Release Of Magic: The Revelations of Oriceran (The Leira Chronicles Book 2)

by Martha Carr

  ***

  “I’m here to see Detective Berens? I have some information for her about a case?” Everything the pretty young blonde woman said sounded more like a question than a statement. “No, I can only tell her?”

  The desk sergeant tried arguing with her. He was used to coaxing at least the basics from people before they got to go any further. Too many crackpots showed up at his desk. But after a few minutes he admitted defeat and called Leira.

  “Who should I say is here?” he asked, looking up at the determined woman.

  “Tell her my name is Katie Toler? I’m a friend of the Griffins? She should be expecting me?”

  “Hello Detective? This is Sergeant Williams? Dammit, now she has me doing it. There’s a Katie Toler to see you. Said to tell you she’s a friend of the Griffins.”

  Katie mouthed the name along with him to make sure he got it right, giving him a big, toothy smile when he did. He scowled back.

  “Says you’re expecting her. Great, happy to send her back as soon as you come get her. I’m not an escort service. No unescorted civilians, Detective.” He hung up the phone and leaned out of the window to point to the plastic chairs against the back wall. “She’ll be right out. Till then, you can have a seat. Soda machine’s right there, too.”

  “Thank you?”

  The sergeant stared at her for a second, waiting to see if there was sarcasm involved. He hated sarcasm. But she smiled and turned to the seats.

  “Millennials. Not one good brain between them.” He went back to his laptop, monitoring the police calls.

  “Ms. Toler?” Leira looked at the young woman waiting patiently.

  The sergeant grumbled, “Not you too,” from his perch but didn’t say anything else. Leira looked at the window and back at Katie Toler but Katie wasn’t giving anything away.

  “Would you follow me?”

  “Oh, for the love of Pete,” the sergeant exclaimed. A passing detective asked Leira, “What’s that all about?”

  “No idea,” she replied, leading the way back to her desk. She knew what Katie meant when she said she was a friend of the Griffins. They got to her desk in the mostly empty room and Leira pulled the extra chair closer, patting the seat. Katie carefully sat down, still smiling and perched herself on the front, sitting up stick straight.

  “You’re a friend of the Griffins. Why are you looking for me? I’m not a witch,” Leira whispered. It felt like everyone could hear them, but when she looked around no one was paying any attention.

  “I’ve been retained by them as a kind of consultant.” Katie put her hand by her mouth and whispered, “Special Agent is the title they gave me.”

  Why do people do that? thought Leira.

  She patted Leira’s arm. “My first assignment was to keep tabs on you and help out when I could. Boy, you do not make that easy! Levitating at a party,” she continued in a low voice. “That took a bit of doing and even some old school cashola to get the larger magical community to look the other way. Some I just outright, you know, never was…” She made a face, rolling her eyes. “Don’t like to do that to your own kind but some gossips, you know.”

  Leira rested her chin in her hand and her elbow on her desk and leaned in toward Katie. “I don’t need a babysitter. You can stand down.” Her face was hard.

  “I’m not a babysitter. More like a guardian angel, and no. I don’t take orders from you. I’m here in the background for the long haul.” She made little circles with her finger, still smiling that smile that was starting to get on Leira’s nerves.

  “Is there any way I can make you go away?” A regular bitch.

  Katie took off her glasses and leaned as close as she could to Leira, relaxing just enough that pupils of her eyes turned into slits, mesmerizing Leira.

  Leira was drawn into them and in her mind she could see Katie transform, her hair becoming tentacles. Katie blinked, ending the connection as her pupils rounded.

  “Not even a small one,” she whispered back. “I can be just as determined as the gossip says you are. Two of a kind. Well, sort of. My people actually originated here on Earth. The only aboriginal magical people that did. Your kind wiped them out.” She sat back, the smile still in place. “Ancient history, of course. Neither one of us was there. But for now, you can either have me find out what you’re up to the hard way, meaning I dig into your business. Or you can see me as an asset and clue me in once in a while. Your choice.”

