The Changeling Princess

by Jackie Shirley

  A door opened and a Warlock stepped into the hallway directly in front of us. He was accompanied by six bodyguards. These were weird-looking Warlocks because the suits they were wearing were fashioned from the 1930s. They reminded me of mobsters from the early gangster movies.

  “My name is Zarkoff,” the head guy said. “You’ve been creating a lot of trouble for us in Chicago, but I must admit I’m surprised to see how young you are. I’m afraid you’re going to regret coming to this house.” Zarkoff stepped to one side and issued a single command, “Take ‘em out, boys.”

  The six bodyguards opened fire with energy beams. The transparent force field I’d erected deflected the energy beams like buck shot bouncing off a steel door. I looked at Wade and grinned. “I’ll take the three on the left.”

  I dissolved the force field and released three quick energy bolts. Wade did the same. The only thing left was left was Zarkoff, waving his hands and coughing from the black smoke. “I don’t believe it,” he said. “Those were my best bodyguards. No one has that kind of power.”

  Zarkoff reached into his vest pocket and removed a large ruby. I felt an intense cold in the room as Zarkoff held the ruby in front of him. Wade acted out of instinct and stepped forward. In one swift motion, he cut Zarkoff’s arm off with his sword. The ruby went flying across the room as I released a pair of energy bolts directly into Zarkoff’s chest, causing him to dissolve into a cloud of black smoke. I wasn’t going to take a chance he might come up with another cute trick.

  “What kind of a ruby is that?” I asked Wade.

  “I’m not sure, but I know it’s possessed. Another ten seconds and the temperature in the hallway would have been down to zero. Zarkoff must have had some type of protection to protect himself from the immense cold.”

  I picked up the ruby and tucked it away for safe keeping. I figured it might come in handy someday.

  I followed the Warlock scent up the stairs and down the hallway. I came to a large set of doors and stopped. I motioned to Wade to stand back as I opened the doors with telekinesis. I erected a force field just in case someone was waiting for us.

  It was a large room and the décor was exclusively1930s. The decor matched the suits the Warlocks were wearing. No one was firing at us, so I dissolved the force field.

  At one end of the room was a large table. There were four Warlocks seated on each side of the table with a single Warlock seated at the head of the table. He was probably the chief Warlock who lived here and the remaining Warlocks were the warlords who had arrived in the limousines.

  The chief Warlock was smoking a cigar. Hanging behind him was a portrait of him standing beside Al Capone, the famous gangster who ruled Chicago in the 1930s. The chief Warlock was definitely a fan of the Al Capone era.

  The eight Warlocks rose to their feet. The head Warlock shouted, “Don’t let these young punks upset you, boys. Keep your heaters in your holsters and I’ll take care of these kids just like Big Al would have done. I’ll fight force with force.”

  A door opened and in walked a huge Demon. He reminded me of the other Demon that Wade had destroyed, only bigger. Everyone backed up against the wall as the Demon came toward us. I fired a series of energy blasts, but the Demon kept coming. I also noticed that the Demon had grown in size after he absorbed my energy blasts.

  “He’s a Heat Demon,” Wade shouted. “He absorbs heat and it makes him stronger.”

  I changed tactics and employed my power of telekinesis. The Demon stopped dead in his tracks like he’d been turned into a statue. I removed the ruby from my toga. The instant I released my hold, I hurled the ruby at the Demon. The force behind my throw was so powerful that the ruby became imbedded a good six inches into the Demon’s chest. The Demon roared with pain as I concentrated on releasing the power of the ruby. I watched as the Heat Demon turned into a giant icicle.

  I turned to Wade. “You have the honors.”

  Wade focused his energy beam at the Demon’s chest. The explosion that followed shook the entire room. It was like watching an exploding ice display as the Demon shattered into a thousand pieces.

