“I have my ways,” Orion admits. “No one assumes a thin, lanky lawyer is going to run a massive criminal organization. That is why I invented the persona of the bossman. Also, keeps me out of trouble. They have no idea that the bossman is me.”
“You don’t say,” Caldren says. His eyes take a look at Ragnor.
Ragnor takes a deep breath. He surveys the room as he takes back his wand from Orion. Captain Fairborne will need to know this. This could help us bring down this organization.
Caldren raises a brow as he studies Ragnor’s expression. He crooks his head. “You okay, buddy?”
“Yeah, I be fine,” Ragnor says. He sighs. “I just want revenge on those damn wizards who took us in.”
“In due time, my friend,” Orion says. He begins pacing back and forth. “I have a job for you and Caldren.”
Caldren smiles. “So, what do you have for us?”
“I am going to send you two back into town. I need you to go to the Canary Dsitrict.”
“Okay...” There is an uneasiness in Caldren’s voice.
“There you will find a man named Fallon.”
“We gonna meet Jimmy Fallon?” Ragnor’s eyes light up.
“No, you dolt. This man is Fallon Perrine,” Orion calmly says. “He runs a shop called Golden Fire. Tell him I sent you. He will know why.”
Caldren nods his head. “How do we get there?”
“You need to teleport there.”
A look of disgust comes over Caldren’s face. “I hate teleportation.”
Ragnor chuckles. “Anything to get the job done faster works for me.” He turns to Caldren. “You sissy.”
“Screw you,” Caldren shouts. “I hate what it does to me.”
“Tough,” Orion sternly says. “Either you go do this or I turn you to ash.” He leans in towards Caldren. “Understood?”
Caldren gulps. “Got it.”
“Good,” Orion says with a wry grin on his face. He leans against his desk. “Now. I suggest you get going.”
Caldren gulps. He nods his head. “As you wish.” There is a bit of fear and disgust mixed in his voice. He turns to Ragnor. “You ready?”
“Ready as I ever be,” Ragnor remarks.
Caldren mutters a small spell. Ragnor does as well. There are two popping sounds as Caldren and Ragnor disappear.
A smile forms on Orion’s face. He straightens up. Then, he straightens his tie. “Those two are going to be in for a surprise.”
Eight
A HEAVY DOWNPOUR HITS the Maybin household just as Brianne returns from her run. She is huffing and puffing. She breathes a sigh of relief. “That was close.”
Lindsey strolls into the living room. He stops and crosses his arms. “Where were you?”
Brianne looks up at Lindsey. Exhaustion is on her face as is consternation. “Really? You can’t tell by the way I am dressed.”
Lindsey shakes his head. “Sorry. I have a few things on my mind.”
Brianne raises a brow as she tries to catch her breath. She glares at Lindsey. “Like what? You went chasing women?”
Lindsey takes a step back and shock emerges on his face. “Why would you even think that, Bri? I love you. You know that?”
“Do I,” Brianne asks as she straightens up. There is hurt in her vicious tone. “I sure don’t feel that way, Lin. After you stormed out of here, I, honesty, don’t know what you would do.”
Lindsey gulps. “I am sorry, Bri. I am. Still I am hurt that you slapped me. You never had before.”
Brianne looks at Lindsey with hurt in her eyes. She crooks her head with a half-hearted smile. “It will never happen again. I promise baby.”
Lindsey steps towards Brianne. “You sure?” He goes to pull Brianne into him and, then, gets a whiff of the stench coming from her. “Oh god, babe. You need to shower. You stink.”
Brianne chuckles. She walks near Lindsey and leans into him. “Get a whiff of it, baby. Ain’t this sooo sexy?”
Lindsey backs up a step. “God, no. Go shower, Bri.”
Brianne puts a hand on Lindsey’s arm. “Relax, Lin. I can smell me, too. I am headed to shower. You wanna join me.”
Lindsey contemplates it for a moment. “Maybe next time.”
“Okay, big boy...,” Brianne says as he takes her sports bra off while walking away. She tosses it at Lindsey. He drops it immediately as the sweaty smell emanates from it. Brianne chuckles as she continues down the hall.
