Tommy Black and the Coat of Invincibility

by Jake Kerr

  “Uh, Naomi. She’s walking toward us.” Her pace was measured but sure. Naomi and I stood our ground, watching as she got closer. When I finally got a good look at her face, it was clear that she was angry. She was carrying a machine gun but didn’t seem at all interested in using it.

  She didn’t say a word until she was standing directly in front of Naomi and me. She nodded toward me. “You have used the staff to stop time.”

  “Yes. It is one of its powers.”

  Ana squinted as she stared at me. Finally she spoke, her voice matter-of-fact and even. “You are not going to give me the staff, are you?” I shook my head, even though I felt a surge from the staff to my soul to do just that.

  “And you’re not going to give me the Coat.”

  Ana laughed. “It will be a sad day indeed when a Queen gives up her birthright to a foreign commoner, and a child at that.” But even as she said the words her face twisted a bit, and I knew she was feeling the same surge that I felt.

  “Tommy is not a child.” Naomi’s voice dripped with suppressed anger.

  “So says another child.” Before I could say anything to calm Naomi, Ana held up her hand. “Regardless—” She turned to me. “I assume at some point you will return time to its normal passing.”

  “Of course.”

  “Then we will need to flee first.” Ana brushed the coat with her hand, even though it looked pristine. Not only could it not be damaged, it looked like it couldn’t get dirty either. “I cannot be harmed while I wear the Coat, but that does not mean the Soviets can’t make things difficult for me.”

  “We can’t part,” I said. Ana looked at me, her face emotionless. “You feel it.” I was referring to the power that lived within the Coat and Staff, and Ana had experienced the same thing I did. I knew it. “One of us needs to give up our artifact.”

  Ana laughed. “I see you are not volunteering.” Before I could reply, Ana waved a hand and continued, “It matters not. We will need to settle this another time. Debating while we are chased by both the Germans and Russians is not wise.” She looked around and then back at me. “Besides, it may not even be our decision to make.” I knew exactly what she meant. The force inside the artifacts was exerting some kind of control. “Things have changed. I am not safe here, and there are more urgent goals than rallying the country around the rightful monarchy.” She tossed her machine gun to the ground. “Tommy Black, I still have my resources. Meet me in Paris, and we will find a resolution to our… problem.”

  “Paris?” I said, not sure what was happening.

  “It is neutral ground. I have allies there. As do you. We can meet and decide who will wield the artifacts.” She noticed my uncertainty. “Like civilized people,” she added, as if teaching a peasant how to properly curtsy.

  She didn’t even wait for a reply. She started through the field to the north. I looked at Naomi, who just shrugged. “How do we get to Paris?” I finally asked.

  Naomi ran her fingers through her hair. “I have an idea.” She looked a little nervous and then added, “but you won’t like it.”

  23

  THE WAY STATION

  “How long can you keep time frozen?” Naomi still appeared amazed as she looked around.

  “I don’t know. I never bothered testing it.”

  “It’s so quiet. Did you ever notice that?”

  “Yes. I don’t like it. It’s not natural.” As I said the words I realized that I wanted to return time to normal. The powerful influence of the staff made me nervous, and using its power made me worry that I would be less able to resist its power over me. “What’s your plan?”

  “Did you notice the train tracks on our way here?”

  I spun around and faced her. “No way!”

  “Tommy, it’s the only way we’ll get to safety.”

  “I am not going to use a slave to free myself.” I thought of the Marids I freed in England. Every one left with a scream of triumph but echoing behind that triumph was the undeniable sound of sadness and pain.

  “Think of how we left England for Persia.” Naomi poked me in the chest with her finger. “Has your pride made you forget those moments when you needed help?” She looked like she was getting angry.

  “No! I remember.” I thought back. We had taken a train from England to Persia to look for my grandfather. I had freed the Marid when we arrived. But before we left I had argued with Naomi. She had considered magical creatures as nothing more than animals, not even slaves. I was disappointed with her, and it was probably one of the reasons that led to our leaving each other on such awkward terms.

