by Martha Carr
Mara walked the last stretch of road, keeping to the side, looking for the young Wizard she was hoping would be at his table. Relief flooded her body as she saw Louie haggling with a Witch. “Prices haven’t gone up. These are new items. That means I get to set a new price.” He took a round metal object gently out of her hand and put it back in its wooden box. “Don’t like the prices, don’t buy it.” The Witch marched off in a huff, deeper into the tent.
Mara got closer to the table and made a point of looking through the knickknacks near the front. Louie looked up at her and smiled broadly, sliding a box further under the table with the toe of his boot. “Lots of folks don’t get the risk involved with securing many of these babies. Not easy. We get that though, don’t we?”
“How much for this hair comb?” Mara held up the silver comb embellished with pearls. Louie scratched his chin, thinking about it. “For you, just two gold pieces. Not the small ones though.”
“Done.” Mara dug in her silk pouch and pulled out the coins. It would be a nice present for Eireka. A piece of Oriceran.
“What, no haggling? Suit yourself, lady but that’s half the fun. Some days it’s all the fun.” Louie took the two coins and slid them into a pouch at his waist. “Interest you in anything else?”
“I’m looking for Jackson.” Mara held his gaze, doing a nice imitation of Leira’s dead fish look. “I have some information he’ll want.”
“Tell me, I’ll tell him.” Louie was still smiling but his eyes gave him away.
Mara shook her head. “His ears only.” She took out a large gold coin and slid it across the wooden counter. “Where can I find him?”
“Lady, he doesn’t like to be found most days. I can tell him you’re looking for him.”
Mara put her hand back on the coin as Louie pulled at it from the other direction. “On the other hand, he never said not to tell anyone.” Mara lifted her hand and Louie picked up the coin, flipping it in the air and smacking it in his palm. He put it in the pouch with the other coins. “How did you know to ask me in the first place. Jackson never hangs around these parts.”
“We’re old acquaintances and I remember when you apprenticed with him the first time.”
“I thought you looked familiar.” He tilted his head to the side, scrutinizing her. “Can’t quite place it.”
“The address?”
“Right…” Louie took his eyes off Mara and glanced back toward the road in the direction of the ocean. “He has a pretty sweet cabin in the woods near the edge of the forest. Only a morning’s walk to the ocean from there. Here, I’ll write the coordinates down for you. Can you read those? Perfect, like who on Oriceran can’t do that. Look out for his old dog. He gets a little overly protective.”
“Roscoe is still alive.”
“You know the dog! Well, of course you do if you’ve been around that long. Dog’s still alive but getting long in the tooth. Still a great guard dog. Those farts are enough to drive off any thief. Now, that’s real love.”
Mara cringed but recovered quickly. “Will I find him there today?”
“You’ll find him there most every day. Only time he leaves is to go on trips for lost artifacts.”
“Lost till he finds them?”
Louie smiled, the creases deepening around his eyes. “You feel me!” He pointed at Mara. “You good people. Tell him to come to the market sometime and say hello. All has been forgiven. I’m sure that old ban has been lifted. I haven’t seen him myself in months.” I have a sword I need to show him.
Chapter Sixteen
Louie’s coordinates were accurate. Mara expected nothing less from a scavenger as gifted as Louie. She stopped at a thicket of trees and lifted the hood of her cloak, pulling in a small amount of magic to obscure her features. She needed the chance to talk to Jackson before he realized who was at his door.
Mara knocked on the door and tilted her chin down, making it even harder to see her face. She heard movement inside and a dog whine but no one was moving toward the door. She beat a little harder and stood back, waiting. Nothing.
She pounded again, this time with more urgency using the length of her forearm. Finally, someone was barreling toward the door, hushing the dog who had started to bark by this time, snatching open the door.
“For God’s sake, what is it?” Jackson snapped as he pulled the door wide.
Mara lifted her face. “Eireka’s in trouble and so is your daughter.” She let the spell slip from her features and watched the surprise grow over Jackson, mixed with anger and pain.
“Daughter?” His mouth hung open. He had a scruffy beard and his hair stood up in sharp points in places. There were dirt and oil stains down the front of his tunic and his boots had seen better days. Still, she could see what attracted Eireka to the man. Underneath all the grime and hair was a strong jaw and deep green eyes. Just like his daughter.
“Good to see you, Jackson.”
“Mara,” he hissed, still gripping the door. “What damn daughter? Haven’t you told enough lies already for one long Elven life?”
Mara swallowed hard. This is not going to be easy. “I have one more lie. A lie of omission. The worst one, I’m afraid. You have a daughter.” Mara took a step over the threshold, pushing Jackson out of the way. The stale air hit her in the face and she resisted making a face. Things would be tricky enough without her judgment about his living arrangements. “She’s twenty-five and a spitfire. A lot like you but likes rules. She even makes sure other people follow them for a living.” Mara dusted off a chair with her hand and took a seat. First part, accomplished. I’m inside. Will make it harder for him to ignore me entirely.
Jackson shook his head, blinking his eyes as he rubbed his head. “Mara, your lies are generally closer to the truth than this whopper.”
