by Jack Crosby
“One way as in he wouldn’t be coming back?”
“Yes young witch. By plunging the tooth into your hand, you and anyone who is in contact with you will be sent there.” He tossed it to me and I caught it with my off hand. “Not even I can retrieve you from that place.”
“It doesn’t matter, I’m going.” I pulled the tooth back and was ready to take the strike when Cassandra caught my hand. “Let go, I need to do this.”
Cas put his hand on my arm too. “No can do bro-ski. You’re fucking pissed and want to go kill someone. Just think about this first before you rush off.”
“They are right. Besides, you will need help to even get to Le Fey’s fortress.”
Our time was almost up. Mephisto took the remaining time to tell me what he knew about the Falls of Sorrow. In the flatlands around the Falls, there were demons called Lurkers who chased down anyone and anything the master of the realm ordered them too. Given that she had taken up residence there, it was a pretty accurate assumption that Le Fey was currently calling the shots.
As he finished, "I know of very few creatures that can outrun the Lurkers. I think it is time to go back to the Garden and talk to your father and his steed.”
Of course, Khloros! “Thank you Mephisto.”
“Don’t thank me yet. There’s still the matter of Merlin and what happens if he turns down the request to be honorable?”
“I’ll take Oz’s responsibilities.” Cassandra walked forward and plucked the beacon from my hand. “If my master doesn’t agree to meet you on equal grounds, I will take you to him per the agreement.”
This was an odd turn of events. “Are you sure you want to do that? He’s your master.”
“Oz, you’re going to go do something important and this will help you.”
A chime sounded on Mephisto’s pocket watch. “The time for idle talk is over. You’re going home in three… two… one…”
Chapter 27 – Merlin’s Rebuttal
When the fog lifted, we were behind Merlin in his tower, just seconds after we were sent into the past. In fact, I saw Tyra one last time right before she vanished into the time void. It hit me hard.
“And now…” He spun around and saw the three of us standing there. “Fuck me! Don’t scare an old man like that!”
Seeing the old wizard standing there, a range of emotions began to take shape. But before I could say anything, the Twins took over. “How the fuck were you going to get us back man?”
Cas and Merlin had a strained relationship to begin with. “You thought I stranded you in the past? Boy, are you that thick or just looking to piss me off?”
“Answer the question then old man. How were you planning on bringing us back?”
Merlin didn’t like being verbally assaulted by him. When he looked to use for help, both Cassandra and I said nothing. We both wanted to know too. “I was about to start a location spell. Once I had it set, I would be able to reach out to you through the fabric of time.”
That seemed reasonable to me, just not to Cassandra. “You hadn’t started the location spell yet? Even for someone of your ability, that would take six months no less!”
“Six months?!” He was planning on leaving us in 1982 for six months? “Man, this just adds more fuel to the fire Mephisto told us about.”
There was a flash of anger at the name Mephisto. “So Mordred has interfered again. I can see he never learns his lesson.”
Cassandra held up the beacon. “He gave this to us. In two weeks’ time, he wants you to activate this and face him.” His eyes got very large. “If not, I have to lead him here personally per the agreement.”
Oh man, Merlin’s face turned a shade of red I don’t think I’d ever seen. “How dare you ingrates make deals with the devil himself!”
“Mephisto isn’t the devil Merlin, he’s just the guy you royally pissed off.” I had Asunder ready in my hands. “I don’t know what happened between the two of you all those years ago, but man up and face him.”
He scoffed at me. “Never. Mordred doesn’t deserve anything from me. If he had stood with us, the blight known as Morgan Le Fey wouldn’t be here.”
“So you’re telling me his fucking story was the truth and yours was just hogwash?”
“Enough!” He lashed out at Cas and knocked him back with a spell. It didn’t hurt the kid, but the ramifications of his actions couldn’t be understated. Asunder was against his neck and Cassandra had a purple spell ready to fire.
