Earth Fire

by Phil Stern

  “Boy, these Earth men are certainly rude.” Glancing back at her would-be suitor, still on his knees by the door, Caylee then passed protein bars over to Tiffany and Keri. “We must create a lot of witches here.”

  “We do,” Tiffany confirmed, leaving back against their car. “Along with two-year-old warlocks, apparently.”

  “Yeah. How the fuck did that happen?” Keri asked, distastefully biting into her bar. “Another male who can wield magic?”

  “Well, this Randy Davis sounds like the kind of prick we’d target,” Tiffany mused. “If the first kid afterwards was a boy instead of a girl, and he just happened to find some midate…”

  “So Gensrow is still fucking us, even after he’s dead.” Frustrated, Keri tossed her bar in the trash. “By the stone, Caylee, that stuff tastes like mules’ ass.”

  “I’ll take your word for that,” the neophyte witch replied, passing over a bottle of water. “I’ve never tasted mules’ ass.”

  “Keep in mind, we have no idea if Gensrow is dead or alive.” Once again, Tiffany checked her watch. “He was badly wounded, and then threw himself off the castle roof. We never found a body.”

  “So I’m staying here?” With ill-disguised distaste, Caylee looked around the rest area.

  “Yeah, but just for an hour or so.” Quickly finishing her own bar, Tiffany threw the wrapper away. “Here’s a GPS. I’ve already programmed in the address of the Davis house. Just hop in the car with Wendi and Aprina and follow us as fast as you can.”

  Doubtfully, she took the device. “Is it magical?”

  “Kind of. It just tells you were to go.” Patting her on the arm, Tiffany then walked over and pulled open the driver’s door. “If any hostile witches show up, just run into those woods out back. Even here, I can sense a Boundary portal not too far in.”

  “Oh, I’m not worried about that.” The new sorceress gave a dismissive shrug. “How bad can a few witches be after those Mepards?”

  “That’s the spirit!” Keri agreed, pulling open the passenger-side door. “See you soon.”

  “Bye.” Giving them a wiggle-fingered wave, Caylee then sauntered back to the front of the rest stop, where the man who’d approached her before quickly ran off.

  After hitting the highway again, Keri pulled down the sun visor. “You know, I didn’t want to contradict you in front of Caylee, but I’m not sure we’re doing this the right way.”

  Tiffany tried not to visibly react. She’d only caught a few hours of broken sleep in the back seat on the way down, and wasn’t in the mood for nonsense. “How so?”

  “Caylee’s tough. You’ve seen that. If we run into those Zarth witches down there, wouldn’t you rather have her with us, instead of just hanging around a rest stop?”

  “The problem is that Wendi and Aprina are already on the road, and we have no way of contacting them.” Taking another drink of water, Tiffany then tossed the empty bottle in the back seat. “So, here are our choices. All three of us wait for them, and then probably miss out on the midate. Or, we just ignore the meet and go on ourselves, which would leave Wendi and Aprina marooned at a rest stop all day just waiting for us.”

  Keri thought a moment. “In which case, Wendi and Aprina could well become targets themselves. But Caylee is unlikely to be discovered there in the next hour, especially when we know the Zarth witches in the area will be heading for the midate first.”

  “Bingo!” Pointing a finger at her companion, Tiffany nodded. “Admittedly, it’s not an ideal solution, but we’re doing things on the fly here. And we’ve already lost Hazel in France. I don’t want Wendi and Aprina to become their next victims.”

  “I’m friends with Hazel,” Keri quietly added, scrunching down in the seat. “I hope she’s okay.”

  “Well, if she isn’t, some ruby witches are going to pay,” Tiffany vowed, speeding up as fast as she dared. “Trust me.”

  “You’re hardcore, Tiffany, I’ll give you that.”

  Firmly, she pushed yet another passing image of Blake from her mind. “Yeah, so I’ve heard.”

  They continued on in silence, driving directly to the Davis home on the outskirts of Mobile.

