by Rani Clark
“Make him do? He won’t make him do anything. Technically he is an apprentice, but Mr. Ragnar isn’t going to beat him into doing anything. Don’t worry so much about him.”
They walked across the town square to a man selling ice cream out of small cart. There was a bell on the cart for when the man was walking through the town to alert anyone that they could purchase ice cream if they wanted. Children and teens were lined up to purchase a frozen treat. Mr. Kircher was wearing sunglasses so his penetrating gaze went unnoticed by most. Unfortunately, Ty noticed. He saw everything the man did and wanted to scream. He picked a chocolate ice cream cone, Mr. Kircher got the same. As they walked down the street not talking, Ty heard his name being shouted. Mr. Kircher turned with him and they saw the Byrne family across the street. Much to his credit, Mr. Kircher didn’t run. Byron looked pissed, Mina looked angrier. Ty knew what was about to come before it was said.
“What are you doing with him?” Byron immediately went to Mr. Kircher, his left fist clenched.
“He stopped by the shop and we’ve been enjoying some time together,” he said with a smile.
Byron didn’t get anything else out, he punched Mr. Kircher straight in the mouth. Mr. Kircher dropped his ice cream and fell back. “My ice cream,” he groaned.
“Are you alright?” Mina asked Ty.
“I’m fine. He didn’t do anything to me.” Ty held up his hand, “Mr. Kircher hasn’t touched me or drugged me. He’s not going to.”
“You know what this disgusting thing is?” Byron spat the question as Mr. Kircher pushed himself up from the ground. He wiped the blood from his mouth.
“I do. He isn’t going to touch me, he can’t, so please don’t hit him.”
Mr. Kircher spat blood onto the ground, “It’s a pleasure to see you too, Mr. Byrne. How are things? How is your grandson? Oh wait, he’s with Vladimir Ragnar.” He smiled, “And who is this? Jaska’s mother I’m guessing.”
“Dad, who is this guy?” Lilly Ann asked.
“This is Mr. Kircher, he owns the clock shop. He’s a . . . fan of a children.”
Lilly Ann grabbed Ty and moved to stand in front of him and Margo, giving Mr. Kircher a look of disgust.
Mr. Kircher laughed, “Relax, I don’t give a shit about girls.”
“That gives me little to no relief. You talked to Jaska?”
“Yes. Delightful boy. Stop looking at me like that, I wouldn’t dare touch him. Vladimir would kill me and I do mean that. It’s why my hands and eyes remain with myself around Jaska and Ty.”
“As if we would trust you,” Mina said.
“You don’t have to trust me.” He frowned, “I’ll talk to you later Ty. Have fun.”
Ty watched him go without a goodbye. “He really didn’t do anything to me. He can’t.”
“He’s a psycho.”
“And a creep. I know.” Ty didn’t want them to worry about him like this, “I promise he didn’t and won’t do anything. Mr. Ragnar almost killed him, he won’t touch me or Jaska. Or anyone having to do with an apprentice.”
“How do you know that?”
“I believe him. He looked at other people, but he didn’t look at me like he was looking at them.”
“You should still say away from him,” Lilly Ann advised. “People like that . . . they’re monsters.”
Ty didn’t doubt that Mr. Kircher was a monster. He didn’t hate him as much as he would have thought and found himself wanting to be around him more. As sick as it made him, he liked the clock maker.
9
Jaska moved his eggs around his plate as he thought about the things he had read in the books provided by Mr. Ragnar. He wouldn’t be good at necromancy, he was already sure. Talking to the dead sounded frightening. Mr. Ragnar cleared his throat as Jaska was lost in his thoughts. He glanced up, waiting for his teacher to speak. There hadn’t been many words said between them for the past few days. Mr. Ragnar had been busy with his work down in the basement and Jaska had been with Leif.
“How are you liking it here?” Mr. Ragnar asked.
“It’s fine. This is a lovely house you have, sir.”
“You’ve already told me that. Anything new?”
He sighed, “I started reading those books.”
“What do you think?”
Jaska shrugged, “I don’t know if I’ll be any good at it, sir.”
“Nonsense.” He stood, “May we take a walk?”
Jaska stood and followed him out of the house. It was a cool night so he wrapped his coat tightly around himself as they walked down the street. Mr. Ragnar looked up at the stars as they walked, Jaska didn’t care about the stars.
“I always liked astronomy.”
“Neat.”
Mr. Ragnar put his hands in his coat pockets, “I don’t want to force you into anything, but you’re with me so you may as well learn a few things. Why not?”
“Sir, I . . . I miss my family. All I think about is them and I miss Ty. I’m sorry.”
“You don’t need to be. I don’t mean to push you into this.” He smiled gently, “I would like an apprentice who can actually do something other than make a sandwich.”
Leif had told him all about his problems with necromancy. It was comical to hear him tell it and Mr. Ragnar had never been angry with him. Disappointed a little, but never angry. “I can try.”
