by Martha Carr
"Who isn't?" he asked, with a smile. "Sure, hang on." He disappeared from the top for a moment as he got down to put the donuts in his shopping cart. He scrambled back up and reappeared a few moments later, dragging the wood back up to the top and awkwardly spinning it around till one end dropped inside the dumpster.
"Hey! Watch where you're dropping that thing. Tiny little raccoon head here."
"That's the only tiny little thing left on you," said Maggie.
"Quit your bellyachin’. I saved a few donuts for you too."
"That's okay, we're good. I can get my own."
Bernie scrambled up the wood plank, leaving bits of fur and sugar stuck to it as he climbed around the top and came to rest next to Maggie.
"I'm getting a sugar high just being next to you."
"Like all that caffeine you ingest at boiling temperatures is a smart move, Peabrain. This is a gold mine. A Texas treasure! This stuff melts in your mouth. A magic of its own kind."
"You're working yourself into a frenzy and you're drooling on me. Chill as much as you can. I came looking for you for a reason." Maggie jumped down from the footstool. "Come down from there. And quit eating those. I can see your heart beating through your chest."
Bernie easily made his way down and paced in front of her, licking his paws. "Hey, they have to get cleaned up somehow and so far the 7-11 won't let me in to wash my hands. I've tried. You should have heard the screams. It was one Slurpee."
"Need to get some vegetables in you."
"I'm not feeling that."
Slim could be heard rustling around in his shopping cart, rearranging things. He came around to the other side of the dumpster pushing his cart and wearing a long knitted red scarf with snags here and there. "I'm taking off, Bernie. Don't like leaving my spot for too long. Make sure you take the t-shirts, Bernie. Nice see you, girlfriend." He waved as he strolled off, pushing the old grocery store cart that was overloaded with newly found possessions, the donuts balanced on the top.
"Pretty good haul for him today. He's got a nose for something that can be recycled. What did you need, kid?" Bernie kept moving, circling around Maggie.
"Can you at least stay in front of me so I can tell you?"
"Yeah, sure, I think I can. Back up a little and give me more space to run around, will ya?"
Maggie took a few steps back, carefully watching the raccoon. "I need to know more about the door. The one that leads to where all the Elementals parts go in the heart of the machine. The Dirt Elemental has sided with the Kashgars."
Bernie stopped pacing. "Those tall bastards! You can't trust them. I tell you, it's the Peabrain in Jake that did the right thing. Doesn't surprise me when I think of it. Peabrain magic is always more powerful than dirty Kashgar!" He shot the words out like a machine gun, spitting in every direction.
"Focus a little. We need to find the door ahead of the Kashgars. Do you know anything about where it is?"
Bernie sat down hard on the stool, worn out from running back and forth. "Only the myths and legends I've heard." He let out an exasperated sigh, slumping so his overfull belly protruded that much more. "Man, you crash hard on sugar."
"That didn't take long. A full five minutes."
"I don't think this magical combo was meant for that much overdrive."
Maggie took a harder look at him, wondering if the stress of being a raccoon was finally taking its toll. "How about you take it easy and just sit there. No more sugar for the night."
"That doesn't include Taco Bell on the way home, right?"
"I feel like I'm contributing to the delinquency of a minor... but sure."
"I'm a couple thousand years older than you are so let it go."
"Letting go. What have you heard over all those years about the door?"
"Did you consult the Huldu book? It's overdue, by the way."
"I looked and there was nothing. What do you know?"
"That it's hidden in plain sight. Just like the trees, but doused with enough magic to make sure no one can ever find it without the guide."
"The Dirt Elemental, you mean."
"That's right." Bernie pulled a handkerchief out of the back pocket of his short shorts and wiped off his whiskers.
"You got sugar all over your t-shirt." Maggie smiled at the gesture that was so familiar from his gnome form.
