by Booth, John
“When you offer me a fair price, we might have something to say.” He turned and began to walk away. I followed.
“Two thousand and that's my best offer.”
“Make it three and I might consider it.”
It was time to put a stop to this. I looked at the men and compelled them to be honest. “What is a fair price for the gold.”
“Twelve thousand if it's pure. At least eight thousand in any case.” Man Two spoke reluctantly and I saw he was struggling to try and stop. Man One looked at his partner aghast.
“That's hardly fair, Jake,” Dad admonished. However, I could hear the pleasure in his voice and wasn't fooled.
“We'll settle for six,” I said. “So which of you has the money?”
Man Two spoke. “I do, but I'll have to go to the bank to get it for you.”
“We can wait, but be as quick as you can.”
The man set off for the bank on the corner and we waited. I kept the other man under light control so he could talk to us, but not try anything.
“Who are you?” he asked in a whisper.
“Just a Welshman looking for a square deal,” I replied. “You're getting a good one here, so don't fret.”
“You could make Brian hand over our money and keep the gold.”
I shook my head. “Not how I operate and it would upset my Dad.”
The conversation stopped and we stood waiting for Brian to reappear. When he arrived he handed over the money in wrapped bundles of a thousand.
“Dad, give him the gold.” Dad handed the bag to Brian, who clutched it to his chest.
We walked away and got ten steps before Brian called after us.
“Come to us first if you get any more.”
Dad laughed and kept on walking. After a moment's pause, so did I.
Chapter Thirty-Two: Guests
I left Mam and Dad to sort out the hotel bill and buy the kids any clothes they needed from whatever money was left. I planned to take the kids to Salice on Sunday once the wedding and the immediate threat from Bronwyn was over. Long term, I favored moving them back to their own world, perhaps along with any of those I'd rescued earlier that wanted to return. But that could be sorted out later.
Today was the day that the wedding guests from Wales were to be transported to Salice. Somehow this had changed from a joint effort involving me, Urda and Fluffy into me doing it all. The change in plans happened soon after I hopped the coach to the Palace, even though nobody bothered to tell me about it. Jenny gave me a schedule with all the guests listed. There were two pick up points, one outside the Grand Hotel and the other at a Service Station outside town.
I would make four journeys, two from each location. The coach held seventy passengers and the guest list had grown to two hundred and twenty three since I last looked at it. Jenny gave every guest a place on the schedule with an hour's gap between each pickup.
I arrived at the Woodyard and ran up the steps to the offices. You could have knocked me down with a feather when I discovered Malcolm and a girl chatting together. Malcolm wore a smart white suit unsuited for the office and the girl wore equally smart clothes.
They looked at me expectantly and I noticed they each had a suitcase beside their feet. Mr. Griffith tumbled out of his office and hustled me into it before we could exchange a word.
“Are they...?”
“I invited them to the wedding. I didn't think you'd mind. Silvia's his cousin, he's always fancied her and they'll never get another chance like this, visiting another world and everything.”
In a list of all the people I might invite to my wedding, Malcolm would be down near the bottom. However, I couldn't deny Malcolm the chance to get his leg over. It was the code of every young Welshmen. This might well be the only opportunity he got in his life.
Mr. Griffith took my silence for disapproval.
“I tried to arrange it with you earlier, but no one answered the phone. I even went round to your parents but they weren't in.”
“It's okay, they can come.”
Mr. Griffith sighed, “Thank you, Jake. I must admit to being a bit excited about the wedding.”
“Is Mrs. Griffith here?”
“Already on the coach, waiting. She didn't want to be any trouble.”
I waved the schedule at him. “We have four trips to make. Take any route you like on the outward journey, but try and get us onto a quiet road. When I see we're on our own I'll tell you to slow down and then I'll hop us to the Palace.”
“What about coming back?”
“I'll bring us back to the Woodyard. It's the one place I can be sure nobody will be around.”
Mr. Griffith studied the schedule. “We'll never do this in the time if we have to check everybody's name. I've done it on the outings and it takes forever.”
“I'll think of something,” I reassured him, not having a clue what that something might be.
Mrs. Griffith sat primly holding her handbag on her lap at the back of the coach. I've only met her a few times and I went to say hello.
“I thought I'd sit back here and be out of everybody's way,” she said cheerfully. “I can't say I believe everything my husband's told me about you, but I've always thought well of you, Jake.”
“You're welcome to come and sit at the front.”
“Best not. I don't know any of your other guests, except for Malcolm. I don't want to cause a fuss.”
I smiled and made my way back to the front. On the way I encountered Malcolm and Silvia making their way to the back.
“Mr. Griffith says we're going somewhere special. Jenny's Dad must be loaded,” Malcolm said, smiling awkwardly.
“It'll be out of this world, I promise.”
“Congratulations, Jake,” Silvia said offering me her hand. “I hope we aren't going to cause you any trouble.” She giggled self-consciously, “Dad says I'm always causing trouble, one way or the other.”
“No trouble at all,” I said as I squeezed passed her. She's an amply built girl and judging by the way she giggled when our bodies touched she was going to show Malcolm one hell of a good time.
