Chapter 11
Taking a deep breath, I steeled myself as we arrived at the portals leading to the other paranormal towns. I wasn’t sure what exactly I had been expecting, but it wasn’t this. I found myself staring at a short line that seemed almost airport-security-like. A shifter – I couldn’t exactly make out what type, but her deep eyes and long, blonde hair made me think possibly another dragon shifter – stood at the front of the line, asking questions and searching bags before sending people towards a huge tree stump. The stump had to be at least twenty feet wide, and as soon as the person she had been helping stepped on it, he disappeared.
I let out a gasp as the shifter was replaced with a shimmer of deep red light for a split second before that disappeared as well.
“Next!” the dragon shifter called out, and a fairy made her way up towards the guard, showing her purse.
“So is it common for people from Western Woods to travel to other paranormal towns?” I asked Ellie, turning towards her.
“Fairly common, yes. A lot of paranormals travel for work, or to visit family. After all, some paranormal’s choose to leave their coven and join a new one when they find somebody they’ve fallen in love with.”
“So this line isn’t out of the ordinary at all?”
“No. You’ll find that it moves fairly quickly though; I’ve never had to wait more than five minutes to enter the portal to a different town.”
“Does it take a long time? Or is it like the oak tree to Seattle where the transfer is almost instant?”
“It’s instant,” Ellie said, tilting her head slightly. “Why wouldn’t it be?”
“Well, back in the human world, if I wanted to travel to say, Australia, it would take a fifteen hour flight before I could get there.”
Ellie’s mouth dropped open. “That’s barbaric!”
I shrugged. “Well, there really aren’t any other options right now in the human world.”
“If you ever decide you do want to visit Australia, let me know. We’ll go for a few days,” Ellie said with a grin. I shook my head with disbelief. I couldn’t believe that here in the paranormal world, I was literally only seconds away from being able to visit anything on the planet that I wanted to.
I made a mental note to start researching cool vacation locales. After all, it wasn’t like I had travelled very much in my life. My parents took me to Disneyland one year, but that was basically it. Maybe I could go to Paris, or somewhere warm like the Bahamas.
My impromptu vacation planning took a backseat, however, as Ellie and I found ourselves quickly approaching the front of the line, just as Ellie had said we would.
“Next!” the shifter barked, and Ellie nudged me forward.
“Come on, I’ll go with you,” she said, and the two of us made our way towards the shifter.
“You know the rules, one at a time,” the shifter said with a glare towards the pair of us.
“This is the new witch in town, she has no idea how to use the portal,” Ellie explained quickly.
The shifter looked me up and down. “So you’re the new witch. Well, rules are rules. Step back,” she continued, ordering Ellie to move behind.
“She needs help,” Ellie replied, holding firm.
“Well, let me put it this way. If you don’t step back right now, neither one of you is going to make it to your destination today.”
Evidently, the fact that I had no idea how magic worked compared to the other people who lived here was not going to make a difference to this shifter. Her blue eyes really were as cold as ice; they matched her interior perfectly.
“It’s okay, Ellie,” I said as I saw my friend open her mouth to argue once more. “I can handle this on my own.”
I had no idea whether or not that was true.
“Where are you going today?” The shifter asked, holding out a hand.
“Desert Plains,” I replied. “I don’t have a purse, sorry, I don’t know what you’re asking for me.”
“Your wand, obviously,” the shifter replied, like it was the most obvious thing in the world.
“Sorry,” I muttered sheepishly as I took my wand out of my pocket and handed it over. The shifter looked it over, tapping it carefully against the back of her hand, before handing it back. Evidently, whatever test my wand had just gone through, it had passed.
“Right, move along then.”
“What do I do?” I asked. “I’ve never done this before.”
The shifter let out a deep sigh, like my innocent question was the most annoying thing she had ever heard. But, a moment later, she answered. “You just go up and stand on the log there. I’ve already entered your destination, so all you need to do is step onto it and the portal will transport you to Desert Plains automatically.”
“Okay, thanks,” I muttered, looking over at the log which suddenly seemed a lot more intimidating than it had only a few moments ago. What if something went wrong? What if the shifter entered the wrong paranormal town, and I ended up somewhere completely different?
I pushed those thoughts to the back of my head. After all, that was totally not going to happen. While it was new to me, it was obvious the paranormals were totally used to this method of transport, which meant nothing was going to go wrong.
Right?
I stepped up onto the log, and realized I genuinely had no idea what to expect next. About a second after I stepped onto it, I felt a whoosh in my ears, and a drop. This was definitely different to the portal that took me back to Seattle. This portal felt more like I was dropping through a water slide but without any water, with blackness around me, and no idea where the ending was. As soon as it started, however, the feeling dissipated and I found myself standing on solid ground once more.
I opened my eyes to find that I was on top of a pyramid, looking over a vast desert. I could see the horizon in every direction without any problem, and it looked like everything here was made from a deep yellow sand. To my left, a large number of scattered buildings reminded me of those towns from old Western movies. They were all made of wood, and were mainly low-lying. They were pretty far away though, so I couldn’t make out much more than that.