  “You used a train then, and that was after you knew that they were slaves. So don’t play all high and mighty now.” She put her hands on her hips. A wisp of her hair fell over her eyes, but she didn’t flinch. It would have been cute if she wasn’t so intimidating when angry.

  “Look, I know you think magical creatures are just that—creatures. But I don’t agree with you, and just so you know, I didn’t tell the Marid to take us to Persia, I asked him to. That he agreed should tell you all you need to know about them. He didn’t have to help us, but he did out of gratitude.”

  Naomi just stared at me.

  “What?”

  She shook her head. “Listen, Streetlight, you cannot possibly be this oblivious. Have you not been paying attention? I said I was proud of you for freeing the Marids. Or did you miss that? I agree with you. I want you to free them. I joined you in this stupid adventure so you could free them.”

  I felt like an idiot. She had said all those things. I had just missed them. She had changed so much, all for the better, and I was just the same old Tommy. Heck, I was worse. I was proud of what I was doing, and that probably clouded my thinking.

  “I could ask the Marid to take us to Paris.”

  Naomi smiled. “What a great idea, genius. Oh, and I have another idea. Why don’t you free it from its slavery, too? I bet it would really appreciate that.”

  I lowered my head, turned, and started walking down the scarred and pitted road. “Yeah, that’s a good idea,” I muttered.

  Naomi ran up to me and put her hand on my arm. “Tommy, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t lose my temper like that, especially with you.” She looked around. “Especially as we’re all alone. It’s just you and me.”

  It suddenly hit me that we had lost Arkady. “Arkady! Have you seen him?”

  “He stayed behind with the old hag, but I don’t know what happened. I don’t think he could have survived this bombing. I mean maybe, but he would have had to have gotten out of here pretty fast. Let’s just move on.”

  “Maybe he’s safe but hiding somewhere.” Naomi shrugged. “Should we go back for him?”

  Naomi was silent, and when I looked over at her she appeared pale. Of course. Arkady’s loss had to be hard on her, especially with her blaming herself for Mister Ali’s death. Before I could say anything, however, she replied, “He saw me, but he left with her. You happy? Can we now leave it at that?”

  An awkward silence followed. I remembered thinking that Arkady had been her boyfriend, but over time I had dismissed its likelihood. However, based on Naomi’s behavior, it again seemed possible. Although with her pride, it could be that she felt that he had betrayed us, and she blamed herself.

  “Illusionists aren’t right in the head.”

  Naomi turned to me, a small smile on her face. “Streetlight, sometimes you say just the right thing.” She marched forward before I could reply.

  I knew we weren’t far from the railroad tracks, which had run parallel to the road for the bulk of our trip. The only question was whether the station the tracks led to would have a magical train or not. If not, we would be in a very tough spot.

  Naomi added, “Yeah. I can’t wait until you get the coat from her. Then she can go back to reminiscing about the good old days while sipping tea by the fire, with some servant named Sven waiting on her.”

  “I don’t think Sven is a Russian name.”

/>   “Whatever.” She increased the pace.

  Neither Naomi or I spoke much during the walk to the rail line. It almost felt wrong to be living while time was stopped. We would pass animals that were frozen mid-stride. Rather than be sources of joy, they looked like they were posed in a museum display. It all appeared cold and lifeless.

  We had walked for a few hours through the stillness of a world without time, and I couldn’t take it anymore. “I’m restoring time. I think we need to listen for a train whistle.”

  I almost kicked myself for such a stupid explanation. We were heading to a rail line and then the station. There was no need to listen for a train whistle. However, Naomi quickly agreed. “Oh yeah. That’s a good idea. You should unfreeze time.”

  I restored time, and the air felt fresher. Everything seemed just a bit more vibrant and beautiful. We stood still and listened. It was almost as quiet as when time had been stopped, but somehow the silence felt calming, not ominous. I looked at Naomi. Her eyes were closed as she took a deep breath.

