She turned her head away and wiped the moisture from her eyes.
Joe caught on to what she was really doing and began stammering again. “I’m-I’m sor—I didn’t mean to—”
“No, don’t be sorry,” Maria said, looking up at him. “They’re beautiful.”
“Really?”
She didn’t answer with words. Instead, with the bouquet in her hands, she took two steps toward Joe and hugged him. He smelled like cologne and manly deodorant. He didn’t hug back at first, standing rigid, but after a few seconds, she felt his body relax, and he wrapped his arms around her. Kissing him then and there crossed her mind, but she didn’t because of her current audience. She could only take so many jokes from Sherlock before she snapped, after all.
Then Sherlock spoke inside of her head: Oooh, Maria and Joey sitting in a tree—
Luckily, Joe talked, causing Maria not to focus on the Bloodhound’s quips.
“Uh, Maria, your—I never thought I’d say this to you, but…your sword is poking my ribs.”
As much as she didn’t want to let go, she quickly did. “I’m sorry,” she said.
He chuckled nervously. “It’s all right. I was going to ask about that anyway…”
Maria shook her head. “Long story.”
“Well, maybe you’d like to tell me all about it over dinner or something?” Joe replied.
“No, I don’t think I can tell you—wait, what?” The blood pumping through Maria’s veins halted, yet she could still hear her heart thundering in her chest.
“A date,” Joe said. “Like you, me, and maybe Applebee’s or Olive Garden…”
Right at that moment, Maria would’ve gone anywhere with Joe on their first date, even the heart of the Arachnids’ web in the depths of the Dark Forest, but she was finding it hard to speak. The words would come halfway up her throat and get lodged there. Now she was the one stammering.
“Y-Y-Ye,” she went on.
Suddenly, the audience thought it was the perfect time to participate.
In unison, Claire, Tabby, Agnes, Salem, and Gramps screamed, “YES!” It was loud enough to crack the plate-glass, but , of course it didn’t. Sherlock added his own YES in there, too, but it just bounced around Maria’s head.
“Yes?” Joe was saying.
Still speechless, she nodded vigorously.
“Wow! Okay, how about tomorrow night?”
Maria found her voice. “That sounds great.”
Now it was Joe’s turn to blush; his face went beet red. “Okay, I’ll, uh, pick you up tomorrow night, say seven?”
“Yes, that’s perfect,” she said.
Their eyes met, and an undeniable spark passed between them.
“Okay, I’ll be there.” He paused. “I’d better get going. My dad is going to wonder where the heck I’m at.”
“See ya,” Maria said. Then, because it seemed like a good idea at the time, she added, “I won’t wear the sword, I promise.”
He was already a few steps away, walking back in the direction he’d come, but he looked back and smiled. “You can if you want. It’ll stop muggers.” The grin grew wider. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Maria…or technically tonight.”
He left.
Maria turned back toward Salem’s shop, and all her friends’ faces were still pressed up against the glass. Claire was even making a kissy face and laying a wet one on the window. Maria just shook her head and went inside.
“And so it begins,” Claire said. She put her hand to her ear. “Do you hear that?”
“What?” Tabby answered. This was obviously a practiced skit.
“Wedding bells.”
Joey and Maria sitting in a tree F-U-C— Sherlock began.
Maria scowled at him. “Not now, buddy. Not unless you want to get put on that vegan diet.
That shut him up quick enough.
Gramps spoke next. “How sweet.” He wiped a tear away from the corner of his eye. “My little Maria is all grown up, set to go out on a date. When is it, my dear?”
Then it hit her in a big rush of guilt. How could I have been so dense?
“Oh no,” she murmured.
“What is it?” Gramps asked.
“I told Joe I’d go out with him tonight at seven.”
Gramps smile disappeared, his brow furrowing. “But the quest!”
“I know, I know. I’ll have to break it off with him.”
