by Martha Carr
“I will have the Impossible Burger with a side of broccoli. I’m interested in letting my peoples know where to come when they get here.”
“From Ireland,” Leira interjected, handing over her menu. “He has...Irish Vegan friends.”
“Very nice.” The waitress giggled. “It will be up soon.”
The waitress hurried away and Leira chuckled, shaking her head. She looked around the restaurant at the large square counter built into the center. You sat there next to strangers, eating your dinner. She liked that. Everyone in DC was so closed off from everyone else, keeping their heads down and moving through what was familiar. This was more neighbor-friendly.
“I think I am going to like this place. Lots of comfort food, which is my favorite.” Correk rubbed his hands together. “I have to admit I miss the food trucks in Austin.”
“There are food trucks here. You can download an app and it will tell you who is where across the city.”
“Really?”
“I should have kept that to myself.” Leira laughed. “It won’t be too much longer until our renovations are done and we can cook up a storm at home.”
“What’s left of the kitchen?”
“Some of the floor and paint. Little stuff, really.”
“That doesn’t sound so scary. If I can get a day without getting called away first thing I can work on it.”
“If not, I will pull Yumfuck into the mix and let him get his furry little paws dirty.”
“He’s all about the home improvement shows these days.” Correk snickered. “When he isn’t out in the neighborhood fighting crime.”
“Yes, well, I don’t want any walls knocked down, but he is smarter than we give him credit for. I bet he could do it in a flash.”
“Have you learned any more about the dark families? My call the other day was another bunch of the Yakuza. Still haven’t had any movement from them.”
“Not yet.” Leira sighed. “I’ve got Louie out trying to bring back some information. Their silence makes me nervous. They aren’t giving up that easy, I know that for sure. It’s just a matter of figuring out when they will show up and being one step ahead of them.”
The waitress returned, setting their appetizer down between them. Leira smiled kindly and covered her mouth with her hand, leaning forward on her elbow as Correk looked curiously at the yellow mash inside half an egg. He slowly moved his hand across the table and picked up one of the deviled eggs, staring at the dusting of red powder on top. He lifted an eyebrow and looked at Leira.
“This is an interesting way to eat an egg.”
Leira took one and bit into it. “Just try it! They are delicious.”
Correk shrugged and popped the whole thing in his mouth, chewing carefully at first. After a moment his eyes went wide with delight, and he grabbed another, setting it on the plate in front of him. Leira couldn’t help but giggle. She loved the way Correk got excited about everything in life and the way his curiosity made him shine.
“I asked Turner about it when I was there,” Correk mumbled through a full mouth. “He really didn’t have anything to tell me though. He is very master/student with me, telling me to search for the answers inside.”
Leira rolled her eyes. “Use the Force, Correk.”
Correk paused and looked at her confused. “The Force?”
“Star Wars? No? You’ve been on this planet over a year and you haven’t seen Star Wars? Lord, I’m not a very good hostess at all.”
Their entrees were delivered before Leira could talk any more about the dark families. She wanted to probe Correk a bit, knowing he sometimes held back to protect her. She didn’t want to dive too deep if there was a reason for her to sit back and wait, but at the same time, she never had been too good at that whole sit-back-and-wait thing.
Correk picked up his Impossible burger and took a bite, shaking his head in amazement. Leira smirked as he set it back down on the plate, curious because it looked just like a real burger—pink on the inside and everything.
“What do you think?”
“I think I could definitely go back to eating like an Oriceran if everything was this delicious.”
“You mean being a vegetarian?”
“You Earth people have such funny names for things. You worship the cow like a god.”
“There are actual religions on Earth that think the cow is a divine being.”
“Interesting,” Correk replied, shoving some of his broccoli into his mouth.
They ate in silence as usual, absorbed by the food they were devouring. It was part of their charm as a couple. They loved trying new foods. Being in DC was like being in another country for Leira, offering new tastes, sounds, smells, and definitely new people. She took another bite of her fish and glanced at Correk, who was sitting back in his chair rubbing his belly. His face began to shift, his countenance shifting to a rather odd look. Leira sat forward, glancing to each side.
“No, no, no.” She groaned. “Not tonight. One night! We had one night to enjoy.”
Correk put up his hand shaking his head. “No, I think it was bad broccoli.”
“You have an iron stomach. It’s not the broccoli.”
Correk took a deep breath and grounded himself, listening to what the energy was trying to tell him. It was a churning sensation inside his stomach, something he just couldn’t shake. His eyes slowly moved from the plate in front of him up Leira like a shroud. It was then that a rush of magic hit him in the chest, allowing him to sense the darkness around them. He glanced carefully at the others in the restaurant, and as if a cloak had been lifted he could see the danger. It was a trap, one they had walked into willingly.
Filling the entire restaurant were witches and wizards from the dark families. Correk put down his burger and gripped the edge of the table, looking at Leira. She tilted her head and squinted, putting down her fork. Slowly she shifted her eyes to the side, now sensing the danger as well. She jumped up in the booth and crouched, looking at all the eyes turning to them. She snapped her head to the right, seeing the staff curiously inch out onto the floor. Correk waved his hand, and a bright streak of energy shot across the room and pushed the workers back into the kitchen before blockading the door with magic.
