Accidental Wizard

by Stefan Lear

  Marie was what he looked forward to tonight. Carefree and as elusive as motes of dust in the moonlight, she was an ephemeral dream he hoped came true. He had pursued her in as nonchalant a way as he could. No one had been able to tie her to anything as solid as a relationship. She wasn’t easy by any means. She was more like a majestic mare you admired in all its natural grandeur, but if you got too close would run away.

  When he reached 1st Ave he turned right and walked to the corner of Yamhill. There was Paddy’s. He walked to the door and stepped inside. Already the bar was filling up, and music was playing in the background. He spotted Jamaal and Marie and walked over to the booth.

  “Hey Paul, about time you got here ya slacker!” Jamaal reached out and shook Paul’s hand, ending in a slide and a finger snap.

  “It’s nice out tonight, and I only had one cup of coffee when I woke up, so I took my time walking. And who is this lovely creature you have with you, Jamaal?”

  “This is Desiree. Desiree this is Paul. He’s my alright white friend.”

  Desiree and Marie smiled at the exchange, looking only slightly perplexed.

  “Screw you, Jamaal. Do you need to use my white privelege comb again?” Paul asked with a tinge of humor in his voice. “Excuse me, Desiree. This fool you have beside you is overbearing and too black sometimes. I’m pleased to meet you.”

  “It’s nice to meet you too, Paul. Jamaal has told me all about you. None of it good, I’m afraid,” Desiree replied. Her reply was light and playful.

  “He just wishes he were me, that’s all.”

  “Please,” Jamaal shot back. “If you ate any more fried chicken, they’d have your ass on a plantation.”

  Paul turned and asked “Can you believe this guy, Marie?”

  “I’m not sure if he’s giving you a hard time because you deserve it or because you can take it.”

  Jamaal laughingly said “It’s because he deserves it.”

  “No,” Desiree injected. “I think it’s because he can take it.”

  “Do you see this? Do you see this, Paul? First date and she’s already flirting with other men,” Jamaal jokingly said.

  “I hope he can take it,” Marie said.

  “I need a drink now. Have to fortify myself,” he winked at Marie. “What does everyone want?”

  “Vodka sour for me, and I think Desiree wants a daiquiri.”

  “I want Tequila, neat with one rock.”

  “Ok, a vodka sour for Jamaal, a daiquiri for Desiree, and one Tequila neat with a rock for Marie.”

  Paul walked to the bar and found an open spot to place his order. After his order had been placed with the bartender, he waited. The night was going well so far. He just needed to make sure he got Marie out the door before Jamaal had too many and became belligerent. He had a way of doing that when he got drunk, and always ended up arguing with someone over a trivial thing. He was cool as hell when he was stoned, but drinking often caused embarrassment.

  “Here ya go, Paul,” the barkeep said.

  “Thanks, David. I’ll settle up before I leave.”

  He took all the drinks back to the table and set them in front of the group. He slid back into the booth beside Marie. “What did I miss?” he asked the group.

  “Jamaal was just telling us about his job as a chef, and the new menu he’s rolling out at the restaurant he works at.”

  “There’s not many that can cook better than Jamaal here in Portland, Desiree. You should have him cook you a custom homemade meal sometime. You’ll want to lock him in the basement so he can cook for you all the time.”

  “Is he really that good?” Desiree asked.

  “Yep. He’s that good.”

  “Hey Paul,” Marie interrupted. “Are you still volunteering at the homeless shelter?”

  “Yeah, the struggle is real. There’s lot of them that need help.” Paul cracked a smile at her.

  “Did you hear on the news what happened?” Jamaal asked.

  “No. What’s that?”

  “They found an arm under the Broadway bridge. No body, just an arm and a shit-ton of blood. The cops say that none of the bums are saying anything, that all of them are tight-lipped. Something has really scared them.”