“No, you can’t,” Gramps said. “I’m sorry. You’re right. You are a young woman, and young women need their social lives. It’s quite unfair of me to take that away from you. Come with me to Oriceran while you can, and I will handle the rest. Our quest will prove to be long and arduous, so detours along the way are only natural.”
Her heart swelling, Maria stepped forward and hugged her grandfather tight. He let out a dusty wheeze.
“Thank you,” she said. “Thank you so much. I promise that we will still save them. I won’t give up as long as I’m alive.”
His kind eyes found hers.
“I know you won’t, Maria. I know.”
Salem offered them all ice cream, and the group couldn’t resist. They drowned in buckeye, vanilla, chocolate swirl, cheesecake fudge, and lemon-flavored frozen delight. This would prove to be the most delicious—but far from the most fun—detour on their quest.
They really should get a dead squirrel flavor on their menu, Sherlock told Maria.
“Yeah, I’ll let Salem know,” she replied as Salem was in the back digging out more ice cream from the freezers.
When their stomachs were full and the corners of their mouths were sticky, Claire leaned forward with her hands on her stomach. “Tab and I had better get to the hospital before her neck swells up any more.” Her hand came up to cover her mouth as she leaned closer to Maria, Salem, and Agnes. “I mean, Tabby looks enough like a bullfrog as it is.” she whispered loudly.
“Hey, I heard that,” Tabby said.
Claire winked at the rest of them, a sly smile on her face. "Only kidding. You're beautiful, Tab."
They got up and left the ice cream shop, taking Claire’s beat-up Kia; its one good headlight swept across the dark pavement of Main Street.
Gramps looked at Maria and Sherlock. “Are you two ready? Oriceran awaits…again.”
As long as there are no more Arachnids to deal with, Sherlock said. More Raffins, less giant spiders.
Maria nodded. Her head was elsewhere, though; she was thinking about Joe and his broad shoulders. Seeing him in street clothes instead of his security uniform was almost unheard of, but tonight, Maria had; later, around seven, she would see him again. And maybe again after that. It was almost too good to be true.
“All right, let’s open up the portal,” Gramps said.
“Oh, Ig,” Salem spoke, stepping forward. “I meant to discuss something with you.” Salem’s tone was that of a worried parent, and it got Maria’s attention..
“Yes, Salem?”
“The Silver Griffins will no doubt be on our case,” Salem answered.
“Already?” Maria asked.
“Yes, they work fast. They will want to know what a creature from Oriceran was doing out in the open, and why a witch took it upon herself to slay it.”
“That should be pretty self-explanatory—” Maria started.
Gramps raised a hand. “Easy, child. The Silver Griffins are only doing their jobs. They are not here, yet; before then, Maria, we must find a Gnome to help guide us.”
“So if they send an agent?” Salem asked Gramps.
“Tell them to wait for me. I won’t be long, and this won’t be the first time I’ll have smooth-talked my way out of Griffin trouble,” Gramps answered confidently. He looked from Salem to Agnes. “A little nudge?”
The couple nodded.
The circle was formed again, and they began to hum in the same tone as before. This time, Maria found she was able to sing along. The witch gig was getting easier for her. Her skin glowed blue, and she closed her eyes. Before s
he knew it, the portal was open, and she saw a vast expanse of land. Far off in the distance were mountains, standing tall in a dark haze.
Oriceran, Maria took a moment to appreciate it. My new home away from home.
She turned to Gramps, her head cocked. “What is that? Why is the portal opening on an empty field?”
Gramps smirked. “That is much more than an empty field, Maria. It is a kingdom!”
“A kingdom?”
Agnes and Salem were watching her with smiles on their faces.
“You may be strong, Maria,” Salem was saying, his hair blowing wildly from the wind that escaped the opened portal. “But there is much for you to learn.”
“Come,” Gramps said. He took Maria’s hand. “You, too, Sherlock!”
The Bloodhound didn’t look too happy about being torn away from his floor licking. On more than a few occasions, Maria thought that the Health Department would close Salem’s Ice Cream down if they saw Sherlock drooling all over the tile.