“I love you, Bri. Go shower. See you in a bit.”
“K!” Lindsey barely hears from the back room of the house.
He walks back over to the couch. Lindsey sits down on the couch.
Nine
CALISTA CARVER SITS DOWN at the table with Jonas. He brings a fried rice to the table. Simmering on the stove is some General Tso's chicken. Calista raises a brow.
“I thought you didn’t like Chinese food,” Calista asks.
“You must be out of it, dear sister,” Jonas says. “I love Chinese food.”
What is going on here? I know for a fact that he despises Chinese food. I could never get him to eat it. Calista muses. “Hmm. Smells good. How are you doing?”
“Doing okay given the circumstances,” Jonas mutters.
“Oh? What did you do now, Jonas?” Calista crosses her arms as Jonas sets the food on the table.
“Ironic. It is more what I didn’t do that got me in my predicament,” Jonas says. “I have been suspended from the MLE for the next two weeks. My wand has been put on restriction.”
“Great,” Calista shakes her head as she looks down. She raises her head and looks at Jonas. A brow is furrowed with a grimace on her face
Jonas points a finger at Calista. “Don’t give me that look, Callie!”
“Look, I did the best raising you that I could. I was not much more than a kid myself when our parents were blasted to bits,” Calista reminds him. “I-I don’t know what to do.”
Jonas raises a brow. “What do you mean?”
“I came here to see why you have not called me in the last few weeks,” Calista says. “I was worried something bad happened to you. But you look fine.”
Jonas chuckles. “I am not as fine as you think. My life is a mess. I drank too much last night. My job is non-existent right now. If that is good to you, you are smoking something good.”
“Okay,” There is a look of concern on Calista’s face mixed with shock. She bites her lower lip. “I don’t know what you want me to do about it. You made the mess. You need to clean it up. That simple, Jonas.”
Jonas sits down. “Guess you are right. I do need to clean up my mess.”
He stares at Calista. Then, he snaps his fingers. A portal opens in the kitchen.
Calista raises a brow. “What’s going on?”
“I am cleaning up my mess, Calista,” Jonas says. He, then, turns his head. “You may enter the realm.”
Calista watches as he doppelganger exits the portal. She turns to Jonas. “What is the meaning of this?” Calista, then, has a revelation. “You are not Jonas!”
“Wow. You are not very observant,” Jonas (d) says. “Callie, take Calista and toss her in the portal with her brother.”
“With pleasure, Jonnie,” Callie says. She rushes at Calista. Calista barely rises from her seat before Callie is on top of her. Calista falls out of the chair. There is a smile on her face.
“Well, now, Callie, you ain’t takin’ me that easy,” Calista says. She grabs Callie’s collar, rolls, and flings Callie across the room. At the edge of the portal stands a silhouetted man.
The man sees Jonnie. He raises his hand and aims at Jonnie. Lightning bolts escape his fingers. Jonnie turns and sees the man. There is a look of surprise in his eyes.
“No! It can’t be,” Jonnie shouts as the lightning strikes him. Jonnie screams as the heat from the lightning intensifies. Then, the lightning stops. Jonnie drops to the ground. Smoke arises from his body.
The man steps out of the portal. His hair is in disar
ray. Calista raises a brow. There is a smile on the guy’s face.
“Hello, Calista. Why are you here,” The man asks.
“Jonas,” She asks squinting her eyes. Callie rises to her feet.
The man raises his hand and lightning escapes his fingers. The lightning slams into Callie. She flies backwards into the wall behind Calista. Calista turns to see Callie on the ground. Her body is smoking.
The man lowers his hand. He runs a hand through his hair. “I think I need a new home.”
“H-how did you garner such power,” Calista asks.
Jonas smiles as he walks over to Calista. “Time is different in the mirror realm. I spent many months learning this skill. It is a spell that I need no wand to use.”
Calista hugs Jonas as he stops in front of her. “I was worried when you didn’t respond. So, I came. I found this guy here. He looks just like you.” She motions over to Jonnie, who is writhing in pain on the ground.