“Hey! You!” someone called out to me. I looked around to see a bear shifter motioning over towards me. “Get off the arrivals pad, you’re holding up the line!”
“Sorry!” I squeaked, looking towards the shifter. Next to him was a set of stairs that led down to the bottom of the pyramid, and I made my way towards them and stepped off the small peak of the pyramid.
The instant I stepped off it, Ellie appeared where I had been standing a moment before. She grinned at me as soon as she looked over to see me, and made her way over.
“See? Nothing to worry about.”
“All right, witches, let’s move it along,” the shifter said. “This is one of the busiest portals in this part of the paranormal world, we can’t have you here wasting time. Make your way to the bottom of the pyramid and you’ll find a chariot that will drive you to town.”
I made my way down the steps of the stone-hewn pyramid, and as soon as Ellie and I reached the ground, a golden chariot appeared in front of us. It moved as though by magic, and it took me a second to realize that was exactly how it moved.
“All right, get in,” Ellie said to me, and I hopped into the chariot, the temperature dropping at least fifteen degrees as soon as I stepped into it. It was nice; I hadn’t realized just how hot it was outside until I stepped into the small box.
“This is pretty nice,” I said as Ellie followed me in, and as soon as she closed the chariot door behind her, it began to move silently along the ground towards town. I looked out over the desert, enjoying the view through the chariot window. I had never seen anywhere like this before.
“Desert Plains is really nice,” Ellie confirmed. “It gets really hot here, but it’s a dry heat, so it’s very manageable. Of course, right now, since it’s not the middle of summer, it’s a little bit cooler than it can get.”
“So what do you
think Chief Enforcer King was doing here?” I asked. “I know I haven’t been to the town yet, but from the view I got from the pyramid I assume it’s kind of like the seedy underbelly of the paranormal world?”
Ellie laughed. “Okay, it’s sort of seedy, especially if you go to the wrong part of town. But for the most part Desert Plains is like the entertainment capital of this part of the paranormal world. You’ll see when you get there. It doesn’t look like much from the outside, but as soon as you get in and see what’s happening you’ll know what I mean.”
“So it’s sort of like paranormal Vegas?”
“Las Vegas is the closest human town, yes. The overall tone here is different though. Gambling is a major part of the life here, but there isn’t as much outward glitz and glamour as you would find in Las Vegas. And there definitely is an underground here. I suspect we’re going to have to get involved in that side of things to figure out what Chief Enforcer King was doing here.”
I nodded as I looked out the window, and realized that the chariot had basically already brought us into town. As I looked out the window, I realized that the initial impression I’d had was correct – it looked exactly like we were driving through the middle of a western. The buildings around were all made of old distressed wood, the road was paved but covered in a thin layer of dust that seemed to dominate, and even the signs advertising mainly gambling and drinking were old-fashioned.
“Where do we start?” I asked. “And where is the chariot going to drop us off?”
“That’s the beauty of these chariots,” Ellie said with a grin. “They’re magical. They take you exactly where you need to go. For most people, that’s a hotel. But for us, we have other plans.”
A second later, the chariot ground to a stop.
“Here we are,” Ellie said. “This is exactly where we need to go, even if we don’t know it yet.”
I stepped out of the chariot and found myself facing one of the most incredible buildings I had ever seen in my life.
Chapter 12
It could have been something straight out of an old movie. We were on the corner, looking at a whitewashed wooden building, with a huge balcony that wrapped around both sides of the building. Large windows that were almost floor to ceiling height gave us a look in where groups of witches and wizards were obviously enjoying some drinks. The sign above the door read The Witch’s Brew.
Vintage Edison bulbs lit up the space from the outside, and while the floorboards creaked under our feet as Ellie and I made our way to the front door, it was obvious that they were sturdy and good quality, and I had a feeling that the creaking was more magical than the owner would like to admit.
The bar’s interior had an amazing farmhouse style look that would make any Etsy-loving interior designer proud. Hardwood floors, a bar at the back made with reclaimed barn doors, wrought-iron stools with wooden tops covered in rawhide, succulents lining empty spaces and long tables made of reclaimed wood gave the space an incredibly intense atmosphere. Vintage bulbs hung from the ceiling, casting a warm glow over the space.
That, however, was where the warmth ended. The groups of people enjoying their drinks huddled together, none of them paying any attention to Ellie or me. Behind the bar was a single wizard, currently busy waving his wand at a cloth on the counter that danced along it, cleaning as it went. Instead of welcoming us, however, the bartender looked at us like he was trying to figure out what we were about.
Ellie walked straight up to the counter, and I followed her lead.
“Two vodka, straight,” Ellie ordered, and the bartender nodded at her before waving his wand at a couple of bottles on the wall. “No, not those ones. We want the good stuff.”
Ellie obviously knew what she was doing. Seeing as I definitely didn’t, I kept my mouth shut, and tried to look confident like I totally knew what she was on about. The bartender grunted and pointed his wand at two different bottles, which shot out from the wall and poured themselves into two waiting shot glasses. The shot glasses slid across the table, one towards each of us.