Leira let out a deep breath and snarled, pulling energy up through her body. She could feel the tingle of her bracelet keeping her grounded, but she was beginning to push it to its max. The symbols flashed wildly on her arms and neck, and her eyes glowed brightly.
“So much for staying quiet,” Correk muttered.
The witches and wizards stood and pulled out their wands, pointing them at Correk and Leira. Leira whipped a ball of light into her hands and held it tightly, waiting for someone to make a move. At the first sign of trouble, she hurled the fireball into the crowd and the explosion of light pushed them backward. Instantly they began to fight, hurling streams of dark magic at Leira and Correk. Leira stood in the booth dodging the attacks and risked a glance at Correk as he built a shroud of protection around them.
“We have to get to the street,” he shouted.
“When you pull the shield down, follow my lead,” Leira replied.
Correk nodded and threw the shield of energy toward the crowd, but it didn’t have much effect on them. Leira jumped from the booth, flipping through the air as she launched fireballs straight ahead toward the exit. Several of the dark wizards screamed as fire ignited their cloaks. Leira and Correk made their way through the crowd side by side, swiping right and left as large orbs of black light swirled around them.
A fireball flew from the left and Correk swished his hand, splitting it in two. One half ricocheted off the wall and hit a wizard in the back while the other half skimmed across Leira’s back. She arched her chest forward and groaned through gritted teeth, the heat of the blow painful on her skin. Correk used one hand to send out a spray of white darts while soothing Leira’s back with his other. Slowly they moved forward until they were able to jump for the door.
“They’ve got us on their radar,” Leira panted.
Correk gripped Leira’s arm, stopping her mid-stride. She looked confused as he pulled her into the street.
“Trust me. I learned a new spell.”
Correk closed his eyes and put his hands out palms up, whispering an enchantment, “Transferus Portal.” To Leira’s amazement, he slowly lifted his hands, raising a manhole cover. He slid the lid to the side and looked at Leira.
“Jump. Jump now.”
“In there?”
“Trust me,” he yelled, shoving her.
She leapt and fell through the darkness, and Correk followed her. It felt like she fell forever before she finally slowed almost to a stop. Her feet hit the ground and her surroundings became visible around her. She was underground in the magical train station. Correk floated down next to her and grasped her arm, pulling her from the room and down a corridor to the platform.
“How did you do that?”
“It’s like a portal, but it leads to a special room that only Fixers can use.”
“Nifty.”
Above ground the witches and wizards stared down at the open hole, seeing nothing but the running drainage underneath. One of the wizards slapped his hands against his legs, snarling as he looked around. On the corner was a Starbucks, and he knew exactly where that manhole portal had gone.
“Come on, we can head them off down on the platform!”
The dark group jetted across the street and into the Starbucks. Dozens of millennials sat sipping their coffee, barely even noticing as the hoard of middle-aged people rushed toward the bathrooms waving sticks. One woman looked at her bearded boyfriend and rolled her eyes.
“Baby Boomers.” She scoffed.
He narrowed his eyes as they ran by and shook his head.
“Seriously, they just have no idea.”
The witches and wizards bolted through the magical wall, pushing through the crowds making their way down to the platform. They grabbed people by the shoulders and threw them to the sides when they realized they weren’t Correk or Leira. They searched for the couple, determined to take the fight to the next level. One of the older wizards leapt across the tracks as a train going the opposite way pulled up. He boarded the train and looked around, finally seeing Correk and Leira.
From the train next to him, which was already pulling out of the station, Leira and Correk smiled at him. The wizard grimaced, pounded on the window, and waved his wand at them. Leira chuckled for a moment, happy to see they had thwarted the dark wizards’ plan. As the train departed, Leira leaned back in her seat. Her smile faded as she realized just how close that call had been. Had it not been for Correk’s keen sense of magical energy they would have been completely oblivious of the trap until it was sprung.
Correk coughed and cleared his throat before taking Leira’s hand. “That was too close.”
“Damn right it was. I thought they had given up on me, but apparently that was just a ploy. And how the hell did they know where we were going to be?”
Correk narrowed his eyes and looked out at the passing lights in the tunnel. “I don’t know, but one thing is clear: someone close betrayed us.”
17
Louie looked around the bar as he leaned back against the wall. The place was dark, from the black paint on the walls to the hanging pictures of wizards and witches from the past. The tables were carved from Oriceran wood, the twisted, knotty wood curving around the edges of the furniture. The old family establishment was situated in DC and was known to be owned by one particular family—a dark one. The doors were charmed to keep the non-magical from entering. Once you came through those old glass front doors labeled with the name of a pest control company you were in a magical world tucked away in the busy streets of the nation’s Capital.