“That’s all I ask. How do you feel about Leif?”
“He’s nice, sir. A little talkative for my taste.”
“He is quite talkative. You’re very quiet.”
Back here, in his home, Mr. Ragnar was far more open and pleasant. He was even smiling. Jaska wasn’t afraid of him even though he was certain that he should be. After all, the man was a necromancer who killed people for money. He should have been terrified. “Sir, when did you become a necromancer?”
“In my twenties, actually. I should have started earlier, most apprentices do, but I was a little late to the party.”
“Do you enjoy it?”
“Yes, of course. I think you will too.” Mr. Ragnar stopped in front of a small bar, “Would you like something to eat? This bar has the best fruit pie in the city.”
Jaska nodded and followed him inside. He had never been into a bar before. After all, he was only fifteen. The bartender nodded to Mr. Ragnar as he walked by him. Jaska sat at a table in the corner with Mr. Ragnar. A barmaid walked over to them. She looked to be about sixteen and was wearing a tight brown dress.
“Hi, Mr. Ragnar,” she greeted him with a smile. “We haven’t seen you in a while.”
“I’ve been a bit busy.”
“Glad to see you again. What can I get you?”
“Two fruit pies please and I will have a beer. Any drink for you, Jaska?”
“What kind of drinks do you have?” he asked.
“We have water, milk, juice, and a bunch of different kinds of alcohol.”
“Orange juice please.”
“Ok. I’ll be back.”
Mr. Ragnar smiled, “She is a lovely young woman, I think you might like hanging out with her if you wanted.”
“You come here a lot?”
“Yes. Her father owns this place, she’s always been nice. Leif has a thing for her, but she can’t stand him. Her name’s Emma.”
Emma brought them their drinks and pies quickly, giving Jaska a smile bigger than she had to. He attempted a smile back and sipped the drink. “I’m Emma,” she introduced herself.
“Jaska Byrne.”
“This is my new apprentice,” Mr. Ragnar told her. “He has only been here a few days.”
“Maybe I can show you around sometime?”
Jaska nodded, “That would be lovely.”
“Great! I work here most nights, but I’m off by ten whenever you want to come by.”
Mr. Ragnar thanked her as she walked away to take more orders. “She likes you.”
“Neat, but I don’t know if I can think about making friends right now.” Jaska bit into the odd p
ie. It was filled with dry fruit in a spicy and sweet sauce wrapped in a sweet crust. He liked it.
“That’s fine, but she is very nice.”
“I’m not great at making friends. What happened with Ty was just because he asked me to help him study and I said yes. Talking to people isn’t my thing.”
“Understood.”
Jaska nodded and ate his pie in silence. When they finished, he followed his master out, waving to Emma when she said goodbye to him. The walk home was silent. Mr. Ragnar unlocked the door for him and stepped inside. Leif was up in his room from the looks of the dark house. “Goodnight, Mr. Ragnar. Thank you for the pie.”
“You are very welcome, Jaska. Tomorrow, join me in the basement after breakfast and we can get started on your training.”
“Yes, sir.”
He climbed the steps to his room, thinking about beginning his training. It meant he was in this and he had no hope of ever going home. With his head bent and his mind elsewhere he didn’t notice anything and ran into Leif.
“Ow. Look out,” Leif said with a smile. “How was your walk?”
“Informative. I start my lessons tomorrow.”
“I hope you’re better at it than I was. My first day I cried.” He laughed, “Are you ok? You look a little sick.”
“Just nervous about tomorrow. Is it going to be awful?”
“Not really. A little creepy and scary, but not awful. Relax about it. Vladimir won’t let anything happen to you. Neither will I.”
He barely knew these people so there was no reason to trust them. He had nothing to lose, however, and so opted to trust his new companions instead. Jaska bid him goodnight and went into his room, shutting the door with a sigh. For the fourth night in a row he flopped down onto the mattress with his clothes on and fell into a fitful sleep that he knew would make him extremely sick when he woke up.
10
Going back to the United States was a bigger letdown than Ty had ever imagined it to be. He liked the Byrne’s and he liked Mr. Kircher. When he had said goodbye to Mr. Kircher, the man had given him a cuckoo clock. Ty had thanked him before hurrying back to the Byrne’s, hiding the clock in his suitcase when he had packed. If Lilly Ann found out he was still talking to Mr. Kircher he was sure she would be angry.
He wondered what she was going to do about Jaska’s father and the school. He didn’t want to ask her flat-out for fear of upsetting her and Margo.
“We’ll call if Mr. Ragnar gets in contact with us,” Mina said. “Please be careful.”
“Don’t worry, mom.” Lilly Ann hugged them, “I have to tell Evan. I know you don’t want me to, but I have to. Do you know how to get into contact with Ragnar?”
“No.” Byron shook his head, “I know things seem bad right now. They’ll get better. I promise.”