  The Warlocks panicked and reached for their handguns. At the same time, the chief Warlock reached down for a machine gun he had hidden under the table. That was the last move he ever made. We unleashed the power of our energy bolts, causing the room to be filled with a torrent of black smoke. I had to admit that black smoke was becoming one of my favorite sights. The smell still made Wade a little woozy, but he had stopped complaining.

  I searched the room for the ruby. I found it imbedded in the wall and pried it out with my fingers. “That ruby really came in handy,” Wade said.

  “Yes it did. Maybe I can analyze the source of its power and incorporate it into my energy beam.”

  “That would be a good thing.”

  I nodded my head and smiled. “It’s something to think about.”

  CHAPTER 27

  We pulled out of Chicago and headed west on Highway 80. The Warlock scent no longer filled the air and that put a smile on my face. I felt I was making a difference and that was important to me.

  The scent of the Warlock twins became stronger and stronger as we headed west. We left Highway 80 and picked up Highway 76 to Denver. The scent of the Warlock twins was stronger in that direction.

  I picked up several new Warlock scents when we arrived in Denver. We did a thorough search of the city and within six days we’d freed two Witch Clans and destroyed three Warlock Clans. I was beginning to feel like a traveling bounty hunter who comes into town and cleans out the bad guys.

  I was really proud of Wade. He had no fear whatsoever and he had become a fierce warrior. It was easy to see why he’d been chosen to be my companion. I knew I could depend on him no matter what kind of trouble we ran into.

  * * *

  “Our next stop is Las Vegas, Wade.”

  “Maybe the Warlock twins are in Las Vegas?”

  “If they aren’t, I’m sure they’re close by. The scent is becoming extremely strong.”

  Wade had a twinkle in his eyes. “We could use our powers and pick up some easy money while we’re in town.”

  I furrowed my eyebrows. “I thought you’d come up with something like that. We’re not going to Las Vegas to gamble.”

  “But it wouldn’t be gambling, we’d just be collecting a little expense money.”

  “Like I told you before, Wade, you should have been a salesman.”

  * * *

  We pulled into a large motel on the outskirts of Las Vegas and rented a room on the second floor. The Warlock twin weren’t in Las Vegas, but I was positive they were close by.

  We unpacked and went to a nearby Denny’s for dinner. I planned on analyzing the ruby when we returned to our motel room. I was curious to see if I could figure out how it got its power.

  We returned to the motel room and I placed the ruby in the bathtub. I placed a force field around the bathtub with a small opening in the center. If the ruby blew up, at least it wouldn’t take the motel room with it.

  Wade stood behind me as I adjusted my energy beam to scan the ruby. The ruby was solid red, but I saw a powerful white light directly in the center. “That’s the source of the ruby’s power,” Wade said.

  I went into intense concentration and focused on drawing the white light into my energy beam. I narrowed the beam until it resembled a thin straw that I could use to suck the energy out of the ruby. After I penetrated the ruby and began the suction process, the intense white light became fainter and fainter. I continued draining the energy until the light in the center of the ruby had completely disappeared.

  “I think you did it,” said Wade.

  “Let’s go outside and give it a test.”

  I grabbed Wade’s hand, morphed into a Mist and made us invisible. We flew to a deserted area of the desert and floated down to the ground. When we materialized, Wade put his energy beam on low power and used it like a flashlight. “How about that cactus?” Wade asked.r />
  “No way. The cactus is a part of nature’s divine plan and I’m not going to kill it.” I found a bare spot on the ground with no vegetation. “This will do just fine.”

  I focused my energy beam on the ground and concentrated. I watched as the ground turned white with frost. I continued concentrating until the ground was covered with ice.

  “Fantastic!” Wade shouted.

  I changed my energy beam to a heat beam and melted the ice. “Now we have a super weapon against Heat Demons,” I said.

  “That’s true, but you could beat any heat Demon bare-handed. They wouldn’t stand a chance.”

  “Maybe so, but the cold beam will really come in handy if we should ever face a horde of Heat Demons.”

  * * *

  I practically had to drag Wade out of bed the next morning. “What time is it?” he asked.

