The Leira Chronicles- The Complete Austin Series

by Martha Carr

  Leira gave her grandmother the same patient look she used in any interrogation as a detective. The inevitability was obvious. The information was going to come out. It was just a matter of when and patience, but Berens women all had a measured amount of patience that could quickly hit a wall. Her partner, Hagan looked around at everyone counting the seconds in his head. “This is a new kind of shit storm,” he muttered. “He does not look old enough to be your father.”

  “He doesn’t look clean enough to be anyone’s father.” Correk grimaced, his feet in a wide stance and his arms crossed against his chest.

  “He’s an Elf who’s been on Oriceran. It’s like its own magic potion. And believe it or not, Correk, in his day he cleaned up pretty well. This hermit routine he picked up in recent years.” Mara pushed Jackson further into the center of the warehouse.

  The air in the large metal warehouse felt still and close as everyone froze right where they stood. A large black fly buzzed noisily over the long table set up down the middle of the room. Leira gave a sidelong glance at her grandmother to see if she was casting a spell to slow down time but Mara was avoiding her glance and her skin wasn’t glowing. An icy breeze blew across the back of Leira’s neck. The warehouse was never air tight and Austin was in the middle of a rare cold snap.

  Hagan finally found his voice and cleared his throat. “This has got to be the definition of awkward. So, in other words, a normal family get-together.” Leira’s eyebrows shot up as she looked at him, but he just shrugged. “I think honesty is going to be your friend here, partner. Your long-lost father showing up from another world in the middle of a large dinner ranks right up there.” He held his hand high in the air. “Moments like this we usually make sure everyone has checked their weapons, which is a little tougher in this crowd. Weapons being built in, and all. Kind of wish Lois was here. She wields a mean wand.”

  “That won’t be necessary.” Symbols flashed along Leira’s skin, subsiding as Jackson’s eyes widened in surprise. The silverware along the table rattled and clinked and rose in the air a few inches before settling back down.

  “The energy is telling her what to do next,” gasped the Elf. “It’s predicting the inevitability of outcomes…”

  “No fucking kidding,” whispered Mara. “Your daughter has a few magic tricks we’ve never seen before.”

  No one moved from their spot, turning their heads to look at Leira to see what she was going to do next.

  No one except Jackson who gave the same familiar one-sided smile as his daughter, Leira, his green eyes half-closed. It hid the even mixture of panic and anger roiling through him. Correk noticed the Elf working his hands by his side even as he tried a casual stance. He looked over at Leira and saw a familiar pain in her face. Bits and pieces of lost family coming together again. This time not by her reckoning.

  “No one’s going to sit down at the table? Okay, we can start right where we are.” Leira blinked hard a few times, her chest rising and falling. Breathe. For once, don’t say what you’re thinking. She was twisting the sapphire ring on her finger. “Nana, you care to explain? I thought you said he was dead and best forgotten.”

  “That stings.” Jackson scowled at Mara. “I should have known that would be your general description of me.”

  “More of a hope mixed with a truth… for a while. What I told you in your shack was true. Hate me,” she said, pointing at Leira, “she’s still your daughter.”

  “More of a cabin than a shack and I can’t stay in this world forever. Left my dog alone.”

  “Already trying to leave. Now, that is familiar.” Mara’s Texas twang grew thicker, a short burst of anger crawling up her spine. “Think you have enough time to at least help out your only child? She needs the information inside your head.”

  “See? Regular family dinner…” Hagan gave another shrug and wiped his face with his handkerchief, pulling out a chair. “I’m sitting and if no one starts making sense soon, I’m eating.” He opened the box sitting on top with the familiar Home Slice logo to see what kind of pizza was inside.

  Jackson worked his jaw as he looked at Leira locking eyes with her. She held his gaze, defiantly lifting her chin.

  “I’ve seen that look before,” said Jackson, evenly. “You get that from your mother. Fight your way out of a corner with a rusty hair pin if you had to.”

  Leira looked past Jackson to her mother on the far side of the table.

  “Mom? You knew he was alive and kicking?”

