by Martha Carr
"You'll have to read it to me, Elemental. The book is only speaking to you."
"Oh, Bernie was able..."
Wilmark cut her off, crossing his arms over his chest. "Bernie is a Huldu and trusted with the workings of the organic ship," he said in a gruff voice. "All of his brethren have a kind of pact with the earth that no one can really explain. They're attuned to every vibration, every breeze, and along with that a connection to the energy. What the rest of us like to call magic."
"Like my connection to the trees." Maggie momentarily felt the cool thread spring to life inside her head and her eyes flickered and glowed and died back down again.
"You're getting better at controlling that magic." He took in a deep breath and relaxed, dropping his arms. "We are cautious allies. Their ambitions have not always matched or own. But the truth is, it was the Huldu who removed key elements from the machine a long time ago and buried them inside of each Elemental."
"What's the beef you have with his kind?"
"We didn't agree with spreading out the machine to the winds with no one able to keep track of each Elemental. No way to protect you, but in the end the Huldus did what they wanted and there was no one to stop them. Different magicals stepped forward and volunteered and the deed was done. The Knights were left to track each one of you the best we could and keep an eye on our mutual enemies."
"The Kashgar."
"They are the main one, yes, but others like Simon Wesley and his kind have popped up from time to time. What does the book say?"
Maggie searched his face for more. "Has this been your entire life? Were you a junior knight or was there at least a little soccer in your childhood or a fort or the movies? Wait, were there talking pictures when you were little?"
"The book, Maggie," he said gently, tapping the page. "You were in a hurry?"
She narrowed her gaze but looked down at the page. "It's talking about a Dirt Elemental, some oversized being and how to find it." The excitement returned to her, making her breathe faster. "It's referred to as a living mound or hillside and it says it's nearby, surrounded by an ancient stand of trees. Do you know what that means? Did you ever see a Dirt Elemental?"
"No, that is another contention between my kind and the Huldus. It was the one Elemental that was done in secrecy and no more was said about it. We've tried to get one of them to tell us something, but you saw how they are with their plans."
"Rule number six, I heard. They're not really made of dirt, are they?"
"I don't have the answer to that."
"It also mentions something about a door." Maggie read it out loud, following the words with her finger. "This is the Elemental that guards the entrance to the path to the machine."
Wilmark straightened up, raising his chin and flexing his arm, his hand balled into a fist. "There have been rumors for generations that there was an Elemental who knew how to find the heart of the machine. It's said that even the Huldus have cast a spell to help them forget."
"That is a tricky plan. They must have been more worried about sabotage."
The drumming started up behind them and Maggie glanced over to see Mrs. Fletcher and another woman swirling with hula hoops dancing around their waists. Another woman held a small blow torch and was lighting the hoops as the women danced. "Yeah, it's more than just sage burning," said Maggie.
Wilmark turned to take a look and started to walk toward them but Maggie put her hand on his arm. "They've done this before. They're actually pretty good at it. Must be a full moon coming up soon. They're getting ready. Walk back over there and you'll have a flaming hula hoop around your waist in no time and a nice contact high. Plus, Mom will take pictures and share them. You've been warned." Wilmark looked down at Maggie and she nodded up at him. "All true."
He stepped back and watched, his hands on his hips.
"Good choice. Leave that to the artificially content. Do you know anything about the path to the machine?"
"Only the legends, which always hold a piece of the truth. It's said to be long and arduous with many tests along the way. Not just the physical that risk life and limb, but to test how clever you are and whether you can handle guiding the ship."
"Like a job interview that could end in your death if you don't pass."
"Aye, and there are said to be more than one entrance, but only one will lead you to the machine. The others are endless mazes that can strand a body, sending them in endless loops and circles till they go mad or die of starvation. The Dirt Elemental is said to know the one true entrance."
Maggie stared at him for a moment, taking it all in. "So, not a vacay." She slowly shut the book. "Finding the Elementals is only step one, isn't it?"
"The hardest part of our journey will just be getting started."
"And it starts with gathering all of us, including what may be a living hillside." Maggie's phone buzzed and she pulled it out, taking a look. "I have to go before Taylor thinks I've fallen through the Earth again. Good luck with your search for Simon. Don't take any deep breaths while you're here."
The side gate by the house opened and Kathleen slipped in, quickly swallowed in greetings from the assembled women. Wilmark looked up, the muscles in his neck tensing and looked back at Maggie.
"Go, we're done here and the blue fae is the reason you came here, isn't she?" She put her hand on his arm again, almost pulling it back. That is becoming too nice a habit. "Be careful, please."
"I could say the same to you," he said as he turned to go and her hand slid off.
Maggie slipped the book back into her bag and waved to Kathleen, as she left the way she came by the alley, jogging back to her house and through the fence. She was already thinking about feeding the chickens before getting in the El Camino.
Jake stood back in the shadows, ducked down behind a neighbor's trash cans left by the side of their garage. Maggie had passed by him so closely he could have reached out and touched her shoulder if he'd just stood up. He had come over to her house to see if he could get her to listen. Just five minutes, maybe even just three. She was already on her way down the alley, her head down and he had followed her, hoping for a moment alone.
