by Martha Carr
Maggie held up her pinky, curling it around her sister's finger. "That I can do. You have a very dark sense of humor, sister."
"I was actually trying to be encouraging."
"What are you like with patients?"
"You know I always stick to the truth... Broken bones are more predictable and don't pose a threat to me. Hey, there, over there," she said, excited, as the line of trees ended and they could see an office park sitting in the middle of open fields. The large parking lot was dotted with young redbud trees.
Maggie could see the edge of the white van pulled around to the side of the building. "They know we're coming." She glanced up at Diana, whose eyes were growing wider. "I think it's a set up to get us to follow them." She shook her head. "Doesn't mean we aren't going to win the day, and we had no choice. I had no choice."
Diana squeezed her hand. "We're a team, we had a choice and we made it. We're here to get what's ours. What's the plan?"
"You remember how to shoot a gun?" She pulled the car up to the corner away from the door and any windows and leaned over to open her glove compartment. She pulled out the spare .45 and checked to make sure it was fully loaded.
"Mostly." Diana held out her hand. "Yeah, sure, I'm sure I do. I'll make sure I only shoot the enemy."
"Quit with the jokes!" Maggie opened her door and got out, drawing her own gun. She felt a jolt through her body and was startled to feel the ribbon of cold energy surge through her. A hum erupted across the back of her neck. She felt the magic leading her as if it already knew the intention. I didn't even have to seek it out. "We can do this," she whispered to Diana, nodding. Her entire body was vibrating.
"Holy cow, your eyes are back lit!" whispered Diana, holding the gun between her hands, pointed at the ground.
"Hold the gun up unless you're trying to wound the dirt." She opened her mouth to say something else and a small string of bubbles emerged instead, floating in front of them. Each one showed an image from the inside of the building.
Diana lifted her hand to touch one and it popped as it made contact with her finger. "Bernie was right. This is like biology mixed with physics. I count four of them and there's Carl sitting in a chair in the middle of them. They have him tied up with something. What is that?"
"Dark magic," hissed Maggie. Coils could be seen writhing around Carl's arms and legs in perpetual motion as if he was covered in one long snake with no head. Simon Wesley's image bobbed inside one of the balloons. Maggie and Diana peered at it just as his head turned and seemed to look straight at them, both of the eyes dark as coal. Diana drew back in a shudder, but Maggie felt a surge of energy again and saw out of the corner of her eye the young redbuds on the north side of the building flutter. She held up her gun as her hands began to violently shake and her confidence momentarily dipped.
Diana rested her hand on her sister's arm. "Put the gun away. Even I can feel it vibrating in my chest." She nodded at Maggie, scrunching her chin like she did when she was determined. "Use the magic, it'll be okay." Diana looked at the trees shaking and back at the woods they have driven by. "We're not alone out here. I think we have a pretty good chance."
Maggie holstered her gun and put out her hands, following her instincts like they were yelling her instructions. Her palms heated up and glowed as she walked slowly around the corner and toward the van and the open roll-up doors. Diana followed behind her, the gun raised and pointed just to the right of Maggie.
Maggie came to the wide space and stood in the center, her body shaking from the energy passing through it. Simon Wesley stood in the center next to Carl, a grin on his face, his eyes glowing black. The smile slipped off his face when he saw Maggie, but he forced himself to put it back into place. He held up the compass. "Looking for this? Come and get it." He slid it back into his pocket and opened his mouth wide as a crimson red blood bubble slithered out, wet and shiny as it grew in size, vibrating into a wall of sound rumbling across the space at Maggie and Diana.
"Holy mother of..." muttered Diana, tilting her head up to look at the scale of what was heading toward her. A follower suddenly raced out of the darkness at her and she jerked her head in his direction, squeezing the trigger. The bullet him in the shoulder as he fell back. "I can fix that later!" she yelled, still flanking her sister. "No discounts! You were trying to kill us, but I'll fix it!"
