by Ramsey Isler
Sam looked back towards floor level, and Hax craned his neck to look down and behind him. Piv was standing there with his arms crossed and a fairly serious look on his face. “I will stay and help Hax,” he said. “I am sure the two of us can handle everything. I used to make all the watches by myself, after all.”
Hax paused for a moment. He was turned away from Sam so she couldn’t see his reaction. But when he turned back to her, he was all smiles. “See?” he said. “Now you have no more excuses. The others will be upset if you don’t agree even if Piv is willing to help. That would not be very fair of you. Not fair at all.”
Sam kept her face calm, but her external demeanor hid the boiling anger and frustration she felt inside. This impertinent little turd was strong-arming her again. She was just about to give him a suggestion on an orifice he could stick all his proposals into when an idea struck her. Hax was actually giving her an opening, if she was brave enough to take it.
“I’ll do it,” Sam said, “if you agree that this is the last request you’ll make for the rest of the year.”
“Done,” Hax said.
“That’s it?” Sam asked. “No protests? No negotiation?”
Hax shrugged. “I believe this is what is called a compromise.”
“Okay then,” Sam said. “You’ve got a deal. The others will be on a plane by the end of the week.”
“Excellent,” Hax said. He swung from the ceiling, swiveled into a perfect double back-flip, and landed with the grace and confidence of an Olympic gymnast. He gave Piv a sideways glare, and then he walked off into a dark hallway.
“Interesting fellow, isn’t he?” Piv said. Then he slid back into the shadows and disappeared.
Sam stood there for a moment, lost in her own thoughts, and stuck with the uncomfortable feeling that Hax had once again just gotten her to agree to something she would come to regret. But she was willing to take the risk for now, since she fully intended to be rid of him before the year was out.
* * *
“PARTY TIME,” Noc Noc screamed like a hyperactive twelve-year-old. The announcement that the Kith would be going on a European vacation set the whole crew into a fit of spontaneous dancing. Sam watched the scene unfold with Piv by her side. All around the workshop, the elves were already partying.
“When are they going to stop?” Sam asked. “We do still need to get them on the plane.”
“Let them enjoy it for a while,” Piv said. “That way they’ll be more tame later.”
“Good idea,” Sam said. “The round trip plane rental for this junket of theirs is going to cost three times what I spent to bring them here, and the last thing I need is for there to be any complications.”
“They’ll behave,” Piv said. “And we planned it so that they’ll be asleep for most of the journey. There’s nothing to worry about. Nothing at all.”
“Are you sure you’re okay with staying?” Sam asked.
Piv nodded. “I am just dandy. My place is here, with you.” Then he lowered his voice, and whispered, “Besides, we need to keep an eye on you-know-who.”
Sam smiled, and realized just how much she liked Piv.
Chapter 25
The elves did finally get on the plane, and some hours later they landed safely. Melkidoodum and Noc Noc checked in with Sam via a text message from the emergency cellphone she’d given them. She wasn’t surprised to find that they had already mastered the art of emoticons, and their message was full of elaborate smiley faces.
With the Kith safe and sound (or as sound as they ever could be), Sam commenced her usual work day. The work was smoother now. Every day still presented new challenges, but now experience had filled her professional toolbox with just the right tools for every job.
But she still had no standard protocol for dealing with a Kith who appeared in her office right in the middle of a busy morning.
Just as Sam had settled into her cushy new office chair and began reviewing the new plans for company bonuses, the shadows in the bright room shifted and Sam caught a ghostly movement in the corner of her eye. Hax was standing next to her, and peering at her computer screen.
“What are you doing here?” Sam said as she shut the screen off.
“I’m joining my colleagues,” Hax said. “Isn’t that what good workers are supposed to do?”
“Not when they’re Kith,” Sam said. “It’s ten in the morning. Shouldn’t you be sleeping?”
“Kith do not believe in shoulds,” Hax said. “We only care about what is and, as it is, I am not asleep at the moment.”
Sam grit her teeth, and counted to three, and smiled before she spoke again. “Piv tells me you haven’t been sleeping very well.”
“Untrue,” Hax said. “I sleep very well. I just don’t sleep when he does.”
“Why not?” Sam asked. “You like working extra hours on the watches?”
“No,” Hax said with a sour frown. “It’s boring.”
Sam paused. That was the first time any of the Kith had said their work in the shop was anything less than the most fun they’d ever had. “Well I’m sorry to hear that,” she said. “But you do have that additional workshop of yours to play around in.”
“Correct,” Hax said. “I’ve been having ever so much fun with the place all to myself.”
“Piv doesn’t go there?” Sam asked.
“No,” Hax said. “He’d rather spend his time at your house...with your dog. He likes your dog.”
“I’m not sure if the feeling is mutual, but I guess it’s still good news. But you know what would be better news?”
Hax said, “No. What?”
“Hearing that you went back to the workshop and finished another shipment of watches,” Sam said.
Hax paused for a moment, with no mirth apparent in his boyish face. “Is that all I am to you? A magical little person who gives you watches?”
“No,” Sam said, “you also give me headaches.”
Then Hax smiled, and said, “Good.”
