by Martha Carr
"Better for the digestion," they said in unison. Maggie gave her sister a crooked smile, laughing as she took a swig from her beer.
"Money was a little tight that summer and Mom was trying to make it all into an adventure," said Diana, grasping Maggie's hand a little tighter. "I remember you putting your sheets in the freezer and throwing them on the bed, rolling yourself in them as quickly as possible."
"I put yours in there too."
"Sometimes I think you were the big sister. You were always looking for ways to make things better." Diana lifted Maggie's hand, resting it on her own. "What happened there? Bee stings from the looks of it, but days old. That makes no sense. I saw you yesterday and there were no marks on your hand." She leaned forward and looked at Maggie's other hand. "Oh, both hands, okay. I'm guessing that's part of the bigger mystery you were going to tell me about. I have time right now."
Maggie bit her lower lip and sat up straighter in her chair.
Diana tilted her head to the side and studied her sister. "Are you in trouble? You're trying to figure out what to say to me. That's not like you, at least not with me." She stopped talking and patiently waited. It was one of the qualities Maggie loved most about her sister. She always gave the impression that she believed there was all the time in the world.
"I have a story to tell you that's too uh... weird. Like magical weird."
"I'm still not following you. Are you doing magic tricks again? I thought you gave that up back in the second grade. I'd support a return, may have even seen this one coming."
Maggie sat forward on her chair, letting go of Diana's hand. "Wait, what? No, I'm not doing magic tricks, although Bernie may disagree with that one." Where are you Bernie?
"Bernie! Love that little guy. Something about him. Is he part of the act?"
Maggie rested her beer on the floor and stood up, her hands on her hips. "Kind of, but it's not an act. Follow me, I think I'm going to need back up from someone else for this one."
She lead the way into her living room and pulled out the box of old tapes, plucking the one marked, Golden Girls off the top.
"Isn't that the treasure trove Poppy left you in his will? I'm not sure where you're going with this. You're not telling me that Dorothy talks to you through the reruns." Diana let out a laugh and sat down on the couch, pulling her legs underneath, still holding her beer aloft. "Not even a smirk. Okay, this is serious and you're playing an old rerun of Poppy's. You were right, this is weird."
Maggie hit the play button and watched Diana's face as Poppy appeared on the TV screen. It was right at the end of his explanation. "You're going to have to lean on the little guys, the Huldus to learn how to use your powers and become the Elemental. Guard the puzzle box carefully. It holds the compass and that is the key to saving the world. If you ever lose it, you can call it to you by..." Maggie spun around, her eyes widening as she stared at the screen, but the image was already faded. The rest of the tape had eroded over time and the message was lost.
"No, not yet!" Maggie grabbed the remote off the coffee table and pushed rewind, holding the button down and hitting play again, but the same thing happened. The information was gone.
Diana shook her head hard, still staring at the screen. "That wasn't a rerun... You have tapes of Poppy! What was that about? What's an Elemental?" Diana put her beer down on the coffee table and pulled her legs out in front.
Maggie made herself take a deep breath and she gently put down the remote. "None of this is going to be easy or a straight line."
"But there is a solution." Diana looked surprised. "You quoted Dad! Boy, I haven't thought about that in forever."
"That was Dad all the time..." Maggie could hear the echo of his voice in her head and her eyes filled. She blinked, wiping her face on her sleeve. "I wish he was here to tell you about this. Damn, I wish he was here to tell me about this."
Diana settled back against the cushions, quietly waiting.
Maggie went and got the book and the telescope out of the drawer where she put them for safekeeping and sat down next to Diana. "I'll keep this part simple. Magic is real and apparently it's everywhere, including in Mr. Hines."
"Old man Hines who gave out full sized candy bars on Halloween?"
"I know, right? He always slipped me an extra one, you know."
"The entire neighborhood has always looked out for you."
