“Sorry to interrupt, Elvin, but I wanted to let you know I’ll be leaving now,” his secretary Linda said as she bustled into the room. “Here’s your meeting schedule for tomorrow and a few papers for you to sign.”
“Fine,” he replied with little interest, signaling for Linda to place the items next to the scripts. “Have a nice evening.”
“Oh, one other thing,” she said, approaching the desk. “It’s probably a prank, but someone on the staff was going through your fan e-mails and found something curious.”
Elvin leaned around in his chair to face her. “You know I don’t have time to read that gibberish, Linda. Remember our rule–delete, delete, delete!”
Linda nodded with an awkward smile. “I know, Elvin. But there were three messages I thought you should see.”
Elvin set his wine glass down, removed his feet from the desk and sat up straight. Though such details annoyed him, he realized that he had to play along with his employees in order to keep up his deception. He couldn’t send everyone away on a vacation. “All right, Linda. What’s so special about the three e-mails?”
“Other than their curiously strange content, each one of them was sent over two hundred times.” She handed the three copies to her boss. “What do you think?”
Elvin L. Cooper scanned the printed e-mails, his heart pounding madly as soon as his eyes saw those three dreadful names–Christopher, Molly and Artemas. And there was his name too–Belthasar–being used like a sharp stick to taunt him. His secret had been discovered! Bad enough they knew he was hiding out in their world, but Artemas and those two inquisitive children had discovered who he was inhabiting. But how, Belthasar wondered with each labored breath. Since Artemas’ name also appeared on the e-mails, Belthasar realized that the timedoor must be open again. He could return to his own world now if he wanted. If he wanted.
Belthasar considered the possibility. Though distant memories tugged at his heart, he had grown to like this world. He prospered here much faster than he had ever done in Endora or Solárin, with an endless array of technology and diversions to keep him entertained for the rest of his life. But now everything was at risk because of a few mischievous e-mails. Belthasar had to stop his enemies once and for all before they wrecked his life for a third time. He refused to tolerate another defeat.
“Elvin?” Linda’s voice seemed to call to him from miles away. “What shall I do about the e-mails?”
“What? Oh, uh…” Elvin L. Cooper glanced at his secretary, for a moment at a loss for words. Then he smiled, pretending that everything was all right. “I’ll handle these,” he replied, waving the papers in the air. “Don’t worry about it. Probably a prank, just like you said.”
“I could look into where they originated from. It’d be no trouble,” Linda said. “And I’m curious–what’s the deal with that Belthasar name they kept mentioning? What does it mean? Any ideas?”
Belthasar shrugged with a clueless grin pasted upon his face. “Probably some bored kids with nothing better to do. Don’t think about it for another second. You’ve done enough today, Linda. Go home and have a nice dinner. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Linda thanked him with a smile. “I don’t need to be told twice, Elvin. See you in the morning at nine. Have a nice night.”
“I’ll try to find something to occupy my time,” he softly said as she departed.
He glanced at his parakeet when the door closed. “Looks like we’ll both be flying tonight.” Belthasar stood and walked to the window near the birdcage. He opened it wide, letting a soft twilight breeze drift inside. “I must leave you again, Mr. Cooper. I must travel east to take care of a problem. But I’ll be back.” Belthasar gently lifted the latch on the cage and swung open the metal door. “Please do keep up appearances, Elvin, while I’m away. I’ve done so much for your career in this short time that it’d be a shame if you reverted back to your dull and dreary ways.” He placed his hand inside the cage, allowing the bird to perch on a finger. “Trust me. It would be a disastrous career move.”
Moments later, Elvin L. Cooper stood alone in his study, his countenance glazed with bewilderment as he gazed at an open window and an empty birdcage.
A few hours later, the Jordan household was as still and silent as a layer of freshly fallen snow. Mr. and Mrs. Jordan and their children were sound asleep upstairs while Magic lay curled upon his oval rug in the kitchen, dozing to the gentle hum of the refrigerator. Moments later, Artemas left the guest room, tiptoed down the stairs, put on his cloak and boots and slipped out the front door into the chilly December night. Inside one of his pockets was a letter he had secretly composed in his room after dinner.
