Magic Required

by Obert Skye

  “No.”

  “What was in that box?”

  “It’s personal,” Ozzy said.

  Sheriff Wills may have been the sheriff of a small town, but he was no rube. Before transferring to Otter Rock, he had had years of success in Portland as a respected detective. He was using some of that deduction power now.

  “Your pants are quite unusual.”

  “Thanks,” Ozzy said.

  “They look a little like the ones Brian was wearing the last time I saw him.”

  “His name is Rin,” Ozzy said in a friendly tone. “It’s short for Labyrinth.”

  “Sorry, like the ones Rin was wearing.”

  “I liked his so much I got my own,” Ozzy said lamely.

  “Where?”

  “Yes, I wear them,” Ozzy said, not understanding the question.

  Sheriff Wills smiled. He knew Ozzy was different. The boy had grown up alone and was less jaded and sarcastic than so many other kids his age.

  “That’s not what I mean,” the sheriff said. “Where did you get them?”

  “I made them for him,” Sigi cut in. “He liked the ones my dad had, so I stitched those together.”

  “Really? They’re not the personal item you got from the box?”

  “No,” Ozzy said.

  “Well, this is going nowhere,” Wills said, throwing his hands up. “You two know I’m only trying to help. Everything you keep from me makes my job harder. Can I tell you what I think happened today?”

  “I bet we can’t stop you,” Sigi said.

  Wills ignored Sigi’s comment. “You got a box delivered to your school,” he said. “In that box was a pair of pants and a note. That note was from Rin and it told you where to go. You helped cause a commotion in the hallway, slipped out, and traveled to Salem. Then you went to the motel room of someone dangerous. If we hadn’t gotten the Salem police there quickly, you could have been in real trouble.”

  “We can hold our own,” Sigi said defiantly.

  “That’s true,” the sheriff admitted. “But there might come a time when you get into more trouble than you can handle. I don’t know this man, Ray, in New York. But my contact there has made it clear that he is very, very dangerous.”

  Ozzy and Sigi made it a habit of not telling Sheriff Wills more than they had to. Clinging to that habit, they kept their mouths closed as Wills continued to talk.

  “To be honest, Ray scares me as well. I’ll sleep much better when all this is said and done. I’ll also be happy when Rin returns.”

  “Me too.” Ozzy couldn’t stop himself from agreeing. There were few things in life that he wanted more than Rin and Clark’s return.

  “I still have so many questions about what happened to you. I’ve been checking into every lead possible. Imagine how much easier my job would be if you just told me the truth.”

  “That’s not really the kind of thing I like to imagine,” Sigi said.

  “For example—does Rin have a bird?”

  Ozzy and Sigi couldn’t help but smile. They both fought to keep their expressions blank, but Sheriff Wills noticed the small change.

  “There was a bird that got into Bites a while back,” Wills added. “The one that broke all the light bulbs.”

  “Animals are unpredictable,” Sigi said.

  “I just—”

  The sheriff stopped talking because Ozzy’s lawyer, Ryan Severe, had stuck his head into the office.

  Wills swore.

  “Let me guess,” Ryan said. “You came back here where it was nice and quiet to tell these two that they don’t have to answer your questions without having legal representation on hand?”

  “Perfect,” the sheriff complained.

  “Thanks for the compliment,” Ryan said. “But unless you’re charging them with anything, these two need to get home and rest.”

  “I’m trying to help,” the sheriff argued.

  “Well, it would help if I take them home and talk to them first,” the lawyer said. “Are they charged with anything?”

  “No.”

  Ryan waved at Ozzy and Sigi. “Come on.”

  The two of them stood up to leave.

  “We’ll be watching you even closer,” Sheriff Wills said. “I think you’re in more danger than you know.”

  “Creepy, but thanks,” Sigi said.

  Ozzy and Sigi left with Ryan.

  Sheriff Wills stood by Wilma at the front counter and watched them leave through the front doors of the station.

  “Those two are going to be the death of me.”

  “I feel the same way about baked goods,” Wilma said.

  Wills went back to his office to make some calls. He was concerned about Ozzy and Sigi, but what he most wanted now was to have a conversation with a man named Jon.

  Jon sat stone-faced in the interrogation room of the East Salem police station. It was a rectangular space with gray walls and a large stainless steel table in the middle. On the north wall was a wide mirror and a door. After being taken from the Marsh and Meadow Motel, Jon had been brought directly to this spot. The local police didn’t know who they had, and when they questioned him, they got very few answers and little information. All they had figured out was that Jon had been registered at the motel under the name of Jon Smith, he was originally from someplace in the South, and he wanted to press charges against the two teenagers who had knocked on his door, harassed and abused him, and ruined his day.

  When Sheriff Wills had shown up at the station, Round Ears was more than happy to let him have a go at the tightlipped man. Jon had washed up as best he could, but there were still remnants of pasta sauce and toothpaste on his clothes and in his hair.

  “Hello, Jon,” Sheriff Wills said, entering the room and taking a seat across the table from him.

  The sheriff and Jon were alone, but they both knew that other people were watching from behind the mirror.

  Jon kept quiet.