  Don squeezed Eireka’s hand as she licked her dry lips, buying a little time. She raised her chin and chose her words carefully, eyeing Jackson. “You left me before I could tell you about Leira. Vanished. I was hoping that meant you were dead.”

  “At least you women are all consistent in hoping I’m dead.”

  Mara cleared her throat just as alarms went off overhead. There was more footage on the screen of the troll in action in a bar with a barely distinguishable view of Hagan behind him just as Hagan turned and the letters PDA appeared on the back of his nylon jacket.

  “Well, fuck me.” Leira stood in front of the magical screen hanging high in the air, watching the video of the troll standing well over six feet tall in a dark bar in Austin, growling at a trio of over-muscled meatheads. The comments were piling up underneath with people guessing if it was a fake or there were now Yetis in Austin, Texas. There were even comments about the fat dude behind the hairy beast. “The other kind of trolls of a human variety making themselves known,” said Leira.

  “This is going to make it hard to go back to Barfly’s. That’s my favorite hidey hole. Best cheap beer in town…” Hagan let out his own growl and slapped his hand down on the pink Voodoo doughnuts box, bending the top.

  “Hey!” The troll peeked his head out from inside the box, his mouth full of chunks of chocolate doughnut as he looked up at the screen. “Uh oh, that’s not good.” Crumbs tumbled from his shoulders and belly, down around his feet. “Huh?” Yumfuck licked a finger and pressed down on the stray bits of doughnuts, popping them into his mouth. “Yummmm…”

  A loud growl filled the room, echoing from the video. The troll looked up at the screen, surprised. “Hey, I look good. Nice angles.” The troll let out a cackle and dove back under the box as it jiggled across the desk. Hagan looked at the box and back at the screen, taking his handkerchief out of his back pocket and wiping his forehead. “Not Barfly’s,” he moaned.

  On the screen everyone watched the video of Yumfuck dragging his oversized claws across the bar letting out a roar. In front of him was a man in a sleeveless plaid shirt with hairy arms, snarling even as his eyes grew wide with fear. Leira felt a certain amount of satisfaction and dread. Always nice to put down a Jughead but not in front of the world.

  The number of views was rolling in the lower left-hand corner, quickly climbing to three million views and hundreds of thousands of shares. She felt the tension grow in the pit of her stomach. The desks across the room rattled for a moment as if the ground was shaking. Leira took a deep breath and let it out. That’s new.

  “Maybe no one will know it’s Barfly’s.” Hagan licked his lips just as the neon flashed by the side of the bar. Barfly’s sputtered in bright red with a Budweiser in blue glowing beneath it before the whole thing sparked and fizzled out.

  “Great…” Hagan let out a deep sigh. “I suppose there are other watering holes in Austin with the same appeal.”

  Leira looked at him, slightly amazed. “I take it you mean early decrepit with a solid C rating from the Travis County Health Department. Maybe just a few dozen”

  “You are looking at Texas vintage,” he argued. He opened the top pizza box and pulled out a slice, folding it in half and taking a big bite.

  “Hagan, you manned up more when you were shot. How about we focus on the real problem here. You’re blowing our cover, which won’t sit well with the General. I kind of like our job and I’m thinking anonymity is a key part of the job description.”

  “
That’s not something you see every day. An oversized troll taking care of business on Earth. At least not since the gates slammed shut.” Jackson scratched his chin through his scruffy beard as he walked closer to the screen. Closer toward Leira.

  Mara cleared her throat and reached out to tap Jackson on the shoulder. “Uh, Jackson… most of these people just met you. Including your…” The word caught in her throat for a moment. “Your daughter.” She choked out the words.

  Leira felt the hairs bristle along the back of her neck. Of course this is the way I meet my father. She rolled her head, stretching her neck. After all these years. An ache rolled through her chest. She kept her attention on the screen making a point of not looking at her mother or grandmother. Not yet.

  Correk slid in between Jackson and Leira, taking a wide stance, nudging Jackson over a few feet. “We can come up with something. The world already knows about magic, thanks to Rhazdon and the prophets. The video misses the part with the troll growing and Hagan is in the background. Hard to tell who he is, mostly… PDA won’t register with anyone.”

