by Sarah Noffke
“What did you see? Anything?” Liv asked.
Rory shook his head. “I’m not sure what I saw. It’s going to take more investigating.”
Liv gestured. “Giants before beauty.”
Rory looked at the wall and back at Liv and laughed. “I can’t fit through that opening.”
“How big is it?” Liv asked. “Big enough for Plato?”
“Yes, and you, if you bunch up real tight, human,” Rory answered.
“But where’s the opening? All I see is a wall,” Liv said.
Plato sighed and jumped up, disappearing behind the glamoured wall.
“See? Just follow the cat,” Rory explained.
Liv rolled her eyes. “Oh, right. Follow the cat.” She felt around on the wall until her hand went through. “So I just go through this hole?”
The wind was knocked out of Liv when her torso fell through the hole, but her legs remained stuck on the other side. She fell head-first, her face smashing into the other side of the wall. Pushing herself up, she looked directly at Plato, who was sitting on the ground in front of her.
“Someone could have told me the dimensions of the opening and that it was suspended two feet off the ground,” Liv complained.
Rory laughed on the other side of the wall. “It was more entertaining this way.”
Plato laughed with him.
“Oh, now you two are getting along?” Liv asked.
“No, but watching you fall through the hole was pretty entertaining,” Plato said.
Liv kicked her feet, trying to get them through. “Can I get a little help here?”
Rory grabbed her feet and pushed them, making her do a somersault. “Thanks.”
“Not a problem,” he said, still laughing.
“So, what,…are you just going to wait over there for us?” Liv called.
“I’m going to keep an eye out,” Rory answered. “Something doesn’t feel right about this, but mark where this spot is in case you lose the lynx. You’ll need a way to find the exit.”
Liv looked down at Plato. “I won’t lose you, will I?”
He gave her a noncommittal expression. “Honestly, I don’t know exactly what’s down here, but something tells me that having a backup option in case you lose me is a good idea.”
Liv agreed with a nod and pointed, making an “X” appear on the wall.
She then turned, and her breath hitched in her throat. Before her was something she’d only read about or seen in movies.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
A shimmering transparent figure floated by, gliding across the cold concrete. Liv blinked at the figure, trying to make out the details. It was a man with short hair, carrying a baseball bat and looking confused.
“Is that a…” Liv asked Plato in a whisper.
“A baseball player?” he answered sarcastically.
“Ha-ha. You know what I mean.”
“Oh, yes, it’s one of those.”
“One of what?” Rory asked from the other side of the wall.
Liv leaned closer, careful not to fall through the other side. “It’s a ghost.”
“Mmmm…that’s interesting.”
“Yes, that’s what I was thinking,” Liv said as the ghost disappeared through a solid wall. “And why is it interesting?”
Rory chuckled slightly. “Well, because of the notes on the case. Leeches and ghosts go hand in hand.”
“Exactly what I hypothesized,” Liv stated with confidence. “And why do leeches and ghosts go hand in hand?”
Rory sighed. “Just go see what else you can find and let me think about this. Something isn’t right.”
“Well, they don’t send Warriors on cases where everything is hunky-dory.”
“Liv? You should see this,” Plato called. She turned to find what he was talking about.
A stream of green dust spiraled through the air in the distance. The tunnel disappeared into darkness ahead, but the green bobbed on, lighting the walls as it moved.
“What’s that?”
Plato shook his head. “I don’t know. I’m all for following strange green lights, although if it’s a will-o-the-wisp, we’re screwed.”
“What’s that?”
“It’s how all great travelers have gotten lost,” Plato explained.
“Well, I guess it’s a chance we have to take,” Liv stated. “Let’s go down the dark tunnel after the unknown and ghosts.”
“We only saw the one, and it’s probably unrelated.” Plato led the way, his tail high in the air.
When they’d traveled several yards, the light from the other tunnels evaporated, leaving them in near-darkness.
Liv held up her hand, trying to remember the spell for light. The harder she tried to recall it, the more it felt like it slipped away, like a dream upon waking. Then she thought about when she fixed appliances and didn’t mutter an incantation, but rather just thought of the repair. She tried to think about light. Something that illuminated her path. Her mouth opened, and in a deep voice she sang, “Raaaam.”
The vibration of the word felt strange in her throat, but a moment later a ball of light materialized in front of her, lighting the path ahead.
She looked down at Plato victoriously. He was wearing a curious expression. “Hey, you might be able to see in the dark, but I can’t.”
“That’s not it,” Plato said. “You just spoke the ancient language of the Founders.”
“What? No, I didn’t. I said the incantation for light.”
“In the ancient language,” Plato argued.
“How do you know? I thought only the Seven could read or speak it?”
“I recognized it,” Plato replied. “How did you come up with that incantation?”
“I just thought about light, and that word came out.” Liv hesitated, then asked Plato, “Is there a secret you want to tell me?”
He thought for a moment. “That’s a very general question, and no. I think we’d better follow that green thing before it gets away.” He indicated the green light bouncing ahead.
Liv conceded with a nod. “Yeah, good idea.”