Artemas quickly walked several blocks along the deserted streets. And though his headache still bothered him, the brisk night air upon his forehead helped to alleviate some of the pain.
A few minutes later, Artemas approached a trash receptacle next to a mailbox on a corner above the city park. Artemas cast a few furtive glances then bent down on one knee and pretended to tighten his boot laces. He quickly removed an envelope from his pocket containing the letter he had written and placed it under the trash receptacle, leaving a corner of the envelope sticking out. Artemas casually stood up and walked back to the Jordans’ house, feeling more exhausted than he had in quite a long time.
Half an hour later, an individual approached the same street corner, bent down beside the trash receptacle and retrieved the letter Artemas had left. The figure hurried off down the next block, the squeak of packed snow underfoot fading in the bitter darkness.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Shadowing
At the breakfast table the following morning, Artemas carefully spread a layer of cream cheese on a toasted bagel, followed by a heaping spoonful of raspberry jam which he meticulously distributed around the edges. Molly watched the magician with quiet amusement as Mrs. Jordan poured him a mug of hot coffee.
“Careful so you don’t get any jam on your beard,” Molly said, tearing a buttered bagel in half and dipping one piece into her orange juice before devouring it.
“I’ll be quite vigilant,” he promised, adding a splash of milk to his coffee. “Nor will I splatter any on this fancy shirt with buttons that your father lent me.” He glanced at Mr. Jordan seated at the opposite end of the table. “You don’t think I’m overdressed, do you? I’m so used to my own attire.”
“You look fine, Artemas,” he assured him as he stirred his coffee. “Throw on your cloak and you’ll feel right at home. Mina Mayfield will be impressed. Maybe you two should make plans for New Year’s Eve.”
“Assuming she remembers me,” Artemas replied with a raised eyebrow.
Christopher smirked. “After that Halloween magic show you told us about, how could she forget!”
Vergil giggled as he ate his cereal, a few drops of milk streaming down his chin. “Artemas, make my cereal bowl spin around and grow this big!” he said, spreading out his arms.
“No magic spells at the breakfast table,” he replied. “What a mess that would make.”
“Can’t be worse than the mess Vergil already made,” Molly said. “By the way, Dad, there’s this girl Lucy helping out at the library over college break. She’s a history major. I mentioned you might be able to show her some items at the museum not on display before she goes back to school. Best of all, she has great fashion sense!”
“Well, in that case…” Mr. Jordan replied with a wave of his fork. “Maybe I can arrange something after the New Year, Molly. You’re still off for a few days then.”
“Great! I’d love a tour.”
“Me too!” Vergil mumbled, his mouth stuffed with cereal.
Molly eyed her little brother with amused disgust. “Maybe Artemas can cast a how-to-eat-properly magic spell upon you.”
“Yeah, well I have a new Frogatron shirt and socks and you don’t!” Vergil replied before slurping up a spoonful of milk. “And don’t ask to borrow them either.”
“Hope I can,”
Christopher whispered sarcastically.
“Just your typical breakfast at the Jordan household,” Mrs. Jordan commented to Artemas as she joined everyone at the table with a fresh cup of coffee. “Need a refill?”
“Not yet, thank you. But speaking of magic, I did make some progress last night while working on a few spells in the basement. I think I’m on the verge of creating a living entity that can survive in the sunlight,” Artemas proudly announced. “After Molly inadvertently disrupted that project in my chamber–”
“Don’t you mean destroyed?” Christopher lightly asked. “Perhaps obliterated? Decimated? Wiped out? Those roses didn’t have a chance!” Mr. Jordan silenced his son with a searing glare. “Sorry.”
“Anyway,” he continued after a sip of coffee, “because of Molly’s action, I took advantage of our brief time back in Endora to research the properties of light refraction and the theory of double incantations. Well, to make a long and technical story short, I stumbled upon a magical detour I had never considered before. The prospects for success look very promising!”