But he stopped short when he saw the tall knight, his bow strapped to his back and the crowd of eager women all talking at once and milling everywhere. He stepped back to where he could watch Maggie without being seen, smiling when he saw her laugh, pain settling in his chest that her smile wasn't for him. He edged closer, careful not to be seen until he could hear what they were talking about and held his breath for a moment, trying to not let out a gasp. The Dirt Elemental knows the true entrance to the path. A useful thing not to share with my clan.
He clenched his fist when he saw Wilmark smile down at Maggie and stepped forward, catching himself at the last moment and forcing himself to stand still. He waited, tucked back in the shadows, and watched her slip the book back into her bag. She passed right by him, just like that, unaware he was there. I have to get you to hear me, Maggie Parker.
4
Bernie slung the oversized hammer over his shoulder, wiping the sweat off his forehead and the top of his bald head. He stepped back for a moment, a frown on his face watching the dials spit out numbers and steam seep between the fittings.
"Not good," he muttered in his low, rumbling voice.
"No, I'll say." Jack stood next to him holding the three-foot wrench, his face red from the heat in the small passageway. They were standing in a chamber dedicated to a main, where the copper-colored machinery turned and split into different directions, traveling over miles into other countries, channeling information into the oceans.
Bernie's forehead was wrinkled from worry and he rubbed his chin, weighing what he was about to say out loud. "Ah hell with it, I'll say it. The old girl is having trouble holding things together. I don't know how many more of these grand fixes we can do." He put his hand over his eyes for a moment and Jack patted him on the back.
"It's strange, isn't it cousin? She's just a shi
p and was never meant to be more than that. But we've lived with her for thousands of years and watched over her and she's gotten to be..."
"Our home. We have to get her back together." Bernie smoothed the front of his sweater; grease stains dotted his overalls. "That was supposed to be temporary, you know. It wasn't a permanent fix to pull the machine apart and remove the steering..." The words whistled through his teeth.
"The compass, yeah," said Jack.
"And a few other key pieces. Somehow this got away from us. Thank goodness for this Elemental and, well, you know, what I did saving her life." Bernie gave Jack a sidelong glance.
Jack rolled his eyes. "I should have known! Okay, fine, you accidentally pushed us in the right direction when you interfered and broke rule number nineteen. You saved her life and it may have been a good thing. If the Elemental wasn't being threatened by this grand old ship, we might have put things off even longer. You got us into this mess, you just might be the one to get us out of it."
Bernie smiled, hiccupping a few bubbles with fireflies blinking small yellow lights flying to the top of the chamber and glowing like stars in the underground space.
"Now that is nice," said Jack, his head tilted back. "Looks like a constellation from home." He rested the edge of his wrench on the ground and carefully laid it down on the mosaic tiles. "We have another challenge that's more immediate. I was testing the soil and I came across something. Follow me."
He wove through the tunnels, Bernie right behind him, ducking as they went through one of the older, original passages and picking up speed when they passed the wide opening of the cafeteria. Several gnomes looked up and Bernie made a point of waving and smiling.
"Hey Bernie! I need my level back." A shorter gnome stood up, barely appearing any taller, taking another sip of his drink.
Bernie waved, giving a strained smile, patting the front of his overalls. "Sure, Petie, I got it but it's in my other pants. I'll drop it off at your work bench." He gave the thumbs up and kept moving.
"He's got other work pants? Do they all look like that?" Petie sat back down as the gnome across from his shrugged.
"Come on!" Jack was further down a narrow passageway, waving his arm. He was looking over his shoulder for Bernie. "Just a little further."
"We couldn't use bubbles to get here?" Bernie looked around and saw no one was nearby. He started running, closing the distance between them.
Jack let out a loud tsk and scowled at Bernie. "Come on, use your common sense. We'd leave a trail everywhere doing that. Radar for sure would want to know what we were up to. Don't you recognize this trail?"
Bernie stopped walking so fast and looked around in the dim tunnel. He scratched his head, still following behind and realized they were pulling away from all the familiar paths. His eyes grew in amazement and he stared at Jack, coming to a complete halt. "Jack, you didn't! You broke rule number thirteen!" Bernie smiled, stroking his beard. "Well, if you were gonna go, might as well go big." He looked around the old tunnel in amazement. "You led me into the forbidden tunnels. Even I haven't found a good enough excuse to venture in here." The plaster walls were crumbling and the tiles along the floor were broken or missing in places. The pattern that remained was different from what could be found along the maze of corridors that were still lit and well-traveled.
There was also a stronger than usual damp, earthy smell and just past where Jack was standing there were roots poking through the wall.
"This is why I brought you here." Jack pointed triumphantly at the roots winding their way out of the dirt and into the open space. The ends were glowing a familiar blue light but a faded yellow and green was just around the edges and the lights occasionally flickered.
Bernie walked over solemnly, taking each step slowly as he watched the blue glow struggle to maintain its luminosity. He reached out, gently lifting the roots in the palm of his hand and gasped as small tendrils broke off and drifted to the floor as if there was not much left of them.