Looking for an opportunity, “Make another move against us and your head won’t be attached to your body.”
“You can’t kill me Oz, as you know.” He nonchalantly pushed my arm away, moving the sword out of range. “None of you were there. Choices had to be made that had grave consequences in the future. I did what I had to and don’t regret it.”
Pushing himself up, “You’re still a giant douche. No wonder he’s so pissed at you.”
“If you can’t die, what is the harm is facing him?” The purple magic was no longer in her hand.
“Mephisto is a being of incredibly power. His sanity was lost when Bors was killed.”
Honestly I didn’t care. “We did the job, we stopped Jacoby from killing the Mermaid Queen and taking the pearl. Now if you’ll all excuse me, I have places to go.”
“Wait!” Merlin threw up a barrier spell. “You stopped the assassination, but do you know why the mermaids disappeared? The queen is still very much in danger.”
I banged my fist against the invisible shield. “Let me out of here.”
“Not until you answer the questions.”
If he wanted answers, fine, I’d give him answers. “My brother killed Darina, the queen’s husband. Without him, she no longer felt the need to stay connected and left. Oh and by the way, Tyra, our angel friend, she died too. Thanks for asking you asshole.”
“Merlin, please let him go. He’s done everything you’ve asked.”
Even Cassandra’s word wouldn’t sway him. “Where did she go? Did you ask her?”
“What part of I am leaving aren’t you getting?” I took Asunder and struck it against the barrier. The magic shimmered for a minute. “If you don’t let me go voluntarily, it’s going to get ugly fast.”
“Fine.” The barrier released and I was tempted to go take out my frustrations on Merlin. Instead I walked right by him. On my way out, “Your arrogance knows no bounds Son of Death. You’re needed here, whether you accept that or not.”
I didn’t and didn’t stop walking until I reached the street level, back in Washington, D.C. The cool night air hit me and gave me some levity. I was mad at Merlin for putting us in this horrible situation, but I was even madder at my dumbass brother. Jacoby needed to be stopped.
With the dragon’s tooth secure in my pants pocket, I needed to find a way to get back to Eden. Getting to Eden wasn’t all that easy, but I knew a few ways. Unfortunately that meant getting back to Philadelphia, which might be tougher than I thought. I didn’t have a car and I didn’t have a whole lot of money to afford public transit.
“Hey, need a buddy on this trip?” Standing by the door to Merlin’s was Cas. “Seems like a good time to take a little break from this place.”
“You know where I’m going right? That there’s no way back…”
Cas just grinned. “Hey, it’s not like I’m all that well liked here. Maybe this place will have a ton of babes who can worship me.” I rolled my eyes. “Hey, I’m just saying…”
**Caspian**
Oz was a cool guy and seeing Merlin treat him with such indifference really set off a firestorm inside me. The moment he left the tower, I let my feelings heard. “Well fuck me running Merlin, you really pissed him off. That kid is off to hunt down Morgan and his brother alone and you don’t give a rat’s ass, do you?”
“I don’t need people interaction lessons from you Caspian. What’s done is done for now. He’ll be back when he sees he needs us.” He walked over to the stupid cauldron and began adding more o
f his weird ass ingredients in it. “When he fails in his endeavor, which he will, Oz will return to us.”
Us? I didn’t even know if there was still an us here. Cassandra didn’t look too keen on the way things shook down, but she was Merlin’s prized pupil. She wasn’t going to let something like feelings for a guy cloud her. “With the pearl safe, what threats are we going to deal with next?”
“The pearl is not safe, that was the point I was trying to make. Without knowing the queen’s whereabouts, now it is a guessing game for both us and them. Plus we have this whole Mephisto mess to clean up.” He stroked her black-ish purple hair. “Don’t worry my dear, we’ll make things right.”
Seriously, I couldn’t believe these two were more concerned about something that might happen over the guy who just left here to go find Morgan and Jacoby. “Maybe we need to help Oz. If he’s going after his brother, we can end it once and for all.”
