by Martha Carr
Blake shook his head at her, annoyed. “Really? I’m trying to do a serious job here, lady.”
“Okay! That’s enough.” The cashier waved at Blake with a large, sweeping motion. “Move it along, buddy. You’re not even the weirdest thing I’ll see today but it’s a little early. Come on, go pester someone else.”
Blake stormed off toward the front, still waving the picture of the troll, angry that he was duped.
“Hey, hairy little dude! You got a picture!” The man in sunglasses smiled as he took another sip of his coffee. He was carefully leaning back against the wall near the front of the store right by the small stage. “You think you could send that to me if I give you my number?”
“You saw him?”
“Saw him and the box of doughnuts he rode out here on.” The man smiled again, briefly shutting his eyes. “Long night, if you know what I mean.” He sat forward and sipped his coffee. “Good stuff, black gold.”
Blake licked his lips, feeling hopeful and foolish all at once. “You see which way he went?”
“Oh sure, headed down San Jacinto last I saw him. Moving along. Strong little dude. Box never tilted.” He held his hands up in the air over his head to illustrate.
Blake ran out to the street and jogged to the corner looking in both directions but there was no sign of the troll. “Dammit!”
His phone pinged and he look down. Another selfie but this time the troll was standing outside of Cheer Up Charlies, flanked by two large drag queens getting ready for the cabaret brunch show. Blake ground his teeth in frustration and stared at his phone. He ran back to his car and took off, gunning the motor. He had to know.
The cashier saw Blake’s car speed by the front window, the tires squealing and shook his head. “That man is going to give himself a stroke. Needs to ease up,” he muttered. He looked up and yelled next, still talking. “Little furry hamster is in here all the time,” he said to a trio of girls visiting Austin from a small town in Oregon who were busy trying to figure out what to get. “Finally had to start comping him a few so he’d stop licking them all to figure out what he’d like. Gotta love Austin. We do our best not to hate on anybody. What’ll it be?”
CHAPTER TWELVE
Charlie Monaghan was losing bits and pieces of time. He was sure of it. He found himself gritting his teeth, biting down hard trying to remember what he was just doing. Can’t be a stroke. Someone else would have noticed. It was making him work even harder at controlling whatever he could around him. Never let ‘em see you sweat, Charlie, old man. He carefully wiped his forehead with a starched white cotton handkerchief, careful not to muss the front of his hair. Not when you’re so close.
Charlie had plans… a lot of plans. At the center of all of them was Oriceran. He smiled at the thought. “Always good to be first at cornering the market on anything. Thank you, Langston Rogers for needing a favor so badly. Thank you, Louie for your services.” He raised his glass of two fingers worth of aged bourbon and took a large gulp. His cufflink twinkled in the light. “It’s good to be the king, despite Pearson Cowley.” He sneered as he took another swallow. So the board had voted against Charlie. That damnable Wizard will give me enough of what I need. The board will thank me when this is done. Charlie was always sure he was right, but lately there was an inner voice that was urging him on and making him feel he couldn’t lose. It helped him with his ambitious plans.
A few groups deep within Axiom Industries were quietly shifting gears away from their old lines of business and refitting to be able to do experiments on longevity, grow more food faster, and even build a better weapon. Even if the weapon was part animal and part artifact. But they all were operating off the books, funded with money Charlie had been siphoning from the company for years, one penny at a time. Too small for anyone to notice but it had all added up to millions of dollars.
A war chest! That’s the key to everything! Charlie stood by his window on the top floor of the building, looking out over the Richmond, Virginia skyline. “We need to get to the artifacts first.” He looked down at his tie, straightening it out and saw that a button had chipped. Imperfection. “Tsk, will have to get rid of this one.” It bothered his wife every time he insisted on throwing something away because of some flaw that sometimes only he could see.
He saw it all as necessary if he was going to maintain control over the three separate projects.
