by Geof Johnson
Evelyn cleared her throat loudly and said, “I’d love to talk more about it, Mrs. Wysoki, but I’ve got to get back to the kids.”
“Oh, I understand.” Mrs. Wysoki waved goodbye and Evelyn closed the door, leaned against it and exhaled heavily. Whew, that was close.We need to be more careful.
Jamie waited on the couch while the kids played in his backyard, and got up and checked his watch when he heard the doorbell ring. It’s about time he got here. I need to get those kids back to the school.
He opened the front door to find Uncle Charlie, waiting with his usual placid expression. “I was wondering when you’d show up,” Jamie said as he shook the old Cherokee’s hand. “How did you get here?”
“In my old truck. It’s running pretty well since you fixed it with your magic. Now my daughter doesn’t have to drive me around anymore. She was getting tired of doing that.” He laughed softly. “Are you ready to go find the special piece of wood that I can carve into your walking stick?”
“I’m looking forward to it.”
Jamie led him down the hall to the family room and Uncle Charlie said, “What was all the squealing I heard coming from your yard? Sounds like a flock of banshees.”
“Kids from the school on Eddan’s world.” Jamie opened the back door and they stepped out onto the deck. The playset at the back of the yard was covered with children. “My gramma wanted to bring them here so they could get a look at the real Earth, as Aiven calls it. They’re still having a hard time accepting that there is such a thing.”
“The children will probably accept it long before their parents do.”
Jamie watched the kids playing for a moment, two of them on the swings and a couple on the slide, the rest of them climbing in and out of the clubhouse. “It’s a big concept to adjust to. Kids are better at being flexible in their thinking than adults, I believe.” Jamie called the children together and he made a doorway for them to go back to the school on Eddan’s world.
When they got there, Jamie and Uncle Charlie went with Aiven to the barn and helped him hitch Sugar up to the old two-wheeled carriage.
Aiven tightened the last strap on the horse and looked at Jamie expectantly. “Are you sure you don’t want me to go with you? I can drive for you.”
“I think I can handle it. I’m not too bad with horses myself, you know.”
“But you’re not as good as me.”
“I know. Nobody is. But I’m pretty sure I can get Sugar to take us where we want to go. Besides, it would be crowded on the seat.”
Uncle Charlie climbed into the carriage and Jamie followed him and took the reins. Jamie waved over his shoulder to Aiven as they drove out of the barn and around the side of the school building. When they reached the road out front, Jamie stopped Sugar and turned to Uncle Charlie. “So where should we go to find my special stick?”
“Where are the woods around here?”
“We can go either way.” Jamie pointed to his right. “If we go north, we’ll have to go through town and eventually over the river. There are some nice stands of trees that way, I think. Or we could go south, and we’ll find more just past some of the farms. How am I supposed to know which way is better?”
Uncle Charlie shrugged. “Ask the horse.”
“How would she know?”
Uncle Charlie tapped his skull. “It’s just a hunch. There is something special about this horse, I think.”
Jamie eyed Sugar and said, “Take us to the best woods for finding a branch that Uncle Charlie can carve into my special walking stick. Can you do that?”
Sugar looked over her shoulder at him and snorted, then pulled the carriage onto the road and turned left.
“I guess it’s that way,” Jamie said.
The school’s property, which was mostly one large open field, extended for almost three hundred yards before they came to the next farm, marked by a weathered wooden fence. There, neat rows of crops covered the ground for several acres.
Jamie took a deep breath through his nose and smiled. “I love it out here. It’s really nice.”
“It is unspoiled.” Uncle Charlie gazed about them with an unreadable expression, then turned to Jamie and said, “I hope you do not ruin this in your rush to modernize these people.”
“What makes you think I’m rushing, or modernizing, for that matter?”
“You have introduced solar power and electric lights and modern plumbing, haven’t you? Others will want those conveniences now. And some have seen your father’s truck. These people will be changed forever by just those little bits of technology.”