  Katie stood up, putting out her hand, the constant question back in her voice. “So nice to meet you? Everyone was right? I hope to see you at the next potluck?” With that she turned and headed for the exit, not waiting for the required escort. No one stopped her and Leira didn’t bother to follow. Not so regular after all, but still a bitch.

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  Leira was trying to make sense of what just happened. The vision she saw was of a species she had never seen before but remembered all too well how Correk had described them. A very determined race of people. Well, at least she had that in common with her.

  That is one formidable woman. I suppose I should be glad she’s on my side.

  Captain Napora opened his door and motioned to Leira to come to his office without saying a word. He didn’t look very happy. She got up and made her way through the desks, working out in her head what she could say to him.

  “You finally messed something up, huh?” A detective leaned back in his chair, satisfied.

  “Whatever.” Even though Leira knew she wasn’t in trouble, at least not technically, she wasn’t looking forward to facing the Captain. He was responsible for giving her a chance and helping her become a homicide detective.

  She wasn’t even sure what excuse the General had given the Captain. The truth wasn’t an option.

  “Captain,” she said, knocking gently on the frame of the door.

  He gave a small wave, his lips pressed firmly together into a straight line. He pointed to the chair in front of his desk and came around to shut the door before sitting on the edge of his desk right in front of her. He started to speak more than once, stopping himself, and trying again.

  Finally, he put his hands on his hips and looked her square in the eye. “This is not a surprise at all. Of course the Feds noticed you. Twenty-five years old and already going to be working on terrorist cases! I’m so damn proud I could bust! Come here, can I hug you? Maybe not. How about a handshake, no, let’s go for the hug.” He enveloped her in a hug, surprising her, giving her a hearty slap on the back.

  Terrorism, okay, not too far off the truth. Well played, General.

  “I…uh…I… thank you. Sir, it’s been an honor and a privilege to serve under you. I hope I’ve contributed in some way to the team.”

  The Captain sat back down on the edge of his desk, a smile on his face. “You’ve been a pain in my ass of the first order. And I wouldn’t have it any other way. You are relentless, Berens, which is why I know you’re gonna tear it up for the Feds. I understand they’re stationing you here. Still keeping an eye on Austin. Who knows, maybe we’ll still get to work together from time to time. You’ll still need us locals.”

  “Always, sir,” she said, doing her best not to choke up.

  “You told Hagan, yet?”

  “He’s my next stop. Today’s his day off. I’m meeting him for a drink later.”

  “He’s not going to be surprised either. He won’t like losing you as his partner but these things happen. You get a good one and they’re young and the world comes calling!”

  Two worlds, sometimes.

  “Okay, well, they asked if they could have you right away, and just like the Feds they went over my head before they even asked so your last day is coming up this week! Maybe we can throw you a little party or at least meet for drinks.”

  “Sounds good, sir. I’d like that.”

  “Think of us as family, Berens. You can always come back if you need to.” He laughed and waved at her. “That’ll never happen. You’re on your way
to the top. Go on, get out of here. Start closing out your cases and hand them off. So proud of you.”

  Leira walked out of his office feeling like she was just starting to see what she’d had all along. So much family all around me. I was never alone.

  ***

  Correk was standing in the middle of Leira’s living room, trying to find the right words.

  “You have to go back to recharge. I get it, I’ll be fine,” said Leira. “I took care of myself for years without a lot of assistance from anyone, you know. This whole, it takes a village to train a detective to just be herself is fairly new to me. Besides, with the way time works between the two worlds, you’ll be back before I’ve managed to sit down on the couch.”

  “Not quite that fast, but right, of course.” He struggled to find the right words. “I know you can take care of yourself, probably better than anyone else on this planet. The powers you possess, to say nothing of a sidearm.”

  “Then go! Let me get a little peace before you’re back with a thousand new stories!”

