Blinked

by Zari Reede

  He seemed to be in survival mode, as he shook off his last statement and led us to the next unoccupied, ornate wagon. Max helped me into the front box of the wagon. Jim sat behind a wheel. I knew there was no time for questions, so I resigned myself to observe. After a short fiddling of buttons, the non-horse-drawn wagon roared to life and jerked forward. Faster than any prized horse or oxen, I was gleeful yet wary of the beast. We started down the once crowded lane, now littered with colored parchment and trash. Once bustling with popularity, the lane was bereft of souls.

  “Where are you headed, Jim?” Max asked as he scanned the streets ahead.

  “ISMAT. We must find Mindy and get Sammy back. Plus, everything is going to hell in a hand basket here, so I think we should tell them about Ortharos.” He jammed a lever down and pumped a button on the floor. A grinding whine exhaled from the cart. As we turned down the lane with speed, Jim rolled over cans and ladders, scraping one side of the keep wall. The jar poured me onto Max and he grinned at me.

  I tried not to look as scared as I felt. My eyes scanned the road ahead wondering what a strange place Earth must be with all of its keeps butting against each other, and the mechanical wagons cluttering the lanes.

  I hoped Yon Yon, was safe. She belonged to special breed of Ortharian beings, and I hoped I could find her and return her safe.

  Chapter 63

  The Brownie

  Queen Fodjes wore a gleaming hauberk which protected her arms, torso, and upper thighs. She donned her helmet over the mail coif that covered her head and neck. A soldier bent at her knee, strapping on greaves to her calves, careful of the great axe which hung round her waist. She wore an enormous back scabbard, which held one of the largest swords I have ever seen. Two matching daggers peeked from her boot tops. Her daughter wore armor much akin only of leather. Once clad, she and the others mounted their boars. These were no ordinary swine. They were armored and their tusks long and wicked sharp. Nstrl rode a smaller version. Little Miss and I rode with one of the queen’s warriors.

  The resolute Cyclops lined the border ready to defend their land. The queen ranged before them, encouraging her people to be strong.

  Eerily silent, the undead approached. As one, they stopped. Their stillness was unnerving. They made space as the necromancer rode forth.

  “Perhaps your sister was correct. I should have let her kill you,” he called out to the queen in an arrogant voice. He paused as he spied me.

  “Brownie, we meet again. When next I have you, escape will be impossible. I must take better care with my playthings,” he warned.

  His eyes gleamed of fettered promises. I vowed to meself to suicide if ever found in his clutches again.

  “You shall not pass,” the queen proclaimed.

  Liotte paused his stallion, stroked his chin, and twirled the beard in mock thought. “My time is precious, Cyclops. If you stand down while I travel through your land, the yoke upon your people shall not be weighty. If you defy me, I will slay not only every Cyclops on Datters Isle, but every Cyclops on Ortharos. Do you wish to be responsible for your race’s destruction?”

  Instead of instilling fear, his words had the opposite effect. The soldiers stirred and grumbled at the lack of respect Liotte showed their queen.

  The queen recognized a lie when one was bespoken. “My people bow to no one, certainly not an inferior wizard with an unhealthy, perverted love of all necrotic.”

  Liotte verily shook with fury. “You will die! Kill them all, but leave the queen for me!” he ordered his minions. He spurred his horse. It neighed in pain, but instead of running forward, it shied. Its eyes rolled back so only the whites showed and it canted back and rose on its haunches. Just as sudden, it dropped its front legs and bucked. Liotte flew from its back. As he stood, I kenned what frightened the horse. Liotte’s body shimmered. For a moment he froze, mouth agape in shock, then he vanished.

  “So, that is what happens when one is Blinked,” I noted. The light blinked out in the corpses’ eyes and the dead bodies crumpled to the ground.

  I wondered what Earth would make of the necromancer. Since his army remained here, he must raise more minions to control. This would take time. Hopefully, those he came in contact with ken how to destroy him before he amassed an undead army again.

  The army cheered, believing the worst was over. From a handful of the corpses, an odd puce smoke poured from their eyes, noses, mouths and ears. Wafting up, the hideous vapors cohered into multiple creatures.