  *****

  Apparently, Tiffany hadn’t been the only one intrigued by the story of a magical two-year-old. Three television news crews were pulled up in the large dirt parking area beside the stately southern home, which was located within the woods almost a quarter-mile in from the main road. Lounging about, both the cameramen and reporters perked up at the sight of Tiffany’s rental car coming down the forested drive.

  Both Tiffany and Keri had already changed to businesslike slacks and blouses in the car. Parking right by the house, the Haven witches immediately exited the vehicle, warily eyeing the assembled press.

  “And you are?” one reporter asked, strolling over to them.

  “Child services,” Tiffany replied, already mounting the stairs leading up to the large wrap-around porch.

  “Will you be removing the child from the home?” someone else yelled.

  “No questions.” Motioning Keri up with her, Tiffany then looked back down at them. “You are on private property. Move back across to the tree line by your vans. We are on official business, and will brook no interference.”

  “Come on, Bob. Let’s set up to get a shot of them bringing out the kid,” the first reporter urged, hurrying back to their vehicle.

  Standing beside Tiffany on the porch, Keri sighed. “You said Eleanor has suspended the rules about cross-dem contamination, right?”

  “That’s correct.” Now walking over to the door, Tiffany gave a purposeful knock.

  “Good.” Now joining her, Keri straightened up. “Because it looks like she’s going to get some.”

  “Let’s hope not,” Tiffany murmured just as the door was opened from the inside.

  Having worked with abused women her entire adult life, Tiffany instantly knew Kary Davis was in a horrible domestic situation. Though the newspaper stories listed her as 25 years old, the haggard wife who answered the door seemed more like 35. She’d tried to cover a two-day-old bruise on one cheek with some kind of cream, which only made it look worse. Almost trembling at the sight of the two professional women on her porch, she attempted a painful smile.

  “May I help you?” Kary asked, nervously holding the door jam.

  “Child services.” Briefly flashing the fake identification, Tiffany nodded past her. “We need to see your son, Mrs. Davis. Immediately.”

  “Oh.” For several moments, Kary Davis didn’t move. Then, just as things were becoming very awkward, she slowly stepped aside. Tiffany and Keri strode past her, the young wife hesitantly closing the door behind them.

  Just about everything in the large living room looked as if it had been broken, burned, or defaced. Kary Davis probably spent several hours a day trying to rectify the damage. One large elephant figurine in particular appeared as if it had been re-glued together a dozen times, the current version now hopelessly scarred and distorted.

  “Listen to me.” Placing her hands on Kary’s shoulders, Tiffany made sure she had her attention. “Your son has a black rock, does he not, that you’ve been unable to take away from him?”

  “That’s right!” The young mother’s low lip quivered. “I’m afraid of him.”

  “And your husband, I’d imagine,” Keri added, quickly crossing into the kitchen.

  “I love my son!” Bursting into tears, the southern matron nearly collapsed. “But I don’t know what to do! Randy says that Kyle has the Devil in him, and it’s my fault…”

  “Nonsense!” Almost shaking her, Tiffany spoke very firmly. “This isn’t your fault! But we do need to get that rock from him.”

  Keri could be heard moving around the home’s first floor, looking in rooms. “I think we’re clear,” she called out.

  “Is anyone else here, besides you and the baby?” Tiffany asked.

  “No!” Kary miserably confirmed. “Everyone’s afraid to come over.�
��

  “All right.” Guiding the young mother over to a ripped and seared couch, Tiffany almost pushed her down. “Just sit here. We’ll take care of this. Is Kyle sleeping now?”

  “Yes! But don’t hurt him!” Clearly, Kary Davis couldn’t take much more. “And don’t take him away!”

  Tiffany bent down to look her right in the eye. “We’re not going to hurt your son, and we won’t take him away. We are going to get that rock, though.”

  “You can’t!” she nearly whispered, eyes wide in terror. “Nobody can!”

  “We can,” Tiffany assured her. “Trust me.”

  “Tiffany, I just saw more press coming down the long driveway.” Rejoining them from the hallway leading back to the bedrooms, Keri nodded in the direction of the news crews outside. “We’d better hurry.”

  “Just relax. This is almost over.” Squeezing Kary’s hand, Tiffany then stood and crossed over to her Coven-mate. “Stay with her and watch the door,” she murmured. “Don’t let anybody else in.”

