by Martha Carr
“I’ll even get more jelly beans… Maybe switch it out for Starburst. Those would be harder to get stuck in the wrong place. You are welcome here any time.”
Mira bent down and gave him a hug, rubbing her hands over the green fur on the top of his head.
“I’ll see you soon, little furball.”
“You got it, motherfucker!”
“Hahaha,” she laughed loudly. “You bet, motherfucker.”
Mira put her hands on her hips and went back into the house. She shook her head and walked down the hall toward the kitchen, stopping and staring at her pictures.
“You would flip your lid if you were still here,” she told the photo of her late husband. He was dressed in a blue short-sleeved button-up shirt with flamingoes. “And your shirt ended up in good hands.”
She smiled and went into the kitchen.
Yumfuck walked along the sidewalk in the direction of home. He shrunk down and waited in the shadows near the wall till a bus pulled up and he could scramble on, in between the feet of people getting off the bus.
He found a seat in the back and waited till the bus was moving and everyone’s head was bent over their phones till he grew back to three feet, staring out the window.
Yumfuck watched the people they passed on the sidewalks. When the bus came to a stoplight he squinted into the alley by the thrift store as sparks bounced off the brick wall.
A portal...
A man stood in the shadows, but Yumfuck couldn’t be sure. What was Leira’s father doing in DC.
25
Correk stood in an alley somewhere in London looking up at the apartments above. He could feel the young wizard’s magic, but he couldn’t sense exactly where the kid was hiding. He looked up and down the alley, pulling his energy into his hands as he formed a ball of light. He tossed it into the air and watched it speed over the buildings, stopping at the top floor of a tall brick building where it hovered.
“Of course he would be on the top floor,” Correk grumbled to himself.
He walked over and pulled down the fire escape ladder. Slowly he climbed, stopping at each landing and looking to see how much farther he had to go. When he finally reached the kid’s apartment he looked through the window, trying to see if he could catch what was happening. There was a blue haze floating in the room, and a cat on the couch, meowing loudly. He lifted an eyebrow and scanned the floor; the kid was lying on the ground, barely conscious.
“Two Moons,” he gasped, rolling his hand over the glass, his energy making it disappear long enough for him to climb through.
He grunted as he squeezed his body through the small opening and caught a potted fern before it hit the floor. He set it back down and rushed over, bending down next to the kid. He was groaning and there were pimples covering his forehead. Correk looked at his hands; there was blue ink creeping up his arms.
“Tried to do a cheat spell on your test, huh?” Correk chuckled, then whispered an incantation, “Spell Reverso.”
His arms began to glow and light shot from his eyes as the symbols appeared, turning slowly; only one real option for helping the kid. Slowly the light moved over his hands and arms, reversing the spell and returning his hands to their original color. The kid’s eyes opened and he groaned as he looked up at Correk.
“Damn,” he whispered. “You’re the bloody Fixer. I’m for it now.”
Correk smiled and swirled his wand through the air, pulling down a magical list of information on the boy.
“Well, Daniel Brown, it looks like you are the son of two magical beings, both prominent in their jobs, both completely exhausted, by dealing with your antics. You are fifteen and have used magic unlawfully over eighteen times in the past, including an incident with a frog and one of your human classmates. I’d say that if it were seventeen times I’d let it slide, but with eighteen I gotta talk to your parents.”
“Ugh,” the kid grunted, laying his head back down. “Can you just put the spell back and let it take me?”
“Uh, no.” Correk laughed and helped Daniel to his feet.
Daniel grabbed his head and swayed, slightly dizzy.
“Whoa there, buddy, have a seat,” Correk exclaimed, hearing keys in the door.
“Oh great, they’re home.”
“Daniel?” a woman’s voice called from the front door. “We’re home.”
She turned the corner and froze, reaching up and straightening out her hair. “The Fixer! Oh, Daniel, what have you done now?”
“Just a spell to help me with my homework,” he grumbled. “But it kind of backfired.”
“Of course it did,” she snapped in irritation. “You refuse to practice. I think it’s time you left that human school of yours. You need more education on how to be a wizard without burning the house down around you.”
“It just so happens I might have the perfect place for him,” Correk said. “It’s a new school, started by the former Fixer, my tutor in America. They specialize in curious wizards like Daniel.”
“Oh, perfect!” She smiled.
“What?” Daniel asked with wide eyes. “You’re gonna send me to prison? What about Dad? Doesn’t he get a say?”
“I sure do son,” his father agreed, rounding the corner. “And you need to get this wild streak of yours under control. You have two magical parents, and it’s time you learned from people like yourself.”
“Is there anything you’d like to take with you?” Correk asked.
“No,” Daniel grumped.
“Good, then say goodbye to your mother and father,” Correk told him, standing back.
Daniel got up and gave his mother a hug, kissing her on the cheek. He turned and stuck out his hand, shaking his father’s hand. They seemed more relieved than anything, and Correk wondered if they had spent much time with the kid. He shook the thought away, knowing it wasn’t his business. He was there to fix it, and that was it. He opened a portal, standing to the side and letting Daniel walk through first. He smirked at his parents and Correk followed him, shutting the portal behind him.