Each of the groups operating within Axiom knew nothing about the other and operated at black sites, removed from any official company sites in plain buildings that looked shuttered from the outside. Workers were bussed in for their shifts, so no cars would be suddenly parked around the locations. Updates were funneled through several layers of managers who only knew the name of the contact directly above them. At the top layer they all reported to one person who passed on anything interesting or of note to Charlie. He was the only person who knew of Charlie’s involvement in any of it or the connection to Axiom. Not even the connection to Charlie knew where the funding was coming from for the artifacts or the research. Only that there was a lot of it and it was at their disposal, as long as they produced results.
He was also the only person Charlie was sure would not betray him.
He set his glass down and looked through his phone, dialing the number marked Spalding. “Hello, anything to report?”
The tall Elf on the other end of the line looked up from the liquid pool of silver in the stone basin in front of him. He was summoning images from each of the hidden locations, watching them work.
Spalding was still nursing hurt feelings after everything came out and he was removed from the Prophets. Not even an apology to Queen Saria or the King or even Correk encouraged the group to keep him in the end. No one trusted him and they said it was better if he left. A rumor was started that he had introduced Rhazdon to the prophets in the first place. Over time, his loneliness grew as he found himself without friends or purpose.
All lies. Bitterness began to creep into his heart. Eventually, he had found his way to the Dark Market, and heard there was someone on Earth looking for someone with leadership capabilities to help clear the way for when the gates opened again.
Charlie Monaghan was doing his best to play to his audience and sell them on what his projects could do for them. Sell them the sizzle instead of the steak. “Are we on target?” He jingled the coins in his pocket nervously.
Spalding had smiled when he heard about the project from some old scavenger Gnomes working out of the Dark Market. They were still willing to talk to him but only because they had a grudging respect for his alliance with Rhazdon. They believed the lies. Spalding did his best to hide his anger and disgust and got what he needed to find Charlie Monaghan and his projects. It wasn’t that hard after that to convince him of his motivation for staying on track and keeping things to himself. No one would have listened long enough to hear him out anyway.
But this was a way back in to everyone’s good graces. The three projects held his redemption. He believed the prophesy that Oriceran’s time was coming to an end and his people would need to emigrate. He wanted to be the one who rescued them all.
Charlie Monaghan was a convenience he was sure he could ultimately control.
“Progress is being made but there’s nothing new. We will need more artifacts soon. Stronger ones. Can your source deliver?” Spalding had suspicions about who was the magical being that was helping them, but no real proof. Had to be one of the scavengers from the Dark Market. One of the better ones.
“He has so far, hasn’t he?” Charlie’s voice sounded cold. He could feel the darkness creeping over him as a wave of panic crept up his spine. “Do you have everything you need in your secure location?” He was spitting the words out as fast as he could, knowing he was about to black out and come too just minutes later with no memory of what he might have said in the meantime. He gripped the phone tighter as his eyes grew entirely black.
“There’s more supplies here than I need. I don’t
even know what half of these things are for.” Spalding wasn’t going to mention his trips through portals back to Oriceran. He still had a certain loyalty to the Light Elves. Everything is just a misunderstanding that will straighten itself out. Time to take a little trip. Travel to where the veil is thinner and we can meet. “Charlie?”
“I’m sure you won’t want to let us down.”
“Us? Who else are you talking about Charlie?” The same familiar chill came over Spalding. The memory of watching Rhazdon transform from a Gnome into an Atlantean swept through him. “What else don’t I know?”
“Huh?” Charlie felt the fog lift and a dull headache beating in his head. He felt like he was forgetting something, some important detail. A trip was in order. Check with my assistant. He felt the sweat up the middle of his back. She’ll have a note on it. Just a momentary slip. Spalding was still sputtering in his ear about telling the truth. “What?” He did his best not to sound startled, but the headache was making it harder to think. “There’s nothing else. No, no, I’m the only one. I created this. The ideas are all mine.” He felt a surge of pride and tapped his chest hard. “If even one of these projects succeeds, it will be big and become a new way of life. Improve the quality of life for millions.”