  “Demons,” I whispered.

  Chapter 64

  Mindy

  We jumped over the two-foot gaps between rooftops until we found a fire escape. I sent Harry down first with Mom behind him. Sir Reggie hurried over the side and waited midway on the ladder. I was sure he went first to sneak a peek up ’Punzel’s skirt. I was about to give him a real show. I took my knife to ’Punzel’s skirt.

  She realized my intent and magicked her dress into my smart black pants and blue shirt again. Her mysterious powers must be back. They faded in and out. Harry was correct when he said they would grow. Thankfully, her mood had been fairly stable. She lifted her leg over the metal railing, hair gripping on to each side. She smirked at me and dropped a loogie over the side rail, before rappelling the wall with little effort. I smiled, patted Grrlec on the back, and motioned for him to follow the others. Sir Reggie felt his way down, since ’Punzel’s loogie splatted between his eyes.

  Mom and Harry stood at the bottom, looking like concerned grandparents. Their features went from parental concern to open dismay, as they watched Grrlec descend and disappear. Speechless with surprise, I realized the only Blinks I witnessed prior to this were those of creatures I exterminated.

  We didn’t have time to mourn the Cyclops child, no longer in our safekeeping. I patted Mom and Harry on the back while gently pushing them onward, down the alley. We fled to an unknown destination. This unchartered territory for me and the official AWAL designation filled me with trepidation. A parade proceeded several blocks away as we hastened toward it. Spotting us in a street full of people would task ISMAT agents, and they would be unlikely to shoot, possibly injuring bystanders. We would follow the floats and take cover somewhere off route. I noticed the wind whipping up, and lightning beginning to take serious point along the parade route. I dreaded the rain, but kept a steady pace toward the float procession.

  “Mindy.” I felt a tug at the elbow of my shirt. I turned to see ’Punzel’s concerned expression. I winked at her. “Don’t tell me you are scared now. No time for it, and I know you are tougher than that.”

  “It’s just that, Grrlec is gone suddenly, and it makes me worry that I too may disappear.” She muddled through her words with begrudging emotion. I wasn’t sure what she wanted me to say. It was true, she would Blink back to Ortharos at some point.

  “Isn’t that what you want?” I asked over my shoulder, continuing my beeline toward Canal.

  “I’m--I’m not sure,” ’Punzel stammered, showing a vulnerable side I didn’t think she possessed.

  I paused, turning around to search her wounded expression. “You mean to tell me, you want to stay on Earth?” I couldn’t believe that was her point, but then again, I had no clue what Ortharos might be like.

  “On Ortharos, I spent most of my life imprisoned. It was unfair they left me to be trained with a wizard who used my power. Then I was pretty evil, but I don’t think that was the real me.” She paused, staring at her entwined hands, lost in her own thoughts of the past.

  “I’m not insensitive to your plight, Princess, but this is no time for soul-searching. ISMAT will kill us on sight if we remain in the Quarter.” I turned back, picking up the pace, to emphasize my point.

  “Right, okay.” I heard her suck in a breath, and a long moment of silence ensued as the band stopped in front of Jax Brewery. I couldn’t hear anything but jazz.

  Doubloons and beads flew as the crowd roared with delight. Sir Reggie grinned from ear to ear as a chubby woman pull
ed up her oversized T-shirt exposing large, saggy breasts. He stared dumbfounded, and the perturbed woman clocked him in the head for examining the bounty and withholding beads. She leered and asked him to show his little man. Before I could explain this Mardi Gras exchange, Sir Reggie was bobbing his knob all over Canal Street. The impressed woman hooted and cheered. I lifted a finger to ’Punzel’s jaw, tucking it back into place.

  “Maybe you will think twice before blowing Sir Reggie off, next time he compliments you.” I giggled. “No pun intended.”

  ’Punzel looked at me in shocked confusion.

  “Oh, well.” I sighed. “Now one of us will have to rein him in, before notoriety goes to his head.” I giggled at my double entendre. “He can be quite the charmer.” I paused choosing my words carefully. “When his pants are on.” An odd expression crossed Mom’s face. “Give me a break. It’s been a long week,” I complained.

