Twist of the Blade

by Edward Willett

  She stopped walking, heedless of her whereabouts. A cyclist shouted angrily and rang his bell as he zigzagged around her, but she hardly noticed. Head off to who-knew-where, all by herself, without even telling her best friend and her only relative? Not twenty minutes after she’d been telling herself how much she needed Wally? What was she thinking? Of course she would tell Wally. And Aunt Phyllis. “You have to start trusting me,” her aunt had said to her just that morning.

  She would also have to tell Wally that she couldn’t take him with her. She knew it without even having tried it, just as she knew the limitations of her physical body. It took all her energy to hold herself up there against the force of gravity; she would have none to spare for Wally. She could no more lift him with her into the clouds than she could pick him up and throw him. But just because she might have to leave him behind didn’t mean she could just run off without even talking to him about it.

  She gave her head a shake, wondering what had come over her, and resumed walking. Was that the shard influencing my thoughts? The shiver that ran through her had nothing to do with the cold.

  ~~~

  At about the same time Ariane was splashing out of Wascana Lake, Rex Major, without taking his eyes away from the message that had just appeared on his computer screen, touched his Bluetooth earpiece. “Gwen,” he said, and a moment later, his secretary’s voice responded.

  “Yes, Mr. Major?”

  “I’m moving up the time frame for my trip to France. Please contact my pilot and have him file a flight plan to Lyon. I’d like to leave by –” he checked the clock “– 5 p.m. Also, please book a hotel for me in Lyon and arrange for a car and driver.”

  There was a pause, slight, but enough to know he had just shocked his usually unflappable secretary. “Sir, your appointments next week? You’re meeting with the Department of Defence in Ottawa on Tuesday, and the Pentagon is expecting you in Washington on Wednesday –”

  “I’ll be back by then,” Major said. “This will be a very quick trip.”

  “Is this a personal or business trip, sir?” said Gwen, her voice betraying none of the curiosity she must be feeling.

  “Both,” he said. Business enough that the company can pay for the trip, anyway, he thought. “There’s been a major discovery of ancient rock art in a cavern in the Ardèche. I’m considering donating funds for its preservation.”

  Dead silence on the other end. Then, “Rock art, sir?”

  Major laughed. “I’m glad I can still surprise you after all these years, Gwen. I wouldn’t want to be boring.”

  “You’re never that, sir,” said Gwen. “Very well, Mr. Major, I’ll make the arrangements.”

  “Thank you, Gwen.” He disconnected, but his smile didn’t fade. He’d thought he’d have to search for the shard when he arrived in France, which could have taken days or even weeks. But the computers had done the job for him. He knew precisely where the shard was. All he had to do was go and retrieve it. It’s mine, he thought fiercely. He pushed away the paperwork on his desk and rose to his feet. If he were leaving for France in a few hours, he had a lot to prepare.

  ~~~

  Wally approached Ariane’s house with a mixture of excitement and apprehension. The excitement came from the realization that the quest that had seemed to have ended when they returned from the Northwest Territories had begun anew; the apprehension came from the secret he now kept, of Merlin’s phone call to him in the hospital...and that, though he had hung up on the sorcerer, he hadn’t completely dismissed what Merlin had said.

  Everybody has secrets, Wally thought. Ariane must have lots. It doesn’t mean I’m not on her side.

  I’m just not sure the side she’s on is the right one.

  He walked past the tipsy garden gnome at the base of the old spruce tree, and on impulse stopped and straightened the little ceramic figure before continuing up the walk to the front door. He rang the doorbell.

  Aunt Phyllis answered. A huge smile lit her face, framed by upswept grey hair. “Wally! I’m so glad to see you. None the worse for wear, I hope?”

  “I feel fine,” Wally said, which was the truth. The painkillers had done their job. He’d taken two more than the recommended daily dose, but he didn’t want to be distracted by a headache during their discussion of the second shard. I’ll skip the bedtime pill to make up for it, he thought.

  Aunt Phyllis showed him into the dining room. Ariane grinned at him from her seat at the table. “I made ‘mustard-smeared protein’ again,” Aunt Phyllis said, and Wally grinned, remembering that was what Ariane called her aunt’s signature dish of meat or fish coated and roasted with grainy mustard and herbs. “But this time it’s trout, not pork. Grab a seat.”

