by Tom Larcombe
Miriam smiled when she swung the door open in response to his knock.
“Michael, come on in.”
He stepped into the house.
“I'm running late, I was just about to go gather eggs. You can help if you like. I do it three times a day or the chickens have a habit of breaking some.”
“I'd be glad to help. Here, this is for you.”
He handed her the egg carton. She stared at it for a moment, then her eyes lit up and she opened it.
“Oh, they're beautiful. I didn't know you had clear crystals up there as well.”
Michael's reply was patently false because he knew the full truth wouldn't be believed.
“We get a few, mostly small ones like this.”
“Well, they're beautiful. They even shimmer in the light.”
“I'm glad you like them. We should probably get the eggs now though, I noticed that it was close to the time your children would get home when I arrived.
The two went out the back door to the chickens. They were scattered about the large fenced-in backyard. There were a lot of low bushes and other forms of shelter for the chickens contained inside the fence.
“Are those for protecting the chickens?” Michael asked, pointing to the bushes.
“Yes, I had a hard time of it a few years back. The eagles were taking a chicken a day. So I put in all the low bushes for them to hide in. That cut my losses some, but what really did the trick was something else.”
“What?”
“You have to promise you won't laugh at me or tell anyone,” she said.
“I promise.”
Miriam pointed to the sky, somewhere between her place and the hill the mine was located in.
“One day I saw the eagle coming, they like to circle high up there and spot their prey. I started to chase the chickens inside, but then I saw a pair of crows baiting the eagle and driving it off. The eagle didn't get any chickens that day. Ever since then I've been feeding the crows to keep them in the area. I haven't had any more problems with the eagles since then, although I have seen the crows driving them off quite a few times. I do have a lot of crows around sometimes though.”
Michael chuckled.
“No worries. I have a similar deal with a crow. He keeps the other birds and rodents out of my garden.”
She smiled.
“Well, let's get the eggs. The bus will be here in just a few more minutes.”
They busied themselves collecting eggs and a few minutes later returned to the house with them.
“Will two dozen be enough for you?” she asked.
“One dozen would be fine.”
“Take two, please. I haven't been selling as many recently so they're piling up,” Miriam said.
“If you insist.”
Michael paused and thought for a moment.
“You know, someone pointed out to me recently that everything has gotten very expensive lately. Have you thought about doing more bartering for your eggs? Like we did here,” Michael said.
“Not really, what would I trade them for?”
“Whatever you could? If they're just stacking up, you could trade for almost anything someone else might want. I could see someone trading firewood for fifteen or twenty dozen spaced out over a couple months, or maybe a couple dozen for a gallon of McCallister's raw milk, or a bunch of other things.”
“Well, I already decided that I'd give ten dozen to Father Anderson at the church. He'll know where they can do the most good.”
“That's a good plan too, at least they won't go to waste that way. I think I hear the bus so I better be on my way.”
“It's nice seeing you Michael; I wish you stopped by more often. You remind me of someone I used to know, I can't even remember his name anymore but it's like a cool breeze from the past anytime you stop by.”
Michael kept his wince contained, not letting it show on his face.
“Well, I'll see what I can do. No promises though, sometimes I'm really busy.”
She saw him out the door and he walked over to his Jeep. He waited to start the vehicle since her children were walking up the driveway. There were three, two girls and a boy, that looked to be in their teens, he knew she had another boy as well, one that had long since gone off to college. When they passed the Jeep, the youngest one waved to him. Michael started the engine and drove home.
The drive back to the house was unusually quiet. Joshua's fuming sulk continued and Michael was lost in his imagination.
If things had worked out differently those might have been Miriam's and my children I just saw. Damn the self-righteous Board and their determination to keep magic a secret.
“I'm going running,” Michael announced when he shut the engine off.
“Why this time? Joshua asked, “Oh wait, was Miriam the one you were seeing that first time the Board showed up?”
Michael gritted his teeth and nodded.
“Go for it man; roads or back paths?” Joshua asked.
“Roads I think, I want to run as hard and fast as I can, exhaust myself so I have a chance to sleep tonight.”
Joshua turned and started for the door into the house.
“I'll let you do this one on your own, I know the wards will keep you in. If you aren't back by dark I'll come looking for you though.”
Michael's eyes flared at the mention of the wards, but Joshua was already facing the other way and didn't notice.
Michael quickly changed into his running gear and hopped back into the Jeep. He drove a few miles out of town and pulled over. Hardly anyone drove on this road so he considered it mostly safe to use when he needed to blindly run and let off steam. He started out at a slow pace and began to increase his speed. He fumed as he ran, trying to burn off his long-standing anger at his treatment. This time it wasn't working. He could feel his magic within him, roiling with his anger. He channeled it into himself, enhancing his leg muscles and the circulation of oxygen within his bloodstream.