  Leira turned around to glance at Hagan who looked sheepish as he grimaced with a hard swallow of pizza. “All kind of happened pretty fast. If it makes you feel any better, we stopped an old Wizard at the bar from using his wand.”

  Leira gave him a dead fish look and looked back up at the screen.

  Chapter Two

  Turner Underwood looked up from the ancient Oriceran manuscript on his desk, moving the large magnifying glass to the side and turning off the small light on the side of it. The letters on the page quickly faded, leaving the page blank. He lifted his chin and listened for a moment, a smile coming over his face even as the concern never left him.

  “The next phase has begun. This is good. I can work with this. The seer’s prophecy is rolling right along.” Turner cupped one hand over the other in front of his chest and whispered into his hands, slowly pulling them apart as a blue ball of light grew to the size of an orange. “Big enough to do the job.” He waved his arm over the ball of light as it vanished with a pop and found its target, hovering just under the bumper of the green Mustang parked outside the warehouse.

  The troll pushed up the lid of the pink box, swallowing the remains of a jelly doughnut as he jumped off Hagan’s desk. He scrambled across the warehouse and up Leira’s leg as she reached down and held out her hand, placing the troll on her shoulder. “I’m a celebrity,” he chirped, letting out a cackle.

  “Your lack of concern is doing nothing for me.” Correk drew his mouth into a thin line and watched the video loop, his hands on his hips and his elbows out at his side even as the troll shrugged and sat down on Leira’s shoulder.

  Jackson let out a short laugh as he sized up Correk, taking a step back behind him. “Okay, big fella, I can take a hint.” He ran a hand through his thick hair, creating more tall peaks along the top of his head.

  Correk took a whiff of the air, wrinkling his nose as he looked down at Jackson’s boots and up at the different stains along his tunic. He looked straight at Jackson and slowly crossed his arms across his chest. Leira shook her head and went back to looking at the video. “Some kind of male Elf posing. Suddenly, I’m back in a squad room again.” She pointed at the screen. “Look, this isn’t a problem. Not yet.” She puckered her lips. “Not unless the Silver Griffins decide to make it a problem. Only a handful of people know what PDF or PDA really stand for.”

  “You think the Silver Griffins will care enough to do something about this?” Eireka spoke up from the far side of the long table, still holding her boyfriend, Don’s hand tightly. Leira looked over at her mother and saw the tremor pass through her shoulders. I can finally return this favor. Comfort her. Leira’s bright green eyes glowed as she sent out a thin stream of magic, curling around her mother’s shoulders to hold her in an embrace that hummed with energy.

  “Not if we can get to the General to explain things before they have to come looking for us. Hagan did everyone walk out of there under their own power?” Leira ran her hand through her hair in the same way as Jackson had just done, giving Correk a start.

  “In a manner of speaking.”

  Leira gave him a long look, waiting for more, knowing there wasn’t more coming. She’d done enough cases with him by now to know what he was about to say.

  “Never complain, never explain. Not to anyone but Rose, of course.”

  Leira mouthed the words along with Hagan. “That’s a classic, Hagan. Haven’t heard you use that one in a long time.”

  He took another large bite of pizza as the troll jumped up and down on Leira’s shoulder, leaping into the air toward the pizza box as Leira caught him and put him back on her shoulder.

  A tiny “Motherfucker!” filled the room.

  “Haven’t stepped in shit this deep in a long time.” Hagan wiped grease off his face with a small white paper napkin. “This one will take an extra-long shovel. Any chance magic could handle this?”

  “As far as I know, never was never will be doesn’t cover the globe or we could solve a few things before pizza.”

  “That has to be getting cold.” Mara waved toward the long table set with dishes and silverware and the pile of pizzas at one end.

  “Mom is right. Nothing’s going to get explained to anyone’s satisfaction in the next hour.” The words came out slowly as Eireka looked pointedly at her mother. “We should eat first.”

  “You want to sit down at a table and eat like nothing just happened? That’s a lot to swallow, even for me.” Hagan watched carefully, reading the room. “Everybody staying calm? No itchy fingers?”