  Mom smiled and winked at me. “Nothing wrong with looking, dear.”

  Chapter 65

  Jim

  I wove the top-heavy deck-of-cards float around unicycles and clown mini-cars as fast as I could. “Joker’s wild!” I yelled as I took a corner on two wheels.

  Phrysia turned a pale shade of green, and Max squeaked around a swallowed scream, turning it into “Eeeeee-ew better slow down!”

  We almost tipped and would have, except the jester’s head hit the side of the building. The float righted itself and bounced happily along.

  I lessened the pressure of my foot on the gas, but continued to drive as fast as I dared. The main feature of the float was an enormous jester with a handful of cards, a full house before several cards blew off in the storm. Thanks to the high winds and building bashing, the joker’s tricorn cap jauntily tipped to one side, adding to the imbalance of our ride. Up ahead, the rest of the parade was unaffected as yet by the weather, cops, or McCartneys.

  “Crap!” I leaned on the horn and was rewarded with a loud honk. The riders on the pirate float stopped waving and tossing beads to stare. When they realized we weren’t slowing, they went bug-eyed and screamed. Pirates abandoned ship left and right. One girl in a teensy-tiny skirt and tricorn dove overboard and landed in the arms of a pimply teen, who beamed like he just played the best D&D game ever.

  I heard the sweet sounds of jazz. The parade must be stopped while a band played. Once all the pirates walked the plank, I drove up and kinda bumped it. I winced as the ship float capsized onto the sidewalk. The crowd scattered as black smoke puffed from the pirate float’s cab. The driver threw open the door and jumped out, hacking.

  “Max, climb up and tell me what you can see. We’re gonna need to ditch our ride.”

  Max popped out the window, scaling the cab then the joker. I crossed my fingers as Phrysia gasped and we watched him leap from the hip, grabbing the joker’s arm, then swing atop, straddling its wrist. He scanned the crowd then whooped.

  Phrysia and I looked at each other and shrugged, puzzled. “What?” I bellowed over the music.

  “It’s Mindy! I see Mindy and Harry Meltzer!” Max yelled back, swinging and landing on the float base. “Come on!” He dropped to the street and ran toward the jazz band. I tried to open the door, but the cab was stuck. I growled, frustrated, and bashed my shoulder against the cold metal door. On the third try, it popped open.

  “Dammit, Max! Wait up! I’m a history professor, not an Olympic sprinter,” I hollered at Max, who dodged the crowd like an NFL quarterback.

  He skidded to a stop, remembering Frizzy, and sprinted back to help his damsel from the cab. “Sorry about that,” he said more to Phrysia than me as he tucked an ebony strand behind her ear. So that’s how it is huh, Max, my man. Looks like Casanova has gone gaga for someone. Good thing because he was acting a bit too familiar with my Mindy. I would have hated to clock the dude after all the shit we’ve been through.

  “A Star Trek ref? You are serious nerd material, aren’t you?” Max grabbed Phrysia’s hand and they wove through the crowd with alacrity.

  “Not like all of us can be secret agents,” I muttered as I hurried after them. Anyway, he must be a fan too or he wouldn’t have gotten it.

  While struggling to catch up to Max and Frizz, I tripped over this little dude weighed down with about a hundred beads. I noticed his pants hung down around his knees as I helped him stand. It became evident why he was festooned with beads.

  “They must call you Kickstand,” I commented dryly. Quickly releasing his hand, I scanned the crowd searching for Mindy. Crap! I had lost them, but they couldn’t be far. Beads bombarded me once again, knocking me silly and blinding my vision. “Hey, man, can you cut it out for a minute! I need to find my wife,” I barked at the dwarf in frustration. His eyes met mine and he wearily shrugged his shoulders, and cinched his pants.

  “What does she look like? Put me on your shoulders and I’ll help you find her,” he yelled over the howling wind and the wildly inebriated crowd.

  I ignored him as I tried to get up on a doorstep to search the madness. He may mean well, but no way was I putting “dangling penis man” on my shoulders. Many people stood on ladders along the parade route. I dismissed the one to the right, mounted by two burly men more intent on nuzzling each other than watching the parade. The one to the left was also occupied, but more promising. I chose the ladder which was manned by two giggling, young ladies.

