by Martha Carr
Maggie shook her head and looked from the back seat and the yipping creature to the tall one sitting in the front. "Don't you have your own ride? How did you get here? How do you get around town?"
"Magic, naturally. I'm coming home with you. It's my sworn duty to protect you. You can order me out of the car, but it just means I'll get there ahead of you and wait." He crossed his arms and looked at Maggie. "Your choice."
"Not really much of a choice," Maggie muttered. She cleared her throat and started the car as the dog turned in a circle on her back seat. "The dog is restless."
"It's probably restless from not being a mouse anymore."
"Whatever." She reached back and petted the dog on the top of its head, doing her best to forget what it used to be. She turned back around in her seat and backed up the car. "Good dog, good Dexter," she said, looking in the rear view mirror. But it wasn't enough to stop Dexter from squeaking and barking between the seats, its paws on the arm rest until Wilmark pulled the dog into his lap.
Maggie pulled out onto the road and glanced over at the two of them. "I have a dog."
The dark blue El Camino pulled up to the curb just in front of the house on Pressler Street. Wilmark let go of Dexter just as the car was turned off and the dog jumped neatly into Maggie's lap.
"I think he's starting to trust you."
Maggie turned her face away as the dog tried to lick her chin. "For the love of... normally, I like dogs." She felt for the door and opened it, spilling out, her arm wrapped around the dog. She stood up carefully, cradling Dexter the best she could and shut the door, making her way up the front walk. The trees rustled as she passed and she felt the small hum within, making her relax just a little despite the wriggling mass of fur in her arms.
A flash of movement passed in front of her dark living room windows, catching her eye and Maggie had to resist the urge to let the dog go and run inside to investigate. "You may be a mouse dog, but for now, you're my mouse dog."
Instead, she turned to Wilmark and pointed to the side gate. "I'll take the front," she whispered, pointing at the front of her house. Another flutter of movement too fast to be a human being. A spot of light followed the movement, hovering overhead. Not Diana or Mom. Could it be a Peabrain? One of Simon's followers?
She tried the door and it turned easily in her hand. It was unlocked with no sign of forced entry. Not your average burglar. She blew out the breath she was holding, whispering to the dog to try and calm it down and pushed open the door, flipping the light switch and letting go of the dog all at once. The dog took off down the hall headed for the kitchen, yipping and squeaking.
In one easy motion she had done hundreds of time, Maggie pulled out her service revolver and aimed it straight ahead, ready for anything.
"Bernie!" Combing through the box of tapes from Poppy was the gnome, dressed in a thick cream-colored cardigan with large covered buttons. He had on the same dirty blue pants and suspenders tucked over the sweater.
"Don't shoot!" Bernie dropped the tape he was holding as fireflies blew out of his mouth in rapid succession, followed by larger bubbles that immediately covered the gnome. He was moments away from disappearing through the floor.
"You're alive!" Maggie holstered her gun and ran across the room, shaking Bernie by the shoulders before he could get away.
"I know. I've been with me all day. Were there reports that said otherwise?" The words whistled through his teeth.
Wilmark came rushing in from the back, an arrow already in his bow and the string pulled back taut. The bubbles instantly returned, covering Bernie but Maggie was still holding on to him. Wilmark hesitated before slowly letting go and putting the arrow back in his quill.
"You need to stay," she shouted, breathing in the scent of strawberries.
"Sorry about that. Instincts kick in when someone points a gun at me and then a razor sharp arrow. Nice greeting, we have a real bromance going here." Bernie flicked his fingers under his chin at the elf.
"I see you've had a chance to visit Italy." Wilmark carefully put down his bow and crossed his arms.
Bernie stood up and smoothed the front of his sweater, releasing the scent of damp Earth that followed him everywhere. "I have had the privilege of serving this ship in most locales." Bernie pursed his lips and lifted his chin.
"The way I heard it, the word exile was used." The knight cocked an eyebrow and stared down at Bernie.
Bernie shook his head. "Don't try the big guy intimidating the gnome thing. Won't work Incredible Hulk. I'm proud to go where my brethren send me."