  “Seven-thirty. If you want to stay in bed, I’ll go have breakfast by myself.” The mention of food had Wade out of bed in a flash.

  “Janis, I was wondering . . . Do we have to be twenty-one to go into the casinos?”

  “I’m not sure, but I don’t think so. I’ll change my appearance so that I appear to be in my early twenties. I’ll pretend to your older sister.”

  Wade crinkled his nose. “That’s going to be a first.”

  Wade watched with interest as I aged my face so that I appeared to be in my early twenties. “You know, Janis, you get better looking with age.”

  I think I blushed because I knew Wade was sincere.

  We walked out into the motel lobby and I locked the door behind us. “Maybe we’ll run into Elvis at breakfast?” Wade joked. Without thinking, I morphed into a finger-snapping Elvis singing “Don’t be Cruel.”

  I suddenly heard an ear piercing scream. “Ahaaaaaaa.” I looked behind me to see a middle-aged woman who had just stepped out of her room.

  “What’s going on, Mable?” I heard a man yell out as Wade and I were entering the stairwell to the ground floor.

  “George, come quick. It’s Elvis! He’s right here in our motel. I wish you could have seen how he looked at me. I’m telling you, George, Elvis wanted my body. I could see it in his eyes.”

  Wade was staring at me as I morphed back into twentyish Janis French. “You’re going to get us in trouble, Janis.”

  “Yeah, I’ll be more careful, but you have to admit it was funny.”

  We laughed all the way to the car.

  * * *

  We pulled onto the Las Vegas Strip and blended in with the early morning traffic. I was impressed because I couldn’t get over how large the casinos were.

  “There’s Caesar’s Palace,” I pointed out. “That’s supposed to be the classiest casino in Las Vegas.”

  I slowed down when we reached the Stardust. “This casino looks more reasonable. Let’s check out the buffet here.”

  “Sounds good to me, Sis.”

  No one paid any attention to us when we walked into the casino. I asked for directions to the buffet and found out that we were practically standing in front of it. I paid the entrance fee and a pleasant middle-aged lady seated us at the back of the room.

  “Help yourself and eat all you want,” she said. “A waitress will be around shortly to take your drink orders.”

  We piled our plates so high that we were lucky to make it back to our table without spilling anything on the floor. This is silly,” I said. “We can always go back for seconds.”

  “I guess we got carried away, but everyone’s doing it. I don’t see how the casino makes a profit.”

  “I read an article that said the hotels have promotions, like low-priced buffets to get people into their casinos. The real money maker is the gambling.”

  “That makes sense. Not to change the subject, but I’m surprised we haven’t picked up the scent of any Warlocks in Las Vegas.”

  “I’m surprised too because the nickname for Las Vegas is ‘Sin City.’”

  We finished breakfast by having a plate of bread pudding for dessert. I was stuffed to the gills, but Wade had another helping. I had to admit I liked watching Wade eat. What puzzled me was how he managed to stay so slim.

  We walked through the Stardust and watched the people gambling. I was amazed that the atmosphere was so quiet and subdued. I thought the inside of a casino would have more of a loud carnival atmosphere.

  We stopped and watched the players at the roulette wheel. The wheel contains a total of thirty eight numbers if you count the zero and the double zero. If you bet a dollar and the ball lands on your number, the roulette dealer pays you a total of thirty-five dollars. I calculated that the casino shorted you two dollars because the odds are actually thirty-seven to one, not thirty-five to one. I figured this was how the casino made a profit in the long run. I think the correct term I had once read was “incorrect odds” or something like that. I was positive all the casino games had the odds in their favor.

  My adventurous nature took over because I felt an irresistible urge to gamble. I smiled at Wade and then made my way to the roulette table. I heard Wade whisper, “Go get ‘em, Sis.”

  Most of the players had large stacks of chips in front of them, but I discovered that most of them were only ten cent chips. I removed a dollar bill from my wallet in my shoulder bag. I paused and then placed it on the number seven. The roulette dealer exchanged my dollar bill for a dollar chip.