Again, it was like I wasn’t even there. “Cas, be a good lad and go downstairs and get my journal marked 1189 AD through 1205AD. History teaches us much.” Cassandra had joined him by his cauldron. “With the proper information and incantations, Mephisto will not even know what hit him when we activate his beacon.”
Fuck this; I went downstairs alright. I saw Oz standing outside the house, looking a bit lost and confused. With my decision made, “Screw you Merlin. You think I’m useless, well we’ll see how useless I am when I help Oz end this once and for all.”
Chapter 28 – The Return of Derrick Grimm
A few hours later and we were back to the scene of the first meeting. My old home in Philly, still standing strong. The sun hadn’t come up yet, so the two of us quietly snuck into the house, hoping no one saw us and mistook us for thieves. I closed the door gently and made for the couch. “Damn, didn’t expect to be back here so soon.”
Cas walked around, looking at everything. “The first time I was here, I kinda felt bad for throwing everything the way Cassandra did at you. I figured it was for the greater good, so what’s the harm you know?” He stopped pacing. “Turns out there was a lot of harm in it.”
There was no time to dwell over the past. Having sat for long enough, I got up and went back into the kitchen. Cas followed me, looking on to see what I was up to. I opened a few drawers, finding nothing at first. Then after the fifth or sixth attempt, I found what I was looking for. “This little guy is my ticket back to Eden.”
“Cool, we’re going to Eden.”
I hadn’t thought about it until now. “I’m not sure what’ll happen if you come with me.”
He looked annoyed. “You’re not thinking about leaving me here, are you?”
Considering the guy turned his back on his sister and Merlin, it’d be pretty shitty of me to leave him here. I remember how cautious dad was the first time I went to Eden with him. He kept me and Roxanne to the back, just to make sur ewe didn’t trip any special alarms. Still, dad’s lucky charm was supposed to connect me right through to him, so maybe he’d be able to figure out a way.
“Let’s see what my dad has to say.” The lucky charm was simply his old cell phone. Apparently he had so many issues with it, that it’d become a running joke with Roxanne and Khloros. Before I came here, dad said if I needed to get a hold of him, just to use this phone and dial three-one-one. So I turned the phone (which must’ve been powered by celestial energy) on and did as he told me.
It rang three or four times. “Ahh damnit dad, don’t tell me you’re busy.”
Then he answered. “Oz you dog! Roxanne and I were just talking about you! How’s Earth?”
“Dad, we need to talk but not over the phone.”
His tone changed immediately. “Are you okay son?”
“Yeah, but can you get me and a friend into the Garden? Things aren’t going so hot up here.”
The line cut off. I was about to curse at the archaic technology when a portal opened up in the middle of the kitchen. My dad, Derrick Grimm, popped out of it. “I can only keep this open for a second, hurry!”
I waved to Cas and the two of us jumped through, right before it shut. There was the usual flash of bright light, before we entered the Garden of Eden.
I heard Cas before my eyes adjusted. “Holy shi-”
“Language young man. We’re not on Earth anymore.” And there she was, Roxanne, my mom. She was admonishing Cas all the while trying to feed my baby brother Azrael. He was named after an angel who saved a lot of people during the Battle of Tartarus. “And Oz, how are you doing?”
“Good mom.” I went over and gave her a hug. I also gave Azrael a quick noogie, which made him laugh. “Well, not really good, I’m alive.”
“Phew, no one noticed.” Dad dropped into a chair by the table. “So what’s so urgent that we needed to sneak a human into the Garden?”
Alternating back and forth, we filled mom and dad in on all the goings on. As the story progressed, their looks went from curiosity, to intrigued, angry, and finally greatly concerned. It took a while to hit all the major points, but in the end, we finished and let them fire off all the questions.
“Argus is dead?”
“Your brother is working with Morgan Le Fey?”
“Merlin is still alive?”
“Almighty help us, you met Mephisto…”
“Wait, you time traveled?”
