by Obert Skye
The car screeched around a tight turn as the road climbed higher and higher.
“They’re still right behind us,” Clark reported.
Another tight turn was followed by more screeching tires.
“Before we get to the top, I feel like there are a couple of things I need to say,” Rin hollered as he flew up the road. “First, my fee for all of this might be a bit higher than my initial estimate.”
“I’m sure it will be.”
“Second, nobody like you has ever answered my ad. Sure, I’ve found a few cats and removed a few warts, but you were the one person to dial my number who truly needed help. So thank you for that.”
More screeching tires.
“Third, reality is important—don’t let what you think will happen ever scare you. Instead, get into your ex-wife’s car, drive thousands of miles, and make the future yours.”
Lightning struck nearby and thunder followed. Each time, the lightning brilliantly showed off the lit-up forest.
“Fourth, Sigi, I’m sorry I haven’t always been around. Being a wizard is important, but being your father means more.”
“It’s okay, Dad,” Sigi said. “I know you were just doing what you had to.”
“Well, you’ve turned out to be more impressive than I could have imagined. And as a wizard I have a great imagination.”
“Thanks, Dad, but could you just watch the road!”
Rin swerved and the tires screamed and he drove higher up the mountain.
“This is good,” Rin yelled. “There’s something about immediate danger that makes a person honest and open.”
Lightning flashed on both sides of the vehicle and all of them decided that now would be a good time to admit a few things.
“If we’re being honest,” Ozzy said, “I didn’t want my parents to be dead.”
“Well, I didn’t want Patti to leave me.”
“I’m getting a D in chemistry,” Sigi admitted.
“And I’m running out of juice.”
Ozzy turned Rin’s phone flashlight on and held it up to Clark’s back.
“Ahh. That’s better.”
The rain increased and the road became slicker. When the lightning flashed, Ozzy could see that there was mountain on the left side of the road and a steep dropoff on the other.
“They’re still behind us,” Clark said.
The report of the SUV’s location wasn’t necessary because the vehicle was only a few feet away, their headlights shining directly into the back of the white car.
“I feel a little better now,” Clark said. “I’ve got a charge. I could fly back and see if they have an open window I could squeeze through.”
“No,” Rin said. “Sit tight and keep charging.”
The wizard turned a few more times and created some space between the little white car and the huge SUV. When he reached the top of the mountain, he pulled into a parking lot that belonged to a gift shop near the scenic overlook. It was late and wet so there were no other cars up at the peak.
“What do we do now?” Ozzy asked.
The wizard smiled. “Let’s find out.”
He slammed on the brakes and brought the car to a stop in the empty parking lot. He unbuckled his seat belt and got out. Ozzy and Sigi did the same on the other side. The moment they stepped out, a cold wind whipped up against their wet faces as the SUV came blazing into the parking lot.
“Come on!” Rin said.
Rin started to run up some stone stairs towards the closed gift shop.
“About a mile to the south of us is the highest restaurant in North America! And the top of the tram,” he yelled.
“Why would you tell me that right now?” Ozzy yelled back.
“I find it interesting.”
Two men climbed out of the SUV and began to give chase. Ozzy looked back. Lightning struck and he saw that one of the men was Charles.
Clark saw it too and made an exasperated noise. He jumped from Ozzy’s shoulder and flew off to try to slow them down.
Ozzy, Sigi, and the wizard ran around the gift shop. They dashed up a long cement ramp to the top of the peak where the scenic overlook was. The overlook stuck out over the edge of the mountain and gave them a spectacular view of the lights of Albuquerque far, far below.
“Wow,” Ozzy said.
“I know, right?” Rin said.
They had reached the end of the line. The overlook had a steel railing all the way around it. On the other side of the railing was a fall that no one could survive. Two lampposts glowed weakly on each end of the overlook.
“What are we doing here?” Ozzy asked. “They’re going to find us.”
“Yeah, Dad,” Sigi said. “This seems like a bad idea.”
“Of course they’ll find us,” Rin said. “That’s the point.”
“Shouldn’t we run?” Ozzy suggested. “We could go over there to where the tram is. Maybe we can climb down the mountain.”
“No. I like our odds right here.”
“Unprotected, standing in the rain?” Sigi asked. “Standing on a deck hanging over the side of a mountain?”
“Yes.”
“I might have to tell Mom about this, you know.”
“Please don’t.”
“Also,” Ozzy shouted, “one of those men in the car was Charles.”
“Even better,” Rin shouted back.
Lightning and thunder struck in the distance and Ozzy watched the dark sky fracture with light.
“Rin, this is not a good idea.”
“Trust me, Oz, it’s perfect.”
Rin asking Ozzy to trust him struck a chord. His body buzzed and shivered under the cold rain. He had trusted this wizard to help him do some crazy things but now he wasn’t so sure that had been a wise decision.
The rain began to let up; the lightning strikes were drifting farther and farther away. Ozzy looked back toward the closed gift shop. There, standing no more than ten feet from him, was Charles. He had gotten past Clark and around the building. Now he was wet, looking angry, and holding a gun.
Sigi screamed.
