The Uncooperative Warrior

by Sarah Noffke

  “And yet, that’s how it’s been for quite some time.”

  “Has it always been that way?” Liv asked.

  Plato gave her an offended look. “How am I supposed to know?”

  “Because you’ve been around since the dawning of the ages,” Liv replied with a dry laugh.

  “Is that what that book Rory gave you says?”

  Liv shrugged. “It says that you Lynxes have many lives, and that’s supposedly where the old wives’ tale that cats have nine lives came from.”

  “Don’t believe everything you read, dear Liv.”

  “So it’s not true, then?”

  Plato laid his head down on his paws as the front door opened. Pickles, John’s terrier, ran in first, yelping at the cat. John shook his head, raindrops flicking off his hair as he did.

  “The people in LA act like rain is acid and they can’t venture out in it,” he commented, pulling off his coat.

  “They will melt, you know,” Liv said with a laugh.

  “Yes, their powdered noses and big hair will probably melt if they go outside in the rain.” John’s eye caught the toaster in front of Liv. “I thought you repaired Beth’s toaster?”

  “I did, but apparently I need to take another look at it.”

  John nodded. “Did she ever figure out what happened to Jersey Girl’s spots?” John asked, pulling a treat out of his pocket and offering it to Pickles to get him to settle down.

  Liv went back to work on the toaster, avoiding John’s gaze. “Just a fluke. She’s fine now.” Besides from the fact that she thinks she’s a cat, Liv thought.

  “I noticed that a few things came back after you repaired them,” John said, angling to the shelf where the microwave sat. “Is everything all right?”

  This was her chance—her chance to tell him that she was a magician and she’d been messing up appliance repairs. Well, making the appliances better than they should be. But then her mother’s words rang in her head, “Mortals want to accept us, but for some reason, they usually can’t. It’s a mystery. It’s almost like they have been forbidden from doing so. Our magic doesn’t fit in their world.”

  Liv bit down on her lip. “Everything is fine. I just rushed the repairs on the microwave and toaster, but I’ll fix it. I promise.”

  John looked at her sideways but then nodded, not looking entirely convinced. “And that other job of yours? How’s that going?”

  Why did he have to care so much? Liv didn’t like lying to him, but she didn’t see another way. Maybe Rory would have some insights she could borrow. As soon as she thought of the giant, he appeared at the front door, although she didn’t remember seeing him walk past the front glass, and strangely, he wasn’t covered in rain like John. Of course, it wasn’t really strange since she knew how mysterious magic was, but it still gave her chills every time she witnessed it.

  John followed Liv’s line of sight, his face brightening. “Well, hey there, Rory! I didn’t hear you come in! You’re as quiet as a mouse.”

  “Yes, but built like a rhino,” Liv teased. “How do you pull off such stealth?”

  Rory gave a nervous chuckle. “It must have been the rain.”

  “Yes, but you must have moved fast enough to miss most of the sprinkles, huh?” Liv questioned.

  John looked Rory over. “Yeah, you don’t have a drop on you.”

  “That mouse-like behavior must let you sprint around raindrops,” Liv said.

  John looked back at Liv, a perplexed expression on his face. “It is quite strange.”

  Rory shot her an annoyed look.

  “Oh, I bet you jumped between the awnings, didn’t you?” Liv supplied.

  The giant nodded. “Indeed I did.”

  So, Rory was keen to keep his magic a secret, too. There was more for her to learn on this subject.

  John clapped his hands together, making Pickles bark. “Well, my boy, what did you bring me today? I still can’t believe all the treasure you gave me yesterday. They look mighty fine on the shelf.” He held up his hand, proudly indicating the row of devices Rory had dropped off yesterday, saying it was junk he had found in the yard.

  He shook his head of curly brown hair. “I don’t have anything yet, but I’m working on some stuff.” His face turned an interesting shade of pink. “Actually, I’m here to ask for services.”

  John beamed. “Oh, well, that’s what we do. Repair the stuff we don’t want you to throw out and fill the landfills with. Where’s your device?”