The bartender strode over, the long-crooked snout of a woodland creature visible despite his attempt at a glamour. He stopped in front of Louie and snarled, wiping off the bar around his drink. Louie tapped his glass and nodded, watching the man’s blackened teeth grinding together as he poured Louie another drink. He slammed it down on the bar, splashing some of the soda over the sides. Louie handed him some cash and went back to people-watching while he waited for his current entertainment to come out of the bathroom.
Many of the dark folks knew Louie, but they let him be, knowing he worked for whoever offered him the most. Little did they know he had pledged his allegiance to Leira and was doing just as his sword instructed. He had to appear to be firmly in the middle ground to have any of the contacts trust him. For some reason, it was much easier to have someone give you information if you hadn’t pledged allegiance to one sector or another. That night, though, he was on the hunt for information, sent out on a mission by Leira.
When she had first told him to search for information on the dark families he had been worried. He’ hadn’t told her about the deal he’d made with them, nor did he plan to do so. She’d lose it if she knew he had traded an old book of spells for the bounty on her head. However, as he moved from contact to contact he was starting to get the feeling that not everyone was on board with leaving her be. Eventually, he had found his way to that pub and a pretty young witch who had been born into one of the older dark families. She was known to drink a little too much, flash her pretty eyes, and not worry a bit about what came out of her mouth.
Louie knew that there at the bar, surrounded by her people, she wouldn’t be on the alert for anyone trying to pump her for information. He had seen her as soon as he walked through the doors and immediately had turned on the charm, purchasing her a drink and spelling the other men away. Louie might have been rough around the edges, but when it came to women, he was more than capable of charming the pants right off them—or in this instance, the information right out of them. He looked up as the young witch, Veronica, sauntered out of the bathroom, smiling at him. He grinned, sitting up and pulling that charm back into place. She sat down next to him and he pushed the fresh drink in front of her.
“That’s so nice,” she gushed. “Are you trying to get me drunk?”
That’s the idea. “No, of course not.” He laughed. “Just enjoying having some drinks and good conversation with an intelligent woman.”
Hopefully, none of those words were too big for her to understand.
“Aww, that is so refreshing. I’m so used to men just hitting on me and stuff, especially since they know I come from the older generation of dark families. I am not a bounty to be won, but you’re sweet.”
“I’ll be sweeter the more you drink.” He chuckled.
She giggled loudly and took a long sip of her drink, swallowing hard. She looked around the room, ignoring the stares of other wizards standing by in case Louie struck out—something he had no intention of doing. He had already fed her four drinks, and she was getting a bit wobbly on her chair. Louie leaned forward and rested his elbow on the bar, flashing her a wide grin.
“So, tell me about you. What do you do?”
“I work for the family of course,” she declared with a laugh. “When you’re born into a family as powerful as mine, well, you can’t help but be expected to perform certain duties. Some say I may be in line for leadership in a hundred years or so. That will make it perfect, too—just when the Golden Age is really getting ramped up. The amount of power I will have will be leaps and bounds above the current ruler.”
Louie smiled and nodded, noticing she talked more openly as the drinks flowed by. At first, she had been a bit closed off, but he could see that twinkle in her eye after her first sip of whiskey, so he just kept feeding drinks to her. She yawned and whipped her head toward Louie sharply. He chuckled, leaning back a bit as she wobbled on her stool. She was cute, he had to admit it, but he c
ould tell she gave no shits when it came to tackling light magic. She was entranced with the dark, and she had loved it since the moment she was old enough to hold a wand. Dark magic probably accounted for her large breasts, tiny waist, and long flowing black hair. Louie knew more than one dark witch who used magic to make herself more appealing.
“What are you?”
“Me?” Louie put his hands to his chest and smiled. “Truth be told, I am a wizard.”
“Oh, good,” she replied with a sigh. “I hate it when I spend all night talking to some hunky man and they end up being a Kilomea or Crystal Creature. That definitely puts a damper on my mood.”
“You like big men huh?” He chuckled. “I’m not a big man.”
“No, but you’re cute and sweet, and you like to listen to me talk.”
Only for a bit before you suck me into your world of stupidity.
“I sure do,” Louie cheesed.
“You know what’s wrong with all these people?” she asked, sloppily swatting him in the chest. “They have no vision. They see shit as black and white. You have to be creative if you want to give the dark families a chance for the future.”
“How so?” Louie raised an eyebrow and took a sip of his drink. He could feel that she was on the edge of spilling her secrets.
“I’ll give you an example. My family and several others are planning to make a deal with the magical government to help store our artifacts. How brilliant is that? Put them in the hands of the so-called enemy.”
“Well, that’s just brilliant. I bet you came up with that.”
She smiled and took a drink of her whiskey, missing the straw a couple of times before getting it in her mouth. She swallowed hard, grimacing at the taste and sighing.
“I wish. It’s pretty brilliant. I mean, having the government store our artifacts would give us access to just about any artifact that they had under their roof. On top of that we would have power over them, basically controlling them from the inside out. The dark families would be back on top and rolling in the money.”