Rin spun around and saw what all the fuss was about.
“You made it,” the wizard said calmly. His felt hat and hair were dripping wet. “Right where we wanted you to be.”
Charles stepped closer.
“Sirius Knight and his kids, Salvin and Honi. I was wrong about you three. It takes a real eccentric to stand out in the rain on top of a mountain and think they have any advantage over me.”
“Where’s your other goon?” Rin asked.
“He’s checking your car to make sure you didn’t hide the tape in there. He’s also contending with an annoying bird that won’t go away. Now—is the tape in the car, or does one of you have it?”
Rin ignored Charles’s question and asked one of his own.
“Do you know who this boy is?” he said, pointing at Ozzy.
“Why would I care?”
“You should know who he is,” Rin said. “Because seven years ago, you kidnapped his parents and left him for dead in the woods.”
Charles stood perfectly still, staring at Ozzy.
“His entire life he’s wondered and hoped to find his family. And now he’s discovered that the one half-uncle he does have killed his parents.”
“I did no such thing.”
“You had a beard back then,” Ozzy spoke up. “You had a beard and you marched in with your men and took everything I had.”
“Stop this!” Charles demanded. “You have no idea what you’re talking about. The formula your parents came up with could have changed the world. No more idiots letting their free will ruin things for others. And those who don’t know better could have been given guidance from us who do. So boo-hoo that you had a little pain in your life. You look fi
ne. I was trying to change the world! Now, if you’ll hand over that tape, I can finish doing so.”
“What a stupid human,” Rin said.
“I think I’m going to shoot you now,” Charles said.
Ozzy felt something land on his right shoulder.
“I worked the other one over,” Clark whispered into Ozzy’s ear. “He’s tangled up in some bushes that he was dumb enough to chase me through. Now I’ll get this stooge.”
Clark blasted off from Ozzy’s shoulder and slammed into the right side of Charles’s head. The evil half-uncle swore and waved his gun at the dark sky.
“Stupid bird! Where are you?”
Clark swooped in again and hit him from the left. Charles spun and shot into the air, hitting the bird and dropping him like a rock down onto the deck.
“No!” Ozzy yelled.
He and Sigi moved to run to the bird but Charles insisted they stay put.
“If he’s dead, you’ll pay,” Ozzy said, seething.
“How could you do that?” Sigi yelled.
“He’s a metal bird. What’s death to an object?” Charles said cruelly. “He’s obviously one of Emmitt’s toys. Maybe I should examine it closer. Make a few of my own. Now, let’s shoot somebody who’s flesh and bone.”
“Wait,” Ozzy said. “Don’t shoot anybody. I’ll give you the tape.”
Charles sighed. “That’s more like it.”
“First, let Sigi and Rin go.”
“Who?”
“Honi and Sirius.”
“Oh, well, if that’s the condition then . . . no. How about you hand me the tape and then you three are free to do what you want. I couldn’t care less if you live or die. But I guess you already know that, Ozzy.”
The words hit Ozzy like a stone. He knew all too well what Charles’s black heart was capable of. He had left him for dead years ago without a second thought.
Ozzy reached out his left hand and pointed. Under the weak lamplight, the contrast between his single finger and the rest of his hand was clear. He shook—and felt the universe drawing into him as if it meant to fill him with energy. He studied his finger as it pointed towards Charles. His mind began to buzz, and thoughts that weren’t his own were visible to him. He could see what his half-uncle wanted. He could see how Charles still thirsted for the power and control he had eliminated Ozzy’s parents for. He felt connected to the experiments and the possibilities his mother and father began years ago.
Ozzy closed his grey eyes and breathed in.
“Give me the tape.” Charles’s voice was like venom. “Let’s finish the work your parents were too cowardly to complete.”
Ozzy could see Charles’s will clearly. Concentrating, he momentarily stole it away from him. Charles stood frozen as the boy sprang forward and barreled into him. He knocked him down against the deck. The gun flew from his hand and Charles’s head slammed against the railing. Ozzy began to punch him as if he were the root of all his sorrow ever. And since he was, Rin let it go for a few moments before he pulled the boy off.
“That’s enough,” the wizard said. “Don’t let your appetite for destruction consume your soul. There are better things in life to fill up on.”
Sigi walked over to the gun and picked it up gingerly. She handed it to her father. The wizard racked a bullet from the chamber, ejected the magazine, and threw the gun and the magazine off the deck and down the mountain. Rin stepped back and stood by Ozzy and his daughter.
Charles slowly lifted himself onto his hands and knees and worked himself back upright. He looked at them all as they stood near the railing.
“You three aren’t eccentric—you’re mental. Now give me that tape.”
Ozzy pulled the orange tape from his pocket and held it over the rail.
“Come any closer and I’ll drop it. I don’t know what’s down there, but it’s a long drop and you’d never see this again.”
As Charles inched forward, Rin pulled out his wand and pointed it at him.
“Stay where you are.”
“You’re going to poke me with a stick?” Charles asked with disgust.
“It’s a wand,” Sigi said.
“Don’t be foolish,” Charles barked. “Ozzy, do you know how much that formula is worth? It could make us all wealthy beyond our dreams. Do you have any comprehension of its value?”