Maggie looked at her sister, letting a shiver run its course. "Yeah, I'm just figuring that out. There's a little more to the man, or maybe wizard." Diana started to say something but Maggie grabbed her arm and gave it a small squeeze. "Don't say anything yet. Let me get the rest out." She took in a deep breath and let it out in a rush, running through the different ways to tell her sister. "Okay, not sure where to start. Earth is a ship and everything on it is cargo."
Diana let out a sharp laugh, her eyes growing wide as she slapped her knee. "That's a good one!"
"Yeah, that didn't work well when Bernie started from there, either. Maybe starting with props was a bad idea."
"You're serious? Earth is a ship... that goes nowhere... That makes no sense." Diana's brow furrowed and she looked closer at Maggie's eyes.
"Quit checking to see if I'm high. I have eaten nothing homemade in this house or any other house on Pressler." Maggie made a small 'x' on her chest, the signal the sister's had given each other since they were small. It meant, no kidding, no lies and was a promise to trust whatever the other sister was saying. Diana's mouth popped open and she stared at Maggie.
"You're going to have to just take it in. Yes, a ship stuck in an orbit for the last, I don't know, couple thousand years. I'm not clear on that part. Helluva long time, anyway." Maggie stood up, excited, her hands on her hips. "There is actual machinery underneath our feet, way down there." Maggie pointed at the floor and stomped for good measure. "Mechanics are down there, running through all kinds of tunnels, keeping things going. Bernie is one of them! Boy, that does sound like a cartoon when you say it out loud." She shook her head. "I don't know how to make magic just happen, not yet. I'm not very good at it. Dad was apparently supposed to teach me, but he..." Her voice trailed off. "Look, maybe I can learn... I don't know. If I could just find Bernie. No, wait, I can do this. Something simple, right?" She was aware she was talking too fast and took a breath in, letting it out slowly.
Maggie shut her eyes and held out a hand, doing her best to focus on an intention and think of nothing, all at the same time. An image of a daisy came into her mine and she let it go, setting it out there. She felt a cool thread of energy pass through her mind and she opened her eyes to see a bubble form in the palm of her hand, a perfect daisy sitting inside of it. The bubble popped and the flower fell into her hand as her sister slowly got to her feet, her mouth hanging open.
"I did it! I can't believe I actually pulled that one out of my... Did you see that?"
Diana took Maggie's hand and looked underneath, sliding her fingers into Maggie's sleeve.
"It's not a trick, Diana. It's magic, real magic."
"Define real magic."
"Oh geez, okay, creating something out of..."
"Bubbles?" Diana shook her head, trying to smile. "Sister, I want to go with you on this. I mean, it's you and me and you gave the x, but..."
"Will you at least trust that I believe it's true?"
Diana paused only for a moment before grabbing Maggie by her shoulders. "Absolutely, every time! I want to hear about this book and whatever that other thing is for, I promise. Will you give me time to catch up... or detox you, whichever comes first?"
"Seriously, I get that last one and if this turns out to be one long trip, I'm moving further away from Mom. Okay, deal."
"Now, tell me about Jake."
Maggie carefully set aside the book and the telescope. She gave a crooked smile and turned back, suddenly swatting at Diana, who finally let go of her sister. Maggie picked up an embroidered pillow and hit her with it.
"It's possible to feel pl
easure and pain at the same time. You didn't think I'd forgotten, did you?" asked Diana. "Magic is real, Earth is just a ship. Yadda, yadda, yadda. Let's move along to what's really important. Did you get any? What?" Diana laughed, ducking. "Don't hit your sister. I'll tell Mom. Oooh, don't mess up my t-shirt."
4
Nighttime had finally come after a long, restless day.
Maggie stood in the dark on the long slab of limestone near the lower falls and an old abandoned grist mill, deep inside McKinney Falls State Park just across Onion Creek. Grackles settled into the trees nearby keeping watch.
She picked up a small, flat rock and skipped it across the water. "Still got it."
