Forced Magic

by Jerod Lollar

  I let out a little sigh of relief that he was so accepting of Michelle so quickly.

  “Hello. My name is Michelle," she said with a little giggle.

  It was plain to see that she liked Smith right off the bat.

  “Of course you are, my dear. I knew it the moment I saw you,” said Smith as he led us down the tunnel never taking his eyes off of her. "Pek has told me all about you, though he never said you were so beautiful."

  “You know Pek?” asked Michelle.

  “Of course I do my dear,” answered Smith, proudly pointing to his laptop.

  “Who is Pek?” I asked.

  The name sounded familiar but I couldn’t place it.

  Smith waved a hand in a dismissive way toward me and, never letting Michelle out of his sight, said, “All in good time my boy. You will know all in good time.”

  He reached above his head and pulled on a long root that was protruding through the roof of his home. He pulled it all the way through the ground. It made a popping sound and Smith was standing there with a bunch of flowers in his hand. They were roses in the process of blooming. They bloomed in his hands and changed colors. When they were fully bloomed, they gently shrank down to buds and started to bloom again.

  They were beautiful and strange, and Michelle loved them. She leaned in and gave Smith a kiss on the cheek, thanking him. Smith's face turned beet red and he touched his cheek like he would never wash it again. Fetch, not liking all the attention Smith was getting from Michelle, came up and stood between them. Smith put his hands on his hips and, looking like an old teacher about to scold a mischievous student said, “Well my friend, we are just going to have to fight for her.”

  They glared at each other eye to eye. Both Michelle and I froze. We didn’t know how serious this was. I knew that Smith seemed timid and weak, but looks can be very deceiving. I had a hunch there was a lot more to Smith than was apparent and that was why I wanted to come see him.

  After a few tense moments of glaring at each other, Smith threw back his head and began to laugh his chipmunk laugh. Fetch joined in the laughter. Michelle and I started breathing again.

  Smith threw his arms around Fetch's neck like you would to a long lost friend.

  “Imagine me, challenging a dragon for the honor of a beautiful lady.”

  He shook his head. I still had a suspicion that he could handle himself a lot better than he was letting on.

  “You will just have to get used to having two suitors who obviously adore you Michelle. I don’t think Fetch could survive the fury of a gnome attack.”

  With this comment Fetch and Smith roared with laughter again.

  Michelle and I glanced at each other. Neither one of us fully understood the humor. We started laughing anyway. We were of this magic world and more of the non-magic world seemed to be a dream. I thought about my brother and hoped he was ok. His life had changed so much, affected by magic without him being aware of it. I made a promise to do everything I could to keep that from happening again. It was wrong to manipulate people. All this talk of keeping the magic world secret from the non-magic word was untrue. As long as the fairies were allowed to affect people’s lives there was no true separation. Only deception. It had to stop. People had to know the truth in both the magic world and the non-magic world. I hoped that Smith was the one that could help with accomplishing that.

  Smith was wiping his eyes and breathing heavily from his and Fetch's little joke. He looked at all of us with gratitude.

  “Friends,” he said, “I am so grateful you are here. It can be so lonely out here in the park. Gnomes often spend their days alone, rarely communicating with each other. I was always a different kind, wanting the company of others. Oh, don’t get me wrong, we are very social in our own right, it is just hard for us to interact with other magic folk. For so long we have done the work of cleaning up after the magic mistakes and disasters. The gnomes are a reminder of those little mistakes people make in the magic world. Let’s face it; most people don’t like to be reminded of their mistakes.”

  "But, please, forgive me for going on. You have the look of those who have questions that need to be answered. But, first things first, as Jack here is a little befuddled right now, let me introduce myself to you, Michelle. My name is Smith and it would be my honor to call you 'friend of the gnomes'."

  Michelle looked at me like she was expecting me to say something. I shrugged and gave her a reassuring nod. I was a little embarrassed that I didn’t introduce her to Smith, but, the way he lead her in, ignoring Fetch and me, I hadn't known when to speak up. I didn’t really blame him though. Michelle was one of those types of girls that commanded attention when she entered a room, whether she meant to or not.

  Michelle nodded at Smith. Motioning her to kneel in close, like he was about to tell her a secret, Smith kissed her on the forehead.

  “Now Michelle, you are friend to the gnomes. If ever you see our kind and need help, you have but to ask. Oh, this is wonderful! You are just as much a legend in the magic world as Jack and Fetch are. I have secured a place in the history books by proclaiming all three of you 'friends to the gnomes'."

  Michelle had a strange look on her face. I didn’t blame her. The way Smith was talking, it sounded like there was some sort of price to being a gnome friend. I hoped we hadn’t gotten into some kind of situation we would regret later on.

  After a few moments of awkward silence, where Smith stood there smiling at all of us, he spoke.

  “Now my dear friends, even as delighted as I am for your visit, I have the feeling that you are here for more than my famous hospitality.”

  Michelle and I just looked at each other. I knew this was when I had to put my idea into effect. Before I could say anything, Michelle spoke up.