She shot off another round at a follower who was creeping up, winging him as he dropped back. The red wall of sound was coming closer, filling Diana's head with a painful ringing that was almost too much to bear and made it feel like her head might just explode. She winced, trying to keep her eyes opened and the gun pointed straight ahead.
But when she looked over at Maggie she saw that her eyes were still wide open and she was standing tall, a shimmering blue light was peeling off of her, going out to meet the thickening red darkness. Maggie leaned forward with a grunt, her arms still outstretched and her back straight and Diana realized what she was seeing. "Wonder Woman pose," she yelled, smiling.
Maggie stepped forward, leaning into the light, her brown hair with a blue cast to it and she pushed, taking another step. The red tide bulged on the other end, back toward Simon, surprising him.
"Get 'em!" yelled Diana, her red hair streaming behind her as she followed in her sister's wake.
Maggie pushed toward Simon, every muscle straining as her mind went completely blank and she gave into the magic letting it lead her. Slowly, it encircled the red wave, squeezing it, even as the blue light reached Simon, pressing down on him, crushing him against the dirt of the bare, warehouse floor. Maggie got to Simon and dropped down, pressing her knee hard into his ribs as she reached into his jacket and pulled out the compass, feeling it start to whir in her closed hand.
The coils slipped from Carl Hopkins, leaving him slumped in the chair as Diana raced to check on him.
She slipped the compass into her pocket and pulled back her fist as the darkness slipped from Simon's eyes, turning back to a frightened icy blue. She loosed the grip on her fist just as the inky blackness returned and he smiled, laughing at her as he spit in her face. She brought down her fist, crashing into his face even as the ground opened up, slurping him inside and dragging him under leaving her kneeling on barren ground. The loud, industrial buzzing ended in a flash leaving silence, except for the cries from the followers who ran for the opposite exit, leaving their wounded comrades who moaned where they lay.
"Carl's pulse is a little slow but I think he's been drugged, maybe." She gave Maggie a sidelong glance. "I don't know how to diagnose magic spells. Carl? Carl, can you stand?"
Maggie's body went into a lingering, small convulsion as the energy settled back down inside of her. A wave of nausea overcame her and she bent over, resting her hands on her knees, breathing in slowly, pressing her eyes shut.
"You okay there, sister?"
She waved a hand at Diana without opening her eyes. "I'm okay, just the magical bends. What a rush!"
"Taking Mom's car out after midnight kind of rush?" Diana helped Carl to his feet, smiling at him to reassure him.
His eyes widened and he cried out in surprise, grabbing her face even as he teetered. "Lucinda!" A sob escaped his throat.
"I know... I'm so sorry... I know." She slung his arm over her shoulder and started heading for the car. "We should probably call an ambulance."
"I'll take care of it, you take Carl to the car. I'm right behind you." Maggie made herself stand up straighter and take in an even, deep breath. Her hands were shaking by her side and she balled them into fists, putting them on her hips. Tears filled her eyes. She made her way over to the follower with a bullet in his shoulder and searched his pockets even as he protested. She yanked him up, ignoring his squeal of pain. "I'm about to do you a favor and call for help. You are going to find a plausible reason for how a bullet got in your shoulder in the middle of nowhere." She pulled him closer. "Make it good," she hissed, "or I'll be back." She found his phone and pulled it out, hitting
the emergency button and handing him the phone. "I'm done playing," she said as the operator answered.
"Uh, hello?" The man's hand shook as he nodded and gave the operator the address.
She turned to head outside and walked, determined, to the nearest redbud tree, gently placing her hand against the trunk. The tree shook, sending a similar reaction down the line and on into the woods. The energy grew more gentle and the nausea passed.
She put her hand into her pocket and gently pulled out the compass, still holding onto the tree. "I have it," she whispered. "The compass is mine. We can find the Elementals. Thank you for the reprieve." A hum passed through Maggie and rattled the compass, sending the five arms spinning in different directions.
Diana came running over to where Maggie stood, stopping just short. "Carl is safely stuffed into the back of the El Camino. Ambulance is on the way for those other two. What do you think? Do we stay around and explain all of this or take off and let those two in there babble their way through it?"