Maggie looked from one to the other, her hands coming to rest on her hips. "If you two are done marking your territory..."
The dog ran back into the room and stood in the center, looking up at each of them. He settled back and lifted his back leg, licking his hind parts for a moment, looking up in surprise and letting out a sharp bark.
"I think Dexter has discovered one of the joys of being a dog," said Wilmark.
"What's with the new addition?" The gnome rolled his eyes. "We're in the middle of a mission and you get a pet. Bad enough you're dating a Kashgar. Those tall bastards." Bernie looked up at Wilmark. "I know, I know. You're an elf but you'll do for my purposes."
Wilmark clenched his fists. "A Kashgar! I thought you were watching her. You know what they've done in the past."
"Again with the watching me." Maggie's fingers tapped against the top of her gun.
"It's not as easy as it looks."
"He's not a Kasghar, he's a manager of a CVS. What is with the looks? You have something against the place?" Maggie held out her hands, waiting for an explanation.
Bernie gave Wilmark a look. "I told you, I've told her. Her engine has been started by this guy. He's got it revving if you know what I mean, and she doesn't want to listen to me."
The dog squeaked and barked and got up to run straight for a small hole in the baseboard that was on her to do list with the third step on the stairs. The dog butted his head up against the hole, whining and turning in a circle. He finally gave up and curled up behind the chair, resting his head.
"Your dog has issues," said Bernie. "You get him from your mother?"
"He still thinks he's a mouse. Wait till he sees a cat." Wilmark set his bow in the corner of the room and settled into a chair. "I can sleep here."
"Sleep here? Don't you have a castle you can return to? My house is too small."
"That's my Irish brethren."
"If he stays, I'm staying. You have a couple of nice guest rooms. What? I've been here a while, I checked. You're out of cronuts." Bernie went over to inspect the dog, bending over and leaving a trail of crumbs. The dog tried to lift his front paws to grab at the bits of cronut, falling over on his face. "Why is he squeaking?" He rubbed the top of the dog's head as Dexter gave up and licked up the crumbs. "What happened to the little guy?"
"I accidentally turned a mouse into a dog." Maggie pressed her lips together.
"Oooooh, this is kind of a dog. You tried to teach her magic, didn't you? That explains the tap on the shoulder I got a little while ago." Bernie glanced back at Wilmark. "Yeah, there's a few twists and turns to teaching the Elemental. I thought I smelled magnolias." Bernie patted the furry head and ran his hand down the dog's back. "Not a bad display of magic, could be worse. There could still be a few mouse parts."
Maggie's eyes grew wider and her mouth dropped open. "You never told me that! Can that still happen? Will a long, naked tail pop out of there?"
Bernie shrugged, "Maybe, hard to say. You're a newbie and the Elemental. Kind of a wild card." Bernie stood up and pointed at Wilmark. "If the big guy is staying, so am I. I discovered her, Godwin Knight and I've been teaching her. I'm not leaving the Elemental in your hands."
"It's my sworn duty. I stay till the compass is retrieved and the other Elementals are found."
"Then settle in, because I'm doing the same." Bernie flicked his thumb and forefinger.
"Again with the gesture
s. That's an old one but a good one. Circa 1900?" The knight took off his cloak and wrapped it over himself, settling back into the chair. "Here is fine for me. I prefer to be near the front door with a view of the back."
"Okay, I don't have to take things that far. I'll sleep upstairs." Bernie headed for the stairs, calling to the dog. "Come here boy. Come on." The dog got up and followed Bernie, it's nails clacking against the wood floor. "You should really get this step fixed." Bernie bounced on his toes on the third step. "It's a hazard."
"Somewhere in this conversation I lost control. Fine, camp out here. I'm too tired to argue. Bernie, don't let that dog pee on my floor."
Bernie shrugged throwing up his hands. "I'll do my best. What'd you name him? I know you already named him. I saw your spice drawer. Everything in alphabetical order, labels facing out. Woooeeee!"