We arrived at the Grand Hotel fifteen minutes early. A crowd of people waited patiently, strung out along the pavement with suitcases and carryalls. Half these people were apparently my family, the other half Jenny's. I couldn't have told you who any of them were to save my life. I saw Dad was standing among them and relaxed.
“Welcome back, Son. Your Mam's gone off with the kids to buy them clothes. Some of the girls need feminine things as well. We've decided to stay at the hotel till tonight and Urda will bring us over. I thought you might need a hand sorting everything out though.”
“I can do with all the help I can get. Best thing is to fill the bus with sixty seven people. A few less, if that doesn't work out exactly. If you start counting them, Mr. Griffith and I'll get their luggage sorted. You and Mr. Griffith swap jobs at thirty five.”
“What about Jenny's list?” Dad asked.
“We don't have time for it. If anybody turns up late it's just too bad.”
We started loading the coach. There was a large storage area under the floor, which soon began to look too small. Some of our guests seemed to have packed the kitchen sink along with their smalls. Several congratulated me as they walked past.
“That's it,” Mr. Griffith said. “We'd better get a move on, if we plan to get back here in forty-five minutes.”
“I'll get everybody still waiting into the hotel for a cup of coffee,” Dad said. “I'm flush with money as we got a group discount for the kids.”
Glad that somebody was happy with the way things were going I clambered into the coach. It seemed much smaller when filled with chattering people. I decided to stand next to the driver.
Mr. Griffith started the engine, closed the door and we were off. He turned off the main road into the old industrial part of town. Most of the works were derelict and traffic was quiet. I spotted a railway bridge with an arch barely big enough t
o take the bus.
“Turn down that and slow right down.”
“Rightie-o, Boyo,” Mr. Griffith said happily and turned so sharply I nearly fell into the stairwell. When we slowed to where the speedometer wasn't reading anything I hopped us to Salice.
Pretty colored ropes on poles cordoned off the road near the Palace. Captain Cari had anticipated us and taken precautions. It was something I should have thought of.
“I never knew there was a castle down that road,” somebody said a few seats back. The coach's passengers stared out of their windows in amazement. Mr. Griffith opened the door and shut off the engine.
“Welcome, Jake. How can we help?” Captain Cari enquired from the door.
I got out and opened up the storage area and pointed at the luggage. “Can your men empty that as quickly as possible? Jenny's schedule is impossibly tight and we've no time.”
Willem Cari gave me a pained look. “Has it occurred to you that you're a wizard?”
It hadn't. A blink of thought later and the luggage was neatly piled up a few feet from the coach.
“Everybody out! We've arrived. Find your luggage and then follow the nice men in uniforms to your accommodation.”
There were a surprising number of children among the guests and they were eager to get off. However, there was something I needed to get them to do as they left the bus.
“I'd like to shake your hands to thank you for coming. Don't be shy.”
As they got off I taught them to speak the language. Hand contact made it easier. Ten minutes later they well off the bus, most of them staring at their surroundings in astonishment.
Mrs. Griffith was the last person off. She took my hand and I helped her down the steps.
“Turns out my husband isn't the liar I thought he was. I shall just have to find a way to make it up to him.” She gave me the most salacious wink I have ever seen. An idea occurred to me and I corrected a problem in part of her body. They'd never been able to have children, now it was a possibility.
“Quite something, my wife,” Mr. Griffith said. I restricted my response to nodding.
We were late for the second pick-up. The Woodyard was far from the hotel and the roads were busy. However, I was done with messing about.
“Put your bags down and get on the bus as quickly as you can.”
Dad and Mr. Griffith started to put the bags in the storage area but I stopped them. When everyone was on-board I loaded the bags using magic. It took a couple of seconds.
We were still behind on the schedule, but not by anything like as much. Mr. Griffith started the coach and I waved goodbye to Dad.
Getting people off the coach took longer as I needed to shake their hands, but by the time we got back to the Woodyard we were almost back on time.
When we got to the Service Station we encountered our first problem. Only about twenty people waited for us. These guests were nearly all Jenny's friends from school and college and they didn't seem to have a time sense. We put everybody who was there on the bus and waited. Stragglers began to turn up in ones and twos.
Mr. Griffith looked at his watch significantly and I got the message.
“Let's go. We might have a crowded coach for the last trip but we'll have to live with it.”
“That's my license you're talking about, Jake. I can't have more than seventy on-board.”
I grinned at him, “I don't think the police are going to stop us.”
As I expected there was a large crowd waiting when we returned. Rucksacks littered the edge of the road and Mr. Griffith had to park a good six feet from the curb to avoid crushing them. Despite the fact that we were only ten minutes late a certain amount of jeering greeted me as I stepped from the coach.
“Everybody on the coach and stick your bags over here,” I ordered. An unruly mob of teenagers headed for the coach door.
“I don't know if they're all going to fit,” Mr. Griffith warned.
I was seriously thinking of trying to shrink them if they didn't. It would serve them right if I couldn't change them back and they ended up living the rest of their lives as dwarves.