“I am aware,” Jonas says. “He broke through my bathroom mirror and switched places with me. While in the mirror realm, I learned some new tricks.”
“It’s good to see you.”
“We do have a problem, though,” Jonas says. “I found out that the Maybins are under a death mark. We need to protect them.”
“When did you concern yourself with Lindsey and Brianne,” Calista asks. “I thought you despised them.”
Jonas puts a wry grin on his face. “I love Brianne and still do. It still stings that she chose Lindsey over me. But I had time to come to terms with it while in the mirror realm. Now we need to find out who is targeting the Maybins.”
“I thought you were suspended from the MLE?”
“I am. But that does not mean I should sit back and let them die.”
“No. You should not.”
“Let’s clean up here and, then, go out and grab something to eat. I need to get out and about,” Jonas says.
A smile crosses Calista’s face. “Fine by me.”
Ten
LINDSEY AND BRIANNE WALK along the main path in the city central park. A shadowy figure keeps a close watch nearby. He tilts his sunglasses to watch with a cybernetic eye.
“Ah, there are my targets: Lindsey and Brianne Maybin,” He calmly says to himself. He taps the earpiece. “I have them in sight. Shall I commence.”
“Just keep an eye on them, Aurick.” The man hears. “The time to strike will be soon. Do not worry. Nothing will go wrong.”
“You best be right, Malachai,” Kai says with a scowl on his face. “I do not deal with failure very well.”
“Calm yourself, Aurick,” Malachai tells him. “Just keep an eye on the Maybins for now. Everything is lining up as it should.”
“As you wish, Malachai,” Aurick retorts with disgust in his voice. He ends the phone call. Aurick shakes his head. “There is something up with Malachai. I get the feeling that Malachai has something up his sleeve that will come back to haunt us all.”
He sees the Maybins pass by his position. They start heading away from him. Aurick drops from his position in one of the taller trees in the park. He lands silently in a crouched position.
Aurick, then, moves in a crouched position to stay out of the eyesight of the Maybins. He, inadvertently, steps on a small twig on the ground. The twig snaps.
Lindsey and Brianne stop in their tracks. Lindsey raises a brow.
“Bri, did you hear that,” he asks.
“Yes. Someone stepped on a twig nearby,” she answers. Brianne surveys the nearby area. She removes her wand. The park seems to go quiet. “What is going on?”
“I noticed all the sudden that it got quiet. Very quiet,” Lindsey remarks. He removes his wand from under his sleeve. He readies the wand in his hand. He looks around. “Someone is here. But where?”
Brianne swishes and flicks her wand as she chants. “Datguddio’r cudd!” Both Brianne and Lindsey can see a man crouched behind a nearby bush. “There he is. He is armed.”
“You! Behind the bush! Come on out!”
Aurick rises to his feet and emerges from the bushes. His hands are up as Brianne and Lindsey keep their wands trained on him.
“This will do you two no good,” Aurick says. “I am not here to harm you.”
“You sure about that,” Brianne skeptically says. I can see the sword on your back. I recognize it. “It is a witch killer sword.”
Aurick looks over his shoulder at the sword. “Yes, it is. It is, also, a warlock and wizard killer, too. I don’t go killing because people are witches and wizards, though.”
“Oh? I don’t think that is entirely true,” Lindsey says. There is skepticism in his voice.
“Actually, I only kill those who are in the wrong. Somehow you two are on my list,” Aurick responds. “But, at the moment, I am only to observe you not attack you.”
“Who sent you,” an angry Brianne asks. She begins huffing.
“A man by the name of Malachai sent me. He is only contact that I have in the magical community,” Aurick admits. A ping goes off inside the cybernetic part of his brain. “Someone is here.”
There is a loud popping sound. They all turn as lightning bolts strike Aurick. Aurick falls to the ground. His body is smoking.
Both Brianne and Lindsey see the smoking bogy of Aurick. They, then, look up to see Jonas, a bit different than they last saw him, walking towards them. Calista follows him.
“Jonas,” Brianne questions as she notices the slightly longer, disheveled hair look.