"That's okay, Slim gave me a couple of backup shirts. I've got a killer Clash one I'm saving for the right occasion. He's saving the sweaters for when I'm finally back to my old self." Bernie looked up, pointing a claw at her. "I'm going to figure this one out."
"We will figure it out together. Tell me there's something else about the door. That we have a chance at saving the world, my life..."
Bernie tilted his head to the side. "Well, there's one possibility but..."
"I'll take it."
"The Dirt Elemental is directly connected to the Earth. It's the one Elemental that was created especially for this task. He's unlike the others who were minding their own business and took up the cause. Everyone's magic came together to create him and make him sentient. Your ancestor was one of them. They were able to pull it off because the ship helped them, giving them the substance they needed to form him."
Maggie's eyes widened. "The trees... they're connected in the same way."
"You are a clever Elemental. Yeah, the trees have the same connection, come from the same creation and are even more regal and noble than the Dirt Elemental. Some would say far more powerful with their ability to change what happens to the planet."
"They would have to know what the Dirt Elemental knows because they share one communication system. The ship."
"But, it may also mean that this Elemental shares the glitch about you being alive, or has a soft spot for you like the trees. Hard to say."
"That's a tricky barrier to making friends with him. Why wouldn't the trees have already told me where the door is?"
Bernie hopped down from the stool, swaying a little at first. "Woooo that's a head spinner." He slapped his face with his paws, shaking his head. "That's better. Educated guess? You need to have all the Elementals gathered to prove it's time before the trees would spill that very important piece of information. Come on, let's go home. I'm feeling this sugar hangover and I'll be honest, I'm ready for some solid food." He picked up the t-shirts laying on the ground by the dumpster and slung them over his shoulder, headed for the car.
Maggie caught up with him, walking by his side toward the El Camino. "Taco Bell is not generally considered solid food."
"Meat, corn, cheese, salsa. All your major groups. Boy, I think it's gonna be at least a week before I can look at another donut. What a ride!"
23
Maggie turned the car around, headed for home just as her police radio crackled and she turned up the volume to hear it more clearly. Bernie was already dozing off next to her, muttering in his sleep and talking to Jack. "I already checked the temperatures in the rain forest."
The radio crackled again...
"Report of a small group attempting to attach some kind of beacon to the hydroelectric dam at Lady Bird Lake. They're attempting to siphon off the electricity."
"A what? Did you say beacon? What do they need that much energy for? Are they trying to call aliens?"
"Just calling in the report..."
Maggie picked up the radio and responded. "This is Detective Parker. I'm nearby. I'll take the call."
"Thank you, Detective Parker. Two black and whites already responding."
"Look at that Dreyser, you got lucky this late evening," the radio crackled. "You can get off at a regular hour."
Maggie looked over at Bernie and hit the lights and sirens, speeding toward the lake. She dodged in and out of traffic, sliding down the side of the road and in no time was parked near the hydroelectric dam on the other side of the wide-open field. Bernie had slept through it all. "Sugar comas are real," said Maggie, looking at him peacefully sleeping with his mouth wide open. She pulled he
r cell phone out and texted Taylor, her partner.
At the dam at Lady Bird lake. I think it's the same robbers.
She poked Bernie, keeping her hand away from his claws or sharp teeth. She couldn't be sure how he'd react to being woken up from such a deep sleep. "You still in there, gnome?"
His mouth snapped shut in the middle of a snore and he smacked his lips, slowly opening his eyes. "Of course I am. I'm one hundred percent gnome in a furry little body."
"I thought you were sound asleep."
"I was and it was heaven. I was all gnome again playing cards with my fellow mechanics. Regular Friday night game. Hope they haven't given away my seat." He sat up and craned his neck, looking around across the open field to the lake and the hydroelectric dam built into the bridge. "Where are we?"
"We're at the scene of a crime. What's the chance you stay in the car?"
"Absolutely none. I'm rarin' to go. Maybe work off the rest of the donuts." He looked at Maggie and burst into laughter, slapping his furry leg with his paw. "Okay, that was a stretch. Hey, now that's interesting," he said, standing up on his seat to get a better look.