  I watched as the ball spun around and around before it dropped down onto the spinning wheel. I remained perfectly still as I employed my power of telekinesis. When the ball slowed down, I nudged it along until it fell in the number seven slot.

  I was thrilled when the roulette dealer paid me a total of thirty five dollars. I pulled my original chip back and placed my winnings on the number seven again. I tried not to look smug as I waited for the roulette dealer to spin the ball again.

  “You’re letting it ride on the same number again?” remarked a lady standing next to me. I smiled and nodded my head.

  When the ball dropped onto the wheel, I followed the same procedure and nudged it along until it fell into the number seven slot again. I squealed and clapped my hands to appear excited. “I don’t believe it,” said the lady standing next to me. “That’ll probably get you into the Guinness Book of Records.”

  I was paid a total of twelve hundred and twenty-five dollars. When I added that to my previous win of thirty-five dollars, I had won a total of twelve hundred and sixty dollars. I figured it was customary to leave a tip, so I handed the dealer twenty-five dollars.

  Wade walked with me to the casino cage to cash out. “Way to go, Sis. You’re a natural born roulette player. What’s next, craps or blackjack?”

  “I think we should quit while we’re ahead.”

  Wade frowned. “I thought we were just getting warmed up.”

  We spent the rest of the day having fun on the Las Vegas Strip. We stopped in all the major casinos and I was impressed with how spectacular they were. We decided we’d stop back later in the evening and eat at one of the casino buffets.

  “Let’s go to Caesar’s,” said Wade.

  “Why Caesar’s?” I asked.

  “It’s a classy casino, so the food must pretty good.”

  “That’s as good a reason as any.” I was positive dinner was going to be a real treat.

  CHAPTER 28

  We stopped at a local shopping center because the only clothes we had were casual wear. We decided we needed something a little dressier to wear to Caesar’s buffet. Money wasn’t a problem because I had my winnings from the roulette table.

  I found a quaint little boutique and picked out an attractive dress. I also picked out a pair of high heels and a matching handbag. I was happy I wasn’t going to look like a character from the new television show “Beverly Hillbillies.”

  We found a men’s clothing store. I purchased a sports shirt and a pair of slacks for Wade and finished it off by adding a new belt and a pair of dress shoes. Wade looked really sharp.

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sp; * * *

  We arrived at Caesar’s Palace at seven-thirty in the evening. I felt comfortable in my new outfit, but some of the women were wearing expensive outfits that cost as much as a new car. I thought someone should do a television show exclusively about the super-rich. I couldn’t imagine what the lifestyle of the super-rich was really like.

  I caught several women staring at Wade as we waited in line at the buffet. I didn’t want to hear their thoughts, so I tuned them out. I was the great and mighty Ivarr, but I was only seventeen and I was still capable of being jealous. I constantly struggled with my emotions because Wade was so special to me.

  The buffet was excellent. I had two helpings of prime rib and everything that went with it. Wade was like a little kid. He was continually walking around the buffet, filling his plate with something new. We had ice cream and cake for dessert and then we finished it off with a huge chocolate éclair. I felt like a stuffed buffalo when we left the buffet. Wade admitted he was having trouble sucking in his gut. We both developed a case of the giggles as we walked around the casino floor.

  We stopped at the roulette table to watch the action. The first thing I noticed was how large the bets were. Wade grinned. “Why don’t you show them how it’s done, Sis?”

  “We don’t need the money.”

  “That’s true, but how often do you get the chance to rub elbows with the elite?”

  I suddenly found myself walking toward the roulette table. I felt like I was in a trance when I bought a five dollar chip and placed it on the number seven. The lady standing next to me had a handful of five dollar chips and was spreading them around the table. One of her five dollar bets was on the number seven, right next to my five dollar chip.

  When the ball landed on the number seven, the lady and I were each paid thirty-five chips, a total of one hundred and seventy-five dollars. I pulled my original five dollar chip back and placed my winnings on the number seven again.