Maria reached down and scratched Sherlock behind his floppy ears. “Ready?” she asked the dog.
Do you want the truth?
“Is it about Gnomes?”
Sherlock did the canine equivalent to a shrug, which was quirking his head in one direction.
“Then no, I don’t want the truth.”
“Enough banter. Time is short if we want to get you back for your big date,” Gramps said.
Heat rose to Maria’s cheeks. The date. Right. I almost forgot. A portal opening up in the middle of an ice cream store does that to a person.
Suddenly, nerves overtook her. When it came to slaying giant spiders or traversing strange planets, Maria didn’t bat an eye—but dating the guy she’d been hung up on for the past God-knew-how-long? Whew, boy. Her palms were getting clammy.
Enough feeling nervous, she decided. Only wusses get nervous.
Tightening her grip on her satchel, which contained the music box, she plunged through the portal first, not even bothering to close her eyes.
Lois sat in a chair that was not as comfortable as she would’ve thought, from the looks of it. Her government-issued wand in hand, she made Tic-Tacs dance on the desk in front of her. The television screen behind her was blank of any shows…unfortunately. There was nothing she wanted to watch.
Dancing Tic-Tacs it is.
The door opened, and in came Patsy with a Hot Pocket. It was pizza-flavored; Lois could smell it.
“You’d think they’d give us more comfortable chairs since the promotion,” Lois grumbled, squirming in her chair.
“What did Mick say? ‘You can’t always get what you want?’ Yeah, that’s it,” Patsy answered. She winced. “Ooh, hot!”
“If the Stones were to remake that song, they’d change the lyrics to ‘You can’t always eat a hot Hot Pocket.”
“Clever.”
“I thought so.”
Patsy walked up to the desk and saw the dancing Tic-Tacs. “I guess this is where being patient gets you.”
“No, this is where being bored gets you. Big difference. Earl taught me this one. Watch.”
The Tic-Tacs suddenly stacked atop one another, stretching about two feet up in the air. One by one, the top breath mint jumped into the open plastic box until only two were left. These two landed on Patsy’s plate.
Lois pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose. “You might need these after you eat that Hot Pocket,” she said with a smirk.
Patsy smiled. “Thank you! You read my mind.”
“Not part of my magic skill set.” Lois winked.
The phone rang, and Patsy scrambled to the old handset next to one of the computers and picked it up. “Paranormal Detective Agency, this is Patsy speaking. How may we assist you? Hello? Hello?”
Lois pulled her cell phone out of her pocket, still ringing, and shook it at Patsy.
‘Whoops,’ Patsy mouthed.
Lois answered the phone in a friendly voice, “Not you again.”
“Yep, it’s me.”
It was Lacey Trader, head of the Silver Griffins.
“I’m not in trouble, am I?” Lois asked.
Patsy hung on to Lois’s every word, curious who would be calling Lois on her cell phone during her shift. She was almost certain it wasn’t Earl.
“Listen, Lois, I don’t have time to joke around,” Lacey began.
“No, you’re not one for doing that, are you?”
“Something big has happened.”
“Enlighten me. My worldview on what’s big and small in the magical world is a bit skewed these days, since that nasty business with the necklace.”
For a moment, Lacey didn’t say anything.
Uh-oh, this must be big, Lois thought. “What’s going on? What’s big?”
She sounded serious, which worried Patsy, her eyes wide.
“We don’t know all of the facts yet, but there’s been a big magical battle in Ohio.”
“The Silver Griffins don’t know all the facts yet? Hmm, that’s a first.”
“That’s where you come in,” Lacey said, unamused. “I need you to check it out for us.”
“I’m not a Silver Griffin anymore.”
“Once a Silver Griffin, always a Silver Griffin.”
“So they keep sayin’.”
“It may be nothing. There was an Arachnid sighting that most people are writing off as a hoax. The battle happened in the wee hours of the night, so there weren’t many eyewitnesses.”
“All it takes is one smart phone,” Lois said.