  Rory slipped his hands into his pockets. “It’s too big for me to bring in. My mum’s refrigerator has gone out in the house.”

  “Oh, I love a good house call,” John exclaimed, his eyes dancing with eagerness. “And refrigerators are my favorite.”

  “Actually, I was hoping that Liv could help with this one,” Rory said, his eyes on the ground.

  Pickles, who had been scratching furiously, stopped and looked up at the giant at the same time as his master. “Liv?”

  “Well, it’s just that…” Rory trailed away, his voice and face guilty.

  “That I’ve been begging to test my experience repairing refrigerators and this would be the perfect chance,” Liv offered.

  “You have?” John asked, scratching his head.

  “Yes,” Liv said at once. “I told Rory that the other day. Thanks for remembering, pal.”

  The guilt melted off the giant’s face. “Yeah, I remembered.”

  “Oh, well, you haven’t had much chance to work on refrigerators, and it’s a mighty useful skill,” John stated. “Yes, it’s a good idea for you to go. You’re small, so it will probably be easier for you to work on those old-model refrigerators. But I want you to call me if you run into any issues. It can be a complicated repair.” John stopped and thought for a moment. “We could both go, actually—”

  “No,” Rory cut in.

  When John turned to look at him, the giant forced a wide smile. “I mean, I’d hate to take you both away from the shop for this repair. I already feel bad enough asking for a house call.”

  John waved him off. “I owe you tons for all the valuable merchandise you’ve put on my shelves. I wished you’d let me pay you for it.”

  “Yeah, Rory, why do you refuse to allow anyone to pay you for the stuff?” Liv asked, starting to catch onto the giant’s act and enjoying making him squirm.

  “I just happen across those appliances and stuff while browsing,” Rory explained. “It’s not anything I need, but I don’t want it going to waste. It’s a win-win for us all.”

  Liv smiled behind John’s back. She knew the giant was up to something with all his deeds, but she couldn’t figure out what. Was he actually like the good fairy of the giant world? She wasn’t sure, but she was going to find out.

  “All right, let me grab my coat and toolbox and I’ll follow you over to your place,” Liv said as Plato stretched to a standing position, waking from his nap. “And maybe you can show me how to jump from awning to awning so that I don’t get wet either.”

  Chapter Five

  “Are you real proud of yourself?” Rory asked as he tried to squeeze into the back of the SUV.

  Liv had asked him why they didn’t just teleport or use whatever “weird-giant-travel” he had at his disposal, but he’d shook her off, muttering about how it wasn’t a good idea to risk it.

  She watched with amusement as he tried to find a place to put his long legs. After about a minute of this shuffling, Liv jumped into the backseat of the SUV beside him and stretched out, her short legs having plenty of space to kick around.

  He eyed her with brooding contempt. “I’ll remember this the next time you can’t reach something off a low shelf.”

  “Ha-ha.” Liv giggled. “And yes, making you squirm in front of John gave my life new meaning, so thanks for that.”

  “You need a hobby, I think.”

  Liv yawned. “I need a nap, is what I need.”

  Rory gave her a considering look as the driver pulled the
vehicle onto the road and immediately into bumper to bumper traffic.

  “Oh, don’t worry, Grandma.” Liv waved off his concern. “I’m getting plenty of sleep and eating my vegetables.”

  “It would serve you better if you were eating carbs,” Rory advised. “They keep you fuller longer.”

  “Then I’ll pick up nachos after this,” Liv said, already salivating. “And hey, where are we going, by the way? I’m guessing you don’t have a refrigerator you need repaired.”

  Rory shook his head and pulled a few bills from his pocket and handed them to Liv. “No, but pretend that you did and give this to John for the repairs. I’ll report back to him later that you did an adequate job.”

  Liv slid the money into her bag. “How about we change that adjective to ‘superb job’”

  Rory shook his head. “I want him to believe the lie.”

  Liv scowled at the giant. “By the way, you lie to him about…well, you know.” She cut her eyes at the driver.

