Magic Born

by Caethes Faron

  “Grab what you need and let’s go.” He exited the car and waited for me to join him. For some reason, leaving the car actually hurt. I had nothing left. Leaving my apartment had been bad enough, but that at least was a rental. This car was mine, free and clear, and nobody was supposed to be able to take that away from me.

  “I’ll be back.” I kissed my fingers and touched them to the windshield after locking the doors. I saved our GPS location to my phone and put the keys in the wheel well. Once everything settled down, I hoped I’d find my baby in working order.

  “You humans bestow a great amount of value on inanimate objects.”

  “Hey, all I’ve got left is a cell phone, ID, a credit card, and the magical necklace that destroys things, which is slightly less cool when you consider that it’s also the reason I’ve had to give up everything else.”

  “Yes, sad, little human discovered that she is the heir to one of the most powerful mages in the world and therefore has to leave behind a rather unimpressive vehicle.”

  Normally I wouldn’t let an insult like that slide, but my ear had caught on the word “heir.” I hadn’t even considered my situation in those terms, but if I was getting all the downsides to being Meglana’s daughter, there had to be an upside somewhere. I’d never known her, so it couldn’t appear crass. “Did she leave me some sort of inheritance?” Maybe that could help replace my car should it be gone when I returned.

  “You’re wearing it around your neck.”

  Definitely not what I wanted. The piece of jewelry increasingly seemed more of a curse than anything. “See, trust funds, that’s one area where we humans have it figured out better than you magic folk do.”

  Alex shook his head and smiled. “You can educate me more later. Let me see the map.”

  I opened the app on my phone and handed it to him.

  He nodded. “I’ll be able to take us in the right direction.”

  Very reassuring. I’d hate to end up back in the U.S.

  “How exactly is this going to work?” I had never so much as gone horseback riding.

  “I’ll shift, and you just climb onto my back. Wrap your arms around my neck, and keep in mind that I need to breathe. You should be able to grip with your thighs if you need to. Lie down on your stomach and you shouldn’t have any problems. I’m not going to let you fall off or let anything hit you. Just relax and you’ll be fine. We won’t be able to talk once I shift, but I’ll be able to understand you, so if you need anything, just say so.”

  That all sounded easy enough, but I still worried that I’d fall off. “Just remember that you have me on your back.”

  “Trust me, I won’t forget. You ready?”

  I nodded, and he stepped back and shifted into a panther in front of me. The sight was more magnificent than before. It didn’t shock me as much, and it definitely didn’t scare me. It left me with a sense of awe. He jerked his head in the direction of his back to signal to me to climb on. His size made it a surprisingly easy fit, more comfortable than I would’ve expected. The dark fur felt just as velvety as it looked. I wrapped my arms around his chest and rested my cheek against the back of his neck. Once I was settled, he began to walk. His graceful strides resulted in almost no movement for me. For the first time since waking up, my body relaxed. It’d be so easy to drift off to sleep.

  Within a few minutes I had lost all sense of direction amid the undifferentiated trees. Alex, though, continued his sure movements, apparently harboring no doubts about the route we traveled. Every nerve in my body prickled on high alert. At any moment a border patrol officer could stop us. A girl riding on a panther’s back would make for an interesting sight. My real fear should be for Alex. If someone came upon us, he was likely to get shot.

  No physical characteristics appeared to mark the divide between the U.S. and Canada. I couldn’t tell if or when we had crossed the border. Alex simply continued onward, seeming to have the situation under control.

  The sun beat down on my back, heating it to an uncomfortable degree. The air no longer held the crisp chill of morning. I opened my eyes and realized that I must have fallen asleep. No longer did light rays of pink paint the sky. Instead, my eyes opened to a vibrant blue. I wanted nothing more than to continue my slumber. Alex’s back was more comfortable than I could have imagined. My movement must’ve alerted him to the fact that I was awake, because he stopped and turned his head to look at me. Knowing that we couldn’t speak as long as he remained in his panther form, I slid off his back and stepped away so he could shift.

