Midwest Magic Chronicles Box Set

by Flint Maxwell

  “I’ll go to them,” Maria said. “Sherlock and Gelbus can come with me. Frieda, do you think you’re up for asking the rest of your tribe for help?”

  Frieda’s face blanched. “I don’t know, Maria… The dark witches are not ones for battle.”

  “Even when it’s against a common enemy?”

  “I cannot say for sure. I suppose I can try, but if they say no, you can still count me in. I will do it for you and those lost in the world in between, and, of course, Ignatius.”

  Maria beamed. The one arm she had draped around Frieda’s shoulder was joined by the other, and Maria wrapped her up in a hug.

  When they parted, Maria asked, “Is there anyone else who would join us?”

  Gelbus and Frieda looked like they were thinking deeply, while Sherlock followed a bobbing mote of light that was undoubtedly some odd kind of firefly. When it got close to his mouth, he snapped at it, missed, and his jaws clicked together.

  Of course, there was one answer to who they could bring to the battle as an ally, but it was so obvious that they’d overlooked it. The elephant in the room had become the Rogue Dragon in the room, and it wasn’t Maria, Gelbus, or Frieda who brought the idea of the dragon up.

  I hate to say this, Sherlock said, as he snapped at the firefly again, but what about that dragon? I’ll admit, the beast scared the crap out of me—but Ogarlic, or whatever, could help us.

  “Odarth,” Maria whispered, both realizing her oversight and correcting Sherlock.

  “Odarth,” the others said, a tinge of fear in their voices.

  “Leave the dragon up to me,” Maria said. “We’ll split up and meet back in this very clearing. Hopefully with a larger army.”

  “Split up?” Gelbus asked. “You know we can’t open portals, Maria.”

  Frieda grinned. “She is more powerful than even she realizes. She’ll send us on our way, and we’ll find our own way back.”

  “You sure?” Maria asked.

  “Yes. The head witch of our tribe has the ability to open portals, as do others, though I’ve never learned the magic.”

  Maria nodded. She was sure she could open portals for them. It seemed like an easy feat to do whenever she wanted, now that she’d already managed once. It was a good feeling.

  “Gelbus. Do you think E’olin will open a portal for you?” she asked.

  “I think E’olin would do anything, if it’s for Ignatius Mangood’s family,” Gelbus replied. His face was serious; there wasn’t a touch of a smile on his features.

  “Okay,” Maria said, “then it’s settled. Are you all ready?”

  They nodded. Sherlock raised his front leg and Maria shook his paw.

  Maria closed her eyes and focused on the magic that was so prominent on Oriceran. She was about to try to open two portals at once, when she heard the crackle of a portal she had not opened herself.

  Maria’s eyes snapped open, and there, amid a ring of gold sparks, stood her two best friends. A mix of elation and sadness settled in her stomach. Elation because she was always happy to see Tabby and Claire, but sadness because, as much as she knew they wanted to help, this entire forest oozed danger. Seeming prepared for said danger, her best friends carried three swords that they’d taken from Ashbourne, looking like true warriors.

  “Tabby! Claire! What the hell are you guys doing here?” Maria asked. Before the portal they’d come through closed, she caught a glimpse of Salem’s house. “Agnes?”

  Claire grinned sheepishly before she realized Sherlock was lapping at her hand, covering her fingers in a sheen of slimy dog drool. “Yuck, Sherlock! Quit it!”

  Better tell her to get used to that if she and I are still going to Dog Prom.

  “I’m not telling her that,” Maria replied. She turned back to Claire and Tabby. “I—uh, I don’t know what to say. I wasn’t expecting you guys.”

  “You think we’d let you have all the fun while we’re stuck in Ohio?” Tabby asked. “No way.”

  “Yeah, you’re not getting off that easy,” Claire added.

  “But why three swords?” Maria wanted to know.

  Suddenly another portal opened, spraying gold and lighting up all of their faces.

  Oh, no, who could that be? She put one hand on the hilt of her sword while the other found the bag containing the music box. If the war started early, she was okay with that. She was ready for a fight.

  The young man landed on the grass, heaving, his face sweaty and pale.