  “I wanted to say, I’m proud of you.” He nodded firmly. “Yes, there it is. You’ve faced up to having the way you see even the most basic of things flipped upside down, and didn’t back down once.”

  “Yeah, didn’t run away, break a heel, wait for someone to rescue me.”

  “It’s not a small thing. Every being has to have a few things they can take for granted in order to get through a day. The two moons will be there in the sky, a set of stairs will appear when I say the right words, the plants will sway and grow whenever they hear music…”

  “Not what I’d have said, but I see where you’re going.”

  “Magic introduces a truth that if you haven’t known about it since birth can be hard to handle. Anything is possible.”

  “There are still rules. Someday I want to learn the basics of them.”

  “Always, and then someone comes along who’s just a little more clever, like yourself or powerful or evil and they find a way to break those rules, and we get reminded. Anything is possible. But you didn’t back up once. You ran toward all of it.” He reached out to hug her, and gave her a pat on the back instead.

  Leira raised an eyebrow and gave him a crooked smile. “We’ll have to work on your social skills when you get back. I take it Light Elves aren’t big huggers. Felt like you were helping me shake something loose. That explains a lot about me, too. Go, say hello to the King and Queen for me. Bring me back a souvenir. A t-shirt or a bobblehead. Or a postcard where all of the things in it actually move and can wave at you.”

  Correk was already conjuring a bright fireball in his hands, using the last of the energy he had held in reserve so he’d still be able to open a portal. “They would all fall out before I was halfway through the portal. All you’d get would be a blank piece of paper.”

  “Fine. Then just get back here safely.”

  The air in the middle of the room shimmered and grew wavy as an opening appeared. The red velvet chair disappeared and Leira found herself looking at the green forest of Oriceran. She looked up at him, still smiling but her expression changed and her eyes grew wider. “Wait!” she yelled. “Your ears!”

  Correk stepped through and took a last look back at her, a puzzled expression on his face as the portal closed behind him.

  Strange way to say goodbye.

  He shook his head and looked around. It felt good to be standing on Oriceran soil again. It was the longest he had ever been away and now that he was home, he realized how much he had missed it.

  He stepped out of the brush and onto the path in the direction of the Light Castle and felt the familiar hum of the energy coming up from the ground and through his feet. He never really took note of it before.

  “I never took you for the sentimental type. You have a foolish smile on your face.”

  Correk smiled, finally able to make out eyes watching him, blending in with the foliage behind him. The two pupils in each eye moving independently, keeping watch.

  “Perrom, good to finally see you.” He grabbed his old friend by the shoulders and pulled him into a hug, slapping him on the back.

  “This is new.” Perrom studied his friend, a smirk on his face, still blending perfectly with his surroundings. “Your time on Earth appears to have been instructive. You’ve come back as a sensitive human.

  Correk gave him a good-natured frown. “It’s called evolution and it’s a good thing!” He started walking toward the castle. Perrom moved away from all the greenery. The scales of his skin flipped over in a rippling wave, changing him back to a Wood Elf, his long brown hair hanging down his back.

  “That’s not the only evolution going on.” He caught up to Correk and flicked one of his rounded ears. “You really are becoming a squishy human!”

  Correk slapped his hands over his ears. “Damn the moons! I forgot the spell!” He hurriedly moved his hands, creating a shortcut to remove the spell, botching it on the first try in his rush.

  “Rusty. Like a schoolboy again.” Perrom laughed, crossing his arms as he watched his friend struggle.

  “Blast it. Fuck!”

  Perrom laughed harder, bending over, holding his sides. “You’ve even learned to swear like the humans!”

  Correk shoved him, but he kept laughing, even as he patiently waited for Correk to get it together.

  Correk took a deep breath and looked at the plants around him. He let it out as a song, speaking in his native tongue, watching all the growing things rooted in the Oriceran soil bend toward him.

  He tried the spell again, and finally his ears took on their more natural point. He raised an eyebrow and looked at Perrom. “Well?”