The park had closed over an hour ago and Maggie had been waiting for the campers at the other end of the park to finally turn in for the night.
She had waited to leave the house until after Diana had finally left to go down the street to their mother's house. After that, sitting in the empty house had been too much.
She crouched down in the moonlight, her gun pressing against her back and she reached out with her hand, dunking it in the ice cold water as it poured over the other half of the long stone. It felt good on her hand and the small, swollen wounds left by the bees. Her purse lay nearby on the ground.
"I know you're there," she said, without bothering to turn her head.
Wilmark came quietly out of the woods and stood back a small distance, still on more solid ground. Maggie stood up, drying her hand on her pants. "All day long I've been noticing that I can sense when magicals are nearby." She turned to face him on the rock, easily making her way in the darkness, stepping lightly over the rock.
The park was a favorite place for Diana and Maggie to escape to when they were teenagers and needed to get away for a few hours. No one ever thought to come and look for them there. It was still her safe place to come and think. She felt like she could finally take a deep breath, standing by herself among the trees, listening to them creak in the wind.
"This was a good suggestion." The elf leaned back, shifting the long bow on his back. "You brought your gun."
"You brought your bow."
Maggie took a long look at what he was wearing. "We really need to do something about your outfit. I mean, Austin is an interesting place and in certain parts of town people will assume you're some kind of niche band, but maybe we put you in jeans."
"I know how to fit in." A smile crept across his face. He held out his hand, a ball of light emerging in his palm and he gently tossed it into the air over his head, the light pouring over him, changing his appearance into a more casual jeans and a long-sleeved t-shirt under a leather jacket. "This more like it?"
"The bow is an interesting prop, but let's go with it." Maggie felt herself relax further. There was only one thing still bothering her that she couldn't quite shake. Where was Bernie?
I can't believe I'm worried about him. "This place is a lot quieter than I remember." Just one day of his chatter and there's a sudden vacuum.
"Shall we begin? You need to learn the basics so you can defend yourself." A look of worry came across his face.
"I can get this. Have a little more faith in me."
Wilmark tried to smile at her, his face half hidden in the moonlight. "It's not you that gives me pause. It's the forces you're up against. It's a kind of magic I have never seen in my lifetime and I've been walking this Earth for a few hundred years now. Our records talk about the practitioners from thousands of years ago who dabbled in it but few survived. That magic spreads through the veins like a poison and eventually eats the magical from the inside out. One entry said they came across the remains and they were mostly dust."
Maggie shuddered, rubbing her arms in the cold wind. "Can that infection spread to others?"
"You mean, can Simon spread this darkness. The truth is, I don't know. All of what we know are stories passed down over the generations. By now, they all sound like dark fairy tales. That's why you need to learn as much as possible, as quickly as possible."
Maggie's phone buzzed and she held it up in the dark. "It might be work. Hang on." It was Jake. Been tied up all day. Too many meetings. How are you doing? Want to see you again. Soon.
She typed back, real soon and put her phone away. A mixture of emotions rose up in Maggie, swirling around in her belly. It is possible to feel pleasure and pain all at once.
"Does Gotham City need you?"
Maggie looked up surprised. "A decent Batman reference, respect," she said, nodding.
Wilmark set the bow down carefully on the ground. "I've been walking this large ship for a long time. You learn a few things."
"I'm more of a Wonder Woman fan. She had that lasso and could make people tell the truth. Now, that's useful magic."
"And the rarest form of magic. It's almost impossible to overcome someone's conscious mind and make them reveal who they really are inside against their will."
"Unless it's dark magic..." The wind picked up and tossed Maggie's hair in her face for a moment. She pulled a tie out of her pocket and pulled it back, out of the way.
"No, that's not what I said." Wilmark's voice grew softer. "Dark magic doesn't reveal anything. It corrupts and eats away at the host, eventually leaving nothing. It destroys those who come too close and stay too long."
