by Susan Harper
“Sort of.” Brian gave a small internal sigh of relief. Roderick hadn’t heard that much then. Brian shot Isaac a warning look. “You ever seen one?”
“Once, actually,” Roderick said, sighing as he massaged his left foot. “It was the worst experience of my life.”
“Really?” Isaac asked, sitting upright and looking rather nervous. “What was it like?”
“Horrifying,” Roderick said, still massaging the muscles of his aching foot. “It wasn’t a fully matured one. Couldn’t imagine what that would be like.”
“What do you mean it wasn’t fully mature? It was a child?” Isaac asked, horrified at the thought of the council killing a child.
“No, it was an adult, but it had killed its other half when it was twelve. A boy. Because it killed its other body before adulthood, it only had a small amount of the magic that a mature Ibeji would have. Even still, it was the most powerful thing I’ve ever seen. He was crazy, this one. A criminal, of course. Most Ibeji don’t turn out too good. That sort of power really goes to their heads. This guy was…I guess twenty or so. He accidentally ran his other body over when he was younger. Horse trampled it. Anyway, he had one of those dolls he kept tucked into his beltloop. He was still trying to get the other half of his soul to merge with his body. That’s what they have to do to keep themselves sane when their second bodies are killed. Got to have something to keep their other soul-half in to keep from losing it. Well, some mortal took his doll and burned it, taunting him and not realizing what this would do.” Roderick switched feet, taking his right foot into his hands and kneading the muscles.
“What happened?” Brian asked.
“Well, it destroyed half his soul,” Roderick said, shaking his head and dropping his foot back to the floor. “This Ibeji went absolutely insane, and he was already a bit mad. Criminal lifestyle will do that to you. He was power hungry. Started killing people left and right—mortal or mystic. Didn’t matter to him. It took fifteen wizards to take him down finally.”
“What kind of power did he have?” Isaac asked.
“He could bend reality,” Roderick said. “Just a nod of his head, and it would send you flying off. Magic without a wand. Uncontrolled, powerful magic. He couldn’t control himself. His emotions caused all sorts of damage. It was madness. Killed hundreds by the time he was finally taken in. Fifteen authorities were on the mission to take him in. Only four of them made it out alive. I was a rookie. My partner told me to hang back. Lost him that day, I’m afraid.” Roderick’s face showed the echo of the memory he was retelling. He looked a little haunted as he talked about his partner. Brian couldn’t blame him, that had to have been a horrible experience.
“I’m sorry,” Brian said sympathetically. “I’m an officer in my time. That’s rough, I know.”
“Yeah,” Roderick said with a sigh. “We were close. That Ibeji, it took out so many people without even thinking about it. That kind of raw power, it’s not safe. It’s dangerous. It corrupts. And to think, that one wasn’t even matured. Most don’t. Most never do fully mature from what I understand. Can you imagine, for a second, what it would be like? A fully matured Ibeji? One who made it into adulthood without killing its other body for the soul-halves to become two separate entities? It would create two beings more powerful than anything I had ever seen in my life.” Roderick shuddered. “Can you imagine? I sure can’t. Gives me nightmares.”
Roderick shook himself off. “You all right, Roderick?” Brian asked.
“I’m fine. Old memories is all,” Roderick said and stood up slowly. “Going to go check in and make sure the girls got themselves situated in their room. I’ll be back in a bit.” He slipped away, closing the door behind him.
Brian and Isaac made nervous eye contact with one another. “Do you think what Roderick was just saying about Ibeji… You think he’s exaggerating?” Isaac asked.
“I don’t know if he was,” Brian said. “Honestly, I’ve done a little bit of reading on Ibeji twins at Mona’s bookshop.”
“Mona has a bookshop too?” Isaac asked.