  “Got it.” Walking over to the front door, Keri purposefully twisted the upper bolt lock.

  With a final, reassuring smile, Tiffany then walked down the hallway. At the end was a closed door, nearly pulsing with a black sheen.

  Carefully examining the door, she tentatively brushed the knob. This resulted in a mild shock, as if from a very crude magical ward. Clearly, Kyle didn’t want to be disturbed while sleeping.

  Touching her earth stone, Tiffany formed a close, malleable magical shield around herself. Then firmly grabbing the knob, she sent a deliberate surge of energy into the door. Instantly repulsing the black magic, the door slowly swung open.

  Any hope of simply grabbing the midate with a shielded hand as the toddler slept was instantly dashed. Kyle, as pudgy and mean-looking a child as she’d ever seen, was sitting bolt upright in his small bed, eyes pulsing a deep black. Without a word he raised a huge piece of midate in his right hand, sweeping his arm forward.

  A chaotic, unfocused wall of energy impacted Tiffany’s shield. Still, it was strong enough to knock her down. Emboldened, Kyle now rose, letting out a nearly primal scream. Several objects flew about the room, with more than one smashing against the walls.

  “All right, then.” Standing again, Tiffany brushed back her hair. How the house was even still standing was a mystery. Though lacking nearly all control, Kyle and his midate were clearly a potent combination.

  “Get out!” the toddler now gurgled, magically flinging a drawer to bang off Tiffany’s shielded leg. “I don’t like you!”

  “Kyle.” Doing her best to seem friendly, Tiffany advanced a few steps. “Honey, I need that rock.”

  “No!” Drawing back his midate once more, Kyle hesitated a moment. Then, sweeping the talisman forward again, the toddler launched a sticky stream of black magic right at her.

  Stronger than Tiffany expected, the black energy coated the outside of her translucent green-tinged shield, soon covering her completely. Now encased in a virtual black cocoon, the malevolent energy barely held back a half-inch from her face, Tiffany nearly panicked.

  Instead, she had the presence of mind to release a green pulse of magic, just strong enough to disburse Kyle’s black sludge. Light and sound instantly returned to Tiffany’s immediate world, yet the black magic was sprayed about the entire room. Sticking to almost everything, it began eating into wood, walls, and carpet, further deforming an already wrecked environment.

  However, a fleck of the stuff also went into Kyle’s eye. Distracted for just a moment, he reached up with his left hand to wipe it away.

  Tiffany spied a wooden toy, which had once perhaps been a sailing ship, on a dresser top behind him. Seizing her chance, she caused the object to rise up and fly forward, knocking the midate loose from the child’s hand. Landing on the floor, it let out a final, dark pulse, then became inert.

  Kyle pounced, but Tiffany was quicker. Snatching the rock from the stained and burned carpet, she held it out of his lunging reach. Staring up in shocked bewilderment from his hands and knees, Kyle let out a tremendous wail, soon pounding her leg in frustration.

  “None of that, you.” Gently guiding the enraged toddler aside, Tiffany quickly exited the room, midate in hand, slamming the door behind her.

  At the sight of Tiffany, with Kyle’s midate safely in her possession, Kary Davis burst into tears. “My God, how did you do it?” Lurching to her feet, she stared at the black rock in wonder. “Did he just give it to you?”

  “Not exactly.” Rolling her eyes at Keri, Tiffany tucked the stone in her suit jacket pocket. “Remind me never to give toddlers any midate, will you?”

  “Midate?” Kary Davis sank down again on the couch. “Is that what it’s called?”

  “It sure is,” Keri replied. Strolling over to the window, she pushed back the curtain slightly, looking outside. “Uh oh.”

  “What is it?” Tiffany asked, ignoring Kyle’s screaming and crying from the back of the house.

  “It looks like the Zarth girls are here.” Drawing back, Keri glanced at her fellow enchantress. “And I don’t see any sign of our three friends.”

  “Hey, who are you two, anyway?” Still wiping her face, Kyle’s mother looked from one witch to the other. “You’re not from child services, are you?”