Maggie took a better look at him, her instincts kicking in. "You lost someone to the darkness, didn't you?"
Wilmark clenched his teeth, the muscles in his face working and he stood up straighter, scowling as he turned away from Maggie. "We have a singleness of purpose tonight. It's better if we stick to it and not go down the rabbit hole of my long life. What's done is done." He bit off the last words and looked up at the partial moon high in the sky. Maggie let the silence hang between them. She had her own share of memories she wanted to keep tucked away.
The knight finally turned back and lifted his hands, creating a ball of light. "We should get started. We have a lot of ground to cover." He whispered a spell into the light and gently tossed it overhead. "This will keep the light from being visible to anyone but us. Are you ready?"
Maggie breathed in deeply and let it out in a rush. "Let's do this."
"Set an intention and then let go of everything. It can be something simple, but it still has to matter to you."
The image of Bernie rescuing her from Simon ran through her head and a cool stream of energy ran through her, a buzz dancing across the back of her neck. Find Bernie.
The bubbles formed in her mouth, soft and thicker than she expected. She opened her mouth and they poured out, swirling around in front of them both, infusing the air with the smell of magnolias.
Numbers appeared inside of one bubble and rolled into another one, disappearing for a moment, and then reappearing.
"The magic is searching." Wilmark's brow furrowed. "Those are latitudes and longitudes. You asked it to find someone." His voice trailed off as images of Bernie appeared in one part of town, only to reappear somewhere else, as the images changed and rolled from one bubble to the next, heading for the last series of bubbles.
"Call it off! Pull it back!" Wilmark came up behind her and pulled her close, her back rested against his chest, making contact, her gun pressed between them. She could feel the pulse of energy coming from him and helping her to guide the energy. Her muscles tensed and she gasped as the surge increased the flow of magic that was coursing through her. A light poured from her hands, searching out the bubbles and surrounding them, clouding the visions and absorbing them into the bright purple glow till they were completely gone.
Maggie could feel her heart pounding in her chest and there was a loud humming in her ears. Wilmark pressed his arms along hers, his hard muscles twitching against hers, balancing out the energy till it subsided. He abruptly pulled away from her, pulling the breath out of her and she doubled over, her hands on her knees, sucking in air. The magic evaporated, leaving her with a sense of loss she couldn't quite place.
"That was the Master B
laster Water Coaster passing right through me. What the hell did you do that for? Talk about coming into my personal space. It felt like you were becoming one with me." The words spilled out in between gulps of air. She looked up and saw the look of concern on Wilmark's face and his hands clenched at his sides. She made herself stand up straight, her hands going to her hips as she leaned back, stretching her back. "What just happened? What did I do?"
Wilmark shook his head. "You did nothing. I keep moving too fast with you, making the same mistake. I underestimated your innate powers, twice now. It won't happen again."
"Okay, there was a compliment buried inside of a ding without any real information. Let's try this again. What just happened? Why couldn't I find out where Bernie is right now? Is he in real trouble?" Maggie looked around for her purse. "Time to go. I'm not taking lessons while Bernie's in trouble. We help him out first."
The elven knight reached for her arm but Maggie pulled away. "Enough with the grabbing my arm. Next time, I put you on the ground. Don't be fooled by my size. Try me. I'm going with or without you."
Wilmark held up his hands and took a step back. "I don't believe the gnome is in any danger. I was trying to stop you from putting Bernie in trouble. He was clearly tracking someone."
Maggie hesitated, stepping easily across one of the larger stones to the far side in the direction of her car. "He's looking for Simon Wesley. It's why I wanted to know if he's okay. That dark magic seems to be beyond all of our skill sets, you included."
"Agreed. That's why I stopped you. Bernie has a lot of experience as a tracker. It's part of being a mechanic on one of these ships. Gnomes have to be able to track a lion, or a wizard, or a human without being detected."
"Rule number two."
"Actually, rule number three. The mechanics are to stay hidden."