Luckily, years of working in a bar meant that I knew exactly how to down a shot and look cool while doing it. I grabbed the shot and downed it in one gulp, slamming the shot glass back down on the table. Ellie did the same, giving me a subtle look to show she was impressed by how well I’d done it.
“Right,” Ellie said when she finished. “You haven’t had any shifters in the bar lately, have you?”
The bartender looked at her suspiciously. “Who’s asking? This is a witch and wizarding bar, isn’t it?”
“Yeah, well, I’m looking for the shifter that was here a few times. Lion. Not from here.”
“Why should I tell you anything?”
Ellie reached into her pocket and pulled out an envelope I didn’t realize she had. She slipped it over to the bartender, who pulled out a wad of abracadollars, the magical currency. His eyebrows rose.
“So what if I’ve seen her?”
“What was she here for?”
“It wasn’t drinking, if that’s what you’re asking,” the wizard replied, his eyes narrowing.
“And a completely aboveboard establishment like this one wouldn’t have any unlicensed gambling going on, would it?” Ellie asked, her eyes narrowing.
“Of course it wouldn’t,” the man replied, looking insulted.
“So if I wanted to get involved in a little bit of duel betting, where would I go for that?”
The bartender looked at Ellie carefully, pointed his wand at her, muttered his spell, but nothing happened. He did the same thing to me, and it was so quick I didn’t have the chance to protest at all. After all, I didn’t know what this man’s spell was doing, but I trusted him exactly zero percent.
“You’re not law enforcement then,” he said.
“Definitely not. I’m a baker, and this one’s unemployed,” she said, pointing her thumb towards me.
“In need of a little bit of luck then?” The man asked, and I nodded. “Fine. I’ll take your bets. Who are your picks for tonight?”
“Miranda’s Thunder,” Ellie replied, handing over another envelope full of cash.
The bartender raised his eyebrows. “She’s at 11 to 1 odds.”
Ellie grinned. “I have a good feeling about her. Besides, I have to rep the thunder witches.”
The man shrugged. “It’s your money.”
“We’ll be back later. That shifter, did she tell you anything else about what she was doing here?”
The bartender considered Ellie for a minute before answering. “No.”
“What did she bet on?”
“Duels, same as you. She wanted to know more than that, though. She asked what agency I was running through.”
“And let me guess, you didn’t exactly have registration papers to show her.”
The man shrugged. “I’m just trying to make a living, like everybody else.”
“So did she back off when she found out that you weren’t running a strictly legal operation?”
“Nope. Still put her money here. She wanted to know who I reported to, but obviously I couldn’t tell her that.”
“Of course not.”
Ellie got off her stool and I followed after her as we made our way back out into the blistering heat of the day.
“What was all that about?” I asked. “Was Chief Enforcer King here for gambling?”
Ellie shrugged. “She was, but I think it was part of her investigation. Paranormals are absolutely allowed to gamble, and there are plenty of registered places to do it legally. The underground places often offer better odds, since their overhead is lower and they don’t need to pay the registration fees to the overseeing committees. But the underground places are illegal.”
“So would she be here on a case?” I asked. “After all, this isn’t Western Woods.”
“That’s the thing,” Ellie said with a bit of a frown. “There’s no reason why Chief Enforcer King should be trying to solve a case here, since she has
no jurisdiction here.”
“And there wouldn’t be any problem with her gambling here legally?”
“Not unless she was doing it excessively,” Ellie replied. “Gambling doesn’t really have negative connotations in the paranormal world. It’s totally normal to put money on a duel.”
“Yeah, speaking of, what are these duels? Who is Miranda Thunder?”
We don’t have them in Western Woods, but duels involve a couple of witches or wizards going up against one another and using their spells to try and defeat the other person.”
“So it’s basically like magical boxing?”
“Yeah, exactly.”
“Is it hard?”
“It depends who your opponent is,” Ellie grinned. “The athletes who compete in duels have often been training for it for years and years. They’re versed in all of their coven’s spells of aggression and defense, and they often learn other covens’ spells as well for maximum flexibility. On the other hand, because they’ve trained so specially for years and years, they often don’t know a lot of basic spells most ordinary witches and wizards know.”
“Why doesn’t Amy do it? Being good at casting spells is definitely something that applies to her.”
“For one thing, Amy hates the idea of duels. She doesn’t think witches and wizards should fight each other, even for entertainment, and thinks there are more important spells to learn than fighting ones. And on top of that, duels take place in a lot of different towns. She would have to get up the courage to travel between towns regularly. She wouldn’t do it to go to Spellford, so she never would have done it for duels, either.”
I nodded. That made a lot of sense. Amy wasn’t really the adventurous type, either. While she was an incredible witch, she definitely didn’t have the personality type to be an elite athlete, even if she had skills.
“Is Miranda Thunder any good?”
Ellie grinned at me. “On paper, not really. She hasn’t won any fights in a while, and she isn’t exactly the best out there, but she’s a fighter. Miranda is one of the moons of Uranus, and they’re also a Thunder coven. I’ve met her a couple of times and she’s nice, which was why I put my money on her.”
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