Not for Oricerans. Spalding kept the thought to himself. The advantage was all his. He knew more about each of the projects than Charlie Monaghan. All the information filtered through him. And best of all, he had magic on his side. A winning combination. “Of course, Charlie. All is well. Everything’s on track. I’ll send the updates as I have them. Soon.”
Charlie hung up the phone, his mouth dry even as sweat trickled down the middle of his back. He didn’t see the transparent bubble creating a soft spot in the veil pushing into this world, a dark mist creeping around the edges. “Nothing can trace back to me.” His head jerked up. He could have sworn he heard someone answer, nothing will, trust us.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
“Patsy, did you get all of that?” Lois pushed her glasses up her nose, her eyes wide. Her wand was aimed at the overhead screen watching Charlie Monaghan pace his office.
“Wooeee, that sent chills through my whole body that a nice Excaliburation spell couldn’t even touch!” Patsy was sitting in her office chair, just under the screen, her head tilted back so she could take it all in.
“Like those two are plotting the end of the worlds.” Lois leaned closer toward the screen. She was sure she saw something peculiar in Charlie’s eyes for just a moment. Whatever the hell that was, it’s passed. Still… may have to chat with Lacey Trader. Her face tensed for a moment, but she put back on a smile for Patsy. No need to start rumors. Not this kind, anyway.
“Well, as we know it.” Patsy loaded up her mouth with the green peanut M&Ms from a baggie in her pocket, chomping down hard.
“I’m telling you. Fools to the left of me, traitors to the right. Here I am…”
“Lucky to be here in the middle with me.” Patsy flinched, anticipating a magical poke from Lois.
Lois let out a laugh and a snort, her glasses sliding part of the way down her nose again. “I wasn’t going to poke you. Geez, that was a lot to take in, and you haven’t seen a lot of battlefield action.” Lois raised her wand toward the overhead screen as a thin electric blue stream of light fed into it scrambling the images into symbols that compressed into a square and zipped off to the side. “Sent! General’s got his report and we can relax, like that’s possible after all that nonsense! They always think they’re so smart.” She shook her head. “It’s why I’m of the opinion that criminals are morons and most other beings are basically good, especially my Earl. Keeps me optimistic in general.”
Lois wandered back to her desk, tearing off the spell of the day page from her calendar and glancing at the spell for making potent itching powder. “Ah, a classic. Haven’t used that in years…,” she muttered to herself.
“I see what you mean. That young Wizard could have kept his yap shut about his customer list even if we did have him dead to rights on scavenger hunting in our neck of the woods.”
“Darkness like that has a way of coming out. Trust me, I’ve seen it happen all the time in cases over the years.” A sour look came over her face. “And by the time we had the details that kind of darkness would have seeped inside of him. Louie made the right choice on more than one level.”
“And may never even know it! Foolish human. Knows about magic and it never occurs to him we could be listening in this whole time.”
“I don’t think that Charlie Monaghan is doing a lot of deep thinking these days.”
Patsy pointed her wand at a nearby wall, sending out a stream of magic that pushed off, sending her rolling chair across the wall. She came to a gentle stop near her desk and opened the drawer, pulling out her reserve Twizzlers.
“Patsy, if you’re going to keep eating candy like that you might want to consider at least walking across the room to get them.”
Patsy crossed her arms across her chest, tucking her wand in where it couldn’t be seen and briefly considering giving Lois a nice jolt of a magical what-for but let it pass. “You may have a point. Patsy suddenly sat up straight, throwing her arms in the air. “What a plot twist! An old prophet turns out to be a traitor! General Hospital couldn’t have done a better reveal! I almost expected some forgotten twin to show up halfway through their conversation.” She bit down on a red licorice and chewed excitedly.