  “Did you sleep well?” he asked.

  “Yeah, how did you know?”

  “The way your weight settled on me. Plus, you had an adorable little snore.”

  I wanted to deny it, but how would I know? “You didn’t have to let me keep sleeping, but thanks. How long has it been?”

  “A few hours.”

  “As comfortable as that ride was, we should probably get a car. It’ll take forever to get there this way.”

  “Not forever. How slow do you think I am?” Alex’s offense appeared only partly in jest. “But I understand your point. Where should we get a car from?”

  “You’re the one who had this brilliant plan to just walk across the border. I thought you’d have some ideas.”

  “Yeah, my idea was for you to take one. Doesn’t really matter to me where it comes from.”

  “So I steal a car.” I couldn’t quite wrap my head around the idea of breaking the law, but these were extenuating circumstances. “How do I do it? As soon as the car is reported stolen, we’ll get caught. We don’t need that kind of stress.” The thought of being on the lam increased my heart rate and made it difficult to breathe. “We could try hitchhiking.” If I were by myself, it’d be a better option. People didn’t seem to like to pick up guys on the side of the road.

  “If this is causing you anxiety, you can ride the rest of the way on my back, if you like. We’re actually not that far. It won’t take as long as you think. I’m faster and have more endurance than Earth cats.”

  I would like that, probably more than was appropriate. I didn’t know all of the shifter customs and practices, but I doubted they appreciated being ridden around like pack animals. “That’s probably the best idea, for simplicity’s sake.”

  Alex didn’t have a problem with my answer. He simply nodded and shifted back into a panther. This time when I climbed onto his back, my body instantly relaxed. It would probably be wise to try to sleep a little more. I had no idea what kind of day I would have, but if it followed in the footsteps of the previous night, as much sleep as I could get would prove beneficial.

  The next time I woke, Alex had stopped moving beneath me. Bright yellow eyes peered over his shoulder at me, and I took the hint and slid off his back.

  “Based on the map you showed me, we shouldn’t be too far away.”

  The GPS locator showed our destination as only an eight-minute walk from our current location. Alex’s sense of direction amazed me. His animal instincts must have made it possible for him to be so accurate after only seeing the map once, hours ago. Stashing my phone in my pocket, I followed his lead, trusting him to get us the last of the way there.

  “So do you have a plan?” Alex asked as we walked. “I doubt they’re just going to let you in.”

  “Yeah, I’m not too worried.” I had no idea where my confidence came from other than a determination that I hadn’t abandoned my apartment, my car, and my life to be thwarted by a gatekeeper.

  A little security hut sat at the entrance to the Magical Games, Inc. campus, manned by a lone security guard. The parking lot beyond sat almost completely empty. My only hope lay in the fact that Casper had seemed desperate to meet me. If I could just convince someone to contact him, or even let me log into the game so I could contact him with in-game mail, I felt sure that he’d see me. Besides, Casper struck me as the workaholic type. He probably regularly stayed in the office on weekends.

  Alex and I walked stra
ight up to the security hut, probably looking like a couple of crazies. It occurred to me too late to check my morning breath, but I didn’t have any gum or mints anyway. The security guard stepped out of his little building, a slight paunch stretching out his gray polyester uniform. “I’m sorry folks, but I’m gonna have to ask you to turn around. This is all private property.”

  “Oh, we know. We have an appointment.” I ambled right up to him, attempting to appear as if I belonged.

  The guard sighed, clearly having a super interesting show or game to get back to in his little hut. “I don’t have any appointments down for today. Without an employee ID, I can’t let you through.”

  “You don’t understand, Casper Rothian invited me here himself. I won an in-game contest and he asked me to come here this weekend. My name is Kat Thomas. If you just call up to him, I promise you, he’ll want to see me.”

  “I’m sorry, but I can’t call Mr. Rothian any time a couple of kids try to get in here.”

