by John Booth
Jenny pouted. Then she smiled.
“Wait till I tell Esmeralda you came home to me and then had to go again before you could visit her.”
Had it really got that bad between the two of them?
Jenny was undoing her skirt, which dropped to the floor. God, she has a beautiful body.
“How about a quickie over the washing machine? I’ll stick it on spin cycle. It’ll make her eyes pop when I put it on the list.”
“What?” Despite the insanity of it, I had already lowered my jeans and was standing to attention.
“No washing machines on Salice. She’ll never be able to top this one.”
The next ten minutes were glorious if a little rushed.
I hopped to my apartment on Balmack and nearly collided with Lana who was walking across the room. As we hugged to stop from falling over a glint appeared in her eye.
“You can hop properly again.”
I had to think quickly. “No, I was already in the room. I just wanted to get a hug from you.”
She eyed me suspiciously. “Where have you been? I came to spend the night with you and when you were still gone this morning I was worried. I was just about to contact the university about it.”
“There was a small incident at the Dragon Ambassador’s residence.”
Lana’s mouth fell open and then she punched me playfully in the chest.
“If you call thirty dead a small incident. I was worried that might have something to do with you, but the news report said the Ambassador wasn’t in residence.”
Thirty dead? I dropped that information into the part of my mind I hide things I don’t want to have to think about.
“Did they say what caused it?”
Lana shrugged. “They say a small meteor got past the planet’s defense net.”
“Definitely not a person then?”
Lana’s eyes widened. “Are you saying it could have been a human bomb, like the wizards used on Tandon? Was it aimed at you?”
I ignored the question as I’d just noticed a piece of paper was flashing on the notice board. Balmack didn’t have phones, or television for that matter, but they did have paper that would flash if it had received a new message.
I unpinned the paper from the board and scanned it. It was from Roge Saldor.
‘Dear Wizard Morrissey,
Forgive me for writing to you, but I have discovered something that might be of interest. After your visit to my home I looked up my messages to the student who was sponsored by the Elves. The first thing that drew my attention was his name, which I had written down as Daffith. I seemed to recall you mentioned a similar name when talking about the person you were seeking to contact.
He joined the university a little over three years ago, which is more than ten years after my time there. However the coincidence of name is unsettling. He is approximately the same age as me and is currently undertaking his final year.
He was sponsored by an important elf called Farolan. The name is unfamiliar to me, but the important fact is that he was not sponsored by the Hidden Worlds as I was, but by and individual.
I hope this information is of some use to you. Please convey my kind regards to Lord Retnor and let me know what he thinks of my furniture.
Kind Regards
Roge Saldor’
And just like that it all fell into place. I had been looking for Dafydd assuming he had joined the university fourteen years ago when he left for America and pretended to be at a university there. But I was wrong. He had only come to Balmack a few years ago, sponsored by Farolan at a time when Farolan was under the control of the Krake. There might even have been a deal struck between them, access to the university in exchange for my death.
“Bad news?” Lana asked.
“No. Actually I think it’s good news.”
I would need access to university records for the last three years. Going directly to the Chancellor would be the fastest route. If that didn’t work, I’d contact the President and fill him in.
“Jake, where are you going?”
I was heading for the door. I could have hopped to the Chancellor’s office, but I didn’t want anybody in the Accord to know I was free of the bracelet. Much better to walk, it would give me time to get my thoughts in order.
“Chancellor’s office,” I said before shutting the door on Lana. I was halfway down the corridor when she caught up with me.
“I do not know what is going on, but I am coming with you.”
It was good to have the company.
30. Words
The Chancellor’s Secretary, a grey haired and austere lady with a face like a crow was far from impressed by my demands.
“Chancellor Landow is a very busy man and I can’t interrupt him every time a student feels aggrieved about something. The poor man would get no rest.”
I wished the old trout would go back to the knitting on her desk and let me in to see the Chancellor.
“I’m going through that door right now,” I repeated.
The secretary stood up and by the time she was upright she had changed into something that looked like a grizzly bear, but with longer teeth.
“Perhaps we should come back later,” Lana suggested. She pulled on my hand urgently.
I slapped a bubble of magic around the bear and dragged Lana’s hand off mine. As I stepped forward, dozens of spears appeared in mid-air, pointed towards me.
I changed the spears to feathers, which drifted down to the floor and became an enormous bird of prey before they landed.
A second later a steel bird cage formed around the creature which screeched in anger. One more step forward and the secretary was in front of me gesturing. A shield formed between me and my target door that would have stopped a nuclear blast.
I wasn’t the country bumpkin I used to be. It was amazing the things I’d learnt in the last couple of months. Touching the shield with an outstretched finger I turned it to glass and shattered into a thousand pieces.
The secretary glared at me and dragonfire shot from her mouth as she screeched in anger.
Dragonfire against me? That was almost insulting and just for fun I transformed the flames into snowflakes as I diverted the blast to either side of me.
