“But there was something about that letter. Something within the nonsense that hinted at the truth I had been seeking, and so I came back to the last place on Earth I ever wanted to be. And here I remain.”
As his focus returned to the here and now, Eller turned his gaze to me. “Do you know what a djinn paradox is?” he asked, catching me off guard as I was still processing what he had disclosed.
“I understand the basic premise, but I must confess, the mechanics are beyond me.”
Djinn were odd creatures in that not only were they difficult to outright kill or even banish, but they had their own complicated set of rules that at times defied logic. A djinn paradox was a complicated trap that rendered entrapment Discordant ineffectual. I looked over Eller’s shoulder at the trophy case that was still humming with energy. If I had to take a guess, I would have said there were at least eighty or so djinn clamoring to get out.
“You catch on quick,” he said with a nod. “I’m also guessing you got hit with the full blast of the inmates rattling their cages when you came in, didn’t you?”
“It is rather difficult to miss.”
“Ain’t it?” He gave a snort and turned back to the case. From his pocket, Eller pulled a grimy dust cloth and began wiping down the glass doors of the case. At least, that’s what it would have looked like to an outside observer. However, the manner in which he was wiping was curious. Instead of removing smudges, he was drawing a ward. “I usually give ‘em just enough leeway to keep up the chatter. I prefer it to the deafening silence. You’ll see why in a moment.” He gave a few more swipes and muttered an incantation under his breath. At once, the magical dissonance was muted.
“Now,” he said, stuffing the rag in his pocket and turning back to me. “Notice anything?”
Aside from the blessed silence, no, I did not notice anything at first, but then I heard it; a whisper of familiar philosophy seemed to drift from somewhere nearby. There had to be another explanation. What I sensed was impossible. My confusion must have been evident because Eller now wore a smug grin.
“You know what that is, don’t you?”
“Surely it cannot be,” I countered, yet I could not deny that the whispered mantra that defined all of what I knew to be true was growing stronger. “I sense a rift, yet you appear to be in complete control of your faculties and I’ve heard no reports of people losing their mind after a night of bowling.”
“Nor would you,” he grunted and leaned in close. As he did, the thrumming of the mantra grew louder, as if it were coming from Eller himself.
“But… how?” I was admittedly speechless, which caused Eller some amusement.
“You can’t shake faith where there’s no faith to shake. The paradox created by my acceptance of the Truth and my nonbelief in a higher power not only allows me to protect these undeserving yokels from the madness of the Truth, but also keeps at bay the djinn who would surely take over this sewage pit if left unchecked.”
“I can’t say that I understand the mechanics of what you have done, but I do admit, I am impressed,” I said and meant every word. “But why on earth would your father knowingly build a bowling alley over a rift?”
“He didn’t,” Eller said, sullen once again. “As I mentioned, I was a selfish teenager who gave no thought to the grief that was tearing apart my father’s brilliant mind. Perhaps if I had stayed, if I had endured the hatred and bigotry, if I had compromised on my higher education prospects, I might have been able to do something. I might have been able to stop him from seeking the answers to questions he never should have asked.”
“You can’t mean…”
“In his anguish over the loss of my mother, my father created the rift, and was consumed by the madness of the Ultimate Truth.”
Eller’s declaration hung in the silence it produced, alongside a single tear that stubbornly refused to fall from the corner of his eye. After a long moment, I finally found my tongue.
“I’m very sorry for your loss. Losses,” I added, stammering slightly as I realized that despite the years between their deaths, Eller had truly lost both of his parents when his mother died.
“It wasn’t long after I’d created the paradox that the magical fluctuations I was giving off caught the notice of Order,” he went on. “Seth wanted me to join the local mystic community. Had I been rational at the time, I might have considered his offer and explained the precarious situation I was in, but I was still raw with grief. I very nearly bit his head off the first time he came out here. When it became obvious that he wasn’t going to take no for an answer, I offered a compromise instead. We were in the midst of yet another economic downturn and the djinn were pouring into town in droves. I offered my services as a trapper in exchange for noninvolvement. The community agreed.”
“Wait,” I said, realizing there was something amiss. “Seth never mentioned that there was a rift involved.”
“That’s because I never told him or any of the community about it. Without the rift, I can’t protect the town.”
“But with the rift open, you’re trapped.”
“Such is the nature of a paradox, Desmond,” he said with a heavy sigh. “I was trapped the moment I answered the desperate plea of a dying man whose mind was slipping farther into the abyss with each passing day. I may have no love for Blackbird and the subhuman bigots who call it home, I may resent the lot I was cast when I chose to give in to my humanity, but I gave in willingly.”
“So, why are you telling me this now?” I asked.
“Because from what I know of the reputation that precedes you, you ain’t as willing to take ‘mind your own damned business’ for an answer as Seth.”
“Fair enough,” I conceded with a nod. If Eller was willing to admit his stubborn streak, I could do nothing less than return the favor. “But we need to do something. We could close the rift. We have teams…” I began, but Eller cut me off with a short bark of a laugh.
“I’ve heard the rumors, Desmond. I know you’re good, one of the best, but I have doubts that you and your reluctant protégé could dispatch the number of djinn I’m keeping at bay.”