  “For him,” Claire answered, pointing a thumb in the direction of the new arrival.

  “Joe?” Maria said, breathless.

  She rushed to Joe’s side and put her hand on his arm, feeling the sweat and the coolness of his skin, to make sure he was real. He looked up at her, blinking when she touched him.

  “Oh, yeah,” Tabby said. “He insisted.”

  “Yeah, used his police interrogation skills on us,” Claire said with a frown.

  Joe laughed, then looked as if he was trying to hold down vomit. “It’s hardly interrogation when you spill the secret the second time you’re asked.”

  “Nicely; you asked nicely the second time,” Tabby corrected.

  “Exactly. Nicely,” Joe said. He tried to stand up, but he hadn’t gotten his portal legs under him yet, and Maria had to stop him from falling over. “Thank you,” he said.

  Maria smiled and pulled him close. She was glad to have him in her arms again; glad to be in his, too.

  “Well, that certainly beats Greyhound, but I’d still take flying coach next to a couple of people who are sick as dogs, rather than have to take that route again.”

  Hey, dogs aren’t sick! Sherlock shouted. Unless you mean sick as in, ‘Yo, that dog is sick, bro!’ which I guess is okay.

  “Not what he meant, Sherlock,” Maria said, and the Bloodhound growled in reply until Gelbus gave him a hearty smack on his behind.

  Whoa, Gelbus, gotta buy me—

  “A drink first,” Maria finished for him.

  Bewildered, Joe just shook his head. Maria laughed. She didn’t care about the weirdness of the situation, she was just glad to have Joe back. So glad, in fact, that she rose up on tiptoe and kissed the corner of his mouth. His lips spread into a smile beneath hers.

  Great, more people to put in harm’s way. But she was aware that no matter what she said, these people—her friends, her family—would’ve come to help. The phrase ‘To the ends of the Earth’ didn’t quite apply, because her family had gone beyond the ends of the Earth, all the way to Oriceran.

  Joe swiveled his head around. “So, this is Oriceran, huh?”

  “Home sweet home,” Maria said. “Trust me. There’s more to this place than the Dark Forest.”

  “Ooh, Dark Forest, very Hansel and Gretel-y,” he laughed. The young witch punched him playfully.

  “Careful, man,” Claire warned. “Maria knows magic, and this is her home.”

  “I’m just joking. Don’t turn me into a frog.” Joe put his hands up, warding Maria off.

  “That’s more up my alley,” Frieda said. She smiled to let him know she was only kidding. “Hi again, Joe. Nice to see you. And you, girls.” She turned her smile toward Claire and Tabby.

  Sherlock barked, and Frieda ruffled his ears. “It seems I can’t get enough of you, Sherlock!”

  Damn right, he mumbled.

  Once the homecoming was over and everyone was settled, Maria gave them the low down on the plan.

  She, Joe, and Sherlock would go to the Cave of Delusion—‘Why, yes, that is its actual name, Joe. Like I said, there’s more to Oriceran than just a clearing in the Dark Forest’—and Claire and Tabby would accompany Gelbus to the Light Elves’ castle to ask for E’olin’s help. Frieda would go on her own, due to the fact the dark witches in the northern part of the Dark Forest weren’t accustomed to visitors of any kind, especially those who came from another planet.

  “Okay. Is everyone ready?”

  They nodded.

  Claire asked in a
serious voice that was so very unlike her, “Are you sure you’ll be able to do it? Open all those portals, I mean?”

  “Yeah, it’s different here on Oriceran,” Maria assured her. “The whole planet is oozing with magic that I can use to my advantage. And, you know, I finally got a good night’s rest.”

  “That is important,” Joe agreed, nodding. “I guess sleep is a magic that affects humans and magical people alike.”

  “Hey, I’m still human,” Maria argued. “Sure, I can do magic and am technically known as a witch, but I think being human is more than being from Earth and not having any magical abilities. Being human is all about what’s in here.” She tapped her chest above her heart.

  “That’s beautiful, Maria,” Joe said.

  The others nodded their approval.

  “Well, I’m just speaking the truth. We’re all human,” Maria concluded.

  So I’m human? Sherlock asked.