  "We are part of the magic world. I have been a part of it for much longer than Jack. Fetch is completely lost to how he is supposed to be and we are all tired of hiding. We’re ready to take the risk of being seen. Can you tell us where there are more magical beings like yourself?”

  I looked at her in surprise. She must have picked up on my idea and she definitely said it better than I could. Smith walked over to his fridge and took out four sodas, handing one to each of us.

  "Are you sure you want the entire magic world to see you?” he asked staring down at his unopened can of soda. "There are those who might not accept you as easily as I or the other gnomes would. I know that the elves already consider you a friend in some circles, Michelle, but there is no guarantee that they would accept Jack, and the very different nature of Fetch scares some people, and there is the issue of the Fey.”

  Smith looked at Michelle at this last statement. Michelle, as usual, had that same dark look in her eyes at the very mention of the fairies. It hit me at how quickly her mood would change whenever the fey were mentioned. It was kind of weird how quickly she would react. Smith opened his soda and took a sip. Just for something to do to break this tense moment, I moved over to sit next to Michelle. Fetch moved next to her other side. Michelle was fighting to keep the tears from streaming down her face. She tried to look as normal as she could as she opened her soda and took a long drink. She was shaking a little. She was afraid. She wanted to show herself to the magic world, but she knew she had to expose herself to the Fey as well. She was afraid of what would happen if she met a fairy. Not necessarily what they would do to her, but what she would do to them. I thought back to her reactions to the very words fairy or fey and realized how deep her feelings were involving them. I put a hand on top of hers and her thin barrier of emotions broke.

  Smith stood up and came over to stand right in front of her. He motioned her to kneel down. He put his hands on either side of her face and looked deep into her eyes. His eyes welled up with tears.

  He smiled a sad little smile and said, “Some believe that gnomes have magic that can see into the hearts of people. You have been hurt deeply. Someone has used magic against you and now you are looking to get even. Feelings like
resentment and hate have a very powerful effect in the magic world. Feelings like that can eat you alive, Michelle. In fact, in the magic world they often do. Learn to forgive. You may discover a new truth as to what happened to you and what the windows of your soul tell me about your family. Magic can be harsh and, like anything else in this world, can be turned to evil. Please let your heart heal, Michelle. Let your spirit mend.”

  Tears were streaming down Michelle’s face, tears of release. She held my hand tightly as the tears seemed to wash away some of the pain she had felt over the years. I didn’t expect her to be completely better, but, since Smith's words gave me reason to rethink my opinion of my fairy. Maybe it would give her something to think about as well. She gently turned her head away. Not willing to forgive just yet, but at least think about forgiving.

  We sat there in silence for a while. The little toy mouse came from behind the couch. It walked across the floor, passed us all, picked up a rubber ball that was almost bigger than it was, and carried it over until it was standing right in front of Fetch. It picked the ball up over its head and with surprising strength threw it at Fetch's head hitting him right between the eyes. You could hear the other toys from behind the couch cheering. The mouse turned and walked away with a proud swish of its tail. It had obviously won some kind of bet and showed his fellow toys who was the bravest. Michelle laughed a little at this. She looked better and even had a peaceful look on her face, like she was finally starting to come to terms with things.

  Smith drank down the last of his soda and encouraged us to do the same. He got up and grabbed another one.

  “There is a place where magic folk gather," he said, “a club that is downtown. I can introduce you to folks, only those whom you find worthy of meeting, but, promise me dear Michelle, that you will not give your heart to another. I don’t think Fetch or I could survive the experience.”

  “I urge you both to wear your teardrops at first, my friends,” said Smith. “Walk carefully among the folk to determine whom you can trust and whom you cannot. Trust your hearts and realize that at this place once you reveal yourselves to one, you will eventually reveal yourselves to all. Take care and remember, even though you are part of the magic world, you are also part of the world of non-magic. You are still affected by it and, as I hope you both know, it can be very dangerous. Over confidence can destroy you just as much as a bad spell. Stay safe and I will meet you there. I feel we should do this tonight. Strike while the idea is fresh."

  "I will go on ahead and see who is there. If I feel there is someone there you shouldn’t meet, then I will warn you when you get to the club."

  He gave us directions to the club. Surprisingly it was a popular night spot I had been to myself. Smith saw the look of surprise on my face and smiled.

  ”Yes, it is the same club you probably know of. Magic folk gather there too. You will see when you get there how it works."

  With those words he showed us on our way with a few hugs and kisses on the cheek from Michelle. She looked happy. This short visit to Smith seemed to really help her. I figured it must be the simple fact that she got to hear another person talk a little about the magic world, other than Johnathen. I felt a little pang of guilt as I thought about Johnathen. I was sure that he wouldn’t be happy about what we were about to do. I reminded myself that we were doing this to help Johnathen.

  Chapter 29

  We went back to the hotel to get ready for the club. I sat in the room absentmindedly scratching Fetch on the ridge between his eyes. I was letting Smith's words sink in. It had been a few months since I had walked out my brother's door and into this crazy world of fantasy. I had changed so much since then. I was no longer the same Jack Dewitte that had walked that street a hundred times before. I was still trying to figure out why that fairy had appeared to me when she did. I was no longer sure she was just playing a cruel game that would have ended up with me being dead or some victim of cruel magic. If I believed Smith, then she might not have been trying to kill me but perhaps warning me about Fetch's egg in my pocket.