"The trees are suffering. This one is an old grand master. A hub for a lot of other trees," whispered Bernie, reverently. His chest felt tight and he couldn't take in a deep breath. "They're connected to everything. They send out distress signals and share information."
Jack nodded, throwing up his hands. "I know, I know. The trees are like honorary family."
Bernie leaned both hands against the earthen wall, just beneath the roots, his head down. He felt the vibrations of the ship pass through him. He had been taking care of the Earth since he was a young gnome and had grown used to every noise and explosion and roar of the ocean. "This is something new, and troubling." He lifted his head and quickly wiped his face on the sleeve of his sweater, giving a quick sniff.
Jack patted him on the shoulder. "You know, Bernie out of all of us, I think you love this old girl the most."
Bernie stood up straight and smoothed the front of his sweater, shaking his head. "No, I can't get sentimental." He put out his hand and held the roots again. "But how can you not admire something so beautiful that manages to create so many things?"
"They're being overtaxed, but it's not too late. They need those parts put back in place. It completes the last of the loops and connects the energy."
"You know the consequences! It also sparks every Peabrain on this ship and returns them to their original powers. That is bound to be mayhem."
"Unless you know of something better, we don't have a choice. If the trees die, then the ship will eventually stop functioning. It would take a while but there would be no organic telegraph system for all the different areas to communicate or ask for help. Taking apart the machine was never meant to be permanent. We've already taken far too long."
Bernie rubbed his hands together and focused, blowing lavender-colored bubbles that gently floated over to the roots, popping just above them and coating them with a healing light. The roots responded immediately, the glow brightening the passageway, illuminating Bernie and Jack's faces.
"That's only a temporary fix, Bernie, and we can't find every tree that may need help. We need to find the other Elementals and get the ship back together."
Bernie leaned over and whispered to the roots. "I won't fail you. You've been stalwart soldiers never getting any rest. I know it was supposed to be just a few years and then we dock again. That's my doing." Bernie choked out the words and Jack placed a hand on his shoulder.
"You didn't mean to do it, cousin."
"Yeah, it could've happened to anyone."
"Oh no, it was boneheaded for sure and all you. I mean, what kind of left turn was that back there? Radar was even yelling, right forty degrees! What, too soon?"
Bernie brushed off his hands and made his way back out of the tunnel.
"You've had thousands of years to let it go, Bernie."
"Hard to do when a line of tornadoes pops up or a rogue group of Peabrains is trying to steal the compass."
"Good point, you really did screw the pooch. I can see your point."
Bernie arched an eyebrow and gave his old friend the side eye. "Hey, why were you in the tunnel in the first place? You can't even see those roots from the entrance."
Jack sputtered and coughed, blowing out bubbles choked with gnats that flitted around their heads as the bubbles popped. Bernie sneezed and swatted at them, finally shouting, "Ventus ictu," sending a wind spiraling up around them, gathering the gnats and blowing them back into the darkness of the tunnel. He looked at Jack and interlaced his fingers in front of his belly. "Are you done? It's a simple question."
Jack let out a loud harrumph and trudged toward the lit entrance. "It's my favorite hidey hole. I like to take naps in there. No one ever looks for you there."
Bernie came out behind him, his eyes quickly adjusting to the brighter light. A gnome trait. "Well, of course they don't. It's rule number thirteen!" Bernie slung his arm around Jack. "How many other rules are you breaking? Any good ones?"
"That's the only one and lower your voice."
> "Yeah, sure it is." He smiled and touched his nose. "We're more alike than I realized."
"Focus on the trees, Bernie."
Bernie scowled, the muscles in his neck straining. "We're going to need help, outside help."
"The Elemental you mean."
"The only one who can hear them. It may buy us some time."
5
Bubbles appeared in the alley behind Toni Parker's house, popping to reveal a Huldu gnome who took a look around, swirling bubbles into a long trail around the alley, creating a veil to hide what came next. More bubbles appeared as one gnome after another appeared till six of them were making their way into the back gate, startling the drummers. The last of the gnomes stayed by the gate keeping watch, nodding as the rest passed by him. The smell of strawberries was everywhere.
Toni's dog, Oscar, lifted his head and barked, the hair along his back standing up in a straight ridge of fur. He leapt to his feet and leaned toward the gnomes, giving a low growl. Wilmark arched an eyebrow and leaned down to pat the dog's head. "Good boy, you can stand down. It's mechanics, they're mostly harmless."
"Just can't let anything go, can you?" Bernie snarled. He waved to some of the women, but they didn't move, looking to Wilmark for further direction. He smiled, crossing his arms in front of his chest, but saying nothing more.
"Nice one, Mr. Spock. We'll take it from here. Come on, we need to get moving." Bernie flapped his arms, trying to motivate his brethren. "This isn't a middle school dance. You can take a little rejection from women."
But the two sides continued to stare at each other, no one moving till Kathleen stood up to greet them. Still everyone hesitated, a few whispering quietly to each other. No one had forgotten the night Kathleen was taken.