Taking a step closer to the door the floor beneath me became the round mouth of something decidedly nasty. A second later a polished hardwood stopper filled the maw and the creature shrieked in frustration.
The secretary gestured and the knitting on her desk became a writhing bundle of snakes that shot towards me. Before I could do anything the snakes changed back to wool and the wool drifted through the air back to her desk.
“What is all this racket?” the Chancellor shouted.
“He was trying to get in to see you,” the secretary woman said meekly.
“Well next time let him, Manda. It will take weeks to get the taint of that creature out of the carpet. Did you have to summon a crawlworm?”
“The student was being highly unreasonable, sir.”
The Chancellor stepped forward and put an arm on my shoulder. “This is Wizard Morrissey. Everything he does is unreasonable. Next time, let him through.”
Lana followed behind us as the Chancellor accompanied me into his office.
“Do not upset Manda again. You were lucky to escape without serious injury. She isn’t my secretary because of her looks.”
“I know who the Bomber is. He also blew up the Dragon Embassy.”
The Chancellor gave me a look bordering on scorn.
“We are not fools. Has Lord Retnor survived? His injuries must have been severe from what we could tell.”
I nodded. “He is recuperating at home. I understand there were fatalities?”
The Chancellor sighed and dropped into his chair. “Thirty two dead, five more in critical condition and seventy four with serious injuries. The blast was caused by a meteor, small, but moving very fast. It destroyed two other embassies and damaged a third.”
“I’m sorry.” I didn’
t know what else to say.
“Investigator Grimes has acknowledged that this was not your work. To quote, ‘the sophistication of the attack was quite beyond Morrissey’s skills.’”
Well, that was something.
“You said you know who the Bomber is?”
“I got the year wrong. Instead of coming here fourteen years ago it was more like three. He was brought here by an elf called Farolan. At the time, Farolan was under the control of the Krake.”
The Chancellor stared at me incredulously. “That is absurd. The Krake are fairy tales that even Elves don’t believe in. Stories we tell our children to scare them into staying close to home.”
“What are the Krake?” Lana asked.
“Spirits that feed off human suffering; that will hurt you to feed,” the Chancellor said dropping momentarily into lecturer mode.
“Ah, goblins,” Lana said sagely.
The Chancellor had got up and opened a filing cabinet, sorting through sheets in the relevant period. The Balmack didn’t have computers, but a single sheet of paper could hold thousands of fully indexed records. They were easy to copy as well. I had to admit they were better than computers back home and far more reliable.
“This man?” The Chancellor showed me a paper, which was showing a video of a man in his late thirties. He looked remarkably like the photograph I had of Dafydd Williams when he was twenty one. I nodded.
“Daffith Smith of Ballern. Joined the university three and a bit years ago and is now in his final year. He is currently on assignment on the world of Whydar, studying a technological civilization with strong magical tendencies.”
The Chancellor scribbled something on a paper and waited impatiently for his secretary to get back to him. Words appeared on the paper below his own.
“He was here yesterday, left last night on a six month assignment to Whydar.” He tapped his fingers for long minutes until more words appeared on the paper. “He was here during the other attacks and left just after them. Circumstantial evidence, but it doesn’t rule him out and it is worth following up on it.”
“I want to go after him right now,” I said.
“Me too,” Lana put in. “I mean, I plan to accompany Wizard Morrissey to protect him.”
The Chancellor snorted. “Smith is on assignment. That means that he has discretion to go anywhere on the planet in question. It will be much better and safer for you to wait for him to return.”
“I can find him and I’m not prepared to wait,” I said grimly.
The Chancellor glared at me. “During your time with us, he has been on this campus for over two weeks. A campus is much smaller than a planet. How well did you do?”
“I’m better motivated now. Thirty two new reasons to find him just this week.”
The Chancellor sighed as he realized I wasn’t going to be easily deterred.
“I shall pass on your request to the President and Investigator Grimes. Until I get an answer back you can both get out of here and get back to your studies.
31. Upsets
Lana and I walked back through the university to my room. I needed an excuse to get rid of her so I could hop home. Unfortunately, she had been living in my room for the last few weeks. I brought us to a halt before we reached my door.
“Would you mind if we part company for tonight? I have a lot to think about.”
Lana was not happy. “You want me to go back to my apartment?”
“Just for tonight. Getting so close to the Bomber has reminded me of home and my wives.”
“Are you dumping me?” Her stance became aggressive. What I needed was verbal oil to pour over her troubled waters.
“Of course not.” I kissed her forehead. “It’s just after all that’s happened I need some alone time.”
Her eyes narrowed.
“Have you been seeing Esta again? Has the little boy bitch been seducing you?”
“She doesn’t talk to me these days. I just see her in lectures.”
Now those who have been following my life also know that whoever runs the multiverse often likes a good laugh at my expense. I looked past Lana’s head to see Esta walking towards us so fast she was practically running.