They sped up, trying to close the distance between them and the floating light. The tunnel went on and on, its stone walls and concrete floors giving them no way to know how far they’d gone. After several minutes, the tunnel split. The green light bobbed briefly and then sped to the right.
Liv gave Plato a tentative glance before hurrying after the green light, then halted at the sight before her. A few dozen balls of green light flew around a large cave-like room. Liv thought she’d gone unnoticed when they all halted, hovering in the air. Then, one by one, the green figures turned around. With the lights illuminating the creatures, Liv recognized what they were—the ugliest fairylike creatures she’d ever seen.
The little beasts had pale freckled wings that resembled a butterfly’s, and a short tail that flared at the end hung between their stubby, clawed feet. On their abnormally round, bald heads were large black eyes, and their mouths contained several rows of razor-sharp teeth. The green light radiated from a substance they were carrying in their hands, which they were also pressing into the cracks in the walls in this room.
“Oh, hell,” Liv breathed, backing away from the hovering creatures who stared at her uncertainly.
“What are they?” Liv asked.
“Ugly,” Plato answered, staying in place.
The creatures gave a collective shout of fury before dropping the bundles of glowing green material and flying in their direction.
“No!” Liv yelled, raising her hands to cover her face.
She was certain she was about to get mauled by those razor-sharp teeth, but instead, she heard knocking sounds. Liv lowered her hands to find the creatures colliding with an invisible wall between them and the ugly fairies.
“Nice barrier,” Plato said proudly.
“Barrier?” Liv asked, blinking at the wall as the creatures rammed it again and again.
“Specifically, a defensive barrier,”
Plato said. “Usually a magician throws one up intuitively when they feel threatened.”
“Yeah, well, the idea of being eaten alive by ugly fairies sort of made me feel threatened.”
“Well, now that you’ve got them contained and we’re safe, want to attempt some diplomacy?” Plato asked.
Liv looked around the room, the orb of light hovering beside her illuminating the places she wanted to see using her inclination to direct it. The bits of green glowing material was crammed into the corners between the wall and the ceiling and the floor, making the room look like it was radioactive. Liv didn’t understand what kind of magic this was, but she knew it was her job now to control and stop anything that put others in danger.
She took a step forward and cleared her throat. “I’m here to stop you all from leeching magical powers.”
“Oh, good, you’re going with the direct approach,” Plato said dryly.
“What am I supposed to do, shoot first and ask questions later, as the Councilors would suggest?”
“No, I’m just curious how this will pan out.”
“Leech? Leech? Leech?” the fairies said in unison, their voices high-pitched and squealy.
“Yes. You can’t keep taking magic power,” Liv continued. “I’m going to give you one warning, and then I’ll have to stop you.”
“Stop. Stop. Stop,” they repeated. As if they’d coordinated this dance, they formed a solid figure of a man and made him walk over to the wall where the glowing green was stuck. “Stop. Stop. Stop.”
Liv shook her head. “Yes, I’ll have to stop you if you won’t quit leeching energy. We know it’s you.”
“Ghosts. Ghosts. Ghosts,” the creatures said, breaking out of the figure of the man and flying around haphazardly, some of them knocking into the invisible wall again.
“Wait, why are they talking about the ghosts?” Liv asked.
“I think the more important question is what they are doing to your wall,” Plato said.
She figured out what he meant; they were ramming into her barrier or taking bites out of it with their teeth, making sawing noises. Liv couldn’t tell what was happening to the barrier, but she could put two and two together well enough to figure it out. Following her instincts, she scooped up Plato and spun in the opposite direction just as a loud buzzing sound like that of a swarm of bees started after her. The ugly fairies were angry about the interruption and threats, and no barrier stood between her and them anymore.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
The orb of light sped ahead of Liv, just close enough that she didn’t trip on her feet in the dark. Clutching Plato to her chest, Liv felt the rush of air at their backs as the little creatures came on faster, closing the distance.
“Do you have any bright ideas about how to not get eaten?” Liv asked between ragged breaths.
“Run faster,” Plato offered.
“I could try throwing up another barrier,” Liv said.
Plato looked over Liv’s shoulder. “You don’t have enough distance to do it successfully.”
Liv pushed on, willing her feet to move faster. She concentrated on making them seem as light as possible as they touched the ground and left it again. Running had never been her thing, but with a number of bloodthirsty, ugly fairies chasing her while making squeaky, chirping noises, she felt like an Olympic sprinter.
The light from the connecting tunnels was visible ahead, which didn’t make Liv feel any better since she knew that the entrance to the other side was a hole she couldn’t see. She might run straight into the concrete wall before she found the door. And what was to prevent the ugly fairies from following her through?
Sweat dripped into her eyes as she continued to run. Willing the orb to disappear, Liv pictured transferring that energy to her legs to help her move faster. The tunnel blurred as she picked up speed, now moving so fast she thought she’d roll forward out of control.
“You’re gaining some distance,” Plato said, still looking over her shoulder.
Liv caught sight of something ahead. She thought it was the X she’d drawn, but blinked and made out Rory’s curly hair. He had stuck his head through the hole, making it look like he was mounted on the wall like a hunter’s trophy.
