by Martha Carr
"What's that, Charlie? The sound isn't quite picking up what you're saying."
Charlie startled and stood up straighter, reflexively brushing back his thick grey hair that was already neatly in place. "Just letting Fred know about plans later," he said, making a point to smile harder. The valet appeared at the door but quickly stepped back into the hallway as Charlie flicked his hand dismissively in his direction out of sight of the camera. Best to get it over with. "Plans to capture any amount of Oriceran ore to finance our operations with the new world have not moved forward as hoped, yet."
"Capture?" Pearson Cowley sat forward, taking a sip of his coffee.
Charlie did his best to not roll his eyes. "Just a turn of phrase, Cowley. We've been unable to locate a suitable scout and the risks are too high without taking care of that first." Not a lie. Every man dead. Cost a fortune to pay off their families. What a shit show... It cost Charlie another small fortune to frame each of the men in a complicated embezzlement from Axiom. Charlie had paid each of the families a personal visit to gauge their willingness to take the money and go away. Only Calvin's family gave him the smallest insistent worry, insisting Calvin was an old Eagle Scout and would never steal anything from anyone. May have to leak a small story about that one. Leave a trail and put him in Belize or Luxembourg.
It wasn't like Charlie to get so distracted while in a meeting, especially with his board. He felt the beginning of sweat across his forehead. Keep it short, Monaghan.
"If we don't find a suitable guide and can't secure any ore we will have to find another way to finance looking for artifacts. Axiom cannot keep funding the bottom line, especially if we're going to be helping out the government with what we find."
The members all shifted in their seats, with the notable exception of Pearson Cowley who looked straight at the camera as if he could reach out and grab Charlie by the shoulders.
"There are no new ideas since the last time we went over this." A junior board member piped up, nervously looking around at everyone else.
"Should we even be in an artifacts race with foreign governments? Is it that important?" A long-standing member of the board, a middle-aged woman with brown helmet hair that wouldn't flutter in strong winds, pursed her lips tapping an expensive pen against her iPad.
"The two worlds coming together is a fact, Marilyn. Nothing is going to prevent that and we're a multi-national conglomerate. We circle this globe, already." Charlie emphasized each word, making a small circle with his finger. "First rule of being a company this size is we keep evolving or rot on the vine. The artifacts are going to be dug up by someone and used by someone. We'll either be at their mercy for their designs or we will be creators, motivators." Charlie felt the blood rush through his head and he had a sudden feeling of strength and clarity. Much better. The smile came more easily to his face and the lines around his eyes deepened.
"That makes sense," sputtered the younger board member. Pearson gave him a hard stare, making the young man look down at his phone as if he were checking for messages. Pearson gave a slight shake to his head and looked up at Charlie's face on the large screen. Something is off, which is saying something about Charlie Monaghan. Can't quite put my finger on it. Pearson put his fingers together like a steeple, resting the tips against his mouth.
"What if the Elves are telling us the truth?" A middle-aged man with salt and pepper hair spoke up, concern in his voice. "What if it's true that these artifacts hold the key to longer lives. Much longer lives." His eyebrows went up as he spoke, his eyes opening wider at the thought. "Imagine who could live longer."
Charlie felt the mood swinging in his direction. At last! "Imagine if the wrong people found a way to stay on Earth beyond their expiration dates. The hell it would bring to all of us. We are a responsible company. We know how to handle a burden like this and use it for the good of mankind. The Elves have said they'll provide us with locations to acquire the artifacts in exchange for basic technology. We cannot pass up this opportunity or hand it over to anyone else. But..." Charlie paused for effect, looking at each person and waiting for them to squirm or return his smile. Pearson kept his stony expression looking back at Charlie.
Charlie felt a sense of satisfaction. Pearson will lose in the long run. I win. "It's up to us to go out and get it. That's the deal we agreed to. In order to fund these expeditions a campaign will need to be mounted to extract some Oriceran ore. We cannot take anything more from our other divisions to pay for it and the government will want too much in return if they fund it." Charlie was enjoying his pitch, rocking back on his heels. Was a temporary setback. Why was I ever worried? Things will work out. They always do.