“Look, this is better than getting pounded by the Silver Griffins. You have a lot of potential and this place can help you become a better wizard.”
Daniel said nothing as they walked toward the large stone school. The caretaker walked out and nodded at Correk, looking Daniel up and down.
“Got another one, huh?” the old man asked.
“Treat this one with care and let Mara know he’s got potential.” Correk at Daniel. “Good luck, buddy.”
“Yeah,” he grumped walking off with the caretaker.
Correk headed back down the driveway, feeling good about it, knowing he was giving a young wizard a better chance here on Earth. He glanced up at a gargoyle flying overhead, keeping a close eye on Correk. He stopped and opened his portal, stepping through quickly, not wanting another conversation with the flying magical creature. He’d saved him, and that was where it needed to end.
He closed the portal and looked out over the pond at Turner’s house, hearing him whistling behind him.
“Send another star pupil to the school?” Turner chuckled.
“Yeah,” Correk scoffed turning back to him. “He tends to get a little wild with his spells. I found him looking like an ink blot.”
“Good,” Turner said standing up, leaning against his cane. “We’re gonna need all the talent we can get in the coming days.”
Mira pulled the sheets off of the bed and balled them up, setting them on top of the dresser. She spritzed the mattress with disinfectant and grabbed her dust cloth. She hummed to herself as she cleaned. She always found the act so relaxing.
Luckily for her, Yumfuck was coming back that evening to play some cards and hang out. He said he had a special deck he could bring.
She finished up the dusting and shoved the bottle of cleaner into the apron around her waist, picking up the linens as she paused to listen to something cracking and popping downstairs. No one had come through the front door. She had a b
ell on it and would have heard it.
She shrugged, figuring it was the heat pump again and headed out of the room, clicking off the light. She walked carefully down the stairs and stopped at the bottom, looking at a man standing in front of the check-in desk.
Leira’s father, Jackson was back in town. He was wearing a long tunic and leather pants and his long brown hair was tied back with a piece of leather.
He looked at her with bright blue eyes and her heart skipped a beat. His eyes were the same color as her late husband’s.
“Hi, give me just a moment and I’ll be right with you,” Mira smiled.
“Take your time.”
Mira walked down the hall to the first room on the left, dumping the clothes into the hamper. She took the cleaning supplies from her apron and stacked them neatly on the shelf before hanging the apron by the door on a hook.
She peeked her head out of the door and watched as the man looked curiously at the bell on the counter, hovering his hand over the button like he was afraid to touch it. Finally he dropped his palm, dinging the bell and jumping slightly, pulling his hand back and pushing the bell away. Mira raised an eyebrow and sighed.
Another strange one.
She turned the corner and wiped her hands down her sides, smiling at Jackson as she approached the desk. “Now, how can I help you?”
“I’m looking to rent a room.”
“I kind of figured. We don’t sell sporting gear here. All right,” she said, flipping through her book. “Will you be staying a week or longer?”
“Actually, I was hoping to stay a year.”
She looked up at him and raised an eyebrow. “I don’t usually get long-timers like that.”
“I can pay for a year in advance if that helps.” He pulled out a leather pouch and took out two gold coins that made a loud plink on the counter. “I’ve never rented anything on Ear...uh, in DC, so I am not sure how it works.”
“Cash works perfectly. Gold is never turned away.” She laughed and pulled out a receipt book as she bit down on the edge of one of the coins, a look of surprise and delight spreading across her face. “What brings you to the nation’s capital?”
“I have family nearby. I’ll be coming and going a lot and need a place as a home base when I’m here.”
She put the coins in the small safe behind her.
“It’s actually perfect timing. I had a room open up today, and I can keep you there for the entire year.” She smiled, grabbing a key from the cabinet. “Let me just finish this receipt and I can show you to your room. What’s your name?”
“My friends call me Jackson.”
She looked at him for a moment, wanting to ask more. But no, she had rules. Let people be as long as they paid. She smiled again and tore out the receipt, handing it over to him.
“Since you paid in cash and in advance, I don’t need to take a ton of personal information from you. Most people who come here like a bit of anonymity.”
“I appreciate that.”
She stared at his bright-blue eyes for a moment longer and shook her head. “Right, let me show you to your room.”
He followed Mira up the stairs, looking around the place, noticing the pictures up and down the hallway. He didn’t say much as they made their way down the hall. When they reached his room, Mira unlocked the door, jangling the key as she opened the door wide. She quickly showed him around the space and handed him the key.
“Thanks,” he said, watching her as she turned and left the room.
He closed the door and the smile disappeared.
26
Turner sat in his Adirondack chair, leaning his head back, just relaxing for a moment in the warm sun. The birds squawked loudly as they dove toward the water, skimming their feet through the small waves and swooping back up into the sky. There was a cool breeze blowing and his perfectly tailored suit didn’t wrinkle in the least as he crossed his legs in front of him.