  “No, we’re not.” Pulling her up by the elbow, Tiffany propelled Kary toward the hallway leading deeper into the house. “Go comfort your son, Mrs. Davis. He can’t hurt you anymore.”

  “Will he be…normal now?” Obviously dazed, she stared dully into the recesses of the home.

  “He should be. Now go.” Giving her a pointed push, Tiffany watched Kary Davis shuffle down the hall, then hesitate before pushing open Kyle’s door.

  “So how are we going to get out of here?” Still by the front entrance, Keri had a hand on her earth stone. “The back door, maybe?”

  “Now why would we do that?” Tiffany changed back into her jeans, boots, and shirt, the midate now in her left hand. “Don’t you want to say hi to the girls?”

  “It’s four on two, Tiffany.” Doubtfully, Keri also changed to match her.

  “I know.” Eyes flashing, Tiffany’s allowed green magic to course throughout her entire body. “They don’t stand a chance.”

  “Wow.” Despite herself, Keri looked her up and down. “You’re almost glowing.”

  “I want to make a good impression,” Tiffany purred, touching the door knob leading outside. Her other hand reached down to feel the Coven Stick, still hanging from her belt.

  “You really are…”

  “I know. I’m hardcore.” Pulling open the door, Tiffany smiled back at her strawberry blonde companion. “And that’s just the way I like it.”

  The two Coven-mates now confidently exited the home, crossing out onto the wrap-around porch.

  *****

  Like gunfighters of old, the four Zarth witches were standing in a line, several feet apart, facing the house. Now five news crews were positioned all around the area, cameras already filming. Clearly, something dramatic was in the offing, and no one wanted to miss a thing.

  Sharra was on the left-hand side of the line, Valensa on the right, with the two unknown ruby witches in the middle. The newcomers were athletic, edgy girls, with hard, bitter expressions. Growing up in the rougher parts of Zarth, Tiffany was beginning to suspect, must make for a tough childhood.

  Indeed, Valensa now seemed very much out of place, her body language and intensity clearly at odds with her companions. To an experienced inter-dimensional traveler like Tiffany, it was easy to see that she was from a very different side of the tracks.

  The two Haven witches, still on the porch, slowly strolled apart to stand on either side of the stairway, the white picket railing reaching just above their belts. Tiffany was opposite Sharra, with Keri roughly facing off against the two girls in the middle.

  “Congratulations on finding the midate!” Sharra called out. “We ran into a little trouble, or we wou
ld have been here yesterday.”

  “So I heard.” Casually holding up the midate in her left hand, Tiffany smiled. “The things they give kids these days.”

  “Yes.” Gathering her power, Sharra’s eyes flashed an angry ruby red. “If you surrender it to me now, we might let you live.”

  “What about Hazel, our Coven-mate you attacked in France?” Tiffany asked. “Did you let her live?”

  “For now.” Sharra strolled forward a step. “She’s quite the bitch, though, just like all you girls.”

  Letting her own power flow outward, Tiffany magically extended her senses as far as possible. There, on the very edge of her perception, she felt Caylee, Wendi, and Aprina nearing their position. They were still a few miles away, though, and wouldn’t be any immediate assistance.

  Glancing to the left, Tiffany studied Valensa. Her supposed sister did indeed bear a remarkable resemblance to herself. Seeing Tiffany’s scrutiny, a burst of sullen fury roiled outward from the young brunette, striking up dirt and sticks across the parking area. One of the news cameras shorted out with a loud crack, the operator quickly dropping the smoldering device.

  “My goodness!” Tiffany called out. “Somebody has a temper.”

  Clearly seething, Valensa said nothing, merely looking away.

  “Enough of this!” Sharra pulled out an automatic handgun. Ruby magic flowed down her arm into the gun, causing it to pulse an evil red. “Give us the midate now, or die! It’s that simple.”

  The two new ruby witches also pulled out guns, chambering rounds. At this, a few of the media members dashed behind their trucks, though most stayed put, riveted by the scene playing out before them.

  “Trust me.” Gathering her own power, Keri now glowed a nearly pure green. “We’ll take a few of you with us.”