  Mara threw up her hands, her long, thick dark hair moving along her shoulders as she grabbed a handful of Jackson’s tunic, dragging him along with her. She went to the near side of the table and pulled out a metal folding chair. “Sit. You’re about to try one of this world’s finest inventions.”

  “That’s it?” Jackson lowered himself into the chair, a smile spreading across his face, deepening his dimples. He pulled out a long, thin leather strip, smoothing back his hair and tying it in the back. The women watched closely as he flexed his arms, tying a knot as Correk rolled his eyes.

  Correk took the seat one down from Hagan as he leaned in to mutter., “Apparently they haven’t gotten past the mullet on Oriceran.”

  “Is this some kind of Earth custom. One last good meal together before the body slamming?” Jackson looked up at Eireka and Don, giving a nod of his head. “You’re looking good. This your mate?”

  Correk let out a grunt as Jackson leaned forward in his chair, stretching his arm across the table. “Don’t believe we ever got around to introductions. I’m Jackson, an Elf of sorts.”

  Leira glanced back at the screen as Eireka waved her arm, archiving the video. “It’s too late to stop the video. It’s sitting on too many phones at the very least. Give it a day or two and everyone will move on.”

  “Elf of sorts?” Correk slowly put out his hand and shook Jackson’s hand tightly, feeling a strong and familiar hum. It reminded him of the energy that ran through Leira but with less power. Still…

  “I think that’s why Mara dragged me through a portal… To explain. Or at least start to explain. Strange thing to work at keeping a secret for well over a hundred years and now I have an audience to spill it to.”

  “Quit dragging it out, Jackson. Just tell them.” Mara made herself look at Leira, but she was intently watching Jackson. I hope I did the right thing.

  Jackson blew out a deep breath, puffing out his cheeks. “Fine.” He spread his hands flat on the table.

  The troll leapt down to the table and scrambled in front of Jackson, smiling. “You’re a Jaspar Elf. Rare!”

  Jackson opened his mouth to say something and shut it again. He grimaced as he said, “What the little furry guy said.”

  “Not a surprise. Turner Underwood already broke that news. You came all that way just to say that?” Leira could feel the frustration growing. So ma
ny questions.

  “Turner… The Fixer.” Jackson’s smile grew tighter. “You must be in the middle of a few things for Turner to be making an appearance. Not the only reason I came.”

  “And not the only reason I went to fetch him.”

  “Without saying anything to me.” Eireka’s eyes glistened as she leaned back in her chair. “A heads up would have gone a long way.”

  Mara looked pained as she looked at her daughter. “There was no time to explain everything. You don’t understand what’s going on here. I could tell you, which would have taken days, trust me. Or I could save Leira.”

  Yumfuck took advantage of the distraction and crawled toward the tower of boxes, easily scaling them till he was at the top. He tugged on a large slice topped with pepperoni, pulling it out of the box with as little noise as possible. He glanced over the top of the box and saw Hagan looking in his direction. The troll gave him a smile and a wink and ducked back down, giving one last hard tug as the slice came out in one easy slide acting like a hot, greasy toboggan. The troll jumped on board, holding on to the crust as the pizza hit the table, flopping over, rolling the troll inside. Yumfuck chewed his way through the top and quickly stood up, wearing the pizza around his waist, his hair slicked back with grease.

  “Never seen him look happier,” muttered Hagan. He reached over and got another piece and offered the box to Correk. “Go ahead. Good pizza has helped more than one bad party get going.” Hagan stood up and started passing the rest of the boxes in both directions. “We’re all family here… of sorts. Let’s start with that and a little pizza.”

  Leira took a seat between Correk and Hagan and pulled out a slice with mushrooms on it, passing the box. She chewed her lip, ignoring the slice as she took a look around the table. “There’s a lot of people at this table that I love and some I almost lost this past year. Two of you I had to fight like hell to get back.” The words came out choked as Leira took a deep breath and let it go, slowly. She looked over at Correk, squeezing his hand for a moment. “I’ve had enough of losing family, even if it’s to anger. Nana, you’re going to explain all of this in great detail. I’m guessing you fucked something up royally. For now, tell me how I’m in danger of dying and we’ll deal with the rest later.”