His eyes widened when he caught sight of Liv. She was about to tell him to move when the loud buzzing of fairies stopped suddenly. Liv thought she’d finally put enough distance between them using her super speed and she spun, her hand in the air, ready to cast another barrier spell. However, the ugly fairies were all hovering a safe distance away. Their beady eyes watched Liv hungrily, but none of them dared move any closer.
Keeping her hand up, Liv backed away. “I think they got the message.”
Plato, wiggled free of her grasp, jumping to the ground and looking the other way. “Yes, I think so, but I don’t think that message came from you.”
Liv quickly glanced over her shoulder and then back at the fairies, still hovering several yards away. She gave a double-take once the image behind her sunk it. Rory’s head was still hovering on the wall, but his usually green eyes were red, brutal hostility on his face.
“Rory?” Liv asked looking between him and the fairies. It seemed to be a standoff, the creatures’ round faces turning scarlet as they hovered angrily.
“Get through,” Rory commanded.
Plato didn’t hesitate, crawling through the hole around Rory’s face.
“Ummm, I don’t know how,” Liv said, not knowing where the hole began and ended and not wanting to bump into his face.
A large hand reached through the seemingly solid concrete. Liv flinched from its sudden closeness, but didn’t react before Rory’s fingers grabbed her around the collar and hauled her off her feet. She gulped, holding her breath as he yanked her through the hole like she was a rag doll. Liv’s arms covered her head to protect her from a collision with the wall, but to her relief, Rory pulled her through cleanly and plopped her on the ground.
Liv was ready to take off running again, but she hesitated when she saw Rory’s slumped figure. He was leaning against the wall with his head hanging between his knees.
“Ummm, are we okay?” Liv asked. “Are those ugly fairies coming after us?”
Rory shook his head. “Zonks. And they can’t see the opening.”
“’Zonks?’ That’s what those things are called?” Liv asked.
Rory looked up, the red of his eyes fading back to green. “Yes, and they’re sensitive, so if you called them ugly to their faces, no wonder they’re mad.”
“Well, I also told them that I was there to stop them from leeching power,” Liv replied. “They probably didn’t like getting shut down.”
Rory shook his head. “They aren’t the ones who are leeching.”
“I saw them,” Liv argued, glancing at Plato for backup. “We did. They had this green substance they were putting into the cracks in the walls.”
Rory wiped the sweat off his forehead and started forward, crouching to avoid hitting his head. “Come on. I need a drink after dealing with you. I’ll explain in a bit.”
“Hey, what do you mean, ‘after dealing with me?’” Liv asked. “I’m not the problem here. Those Zonks tried to eat us for dinner.”
“After you called them names,” Rory said. “And convicted them of something you don’t know if they did. You’re a lot more like the House of Seven than you realize, throwing accusations out and asking questions after the fact.”
Liv muttered to the ground as they marched toward the entrance to the tunnel. She didn’t want to admit that Rory might be right. Actually, it burned her up inside that she had offended a race of magical creatures and also judged them without evidence, as the House of Seven would.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Liv had to take three steps to each one of Rory’s to try to keep up with him as he exited the underground tunnels. When they reached the surface, she was surprised to find it already dark. Liv hadn’t thought they’d been gone for that long and at first worri
ed she was late to the House of Seven, but then she remembered that she didn’t have to attend until she made progress with this case.
“There’s a pub down this away.” Rory pointed to a dingy alleyway that was mostly cloaked in darkness.
“Please tell me that there’s glamour over this place and I’m just not seeing the clean bar you’re pointing to?” Liv asked.
Rory grabbed the back of Liv’s shirt and half-led, half-dragged her until they arrived at a Chinese restaurant.
“When you said pub, I was thinking beer and brats, not tea and dumplings,” Liv admitted.
“Speakeasy,” Rory clarified.
“Speak for yourself,” Liv replied.
He groaned, not appreciating her humor, and opened the door. The smell of tempura and fish hit them immediately. Rory breezed by the hostess, who merely nodded as if seeing a giant who had to duck to enter the place was a daily affair.
Liv followed Rory as he led her down the hall to the bathrooms. She was about to protest when he opened the last door and the soft sound of a fiddle filled the air.
The next room was starkly different than the bright Asian restaurant with pastel furnishing and dusty statues. The pub they entered was full of dark wood and smelled of sweat and licorice. Around the ornately carved bar were three of the largest men Liv had ever seen, including Rory. Playing cards at a rickety old table were a few gnomes with fat noses and shifty eyes, and in the corner was a three-piece band that included a flute, a tambourine, and a fiddle. Playing the instruments were two men and one woman. Liv didn’t have to stare at them long to recognize their elvish features, which were more subtle than the characteristics that distinguished gnomes and giants. Even though they had long hair and hats, it was impossible to fully disguise their pointy noses, chins, and ears.
“Ummm, I’m not sure it’s a good idea for me to be in here,” Liv said in a whisper.
“Know a better place to learn about Zonks and how to measure leeched magical energy?” Rory challenged.
Liv looked down for Plato but immediately realized that he was gone or hiding.