  “I can prove it.” I pulled up the email on my phone that showed I was a winner and turned it so he could see. Security guard Rick—based on the name tag I had just noticed—took the phone from me and read over the email.

  “These kind of things are always arranged in advance. No one’s told me about it.”

  I waved my hand in dismissal. “It was all really last minute. I only won last night, as you can see from the email, but Mr. Rothian said he was traveling on business soon, so he wouldn’t be able to meet me for months if I didn’t come this weekend. I told him I didn’t know if I could make it for sure, and he promised me that if I made the effort to get here today, that he’d see me. Just call him, and he’ll confirm.”

  When Rick handed me back my phone, the wariness had left his face. “It is true that Mr. Rothian is traveling a lot. But still, he would’ve had a secretary leave your name with me.”

  Alex spoke up. “I’m sure one little call isn’t going to hurt anything. If it turns out we’re not telling the truth, you have my word that we’ll turn around and head right back in the direction we came from.”

  Rick still seemed unconvinced. Time to take matters in a more drastic direction. I pulled out my phone and navigated to The Codex, the largest fan site for Wizards and Fae. Typing furiously with my thumbs, I didn’t even look up as I spoke. “Fine, I’ll just take to the forums. I’m sure the rest of the players will love to find out how this contest is just a scam. And Rick is R-I-C-K, right? Let me ask you Rick, have you ever been the target of an angry online mob? But don’t worry, most of the ire will come down on Casper. You know how us Internet folk love to find out what our online heroes are really like. Turns out Casper likes to put on a good face for the cameras and at conventions while treating the players who made him wealthy like crap. I get that. In fact, I’m pretty sure one of my guild mates is a reporter. I’ll make sure to send him the link to my post.”

  Rick held up his hands in defeat, shaking them as if to alert me to stop. “All right, all right, just hold on a sec. Let me go make a call so we can figure this out.”

  I smiled and looked up from my phone. “That sounds like a good idea, Rick. And if I were you, I’d make sure that I didn’t accidentally call the police instead of Casper. Nothing like the image of a fan in handcuffs to really get the online mob frothing.”

  Rick retreated into his hut and picked up the phone.

  “Impressive,” Alex whispered to me. “His face paled rather quickly once you got going.”

  “Just showing some of my good old human ingenuity.” Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Alex smile for a fraction of a second.

  Rick quickly emerged from the hut, this time holding two guest badges. “I’m so sorry, Ms. Thomas. Please accept my apologies. Mr. Rothian is very eager to see you and asked that I go ahead and take you up to reception myself.” He handed Alex and me each a badge, then led us to a waiting golf cart.

  Chapter 8

  The golf cart hummed along around the corner of the main office building. Apparently, the parking lot entrance was not the front of the campus. Before us stood an enormous fountain with statues of giants, elves, and wizards, perfectly recreating the login screen of the game. My inner geek emerged, and all thoughts of the talisman and assassins fled. Without even thinking, I turned to Alex, holding out my phone to ask him to take a picture of me with it, and stopped at the sight of his yellow eyes staring at me in amusement. Even if he knew how to work a camera phone, I doubted he’d take kindly to my request. I put my phone away, but not before surreptitiously snapping my own blurry picture of the fountain.

  Rick stopped the golf cart right outside the front doors. The parking lot on this side of the building was more crowded than the one we had initially seen. Sitting in the spot closest to the front was a bright yellow sports car. According to a press interview, Casper had bought it when the game surpassed five million subscribers.

  When we got inside, a perky receptionist greeted us. “Mr. Rothian is expecting you. Please, follow me.” Her smile revealed the whitest teeth I had ever seen, and her ponytail swung with a cheery little clip as she twirled to her left, expecting us to follow her.

  “Turns out you did good, Rick.” I nodded in the security guard’s direction as we walked off. No need for him to worry that I’d follow through with my threat. We followed the swaying ponytail to a nearby elevator. When the doors opened, Alex and I stepped inside while the receptionist swiped her ID then pressed the button for the fifth floor. “Someone will be there to greet you. Have a great day!” She waved and twirled back in the direction from which she’d come.