Sam blinked, and he was gone.
* * *
Late that evening, Sam went to visit the only other Kith in Detroit. As usual, he stopped working before she had a chance to see his tinkering. He had been working on one of the lathes, and he was currently sitting cross-legged on the floor with a variety of metal parts neatly arranged before him.
“Hallo,” Piv said. “I’ve just been working on some adjustments to the equipment.”
“And how is that going?” Sam asked.
“Just dandy. Dandy indeed.”
“And how is everything else?”
“Also dandy,” Piv said.
“Are you sure?”
Piv tilted his head and narrowed his eyes. “Of course I am sure. What are you getting at?”
“I’m wondering if Hax is keeping up with the workload.”
“He’s doing just fine,” Piv said. He pointed to a box on the floor and said, “He finished all those watches just today.”
“And where is he now?” Sam asked.
“I do not know,” Piv said. “He is a slippery one.”
“Is he usually in that other workshop?”
“I don’t spend much time there,” Piv said. “I have enough to keep me entertained and busy already.”
“I see,” Sam said. “Weren’t you supposed to be keeping an eye on him?”
“I am,” Piv said. “But I can’t spy on him. A Kith would know. Yes, a Kith would. I can only keep one eye on him. Not two. You’ll have to provide the other one.”
“I’ve been doing my part,” Sam said. “But let’s not get too wrapped up in that topic. I want to talk about something else.”
“And what would that be?”
Sam sighed and stared at the floor for a second. “I’ve been thinking...about Pogonip. I miss him.”
Piv’s face was suddenly somber. “Yes. We all do. Hax was right; the others did need a vacation after that. Few of us have ever seen a longbeard autumn.”
“It was pretty j
arring,” Sam said. “It really got to me and I don’t quite know why. It was just so sad, but so beautiful at the same time.”
“Yes,” was all Piv said. His eyes met Sam’s, and for a long moment they just stared at each other, trying to communicate things that words were far too clumsy for.
“So,” Sam said, “There is also a practical side effect to Pogonip’s loss. He was the best gemcutter we had. Think any of the others can replace him?”
“No one can,” Piv said. “Noc Noc might be able to come close. But he’s no Pogonip. There will be a difference.”
“Why?” Sam asked.
“Only longbeards know how to work gems very well. They have a special connection to stones. Stones are old, and only old things can truly understand other old things.”
“So you’re saying we need another longbeard,” Sam said.
“That would seem to be the answer,” Piv said.
“Pogonip once told me that there weren’t many longbeards left in the world. He said they were all sleeping.”
Piv nodded. “Quite true.”
Sam leaned against a nearby workstation and tapped her fingers along the desktop while she contemplated her options.
“You found Pogonip and woke him,” she said after a few moments. “Do you know where any others are sleeping?”
“Yes,” Piv said. “But many of them have been asleep so long, they have practically turned to stone themselves. They will not come.”
“Do you know of one who might?”
This time it was Piv’s turn to think. “I know of one. Yes, one. But he will not be easy to convince. I cannot get him to come here by myself.”
“Then we’ll wait until the others get back and you can go with them,” Sam said.
Piv shook his head. “Other Kith won’t make any difference. But he does like humans. Perhaps if you join me, he will come. Perhaps.”
“Where is he?”
“Not far,” Piv said. “North of here. Across the strait, and near the shore.”
Sam pulled out her phone and brought up a map of Michigan. She turned the screen so Piv could see it and said, “Show me exactly where.”
Piv pondered the map for a moment then he pointed at a spot in the upper peninsula that was just beyond the north side of the Mackinac Bridge—a huge suspension bridge that spanned miles of water to connect Michigan’s northern and southern halves over the Straits of Mackinac between Lake Michigan and Lake Huron. The bridge led to St. Ignace; a tiny town of about 2,500 people. St. Ignace was surrounded by unspoilt Michigan wilderness and miles of shoreline; there would be plenty of places for an elf to hide out for centuries.
“When can we go?” Sam asked.
Piv shrugged. “Anytime.”
“We could do it this weekend. We’ll take a drive up there and drive back down. It should take no more than a couple of days. Not much productivity lost.”
“What about Hax?”
“Aw crap,” Sam said. “Forgot about that. It probably wouldn’t be a good idea to leave him here alone.”
“I agree,” Piv said. “He will have to come with us. Yes, he will.”
“You think he’ll want to?”
“I do not know,” Piv said. “He seems to rather enjoy his tinkering in the other workshop.”
“What does he do there?”
“I do not know,” Piv said again. “I do not go there often. I have much more fun playing with Rupert while you’re gone.”
“If all he’s doing in his spare time is playing around with a few gadgets,” Sam said, “he shouldn’t be that hard to convince. Besides, we’re going on an adventure. He’s gotta love that, right? Don’t Kith love adventures?”
“We do,” Piv said. “But Hax is not like most Kith.”
“You’ve noticed that too, eh?”
Piv nodded. “We spend our nights alone now; it’s just the two of us in the workshop. He has been working very hard. But he’s not as chatty as the others. And when he does talk...well I’ll just say it’s not what I’m used to.”