  Wally sat down opposite Ariane. He glanced at the door to the kitchen to make sure Aunt Phyllis was out of sight, then leaned forward and murmured, “Anything new?”

  She nodded. “Yes,” she said. “Something big.” Her grin widened. “But I’ll tell you after dinner...and Aunt Phyllis too.”

  “Tell me what?” said Aunt Phyllis, as she brought in a long silver tray covered with a domed lid.

  “After dinner,” Ariane said firmly.

  The trout was delicious, and the rice and edamame beans that went with it hit the spot as well. It was all a bit healthier than Wally was used to eating – his taste ran more to burgers and fries – but he had to admit it was good.

  “How’s your sister, Wally?” Aunt Phyllis asked as they ate.

  “Mrs. Carson says she’s doing okay.”

  “I’ll bet she’s had lots of visitors,” Ariane said. “Starting with the rest of the ‘coven.’”

  Aunt Phyllis frowned at her. “You know I don’t like you calling them that.”

  “Sorry, Aunt Phyllis.”

  “Actually, no,” Wally said. He picked up another edamame bean and popped the husk between his forefinger and thumb. “Mrs. Carson told me they haven’t been to see her at all. Flish said they won’t talk to her on the phone either. Apparently she’s very upset about it.” He sure wasn’t. Maybe if the coven broke up, Flish would leave Ariane alone. He squeezed the beans into his mouth and chewed thoughtfully. Maybe she’ll even move back home, he thought, then frowned. He wasn’t sure that was an entirely happy notion.

  “I guess the other three finally saw sense,” Ariane muttered.

  “‘Sense’ isn’t something I associate with Shania, or...or the other two,” Wally said. “But maybe.” I hope so, he added silently. For all their sakes. He watched Ariane take a long swallow of milk. And yours too.

  And now that he thought about it, quite possibly his.

  Dinner out of the way, they moved to the living room, where Ariane and Wally sat side by side on the couch and Aunt Phyllis in her favourite flowery chair. Ariane cleared her throat, then said, “Wally already knows this, Aunt Phyllis, but I haven’t had a chance to tell you. I’ve got a better idea where the second shard is.”

  Aunt Phyllis, in the act of pouring tea from a silver teapot, paused and then resumed pouring. “And where is that, dear?” she said.

  “Southern France, I think.”

  Aunt Phyllis put down the teapot and picked up her cup. She frowned a little as she raised it to her lips. “You think?” she said, then sipped.

  “I can’t pinpoint it without getting closer,” Ariane said. “There aren’t any freshwater streams between here and there, obviously, and I need them to sense it. It’s like rivers and lakes are...” She paused, frowning.

  “Like the Internet,” Wally said helpfully. “You have to be able to route the information from server to server, or you get a 404 error.”

  “Um...sure. Like that,” Ariane said, giving him a raised-eyebrow look that he had no trouble translating as “Geek!”

  “So first you have to get to France, and then you’ll be able to home in on the second shard?” Aunt Phyllis picked up the plate of chocolate-chip cookies she’d brought into the living room and offered it to Wally. He grabbed two. A
t last! he thought. Aunt Phyllis smiled, then held the plate out to Ariane. “How do you plan to get there?”

  Wally thought Ariane showed great self-restraint by picking up only a single cookie. She said, “I think I’ve got a way I can get there.” She turned the cookie over and over in her hands, not looking at either Wally or her aunt. “But I can’t take Wally with me,” she finished in a small voice.

  Shock rippled through Wally. Unbidden, Rex Major’s words echoed in his head. “She’ll toss you aside like a broken hammer. And that will be the end of your part in this quest.”

  “I can’t travel through salt water,” Ariane continued, still sounding subdued. “But Wally suggested something else. The clouds are fresh water. So he wondered if I could use them to travel....”

  Aunt Phyllis put the plate of cookies down suddenly and awkwardly, as though it had become too heavy to hold. “Fly?”

  “Kinda,” Ariane said. “I tried it. It worked. I...joined with the clouds. Sort of like I can do with water but...different.” She was silent for a moment, as though trying to figure out how to explain what she had felt. “It was scarier, that’s for sure. I felt enormous, like a giant, but as insubstantial as a ghost.”