  “Much better. Good you caught that before Queen Saria saw you. Her feelings about humans haven’t changed.” Perrom looked in the direction of the castle and in the distance Correk could see the Queen walking toward the gardens. A swarm of purple grieving fireflies clung to her, protecting her, blinking their lights. A sign of deep grief.

  “She is no better,” said Correk.

  “Her son had hundreds of years left. A few weeks of mourning will not take away that pain. Although, the death of Bill Somers helped. The Willens say she has stopped trying to blow them apart.”

  “I’m sure they rewarded that with pinching a few of her things.”

  “And then selling them back to her. Commerce.”

  “I even missed the Willens.”

  Perrom laughed. “Go, see everyone. Find me later. This is where I leave you,” he said, stopping at the edge of the woods.

  “Tired of being seen with me?”

  “Not at all. Things have gotten a little darker since you were here last. The dark bazaar has grown bigger and trades more Earthly technology every day. It influences everything. Someone must be behind all their success. You may have been right, my old friend. I hear there is a prophet who visits the tents.”

  “Do they know who it is?”

  “No one will talk. Everyone is afraid of him, which is saying something. That kind doesn’t scare easily. Watch your back. Sorry to put a damper on your return. You are staying, aren’t you? I know Ossonia has missed you.”

  “You are weaving stories out of thin air. Ossonia is just a friend, and no, this is a visit to recharge. There are still things to do back on Earth.”

  “Back on Earth? This is your home, don’t forget that. Go, there are people who will be happy to see you, no matter what you say.” Perrom faded into the scenery until only his smile could be seen and even that disappeared when he turned and became one with the forest, taking a different path toward home.

  Correk wasted no time hiking up the short hill and through the formal gardens toward the castle. Pixies fluttered across the path, their wings stirring the air by his ankles. A chorus of “Hello, Correk,” piped up in high voices as they flew into the tall reeds. He smiled and waved. At last he arrived where he knew the castle was hovering, unseen by most.

  “Altrea Extendia!” he shouted
with joy. Sparks flew and a staircase curled around, down to the ground, appearing to hang in the air.

  He climbed the stairs two at a time, the steps disappearing behind him, finally reaching the upper floor where his room was located.

  A passenger pigeon was waiting for him at the window, cooing and pecking at the glass. “Palmer,” said Correk, opening the window, still able to find everything without having to make it visible. Still, he wanted to see his world. He bent his fingers and waved at the room, watching the familiar symbols appear on his outstretched arm. The room became visible again and Palmer stepped through the window, dropping the mail on his desk.

  “I never know how the gargoyles can tell when someone is back.” Correk picked up the note. It had the royal seal of the Light Elves on it.

  See me first. It was signed by the king.

  “Thank you, Palmer.” Correk held out the card to the bird. The words started to wiggle, transforming into worms. Palmer gobbled them up and fluttered his wings in thanks, launching out the window again, back to the post office.

  Correk went in search of the king, using a simple spell to locate him in the library. The gnomes looked up from their work and grunted, tipping their hats at Correk. A familiar greeting after someone was away. The flowers on their hats did their usual raspberry. One or two snarled, instead.

  The king was standing by the window and when he turned Correk could see that his crown was starting to bloom. For him, at least, the grief was passing. It would be time, soon, to return to the more familiar crown of silver vines.

  “Correk,” the king sang. “You’ve returned! The gargoyles said your arrival was imminent!” The king beamed with pleasure.

  “My king,” said Correk, bowing slightly. “You asked to see me.”

  “Yes. I know you’re only here to gather magic before you go back. The prophets will insist you return to Earth. They’re determined to ensure that these years before the gates open are not wasted. How long are you staying?”

  “Just the day, with Your Grace.”

  “Of course, of course. But, there is something you need to know. There are rumors everywhere about a dark force growing in our midst. I have sources who frequent the dark bazaar and someone is stirring trouble.”