Maggie didn't answer. She had been watching the steady beam of light and noticed it was flickering just a little. It had to be situated not too far from the tower near the dam that was covered in graffiti along its cement base.
She opened the door and got out, keeping her eyes on the beam of light as she reached into the back seat for her purse. "At least stay in the shadows. We may be running straight into a flock of Simon Wesley's followers. Or worse."
"Or worse?" Bernie opened his door and slid out, smoothing down the front of his t-shirt. "Dude, this shirt is wrecked. Hang on." He stripped off the shirt, cursing as a claw caught in an old hole, making it bigger. "Hey, quit looking," he said, holding up a cleaner t-shirt in front of his furry belly.
"I'm going on without you. Stay to the shadows," Maggie said, sternly.
Bernie slipped on the t-shirt looking down at the Barry Manilow decal ironed on the front. "Man, do I know a gnome who would kill for this shirt." He tossed the stained ZZ Top shirt onto the floor of the car and pushed the door shut, running in the direction of the beam and staying in the shadows.
Maggie took it at a slow run, keeping pace easily and turning her head on a swivel, looking for signs of movement, breathing easily as she pulled out her gun and held it in front of her, not sure of what she'd find.
She slowed as she got closer and saw the small band of people steadily working together to put together what looked like a homemade beacon. Some of them were hanging over the short bridge connected to the hydroelectric dam, attaching wires. None of them were speaking, moving easily among each other. No one getting in each other's way. They've rehearsed this a lot.
She opened her purse and pulled out the spyglass, looking through it at the beacon and then raising it slowly toward the sky. The compass stirred in her purse, slipping outside of it as the knob fell open and the wings emerged. It took flight, hovering near her shoulder, the gears inside whirring and the five arms clicking around to different positions.
Maggie watched the different latitudes and longitudes play across the glass of the ancient telescope and noticed it was slowing down. "They know something," she muttered to herself, lowering the spyglass and looking at the people moving efficiently around the beacon. Bernie came running up by her side, standing up as tall as he could to get a better view.
"They're trying to call in an Elemental," he said, scratching his head. "Not sure if that's good or bad news."
"Depends on who they are. You go to the right and circle behind them, but don't do anything unless I signal you." The sound of police sirens grew closer from the other side of the lake as two police cars approached. The people scrambled and Maggie slipped both the spyglass and the compass back into her pocket. She started running toward the thieves, not wanting to lose track of them in the darkness.
That's when she saw her. The same woman stopped in the middle of the fast-moving people and planted herself, holding out her hands as bubbles poured out of her mouth, her long blonde braid hanging over her shoulder. A large metal lunchbox sat on the ground next to her.
Maggie felt the hum along the back of her neck as if it was in response and a cool thread of energy pass through her head as her eyes began to glow. "A Peabrain," she whispered in awe. The scent of roses hung in the air.
The bubbles rose up around the woman, cloaking her and snuffing out the light of the beacon. But Maggie had a different plan. She stopped running and holstered her gun. Confidence settled inside of her and she let go of her thoughts, focusing on one thing. Keep this woman visible, at least to her. A bolt of energy moved through her and bubbles rose out of her hands, firing at the lone figure still standing by the beacon. It was almost completely covered as the police cars approached.
Maggie's bubbles formed a wall to one side, hiding the woman, even as they stopped the progression of her own, keeping her visible only to Maggie. Her head whipped around, searching the darkness as Maggie ran toward her at full speed, her legs churning. The woman raised her hands, anger appearing across her face, her lip curling into a snarl. She swept her arms over her head, attempting to manipulate the bubbles around her, forcing them to one side, but it wasn't working.
There was a calm inside of Maggie as she continued to send out bubbles, trapping the woman, even as the policemen searched elsewhere for the reports of a beacon. Her magic was keeping the woman concealed. The world took on a blue cast and she could hear the messages of the trees passing through her, along with her steady breathing as she ran closer.