  Maria nodded. “Yes, Sherlock, even you are human. But each time you eat a dead squirrel, you get further and further away from being human.”

  The Bloodhound shrugged. Eh, I guess I’ll just stick with being a dog. He grinned, and Maria noticed his smile was considerably better than it had been before.

  “See?” She pointed to his smile. “Human.”

  They all laughed together—as a family.

  Gelbus floated up to the castle with Tabby and Claire. It was a feeling none of them would ever get used to. They met E’olin in a great hall that manifested itself out of nowhere. Another thing none of them would get used to: invisible castles.

  “Gelbus Cogspark,” E’olin greeted, a sly smile on his face. He looked quite handsome wearing that smile; both Tabby and Claire thought so, and through their best friend telepathy, they caught eyes and nodded. Claire even threw in a wink for good measure. “And you two lovely Earth girls. I did not think I’d see you again. What brings you to the castle?”

  The three wanderers waited for one another to speak up and answer the Light Elf. Just when it seemed that none of them were going to say anything, they all started at the same time. Realizing their bumbling, they each apologized to the other two.

  “Oh, my bad,” Claire said.

  “Excuse me,” Gelbus added.

  “Sorry,” Tabby said.

  “Okay,” E’olin said, a hint of amusement in his eyes, “Gelbus, since I’ve known you the longest, why don’t you go ahead and tell me why you are this close to the library when you know you’re not supposed to be?” The Light Elf held up his arms. “Don’t worry, I won’t tell; but those Gnomes can sniff out trouble like they can sniff out an overdue book. They’re probably colluding as we speak.”

  Gelbus cleared his throat. With the impending war near, the Gnomes he’d once called his friends and co-workers were the last things on his mind. Gelbus had seen battle; he’d fought for a good cause and saved people—actual people. He was like a brave hero from one of the books in the library, which meant he’d done more in his life than any of those other grumpy Gnomes. But that was another story. He wasn’t one for revenge or saying ‘I told you so,’ anyway.

  “We’re here because there’s trouble,” Gelbus answered.

  “Trouble? What kind of trouble?”

  “Ignatius Mangood has been taken hostage by the Widow. She has declared war with her actions, and Maria Apple, Ignatius’s granddaughter, means to answer that call.”

  The smile evaporated from the Light Elf’s face. He shook his head and looked down at the shimmering floor. “That Ignatius is always getting himself into trouble, isn’t he?”

  Tabby and Claire chuckled uncomfortably.

  “We would like for you to join us, for the Light Elves to fight side by side with a ragtag group of wanderers from both worlds. What do you say?” Gelbus proposed.

  There was a long moment of silence between them. None of the wanderers seemed to breathe.

  Finally, E’olin answered with a great sadness in his eyes. “No. No, I’m sorry, Gelbus. I cannot. The royals will never take up your request. They want to avoid war, not encourage it. They long for Oriceran to be as peaceful as it once was.”

  “But—” Claire argued.

  “I’m sorry,” E’olin said. “As much as it pains me not to be able to help a friend, I cannot.”

  Now it was Tabby’s turn to protest, but before she could get a word in edgewise, Gelbus place a hand on her arm to let her know it was okay.

  He had fought this battle before; he knew when to surrender. There was no convincing the Light Elves. As great a people as they were, sometimes they were just set in their ways. Gelbus supposed that was true about a lot of people.

  “Can you send us on our way?” Gelbus asked solemnly.

  E’olin smiled, but the gesture had lost its luster. “Of course, friend. Where to?”

  Gelbus read him the coordinates. They may not have been one hundred percent correct, but they were in the general vicinity of the clearing. That would be good enough.

  They all floated down to the ground, where E’olin opened a portal. They could see the Dark Forest on the other side, though this far out from the madness, the trees didn’t look nearly as brooding as they would’ve, had they been near the Widow’s lair.

  E’olin shook Gelbus’s hand, standing straight and tall. That was one thing the Gnome liked about the Light Elves: they never squatted or got on their knees to greet a Gnome. To them, Gnomes were their equals.

  “I wish you the best of luck, Gelbus Cogspark. It pains my heart to see you go—and you two, young women.”