"His name is Dexter and you still haven't told me if you found Simon."
Bernie turned around on the stairs and dropped his chin, a scowl appearing on his face. Dexter whimpered at his side, sensing the change in mood. "He's dabbling in some very bad stuff. At best, I was always a few steps behind him. He's upped his game since we caught him out in the open like that." Bernie rubbed his tired face, the whiskers on his face scratching his thick, calloused hand. "I found a few of his Peabrain followers and tracked them. Not a bad bunch, but he's got them all turned around. That got me close, I picked up the remnants of his magic trail. Listen kid, we'll find him. He thinks he needs you as much as we know you need that compass." Bernie headed up the stairs, the dog by his side. "Get some rest! I'll pick up bright and early where I left off. He's bound to want to make a speech to his followers and I still have a few tricks I haven't tried yet."
Maggie went and stood at the bottom of the stairs. "I want to go with you this time."
"No can do, Maggie Parker. You are the very thing he's looking for and you aren't strong enough yet to risk putting in the middle of things." Bernie stopped at the top of the stairs. "I mean, you'd be great bait, but..." He shook his head, and waved his hand at her. "No, wouldn't be worth the risk. We'll go at this from different angles and I'll meet up with you later." He came down a step as the dog tried to fit itself into a small space behind a chair in the hall. "It'll be okay, Maggie." He pressed his hand to his heart. "I give you my word, we'll get this done. I won't let the Earth spit you out. Stick to your guns, live your life. Don't give up on everything that matters to only chase this down. Balance in everything. You've already lost if you let what matters slip away." He turned and trudged off to bed. Maggie looked back at the knight. He had already shut his eyes, still sitting up in the chair.
"You should take the couch," she said. "If you're not going to go upstairs, at least take the couch."
"I won't risk falling into too deep a sleep. This is fine. I've slept in far worse conditions." He opened his eyes and looked at her. "But never with so much at risk."
"Am I really worth all this?"
He tilted his head and looked at her, letting out a sigh. "You're the Elemental and without you, the other pieces are meaningless, but yes, Maggie, even without the greater role, one Peabrain, one human being is worth this much trouble. Why do you think the mechanics still work so hard to keep everything going? They could have given up a long time ago." He shut his eyes again. "Can you get the light?"
Maggie went and made sure the door was locked and turned off the light, looking out at the street wondering who was looking back and were they friend or foe, magical or Peabrain? Her entire world had shifted into a different view of everything.
6
Maggie had stayed up late, combing through the book she had taken from the Huldus. Each page was written in an ancient language but as she turned the page the lettering reworked itself, appearing in English till she turned the page and it settled back into the ancient symbols.
Most of the book was dedicated to the history of the machinery, but there was one chapter that referenced when key components of the machinery were taken apart. In particular, the compass that acted like a small, but powerful drive shaft and a steering mechanism all at once. She woke up in the middle of the night with the book resting on her face and quietly got up, stuffing it back into her purse and putting her purse under the covers by her feet.
The next morning she got up early and threw on her jeans and an old soft UT hoodie and ran to the guest room, but the rumpled bed was already empty. An empty Pop-Tart box sat next to the bed on the floor, surrounded by a flurry of crumbs. "An entire box. I'll have to buy in bulk if this goes on much longer. Where did he find popcorn?" She went back and grabbed her shoes, her purse and her phone, and headed down the stairs, leaping over the third step and landing in the foyer. The chair near the door was also empty.
She looked down at her watch, just seven-thirty. There was the sound of activity on the back porch and she padded down the hall, still holding her shoes. The smell of coffee hit her before she was in the kitchen.
"Hot coffee, already made. The day is already off to a good start." She poured a cup, slurping from the edge, and opened her mouth to help it cool down, gargling it before she swallowed. She pushed against the screen door, the coffee sloshing in the cup and stepped outside just as the chickens sent up a loud chorus of squawking. Wilmark was sitting on the back porch by himself, sipping coffee.