  Paul looked deep in Jamaal’s eyes to see if he was being punked. There was no mirth he could see. “Probably some psycho, that’s all. That group that hangs out down there, most of them are strung out all the time. There’s no telling what they think they saw while all jacked up.” But his words didn’t ring true.

  “That’s just gross,” Marie shuddered ever so slightly.

  “It’s a good thing I’m here to protect you on the way home, then. Make sure no psycho gets you on the way home,” Paul told her.

  “Oh, so now you’re taking her home?” Jamaal asked.

  “No, I’m just gonna walk her to her place. Unless she wants to go to my place. She would be safer at my place.” Paul nudged Marie with his shoulder. “Especially with a psycho on the loose.”

  Marie and Desiree looked at each other and giggle like schoolgirls exchanging secrets.

  Paul and Jamaal picked up their glasses and tipped them at each other. It seemed like it was going to be a good night.

  THE SCROLL WAS SPREAD out on the old oak table, a candle holder on each corner preventing the parchment from curling into a roll again. Printed on the scroll was an old hand-inked map of the city. The ink was brownish and faded. The candles shed light on the parchment and made it easier to read. Light reflected off the brass instrument lying in the center of the map. It looked like a brass plumb bob, but had ever been used for scrying.

  The rest of the room was shrouded in darkness. A figure stepped forward into the light of the four candles. He sprinkled dragon’s blood onto each candle and spoke one word.

  “Reperire.”

  The candle light sparkled, and the smoke from them grew thicker. A tiny draft of air tugged at the black curls that fell hazardously around the man’s face, and he picked up the brass device. Concentration lit the man’s eyes as the instrument started to spin in a circle above the map. The circle became smaller, and the device swung through the air quicker as the circled area of the map became smaller. Rapidly spinning now, the device shot downwards toward the map and the tip embedded itself into a section of the map.

  There it was. In the park on the waterfront.

  The man stepped away from the table. He formed his fingers into something that might be mistaken for a gang sign, and waved his other hand above the contorted fingers. With a whoosh of wind, a churning blue portal opened in front of him. It churned the air in the room, rattling the map that lay impaled to the table.

  Hoping he wasn’t too late, he stepped into the portal and was swallowed up. As suddenly as it had appeared, the portal collapsed and was no more.

  Only the impaled map and the lit candles remained in the room.

  Chapter 4

  Paul and Marie walked out the door of Paddy’s and turned left toward the riverwalk. The air was crisp and there were still puddles of rainwater from the rain earlier in the day. The night was clear, stars reflected in the puddles on the ground. They both had decided that Jamaal would do better with Desiree if they were alone.

  Paul walked beside Marie, hands in his front pocket, nervous now that there was just the two of them. Paul hadn’t been in a relationship since he had moved to Portland. He wasn’t exactly sure of how to proceed or what to say to Marie, so he winged it.

  When they had crossed the street to the park, Marie took his hand in hers and tugged at him, walking toward the river. “Come on,” she teased, and pulled at his hand again. She let his hand go as she turned toward the river and walked toward the waterway. Paul paused only long enough to watch her butt twitch in front of him for a couple of seconds. Without further prompting he walked, following her to the river.

  “I”m coming,” Paul said to her.

  Marie turned her head to him and laughed with mirth. Her tresses outlined her face,
forming a picture he would remember many times in the future. He smiled back at her and picked up his pace a little.

  He caught up to her as she reached the river. He playfully pushed his shoulder into hers and she pushed back.

  “Thanks for the drinks, Paul. It was nice.”

  “You’re welcome. It was my pleasure,” he said to her. “And still is.”

  Marie smiled at him, looking directly into his eyes. “Let’s walk. I’m not ready for the night to end yet.”

  “Ok, sure,” Paul said. “I don’t want the night to end either.”

  Marie wrapped her arm through his, tangled her fingers with his. They started walking, the Broadway bridge receding behind them. They walked slowly, a gentle breeze lilting slowly off the water to rustle the leaves on the trees. Except for a a couple of bums sleeping on benches they were alone under the stars.