“I know, but I’m determined to do things right. I want to help them as much as I can, and I think the school is the best place to start. That way, they can learn to do more on their own.”
“How about cars and modern manufacturing? Will you bring these people those things, and coal-powered electric plants, and all the pollution that goes with it?”
“No. Green energy only. It can be done, we just have to be smart about it. I’m doing it at my stone house and the school.” Jamie swept one arm widely about him. “I would hate to be the one who messed this up.”
“Your heart is in the right place. You will have some people fighting your plans, I suspect.”
“I’m already getting that from the town council.” Jamie told him about the local politicians trying to meddle in the school’s affairs.
Uncle Charlie shook his head and sighed. “They are not so different from politicians on our world, are they? Same old problems.”
Jamie nodded and they rode in silence for a few minutes. As they neared a cabin on their right, Jamie pointed and said, “That’s Mrs. Malley’s house. Do you want to stop in and say hello?”
“We will never get out of there in time to find your wood. That old witch loves to chat.”
“I made a permanent doorway joining her house with Momma Sue’s. Fred said they spend a lot of time together.”
“Aren’t you worried about some stranger sneaking through the doorway when no one is home?”
“Momma Sue put one of her industrial-strength hexes on it. Nobody gets through it unless they have a counter charm.”
“Speaking of witches, you said something on the phone the other day about a little runaway girl. Tell me about her.”
Jamie quickly related Sammi’s story while they rolled past another farm. When he finished, Jamie said, “I was hoping you might have some insight into why she’s here.” Uncle Charlie arched one eyebrow and Jamie added, “I mean, what her purpose is for coming, and why she heard me and Fred and our moms talking, out of all the people she could have been listening to. How does she fit in the Big Cosmic Scheme of things?”
“Do you really think there is a scheme, as you call it?”
“Well, yeah. There are too many coincidences to be pure chance. Don’t you think so?”
“Could be.” He gave a small shrug. “Why do you think Sammi only has one purpose? You have accomplished many amazing things with your magic, and so has Fred. Rollie, too, since he helped save that little boy’s life here and tricked the demon through the doorway. All of you have multiple purposes, so why not Sammi?”
Jamie scratched his chin. “I never thought of it that way.”
“And her most important purpose could be that she is here for Mrs. Callahan and your mother.”
“Don’t forget Rollie’s mom. She dotes on Sammi just like the rest of them.” The fields on the left side of the road were giving way to high grass and small trees as they drove on. “Sammi may have found another young witch. That may be part of her role, too.” He told Uncle Charlie about Nova, the teenage girl who lived on the North Carolina coast.
“The witches are coming out of the woodwork, aren’t they?” Uncle Charlie chuckled, and deep laugh lines formed in the wrinkles around his eyes and mouth. “Speaking of wood, why don’t you ask the horse if we are near a good spot for your stick?”
Jamie leaned forward in his seat and said, “Wh
at do you think, Sugar? Are we close to something?”
Sugar whinnied and tossed her head, her pale mane flipping across her glossy brown neck. Suddenly she turned down a little-used path, barely a cart track through the overgrown field. “I guess that’s our answer,” Jamie said. He glanced at Uncle Charlie. “Are you sure I can’t pay you for doing this? It’ll probably take you a long time to carve my stick.”
Uncle Charlie gave him a Sphinx-like smile. “I’m sure.” He spread his hands and gazed about, his smile broadening. “I am here on another world, a beautiful one at that. This is an experience like no other. Some people would pay a fortune to be in my place right now.”
They rode in thoughtful silence for a while, until Jamie said, “I’ve been thinking a lot lately about Renn’s staff. How do you think it did what it did?”
“What exactly did it do?”
“It seemed to amplify or focus Renn’s power. Eddan had fought him a couple of times before and didn’t have a problem with him, but when he showed up in Eddan’s tower with that staff, boy, he packed a wallop.” Jamie touched his chest with one hand as the memory of Renn’s attack flashed through his mind. “It really hurt.”
“Tell me more about the staff. Did you get a good look at it?”