He was moving far faster than any normal runner could when he was abruptly slammed in the chest and thrown backwards onto the ground. He lay there, consumed by his impotent rage. His chest ached as though someone had hit him with a fastball directly in the center of it. He checked his mother's ring to make sure it hadn't been damaged. It was fine, but his chest was tender all over.
The damn wards. Twenty-five miles from the house, that's all I'm allowed. You'd think I'd have found a way around them by now. But no, whatever I do doesn't seem to matter. They always catch me. I'm a prisoner. I keep forgetting that, but even if your cell is a twenty-five mile radius circle, it's still a cell. At least they just set the wards to deny me passage through them instead of something worse.
The run back to the Jeep went slower, but he finally managed to bleed off some of his anger. More from a sense of helplessness than anything else, but at least it was down to a level he could handle when he got back in the Jeep.
* * *
Chapter 3
Rynn had never seen the school in a panic until now. The first class had been canceled and everyone paged to the auditorium.
“And so, since the school's diviners have discovered that we'll all be in great danger if we stay here, we're evacuating the school. Parents have been notified and the students will be evacuated today. We've arranged transportation for those whose parents were unable to come get them.”
Rynn raised her hand.
“Yes Rynn?”
“What about those students who don't have parents? I seem to recall we have several orphans currently enrolled.”
“We'll think of something.”
The principal turned to the next question as quickly as possible with no more answer than that.
At the end of the assembly, Rynn's question was still unanswered.
I guess dad was right with his warning. This is stupid, but I can't let them get lost in the shuffle.
She intercepted the principal as he was leaving.
“Principal Adams?”
> “Yes Rynn, I told you we'll think of something for them.”
“I'll stay with them sir. If things get bad here with just us, I'll take them somewhere safe.”
“Are you sure about that? I wouldn't want Merle angry with me.”
“A few days back dad told me that things were going to get hairy. If I left now, I doubt they would, so I think he knows already.”
“Alright then. Will you need anything?”
“Maybe some petty cash so I can stock up on a few days of food for the students who'll be staying with me. Aside from that I think we'll be okay.”
“Follow me.”
Since a school full of wizards and budding wizards would wreak havoc on the magnetic strips of debit or credit cards, the school functioned on a cash only basis. Rynn knew the safe was kept in the principal's office. She also knew that there were heavy duty magical protections on it and trying to open it without being able to disable the spells guarding it was liable to be fatal. She realized just how serious the situation was as the principal opened the safe in front of her, not trying to hide the spells necessary to deactivate the protective wards.
“Five hundred dollars should work. I'd get as much as you can because the diviners couldn't tell me when things would get back to normal.”
“I'll do that today, as soon as I leave here. I'll take one or two of the students staying with me to help carry, if that's acceptable.”
Principal Adams turned, a serious look on his face.
“Rynn, do whatever you feel is necessary. I'll be gone before you return from the store.”
Coward, she thought, you'll run to wherever you feel safe, but you can't even bring a single student with you to keep them out of danger.
Rynn kept her true feelings from showing and gave him a nod and a smile.
“I'll do that sir. Good luck.”
“Luck is made through planning, hard work, and diligence. But I'll accept your good wishes all the same. Good bye.”
Rynn watched as he removed several other items from the safe before leaving the office. Once he'd dismissed her, he acted as if she weren't even there. She followed him out, closing the door behind her.
This place is going to be a madhouse before long. There's no-one tending the office in case there are phone calls with questions. There's no plan in place, despite his talk about planning. I need to do something.
Rynn sent out several quick tracking spells to discover where the students she'd be staying with were located. All of the spells directed her to the same location, a lounge on the ground floor.
Good, they're together already. That will make this easier on me.
* * *
She walked into the lounge anticipating a group of frightened children. Instead she found the five of them talking, or four of them talking and one writing on a pad of paper. Eugene turned as she entered the room. He rapidly flipped through the pages of his notebook and held up one on which the words 'Thank You' were printed in large, bold letters.
“You're welcome, Eugene.”
The other children chimed in with their thanks as well. Eugene and two of the others were from the more advanced classes while the other two were younger children, barely into double digits.
“This place is falling apart and we're going to help everyone else get out smoothly since we'll be staying,” Rynn said.
The students fell quiet and just watched her for a moment.
“Cindy. I need you to go to the office. There's no-one handling the phone. You may need to answer questions or give directions. If they ask a question and you don't know the answer, tell them that. But we'll prevent a panic if they actually get someone on the phone as opposed to it ringing endlessly.”
Cindy stood.
“Yes Ma'am,” she replied,
“Call me Rynn. I think we'll all end up very familiar with one another over the coming days.”
“Yes Rynn, should I go now?”
“Please do. We'll all meet at the office later on. I have tasks for everyone in the meanwhile.”
Cindy darted out of the room, nearly running.
“I know Eugene and Cindy but I don't know you others. What are your names?”
The older girl spoke up first.
“I'm Alexandra, call me Andi.”