  She opened her eyes, and I quickly looked away, hoping she didn’t notice me staring at her. “Let’s just find the tracks and then head toward town,” she said. I nodded, and we started walking again. I looked up and watched as the clouds slowly rolled across the sky. The beauty took my breath away.

  We walked through a few farms where we grabbed some vegetables to eat. Again, I had to practically force Naomi to take even a single carrot.

  “You do know that you won’t be much of a magician if you die of starvation.” I handed her another carrot, which she accepted.

  “It’s not that I don’t want to eat. It’s just that I’m never hungry.” She shrugged and took a bite.

  It was dark by the time we reached the station, which was in the middle of town. We had to take great care as there were people everywhere, even with it being night.

  “What’s with all the people? This town isn’t even that big.” Naomi said, looking around.

  “There are a lot of soldiers. Maybe there’s a base nearby.”

  “There are a lot of civilians, too. More than you would expect for a town this size. It is very strange.”

  “Well, it is war time.” Naomi nodded as we hid in the shadow of a building that was about fifty yards from the train station.

  The station itself was of a bit bigger than the surrounding buildings. It was brick and not quite two stories high. It was certainly big enough that it looked like it handled a lot of traffic.

  “Good news, Tommy,” Naomi whispered. “That is definitely a Way Station.” A Way Station was the kind of train station that handled magical trains. Naomi would know as she had lived in one for almost her entire life.

  “Yeah, but I’m not sure we can get to an engineer. We’re not exactly dressed like the locals.” I looked at Naomi, whose khakis and dirty white cotton blouse made her look like an archaeologist portrayed in Hollywood movies. “Plus, even if we find the engineer, how can I convince him to take us where we want to go? Neither of us speak Russian.”

  “Great. So we have to sneak into the station without drawing anyone’s attention, where we then find an engineer, and then we convince him to take the train to Paris, while you free the Marid and beg him to power the train. All the while doing so without knowing how to speak Russian.”

  “More or less.”

  “This may require you to stop time again.”

  “I was thinking the same thing.” I took a deep breath and stopped time.

  “Any second now,” Naomi said.

  “What do you mean?”

  “Stopping time. We’re close enough to the station. You should probably stop time now.”

  “I did!”

  Naomi looked around. “No, you didn’t.”

  It was true. I could hear the sounds of the town, and there was activity in the distance. “Oh no,” I said.

  “It didn’t work?” I nodded. “Do you think it has to do with the Coat?”

  “I don’t know what else it can be. The staff lost its power before, but it regained it when we were close to Ana. Maybe now that the Coat is moving further away from me I’ve lost the power again.”

  Naomi grabbed my arm. “Do you think the staff is punishing you for not going after the Coat? Maybe if you aren’t staying near the coat it will take away its own powers!”

  I had been thinking something similar, but Naomi’s explanation was clearer. “Yeah. The Staff and Coat belong together. Distance or even decisions that take them further apart appear to affect their power.”

  “So what do we do? We need to get into the station without being seen, and we need to sneak up on the engineer.”

  “Could you cast an illusion to make us look like Russian peasants?”

  “Yes, but it’s complicated. I’ll need to maintain it while we walk, and it won’t be perfect. You’re going to have to deal with all the people and tracking down the engineer yourself.”

  “I can do that.”

  “Okay, let me get things ready.” Naomi stood still, and I watched as she made what appeared to be random movements. Her hands, though, spun and wove and elegantly twisted in a dizzying array of forms. I caught a circle, a triangle, and more intricate patterns. After about five minutes I assumed she would be close to done. The amount of detailed movement and concentration was extraordinary.

  Twenty minutes later, sweat started to drip down her face, but she continued her movements. At one point I thought she was going to faint as her body swayed, but it was apparently part of the spell she was casting. After forty-five minutes she slowly lowered her hands to her side and swayed slightly.

