Upheaval!

by Deborah Martin

  She smiled. “Oh, but I do know about the company. Ev has confided many secrets to me in our time together.”

  I smiled back. Through gritted teeth. “I don’t mean to be rude, Marianna, but until I see something legal giving you control of the company, I will continue on as if he will walk in that door any minute. That doesn’t include giving you access to company information. You’re welcome to hang out here but you won’t be working.”

  “Oh, but I will, darling,” she smiled again. “I have a paper here, signed by Ev, giving me control of the company.” She reached into her purse and pulled out one of those legal documents that’s backed by a blue piece of paper and stapled at the top. She handed it to me with a flourish.

  I scanned the two pages, and on the bottom of the last was a signature I knew well – Ev’s. It was dated during the time Ev had been home recuperating from his kidnapping injuries.

  I tossed it back to her. “Marianna, I don’t know a lot about magical laws but I know something about mundane laws and those do apply in this situation. Ev’s signature isn’t witnessed or notarized. Nor has this been filed in a court. It doesn’t have the court’s stamp on it. Therefore, it is not a valid legal document and I don’t have to do a damned thing about it. May I suggest you go home and wait for the Council to make a determination?”

  She stood with her arms crossed and stared at me.

  “Human. Amy. Control your emotions.” Fudge had a good point. I could feel my anger rising to the point that I wanted to hit something. However, I thought in this instance a show of anger might not be such a bad thing. I glared at her and, feeling for the wood in the door, pulled it open with a yank of energy. I forgot about the latch, though, and the door frame splintered where it pulled the strike plate off.

  “Hey, not bad,” Sally quipped. Her eyes twinkled at me as she rose to her six-foot-plus height, putting her at eye level with Marianna, whom she fixed with a stern eye.

  “Lady, I only know you’ve slept with Ev.” Sally said. “Nothing else. Sex doesn’t give anyone standing anywhere but the bedroom. Therefore, I’d say you have no standing in this office. The door’s open. I’d hurry out if I were you because Amy can hit your ass with the door as it closes.”

  Marianna eyed the two of us and with a harrumph, turned to leave. “This is my company now. I will be back. Trust me. And like Ev, I won’t have a witch working for me.” She sauntered out.

  I grinned at Sally and with a push of energy, slammed the door. We heard an “oof” on the other side. Apparently, I could time it right. The door bounced back open without its latch.

  Sally smiled at me. “I’ll call Johnny to get that fixed. Now, what are we going to do about her?”

  “I have no bloody idea. I’m not up on wards yet, but I’d be willing to bet there isn’t one that’ll keep her out since ogres are immune to most magic. However, I am going to call the lawyer to let him know what just happened. I think this has some bearing on Gregory’s case, don’t you?”

  “Yeah, but why would she want this company in the first place? I’ll admit I don’t know about the finances but seems to me it’s not worth that much effort.”

  I shrugged my shoulders. “Who knows? She’s obviously off her rocker if she thinks she can just waltz in and take over. Do me a favor? Go tell Cassandra what just happened and ask her to tell her mother.”

  “Her mother’s on the Council?”

  “Yep. And although she’s supposed to stay impartial and has told Cassandra we need to stay out of it, I think this is important.”

  As Sally picked up her phone to call the maintenance man, I walked back into my office and grabbed my cell.

  “You did well. You controlled your emotions and channeled your energy effectively. Next time remember that the door latch is made of metals, which are part of Earth. You can unlatch the door, first.”

  “Always the critic. I haven’t work with metals, yet, if you recall,” I teased as I found Mr. Blatherton in my contacts and hit “call”.

  Fifteen minutes later, Mr. Blatherton told me that the events of the last half hour were very interesting. “Did you keep the document?” he asked.

  “No. I threw it back at her. It has no legal standing in the mundane world.”

  “A shame, really,” he sighed. “It could easily be tested for forgery. However, it does provide me with an excuse to further investigate Miss Johannsen. I’ll be in touch.”