  “Don’t worry,” Rory stated. “I put a sound spell on the vehicle. He thinks we’re riding in complete silence.”

  “Damn, that was fast. So he can’t hear me if I scream or start singing at the top of my lungs?”

  Rory nodded. “And he won’t know if I throw you out of the vehicle. Well, not until it’s too late.”

  “Okay, so then tell me, why don’t you tell mortals about your magic? Like John, for instance?”

  Rory thought for a moment, his green eyes scrutinizing the road ahead. “It’s not safe for them to know.”

  “I don’t understand,” Liv said when he’d been quiet for a long moment.

  “I don’t understand it myself, but it has never worked for mortals to know about magic,” Rory explained. “They either rebel against it or dive so far into the idea that they harm themselves. Mostly, their first instincts are to dismiss the idea as false.”

  “That’s understandable, actually,” Liv stated. “I don’t know if I’d believe it either, in their position.”

  “Yes, but magic is real,” Rory said. “But even when confronted with proof, mortals usually deny it, and this causes bigger problems.”

  “How so?”

  Rory’s face turned dark. “I don’t know. It’s just always been dangerous for mortals to know about magic. It seems to make them insane and alienates them from society.”

  “Like the crazy old woman who swears she sees things and no one believes her?” Liv asked.

  “Yes, something like that.”

  “Well, then I’m glad I haven’t told John.”

  Rory watched the traffic on the road as if watching for something. Without looking at Liv, he said, “John might be able to take the news. I don’t know. But you shouldn’t tell him anything unless it becomes absolutely necessary. It’s just not worth the risk.”

  “I think that was what my instincts told me,” Liv agreed with a nod.

  “Always listen to your instincts. They’re never wrong.”

  “So, since I’m not fixing your refrigerator, where are you taking me?”

  “You’ll see when we get there.”

  Liv raised an eyebrow at the giant. “Wow, you’re an awful tour guide. This is the last excursion I’m going on with you.”

  “Why don’t you take a nap until we get there?” Rory suggested, and there was something in his tone that Liv couldn’t resist. She found her eyelids immediately falling shut.

  What seemed like only a few seconds later, Rory was shaking her back awake.

  “Hey, wake up. We’re here,” Rory said as the vehicle slowed.

  Liv started and sat up. “Wait, what? I fell asleep? How did that happen?”

  Rory pointed at her mouth. “I have no idea, but you’re drooling all over the place.”

  Liv shot him a skeptical look as she dragged her sleeve across her mouth. “I think you do have an idea, and it’s all related to your weird-giant-magic ways.”

  “Come on,” Rory said, opening the SUV’s back door. “I have something I want to show you.”

  Liv popped out of the other door, peering around at the busy street they were parked on. When she came around the vehicle, Rory was still struggling to get out of the back seat.

  “I thought you said you wanted to show me something?” Liv asked, suppressing a laugh. “Was it this contortionist stunt? Because it’s not as entertaining as you think.”

  Rory’s legs were stuck behind the driver’s side. He leaned to the side, nearly falling over in the seat and wiggled his way out, pulling his legs out first and then his torso.

  Once he was fully out of the SUV, he steered Liv in the direction of a large building.

  “The Natural History Museum?” Liv asked when he’d finally released her. “You’re taking me on a field trip?”

  Rory told her as they walked up a long set of stairs, “There’s something inside that I need to show you.”

  “I’ve seen dinosaur bones,” Liv told him, having to run to keep up with him. “They aren’t that cool.”

  “And what they have here aren’t the real dinosaur bones anyway,” Rory stated.

  “How do you know that?”

  “Because they were destroyed long ago in one of the great wars,” Rory explained.

  “Great wars?” Liv asked.

  “It’s a part of giant history.”

  “Then if these aren’t the real bones, what do they have on display here?”

  “The bones of things that aren’t yet extinct.”

  “Wait, there are still dinosaurs roaming around?” Liv asked.

  “Well, you know them better as dragons, but yes.”