  I looked at Fetch. I wondered if I was supposed to find his egg after all. If it was just a random, thing then why did he choose to go against his very nature and not destroy me? Would this affect him in some unknown way in the future? Would the changes that have happened to me continue? What was I becoming? The thought thrilled me and terrified me at the same time. I thought of Michelle and how she was convinced that the fairies had killed her family. She had never said that she saw them herself.

  I had the feeling that if we could meet more magic folk then we would be able to understand things better. How were we to be accepted if we didn’t try to acclimate ourselves? It was like going to a different country and expecting everyone to speak English. You had to learn to speak their language or you wouldn’t be able to get around. This brought a new question to my mind.

  “Michelle,” I said, “Are there other languages in the magic realm? Everyone I have come across speaks English.”

  Michelle looked up from the small notebook that she had been writing in. It was full of spells and chants to help her work magic. I wished she wouldn’t use magic the way she did. We were not born into the magic world and we really didn’t have a full understanding of what would happen if we went too far. In a tired voice Michelle answered me.

  “Yes there are many different languages, but Johnathen told me that most creatures of the magic world have a natural ability to understand any human language. It takes training to understand the languages of the magic realm. For instance a fairy might not be able to understand what a gnome is saying in its own language and vice versa. So if you wanted a fairy to not know what you are saying you would learn how to speak gnome. Weird huh?”

  “Yeah," I replied. “There is so much to learn. We really need to understand who would be against us and who wouldn't be."

  “With me it is easy," said Michelle. “Anybody who is against someone using magic when they weren't born to it is someone I have to watch out for. You, I’m not sure. So far everyone in the magic world that interacted with you has been amazed that you even exist. You and Fetch are enigmas, Jack, and that scares people, magic or not. The simple fact that you can perform a spell the way you did, without even looking at an incantation or the right wording, is unheard of in the magic world. Magic needs a command or a request to be effective. You manipulate it without either one, and very well I might add,” she said referring to her clothes that she was still wearing. "You conjured these up in a way that would make even Johnathen jealous.”

  Fetch and I sat there in stunned silence. I don’t think she realized she had mentioned fairies. It was the first time we had ever heard her say the word 'fairies' and not have a strong negative reaction. Usually she would get that strange dark look on her face that seemed to indicate she was thinking of her family and their tragic deaths. I looked at Fetch and tried to remember a time when she didn’t act that way at the very mention of the fey or fairies. Smith’s little talk seemed to have helped a lot.

  I could tell that she was having doubts about some of the things that Johnathen had told her. This was painful to her. She owed him so much, but didn’t like the idea that he was keeping her from so much of the magical world. I remembered Smith and her talking about this Pek. He seemed to be the only other one, from the world of magic that Michelle had ever associated with. She was determined to find out some things on her own, even if she wouldn’t like what she found out.

  As Michelle continued to get ready, I let my mind wander. I looked at Fetch. Everything that we had heard about dragons pointed to the fact that Fetch was unlike any of them. The simple fact that he had a name seemed beyond the comprehension of anyone we had met so far. How everyone referred to him as 'the dragon with a name' showed me how different he was. After the time I had spent together with him I couldn’t picture him being any different. Michelle was finally ready. She had me make another set of clothes. It took me five tries before I finally got what she w
anted. She looked amazing.

  We decided to take a cab downtown. It took us both to convince Fetch that this was the best way. He could fly above us as the cab took us downtown. Once there we would conceal ourselves with magic and walk the rest of the way into the club. Fetch would have to stay outside flying around until we were sure it was safe for him to join us in the club. Michelle had purchased a cell phone at a convenience store and tied it around his neck. Another little odd magic box plugged into it and activated it. When we thought it was safe, we were going to call it and let him know he could join us. I hated the fact we were going in there without him, but it would be hard enough just keeping people from bumping into us in the crowded club.

  The plan was that we would mingle, undetected, and hopefully learn about magic folk. With the teardrops we would be invisible to everyone. We could hear conversations and see what people were saying about me and Fetch. If it seemed that too many people were going against us, we would call the whole thing off and think of something else. It seemed sneaky, but there was still so much to learn about who would support us and who would destroy us. Smith had told us the best way to learn about magic folk was to listen and observe. Even Michelle, who had been learning from Johnathen about the realm of magic, had limited knowledge. Only what Johnathen had told her. I thought about Johnathen and wondered what he would think about what we were doing. Would he think of it as a betrayal? It was something I had to put out of my mind for now.

  After a quick goodbye to Fetch as the cab pulled up, we climbed in and went downtown. After arriving we got out and started walking to the club. I looked over at Michelle. She looked worried and I could tell she was having second thoughts about the plan. I grabbed her hand.

  "Look," I said. “We don’t have to do this if you think it’s not a good idea. We can go back and forget the whole thing.”

  She looked at me with a grim determination in her eyes.