Brian smirked for a moment. “You have a lot to get caught up on, I forget. Yeah, Monica’s sister has a bookshop in Wysteria, the mystical town that borders Bankstown. When we get back to our time, I’m sure Monica will take you to see it. But, like I was saying, I got a few books on Ibeji. We’ve all been reading up on them. Not a lot is known about them because they haven’t been around in hundreds of years. The time period we’re in now records some of the last ones to have been known to exist. No record of any matured ones like Holly. Ibeji were rare enough, let alone ones who actually managed to keep both bodies until the souls could split and mature.”
“So what kind of power could Holly have? I mean, if an Ibeji who never matured could go on a mad killing spree and not be stopped until fifteen wizards managed to corner it…and then take most of them out with him… What kind of power is inside Holly?” Isaac asked. His mind was spinning. There were so many questions he had, so many concerns about Holly and the kind of power she had, but he couldn’t ask all his questions at once. And not now. He didn’t want to stress Brian out any more than he already was.
Brian wrung his wrists for a moment. He had not really thought much about this before. “I don’t know, Isaac. Good news is, we know Holly. We know she’s a good person. She’s not some criminal. And times have changed a lot since Boston in the sixteen-nineties. When she starts learning what sort of magic is inside her, what sort of power, I think the Sorcerer’s Council will want to help her. Help her learn to control it, at least. Right now, though, we just got to wait and see. So far, the only magic Holly’s managed to figure out is how to fly a training broom.”
“A training broom?” Isaac asked.
“It’s a broom that non-wizards can still fly,” Brian said. “It’s used mostly for kids, but I guess there was some recent discovery that training brooms can be used for non-wizards. Responds well to them.”
“So… Theoretically, we could fly these training brooms too?” Isaac asked with a bit of hope in his voice. The idea of flying a broom like a cartoon witch gave him much more joy than he thought was becoming of a grown man.
Brian laughed. “I’ll admit, I’ve thought about that a bit myself. Been thinking about getting me a broom. We wouldn’t be able to fly quite like Monica, though. She’s a pro. I think she should get into broom races.”
“That’s a thing?” Isaac asked. His mind instantly went to broom games played by wizards, balls tossed through the air, a glittering golden orb flying around. Could that be true? Not just fiction?
“More of a European thing,” Brian laughed. “Read that in a book. Apparently, broom races are huge out in a place called Lorksville, the border town for London.”
“Magical Europe,” Isaac said, his voice filled with awe. “Think I just added a whole new continent to my bucket list. This is just crazy, isn’t it? I mean, it really is.”
Brian nodded. “Yeah, pretty much. Welcome to the new world, Isaac. Glad you could finally join us.” He tucked his arms behind his head and leaned back onto the bed, staring at the ceiling, lost in his own thoughts.
Isaac smiled. “Yeah, me too,” he murmured to no one in particular.
7
The following morning, after a rather restless night’s sleep, Monica slipped away from Holly and Abigail and headed down to the little bar on the main floor of the inn. There she bumped into Brian and Roderick, who were having breakfast together and discussing what had taken place the day before in town. “I have to agree with you, Brian. I don’t believe a wizard killed Edward. It’s possible, of course, but Alexander does not exactly have a reputation for violence,” Roderick was saying.
“With all the tensions around here, I imagine it’s possible someone might have been trying to frame a wizard. Any wizard, really,” Brian said. He had gone over multiple scenarios in his head the night before and a framing situation seemed the most likely, but they couldn’t rule anything out until
they’d handled Alexander. “But we need to rule Alexander out first and foremost.”
“Looks like you two are getting along well,” Monica said, inviting herself to sit with them and nibble off Brian’s breakfast plate.
Brian smiled at her. “Yes, well, I was telling Roderick last night about my experience working with both mortal officers and mystic authorities. I have offered to help him out on this case, and since I have a foot in both societies, he thinks that I would be a good non-objective person to have on the case. The local mortal officers are wanting to wrap this case up quickly and blaming the local wizard would just be too easy for them.” Monica nodded, understanding just how easy it was for mortals to blame awful things on creatures they didn’t understand.