Turner had given his Fixer position to Correk, but that didn’t mean he was missing any of the unique powers he’d had before. He could still feel and hear every burst of energy that appeared on Earth and was capable of narrowing them down, searching out people, or noticing new beings entering and exiting the planet. That was one of the ways he kept such good track of Leira. Her aura was the strongest of all, sending heated bursts to him anytime she was fighting, training, or even arguing with someone. He wasn’t trying to spy on her, but he made sure she stayed safe.
On that particular sunny afternoon her energy was calm, so he assumed she was at home relaxing. He hadn’t seen her using the gym since that one late night, but he hoped that she would come back soon. When he was her teacher he had noticed how much more powerful she became when she took the time to exercise her body.
“Coffee, sir?” his butler asked, leaning down with a tray.
“Oh, yes, thank you.” He smiled, taking the cup from the tray and waving off the sugar and cream.
“Anything else for you?”
“No, thank you. Just want to relax.”.
“Of course, sir,” the butler replied.
Turner raised the cup to his nose and took a deep breath, sighing as he leaned his head back against the chair. He released control of the block he had on the energies and let them run through him, telling him the stories of the different magical creatures that were presently on Earth. He smiled as he felt the joyous surge of two small children playing happily in their home. The energy shifted to an old woman; lonely, sad, and resting peacefully in her bed. As he laid there he closed his eyes, smiling at the positive energies, especially after all the dark ones he had been feeling for the last couple of years. It was a pleasant change of pace.
A powerful surge blew through his mind and warmed his chest. He stopped his thoughts and zeroed in, reading the magic to find its owner. The location came easily. It was DC, but the magical being was blocking any type of tracking. They were good at it, but not as good as Turner.
Jackson.
Leira’s father was back in this world. Turner’s eyes opened, and he looked up at the clouds, curious about his findings. He sat up and sipped his coffee, letting the energy give him as much information as possible.
He grabbed his cane and stood up, walking through the grass and down a set of stairs to a bench by the water. He sat down and rested his cane next to him, trying to push through the barriers. There wasn’t much information to go on. He flipped over to Leira and tried to read her energy, but there was no mention of her father.
“Jackson,” Turner whispered. “What are you up to?”
Turner knew Jackson well, since Leira’s father had been his student for a long time.
Turner nodded, setting his choice in stone and grabbing his cane.
“No use ruining a perfect date tonight with that hot little elf over this.” He smiled to himself, knowing full well he would be keeping a close eye on the energy to make sure that Leira stayed safe, no matter what.
Leira stood in the weapons vault, looking around at the different swords. She reached her hand up and touched the one Hagan had used, remembering how she had seen the Queen, and how she had healed her through the reflective blade of the sword. It was strange, and she had forgotten to bring it up to Correk. Just then, he walked around the corner, finally home from his assignment.
“There you are!” He smiled, walking up behind her and wrapping his arms around her waist. “I missed you.”
“I missed you too.” Leira smiled, turning around and putting her arms around his neck.
“What are you doing in here?”
“I don’t know.” she shrugged. “Thinking about something that happened after that battle with Sirius, when I put the sword away.”
“You saw the queen.” Correk smiled.
“Yeah,” Leira replied, surprised. “How did you know that?”
“It’s an incredibly powerful sword, something passed down from generation to generation in the queen’s royal bloodline. In order for her to agree to let
me use it, she put a spell on it that would allow her to see through into this world, and watch what the sword does, who yields it, and so on. That way if it was stolen, she would be able to help me track it down faster.
“Oh, and I thought I was starting to lose my mind.”
“Nope.” he smiled, pushing a strand of hair out of her face. “You can’t get away from me that easily.”
“Are you kidding? If I go crazy, you are stuck with me for life.” She laughed.
He leaned in and gave her a kiss, then pulled back and watched as she suddenly swallowed hard, rubbing her hand up and down her chest. She could feel a surge of energy, very light and almost pure like her own. It heated up her chest, knocking her slightly off-balance for a moment.
“What was that?” Correk asked.
“I don’t know,” Leira replied looking up at him. “It was a strong surge of energy, but not dark. It was almost completely white, like mine. Almost.”
“A Jasper Elf. There must be one in the city,” Correk replied. “Your father did tell you there were others out there.”
“Yeah,” she agreed, thinking about it. “You know what, you’re right. Just a strong magic, that’s all.”
Correk leaned in and kissed Leira on the lips, sending a whole other kind of heat through her. He smiled at her red cheeks and took her by the hand, leading her out of the vault.
“Let’s get some Mexican and just relax for the night,” he suggested, leading her downstairs.
Yumfuck was standing at the bottom pulling his boots on. He looked up and smiled at Leira and Correk.
“Hey, motherfuckers!”
“Hey, motherfucker,” Correk replied, slapping his hand. “You want to come eat Mexican with us?”
“I can’t,” he told them. “I am meeting a friend. But thanks! I’ll bring donuts back with me.”
“Ooh, can you get the cre—”
“Cream-filled and maple, check.” He smiled. “Later!”
Correk grinned as Yumfuck shut the door behind him. “We have quite the social butterfly on our hands.”