by Martha Carr
Mara toed the rock, raising her eyebrows at Eireka. “I’m a very experienced Elf and even part Witch, if you’ll recall. A bit of a magic mutt, my dear. The glamour suggests to anyone who has no magic the very image they expect to see. Hell, I couldn’t even tell you if those three all saw the same thing. But they’ll believe it till their dying day. Pretty clever, huh?”
One of the women pointed toward a stream to the other side of the opening to Hilldale and they set off, passing just by where the women sat without ever knowing they were there.
“Never quite get used to a good Texas wind under a blue sky.” Mara shielded her dark brown eyes from the sun and gave up and put on her sunglasses. “How long did the Jersey Willen say this would take? He’s been gone for well over an hour.”
“I’ll answer the question you’re really asking. Yes, he’s coming back. They’re thieves but they’re not liars. It’s an odd kind of virtue. You can go wait back in the car if you want to. I don’t mind. Jackson said we have to find this artifact for Leira’s sake.”
“You’re still really good and pissed off at me. I suppose I get it.”
“I don’t think you can. I spent Leira’s entire life thinking her father never really cared about me. You could have at least changed that for me.”
“You were taken away…”
“There were ten good years where we were all crammed together in that small house and you had plenty of opportunities.”
“I’m sorry, I was wrong. I should have said something. I let my own fear about what might happen get the better of things.”
“That’s all I wanted was a damn apology.”
“You really need to learn to swear more. That particular gene must have skipped a generation.”
Eireka smiled despite herself and looked out toward the tall kemana. “There’s not enough time for what needs to be done. The signs are all there. We’re all getting ready for some damn war. "These artifacts, everyone wants them, and every day there’s more rumors of magic being real. Can’t call it fake news much longer. Have you ever read the symbols along Leira’s arms when she’s channeling magic? They’re growing more cryptic, like it’s more than even that much energy can comprehend.”
Mara patted the seat next to her. “Come sit by your weird mother.” Mara put her arm around her daughter, passing her calming energy through to Eireka. “You’ve always been good at calling things so I trust you that there’s trouble brewing. God knows we’ve already seen our share. But if we’re going to make it, we’ll need to slow down to just this day we’re in. Not sure I can take worrying about what’s not happening every day.”
“This can’t be all you want. Mom, the truth is I’m okay, Leira has plenty of allies these days. You can think about you a little. What do you want?”
“That is a great question that I’ve been pondering more and more lately. Maybe a change of scenery. Visit Virginia again. I always did like the different seasons and the Blue Ridge Mountains have some of the most beautiful spots I’ve ever seen. Not today, though. Today, I’ll be here with you…”
A cold wind blew up from the stairs and the Jersey Willen scrambled to the top, his whiskers twittering. He was still wearing a worn black jacket in mourning for his mother and looked a little thinner than the last time they saw him.
Eireka stood up and went to see what he was pulling out of the folds of his skin. “Do you have it?”
The Willen held out a long, thin metal armband of two snakes intertwined and rubies for eyes. “Got it, but not sure if it’ll do what you want.” He handed over the artifact, rubbing his paws together eagerly. Eireka lifted the cloth HEB bag with the silver teapot. “A deal’s a deal,” said the Willen.
“You earned it. Don’t want to know the details but you earned it.”
She handed him the bag and saw his eyes widen with delight when he felt the heft of the silver inside of it. It was the first time she had seen him smile since the battle. “Oooh, the good stuff. Till we meet again.” He hoisted the bag over his shoulder, the teapot too big to hide in his folds and scampered down the stairs, anxious to get home and hide his new treasure. “A real find,” echoed off the walls as the door slid shut with a firm click.
Mara took a good look around before wiping away the glamour as the wind at least reached their faces, blowing back her hair. “Good Texas wind. Would be hard to leave this place but might be time for a change. We’ll see…”
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
“Everybody stay together!” Louie yelled louder than he needed to at the men to keep them moving along. There was already a couple of stragglers at the back of the pack, which didn’t bode well for their survival in one piece. The first night they pitched a tent and all slept in thick, down-filled sleeping bags while Louie slept under the stars with his bag under his head for a pillow and his cloak pulled tight around him. He heard a pack of wild dogs with luminescent eyes venture close to the camp site but he easily cast a spell, scenting the area with wild wolfsbane and they fled for parts unknown, baying at the twin moons. He saw the tents bulge out in places and shake. “This is gonna be a long fucking trip.” He shook his head and rolled over. “I blame Leira Berens. If she had left me alone I wouldn’t be in this mess. Would have just walked away the second they said I had to wander around with a bunch of magic-less greenhorns from a whole other world. But no…”
The dogs howled again followed by a loud yelp and the sound of a sharp crack. “That’s definitely not good. Kilomeas are still in these parts. Apparently dining on wild dog tonight.” We might have a little competition on our hands.
They got up with the bright Oriceran sun the next morning and Louie dined on blue poppy beetles he found under the rocks, roasting them over a small fire and crunching on their hard shells. “Want some? No?” The men scrambled through their packs and chewed down on Kind bars and beef jerkey, sipping water from Earth. None of them offered him a bite or a sip and seemed determined not to share, even with each other.
