by Martha Carr
“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. Come 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.
The troll was riding in Correk’s pocket, hanging out the top with the agreement that he didn’t say a word, literally, until they were inside of the Jackalope. That didn’t stop him from waving at every passerby they came across getting puzzled looks and smiles. Correk was too busy carrying a tray of fried chicken from HEB grocery store to be able to do anything about it.
Leira was carrying dozens of doughnuts from Voodoo in the familiar pink box. She gave the troll a hard look to keep him from peeling back the foil and starting in on a chicken leg. Instead, he ducked down into the pocket and came up with a piece of old candy corn and chewed on the bottom edge as they made their way along Trinity Street, turning onto 6th and into the Jackalope.
There was a large sign out front that read, Private Party to celebrate Larry and a large framed picture of a smiling Larry wearing his favorite UT hat, resting against the oversized Jackalope statue in the front of the bar. Leira stopped for a moment and took a long look at the picture. The troll ducked down inside the shirt pocket and came back out with his cowboy hat, giving it a tip in Larry’s picture’s direction.
Leira looked at Correk. “That’s like a clown pocket of endless crap.”
“Blame the troll. He treats my pockets like some kind of weird basement. I know there’s things stored down in there but I don’t want to go down and find out exactly what it is. I feel certain it would involve a fair amount of unidentified goo.”
“Magical goo.” Leira made a face. “How about we retire that shirt when we get home.”
They put the food on the long tables set up in the back and were immediately embraced by a long line of individual hugs. “I saw you yesterday!” Leira said, in the middle of being squished by Eric. Her nose was pressed up against his shoulder.
“He got into part B of this shindig a little early. Ignore him.” Toni came over, tucking some of her afro behind her ears. She was wearing a long flowing navy-blue dress with a shimmer of spangles near the bottom and on the edges of the sleeves. “Larry’s favorite dress,” she said, holding out her arms.
She patted Eric gently on the back. “Everybody loved Larry and it’s hard to let him go completely. That’s what we needed tonight for. To find some closure, say everything we needed to say…”
“Process that motherfucker of a battle…” Eric wiped a tear from his eyes and went to retrieve his beer. “Is this one mine?”
“Give him another one. I’ll buy it.” Jim was waving at Jack.
“It’s all on donation tonight. You know that.” Jack opened another beer for Eric. “You’re not driving home, right? Okay, good.”
Molly came up and hugged Leira. She saw the look on her face and rubbed her back. “Nobody’s going to talk about the battle tonight. That’s not what this is for. We’re going to celebrate Larry. His life consisted of more than just the last hours.”
“So much more!” Toni raised her beer high in the air.
“Here, here!” said Jim, raising his beer. A cheer went up from the crowd.
Correk pulled himself away from the embrace of a woman with long dark hair down to her ass and made his way to Leira.
“You doing okay over there, sailor? Need a rescue? I remember the Elven charm.”
“That creature is a Light Elf too. A fetching one.”
Leira gave him a crooked smile. “Oh, okay, you noticed. Party over here.” Leira took the glass of beer from Toni.
“That’s a Rocket 100 pilsner, pre-prohibition style. You might be parking your car tonight! Party on people!” Toni let out a whoop and grabbed two more beers from the bar, heading off into the crowd in search of thirsty people.
“The troll has already escaped to parts unknown.” Correk gave a quick scan of the crowd.
Leira sipped her beer and waved to someone she recognized from Lavender Rock. “What’s his name? Sirus, right. What? The troll is fine. I know I’ll regret saying this at some point but it’s okay. He can take care of himself. Nana was right all along. He’s managed not to cause sirens and flashing lights so far. What’s the worst that can happen?”
“He makes the news and starts talking i
n strings of motherfuckers.”
“He’s really a lot smarter than you realize. If he did that, it’d be because he had a plan.”
“This is a new Leira. Less worry, more going with the flow.” Correk studied her, narrowing his eyes. “I think I like it.”
“It was bound to happen…”
“Was it?”
“Funny… There’s Yumfuck. Is he actually in a conversation?” Leira gestured with her glass at the small knot of people standing behind the Jackalope statue. Yumfuck was balanced on an antler, putting him at eye level with a tall man, chattering away. The troll squeaked out something and smiled as everyone around him laughed. “I’ve never seen him move his jaw that much except when he’s eating. Look! The others look like they’re actually listening. He looks like a tiny Yoda.”
“Okay, we’re going to get this tribute started early! You know how this goes! Once we lock her down, nobody in…
The crowd shouted back, “Nobody out!”
Jack smiled and held out his arms. “Can somebody start the countdown?”
A roar of “Three!” went up from the crowd as everybody lifted their beer in the air.
“Two!”
“One!”
Jack waved his wand across the front of the bar. “Extemporius!” A continuous silver waterfall, complete with noise covered the entrance blocking the view of the interior from anyone passing by, complete with white noise.
Leira pulled in enough magic to see the glow emanating off everyone. Different shades of purple, white, green, silver and gold letting Leira know who was a Wizard or a Light Elf, or some other kind of magical being. She smiled, looking at the beer in her hand. “Wow, this shit really does have a kick to it.”
Correk looked at Leira as he sipped his beer. “Better slow your roll. Night is young.”
“Not my first beer on this planet. I know my limits.”
“You knew your limits. Your magic has been gaining a foothold and nothing is the same.”
“Did you realize Turner Underwood was coming to the shindig? I didn’t think this was his kind of deal.”