The two younger students were both boys.
“I'm Sean,” one said.
“Randall,” the second added.
“Okay, here's what I want you to do. Eugene, you and Andi will come with me. We're going to the grocery store so we can get some easy-to-fix food items. I'm sure there's more in the school pantry if necessary, but I'm guessing none of that is quick and easy to fix.”
Eugene nodded and started scribbling on his pad.
“Sean, Randall, I need you to go and get some things and bring them to the office. You'll need to make several trips. Can you do that?”
The two young boys nodded vigorously. They seemed relieved to have someone taking charge that sounded like she knew what she was doing. Rynn knew better, she didn't know what was going to happen so she couldn't possibly know what to do, but her current plans covered the basics on all the potential problems she'd thought of.
She took a sheet of paper from Eugene's notebook and started writing a list for the younger boys to fill out.
“Tell Cindy we'll be staging out of the office until everyone else is gone and that we'll keep everything we need there for the time being.”
“Yes Rynn,” the two chorused before taking the list and leaving the room. Rynn heard them talking about the best place to find the items on the list as they left.
“That leaves us. Let's go to the store.”
Eugene waved to get her attention and handed her the sheet of paper he'd been writing on.
'Can I run to my room first? I've got a little money and I'd like to get some stuff to keep our mood up.'
“If you're quick Eugene, can you be back in three minutes?”
He nodded and dashed out the door.
“Meet us at the side entrance,” she called after him.
Two minutes later Eugene arrived at the side entrance, panting.
“Let's go,” Rynn said.
Things looked ordinary when they left the school and walked out onto the street. There was no panic and people were behaving normally.
“I wonder what's going to happen,” Rynn mused aloud. “It certainly doesn't seem to be bothering anyone else.”
Eugene shrugged.
“Well, it probably hasn't started yet or hasn't been noticed. No-one told us when, or even specifically what, was going to happen,” Andi said.
“Good point, but I've been given more warnings than just the one from the diviners. I was told that things would get hairy and Eugene here warned me that he had some bad dreams that featured me, that he thought they were more than just dreams and signified that I'd be in danger. But they weren't exactly specific. This is why my dad hates divination.”
Andi looked at Eugene with a bit more interest after she heard about his dreams.
Rynn led the way into the store. She'd been here a few times, mostly when the school was closing for holidays but she didn't feel like traveling to her parents' house. She'd stay on campus and cook her own meals. Things looked different and it took her a moment to realize why.
“They normally stock the shelves overnight, but there are lots of spots that are empty, or nearly so. I wonder why?” she said.
Eugene pulled out his pad. She paused to let him write.
'My window looks out over this street and we're only a block away from the loading dock for the store. They used to get two or three trucks every night. Recently, they've only been getting one, or some nights none at all.'
“That would explain it, I wonder why?”
Eugene shrugged.
“Let's get what we can and go back to the school,” Rynn said.
Eugene pulled out a cart and set his notebook in the seat. A moment's work with his pencil and he held a mostly b
lank sheet up for Rynn.
'Budget?' was written on the top line.
“Five hundred dollars,” Rynn replied.
He nodded and wrote '500' just below 'Budget'. Along the side of the sheet he wrote 'Cost' and then looked up at her. Rynn led off into the store with Eugene and Andi following.
Rynn worked her way through the store, trying to figure out what they could use. Ramen noodles went into the cart, as did canned stews and canned pasta. Eugene stopped her when she tried to walk by the snack aisle.
“No junk food,” Rynn said.
Eugene shook his head and tugged on her sleeve again. She followed him into the aisle and he pointed at the bottom shelf where the crackers were displayed.
“Good idea, a grain product that won't easily go bad and doesn't need any preparation,” Rynn said.
Several boxes of crackers went into the cart. Meanwhile Eugene was writing again.
'Peanut butter for crackers, and powdered milk. Nasty taste but between them a complete protein.'
“That's another good idea. Maybe you should shop and I could keep the total.”
Eugene had been writing down the cost of each thing placed in the cart and subtracting it from the total as they went. The money was running out much more quickly than Rynn had anticipated.
They continued through the store: vitamins, drink mixes that only required water, and several boxes of energy bars all went into the cart. Before long the total was nearly equal to the budget.
'Stop, might go over with tax,' Eugene wrote.
Rynn nodded and turned towards the front of the store. Eugene grabbed her arm again and waved the wallet that he'd gone running for.
“Yes Eugene, what did you want to get?”
Eugene made two stops. One in the candy aisle and one in the drinks aisle.
'Hard candies, dark chocolate, and some generic cola. Comfort foods and pick me ups, just in case,' he wrote.
“Good idea, I wouldn't have had the budget for it though.”
Eugene smiled proudly.
The cart was filled to the brim and after they checked out and everything was bagged, Rynn doled out bags to the two students before taking the rest herself. As they walked the block to the school Andi paused for a moment.