“Might want to ration out that water. We have another full day ahead of us and I don’t know how you’d take to Oriceran hydration.” Louie gave a one-sided grin. Okay, that was at least a little fun.
They hiked along the base of the mountain till they got to the entrance to the Gnomes kingdom that burrowed deep into the lower parts of the mountain. Louie put two fingers in his mouth and let out one sharp whistle. A Gnome came waddling out of the darkness, shading his eyes, a scowl on his face and a stocking cap on his head to protect against the cold winds that blew through the mountain. Some suspected a dragon lived in its depths but Louie suspected the magical whirlpools that had sucked in more than one careless scavenger and drowned them had more to do with it. Still better than death by harpy, thought Louie as he took in a deep breath, steeling himself for the negotiation.
“Louie! I thought you got your ass kicked the last time you passed through these parts. Heard the caves almost won the last time. Usually takes you a good month to build up your courage to do the same dumbass thing again. Why the rush this time?” His eyes grew wide as he looked behind Louie and saw the pack traveling with him. “You must have taken a bigger blow to that head of yours than I realized.” The Gnome squinted into the light to get a better look as he wrinkled his forehead and snorted. “Humans! You brought humans up here who have no magic! Might as well have brought them on a spit and made it easier for the Kilomeas! Do they know they’re considered prey by some of them?”
Louie shifted his weight resisting the urge to punch the Gnome square in the face just to shut him up. That would hurt negotiations. Don’t do it. We have to get by here. Remember the last time you got in a fight with one of them and a hundred of the shorties chased you for a good mile. There’s a reason they call this the ant hill and they are fast little fuckers. “I think you’re worrying the livestock,” Louie said with a smile. “If you could keep it down…” He pushed down with his hand, doing his best to look relaxed.
“Wait till I tell my cousins. Hey!
Hey Mannie, you’ll never guess…” he yelled over his shoulder.
Louie rolled his eyes and took out a shiny piece of gold, flipping it in the air to catch the reflection of the sunlight.
That caught the Gnome’s attention and he whipped back around, the smile gone from his face.
“We would like the privilege of passing by your door,” said Louie, still flipping the coin.
The Gnome looked at the coin and peered around Louie to look at the men behind him. They were all huddled closely together doing their best to not just grab each other’s hands and hold on tight.
“I’ve heard stories from other scavengers that there’s something new and slimy up in the higher caves. Must have crawled out of the whirlpools and has taken refuge higher in the mountain. Two coins.”
“Not the first time something like that has happened. One coin and I leave you alone for a week.”
“This one may have eaten one of your competitors. Two coins and I punch you in the nuts.”
“I’m pretty sure that’s not how you negotiate shortie. Not much of an incentive for me, and my kind get eaten all the time. It’s why I don’t like making friends with them. Too hard to keep figuring out who’s still around.”
“Call me shortie again and I’ll punch you free of charge. Besides, those things have to be withering on your puny vine. You’re not getting much use out of them.”
“Not sure why you’re so fascinated by my junk. Apparently I’m what you dream about at night, and seems we’ve gotten a bit off topic.” Louie flipped the coin again and suddenly felt the sword warming his back, sending a flood of energy through him. Focus.
“One coin and I use your head for a table top.” Louie felt his palms becoming hot and itchy. This cannot be good.
The Gnome’s eyes grew glassy. “Okay, deal!”
Louie gave a small shake to his head, replaying what just happened. The sword felt like it was branding his back, pushing him forward. He quickly put the coin in the Gnome’s hand, shifting the weight of the sword on his back.
The Gnome bit down on the edge of the coin, looking pleased with his deal as he turned and walked back into the depths of the mountain without looking back. Louie waited a moment to make sure none of his hundred brothers or sisters were about to pile out of there, but the entrance was quiet.
“That was fucking weird. What just happened?” He clapped his hands together and turned to face his small entourage. “Okay, don’t question good fortune, especially on this trip. That has never been that easy. Maybe it’s an omen. Come on gentlemen, let’s move our asses. We have a ways to go before we get to the hard part. Let’s get away from the shorties’ entrance before whatever that was wears off.”
It took hours but eventually they made it to the high cliffs, winding their way to the mines. They were inching along the cliff face toward Dead Man’s Crawl with Louie in the lead, taking constant looks over his shoulder to make sure no one had quietly slipped over the edge.
It was Louie’s first time being responsible for anyone other than Ronnie, and even Ronnie wouldn’t come near this part of Oriceran. Jackson was the one who originally showed him the route but even he thought long and hard before venturing up there. This was fucking stupid. There was a sheen of sweat across Louie’s forehead. He wasn’t used to worrying this much before trouble showed up. Even then, he was always too busy working at a solution to get involved with worry. This is fucking stupid.
He heard a yelp behind him and the sound of gravel spraying and turned around to find one of the men on his knees and the others frozen around him, not even helping him up. “Come on, aren’t some of you supposed to be at least weekend athletes? Help the guy up. Look, let’s try this from an angle you can understand. You survive this little adventure, you’ll be richer than all your little friends and can tell them about this adventure for the rest of your lives. Even better, I won’t be around to call you liars about the details.”