"We get out of here, definitely. The world's not quite ready to hear about a fight between bullets and bubbles." She let go of the tree. "Come on, let's see if we can find Bernie. He never showed and that can't be good" Maggie put her arm around Diana and they headed to the car, sliding in as Diana leaned across the back of the seat and checked on Carl. Maggie looked out through the windshield and saw the trees swaying toward the north entrance and she started the car and followed their lead, a crooked smile coming across her face. "We were never alone," she whispered, as the sound of sirens could be heard in the distance coming from the opposite direction.
20
Bernie eyed the wall of Huldus blocking his exit and glaring at him. "I'm telling you the Elemental called!" He hoisted the large wrench over his shoulder and adjusted the large lever in front of him. The large glass covered dials spun, slowing down and spitting out numbers along the face.
"What'd she send up a bat signal?" There was a snicker from a gnome with a thick dark pompadour styled into a swoop on the top of his head.
"Not actually a thing, Leo!" grumbled Bernie. "Catch up with the times. Everyone's jonesing for Marvel."
"Never!" Leo marched off, spinning back around at the crossroads between two tunnels, blowing a large bubble in Bernie's direction. The bubble burst and the melodic sounds of Barry Manilow singing, "We're going hopping, we're going hopping today..." blasted throughout the room, the sound pinging off the metal engine parts overhead.
"Now you've done it," spit out Jack. "You know how he gets! He'll be doing that for days..."
"I'm on it!" yelled out a gnome with ginger hair in tufts along the side of his head who broke off from the group and ambled after Leo.
"Thanks Buddy!" Jack called out.
"The Philadelphia way..." could be heard trailing after Leo and Buddy deeper into the tunnels.
"There, problem solved. Look!" Bernie pointed to the dials. "The tornadoes over the Midwest have become scattered showers with a little hail. Not so bad."
Radar shook his head. "They wouldn't have become tornadoes if you stuck to your job."
Bernie rolled his eyes but sighed and studied the situation. "I'm sorry, alright, Radar? I'm sorry. It was my fault the Elemental was down here wandering around and stole that book out from under you."
Radar crossed his arms over his chest. "That's right, it was." He pushed his glasses up his nose and sniffed. "Well... and maybe... a little mine."
Bernie tilted his head to the side, his expression softening. "Look, Radar, Maggie is the Elemental, chosen by the essence of this ship." He pinwheeled his arms in large circles. "She's got a few tricks up her sleeve. Believe me, I've seen a few of them. No one should underestimate what this chickadee can do." The smile dropped from his face and he flexed his hands. "But there are limits and I've seen what this Peabrain, Simon Wesley can do. There's only a couple of reasons she'd risk using that box to call me and letting this ship in on her continued existence." He held up one finger. "One, someone she cares about is in trouble and she's gone off to rescue them." He held up a second large finger. "Two, she's found Simon and she's gone after him. Unfortunately, both of those may lead to Simon. Raise your hand if you'd like to see us lose another Elemental to this particular bunch of Peabrains."
A murmur went up from the group in front of Bernie and they split apart, creating a path for him to find a place to exit near Austin, Texas. Radar's eyes were wide as he shuddered. "We didn't know he was the Elemental."
"None of us did," said Bernie as he clapped Radar on the shoulder. He carefully laid down the wrench. "But this time we do, and we need to get it right. Maybe we can finally put an end to all this warring and figure out what comes next." He patted one of the Earthen walls, dirt crumbling to the ground. "Not sure how many more thousands of years this beauty has in her. We may need our options and I'd rather have a choice than a poisonous directive."
"A threat! He means a threat!" squeaked Radar.
Bernie shook his head and walked away from the group muttering. "That is proof positive that the magic is protecting us from ourselves."
Maggie sat in the booth at Kerbey Lane with Dexter curled up next to her on the seat, twitching his nose in his sleep. The waitress approached the table, but she held up her hand. "I'm waiting for someone. Can I get a glass of water with no ice till he gets here?" The waitress smiled and nodded and walked away.