“Not a lie. Look, I’ll own my part of things, you own yours. Eireka thinks she tried to tell you. There was a note. I intercepted it and burned it. Your part of things was you just left. You didn’t even try to say goodbye or my lies would have all fallen apart on the spot.”
“Get out of my house.”
“Not till you hear why I’ve come.”
“Get out of my house!” The old Wizard reached for his wand but Mara was ready and easily pulled in the energy through her feet, sending him back hard against a wall.
“Fuck you, bitch! Pin me here till kingdom come! I don’t believe a word that comes out of your old craw!”
Mara could tell he didn’t mean it. He believed her. “I wanted to do this another way but my granddaughter, your daughter’s life depends on this.”
“Does she…what’s her name?” Jackson struggled against the magic holding him against the wall.
“Leira Berens.”
“Does she even know I exist?”
“No and before you go off about that too, that was Eireka’s call. Besides, things have been a little complicated for years now. You were the least of what Leira was trying to comprehend. I need your full attention if you could stop wrestling like a fly in a spider web.”
“Let me go and get out of my life and I’ll be happy to go back to sitting still.”
“Not gonna happen. Even if you have to stay there all night. Sooner you hear me out, sooner I go.”
At last, Jackson stopped struggling. “As I recall, it was also your idea not to tell Eireka I’m a Wizard either.”
“She was so fascinated with all of it. The magic, Oriceran, Light Elves. She would have never come back to Earth.”
“Would that have been so bad?” Jackson’s tunic was twisted from all his struggles. He did his best to straighten it out. He noticed the stains down the front and brushed at them.
“Her life was on Earth.”
“How did that turn out? I can tell from the look on your face… not so well. Usually what happens when lies get ahead of the truth.”
“You still walked away from my daughter and never looked back. A daughter doesn’t change that. Makes it worse in some ways.”
Jackson shut his eyes, pressing his lips together into a thin, straight line. “I wasn’t running. I was on a hunt for a relic. A big one! Large enough to retire and go to Earth with Eireka. But when I got back she was gone and there was no trace of her. I took the hint.”
Mara’s eyes grew wider and her face was flush from the realization of what she had done. “I caused this…” She gasped as the words came out haltingly.
“No shit, Sherlock.” Jackson lifted his chin and looked up toward the mud and hay ceiling. “What else is new? Should have never followed you out of the market that day. Would never be in this mess.”
“Now that’s a lie from you.”
He hung his head and looked at the floor, letting out a deep breath. “You have me there. I regret ever laying eyes on you. But Eireka…”
“And you wanted the artifact I had in my hands that day.”
“That would be true as well. That thing was something special. Tell me about my daughter. About Leira.”
“She’s strong and loyal…”
“Sounds like you’re describing a good dog.”
“Suddenly I can remember with pinpoint accuracy why you annoyed me so much.”
“Eireka didn’t think I was annoying.”
Mara shook her head. “You must have been using a pretty good spell.
“Damn hag!” Jackson kicked out his feet but couldn’t get away from the wall. “Say what you came to say so I can get rid of you!”
“Remember that artifact you wanted.” Mara reached into the deep pocket of her cloak and pulled out a wooden goblet. “It looks like it’s worth nothing. How did you know from a distance what it was? I never did find out.”
“I felt the pulse of the damn thing when you walked by.”
“You’re not a full-blooded Wizard, are you Jackson?”
“Tell me you aren’t turning up your nose at beings with more than one magical ancestry. You’ve been on Earth a little too long.”
“Hardly. You’re part human. All that anger at Earth had to come from somewhere. Only insiders can really work up a steam about a place.”
“I gotta pee. Quit dragging this out.” Jackson felt the familiar vibration from the goblet. “I shoulda known you had it on you. Was too angry to feel its signature hum.”
Mara sighed and crossed her arms across her chest. “That’s not something a Wizard can do. Not with this artifact. You’re like the missing link, Jackson. That’s bad news of a sort. Leira doesn’t realize it but she’s only a little over twelve percent human, if that much, and of a very special variety. The rest of her is actually Witch and Elven.”
“More of your lies about something?”
“Let me spell this all out for you. This goblet is a rare relic. It’s got the energy from an extinct tribe of Elves in it. Jasper Elves.”
Jackson stopped trying to scratch his nose on his shoulder and looked up. “Jasper?”
“That’s right. Most powerful Elves according to legend.”
“They were killed off thousands of years ago.”
“Not killed off. Died off. You know how dark magic will twist the energy of anyone who plays with it long enough?”
“Sure, will suck the life force out of them. Can’t mess with powerful forces like that and not expect consequences. The Jasper Elves were never into dark magic.”
“Quite right. They were the holders of the strongest light magic. They could feed straight into the lifeforce of energy and become one with it. Travel anywhere within magic, crossing over worlds, conquer anything.”
“Light over darkness, I know.”
“Part of the story that was lost was that the purest form of light energy can’t be tolerated forever either. We were never meant to sit in that much peace and joy. A being loses motivation to do much of anything else. It’s intoxicating. Takes you to the edge of death.”