“Oh yeah. A real good look. I couldn’t take my eyes off of it, since he was pointing it at my parents and threatening to kill them with it.”
“What did it look like?”
“Well, the top was carved into the shape of a dragon’s head, and it had two red stones set in its eye sockets. This creepy red light was coming out of those, and that’s what was paralyzing my parents.”
“How long was the staff?”
“Almost as tall as Renn.”
“Any carvings on it?”
Jamie thought for a moment and said, “Lots, that I recall. Little symbols that I didn’t recognize.” He pressed his mouth tightly and lowered his brow. “But I don’t know of anyone around here who could have made something like that. I’ve thought about it a lot, and I’m sure Eddan didn’t know anybody who could, either.”
“Are you worried that there might be another staff out there like it?”
Jamie gave a short, nervous laugh. “More like scared to death.”
“Did the staff look old?”
“Hard to say. It was really dark wood.”
“Maybe it isn’t from this world. Maybe it’s from Earth. The real Earth.”
“Huh.” Jamie twisted his mouth to one side while he thought about that. “Maybe so.”
“It could be very old magic. A sorcerer could’ve brought it through a doorway long ago, and after he died, it could’ve gotten lost, or maybe even hidden.”
Jamie rubbed his face thoughtfully and Sugar pulled the carriage ahead, the main road behind them no longer in sight. “Do you think the stick you’re carving for me will be anything like that? I mean, what do you think would happen if I sent a strong bolt of magic energy through it?”
“It would probably burn the wood to ashes.”
“Oh. Well, what do you think the stick will be capable of?”
“Maybe nothing. We’ll just have to see.”
The growth became denser, and soon they were deep within an old forest. Jamie recognized some of the trees — pine, oak, and maple — but some he didn’t. There were many stumps near the path.
“Looks like a woodcutter has been here,” Uncle Charlie said as they rolled along.
“Everybody cooks and heats with wood or coal,” Jamie said. “But I’m looking into a natural gas system for the school. You can buy kits for collecting your own, and the one that seems promising sits over a septic tank. That would be pretty easy to implement, I think.”
“There are other systems that convert organic waste into usable gas,” Uncle Charlie said. “I know a guy who has one. He throws all of the leftover stuff from his garden in there, like plant stalks and things.” He nodded. “Then, as it composts, the gas from it collects in a tank. He pipes it into his house, and he burns it all winter. Cooks with it, too.”
“You can use it to run a car or truck,” Jamie said, “if you convert the engine. I was thinking about buying a small bus or a big van for the school so we can pick up some of the kids who live farther out. It’s a long way on foot for some of them.”
“Attendance would probably be better.”
“No doubt,” Jamie said, “but Granddaddy Pete said we’d better wait to do that, because it would be expensive.”
Sugar slowed to a stop and looked back over her shoulder at Jamie. “So this is the spot?” Jamie turned to Uncle Charlie and shrugged. “I guess she has decided.”
They climbed out of the carriage and surveyed the area. They were surrounded by tall, mature trees. What little sunlight came through made soft dappled patterns on the forest floor, and the air was much cooler in the deep shade.
“Did you bring a hatchet or saw?” Uncle Charlie said.
“I’ll cut it with my magic.” Jamie wiggled his fingers. “How do I know where to find what I need?”
“Let’s ask the horse.” Uncle Charlie patted the animal on the shoulder. “Where should he start, Sugar?” She tossed her head to the right, and the old man said, “There’s your answer.”
“But which one?” Jamie looked around at the trees. “There are so many to pick from.”
“Try closing your eyes and holding out your hand. Maybe you will feel something.”
Jamie did, moving his arm slowly in front of him. He suddenly felt a gentle vibration, a thrumming, in one spot. “Wait!” He carefully pushed his hand back through the air and felt it again. He opened his eyes and gestured. “Over that way.”
“There is a downed tree about twenty yards ahead,” Uncle Charlie said. “Perhaps that is it.”