  “You’re a pretty good guy, Paul.”

  “If you saw what I did to okra when I cook, you wouldn’t have such a high opinion,” he teased.

  Marie mockingly beat her fist on his shoulder. “I mean it. If I believed in marriage, you’re the guy I would believe in.”

  “Well since you don’t believe in marriage, what would you do with me?”

  “Oh, I don’t know. I might pimp you out. Make a proper gigolo out of you.”

  “So you’re going to be my mistress?”

  “Maybe. It depends on how well you perform during training.” Marie squeezed his hand when she said training.

  Was that an invitation or was she just teasing him? It was so hard to tell with her. He had to tread lightly if he wanted to be trained.

  “Well if this continues, I’ll be free for training starting soon.” It was his turn to squeeze her hand.

  Marie stopped in her where she was and turned to him, compelling him to halt in his tracks. She stepped closer to him, less than an inch away now, and looked into his eyes. He didn’t flinch. He tried not to blink, to allow her to search for whatever part of him she looked for. Never had he seen her so serious. Something in her was seeking, demanding to discover a part of him.

  Never breaking her gaze, he took her other hand in his and tangled the rest of their fingers together.

  “I’m complicated, Paul.”

  “I like puzzles.”

  “I don’t want you to put me together.”

  “Ok. But at least let me see all the pieces.”

  Marie embraced him, her lips landing on his. Startled only a little, he gently leaned into her to taste all the headiness the evening had thrust upon him. They kissed virginally, exploring unfamiliar territory. It was tentative but exploding with opportunity.

  Suddenly Marie was no longer on his lips, their hands violently separated. His eyes flew open. Disbelief flooded his face. What the hell? That’s not possible!

  Marie had been ripped from him and flew backwards six feet, suspended in air. Her face was masked in horror and disbelief. Her arms extended toward him, the man she had just embraced. Nothing in her past could prepare her for what was happening. Her mind was blank, thought replaced with fear.

  Marie’s toes barely scraped the ground as she struggled. It seemed as if she were fighting against something choking her. She gasped for breath and thrashed about.

  Paul stood frozen in terror and disbelief. There was nothing in his reality that would allow something like this to happen. He was watching an impossibility. Marie was suspended above the ground seemingly by the neck, horrified of whatever was assaulting her, yet he saw just Marie. There was nothing else there. His instinct was to strike out at whatever was hurting her, but he saw nothing to strike at.

  Marie eyes bulged further. Starting near her temple a wound sliced open, filleting her cheek open, the blood turning the pink flesh under the skin a dark crimson. Blood flowed out and over her jaw, dropping onto her dress. And then the same happened to the other cheek. She tried to scream but her throat still was squeezed shut.

  Paul surged toward her. He had no clue what he was going to do, but he had to try something to save her. Within a foot of her now. With his next step he was knocked backward. He flew backward, landing on his back. The wind rushed out of him as he landed. He was stunned. He gasped for breath.

  As his breathing began to return, he sat up and looked in Marie’s direction. Cuts had appeared all over her exposed flesh. Her arms, her shoulders, her neck, all were sliced. Blood was dripping to the ground now.

  He felt helpless, insignificant, as if nothing he did could save her from this bloody death. He hated this feeling. Nothing to do. No way to save her. Just like when his mom had died. He had been helpless. Too weak to defend her. Too weak to save her. Too weak to stop his father from taking her life.

  “No no no no...” His helplessness mutated into anger. “No. NO.” His anger turned to rage. He shot up from the ground, running toward Marie intent on saving her from whatever abomination slowly sliced her into sushi pieces. “NO!” he yelled with the full force of his rage. A bright flash of fire shot forward, impacted something, and exploded in a flash of light. Whatever had attacked Marie dropped her. She hit the ground, gasping for air, cuts bleeding, barely able to breathe. She was still alive, though barely.