A hot surge of pain flashed through his head, making him wince. Not again! What the hell?
He turned away from the computer and snapped his fingers, waving agitatedly at Fred who came quietly rushing into the room. Fred masterfully hit the button, cutting off power to the mini tower that helped keep the internet connection to the office. Someone was talking but all Charlie could hear was every other word as he turned his back, squeezing his eyes shut, balling his hands into fists pressed against his desk. It was close to unbearable.
Fred watched from the side as everyone waited a moment, eventually shuffling out of the board room as the seconds ticked by. Pearson got up and was about to leave but his suspicions got the better of him and he lingered just by the door out of sight of the camera.
The valet counted to five, standing back from Charlie who was resting his head on the desk, his hands on his neck, and switched the mini tower back on, returning the power. For just a moment, Charlie Monaghan stood up and looked directly into the camera, his eyes completely black and a twisted smile on his face. Fred gasped and stumbled backward into the bookcase, knocking a signed copy of The Age of Turbulence off the shelf, smacking the oak floors with a thud.
Fred found his courage and leaned over just far enough to shut the lid of the computer, cutting off the feed but not before Pearson Cowley got a good look.
Pearson gripped the side of the door, pressing his lips together to ensure he didn't make a sound as his body shook involuntarily. He waited till he was sure he could stand still without shaking before he quickly left the room and headed for the elevator. "In all my years I've never seen anything like it. Never!" He was breathless, his words coming out in a hiss as he jabbed the elevator button. "The Dark Mist is claiming a human... What does this mean? If humans find out this is even possible." Pearson gave a hard shake to his head as a cold shiver went through him. "No... No!" The elevator doors opened and he was relieved to see it was empty. "Have to find Lacey and figure out a solution, contain Charlie Monaghan before the world finds out there's more than one kind of magic."
Chapter Four
Leira parked the green Mustang near the front of Estelle's and headed for the gate, ignoring the gaggle of college students standing outside laughing and flirting with each other. A girl in a dark blue Jimmie Vaughan t-shirt and a hoodie gave a tall, skinny guy in a long-sleeved polo shirt a push against his shoulder. He laughed and stuck his hands deep in his jean's pockets. Leira paused by the gate and watched them. She pulled in a small amount of magic, just enough to surround them in the energy. A feeling of goodwill swirled around them as the young man reached out for the girl's hand.
Just behind them, a broad-shouldered man wearing a UT football sweatshirt stepped back, looking around till he spotted Leira by the gate. He gave a crooked smile and a two-fingered salute to her, shading his eyes just long enough to let them glow so she could see them.
Leira's eyebrows went up, wrinkling her forehead in surprise. We're everywhere. She gave a small nod and unlatched the gate, headed for the guest house as she looked to the left and saw Craig and Mike tending a small grill near the corn hole toss. Cassidy was standing behind them with a plate full of hamburger patties as Kimberly sipped from a tall neck beer in one hand and held out a spatula in the other.
"Leira!" A general cheer went up
from all the regulars as everyone else on the patio turned to see who was causing the commotion.
Curiosity got the better of her and Leira steered away from the path toward her front door and wandered over to the grill.
"Before you say anything, Estelle already knows we're cooking our own food right behind her restaurant. We paid her a banquet fee, I think she called it. Settle down, Lemon!" Mitzi held on to the fidgeting schnauzer. "She's dying to help!"
"Special occasion?" Leira looked at the people gathered at several tables, all watching Mike and Craig fiddling with the grill.
"Not really," said Janice, putting silverware in front of each person. "We decided to start our own Meetup. We call ourselves, What the Fork," she chirped.
"Estelle came up with the name. There's t-shirts in the works." Scott passed a pile of paper napkins down the line. "Paul wanted to call us the Cuddle Party..."