“You’re right, of course,” I admitted. Even if I taught Nai the proper banishing spells, the two of us were no match for several dozen djinn. Especially in a place like Blackbird. “But in the end, that might not matter. You seem to have a thorough network of informants, Eller. I’m sure you’ve noticed that the Discordant are once again on the rise and Blackbird is at the epicenter of what is fast shaping up to be the biggest war yet. I’m going to need all hands on deck.”
“Well,” he said sitting back and lighting a fresh cigar, taking on an air of forced nonchalance that I did not care for. “If it comes to that, I’m sure we’ll figure something out.”
“That’s the problem,” I said. “The barrier between the realms has already been breached. Blackbird sits over a fissure that grows wider each day.”
“And?”
“And,” I leveled him with a look that I hoped conveyed the gravity of the situation. “It’s not a matter of if or when, Eller, but how soon.”
* * *
That evening, Seth found me in my basement work area, where I had come immediately after speaking to Eller in hopes of stumbling upon anything that could get us out of the ever more complicated trap we were falling into. I hadn’t come up with anything, but to be quite honest, I had done far more brooding than thinking.
“Something must really be bothering you. You’re not even attempting to shield from me.”
“You’re right,” I said. There was no point in hiding the truth from Seth any longer. If anything, I welcomed the idea of an additional perspective. “Eller Raglund is a living paradox.”
Seth frowned. “What does that even mean?”
“I’m not entirely sure I could properly explain it myself,” I admitted. “But what it means is that Eller isn’t shacked up on the outskirts of town because he wants to be. He’s tethered to a rift. The same rift that crea
ted the paradox that allows him to keep the djinn at bay.”
“A rift?” Seth’s expression was skeptical. “I think we would have known a long time ago if there was a rift.”
“That’s just it. Eller’s internalized the rift and created the paradox. It’s not that he doesn’t want to leave, but that he physically can’t unless the rift is first closed. If we close the rift, the djinn he’s been keeping at bay will be free. We would lose more souls than I care to think about before we were able to trap and dispatch them all.”
“Oh. Well…” Seth stammered. “This is…”
“Pretty damned messed up,” I admitted. “And I’m sure as hell not ready for the impending apocalypse. I hate to say it Seth, but when it comes right down to it, I’ve got nothing.”
“Hey,” he said, giving me a look of concern. “You don’t have to solve all of our problems alone, you know.”
“I…” I looked up and faltered as I saw echoes of Sarah’s deep brown eyes in Seth’s blue ones. You can’t protect us all. We’re stronger together. The world will not break if it falls off your shoulders. The sentiment, as well as the expression was exactly the same. “I know,” I said, pushing away the rising emotions that I had neither the strength nor the luxury of time to explore at the moment. I was spared from further discomfort by Nai’s heavy footfalls as she came down the stairs.
“I wasn’t eavesdropping on purpose, but did you say that guy out at the bowling alley knows the Ultimate Truth?”
“You overheard correctly,” I drawled. There was no point in hiding any of this from her. The child had most of my own abilities and was not against underhandedly using them as a means to reach her own agenda. Besides, I had to admit that her deviousness could be resourceful at times and I made a mental note to teach her to properly banish an entrapment Discordant.
“Doesn’t that mean this guy is susceptible to possession, like Mr. Marsden was? Isn’t that dangerous?”
“That’s a valid question, Nai, but no, he isn’t. Due to his cleric heritage, atheistic beliefs, and magical ability, he became something different when he stumbled upon the Truth,” I explained.
“But if he leaves, his brain will melt and then he’ll be susceptible?” Nai asked.
“It’s a little more complicated than that,” Seth said, looking over at me for confirmation.
“What about that crazy spell the witches did to remove the Truth from Mr. Marsden’s memory?”
“No, we wouldn’t need to do anything like that,” I explained. “We simply can’t close the rift without unleashing a virtual army of djinn onto the unsuspecting and very susceptible residents of Blackbird.”
At that, Nai’s eyes widened and her reply was exactly as I’d predicted.
“I’ve been practicing banishments! We can do this!”
“Even after I show you the correct method of banishment, it may still be too much for the two of us alone.” I reminded her, shaking my head as she scowled at my admonishment. “Freeing Eller from his self-imposed prison might be the most humane thing to do, but I’m not quite ready to bring about the end of the world. Right now, Jem is our priority and I think I have a plan.” I glanced at the clock and then over at Nai. “Speaking of which. Where the hell is your brother?”
“Oh yeah! That’s why I came down here. Jem’s not home and I haven’t seen him since third period. Bogie said Howie’s been gone since before he woke up too.”
“Of course he is,” I said with a heavy sigh. This was exactly why I never said things could not get any worse. Because I already knew that was the biggest lie ever told. Things were about to get a lot worse.
Chapter 6
Personality Crisis
I think I might have set a record for the youngest person on the planet with high blood pressure. Seriously, if I wasn’t already dead, I’d be… well… Okay, so the stress was really getting to me. The more I tried not to wish for things, the harder it was. It had gotten so bad on Friday night that I was accidentally wishing for things I didn’t even really want. Trust me, there’s nothing more embarrassing than trying to explain the sudden appearance of several dozen pairs of granny panties. Though it was kind of funny when I accidentally wished for the creepy collection of clown figurines that scared the crap out of Nai. In the end, Seth had to use his influence to put me to sleep.