Maggie looked down at Dexter but lifted her head just as the faint smell of strawberries got to her nose. She peered out the windows at the darkening sky. Carl Hopkins was safely tucked into one of the many bedrooms at Toni Parker's house and Diana was there standing guard, still holding onto the gun. The backyard was filled with her mother's friends, all drumming away to ward off evil spirits, but Toni had pointed out that a padded drumstick also made a useful weapon and this time they would be ready.
She pressed against her pocket and felt the tingle of energy through her fingertips from the compass, slowly working away. After the initial flight and the arms spinning in different circles, the compass had slowed down and gotten to work, searching for the other Elementals. All Maggie could do for now was wait and lie low.
There was a clatter outside of the restaurant and a cloud of dust blew up in the air as the noise migrated to the front door and the gnome came bursting through, pushing the door so hard it banged against the wall.
Dexter raised his head and looked around, worried, wiggling his nose. Maggie smiled and scratched behind his ears to quiet him back down, keeping her gaze on Bernie. He was fit to be tied.
He marched himself over to the booth, blowing air out of his nose, his lips curled in and his hands on his hips.
"Nice entrance," said Maggie. "Take a seat." She looked at the green sweater with crocheted yellow flowers sewn on the front. "I see you got my message."
Bernie reluctantly slid himself into the opposite seat covered in shiny red leather. "I think Slim is your new best friend. You keep giving him hot food. I hear you threw in a brownie from your mother this time. You know I can't match that."
"I have the compass." She slid it out of her pocket and lay it on the table. It continued to work, giving off a tick-tick-tick sound. The compass still contained the five arms, continually making small adjustments except for the one arm, pointing straight at Maggie. But the face underneath was splitting itself into different pieces, segments flipping over to reveal new data, and then flipping again.
The air seemed to rush out of Bernie's chest, leaving him with his mouth hanging open but no words coming out. He raised his large, thick hands and hovered them over the compass before covering his mouth.
"I have to admit it was a lot of trouble, but I actually made you speechless." Maggie leaned over the compass. "It's beautiful, isn't it? Do you know what all of that means?" Maggie pulled out the book from her purse and lay it open on the table, flipping to a page she had bookmarked. The words jumbled together and reappeared in English, mapping out simple uses of the compass.
>
Maggie got excited, jabbing at the page with her finger. "Do you see this? The book advanced with me. This wasn't exactly what was on the page before. It was more rudimentary and basic, but the more I learn, the more complex the instructions become." She was breathing harder, and Dexter felt her energy, standing up next to her, letting out a loud squeak and a bark.
"It's saying the pieces of the compass have the ability to give out information based on the current quest. Current quest? There's more than one?"
Bernie shook his head in amazement. "You have crept past my base of knowledge, sister. It's a good time to be a thousand year old gnome, I'll tell you that. All of this information was lost to us in the Alexandria fire. I thought it was gone forever." He looked at Maggie, lost in the possibilities, but only for a moment. "Wait a minute," he said, shaking his head. "How the hell did you get the compass? Did you at least take the big guy?"
"I couldn't find Wilmark. Where is he, by the way?"
Bernie pushed his arms straight against the edge of the table, lifting off the seat, his eyes wide. "You went alone!" A short string of bubbles popped out of his open mouth with small fireflies. The bubbles popped, setting the fireflies loose in the restaurant. A small boy pointed to the blinking lights, nudging his father.
Maggie shook her head, pursing her lips. "Of course not, I took Diana with me."
Bernie slapped his forehead with the palm of his hand. "Well, that makes all the difference. If she got close enough to wrap her tiny little fingers around just the right bone, maybe she could give them a nice limp!" He pointed his finger in the air. "I don't know, it's like you wanted to increase the number of casualties."
Maggie arched an eyebrow at him. "Careful... I'm sitting here calmly with the compass, aren't I? Never underestimate a Parker woman. It's a good way to find yourself on the losing side. Sit, already."