“What if we wait for you here?” The tall, thin man who was pointed out as being good at tennis and a weekend runner stepped forward.
“Spokesman for the group? Okay, I get it. No can do, though. You’re just bait out here. You think this has got to be safer, especially after all the trash that the shortie was saying but here you’re like antelope sitting too close to some very hungry Kilomea who actually know how to use weapons besides having way more strength than something with that small a brain and short a temper should have. Don’t tell them I said that. Some of them are friends.”
The men stood there, looking around nervously, not moving an inch.
“Come on guys, I kid… Except about the getting eaten part. You really need to keep moving.” He waved his arm, shooing them along like lost sheep. “Come on, get moving. Not my idea but now we gotta see it through. Life lessons, am I right? Think about how you’ll spend the money on the honeys.”
The men started moving again and Louie deftly wove through and around them, balancing on the edge of the cliff at one point with his heels over the side, till he was back at the front. “Almost there, lads. Just a couple more hurdles.” The wind briefly shifted and the smell of something rancid filled his nostrils. The smile dropped from his face momentarily as he listened for any unfamiliar sounds knowing full well the mountain could easily insulate the sound of tearing or screaming. Nothing. I wonder if that’s what something slimy would smell like.
He heard the sound of retching behind him but didn’t look back. So I lose one or two. Leira is just gonna have to understand.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
Correk opened his eyes to see Leira standing over him. “Are you out of coffee again? That can’t be it. I can smell it on you.” He shut his eyes again and sank back into the pillow. “What time is it?”
“Creeping up toward lunch.”
He opened one eyes to look at her face. “You look serious. How is that possible? The little furry beast usually pulls at my hair at some point. I’ve found dried Cheetos stuck to my hair on some mornings. There was that one Raisinette that gave me a real start till I figured out it was chocolate. That would have been a new low, even for a troll. You know he actually took it out of my hand and ate it. I think I tasted my own Poptart coming back up. Hang on.” Correk gave the center of his chest a few hard taps with his fist, swallowing hard at the memory.
“He took off out of here early this morning. I feel fairly confident he’s not planning anything that could go boom.” Leira shrugged. “Okay, I admit it. I’ve lowered the bar when it comes to the troll and it’s freed up a lot of my time.” Leira pursed her lips, picturing where the troll might be. “I should ask my grandmother what’s going on. I feel her fingerprints all over this one.”
“Why are you standing over me? Are you bored? That’s good news. You’re only bored with what everyone else calls an ordinary day. It means nothing is blowing up and no one is waving a gun or an artifact.”
“I got it out of Turner. What you’re up to. I know all about it.” Leira stood there with her hands on her hips, her chin sticking out. “You should have told me.”
Correk sat up on his elbows waiting to see exactly what Leira knew.
She tilted her head to the side, arching an eyebrow. “So it’s like that? Okay, I know you’re his pick for the new Fixer. Were you ever planning to tell me?” Leira paced the floor in front of him. “I tell you everything…”
“Not true.”
“And bring you in on every case…”
“Not true.”
“I even take your advice most of the time.”
“You’re deeply in denial.”
“I trust you with my life.” She pushed his feet aside and sat down on the end of the couch.
“Alright, that one is true.” Correk pulled himself up to a sitting position, wrapping his arms around his knees. His long silver hair was tied back in a braid. “But trusting me with your life doesn’t mean an obligation to tell you everything that’s going on in my life. You’re not doing that either, and
I don’t expect it.”
Leira glanced over at Correk as the blanket slipped down to his lap. “Are you wearing a Demogorgon sweatshirt?”
“The troll found Netflix. Reminds me of a game I loved to play when I was a young Elf.”
“Of course you played Dungeons and Dragons. You live among the real thing.”
“I knew you would know what that is.”
“You know, this right here,” she said, pointing back and forth, “this is why we don’t have the time to tell each other the important stuff.”
“Or it’s because you want to hear information more than you want to share it. I’m listening now.”
“Things are changing, again.” She shook her head. “It’s to be expected but something big is rolling toward us. Whatever it is, it’s dark and ferocious.”
“We’ll stop the beings behind the animal mutations and the sanctuaries will get built.”
“It’s not that. I can feel the edges of something dark and massive, some event getting closer.” Leira pulled in a small amount of magic, enough to light up her arms as the symbols slowly turned, giving out a message. “Look at that. It makes no sense. Best I can tell, it’s talking about an invasion from within. A darkness that smothers. I don’t know, maybe I’m reading them wrong. I need to show Turner.” She looked up at Correk, her eyes still glowing with magic. “Usually I can feel the answer from within.” She pressed her fingertips against the large scar on her belly. “All I can feel this time is the edge of something and it fills me with the same feeling I get when faced with danger. I’m ready to kick some ass.”
Correk smiled and leaned against the couch. “That’s your normal resting state. I approach you with caution at all times. Too soon? Look, your ability to channel energy is so great that magic actually talks to you about what’s ahead. But we don’t live by fate, so these can only be the possibilities, not the reality that hasn’t happened yet. Apparently, one of the possibilities is troublesome.”