  “I’ve been looking for you,” the sheriff said with a controlled voice. “I’m actually thrilled to see you even though you’ve caused some trouble in my neck of the woods.”

  Jon didn’t speak.

  “I know who you are,” the sheriff said. “These officers here don’t know your history, but I do. You work for Ray Dench and you’ve been hired to harm the Toffy boy.”

  Jon blinked slowly.

  “I counted twenty-seven things I could charge you with right now,” Wills said. “From kidnapping to gun charges. But here’s the thing—I don’t really want to take this out on you. I believe the real problem is your boss, Ray.”

  Jon couldn’t let that go. “He’s not my boss.”

  Sheriff Wills gave a small, calming nod. “Really?”

  “I no longer have or want anything to do with him.”

  “That’s a smart decision. Why?”

  Jon didn’t answer.

  “This is a lot like talking to Ozzy and Sigi,” Wills said. “They never give me any answers, either. I keep thinking how easy and clean this all might be if people would simply stop hiding what they know.”

  Jon looked at the sheriff and then stared at the mirror.

  “Oh,” the sheriff said in a friendly tone, “I see. Does it bother you that others are listening? Is that why you won’t answer? Because, looking at you, it seems to me that you have something you’d like to say.”

  Jon glanced at the mirror again.

  Sheriff Wills pushed his chair back from the table, got up, and left the room. A few moments later, a light went on behind the one-way mirror. The space in back was empty, letting Jon know that nobody was watching.

  Sheriff Wills came back in and sat down.

  “It’s just you and me now, Jon. You can see there’s no one watching, and they’ve turned off all the mics. I promise.”

&nbs
p; Jon closed his eyes and breathed slowly.

  “How ’bout we just talk?” the sheriff suggested. “Some stuff has happened, and I’m thinking that we both have been through things that we would rather not have been through. Let me ask you this—are you loyal to Ray Dench?”

  Jon’s eyes flashed open. “No.”

  “That’s good to hear.”

  “Ray doesn’t even know I’m alive,” Jon insisted. “And I want to keep it that way.”

  “Okay,” Wills said. “Let’s see how things play out. But if you do help me, I’ll see what I can do to make sure Ray knows nothing about you.”

  Jon nodded in agreement.

  “You were in pursuit of Mr. Ozzy Toffy and Ms. Sigi Owens at one point.”

  “It was just a job,” Jon said. “I never wanted to hurt them.”

  “Looking at you now, I would say they’ve done more damage to you.”

  “It hasn’t gone as planned.”

  “They frustrate me too,” Wills admitted. “They disappear, they travel across the country doing who knows what. Strange things are always happening around them. They follow a lunatic around like he’s a real wizard.”

  “He is,” Jon insisted.

  “Whoa,” Wills said, leaning forward in his seat. “Are you saying you believe that Brian Mortley is a wizard?” The sheriff’s voice had no animosity or judgment in it.

  “I’m saying that for the moment I have no other way to explain what’s happened.”

  Wills was intrigued. “Okay, then, tell me what’s happened.”

  Those were the six words that cracked the dam. Jon wanted to get things off his chest, to have someone else know what he knew. And the floodgates were open. Jon told the sheriff everything he knew. He told him about a magical bird named Clark and a wizard that turned into a whale and blew apart boats. He told him about mystical staffs and grandfathers surrounded by tornadoes of books. He told him about Ray and his desire to control everyone’s minds. He told him about Emmitt and Mia Toffy and what they had set out to do. He told him about expecting a pizza and receiving a self-inflicted beating from a boy that could control minds.

  Sheriff Wills sat there looking composed and interested. He had known most of the reality-based details, but the introduction of so many magical pieces was astonishing and hard to believe. His mind staggered and spun as the new information filled in some of the pieces he’d been missing and gave him new clues. One thing was clear in all of this—what was happening to Ozzy was much, much bigger than Wills had ever imagined.

  After an hour of talking, Jon stopped. The average man looked lighter, and even though he was sitting down, he appeared to be a few inches taller. A little color had returned to his pale face and he no longer resembled a glass of milk in brown pants and an off-white shirt.

  After a full minute of silence, Sheriff Wills spoke.

  “That’s a lot to take in. I’ve been on the force a long time, and I’ve never heard anyone calmly tell me the kind of things you just did. So this bird, Clark. It’s a living bird that looks like metal?”

  “No,” Jon insisted. “It’s a metal bird that is somehow alive.”

  “Like a robot, or a drone?”

  Jon shook his head. “It’s alive. It thinks and acts and speaks for itself.”

  “That’s not possible.”

  “I would have said the same thing a few weeks ago.”

  “So it’s magic?”

  “I don’t know what it is. I know that Ozzy’s father created it and Ray will stop at nothing to get it.”

  “Unbelievable.” Wills shook his head in disbelief. “And Ozzy can control people’s brains?”

  “I think that’s what happened to me,” Jon said. “His parents used him as a test case for the serum.”

  “They were bad?”

  “I don’t know. I only know they were brilliant. And now their boy seems to have the ability to force his will on others.”

  “Could he make a police officer drive into the ocean? Or maybe cause a fight at school so he can slip away?”