  No goodbye. Just dead air in my ear. I tried to go back to work but instead of reading reports, I mused on Marianna’s attempted takeover. For some reason, she wanted Ev’s company. Like Sally, I couldn’t understand why. As far as I knew, she didn’t know a damned thing about personal security and honestly, the business wasn’t that lucrative. The whole thing was weird.

  Sally poked her head in my office, “Johnny’s on his way. Cassandra said she’d call her mom and to tell you nice work on the door.”

  I grinned. “First time I’ve ever done anything like that. It felt good, though.” We both turned back to work.

  Within a half hour, I heard hammering. Then Johnny poked his head in my door. “Temporary plates will hold the door closed until I get a new piece of trim for the frame. I’ll finish fixing it tomorrow. Tell Ev to be a little gentler the next time, will you?”

  I nodded and smiled. It wasn’t the first time a door had been broken, just the first that it was my fault. I didn’t see any harm in letting Johnny think everything was status quo. I glanced at the clock in the corner of my computer screen, realized it was time to quit and head home for my standard nap. Surveying my desk, I could see that only another hour or so and I’d be completely caught up. Having Sally was really a boon and I told her so on my way out the door.

  “As you told me during my interview, working here is never dull. See you tomorrow afternoon,” she said to my back.

  Fudge padded alongside me on the walk home. “I know you are supposed to be studying stones but perhaps a little experimentation with metals would not be such a bad thing. Your door at home is metal, as is its lock.”

  I looked down at him. “You want me to learn to be a burglar?”

  He shook his head. I was still a little weirded out by the fact that my cat not only understood my thoughts but English to boot. “You are not a thief. However, I heard your ideas about breaking into that ogre’s home. If you feel a strong need to do so, it is possible to open doors without tools. I can guide you.”

  My cat was a lock-picker, too? I stared at him…and tripped over that same damned tree root. Once again, I caught myself before I fell flat on my face. That didn’t prevent a flush from creeping up my neck, though. I pulled my scarf a little closer.

  “You must become accustomed to mind-speech, otherwise you will harm yourself at some point. I do not require eye contact as it seems humans do when conversing. To somewhat satisfy your curiosity, I can tell you I have served many humans in my lifetime. Not all were what you would call savory characters.”

  That I could buy. I’d been told that there were good and bad witches and wizards just like there were good and bad mundane people. I had no intention of becoming a burglar but the thought of sneaking into Ev’s house to see what, if anything, might be there was still in the forefront of my mind. But first, nap!

  That evening, I abandoned the chapter on quartz crystals in my book as well as my writing, and took direction from Fudge on how to open a door via magical means. If you think it’s a snap, I dare you to try it yourself.

  We started with one of my necklaces. Fourteen carat gold isn’t pure gold. It’s usually a mixture of gold, silver and copper. I followed Fudge’s instructions and ended up with a broken clasp.

  “It is a little delicate. Perhaps you will have better luck with the door lock, which is much stronger.”

  I had to look it up on the Internet: the lock on my door is part steel – an alloy, zinc, and brass – another alloy. Different metals have different densities and you have to discern the densest one, grab hold of
that, move it and “encourage” the other components of the alloy to go along. Too much pressure applied to the softest metal – the copper in brass, for instance – and you’d break something, rendering the lock impassable.

  It didn’t help that Fudge’s experience was limited to cast-zinc locks and latches, probably explaining in part my failure with the necklace. He’d never worked with alloys, even brass. After two hours, I was sweating and Fudge was panting. We’d managed to move the tumblers properly to unlock the door but hadn’t yet gotten around to moving the latch itself. The miracle was that we didn’t break my lock in the process. I’d have been very embarrassed to call Mr. Owens with that explanation!

  I would never make a good thief. I proposed we nix the idea of me breaking into Ev’s house. Two hours with the door not actually yet open was just too long.

  “But you must admit, you just learned a little about metals. File it away for future reference. You never know when you might need the knowledge.”

  He was right but I was exhausted. I put the coffee together for the morning and fell into bed. Fudge beat me to the bedroom and I dropped off to his soft snores.