"So Estelle basically rescued us from the ridiculous..."
"And before we went further down the rabbit hole."
"I think I have enough t-shirts now to make a fairly good-sized quilt."
"You staying for a burger? We have two kinds of cheese and a few sides."
"Estelle made those. She said some of this dinner actually had to come from the restaurant."
A Catahoula dog barked sharply, looking through the slats on the fence from the bar next door. Lemon squirmed in Mitzi's arms, whining to be let down.
Leira looked at the three tables full of people. "Looks like you already have some new recruits."
"Yeah, who knew?" Cassidy rested the edge of the platter on a table.
A woman with short brown hair and bangs raised her hand. "Hi, I'm Micky. I live in Pflugerville by way of London," she said in a heavy accent.
Cassidy pointed to the man next to Micky. "That's Peter and next to him is Daniel. Oh geez, I can't remember the names of those guys. You'll have to introduce yourself. Hey, you guys are taking too long. It's charcoal and lighter fluid. How hard can this be?"
"You have to set up the charcoal in a very specific pile or things don't cook evenly." Craig nudged a briquette onto the top of a small pyramid. To the right of it was a similar tower of charcoal.
"Why do men always see anything with fire as an Olympic event? Anyone need another beer?" Kimberly got up, counting the number of hands raised.
Mike dropped a match into the grill as a great whoosh arose and the fire flamed into a large ball, up and out pushing the two men back on their heels.
"Anyone lose an eyebrow?" Leira did her best to hide her smile, not too worried about who might see it.
Craig turned around, sheepish, smoke swirling around him. "I think I smell burning hair."
"Bout time you trimmed those nose hairs, however you had to do it." Estelle let out a short laugh as she brought out a large bowl of vinegar coleslaw. Her arms were barely long enough to wrap around the bowl and the cigarette in her mouth jiggled dangerously over the open bowl. Her cat-eye reading glasses hung from an amber-colored beaded necklace scraping against the outside of the bowl. She let the bowl down heavily on the nearest table and stood up, her hands on her hips. "Get this show on the road or take it elsewhere." A fly buzzed near her face and she snatched it out of the air with a quick swoop, throwing it into the air toward the fence. It flew off, making whoozy loops, bobbing up and down toward the next yard. "You boys have been playing with the fire long enough."
"What she said." Cassidy stepped toward the grill and Kimberly scooped up the hamburgers from the platter with the spatula, lining them in neat rows. Estelle kept watch from a distance, giving a wink to Leira as she blew smoke out the side of her mouth without ever taking out the cigarette. Leira gave her a crooked smile in return as her phone buzzed in her pocket. She pulled it out and saw a text from General Anderson.
"Looks like I'm going to have to take a pass. Work calls but save me a burger or two, would you?"
"I'll put 'em in the restaurant fridge. You can fetch them later." Estelle was sticking to her own rule of no one going into Leira's place when she wasn't there. She blew out a perfect smoke ring and went back behind the bar.
Leira waved to everyone as another communal shout of "Leira!" went up from the crowd. Even Micky joined in, raising her glass as she shouted.
Leira held the phone up to her ear. "General? Is there a disturbance in the force?"
"I'm surprised I don't hear that joke more often. Like twice a day instead of just the once." The general sounded like he was in his usual mood. All business.
Okay, so something may be blowing up but the casualties are low. "How about just hello, then."
"Don't mean to bark at you. Time is of the essence and it’s the damndest thing. You are perfectly situated to handle this one. What they're calling a sinkhole has opened up in the middle of a subdivision in Round Rock, right near you."
"But I take it, not really a sinkhole." Leira opened her door and went in, dropping her purse on the red velvet upholstered chair by the door. The troll was sitting on the couch watching Batman Begins. He was on his feet, gasping and leaning forward as the caped crusader drove through the streets of Gotham. “Scarecrow!” He chirped excitedly.