  What did he do now? What had that flash of fire been? Where had it come from? He hastily looked around, acutely aware that he was at a disadvantage. He still couldn’t see what or who had attacked Marie, which meant he couldn’t defend himself or her if it decided to attack again.

  A scream pierced the night. Marie lay on the ground, thrashing as her intestines oozed from her body. Nothing. There was nothing for Paul to lash out at, to fight. He tried to stand up. When he had his knees under him, something struck him in the side. He heard a cracking sound and was forced into the air. He flew away from the spot he had knelt in as if kicked like he were a tin can. Pain seared through him and his side flared in pain when he landed on the ground.

  He was slowly being destroyed, forced to watch his date be cut open. A rabid raccoon was treated better; at least they had the luxury of a gun blast and instantaneous oblivion. The way Marie was being tortured was deranged and cruel, and he felt as helpless now as he felt when he was a child watching his mom die. He was half convinced he was being forced to watch Marie’s torment, that whatever was doing this wanted him to see it.

  A flash of blue from somewhere behind him lit up the scene in front of him. He watched as the outline of something unearthly shimmered into existence in front of him. Whatever it was turned from Marie and glared through shimmering eyes at him. It snarled through jagged teeth.

  Something grabbed him from behind and jerked him up from the ground he lay on. He tensed up, ready to lash out at this new threat.

  “Easy there, Magnus.”

  Paul recognized the man from earlier in front of Target. He was the man who had given him the strange coin.

  “We need to go, now.” He pulled Paul backwards with a strength that would be hard to break free from. Paul struggled briefly, desperately wanting to try to save Marie.

  “She’s as good as dead.” The man seemed to read his mind. “If we don’t go now, you’re going to end up the same way.” With that a a churning blue mass opened in front of him. It churned the air, and the man dragged him into the blue mass. It closed as quickly as it had appeared, and both men were gone.

  The beast with the shimmering eyes turned toward Marie. It had missed its prey, but tonight it would feast. The jagged teeth closed around her throat, punctured the skin and flesh, and ripped away muscles and arteries. Blood spurted into the air and Marie’s eyes lost any life that might have remained.

  THE MAN WALKED THROUGH the portal dragging Paul with him. The candles were still lit and anchoring the map to the table. Nothing had been disturbed. “A good sign,” the man thought to himself. If his little sanctuary had been found by anyone he would know.

  The man guided Paul to a chair and set him down. Paul flopped down and sucked air in through clenched teeth, the pain blosso
ming in his ribs. Whatever had smashed into his ribs had done a thorough job of incapacitating him. White floating stars blossomed in his sight when he tried to sit up or move his upper body.

  In spite of the pain that threatened to knock him out, he couldn’t help thinking about what had happened moments earlier. He looked up at the man that had brought him here. He looked closely at the man.

  “What the fuck just happened?”

  “I just saved your life is what just happened,” the man said as he rummaged through boxes that lay in the shadows.

  “Uh, yeah, thanks. I appreciate it,” Paul sheepishly said. “What was that thing that attacked Marie? Where did it come from? I mean, I couldn’t even see it till you showed up. Even then it was nearly just a shadow of something. So what was it?”

  “Are you sure you want to know? It’s a little complex, and you may not believe the answer you get.” There was no mirth on the man’s face. This time his eyes were sane and Paul saw nothing but gravity in his demeanor.

  “Yes I want to know. I just got my ass handed to me, my girl was ripped open and sliced up, and I couldn’t even see what was doing it. Damn right I want to know.” Paul’s face was as stern as he could make it while wincing from stabbings of pain.

  “What that thing is...that thing is a barghest, what you would call a hell-hound. They are used for various purposes, but most often to hunt someone down and either kill or capture them. I think this particular one was sent to find you.”

  “To find me? I haven’t done anything to piss someone off so bad that they want to beat me up, much less want to torture me or kill me.” Paul was incredulous.