“Evan is going to go ballistic.” She sighed as they got into the car. Byron was driving them to the train station rather than taking a taxi. “How am I going to tell him that his son is . . ?”
“You’ll be able to do it. You’re stronger than he is, I know you can do this.” Byron took her hand as they drove, “This will be hard but I know you’ll pull through. Just like with your divorce.”
“Thanks for the faith, Dad.”
Ty looked at Margo who had her nose in a book. When it came to her father, he noticed that she became extremely uncomfortable anytime they spoke about him. Not that he blamed her. Her father sounded like a complete asshole.
No one did much talking when they were on the train. Margo read her book and Lilly Ann chewed her nails as she stared out the window, her eyes still red from crying. Ty didn't know what to say to make her feel better. He hated seeing her like this. From the moment he had met Lilly Ann he had seen how loving and strong she was. Seeing her as a nervous wreck was making him uncomfortable. When the sweets cart stopped at their car he purchased brownies and sodas, giving Lilly Anna a smile when he handed her the large double-fudge brownie with a cherry soda.
"Thank you, sweetheart."
"You're welcome. My mom always said that chocolate can make anyone feel better. I guess it's kind of dumb to think it will make all of this go away, but its good anyway."
Lilly Ann stood and kissed him on the forehead, "Jaska and I are lucky to have such a wonderful young man like you in our lives."
Ty smiled at the compliment and looked out the window for the rest of the train ride. When they reached the airport, he was more than ready to leave this place behind. Margo still had her nose in a book, but spoke up when they were alone in the airport terminal while Lilly Ann went to get something for them to eat. “Do you and my brother . . . are you guys doing something or-?”
Ty shook his head, “No. Not that I wouldn’t mind. Jaska is really sweet, and cute and . . . but he doesn’t like me that way.”
“That’s a shame.”
“He would have told you if he was dating me.”
“My brother is a mystery. He tells me a lot of things, but not everything.” Margo shut her book with a sigh, “Jaska is weird. He says and does things that are weird and he doesn’t really feel like other people. Part of me thinks that’s why he’s so good at school. He’s fifteen and he would have been graduating in June if not for this whole mess.”
“I know. He is weird, but I like him. I wish he did like me that way.”
“Can I ask you something else before mom comes back?”
“Is it about Mr. Kircher?”
“Yes.”
“He didn’t do anything to me. Mr. Kircher is nice and he gave me a clock.”
“How do you know he wouldn’t-?”
“Mr. Ragnar will kill him if he does anything to anyone involved with Jaska because of what happened to him a few years ago. He’s terrified. He ogled a bunch of junior high kids when we were out but he never looked at me.”
“That makes me feel a little better I guess.”
Lilly Ann came back with hot pretzels and lemonade. Lilly Ann fussed over him like he was one of her own. He couldn’t have been happier she was going to take care of him. His own mother wasn’t nearly so caring, neither of his parents were. He had become independent at a young age and not because his parents had ever taught him to be self-sufficient.
The plane took off on time and the flight was smooth but long. Ty was exhausted by the time they landed and just wanted to crawl into bed and sleep for a few days. He had spent enough time crying and worrying to last him a lifetime. Lilly Ann drove home looking drained and miserable.
Ty helped her carry the bags into the apartment. “Do you want some tea or coffee?” he asked.
“No, no, I’m fine. You can put your things in Jaska’s room. Since . . . well.”
“Thank you, Ms. Byrne.”
“Call me Lilly Ann, I won’t tell you again, sweetheart.” She smiled, “Did you want to go and talk to your parents?”
“Maybe tomorrow. I’m really tired and . . . I don’t think I could look at my dad without hitting him. He shouldn’t have hurt Jaska like he did.”
Lilly Ann nodded, “I want to hit him too. Do you want me to go with you when you talk to him?”
“Not unless you want to. I’ll be ok. Since my mom already said I could stay here I don’t have to worry about him dragging me back.” He looked at the door, “Maybe . . . maybe you could drive me right now? I can get it over with instead of tomorrow.”
“That’s fine.”
“See you guys in a few,” Margo said as she laid on the couch, closing her eyes for a nap.
Ty followed Lilly Ann back out to the car. She didn’t say anything on the way to the house but told him good luck when he left the safety of the car. He took a deep breath as he headed up the walkway. From the sound of the shouting when he opened the door, both of his parents were home. Screaming, cursing, and name calling could be heard coming from the dining room. He frowned and walked into the room to see his father and mother having one of their arguments.
“Guys!” he shouted to get their att
ention.
His mother turned and ran forward, “Oh honey!” Alyssa hugged him tightly, “How was your trip?”
“It was fun. Germany is cool and we met some interesting people.” He looked at his dad, “So . . . how long did you want me to stay with Ms. Byrne?”
Alyssa looked at her husband, “For a few weeks. We need to work things out. I could put you up at the hotel.”
“I like it there.”