  Once the doors closed, I realized the elevator was a replica of a lift from the elven capital city in the game, complete with soundtrack. Translucent, sparkly blue and green walls surrounded us, and the buttons for the floors resembled mother-of-pearl. I wished I was here under different circumstances. Casper had been right; I would enjoy the full treatment. Maybe we’d be able to get the medallion off and I could take a tour. Somehow, deep down, I knew that wouldn’t be the case. The elevator dinged and the doors opened, revealing a nearly identical bright-eyed, receptionist to the one who’d met us downstairs.

  “Welcome! Mr. Rothian is expecting you. If you’d follow me right this way?” She gestured with her arm to the left as we exited the elevator and followed her. I’d never seen anyone so perky at their job, but I guess I’d be perky too if I got to work somewhere like this.

  I had expected that the floor with Casper’s office would look like a regular, boring office building. I couldn’t have been more wrong. Just like the elevator and entryway below, the hallways here were exquisitely decorated with art from the game. The conference rooms we passed were a fascinating mixture of state-of-the-art technology and old-world fantasy. Frosted windows were etched with epic battle scenes from the game. I couldn’t resist reaching out to touch one, the smooth yet bumpy texture of the glass leaving me in even more awe.

  The receptionist halted in front of the door to a corner office. She knocked, and without waiting for an answer, opened the door and gestured for us to enter. After we crossed the threshold, she closed the door behind us, leaving us alone with the red-headed man I recognized instantly as Casper Rothian, creator of the biggest game franchise in the world.

  Casper stood and a smile lit his face as he walked around his desk with an outstretched hand. “Kat, so good to see you. I’m happy you were able to make it after all.” I shook his hand, and then he turned to Alex. “And who is this?”

  “My name is Alex. I’m a friend.”

  As soon as their hands touched, Casper’s eyes narrowed curiously. “A shifter? I’d guess you’re one of the cats.”

  “You’re correct.” Alex didn’t elaborate. Something about him seemed on edge, as if he didn’t entirely trust Casper or the situation we found ourselves in.

  Casper focused his brown eyes on me as he leaned back against his desk, crossing his ankles and folding his arms across his chest. I didn’t know if it w
as because he wanted to address me directly or if he felt uncomfortable beneath Alex’s scrutiny. “I take it since you brought along a shifter that this isn’t you simply wanting to redeem your prize.”

  “You’re right, although now that I’ve seen the place, I really would like a tour sometime.” I couldn’t help a nervous, goofy smile forming on my face, but Casper didn’t match it. His face settled into a serious, determined expression.

  “Why are you here? What’s happened?” He eyed the medallion around my neck and then resumed eye contact.

  The abrupt change of tone put me off. “Someone tried to kill me, that’s what.”

  Casper uncrossed his arms and ankles, stepping forward with a sense of urgency. “A sorcerer?”

  “Something magical. I woke up to an orb floating in my bedroom. Pretty creepy. Alex seems to think that whoever killed my mother is coming after me now.”

  Casper nodded. “We better get out of here. I have somewhere safe I can take you. That talisman of yours is giving off enough power to potentially be tracked depending on who’s trying to kill you.” Casper strode back behind his desk and picked up the phone. “I’m going to be leaving ahead of schedule with two guests. I’m making my way to the roof now. Meet us there.” He hung up and didn’t miss a beat, striding to the door and motioning for us to follow. “I have a helicopter on the roof. It’ll take us to a safe location, one with protective enchantments.”

  I started to follow, but Alex caught my arm while keeping his eyes on Casper. “Wait, we don’t even know you.”

  Alex had a point, even though I felt as if I did know Casper from the years spent following his career and watching his promotional videos and interviews. Really though, all I knew was the public persona. That man, while he had always appeared authentic, could be a PR creation.