  “Why didn’t I learn about any of this, or about this great war? I did have several years of education while I was growing up in the House of Seven, although mine was a bit more organic than most.”

  Rory continued through the glass doors, breezing past the security guards, who didn’t seem to notice him.

  “Miss,” an employee of the museum said, stopping Liv as she tried to pass. “I’m going to need to see your ticket.”

  Liv halted, watching as Rory continued into the massive hall. “Ummm, I don’t have one.”

  The employee pointed to her hand. “Of course you do. It’s right there. I just need to scan it.”

  Liv looked down at her hand. She was indeed holding a paper ticket, although she didn’t remember how it got there. “Right,” she said, handing it to the employee.

  A moment later, after she’d been allowed entry, she hurried to catch up with Rory. “Another clever trick, Decepticon.”

  “And to answer your last question, there is much that the House doesn’t acknowledge from the history books. It will be your job to learn as much of the history as you can despite them.”

  “Is that why we’re here? Are you going to teach some of it to me?”

  Rory cut around a group of chatting school kids. “I don’t even know all of the history. Yes, I know the parts that pertain to giants and some other magical races, but most of it wasn’t documented well. The magicians’ history, for instance, has many holes in it.”

  That struck Liv as strange. She’d never heard this about her history, but she’d always had a feeling that many things had been left out of the magicians’ textbooks. Her parents had said as much to her when she was growing up. That was one reason they had resisted formal education for their children, instead encouraging them to explore to find knowledge. “The most valuable knowledge can’t be found in a textbook, but rather in the places you are told never to look,” her father had told her repeatedly. That rebellious spirit had often gotten him into trouble, and now…well, he was dead. Still, Liv, knowing what she knew now, would rather follow her parents’ path and risk it all than live a safe life following a cookie-cutter route.

  “And I am here to show you a bit of history, although your education will come purely as a by-product to my agenda,” Rory said, abruptly turning into a corridor that wasn’t as congested as the others.

&n
bsp; “Wow, you have quite the way with words,” Liv said, noticing a group of elderly women giving her strange stares as they passed. “What’s their problem? Is my mascara smeared on my face from sleeping?” She ran her fingers under her eyes in an attempt to clean up her makeup.

  Rory paused, turning in a complete circle as if he was momentarily lost. “What do you mean?”

  “Why are people looking at me so strangely?” Liv asked after he resumed walking.

  “Besides the fact that you’re a runt who they think has gotten separated from her school group?”

  “Yes, besides that,” Liv replied with a laugh.

  “Well, it looks as though you’re talking to yourself since they can’t see me.”

  “But I can see you.”

  Rory gave her a sideways look and winked. “Yes. It’s called selective disguise.”

  “Very sneaky. Remind me never to trust a giant. Wait, don’t remind me. I remember now; I don’t trust you.”

  “We’re not as sneaky as your lynx, and you trust him,” Rory said, stopping in front of an archway to a darkened room.

  “Plato isn’t… Yeah, well, you are both sneaks.”

  Rory wasn’t paying attention to her anymore. His eyes were focused on a case in the middle of the next room. He held up a hand and pointed at it. “In there.”

  Liv trotted forward, trying to make out what was in the oversized case. When she stepped into the room, a sharp chill ran down her spine. She turned to find that Rory hadn’t moved. “Hey, aren’t you coming?”

  He shook his head. “I can’t.”

  “’Can’t?’” Liv questioned. “I get that you’ll have to duck to get under that arch, but that’s no lower than the front door to John’s shop.”

  Rory shook his head again. “No, there’s something that prevents me from entering that particular room.”

  Liv looked over her shoulder and then back at the giant. “Oh, well, then that must mean…” She stepped forward, glad she had the room to herself as she neared the large horizontal case. Lying on a white surface under thick glass was a huge sword. Liv had never seen anything like it. The hilt was cast in bronze and wrapped with a leather grip, and the blade was so shiny that it nearly hurt her eyes to look directly at it. The carvings on the hilt were incredibly detailed, and the sheath lying beside the sword was covered in hundreds of rubies.