  “Yes, he could. He made me fight myself.”

  Sheriff Wills whistled, sounding more like a small-town cop than he wanted to. But the crazy answers and stories Jon had told were mind-blowing.

  “And you’re determined to find Rin and become like him?”

  “I want what he has,” Jon said.

  “He’s not well.”

  “According to who?”

  “Almost everyone who knows him.”

  “Maybe they’re just looking at him wrong.”

  “I don’t know,” Wills said. “I can almost believe in living metal birds and mind control more than I can believe in Brian being a real wizard.”

  “I suggest you believe in all those things.”

  Sheriff Wills drummed his fingers on the table as he thought. He closed his eyes and breathed slowly for a few moments. When his eyes finally popped open, he looked directly at Jon.

  “Here’s what we’re going to do,” the sheriff said. “I’m going to take you with me to Otter Rock. I want you locked up where I can keep an eye on you. I will do everything I can to keep Ray from knowing that you’re alive. And if you continue to help, I will do my best to make sure that the courts know you cooperated.”

  Jon nodded.

  “But,” Wills added, “I have one more question for now. Do you remember Ozzy’s grandfather’s address?”

  Jon nodded again.

  “Excellent,” the sheriff said. “I’m going to need that.”

  “If you’re going to bribe him for answers, I suggest you bring him books.”

  “Duly noted.”

  Wills stood up and pushed his chair back. He left the room and explained things to Round Ears. After a small bit of paperwork, Jon was loaded into the backseat of Wills’s patrol car.

  It all seemed rather perfunctory and police-like, but inside, Sheriff Wills was having a hard time containing his excitement. He now had several solid leads. He also knew things that the wizard and his entourage had never told him. The possibility of solving the case for good filled him with a purpose and a drive so strong he could barely sit still.

  For both Jon and the sheriff, it was a nervous, worrisome, fidgety ride back to Otter Rock.

  Ray Dench was the worst kind of person a person could be. He wasn’t an evil power-hungry tyrant who also had a soft spot for animals or volunteered at a soup kitchen once a month. No, he was an evil power-hungry tyrant who hated animals and purchased soup kitchens just to tear them down and laugh at the less-fortunates’ lack of soup. He had no soft spot, no funny bone, and no milk of human kindness.

  He did, however, have goals—a noble habit if your goals are to get good grades or to cure cancer, a disastrous idea if your goals are to be the wealthiest man alive by stealing everyone else’s free will.

  “No news of Jon?” Ray said unhappily to the large man standing in front of his desk. “He just disappeared?”

  The large man was the new head of Ray’s security team. He didn’t particularly love his job, but the pay was just enough to keep him from standing up for his convictions and leaving to find something else. His name was Ty, and he was more than just large, he was wide, tall, massive, and hulking. He was dressed in the standard uniform of the men who protected and did Ray’s bidding; a tailored blue suit with a white shirt unbuttoned at the collar.

  “There’s no news,” Ty said. “Nothing has turned up as of yet.”

  “What about the boy?”

  “Both he and the girl are being watched day and night by the police.”

  “And the bird?”

  “No sign of any bird or the . . .” Ty felt stupid just saying it. “. . . or the wizard.”

  “Disgusting,” Ray said hotly. “I’m trying to save the world and someone playing dress-up is ruin
ing everything. When he does pop up, he needs to be taken care of.”

  “Understood.”

  Ray scratched the tip of his narrow pink nose as he took a few minutes to think. Ty would have loved to back out of the room and leave Ray alone, but he knew there were consequences to doing things like that. Ray liked to have people around to snap at or talk at. He also hated for people to leave before he’d given them his permission.

  So Ty stood still.

  Ray’s office was adorned with a dozen stained-glass windows high up on the walls, currently creating colorful beams of light that fell across Ray’s face. The man looked like a clown—or a puppet that had been created for no other reason than to terrorize people.

  Time kept moving, but Ty stayed still.

  Finally, Ray spoke. “I think I’ve waited long enough,” he said. “It’s been weeks since Jon disappeared, and we can’t just have that boy wandering around freely. Those simple cops should be no problem for us. We need to plan a retrieval and bring Ozzy Toffy back to New York. Do you realize what that boy possesses?”

  Knowing the question wasn’t for him, Ty kept quiet.

  “He possesses the secret to the most profitable and powerful possibility in the world,” Ray answered. “If governments knew what he had they would tear Oregon apart to get it. We can’t let that happen. What he has belongs to me and nobody else. I’d track him down myself, but . . .”

  Ray stopped talking, bothered by his own words.

  Ty knew the reason Ray couldn’t track Ozzy down. The man was powerful, but he was also reluctant to leave New York. A crippling phobia prevented him from leaving the state. It had been years since he had done so, and he hoped that in his lifetime he’d never have to leave again.

  “Do you think the wizard and Jon might have died in the ocean?” Ray asked.

  Ty waited.

  “Well?” Ray demanded.

  Realizing the question was for him, Ty answered, “It’s a possibility.”

  “If you had to wager on it?”

  “I’d wager that both the wizard and Jon are alive,” Ty said. “Jon is highly skilled, and the wizard has been known to disappear for years at a time.”