“Excellent!” Mrs. Jordan said, raising her coffee mug. “Too bad you hadn’t discovered this years ago. It would have spared that jar of grape jam I had placed on the counter in the sunlight. But no use crying over spilled milk.”
“Good thing,” Molly quipped. “We’d be doing lots of crying thanks to Vergil and his cereal bowl! I think Magic has better table manners than you, Verg.”
“I don’t think so!” he crowed as Magic bounded over toward Molly from his resting spot in the kitchen corner, hoping for a morning treat. “But I’m sure I have much better library manners. Take me with you?”
“Not today, Vergil,” Mr. Jordan said. “You have an appointment to clean your bedroom. It’s a mess!”
“I’ll accompany Artemas to the library,” Molly explained. “He doesn’t need you around while he’s trying to have a few words with Miss Mayfield.”
“Which is exactly why I’ll be tagging along too,” Christopher said, eyeing Molly. “You’ll be more of a distraction than Vergil.”
“Will not!”
“Times ten!” her brother replied, repeatedly opening and closing his thumb and fingers on one hand to imitate a jabbering mouth. “Yakkety, yak, yak, yak!”
“Oh yukkety, yuk, yuk, funny man! Hurry or you’ll be late for your comic tour,” she said, dunking the rest of the bagel into her juice. “Your audience of one is waiting.”
“Yep, just your typical breakfast, Artemas,” Mr. Jordan said, repeating his wife’s earlier comment with a bemused grin. He removed his glasses and lightly rubbed his eyes. “So if you’re ever wondering why we keep aspirin in the house…”
Mrs. Jordan smiled and rubbed her husband’s shoulder before standing up to get him more coffee.
Vergil tackled the mess in his bedroom later that morning after his father left for work at the museum. And since Mrs. Jordan was busy cleaning out a closet while monitoring her son’s progress at the same time, Christopher, Molly and Artemas simply hollered a quick goodbye up the staircase. They ambled to the library once again in the chilly December sunshine under a cloudless sapphire blue sky.
“Most of the time we’ve been with you outdoors, Artemas, we were either traveling across the plains between Endora and Solárin or sneaking through the woods,” Molly said. “This is a nice change of pace.”
“Not a troll or goblin in sight,” Christopher joked.
“A fine morning indeed!” Artemas replied with a smile as he walked briskly along, the hem of his heavy cloak brushing against the snowy sidewalks.
Though he still suffered from an annoying headache, Artemas didn’t want to complain and ruin their carefree moment together and tried to enjoy the scenery. Curling streams of blue and gray chimney smoke drifted lazily into the air from dozens of snowcapped rooftops. A gaggle of vacationing school kids, concentrating more on laughing than building, constructed a lopsided snow castle in the nearby park. A flock of blackbirds perched in an empty oak tree patiently observed the skies before flying off in unison like a swiftly moving storm cloud.
Nobody noticed as a single blackbird broke away from the others and alighted on a nearby telephone wire just as Christopher, Molly and Artemas passed by. It observed the trio with its ash gray eyes while they walked along the sidewalk below, flying away several moments later but keeping them well in sight from high above.
“I’m going to check out Elvin L. Cooper’s website again, Artemas, while Molly looks for a book,” Christopher said. “It’s probably a long shot, but if our e-mails had any effect, maybe they temporarily removed his web address from the site.”
“Even if he did receive them, it’s possible he’ll do nothing just to keep us in the dark,” Molly reasoned. “Why show his hand?”
“Always the optimist,” Christopher muttered as they approached the library steps.
“Belthasar will announce himself when he chooses,” Artemas said. “We can antagonize him as much as we want, but he still has the advantage. Don’t forget that.”
“We won’t,” Molly glumly replied as she grabbed hold of the cast iron railing and trudged up the stairs, kicking her boots against the cement to loosen the packed snow stuck to the soles.