  “Ghost riders in the sky,” Wally sang under his breath. Ariane shot him a questioning look. He shook his head. “Go on,” he said. “Explain the part about not being able to take me with you.”

  “I just can’t. I can feel it. You’d be...too heavy, I guess. I might get you up there, but I couldn’t hold you. You could materialize thousands of metres up. Or maybe you’d just...turn into mist.”

  “And maybe you could, too,” Aunt Phyllis snapped. “Ariane, this sounds far more dangerous than...”

  “Than dissolving into the sewers and washing up on the shores of Hudson Bay?” Ariane shot back. “Aunt Phyllis, I know it’s dangerous. But what choice do I have? I have to get the second shard. It’ll be far more dangerous...for all of us...if Rex Major gets it first.”

  “Can’t we test it?” Wally said. “Safely somehow? To see if maybe you’re wrong. You haven’t had your powers long. Maybe you can do more than you think. And with the shard to draw on –”

  “I don’t think it’s a good idea,” Ariane said. Her voice sharpened. “In fact, I’m sure it’s not a good idea. No. We can’t test it. I’m just going to have to go on my own. End of argument.”

  Wally blinked, taken aback. That sudden edge to Ariane’s voice – that hadn’t sounded like her at all.

  “No, it isn’t,” Aunt Phyllis snapped. “You are not going on your own, and that’s final. If you hadn’t had Wally with you last time, Rex Major would have gotten the first shard. You need his help.”

  You tell her, Wally thought.

  “But –” Ariane began.

  “But nothing.” Aunt Phyllis paused, as if thinking, then seemed to make up her mind and leaned forward. “I don’t have a lot of money, but I have a paid-up credit card,” she said. “Enough to get you both to France. The old-fashioned way: on a 747.”

  “No,” Ariane said. “I can’t let you use up your money to –”

  “To save the world?” Aunt Phyllis said. “Isn’t that what this is all about?”

  “I’m the one the Lady –”

  “No!” Wally snapped, with more heat than he intended. He tried to soften his tone. “No. We were both given this quest by the Lady. Me as well as you.” He didn’t say anything about doubting whether they should believe what the Lady had told them. “If you’re going to obey the Lady, you’re supposed to take me with you. Always.”

  Ariane pursed her lips but didn’t protest.

  “Then it’s settled,” Aunt Phyllis said. “Wally, I’ll give you my credit card. Can you book the flights, please? I had our Internet service disconnected. You and Ariane can figure out where you need to get to. You’ll need to arrange a place to stay as well.”

  “Um...no,” Wally said unhappily.

  Aunt Phyllis and Ariane both stared at him. “Why not?” Aunt Phyllis said sharply.

  “I can’t use your credit card to book our flights. Over the Internet.” He emphasized the last three words.

  Ariane blinked. “Oh.”

  Aunt Phyllis closed her eyes. “Oh. Of course.” She shook her head. “I should have thought...then how?”

  “Maybe you could do it at the library?” Ariane ventured. “No way for him to know you’re the one using a public computer, right?”

  “I wouldn’t bet on it,” Wally said. “The trouble is that we don’t actually know just what Merlin’s magic lets him do with computers. Even if I buy the tickets over the phone, they’ll be entering information into a computer at the other end. What if Merlin’s magic picks up on that?”

  “At least there’s a chance it won’t,” Aunt Phyllis said. “There’s nothing you can do about that, anyway. There’s no way to get a ticket without it going into the airline’s computer system. You’ll have to show ID when you fly, too, so you can’t buy the tickets under fake names.”

  Wally thought hard. “We’ll have to buy our tickets at the counter with cash, as close to flight time as we can,” he said at last. “Even if Major has set something up to spot our names showing up on the airline’s reservation system, at least he won’t have much time to react.”

  Ariane suddenly sucked in a sharp breath. “No,” she said. “Name. Singular.”

  Wally and Aunt Phyllis looked at her. “I'm sorry, Aunt Phyllis,” she said. “I really am. But Wally is the only one who can fly ‘the old-fashioned way.’” She spread her hands. “I’m wearing a sizeable piece of pointy metal strapped to my side under my clothes. Think security might be just a little freaked out about that?”