“Maybe he’ll be more interesting on a road trip,” Sam said. “You can convince him to come, right?”
“I...don’t know,” Piv said. “That might be difficult.”
“Then let’s get the process started now,” Sam said. “Hax! Where are you?”
They waited. The complete quiet of the empty workshop rushed in to fill the void left by their paused conversation. Piv deftly twirled a spindly piece of metal between his fingers while they waited. Finally, Piv said, “I don’t think he’s coming.”
“Hax!” Sam yelled. The yell was loud, but it did not echo. The old building’s brick walls soaked up the sound like sponges. Then Hax appeared. He peeked around a corner and said, “What do you want?”
“Come here,” Sam said. “We want to talk to you about a trip we need to go on. We’re going to go north, up to the other piece of Michigan.”
“Why would I ever want to go there?” Hax said. He was in full pout mode.
“It’s a nice trip,” Sam said. “It’ll be fun. We’re going on a longbeard hunt. Piv knows where one is, and we’re going to go and convince him to work here.”
“I have work to do,” Hax said.
“I know that,” Sam said. “I’m the one asking you to do that work. We won’t be gone long and you can get back to work later.”
“There are other things I want to do,” Hax said.
“Like what?”
“Personal things,” Hax said.
Sam looked at Piv. He just shrugged.
“This is a chance to see something that few others have ever seen,” Sam said. “He’s one of the oldest Kith in the world.”
“I can see him when you bring him here.”
“He may require some persuasion,” Piv said. “Perhaps you can help convince him to come if we can’t.”
Hax smirked and shrugged; a casual gesture that seemed to make him more relaxed. “I suppose I could succeed where you would fail. But are you certain that he’ll be useful? Would he really be worth the effort?”
“Of course,” Piv said. “I’m not exactly sure in what way he’ll be useful, but the longbeards always have something to offer.”
“What if we bring him back and he just dies like Pogonip?” Hax asked.
“Any time we can spend with him will be valuable,” Piv said. “Even if it’s short. Longbeards know things. Old things. Powerful things.”
Hax’s eyes narrowed and his smirk became a full-on smile. “Fine. Fine. I’ll go. But let’s be quick about it.” He skipped out of the room, humming an odd tune.
“You did a good job convincing him,” Sam said when Hax was gone.
“Easy,” Piv said. “The ambitions ones are always easy.”
Sam opened her mouth to say something, but then she thought better of it. Instead she just gave Piv a halfhearted wave and headed for the door.
“One more thing,” Piv said to her back.
“What?” Sam said without turning around.
“Bring Rupert.”
That made Sam turn to face Piv, and she looked at him like he’d just said the sky was covered in polka dots. “Why would I ever bring my dog along?”
“We might need his nose,” Piv said, grinning.
* * *
The drive from Birmingham to St. Ignace took about four hours. Sam stuck Rupert in the back seat with Piv, and Hax sat in the front. It was definitely the oddest road trip Sam had ever been on, and that was saying something considering her father’s habit of stopping at every conceivable historic landmark during their annual odysseys across America’s highways.
The Kith were well-behaved, and they spent the first hour of the trip without saying a word. They just looked out the windows and gawked at all the passing vehicles. Sam was initially very pleased with the lack of distraction, as she had feared the two elves would spend the entire trip chattering like excited toddlers. But they were very quiet. Too quiet.
Sam eventually broke the silen
ce with, “So what’s this old elf’s name?”
“I have no idea,” Piv said from the back seat. “I have never met him in person. I have only heard stories of him from other Kith, who also did not know his original name. Perhaps it has been lost to time, even among us.”
“How do you know he’s still up there then?” Sam asked.
“Kith don’t move around much,” Piv said. “Especially the sleeping Kith. He’s still there. I am certain.”
“And what’s the plan for waking him up?” Sam asked.
“We can use Rupert,” Piv said, stroking the massive dog’s neck. “He should be able to sniff him out.”
“And then what?”
“We talk to the longbeard. See what he wants. Perhaps he’d welcome the chance to be among such a large group of Kith again. Or maybe he would be intrigued by working with a human. Or maybe...maybe Hax will appeal to him.”
Hax took his attention from the traffic and turned to Piv. “And why would that be?”
“You are new,” Piv said. “Longbeards always feel compelled to share their wisdom with newborns.”
“And what kind of wisdom would he have to share?” Hax asked.
“Things that both Kith and men have forgotten,” Piv said. “The unheard whispers in the wind. The unseen messages in stone.”
Hax nodded, and went back to looking out the window.
* * *
It was late afternoon when they finally arrived in St. Ignace, and the sky had shifted to a mix of purple and orange as daylight faded and night began to creep across the land. Sam exited Interstate 75 and drove down a narrow two-lane road flanked by nothing but tall trees.
Hax had a map in his lap and was studying it closely. “There are many places a Kith could hide here,” he said. “There are miles and miles of land where no one lives, or has ever lived. Piv, do you have any other detail on where the longbeard is?”
“No,” Piv said. “I will just know when we are near.”
“How?” Hax asked.
Piv shrugged. “I will just know.”
Hax rolled his eyes and went back to his map.