  I ran up to support her, but she shook her head. “I’m okay.” She took a deep breath and whispered through clenched teeth. “I’m a young peasant girl, and you’re one my one of my girl friends.” A hint of smile snuck onto her lips.

  “A girl?”

  “Don’t worry, you look cute.” I looked down and couldn’t see anything different about me. “Now stop bothering me and guide me toward the station. We have a lot of work to do, and I won’t be able to help. I’m channeling the energy right now. Just moving is going to take intense concentration.” She closed her eyes for a a few minutes and then whispered, “Let’s go.”

  I took her elbow and led us to the station.

  24

  ON THE TRAIN

  There were a lot of people milling about, and from the general activity it was clear that a train was about to arrive. The trouble was that with all the people milling about, it was hard to avoid Naomi from getting jostled. I chose our path with great care.

  The inside of the station was similar to the station near the Citadel in England. It was one big room, with a ticket window, benches, and a room behind a counter for package pick up. Facing the tracks was a large set of double doors.

  I slowly walked Naomi over to an empty bench and sat down facing the doors. “Let’s wait here for the train to arrive.” Naomi almost imperceptibly nodded her head.

  It wasn’t long before I heard the distant screech of a whistle, and I shuddered. I had heard it dozens of times. What others heard as a mundane everyday noise, I heard as the helpless screams of a magical being bound in slavery.

  I glanced over at Naomi. Her face was glistening with sweat, her hair wet and stuck against her cheeks. She looked like she had just run a marathon. “Not long now,” I whispered. Naomi didn’t move.

  The train arrived, and I waited for the mass of people to exit through the door. The last thing I wanted was for someone to jostle Naomi while she was holding the illusion. Finally, I touched her elbow, and she stood up. Her eyes were closed, and she was shaking a bit.

  I guided her lightly as we walked to the door. A soldier with a rifle guarded the door but looked bored and inattentive. Just as we were walking through the open doors, an older man rushed past us, shoving Naomi into me as he pushed through the door. Naomi’s eyes opened and went wide.

  She looked at me and shook her head. “It’
s gone,” she said, her voice strained.

  I looked up and the soldier stared at us. He shook his head, looked at me, looked at Naomi, and then back again. Shouting something loudly in Russian, he started to raise his rifle. With no other option I took two steps and brought the cane down on his arm. There was a scream of pain, and I grabbed Naomi and pulled her into the station, half running and half dragging her along the wall. I was hoping to escape out the front door, but soldiers appeared there.

  I was so mad at myself. Why didn’t I flee out to the train?

  “Tommy, I’m too weak to cast a shield. You have to do something. Make us invisible. Stop time. Something.” Naomi sounded scared and desperate. She was shaking, and if I had ever wondered what it was like to see her powerless, this was it. I hated it. Didn’t she know that things had changed. I needed her.

  I willed the staff to bend light around us, hiding us from sight, but, like before, I knew that something was broken, and I couldn’t do it.

  The soldiers approached us slowly. Luckily, they didn’t seem afraid of us and appeared to want to take us into custody, not kill us. I considered summoning the fake Shadow, but, with magic dying, they probably wouldn’t even know what a Shadow was. I was running out of ideas as they closed in.

  I knew I could blind them with light, but with all the people around I would undoubtedly blind some innocent people. Also, the place was crawling with soldiers. More would come, and I’d have to blind them, too. In the end, they would send more, and I would be captured before I could blind everyone.

  Filling the room with darkness wouldn’t work, as I had yet to figure out how to make it so that only I could see. So if I went the darkness route, I’d have to surround Naomi and me with light, and in such close quarters we’d undoubtedly run into soldiers.

  Clearly being a streetlight wasn’t the solution. What had I learned on the ship? I could manipulate colors and create pretty pictures. That seemed less than helpful. We needed to blend into the background or something.

  And then it hit me.