"The gnome left at sunrise. He said it was a good time of day to be able to sense the traces of magic." He held up her father's telescope that had been sitting in his lap. "I found this in your drawer. This could prove to be very useful."
Maggie dropped her shoes and carefully took it out of his hands, taking another large sip, swallowing it down, feeling it travel down her throat. "Keep your hands off my things, knight. You are a guest here, you don't live here."
"We don't have time for those kinds of rules."
Maggie sat down next to him, resting the telescope on her thigh. "Make time. Bernie was right, this is still my life, my house." Her phone buzzed and she slid it out of her pocket. It was a text from Diana. You on your way? Old stuff for sale awaits us. "This telescope belongs to the Elemental, that means it's mine." Just have to feed the chickens and Dexter. Be there soon. It was their regular weekly outing.
"Where's the dog?"
"Currently, under the house. The chickens scared him."
Maggie peered over the back of the porch and saw the furry red face of the Corgi peering out, looking nervously at her and then the chickens. "He seems happier down there, for now." She went tripping down the steps and crouched down by the dog, scratching him behind his ears. "I feel like I owe you an apology for this abrupt life change, Dexter. If I can figure out how to change you back without making you into an armadillo, I'll do it, okay?" Dexter let out a bark and a squeak, his tail wagging. He glanced back at the tail, surprised to see it up in the air and moving and squeaked again.
"I get it, little furry dude. I'm having the same kind of moments myself."
Wilmark leaned over the railing, his coffee in his hand. "I made a little bed for him and found some cheese to feed him. I tried a little hamburger but he wasn't interested. The cheese was the compromise."
"Good call." Maggie stood up, brushing off the dog hair, slipping her purse strap over her head, and walked through her yard toward the garage. All ten chickens poured out of the coop, running alongside her inside their fence, loudly announcing her progress. She took a quick glance in every direction as she went, surveying the area but saw nothing out of the ordinary. It was a normal habit for her, trained into her by the police academy, but these days she was more aware of it.
She slipped around to the garage door and unlocked the door, pushing it open to lean in and grab the chicken feed and the scoop.
She headed back, rounding the corner and looked down in time to see it. On the ground, next to the corner of the garage was a cigarette butt, stubbed out and a Snapple bottle cap, side by side. She stopped momentarily and stared at them, lifting her head to look around, but there wa
s still nothing to see. A quiet morning along the alley behind Pressler. Did old man Hines miss something? She looked up at Wilmark who was studying her and felt her chest tighten but she made herself keep her breathing even. She smiled at Wilmark as she went into the coop, spreading the feed on the ground, and repeating her new mantra.
Stay in the game. Feed the chickens, go see Diana, but it's not time to yell peaches, yet.
Maggie went up the steps at her sister's grey bungalow that sat closer to sixth street. Diana had adopted the same approach to lawn care as their mother but with a theme that changed every year. This year's theme was African rivers after Diana had found a statue of a hippo that looked like he was emerging out of her short grassy lawn. Fish leapt into the air in another area, bouncing on wires and one planted into the ground, only its tail sticking out.
Diana met her at the door, smiling, holding out a cup of coffee. "I figure this is your fourth cup this morning but without it, your heart may slow down to a regular beat and throw you off your game."
Maggie laughed, taking the cup and gauging the heat by the warmth from the cup, slurping from the side. "Ooooh, hot."
"You know most people try smaller sips first. I have to wonder if you still have taste buds at this point."
"They regenerate. Saw your new addition. Texas pigs are in Africa?" Next to the heron that was standing among the reedy garden bed was a small hog statuette that looked more like the boars that roamed wild in the area.
"It's standing in for a red river hog. That was the best I could do and I couldn't resist. Did you see the wicker drums by the bushes? Mom has been encouraging my set dressing by bringing her own contributions. She's even suggesting to friends they could randomly make deposits when they pass by the house. I watched Mrs. Stinson from my window put baby crocodiles made out of vines in my tree. They don't get in trees, do they?" Diana held the door open for Maggie. "I just left them there, especially after I saw people stopping to take a look and pointing at them. I'm a local tourist attraction."