“Exactly.”
"I don't know… I hate leaving town."
"Please, Lois? I'd do it myself, but we're swamped."
Lois weighed that comment for a moment, then shook her head. If there was any way to get her to travel.
“Oh, all right, Lacey. I’ll look into it. Where in Ohio?”
“Akron.”
A smile broke out on Lois’s face. “Akron? Haven’t been there in awhile.” She was wondering if an old Wizard friend of hers still lived there, when Lacey interrupted her thoughts.
“Ignatius Mangood is the one you want to seek.”
“Ignatius! Why didn’t you lead with that, Lacey? I haven’t talked to him in…God, way too long. Ah, him and Salem and Agnes. Good people.” Lois smiled broadly.
“Good, you know them. We’ve had some unwanted magical activity up there lately; two Silver Griffins went missing, presumed dead.”
Her smile faded.
“Oh, no, this is serious.”
Patsy tugged on Lois’s sleeve, mouthing, ‘What? What?’ Lois had to swivel away in her chair to get Patsy to quit bugging her.
“We think the threat has been eradicated, but we need confirmation; we need to get to the bottom of it before things get too out of hand,” Lacey said. “Find Ignatius Mangood. If you can’t, then find Salem; he’ll know where Ignatius is. The two are practically inseparable, according to our files.”
Lacey knows her stuff, Lois thought approvingly. Except for one thing…
“Ignatius goes by ‘Ignatius Apple,’ now.”
Lacey's chuckle lacked humor. “I’ll mark that down. Just do some investigating for us, Lois. Please. We’ll owe you one.”
“Yes, you will. It’ll be good to catch up with old friends, but, just so you know, when you first said Ohio, I was thinking ‘that’s a big N-O from me.’ No one wants to go to Ohio.”
“It’s nice this time of year,” Lacey replied. “It’s the winters you want to avoid.”
“Good point. All right, Lacey, I’ll look into it.”
“Thank you, Lois. Add it to everything else we already owe you. Take care.”
She hung up.
“What was that?” Patsy demanded.
“Silver Griffins want me to go check out a disturbance in Ohio.”
“Ohio? What about the Paranormal Detective Agency?”
“Things have been slow since that business with Rhazdon; you’ll be able to handle it until I get back.”<
br />
Patsy sighed. “I’m going to be so bored.”
“At least you don’t have to go to Ohio.” Lois gave her a wink.
“When will you be back?”
“Hopefully soon, if it’s not as big as Lacey thinks. We’ll see.” Lois got up, readjusting her glasses. “Now I have to go tell Earl. That should be fun.”
“Good luck,” Patsy said as Lois walked out.
I hope I won’t need it, Lois thought.
Chapter Four
Arachnids were not supposed to know fear, but the two that had barely escaped the wrath of Ignatius Mangood were scared beyond belief.
The robed Arachnid’s name was Palentar, and his friend—whose short and stocky physique kept him out of battle and in the blacksmith’s forge—was named Queret. These Arachnids were afraid because they had to report their findings in the ruined village of Dominion.
Rumblings around the village of Dominion were slim to none., and they had been tasked with surveying the border; the instructions handed to them by the Widow’s second-in-command himself. They had never met the Widow, nor did they want to.
But that was going to end tonight.
If they didn’t report their findings, their punishment might be worse than death. Of course, there was always another option—one Palentar did not find pleasing. They could run; just up and leave behind their lives amongst the Arachnids, and set out for the world of Oriceran.
The only problem was that Arachnids were considered vile creatures, and were not well liked throughout the rest of the world. Palentar couldn’t blame anyone for not liking his race, but he was smarter than the average Arachnid, he supposed. So smart, in fact, that his wits had led him to a colonel’s position in their vast army many years ago; however, that same wit had been the cause of his demotion. He had tried—unsuccessfully—to usurp the general. The punishment was to have been death by dismemberment, but luckily, his wits had gotten him out of that, as well.
Midwest Magic Chronicles Box Set Page 25