“I know it wasn’t worth my parents’ lives.”
“It’s worth more than all our lives combined.”
“You and I have a different definition of value—it seems that my will is to let go.”
Ozzy smiled and tossed the tape into the chasm. Charles lunged forward, screaming. He grabbed Rin’s wand from his hand and tried to stab Ozzy with it. Rin moved quickly, pushing Ozzy out of the way and knocking both he and Sigi to the ground. Charles stood over them, holding the wand and sneering down.
“How stupid humans can be,” he growled. “I’ll find that tape. And I’ll change the world.” He lifted the wand above his head, laughing. “I don’t need a gun to finish this. A wand can work just as well!”
Charles gripped the wand like a dagger and raised his fist, intending to thrust the wand into Ozzy’s chest, but at that moment, the dark sky opened up and a terrific bolt of lightning snaked down and made contact with the wand. There was a tremendous crack mixed with the brightest light Ozzy had ever seen. Sigi, Rin, and Ozzy were blown backwards against the railing. Their ears rang and their eyes burned.
As their senses came back online they saw Charles lying there on the deck, his lifeless body smoldering. The metal core with an alder-wood covering might have been slow to work magic, but as a conduit for electricity . . . it was quite effective.
The rain picked up and the wind died.
Ozzy ran to where Clark had gone down and found the bird’s body and his head lying a few feet away from each other. He showed the pieces to Rin and Sigi, trying hard to keep his composure.
The steady rain was soft but provided a comforting noise to a moment that felt more final than friendly. They all looked at Charles as he lay on the deck. Rin picked up his charred wand and slipped it back into his robe.
“I wish it could have ended differently,” Ozzy said.
“It ended as it began,” the wizard insisted. “With a boy being brave.”
“Plus the magic of a wand,” Ozzy added.
Rin smiled as he put his arm around his daughter. Under the soft light of the two lampposts he glanced at the bits of bird in Ozzy’s hand.
“I wouldn’t worry too much about Clark,” Rin said. “You have your father’s and mother’s genius in you. Fixing him should be no problem.”
Ozzy stood up and carefully put Clark’s pieces into his hoodie pocket.
“What now?” he asked the wizard as rain washed down his face.
“Well, I don’t know if you’re aware of this, but Quarfelt is appearing. I can see it at the edges of my vision and in the shape of the landscape. It’s here.”
“We’re going to Quarfelt?” Ozzy asked, looking around.
“No, I am.”
“What?” Ozzy began to panic. “I don’t believe it.”
Rin smiled. “It doesn’t matter if you do.”
“Don’t go,” both Ozzy and Sigi pleaded.
Rin put one hand on Ozzy’s shoulder and the other on Sigi’s. “Sometimes our choices are not our own. Sometimes they’re made by others. It might not be easy, but it’s my responsibility to make things right.”
“That makes no sense,” Ozzy said, rubbing his temples.
“Let me put it in wompin lingo: Because you have made the brave decision to finish what was started long ago, you can now truly begin for yourself. I must move on and complete what I began.”
“That makes even less sense,” Sigi argued. “If you go, what are we supposed to do?”
&
nbsp; Rin dug around in his front robe pocket and pulled out the car keys. He put them in the palm of Sigi’s left hand as if they were a great token that had been forged in a fire of destiny.
“You should probably drive home,” Rin told his daughter.
“I only have my permit.”
“In Quarfelt, a person’s permit is their bond.”
“Dad, this is ridiculous,” Sigi pleaded.
“I love you, Sigi. I’m sorry I haven’t been there and sorry I must leave. But I need to make things right.”
“Wait!” Ozzy shouted. “I didn’t hire you to just abandon us.”
“You don’t hire a wizard—you value his time and pay him accordingly.”
“Your ad said, ‘Wizard for hire’!”
“Don’t believe everything you read. And believe me, I wouldn’t go if it wasn’t what has to be.”
The wizard gave Ozzy a short hug and Sigi a much longer one.
He then stepped back and looked at both of them.
“Sigi,” he said solemnly, “tell your mom what happened.”
A deafening crack of thunder sounded from out over Albuquerque. Ozzy and Sigi turned around to witness it and when they turned back, Labyrinth was gone.
The sunlight dropped down from high above the cloaked house, warming everything under its gaze.
Ozzy stood on the porch and closed the front door.
“Ready?” he asked.
“I think so,” Clark said.
After Rin had disappeared, Ozzy and Sigi had left the mountain and anonymously called 911 to notify the police of Charles’s condition. When the police arrived, they found no trace of a dead man and figured the call had been a hoax. What none of them knew was that Charles’s body had been moved quickly by others who needed his death to go unnoticed. His demise was just one more secret that Harken Corporation had to keep.
The drive back from Albuquerque two weeks previous had been long and uneventful—no riding on trains or getting chased through cemeteries. Just a few stops and a few days of time spent with Sigi. By the end of it Ozzy no longer thought drive-thrus were magical.
Sigi had dropped Ozzy off at the train tracks and taken the car home to begin the long process of explaining to her mother.