Someone pushed me hard in the back and I ended up sprawled against the side of the coach. I turned to find Callum Jenkins smirking down at me.
“How is council house boy?” he asked.
I resisted the urge to turn him into a frog. A page of Esmeralda's magic book flashed in front of my eyes giving me graphic instructions on how to do it.
“I see your parents never taught you manners,” I said through gritted teeth. “I may have to do it sometime soon.”
He laughed, “Anytime you're ready.”
Fortunately for him his friends pulled him away and into the coach. I seethed inwardly, staring at the ground as I cooled my temper.
“We've got five standing,” Mr. Griffith told me in a worried voice.
“Don't worry. I take care of any problems. Just start the coach.”
We turned off the main road half a mile later onto the single track road Mr. Griffith used on the previous journey. As I hopped us to Salice someone put a hand on my shoulder and gripped it firmly.
Mr. Griffith pulled the coach to a stop outside the Palace. I turned, ready to demonstrate to Callum what a truly angry wizard could do.
“Jake Morrissey, I am arresting you and Daniel Griffith for driving an overladen coach on the public highway in contravention of the Road Traffic Act,” Sergeant Jones said solemnly. Inspector Thomas stood just behind him.
“Do you have jurisdiction outside Wales?”
“Don't try and be smart with us, Jake.” Inspector Thomas said sharply.
“Have you tried looking out of the window?” I replied. A little smugly, I must admit.
Chapter Thirty-Three: Evolution
“I cannot believe you left Inspector Thomas and Sergeant Jones to wander round the Palace and invited them to the wedding,” Jenny said as we entered the Ballroom.
“Look, they wanted to arrest me for having people standing in the coach. If I took them back to Wales they'd have arrested me as soon as we got there.”
“As if you couldn't stop them.”
“I hate messing with minds, Jenny. It's not right. Unless I change who they are they'd have come after me again the first chance they got. It was your idea anyway.”
Jenny stopped and put her hands on hips. “How on Earth was this my idea!”
“You pointed out that our guests wouldn't be able to tell people about the wedding when they got back home because no one would believe them. Well that goes for our policemen as well. It might just make them give up.”
Jenny looked skeptical, as well she might. I didn't really know why I told the two men they had to stay until Sunday, but it was done now and I would rationalize it anyway I wanted.
The Ballroom was set out as a vast dining area and with all our guests plus those of the Royal Family. Camera flashes went off everywhere as people from home took pictures of their surroundings and each other. The way they were going their batteries would be flat long before the wedding. I wondered if they realized there were no power points in Salice.
Jenny's college and school friends occupied one corner of the ballroom and were making a lot more noise than the other guests.
“You should worry more about keeping your friends under control,” I said pointedly. Jenny sighed.
“They're just having fun, Jake. Do you remember having fun?”
“Bah humbug!” I said and Jenny laughed.
We worked our way down the tables saying hello to all the guests. Jenny seemed to know who everybody was including my relatives and Esmeralda's guests as well. I used a generic smile followed by 'hello, how are you?' on everyone, which seemed to work.
When Jenny headed towards her friends' tables I stopped. As we were holding hands, this brought Jenny to a halt as well.
“You're not coming?” Jenny let go of my hand and frowned at me.
“I nearly turned your friend Callum into a frog this a
fternoon. If I see him again today I might just do it.”
“He's not that bad.”
“He pushed me into the coach.”
Jenny shook her head and said something under her breath.
“Okay, I'll go over and talk to them on my own.” She looked behind me as if searching for someone. “Go and see what your Valhalla friends are talking to our two policemen about.”
I turned to see what she meant and saw she was right. Card Brindel and Meldar Lind appeared to be in deep conversation with Inspector Thomas and Sergeant Jones. When I turned back I found Jenny had left for her friends without me.
It wasn't until I was almost on top of them that I caught any of the conversation.
“So we are stuck here until Sunday because the moon is in the wrong celestial house,” the Inspector said.
“Ah, I see,” Meldar spotted me and smiled. “Greetings, Wizard Morrissey. Inspector Thomas has been explaining to me that he isn't one of your wedding guests. I was most intrigued by the reason you gave for keeping him here.”
“We shouldn't indulge in shop-talk in front of the Inspector and the Sergeant. I'll be happy to discuss it with you later, if you desire.”
Meldar raised an eyebrow quizzically and smiled. “Indeed, wizard talk can be boring for those without the gift.”
“I don't understand any of this,” Sergeant Jones said, “One minute we're in Wales and the next minute we're here, looking up at two moons in the sky.”
Card scowled, a look that came easy to his face. “Wizard Morrissey hopped you from your world to this one in that vehicle. Something the Wizards Association of Valhalla would have told you was impossible given the amount of iron in it.”
The Inspector seemed to be a little the worse for wear. He held a flagon of ale in his hand and from his state I would guess it wasn't anything like his first.
“I don't believe any of it. Someone's faked those moons with mirrors or something. If this is another planet how come everybody's human and there are sheep? I've seen sheep in the fields.”