“Yes, Brianne, it is I,” Jonas says. He motions to Calista. “You remember my sister, Cali.”
“Calista,” she responds as she gives Jonas the evil eye.
“Why are you two here,” Lindsey asks.
“You two have a death mark placed upon you,” Jonas says.
“How did you find that out,” Brianne asks.
“I was trapped in the Mirror Realm for a few months,” Jonas answers. He shakes his head. “Well a few hours here is like months there. But I found out that there was a death mark on you two. The problem is that I didn’t find out who placed it there.”
“Hmm,” Lindsey says. “That is not good.”
“Look, all this chit chat is nice folks,” Calista says impatiently. “But we need to get going.”
“Where are we going to regroup, sis,” Jonas asks.
“We are headed to my place.” There is a smile upon Calista’s face.
“Let’s go, then,” Lindsey says.
Eleven
CALDREN AND RAGNOR enter the Golden Fire. There is an eerie silence in the store full of odds and ends of the magical world. There are old, rare dark artifacts from across the globe as well as books and potions. An uneasiness comes over Caldren.
“I don’t like this place, Ragnor,” he states.
“What would you like, Cal,” Ragnor asks. “Do you think that the bossman would send us somewhere that would be comfortable and shiny clean?”
“Well, that would be nice,” Caldren responds.
“Ugh,” Ragnor says as he sighs.
There is a rustling sound from the back corner. A short, portly man emerges from the shadows. There is a smile on his face. “Hello, gentlemen. I say that loosely. Not likely real gentlemen will be coming to my place. How can I help you?”
“The bossman sent us,” Caldren says.
The man smiles. “You’ll have to be more specific. I know many men who claim to be the bossman and I know the real one.”
“We are looking for Fallon Perrine,” Ragnor says. “We were sent by Orion Vela. He said you’d know why.”
Fallon smiles. “Fallon Perrine is me. If Orion sent you, then, you two are in for a surprise. Because what he wants done is not to be taken lightly.”
Caldren looks over at Ragnor. “You have any idea what he is talking about?”
“Not a clue, Cal.”
“Come. Come with me.” Fallon turns towards the shadows once again. Caldren and Ragnor follow him.
Fallon walks d
own a dimly lit, dank hallway. The hallway seems to dead end at a buffet table with a small Buddha statue upon it.
“Religious in the ways of the norms?”
“You refer to the statue of Buddha. Then, you don’t know the true powers of Buddha. But I don’t have time to go into that now,” Fallon says. He slightly tilts the statue to the left. The wall begins to rotate. He motions for Caldren and Ragnor to follow. “Come. Come. Time is of the essence on this mission.”
“Mission, huh,” Ragnor mentions. Captain Fairborne is not going to like this at all. He got me into this. Here’s hoping I don’t get killed doing this.
They walk into a small alcove on the other side of the wall. This leads to a stone stairwell heading down. There is heat emanating from below them.
“Mr. Perrine...”
“Fallon. Call me Fallon.”
“Alright, Fallon,” Caldren says. “What is down there?”
“Follow me,” Fallon says. “And you shall find out.”
Ragnor shrugs his shoulders as Caldren turn his head to look at him. They follow Fallon down the stone steps. The further down the steps they continue, the more the heat becomes more unbearable.
Caldren stretches his collar with one finger as sweat drips from his hair. “Good lord, it’s hot down here.”
“You get used to it,” Fallon says.
“You sure about that,” Ragnor questions. He wipes sweat from his forehead. “I don’t see how that is possible.”
Fallon laughs. “Oh, very easily.”
Twelve
CAPTAIN FAIRBORNE WALKS THE halls of the MLE. He sees an alert come across the mystic stream. FAMED WITCH HUNTER AURICK DOWNED. He furrows a brow.
Captain Fairborne walks into the room. The people in the room come to attention. The Director of Dispatch, Jack Keegan, looks at Captain Fairborne. “I had no idea you were headed this way.”
“I roam these halls every day, Jack. You know that,” Captain Fairborne responds. “But I have never had a reason to come in here til now. Who responded?”
The Magical Book of Wands Page 43