  Wally winced. “I should have thought of that.”

  “Then....” Aunt Phyllis looked pale. “Ariane, can you really do it? Fly through the clouds? All the way to Europe?”

  “All I can do is try, Aunt Phyllis,” she said. “I just don’t see any other way.”

  Aunt Phyllis was silent for a long moment. She ran a finger around the rim of her teacup. “I don’t either.” She shook her head. “I wish I could come with you, Wally, but my credit card won’t cover food and accommodation for three of us in France. The one thing I can do is book a room for you in Lyon. I doubt they’d let two teenagers check in anywhere you’d want to stay if you just walked in and tossed cash down on the desk.”

  “But if you use the Internet –” Wally started, but subsided when Aunt Phyllis gave him a how-dumb-do-you-think-I-am? look.

  “There’s a thing called a telephone, Wally,” she said. “And I can speak enough French to manage a hotel booking.” She frowned suddenly. “Um. French. Ariane’s grades are...not great in French.”

  “That’s one way to put it,” Ariane muttered.

  “I can speak it fairly well,” Wally said. “And I’ve been to France before.” He felt almost embarrassed by that: there’d been no talk of a shortage of money when his whole family had gone three years ago, when he and Flish were still friends and so were Mom and Dad.

  “Good.”

  Ariane was giving her aunt a strange look. “Aunt Phyllis, you’re really...okay...with the two of us going off to France together? Alone?”

  Aunt Phyllis put her teacup down on the table a little too hard. “Of course I’m not okay! But I don’t see any choice. And besides...” She sighed. “Ariane, you can fly through the clouds, flow through rivers, and use water as a weapon. You both went to the Northwest Territories on your own and came back with a piece of King Arthur’s magical sword. You’re not a little girl anymore. I think you can manage France. Just...be careful.”

  Ariane looked so solemn that for a second Wally thought she was going to start crying, but all she said was, “I will,” in that small voice again.

  “There’s another reason I should stay here,” Aunt Phyllis went on. “Does Rex Major know yet where the second shard is?”

  Ariane shook her head. “I have no idea.”

&
nbsp; Wally said nothing. The topic of Rex Major was not a comfortable one.

  “Well, we shouldn’t give him a clue, should we?” Aunt Phyllis continued. “He might find out when Wally buys his ticket...but he might not, especially if all of his spies are telling him you and Wally are somewhere else entirely....”

  “Where?” Ariane said.

  “Emma Lake.”

  “Emma Lake? But that old cabin hasn’t been used in years!”

  Aunt Phyllis shook her head. “I haven’t used it in years,” she said. “But I do rent it out. It supplements my pension. So it’s quite livable, although admittedly more so in the summer than in November.

  “So here’s the plan: Wally obviously needs to rest after his concussion, so nobody will be expecting him at school for some time yet. His parents are away, and Mrs. Carson, from what Wally tells us, won’t mind if someone else looks after him for a few days.”

  “Understatement of the year,” Wally added.

  “The principal has already phoned me to express concern about Ariane’s health.” Ariane blinked at her aunt; this was obviously news to her. Aunt Phyllis chuckled at her expression. “Ariane, you’ve been falling asleep at your desk. Teachers do notice that sort of thing.”

  “Especially if you snore,” Wally said. Ariane shot him a look, and he put up his hands. “I’m just sayin’...”

  Aunt Phyllis continued. “So the principal will understand when I tell him I’m taking Ariane out of school for a week to recuperate from...I’ll call it a virus...”

  “Mono?” Wally said without thinking, and then it was his turn to blush as Ariane gave him another withering look.

  Aunt Phyllis smiled. “Maybe,” she said. “Meanwhile, I’ll tell Mrs. Carson that I’m taking both of you on a mini-vacation to Emma Lake. We’ll load up the car exactly as if we’re going to the cabin and we’ll head toward Saskatoon. But you’ll never get there.”

  “That sounds ominous,” Wally couldn’t help saying.

  Aunt Phyllis laughed. “You won’t get there because at Chamberlain you’ll get out and wait for the bus going the other way. Back in Regina you’ll go straight to the airport to catch your flight.”