  “See those women?” I asked the dwarf, gesturing up.

  He nodded. Even from here, I heard their shrieks of glee whenever a scantily dressed male passed.

  “Engage them in a little play time, while I climb up for a looksie,” I told him.

  From the young, long-haired women’s hoots of appreciation at scantily-clad men, I assumed the dwarf’s giant-sized assets might buy us some time on their ladder. Negotiating a trade took mere moments. I could now add dwarf-pimping to my resume, along with the many other newly honed skills I acquired over the past week.

  “Mindy!” I called out, waving my hands furiously, but unfortunately the din masked my shout. The little guy joined me standing uncomfortably close as we scanned the crowd.

  “You must be Jim,” he remarked.

  “What? How do you know my name?” Dumbfounded, I gaped at him. “Do you know my wife?” I asked gripping his shoulder.

  “Mindy is the most amazing Earthian, if you know what I mean?”

  He wiggled his eyebrows, and my pent-up temper gave way. I released him brashly and he tumbled off the ladder. Whoops! People around us backed away, complaining. The consensus was I should pick on someone my own size. I didn’t have time for this. Two brutes in muscle shirts glared at me. I bit my tongue and helped the dwarf off the pavement then begrudgingly apologized. The little guy stayed sharp on my heels as he recounted how he met Mindy, while we forced our way toward the spot I had last seen her. Apparently, she took Kickstand shopping, then to a shootout, and now to this fabulous party. He introduced himself as Sir Reginaldo something or another, but I had heard enough. It sounded like Mindy had spent little time mourning my absence and I was a little perturbed at how much time this guy spent with her. He may be short of stature, but the general consensus of the female parade attendees, was that he has something they liked.

  As I neared Mindy, my jealousy fell away and all I could think about was taking her into my arms. Max’s big head was blocking my view of her, but I could see a guy with Mary Katherine, and holy sheep shit! That crazy bitch from Ortharos! Gotta get Mindy out of here and fast!

  I pulled out all the stops, using every muscle I had acquired as a jogger and ran full out. “Mindy! Watch out!”

  “Wait!” Kickstand yelled.

  I ignored him and dove to tackle scary-hair chick. I was too late to notice Frizzy hugging her. My momentum carried me and, as I flung myself at the Ortharos women, Mindy cried out, “Jim!”

  The sound of her voice made my heart pound faster. God, I had missed her! The three of us ended up in a pile of entangled limbs. My goal was not to accidentally g
rope attractive chicks in my beloved wife’s presence. I stood, oblivious to all except my Mindy.

  “Jim--” Mindy’s lower lip quivered. “God, Jim.”

  As soon as I was upright, she flung herself in my arms and kissed me. The world stopped, and I didn’t care about any of it. Mindy was mine, and with me. As we parted, Max offered a hand to each sister, tugging them up with such strength, propelling one under each arm. I had to admit, Max had a way with the ladies. Frizzy scowled when ’Punzel giggled and locks of her hair ran up and down Max’s back.

  Chapter 66

  The Brownie

  I pondered the evil vapors, as they slid into the double moons on the horizon. I’m sure we had not seen the last of Liotte’s demons or himself. The Blinks had been erratic as of late, so one never knew when their number was up--if they might end up on this world or the other. Little Miss needed to return home to her family, and my heart felt her pain when she thought of home. Stronger than my previous family, I hoped my bond would be enough to Blink us together when and if it happened.

  The remains of the queen’s army made merry as we returned to the Cyclops Fortress. A mighty mess remained to be cleaned up. It would be a lovely place for a brownie. Tidying up was like breathing to me, and I would be of great help to the queen and the wee ones. The daylight waned and I was wearied to the bone from the past hours of tension and dread. Torches were being lit and a caravan procession began throughout the valley toward what, for now, Sammy and I would call home.

  When we reached the edge of the outpost, the queen called her second in command and gave new orders. “Winnalea, we detour to pay homage and mourn our dead at H’djk Vdrl. It is a place of power for the Cyclops...” The queen struggled to find the right words. “It is a holy place.”