Leira put a finger to her lips trying to quiet him down but he wasn't paying her any attention. "Some bond, furry dude. No, excuse me, general, unrelated." Leira went into the kitchen and balanced the phone under her chin as she started to make coffee. Almost instinctively, her eyes lit up with a glow as energy pulled in from her feet and the phone bobbled in the air, hovering near her ear. The magic is working for me before I have to think of it. This is new. The bracelet on her wrist warmed against her skin. Interesting.
The sound of the general's voice snapped her out of her observations.
"No, not a sinkhole. Not even a little. Turns out there's a cave underneath someone's rancher. A main room and two side rooms carved out of the limestone. Looks to be thousands of years old, at least. Maybe older."
"Artifacts in my backyard, practically. Makes the commute easier."
"Better hurry. The sinkhole's all over the news and someone's bound to get curious. Agent Hagan is already on his way and will meet you there."
Chapter Five
Leira didn't waste any time heading back out the door, scooping out troll kibble from the giant Costco bag as she went. She put it in a bowl and set it down next to Yumfuck as she passed through the living room. He blew her a raspberry and cheered, settling down in the middle of the bowl, and popping back to the edge the next second as the action picked back up in the movie.
"Don't know how late I'll be. Tell Correk when you see him." Leira slid into her favorite leather jacket, ignoring the PDA jacket hanging next to it. Maybe next time.
"Aloha motherfucker!" chirped the troll, stuffing his cheeks full of food.
"Use your words."
"Have a fucking nice day!" He let out a cackle.
"See? Isn't that better?"
The troll laughed and rolled over, opening his mouth as he pushed through the kibble he had just been sitting on.
"You really will eat anything."
The troll let out another cackle, spitting out some of the small nuggets as he stood up and balanced on the lip, letting himself fall backward into the bowl.
She scooped up her purse and quickly slid out the door, opening it just enough to get through so no one would see kibble flying into the air behind her.
Mike held up his beer and shouted "Leira" as Estelle aimed a plastic top at his head.
"What? How is anybody supposed to know when it's okay to yell hello?"
"It's an instinct thing, my man." Craig slapped him on the back and picked up the top, tossing it back to Estelle who was perched on her stool behind the bar. "You gotta feel it in here," he said, tapping his chest while holding a Shiner Bock with three fingers.
Leira kept moving, quickly going through the gate and heading for her car. She had the coordinates for the neighborhood and briefly thought about trying a portal but
quickly realized that could make a small problem worse if she managed to tear a hole in the veil so close to home by trying to open a portal to move around Earth. "Let's not piss off the Silver Griffins just yet, Leira. There's still some daylight left and a cave to get to."
She opened the door to the Mustang, narrowly avoiding a wiry man on a bike wearing a cropped top and cut off jean shorts despite the cooler temperature. "Damn crotch rocket!" The rider turned around and gave her the finger, smiling through missing front teeth.
"Nice." For just a moment she missed being on the police force. Leira took in a deep breath and blew it out as the jewel on her bracelet lit up. "Not going over the top for a dude on a Schwinn." She slid into the car and pulled out of the space, running the lights and sirens all the way to the scene.
As she pulled up she saw Hagan talking to the homeowner, his narrow notebook in hand. He looked up, arching an eyebrow as she cut the siren and pulled into a spot along the curb. She got out and saw the yellow caution tape around a hole in the sidewalk that closely resembled the shape of a coffin. Leira went to the edge of the tape, leaning in to get a better look and could see that the bottom was too far down to easily glimpse.
"Thank you, I'll let you know if I have more questions." Hagan shoved the notebook into his coat pocket and ambled over beside Leira. "Not exactly legal using the lights on the local blacktops."
"Not exactly illegal, either. Anderson said this was a rush job. Something about an actual man cave."
Hagan chortled. "Damndest thing. Homeowner still thinks it's a sinkhole and is worried how much of it will gobble up her house. They sent down a spycam and by the looks of it, I'd say maybe a quarter of her yard."
"The builder had to have noticed the large hole when they put in the pipes."