  Chapter 18

  Wednesday was a normal day. I managed to completely catch up on the backlog of work and with a sigh, started making the decisions I’d been putting off for Ev: who to place with whom for temporary situations, contract renewals, performance reviews, and the like. If – when – he came back, he’d undoubtedly yell at me for some of them but they could no longer wait.

  Thursday started out normally, too: first-thing latte with Cassandra, bugging her for news of the Council’s investigation. “No news,” she said for the second day in a row. I heaved a sigh and headed upstairs, determined to ensure the company was up to snuff when Ev returned. Yes, I knew I’d been fired but for some reason, I felt compelled to help out where I could. Maybe it was that “family” feeling I’d gotten when rescuing him from the kidnappers.

  I was reviewing an employee file to determine whether or not he should get a raise when the outer door flew open, immediately followed by eau de sewer. Marianna appeared in my office doorway, flanked by two human-looking males.

  “You may leave. Now. I am in charge of this company and I don’t need your assistance,” she glared at me.

  I closed the file I was working on, slid it into my desk drawer and stood, attempting to appear calm and collected when all I wanted to do was flatten her. “As I told you on Tuesday, the paper you showed me gives you no legal standing. Until I see a fully-executed document or Ev tells me different, I will not turn over the company to you. Now, you can leave quietly on your own or I’ll call the mundane authorities and have you – and your friends – arrested for trespassing.”

  “I assumed you’d take the same stance,” she sneered. “Jonathan, do your thing.”

  One of the men made a whirling motion with his hands. I saw dishwater-gray sparkles coalesce into a ball and then he pushed that energy with his hands. “Amy, watch out,” was the last thing I heard before the world went dark.

  I woke up with a splitting headache. There was no light shining through my eyelids so I chanced opening my eyes. I was lying on what felt like a camping cot, staring at nothing. Wherever I was, it was pitch black. I gingerly sat up, which made my head throb even worse. “Anyone there?” I called.

  “I am here,” I heard Fudge groan as well.

  “Where’s here?”

  “I believe I am somewhere near your feet. There is absolutely no light so even I cannot see anything.”

  “My head hurts like hell and you don’t sound much better. What happened?”

  “We were hit with a sleeping spell. You first then before I could act, he got me. Whoever that wizard is, he is strong but untrained. Rather than gauge our shields and adjust his spell, he just essentially used a freight train rather than an automobile to power past them. Hence, the headaches. They should go away shortly.”

  “Any idea where we are?”

  “The floor beneath me is packed dirt and I smell nothing but earth. I smell air coming from somewhere but as I said, there is no light for even my eyes to pick up. There is also the smell of your ogre somewhere close, probably within twenty or thirty feet. He does not smell right, though.”

  My ogre. “You mean Ev? And what do you mean he doesn’t smell right?”

  “Yes, Ev as you call him. He smells sick.”

  I continued to sit on the edge of the cot, holding my head in my hands, waiting for the jackhammer to cease its pounding. I tried to consider my situation but the pain in my head prevented rational thought. Slowly, the machine quit tormenting me and I slid down to sit on the floor, feeling around myself. Just at the edge of my reach, I came into contact with fur. Leaning over a little farther, I picked up the furball that was Fudge and put him in my lap. I felt a little better immediately.

  Fudge didn’t move much, which indicated he still wasn’t feeling all that great. I tried to gently massage his head and neck but he batted my hands away. “Without being able to see, do you have any suggestions for what we should do?”

  “Give me a few minutes. It hurts to think.”

  “Cats get headaches, huh? You learn something new every day.”

  “We do not, as a rule, get headaches. Our physiology does not work that way. But yes, a magical whammy will give me a headache. Now hush. I am trying to get rid of it so I can concentrate.”

  Without being able to see a damned thing, all I could do was sit there and stroke Fudge’s back. At least it kept me calm. I wasn’t afraid of the dark but even in a fully-darkened bedroom, I could see something, even if it was just a dresser-sized blob. Not knowing where I was or how I’d gotten there or how I’d get out was more than a little frightening.