Over the rest of the weekend, I managed to mostly avoid disaster. Mostly. Seth had told me that the safest thing I could wish for was a paradox because Howie wasn’t able to do that, but it was kind of unnerving. As much as I said, “I wish I’d never found the blue bottle,” it still had happened and Howie was starting to get mad at me for sounding like a parrot. But honestly, having him mad was preferable to weird and random things happening.
Besides, I didn’t have too much time to wish for things when everyone was trying to make plans and cast the spell to keep Howie confined to Bogie’s apartment. I really didn’t think that was fair to Bogie, but Desmond said it was for my own good. With Bogie around, Howie might not pick up on every little accidental wish I made. In fact, the first thing I did when I found that out was wish he couldn’t hear my wishes. Unfortunately, that didn’t work.
But Monday morning was proving to be a challenge. It was like all of the teachers were in boring mode. Those that weren’t giving super dull lectures had us reading in silence. None of them were even trying to stretch our brains and my mind kept wandering dangerously into forbidden territory. It was all I could do to keep from doing something completely stupid and it was taking its toll on me.
“Jem? Are you feeling okay?”
“Huh?” I looked up and saw Mrs. West, the math teacher standing over me with a look of concern. I looked down at my hands and realized I was shaking pretty badly. I was also kind of sweaty. “I’m uh…”
“Maybe you should go see the nurse,” she suggested with a kind smile.
“Uh, yeah. I think I…”
I fumbled to put my work into my backpack and knocked over my chair as I got up, which was kind of embarrassing because in the quiet classroom, it was so loud and everyone was looking at me. At least now that the wraith was gone, no one was lost. But there were more than a few kids who I had thought were my friends who weren’t too happy with me when they thought I bailed before the cops showed up at the party on Friday.
I didn’t go to the nurse’s office. Instead, I ran to the bathroom and splashed a bunch of water on my face before locking myself into one of the stalls. Knowing that no one could see me, I let my mind drift to safe wishes, but screwed up again when it suddenly started raining cream puffs and I had to wish them away before they buried me.
I need a vacation!
No. I did not…
I need a vacation? Why on Earth did I think that? I barely had time to chastise myself and no time at all to take it back before an unpleasant feeling erupted in my stomach. All of the sudden, I was no longer dodging falling desserts in the boy’s bathroom.
Instead, I was sitting on a chaise lounge by a pool in some sunny, tropical location and some guy in a white suit was shoving a fancy pineapple drink in my face.
“Howie? Come on, this isn’t funny!”
There was a slight plink sound and Howie popped into existence on the lounge chair next to me.
“What? Did I misinterpret? You was pretty clear when you said ‘I need a vacation,’ weren’t ya?”
“Yeah but it was just a figure of speech. I didn’t actually… You know what never mind,” I said with a sigh of frustration. “It doesn’t matter. Just send me back to math class.”
“You sure about that?” Howie gave a wink and a smile to the woman in a bikini who just handed him a fancy drink in a coconut. Not fair. Why did I get the waiter instead of the bikini girl? “I mean, it’s your choice, but come on, pal.” He spread his arms wide and gestured at the island paradise surrounding us.
It was my choice and that’s what made it so hard. I didn’t know where we were, but it didn’t really matter. It was sunny
and pleasant, and the swimming pool was looking more and more inviting the longer I stared at it. It was cold and raining in Blackbird and Mrs. West wasn’t exactly going out of her way to make math an interesting subject.
But no matter how tempted I was to find out if my pineapple contained more than just fruit juice and sparkling water, I knew I had to go back. I was still the goody two-shoes half of a split soul. For Nai, staying here would be a no brainer. I worried about her constantly, but part of me secretly wished I could be more like her.
Suddenly, Howie jumped up and gave me the kind of smile that made me nervous.
“Now that’s more like it!”
Too late, I realized what I had just thought.
“Huh? Oh, no! Howie don’t…”
There was a bright flash of light and I stumbled backwards, tripping over the lounger and spilling the tropical drink all down my front as my protest died on my lips. What was I arguing for? Oh!
“Did I just… you know…”
“Wish you could be more like your sister?” He asked, snapping his fingers at the waiter, who brought me another drink. “Yeah, you did. You okay with that?”
There was a part of me that recognized what I did as being a potentially disastrous move. There was also a part of me, a bigger part if I was being honest, that suddenly didn’t actually give a fu… fig.
“Huh…” I said, taking a sip from my newest pineapple. Oh yeah, there was definitely more than juice in there. “You know, Howie, I am okay with that.”
Several hours and several pineapples, coconuts, and one really potent lime later, I was beyond buzzed. I was so buzzed that I actually felt a physical buzzing in my left butt cheek. It was only after I took off my pants to jump in the “smimming wool” that I realized the butt buzzing was my cell phone and I had missed a lot of phone calls.
Rise of the Discordant: The Complete Five Book Series Page 42