“So tense! I was on the edge of my seat listening to those two conjure up a twisted new world…”
“Here, let me help you out. Sit back in your chair a second.” Patsy waved her wand in a rolling wave as the back of Lois’ chair began to undulate and massage her. The top of the chair reshaped itself into two hands, gently rubbing her neck.
“The best… How do you think the world would feel if they knew we stood between them and that kind of dark mess?”
“I’d say nervous, Lois.”
Lois swiveled in her chair, the meshed hands growing out the top of the chair still massaging her neck. “Someone should let Pearson Cowley know what’s happening under his nose.”
“The Silver Griffins will take care of that one. Report’s on its way to the general. We can relax! Hey, there’s a few minutes left of Kathie Lee and Hoda on.” Patsy waved her wand toward the screen. “Today’s the makeover day! We should see about getting a couple of those.”
“Patsy, if I wanted a makeover I’d wave my wand. This look has taken me decades to perfect. Righteously badass suburban Witch.”
“Yeah, the sparkly cat pin on your favorite sweater set really finishes off the look. Didn’t know kilts were still a thing among the senior set.”
“I’m not changing a thing,” she said, as she finally let out a small zing, poking Patsy in the ribs.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Jackson walked nervously along the road toward the Dark Market, looking over his shoulder and glancing into the nearby forest.
“Expecting company?” Leira felt the magic surging through her like a vibrating hum now that she was back on Oriceran. She opened and closed her hands, flexing her fingers.
“No, just not used to approaching the market with somebody working for some government agency and, by the way, she’s my daughter. Been wondering if I should introduce you as kin or let it go.”
“Let it go… for now. We have bigger things to worry about.”
“Tell me again why we had to cross worlds to find Louie and you couldn’t contact him through your what is it, PDF?”
“I don’t want to explain that magic has become an itchy finger on a loaded gun for me. They wouldn’t take it well. And if I asked too many questions about Louie they’d want to know why. I do my best to keep lying to the bare minimum and only with felons.”
She opened and closed her hands again as the symbols along her arms briefly lit up and died down.
“What was that? What are you doing?”
“Not used to this much magic right at my f
ingertips. It’s like it’s always there on high. Why didn’t I feel this on other visits?” She picked up the pace, feeling her heart rate quicken, fighting the instinct to run it off.
Jackson gave her a look up and down, stopping at her blue and orange Merrell running shoes.
Leira always liked to have on her favorite pair when walking into unknown trouble. An outing with her father to the Dark Market fit the bill.
“Some pretty colorful shoes you got on there. Resist the urge to take off running. I’m in no mood to keep up with you.” He scratched his head, tucking the shorter hair behind his ears. “Magic isn’t like the fairytales. It isn’t just there or not there at the same levels all the time. People who can access it have to be willing to take it in, give the energy access. Magic isn’t something you do as much as something you feel and you grow into it, especially if you’re a Jaspar Elf. Didn’t Mara tell you any of this?”
“Nana may have been waiting for the right moment and then shit happened. She took a detour into the world in between trying to find you.”
“You have a pretty good potty mouth going there. Another gift from Mara.”
“Thanks for noticing, motherfucker.” Leira gave him a dead fish look but kept moving. “And you have a mullet that isn’t popular anymore on two entire worlds.”
“Nice touch. Explains a lot about the troll. I’m going to assume you said that with some affection. You dig in deeper when challenged. You get that from me.”
Leira stopped in her tracks and felt her legs shake for a moment as the energy settled down, feeding into the ground. Nearby, a doe nudged her fawn back, deeper into the forest, glancing fearfully at Leira as they bounded away. The animals can feel it pulsing off me. I need Correk, or even Hagan here right now. Not this stranger. “Jackson, I get that you are probably my father, but I just met you. I might have gotten green eyes or your chin but that’s about it. Don’t rush this whole thing. I’m a grown ass woman who has an entire life on a different planet and I was told you were dead.”