Jackson held still, listening to her story.
“If you don’t access the magic, don’t push it you can survive.”
“Temptation is something I’m familiar with. We’ve been very close all these years.” Jackson let out a snort.
“It proved irresistible to the Jasper Elves and one by one they burned out, disappearing into the light. But before they left, many of them poured what energy they could into common household objects. They wanted others to feel a little of the orgasmic joy they had known.”
“Like a really good buzz.”
“Till it became a buzz kill. But not every other trace of the Jaspers were gone. They were like every other being on this planet, getting jiggy with it in the high weeds of the forest.”
“I’m gonna guess that you’re talking about your ancestors somewhere in there.”
“You’re correct. But mixed with other magical beings, the energy was neutralized. No more ride on the mystic plains. I’m a little more powerful than your average part Light Elf but nothing significant. Nothing anyone would notice.”
“You want to get to the point. I wasn’t kidding about that needing to pee part. It’s going to start dribbling down my leg soon if you don’t let me go.”
“What got you banned from the market? You used to be in good with everyone. Turn on a little charm and you even got people you cheated to stand up for you.”
“Oh dear Lord, now you’re changing the subject. Fuck. I knew I shouldn’t drink that last ale.”
“Okay, I’ll get to the point.” Mara shook her head. “I haven’t said it out loud before. Will make it more real and I don’t like it. Your daughter, Leira. She’s so headstrong. There’s not a chance in either world that anyone could talk her into pulling back on her powers if someone needed saving. And if it’s a member of that ballooning family she’s creating, she’ll run faster into danger. She’s proven that a few times and almost to her demise. And with each time…”
“Leira almost died?” Jackson choked out the words. A child I’ve never even met and she might have died before I met her?
“Those have got to be your genes too. Second there’s a problem she’s running headfirst toward it. I won’t be able to make her stop.”
“What are you not saying? Dammit get on with things!”
“Your genes, your DNA, that human part of you has mixed with Leira’s Jasper blood and turned it on like a light switch. Slowly but surely, she’s accessing the light force. More every time she tries it. Going into battle only sped up the process. Your human ancestor was special too, wasn’t he?”
“It was a she and the family stories say she was heroic but who knows.”
“I know! Somehow the right combination has come along of Wizard and Jasper Elf and human and made Leira.”
“Not Light Elf at all?”
“No, not at all. Another lie I told to protect Eireka. We pass so easily and the magic reads almost exactly the same with just the slightest of changes. Confuses most who mistake us for royalty. It was easier this way. Jasper Elves are still feared, even now. All that power whether it’s for good or not. No one believes that much magic doesn’t corrupt anything with a beating heart.”
“My daughter I never met already needs a rescue.”
“You’re clearly not listening. Leira doesn’t get rescued. Honey, she’s from Texas. This weird land with its own kind of magic. Leira does the rescuing, come hell or high water. She needs a solution, and fast.”
“So, let me off this damn wall.”
Mara removed the spell as Jackson slipped off the wall and ran outside to pee on a nearby tree.
“Classy as ever,” muttered Mara, waiting for him to come back.
He came back in lacing up the front of his pants, shaking a leg. “What are you waiting for? Let’s get a move on.”
“You’re going with me?”
“That’s what you came here for, wasn’t it?” Jackson gathered up his kit bag and slung it over his shoulder.
“I needed to confirm what I already knew. This is a bonus. What about the dog?”
“That damn dog is coming with us. Co
me on Roscoe. I don’t leave home without him. No discussion.”
“Great. Yumfuck will love him.”
“Yum who?” Jackson waited until everyone was out of the house and he raised his wand, casting a cloaking spell.
“Never mind. There’s just a little bit more. I’ll tell you on the road.”
“For pete’s sake woman. You’re unraveling the world’s largest ball of yarn as slowly as you can. You actually did find a new way to torture!”
“That spell strong enough to fool anyone?”
“Most thieves. The ones it doesn’t, the fire ants I left in a trap will take care of. No worries. What’s the one last thing? I know if you saved it for last after all that shit, it must be a whopper.”
“Light and dark are polar opposites and therefore attract each other like powerful magnets. They seek each other out and are somehow always aware of each other.”
“Get to the ever-loving motherfucking point…”
“The black mist is in search of Leira. It seeks her out all day long and all night. Almost won but she had some assistance. I’ve managed to spin a magic cloak around her but on Earth it doesn’t last long unless I keep coming back here to get recharged. I can’t keep that up forever. The black mist is going to find her one of these days and Leira will fight it off and in the meantime her powers grow stronger, become more pure.”
“And when she does fight them…”
“The light will take her over.”
“Open the damn portal already.”
“Oh wait, one more thing. Eireka’s dating again. Nice guy. Don’t fuck with that or I’ll put you back on the wall.”
“You’re a piece of work, woman.”
Chapter Seventeen
Leira and Correk parked the green Mustang in a nearby parking deck and walked the few blocks down to 6th Street and the Jackalope bar. The sun was just starting to set and the full moon was already visible in the sky.