“Jake, Jake,” she shouted, as if rushing towards me wasn’t bad news enough all on its own.
Lana frowned and turned round far enough to confirm her suspicions.
“You bastard.” She stomped away from me.
Esta had almost reached me and stopped to catch her breath.
“Where’s Lana going?” she asked in surprise when she was able to speak.
“Call of nature,” I said, ignoring all logic.
“But…?”
“Esta, what do you want to talk to me about?”
Esta looked down the corridor, now empty of Lana, and back to me. She seemed very excited.
“Manda tells me you have found the Bomber.”
Manda? The Chancellor’s secretary?
“I want to come with you. Jeram does too.” She waved a piece of communication paper in my face. I have many skills but reading handwriting on a piece of paper being waved in front of me is not one of them.
“Slow down. We only left the Chancellor a few minutes ago.”
Esta took a deep breath; then words spilled out of her mouth like a broken water pipe.
“I saw you two going to the Chancellor and followed you. Manda and I are good friends. She is tutoring me privately in the art of using fighting magic. Most of the mages here could not defend themselves from a hornet, let alone another magic user. She thinks you are good at it, by the way. I’ve never seen her impressed by a student before.”
Raising my hand in a stop gesture had the desired effect and she paused for breath. I got in a few words before she could start again
“The Bomber is away on another world for the next six months. I may not be allowed to go after him, so why should you come with me?”
“Because he tried to kill us. Have you forgotten the pyramid? Besides, Jeram and I are tougher than you and you will need the help. And you promised him.”
I grinned because I could see she meant every word.
“But you don’t like me. You haven’t spoken to me for ages.”
Just like that she became coy. If you could embody female cuteness in a single person, its name would be Esta.
“I do like you, Jake. But you preferred the blonde muscle woman.”
“The blonde muscle woman thinks I wanted her to leave so we could have sex. That’s why she ran away.”
Esta came closer, put her arm in mine and cuddled up to me.
“I could put her right… if we were to have sex right now.”
I am not above making deals with the devil if it involves sex with a beautiful woman, and I could put off going home for an hour or two.
“Have you missed me?”
“Not one bit,” she said and kissed me passionately, effectively ending the conversation.
Esta rolled onto her stomach and smiled at me. Her back was exquisite, leading down to the prettiest bottom you ever would see. Her complexion was paler than anyone on Earth, the word cream really did apply.
“Will you go and sort out Lana?”
She giggled. “I will have to shower first. Are you sure we shouldn’t do it again before I go?”
I slapped her bottom playfully, which brought more giggles.
“Tell her I’ll see her tomorrow. I need to get some sleep.”
“I’ll bet you do.” Esta giggled some more before getting out of bed.
“Don’t forget to change the sheets,” Esta said as he left the room half an hour later.
That was a good point, but I had got magical cleaning down to a fine art. I spruced my body up after I cleaned the room and removed all traces of feminine odor from my clothes. Esmeralda was sensitive to that kind of thing and always noticed.
My last act was to block the room magically so Lana couldn’t get in. The protection wouldn’t have been worth a damn if she c
ould hop properly, but while her bracelet was functioning it would be enough to keep her out.
Then I hopped over to the Bat Cave.
Fluffy chuckled as I materialized into the cave. Dragonfire spilled over everything.
[You may have cleaned yourself enough to fool a human, but a dragon’s nose can smell the woman on you.]
“I see you are feeling well enough to insult me.”
[It would only be an insult if it were untrue.]
Despite his words I could tell he was glad to see me. I went to his neck and while apparently giving him a stroke, checked out his body. All sorts of chemical associated with stress were flowing through his blood. I removed a lot of them, though some had to be left to help his body heal.
[Thank you, Jake. I don’t suppose you have any sheep on you?”]
His stomach rumbled and I took the hint. A short time later he was chomping contentedly on medium rare roast lamb with the merest hint of charring.
[It was good of you to save me.]
“Where am I going to get another dragon’s egg or another friend for that matter?”
We sat together in silence for an hour or so. It felt good to be with him again. Then I hopped to Salice.
“Bad Daddy!” Morgana said loudly as I appeared in our state room. State room is a fancy name for a lounge used by royalty and Esmeralda insisted I call it that.
Esmeralda turned as soon as Morgana spoke and ran to me. Morgana beat her to it, being nearer, and I hugged my daughter as Esmeralda looked on.
“Is the Lord Wizard finally done with his errand?”
I shook my head. “I found a way to defeat the bracelet, so I’m able to visit.”
“And what brought that on?” she asked. “You only discover such things in extremis, so there must have been a crisis.”
I have never thought of it like that. But when it came down to it, she was right.
“Fluffy was injured and I had to take him to safety.”
Esmeralda’s mind is like a steel trap. Her abilities of deduction are extraordinary. I could almost see the wheels spin.
“After you had saved Lord Retnor you went to Jenny. Is she also recovered?”