Jamie closed his eyes again and swept his arm about as he carefully stepped forward. The vibration was definitely coming from the direction he was heading. “This feels right.” He went directly to the downed tree, lying on its side with its massive root ball sticking out of the ground as if it had been pushed over by a giant. “Do you know what kind this is?”
“Never seen it before.”
When Jamie reached it, he put his hand on the trunk and felt, almost heard, the thrumming. He turned to Uncle Charlie and raised his eyebrows. “Can you hear that?”
Uncle Charlie shook his head. “I don’t have any magic.”
“You keep saying that, but sometimes I wonder.” Jamie turned his attention back to the tree. “Which branch do you suppose is the best one?”
“I don’t know. See if one breaks off easily, before you resort to cutting with your power.”
Jamie grabbed the nearest one and yanked on it, gritting his teeth with exertion, the dead leaves on it whispering a dry rustle as they shook, but it held fast. He released it and said, “Not that one.” He reached for the next. “Let’s try this.” He wrapped his fingers around it and prepared to pull hard, but it broke easily from the trunk with a barely audible snap. “Huh.” Jamie turned to Uncle Charlie and raised his eyebrows again. “This looks promising.”
“Do you feel anything special in it?”
Jamie grasped it tightly and closed his eyes for a moment and felt a faint tingle in his hands. “A little bit. Nothing dramatic, but....” He turned back to Uncle Charlie. “Does that mean this is the one?”
“Try a couple of other branches just to be sure.”
Jamie set it down, grabbed another and pulled with all of his might, but it didn’t budge. “Well, not that one, either.” He tried the next closest one, but got the same result. He followed the trunk almost to the end, where it narrowed to an unusable size, snatching at each branch along the way, but none broke free.
He went back to the one that had come loose so easily, picked it up and examined it. It was about eight feet long and nearly straight, with several smaller branches sprouting from it. It was thicker than his wrist at the point where it had joined the trunk, tapering to finger-
sized at its end. “Should I strip it here?” he said to Uncle Charlie.
“That would make it easier to carry back to the school.”
Jamie grabbed a radiating branch and it snapped free with little effort. That doesn’t surprise me. The rest came off with the same ease. He turned back to the old man and showed it to him. “Isn’t it too long?”
“Feel near the end and see if you can find a convenient breaking point. That branch seems to be accommodating.”
Jamie gripped the wood with both hands where he thought it was too slender to be useful. “My gramma snaps asparagus like this.” The branch broke cleanly in two while he spoke, before he even applied any pressure. “Whoa. That was cool.”
“I guess that is how long your walking stick will be.”
Jamie eyed it and guessed at its length. “It’s about four-and-a-half feet. Is that a good length?”
“I think the stick has made its own decision about that.”
“How can a stick do that?”
“How can a teenage boy fly through the air and blast the tops off of mountains?”
“Good point.” Jamie took another look at the forest around him and said, “Do you need any more wood?” Uncle Charlie shook his head, and they climbed into the carriage and headed back.
Aiven was the last student to leave the school that day. Jamie waited out front with Evelyn, Aunt Connie, Sammi, and Uncle Charlie and waved to the boy as he drove away in the carriage, heading for the stone house to pick up Mrs. Tully.
“Okay,” Evelyn said. “We’re all locked up and ready to go home. Jamie, you can make a doorway now.”
Jamie held the stick in his left hand and began tracing the outlines of a magic portal, when suddenly, a strange image flashed through his mind — thin, glowing lines, connected in a complex web that surrounded him. He shook his head and said, “What was that?”
“What was what?” Evelyn said.
“Just...something weird.” He extended his finger and started the spell for the doorway again, and the image reappeared, for a split-second. He turned and looked at his grandmother. “I had a little...vision, I’d guess you’d call it...lines.” He touched his head with the fingertips of one hand and eyed the stick. “All these interconnected, glowing lines.” He set the stick down and tried the doorway a third time, but nothing unusual happened. “Hmm.” He looked at Uncle Charlie. “That’s odd. I think the stick had something to do with it.”