“Brian tells me you have helped him out on past cases,” Roderick said with a smile. “Unusual for a woman.”
Monica frowned. “Excuse me?”
“To want to get her hands dirty like that,” he said.
“Are you serious?” Monica asked. She could feel the blood rise in her face and knew she was getting heated.
“1698, Monica,” Brian whispered, attempting to calm her down before she could get really worked up.
Monica rolled her eyes. “I’m aware of what year it is, Brian, but witches of this era were not exactly quiet, dainty little things.” She shot him a dark look, daring him to disagree with her.
“I suppose that was a bit prejudiced of me, wasn’t it?” Roderick admitted with an embarrassed smile. “I apologize. I would be delighted to have your help on the case if you think you could be of use.”
“I know she can be,” Brian said, smiling broadly between Monica and Roderick. Monica resisted the urge to roll her eyes again and instead focused on what Roderick was discussing.
“I left a note with Isaac—poor man was still sleeping soundly,” Roderick said. “Brian and I are about to head off to the location station where they are keeping Alexander. I warned Alexander last night not to try to pull anything with the local police. Don’t want him to make himself look any guiltier than he already does. The local mortal police are allowing me to butt in on this case since there are no local mystics on their force. They are being kind. You cannot imagine how difficult it is to get mortal police to cooperate with us sometimes. I took Alexander’s wand and turned it in to the Sorcerer’s Council to be examined, and I did a spell resistant charm on the cell where they are keeping him overnight. I think it helped to build a bit of trust, so they will continue allowing me to work with them on the case.”
“We shouldn’t waste any time,” Brian said. “Don’t want the local police getting antsy waiting around on us. Need to go and make sure a fair investigation takes place, and I’m not sure if Alexander is going to get that without us present.”
“Yes, I agree,” Roderick said, finishing up his food in a hurry.
“All right, I’m coming too,” Monica said, taking a few more bites of Brian’s breakfast before following them. She assumed that Isaac would let Holly and Abigail know where she was off to when he woke up and found Roderick’s note, so she did not bother going back up to their room.
The three of them headed into town, and Monica was a bit annoyed to learn that Boston had strict no-broom laws. “Boston is very much a mortal town,” Roderick was saying as they walked. “It’s not illegal for mystics to live here, of course, but there are plenty of regulations that make it so most don’t want to. Performing magic in the streets without a permit is strictly prohibited. No magic shops within six blocks of main street or the ports. No flying brooms within city limits. Potion shops are allowed on the outskirts of the city, but even then, they are heavily regulated.”
“I see the people of Boston enjoy mystic culture,” Monica said sarcastically. How frustrating to be in a time when mystics and mortals lived side-by-side, but not be able to practice any of the things that made her what she was. Her hands itched to grab ahold of her broom and zoom around the city.
“Oh, there are plenty of towns that are quite the opposite, with laws and ordinances to make mortals uncomfortable, to keep them out,” Roderick said. “It’s a rather nasty world we live in.”
When they arrived at their version of a police station (which was really just a room they rented with a desk on one end and a small holding cell on the other), they saw Madam Hort of the Sorcerer’s Council speaking with the local police captain. She was holding a wand in her hand, presumably her own, and she had it pointed at another wand currently floating in front of her. “As you can see, there has been no firing spells from this wand in the past seventy-two hours…” Madam Hort was saying, though the mortal police chief did not look particularly convinced.
“Yes, well, you’ve never steered us wrong before, Madam Hort…” the man grumbled. He didn’t seem quite convinced by that statement, but it seemed preferable to take her word over it than to argue with a witch with two wands in her possession.
“I do advise continuing to investigate Alexander,” Madam Hort said. “But do so knowing that he could not have done the damage with his own wand. So unless there is another wand floating about, I do not believe this wizard is guilty of the crime. This wand is clean.” Madam Hort spotted Roderick and waved them over. “Roderick, I was just informing the police that Alexander’s wand has been tested, and there no deadly spells or fire-related spells of any kind that have been done of late.”