She stopped as she got within feet of the woman and surveyed her closely, looking from top to bottom, even as the woman flailed helplessly. Finally the woman dropped her hands by her side and defiantly lifted her chin, looking straight at Maggie.
Maggie's eyes widened in surprise. "It really is you. Stephanie, where have you been?"
"Call me Ranger," the woman spit out. "Stephanie died a long time ago."
24
"It is you." Maggie held her breath, doing her best not to crowd her mind with a thousand thoughts and lose her hold on the magic. Don't think about anything.
"You're awakened too." Ranger studied Maggie, her eyes darting around, looking for clues. "You're struggling, trying not to focus on me, aren't you?" Ranger stopped pushing against the bubbles and glared at Maggie. "You have no right to stop me. You don't know what you're doing."
Maggie took a calculated risk and pulled out the compass, holding it out in her hand as it took flight and hovered just above her right shoulder. Her eyes immediately started glowing, taking in information faster, a steady hum along the back of her neck. Ranger's mouth dropped open and she glanced at the beacon and back at Maggie. "You're the Elemental who controls the compass. How is that even possible?"
"How is any of this possible? Were you trying to reach me?"
Ranger's voice softened and the scowl left her face. "No, you're a bonus. How are you already the Elemental?" Her brows knit together and there was a flash of pain across her face. "Your dad was the old Elemental, I'm guessing and he died when we were little..."
Maggie pressed her lips together, the ache from all those years ago when everyone was still together, still alive, pulsing in her chest.
"Not in an accident." She stood up taller, shaking her head. "I'll bet Simon Wesley's father had something to do with that, too."
Maggie's eyes widened, but there was no time to ask her about the past. Focus. Singleness of purpose. The Earth could remember you're still here at any moment. "I'm taking a chance with you... Ranger... because we were best friends in a different life. Can you take a risk with me? What are you doing with Simon Wesley?"
The scowl immediately returned to her face and she thrashed among the bubbles, raising small welts on her skin from contact with Maggie's magic. "I'm not part of that group. I don't keep company with criminals. I know you see us as the same thing, but there's
literally a world of difference," she said, holding out her arms. "His father, may he continue to burn in hell, took me from that Easter egg hunt. I never even saw it coming. He wanted to build his own army of magical Peabrains."
Maggie took a step closer but saw Ranger flinch and stopped where she was. She saw the officers combing the area and knew they'd get too close soon enough. She needed to get more information, faster. "That doesn't explain why he chose you."
"Yeah, it does." Ranger looked down at her feet, putting her hands on her hips in a way that reminded Maggie of their friendship. "I had been changing for almost a year before I was kidnapped. It started slowly, and I was still figuring it out, using it to help me with easy things like find more eggs faster." She looked up with tears in her eyes. "I had not told a soul, not even you. I still don't know how they knew."
Maggie let out a breath she didn't realize she was holding. "Every bit of magic leaves a trace that any other magical can follow. They must have been searching for someone like you and got... lucky."
"Yeah, lucky." Ranger spit out the words with venom. "That's how I got this." She held up her wrist with the cluster of four stars. "Apparently it's a constellation from our original planet. They marked every one of us with it." She shook her head, squeezing her eyes shut for a moment. "I try not to stare at the past. Those idiots are certifiable. They want to move this old ship out of this orbit to go back somewhere we haven't heard from in thousands of years."
Maggie saw the officer approaching and she took a deep breath, trying to steady herself and let go of the memories of that day Stephanie went missing. It was interrupting the stream of magic and she had to know more. "Then what are you doing here?"
The magic lurched as Maggie struggled to keep her focus, shoving Ranger against her. Maggie breathed in the scent of roses as she helped Ranger stand back upright.
"I'm calling one of your brethren. The Water Elemental. I'm trying to get them to come to us, instead of Simon Wesley. It's why we're near the water. The legend says she's connected to all the bodies of water."
