’t making any sense.
“The first aid kit is down there, silly! See, your memory is already affected!” Andi said, half-serious, half-joking.
“Fine, I’ll go, but only if you make coffee while we’re down there,” I said. I put my hands together in front of me like a beggar and mouthed, ‘Please.’
“Of course, I’ll make you coffee!” she answered emphatically. “Let’s go!” I started toward the door, but Vila whipped around in front of me.
“There’s something you should know before you go downstairs,” she said nervously.
“What? Did Chester get loose or something?” I joked and tried to get past her.