There were a few more, it just got really hard to keep paying attention. “Guys, chill okay?” They hated it when I told them to chill. It’s like an obnoxious teenager thing. “Let’s try to keep the Q and A session focused.”
Dad was out of his chair, roaming around the kitchen like a caged dog. “We’ll leave the time travel thing aside for now. Almighty, how in the world did you get mixed up with Mephisto?” He ran his hand through his hair, giving him an insane look. “There’s a reason no one talks about him, he’s f- freaking crazy.”
“In all honesty sir,” whoa – Cas being respectful, “we were in a bit of a bind and Oz negotiated the best he could. Turns out Mephisto just has a grudge against Merlin.”
“That’s the understatement of the year.” Roxanne took dad’s hand and guided him back to a seated position. He still was jittery. “That guy’s been locked up in Purgatory for so long, I didn’t even know he knew how to get out.”
“Apparently he’s good with time travel too.”
Dad put his head in his hands. As he was still trying to get his head around things, mom was more curious about Argus. “You said Captain Fletcher died right?”
My mind went back to the moment Jacoby stabbed him in the courtyard. “Yeah, he died trying to save Darina, the mermaid.”
Even though she didn’t cry, you could tell tears would eventually come. She was trying to stay strong for us. “He was a good man, a very honest one at that. He will be missed.”
Dad lifted his head back up. “It seems like we got some genuine problems to take care of. What can we do for you?”
I placed the dragon’s tooth on the table. “Mephisto gave this to me. It’s a way to get to the Falls of Sorrow and go after Jacoby and Morgan.”
“Ahh shit.” Dad realized he cursed and covered his mouth quickly. “Sorry about that.” He pointed up. “Anyways, back to this.” He grabbed the tooth and shook it at me. “For the love of the Almighty Oz, what’re you doing taking strange relics from a demented crackerjack like Mephisto?”
“He understands what this means to me. You don’t have to like him or trust me, but we made our deals in good faith.”
“I was there Mr. Reaper, err Mr. Grimm? But yeah, Oz is telling you the whole story.”
I’m not sure Cas’s word meant much to either parental figure. Still, they looked resigned to the fact I was willing to do something stupid. “He did tell you there’s no way back from that awful place right?”
“Yes he did.”
“And he told you about the Lurkers?” I nodded yes. “Of course he did. Oh hell, that’s why you’re here isn’t it?” It dawned on him what I was about to ask. �
��You need Khloros to outrun them to get to the Falls…”
Roxanne was oddly silent, just looking at me with that motherly look. “Killing family isn’t as easy as the stories make it out to be Oz. It’s not just some random person in battle, its flesh and blood your sentencing to the reaping.”
“I know, trust me I do. However Jacoby crossed a line and like the rabid dog that he is, he needs to be put down.”
Dad got up again. “Well Khloros is outside. You and your friend have just a few minutes to convince him to go or I’m going to have to send you back to Earth. I’m probably in enough trouble as it is bringing you here.”
With smiles on our face, we were right on his heels.
Chapter 29 – Full Throttle
We exited the little bungalow and walked to the horse stable right behind the house. Mom and dad’s place was on the edge of the Garden, away from the hustle and bustle closer. Still, it would only be a matter of time before someone knew we were here. It took a lot of celestial energy to create a portal like dad did for us, especially by himself. He was pretty fatigued from it, but he’d never let on.
Before we entered the stable, “When we say there’s no way back, that’s what we mean. I don’t know how Morgan and Jacoby are coming and going as they please, but I highly doubt they’ll do a courtesy for you as their dying.”
I didn’t care about that. “They’ll never expect anyone to be stupid enough to go to their base and attack. I learned that trick from you.”
“Way to follow along with the father of the year over here.” Still, even under the sarcasm, there was a twinkle in his eye. I’d like to believe he was proud of me. “Still, a Horseman without a horse… oh well this is his decision, not mine.”