  “Then come with us,” Tabby said. “If you are so holy and good, come with us and fight evil.”

  That sadness was back in E’olin’s eyes. “I cannot. If I did, I’d risk a lot of trouble, or, as you say on Earth, I’d risk a big headache.”

  Claire whispered, “Do we really say that? I don’t think so.”

  Tabby ignored her.

  “Sometimes, doing good is worth that risk,” Tabby said to the Light Elf. With that, she turned around and disappeared into the portal, leaving E’olin standing there with a dejected look upon his face. He looked like a man caught in a mental tug-of-war.

  “Thank you,” Gelbus said. “We shall meet again, friend.”

  “We shall,” E’olin said. He patted the Gnome’s hand and smiled. There was a tinge of happiness in that smile. Happiness and hope.

  Frieda approached the copse of trees where the dark witches dwelled. A fire burned bright in the center of the ring. No one sat by it.

  Odd.

  She wouldn’t lie to herself and say she felt brave at that moment. She felt anything but. After all, she had defected from their order and gone on her own adventures. It had been her goal to get into the world in between and fight the darkness there in order to earn her place among the witches—but now…things had changed.

  She had fallen in love. All these years on Oriceran, she had never been sure what love was. Of course she knew the concept, but she didn’t know what it truly was until she saw Ignatius Mangood.

  Falling in love with a wizard from Dominion, Frieda. She shook her head. It even sounded odd in her own mind. Imagine how the Head Witch will react when you tell her… Gloria would probably slap her down and make her breathe in the flames.

  Frieda had paused at the fire, and was watching it intently. She wasn’t even aware of doing so until twigs snapped behind her, bringing her out of her daydream.

  She whirled around and there, unsurprisingly, was Gloria.

  The old Head Witch stood in her dark robes, which were frayed at the bottom, swaying with the breeze. Her face was the picture of youth; as stunning as any Earth movie star Frieda had seen on her short stint on the planet.

  “Frieda, I never thought I’d see you again,” Gloria said.

  A rush of longing came back to Frieda, almost as powerful as the love she felt for Ignatius. Almost. But she wanted Gloria’s approval. This was the witch who had raised her, who had helped her see into the fl
ames.

  “Here I am,” Frieda replied, stretching her arms out. She tried to remain cool and calm. “You knew darn well I was coming here. You saw it in the flames.”

  Gloria had been known to watch the fires so much that you could see the flames dancing in her pupils, even if there was no fire around for miles.

  “You know me so well,” her old mentor said. “But the answer is no.”

  Frieda’s heart broke. She saw the mask of seriousness the Head Witch wore on her face and knew there was no convincing her.

  But you have to try, Frieda, she thought. You have to try for Ig.

  Frieda reached out and took Gloria’s hands. They were cold, but beneath the cold skin, a burning power simmered, electric to the touch.

  Frieda dropped to her knees. “Please, Gloria,” she begged. “Please.”

  In those fiery eyes, she noticed a hint of pity.

  Good, good, that’s what I want. That’s what I need.

  “I was wrong to leave the tribe and go off on my own,” she continued. “But I’ve learned and grown.” Frieda’s cheeks dampened with her tears.

  “I do not care, Frieda. You defected. There’s no sympathy for traitors. The war you are recruiting for is your war alone; do not drag us into it.”

  “A war against the Arachnids! We have a chance to stomp them out for good, to reclaim their part of the Dark Forest.”

  “The Arachnids? I did not see that in the flames,” Gloria mused.

  “There is plenty we cannot see in the flames. Plenty that slip by, just under our noses.” She did not mean to be insulting, she was just trying to tell the truth she’d discovered on her own journeys. “Not only is there a chance to take down the Widow, but also for us to get into the world in between.”

  Gloria’s mouth parted, then turned into a tight smile. “You joke, Frieda, and I don’t find it amusing.”

  “I don’t, Gloria. I wouldn’t come back here and beg you if I were joking.”

  Frieda proceeded to tell the Head Witch of the music box, the Jewel of Deception, and of Ignatius and Maria, and their magical abilities far beyond that of any of the dark witches.