“Well, that’s good news,” Roderick said, taking Alexander’s wand from the air. “I will happily hold onto this until our investigation is complete.” Roderick dropped the wand into his pocket, patting it in a reassuring motion.
“Thank you, Authority Roderick,” Madam Hort said, inclining her head toward the wizard. “Before I leave, Roderick, I do have some additional information regarding our other case you are here working. We’ve been able to confirm that runaway you are in search of is in fact hiding out in Boston. Several more witnesses have pinpointed the witch to this location.”
The leader of the Night Watchman group, no longer interested in what they had to say now that they were talking about Sorcerer’s Council business, went off to speak with another officer who had just entered the building about an unrelated case. “Williams?” Roderick asked. Monica inhaled sharply but, fortunately, Roderick and Madame Hort weren’t paying her any attention. They had to be talking about Abigail. Her Abigail. Monica knew there was nothing she could do to stop what was going to happen, but she couldn’t help but worry for her friend.
“Who else? That girl has been eluding us for years,” Madam Hort said. “I know you have a lot on your plate with working with mortals on Edward’s case, looking for the time coin, and hunting Abigail Williams… Are you certain you can handle this, Roderick?”
“I am handling it fine,” Roderick assured her. “If I need backup, you know I’m not afraid to call in. The time travelers here have my back, too.”
“Good,” Madam Hort said, nodding approvingly in their direction. “You know where to find us.” She left the station.
Roderick turned to them, sighing, “I do have a lot on my plate right now, admittedly. Abigail Williams, I’m sure you’ve heard, has been on the run ever since the trials in Salem. The woman got a lot of people killed, and it’s about time she paid for it.”
“Woman?” Monica asked. “Wasn’t she just…twelve? That’d make her seventeen now, right?”
“Seventeen,” Roderick said. “And twelve is old enough to know not to intentionally get someone killed, don’t you think? She’s been on the run for five years. Five years! I’m going to be the one to finally bring her in if I can help it.” Roderick looked practically giddy at the thought of bringing in the young witch. Monica felt her stomach flip.
Monica nodded. She already knew, thanks to Abigail, that Roderick was going to make good on that statement. He would be bringing her in eventually. “Give me a moment,” Roderick said. “I’m going to have a chat with the mortal chief before I go in to interrogate Alexander.”
; “Go right ahead,” Brian said, and they watched him saunter off. He shook his head. “None of them seem to be questioning the fact that they are hunting down a young girl, do they?”
“And the sentence they give her… It’s crazy,” Monica said. “Five hundred years as a cat? At the end of the day, she was just a kid in a dangerous situation who did what she had to do to stay alive. I can’t believe how harsh they’re being. There’s no desire to try to help her at all.” Monica’s heart ached for her friend.
“Roderick keeps talking like they’re living in the apocalypse,” Brian said. “Like he’s on the front lines. Or like they’re on the brink of war or something. Maybe they are. I mean, you saw how the whole town turned on Alexander so quickly just because of what he is. The hobbits living in refugee camps outside of the city… Remembrance chasing non-wizards down. Abigail on the run from the Sorcerer’s Council. Immortals being hunted like wild animals. And they’ve already wiped out all the Ibeji. I guess it’s no wonder the Split finally happened.”
Roderick returned shortly, now carrying a small stack of parchment under his arm. “What’s that?” Monica asked.
“It’s from Madam Hort. She gave it to the chief this morning to give to me before we got here,” he said. “Information she’s found on Remembrance. Hopefully this will help us out in finding your time coin. Despite this new case that dropped in my lap yesterday, I was still tasked with finding your coin. Hopefully this bit of information will help in tracking them down. We know they’re here in Boston, but Boston isn’t exactly a little town, now is it?”
“There sure does seem to be a lot of problems in Boston right now,” Brian said. “Edward, Remembrance, and Abigail Williams. Is there something about Boston that you’re not telling us that might be why a lot of the madness seems to be focusing in on this one city?”