  Fudge finally began to purr. I took that as a sign that he was feeling better. “So?”

  “I am filthy and would like to bathe. Unfortunately it will have to wait. We need to find out where we are but you stumbling around in the dark will not do a bit of good. It is usually an Air spell, but can you tether a string of energy to me? My nose is better and I can go sniffing around but I have no idea how large the cavern is and do not want to take hours getting back to you.”

  I closed my eyes (although I couldn’t actually see anything, it helped with concentration) and tried to remember my lessons with Gregory and what I’d seen him do. It seemed to me that rather than just a lump of energy, I needed one wound like a ball of yarn, like I’d done at the mine. I concentrated and although I couldn’t see the sparkles, I felt the tingle in my palm. Taking one end of my “yarn”, I “glued” it to the nape of Fudge’s neck.

  “That will do nicely. Be sure not to lose the link to me.”

  “Why can’t I see sparkles?”

  “Light refraction off the energy is what makes it sparkle to your eyes. There is no light here to reflect.”

  “Will you keep talking, please?” Other than Fudge’s voice in my head, it was almost like being in a sensory-deprivation tank. Oh yes, I could feel and smell the damp earth surrounding me but with no audio or visual, I felt very alone.

  His warmth left my lap and I focused on maintaining the yarn end glued to him, while allowing the ball in my hand to slowly unravel. Thankfully, unlike real yarn, mine was infinite in length. I just kept replenishing it with energy from the earth and rocks above and beneath me.

  Fudge kept up a running commentary. “It is about thirty of your paces between the walls in front of and behind you. If you think of front as north, the ogre is half that distance to the northwest. He is asleep but does not dream so the sleep is unnatural. The west wall is five paces farther than his bed and it smells as if he has been using a corner as a litter box. The east wall is only ten paces from where you sit.

  “The walls are rough-hewn and I have located at least one pillar made of the same material as your city sidewalks. The cavern feels man-made. The only wood I smell is above and to your right. There are no tree roots. Air is coming in somewhe
re near the concentrated wood smell. It still smells like city, not forest but I do not detect heavy car exhaust as when walking to your office.”

  I was becoming chilled sitting on the damp ground so moved back up to the cot. It definitely was a camping cot: just a simple wooden frame and canvas “bed”. They hadn’t even bothered with a blanket and it was only April.

  I felt Fudge hop on my lap and released not only my link to him but the energy I was holding in my palm.

  “Good girl. You are learning your magic quickly.” He yawned. “The wood smell is high above and I did not find anything that would allow us to reach it. I suggest we nap until something happens.”

  With a few half-hearted licks to his fur, he curled up for a snooze. Not having any better ideas, I laid down, dislodging him and pulling him against my stomach for warmth. I let my thoughts swirl.

  Why was Marianna so interested in Ev’s company? It wasn’t much in the grand scheme of things – what the pundits would call a “mom-and-pop” business. And if she wanted him out of the way, why not just kill him? Disposing of a body, even one his size, wasn’t all that difficult if you thought about it. There were plenty of woods in Minnesota where a body wouldn’t be found for weeks, if at all (wild animals have to eat, too, you know). You wouldn’t even have to dig a hole to bury it.

  I must have drifted off because the next thing I knew, I heard a deep groan and it wasn’t from me or Fudge. The cat immediately sat up. “Tether me again but this time, follow. I will take you to the ogre.”

  I did as instructed, this time adding a little tension to the energy leash so I could feel which way Fudge walked. He stopped and I walked right into something, falling over it. The smell told me I was lying on top of Ev. Eeew. Gross.

  I scrambled back to my feet just as I heard a grunt and “What?” coming from Ev.

  “Um. Ev? You there?” I said quietly.

  Another groan. “Who’s there?” Ev’s speech was slow and thick, as if he were drunk. I’d never seen Ev drunk so I assumed he’d been drugged.