Christopher and Artemas followed Molly up the stairs just as an older woman carrying an armful of books approached them from behind. She was bundled in a maroon coat with a fur collar and wore a pair of light red earmuffs. Artemas took her arm and assisted her up the stairs as Christopher opened the glass door for all to enter.
“May I carry your books, madam?” Artemas politely asked.
“You’ve done more than enough already,” the woman replied with a smile as she stepped inside. “Thanks so much for lending a hand.”
Artemas watched her walk toward the main desk then suddenly noticed Miss Mina Mayfield standing there staring directly at him. She nervously patted her chestnut brown hair and straightened the lavender sweater she wore before greeting the woman with the stack of returns. Mina glanced at Artemas once or twice more as she put on the pair of reading glasses dangling from her neck by a thin gold chain. Artemas offered a slight wave of his hand and waited until the woman in the maroon coat stepped away to search for more books before he approached the desk.
“Well, there’s a familiar face,” Miss Mayfield said with a cheerful smile. “The last time I saw you, our library Halloween party was thrown into utter chaos!”
Artemas chuckled. “I do apologize again, Miss Mayfield, as I had no intention to turn your celebration into a confectionery disaster.”
Mina Mayfield grimaced slightly as she placed the returned books on a cart behind the desk. “Now remember our deal, Artemas. First names only.”
“Of course, Mina. How could I have forgotten?”
“That’s better.”
They stared at each other for a few awkward moments, searching for something more to say. Then Mina casually pointed past Artemas.
“I see you found who you were looking for,” she said, noticing Christopher and Molly standing behind him. Mina waved at the children. “I know Molly Jordan by name now, though I don’t recall seeing that young man in here too often. I guess the map I drew for you worked out after all.”
“It did,” Artemas replied, nearly forgetting that the children had accompanied him. “Christopher and Molly are here to, uh–help me with some research.”
“And we’ll be waiting by the computers when you’re ready, Artemas,” Christopher said, taking Molly by the arm and hurrying off.”
“But, Chris, I wanted to…”
“Nice kids,” Artemas remarked to Mina as Molly’s voice trailed off.
“Lucy told me you might stop by today,” Mina said, nervously straightening some papers on her desk. “I was delightfully surprised that you had returned to our city. I thought it would be nice to sit and have a pleasant conversation since we never really had the chance last time you were here. Your previous visit was sort of a mystery.
I still don’t know where you’re from.”
Artemas nodded. “I was thinking the very same thing. That we should have a nice conversation, I mean! I wasn’t referring to my mysterious visit,” he quickly added, a hint of uneasiness in his voice. “Or what you thought was a mysterious visit. Nothing mysterious about it at all! And as to where I’m from, well–that’s no secret either.”
Mina smiled curiously. “Where are you from, Artemas?”
He took a breath and pondered the question for half an instant. “Finland!”
“Finland? Why, I can’t detect the slightest trace of an accent in your voice.”
“It comes and goes!”
“Perhaps it faded after spending so much time here,” she politely said, not entirely believing him yet intrigued by his presence. “How long will you be here, Artemas?”
“For about a week, Mina. And I was wondering if–” He fidgeted with the folds of his cloak. “Just wondering if you might like to meet somewhere for lunch and talk. How about on New Year’s Eve?”
“What a wonderful idea!” she replied as the telephone rang. “But perhaps in the evening would be better, Artemas. The library is hosting a storyteller in the park at seven-thirty as one of the activities. There’ll be a bonfire and hot chocolate and all sorts of things to do,” she said as she reached for the telephone. “Excuse me for a moment.”
“Of course.”
Artemas stepped back while Miss Mayfield talked on the telephone. Two young girls strolled up to the desk to check out some books. Lucy Easton, who had been reshelving items in the science fiction section, returned to the desk to help out. She smiled at Artemas as she scanned the books for the girls on the computer.
“Hi again,” she said, briefly raising her blue tinted glasses to greet the magician. “Glad you could make it. Mina was glad to hear you were back in town.”
The Endora Trilogy (The Complete Series) Page 51