by Martha Carr
“You’re fine. Those are food trucks for another time. Right now, you’re going to tell me everything you know about Jaspar Elves and why I’m in danger.”
“I could have done that back at the party. Wasn’t that your office? This looks like a pub.”
“It’s a bar and I live behind it.” My father is coming over to my house. I’d really rather be in a shootout right now. She bit down on her lip. “Fuck, let’s do this.” Leira looked over her shoulder to see if anyone was watching from Estelle’s. “A lot of the people in there are my friends and they have no idea that the monsters in the closets are real and then some. You don’t say a damn thing when we walk through there and you just keep walking.”
Jackson followed closely behind Leira as she headed for the gate, her chin tucked down. “I had an idea that parenting would be a lot like this. What?” He held up his hands in protest as Leira scowled at him, opening the gate. She buried her hands in the pockets of her jacket as she marched along the edge of the patio.
Estelle was standing on her step stool behind the bar and watched the pair head for the guest house as she blew a long stream of smoke out the side of her mouth, taking another long drag creating a cloud as everyone at the bar turned away from the smoke.
Leira opened the door and dropped her purse on the red velvet chair, stepping aside to let Jackson inside before she pressed the door shut. She slid out of her jacket, resting it on the back of a kitchen chair as she scooped out the troll and carried him over to the sink, holding him under the faucet as she squirted dish soap on him.
“Motherfucker!” He bristled as the cold water hit his neck. He grew to fit her entire hand.
“Like a fucking chia pet. Hold still. I can’t wait for you to lick off the grease this time. You’ll leave a trail wherever you go.”
Jackson took a glance inside the bedroom and around at the living room. “Not a bad space. Nicer than my cabin. It’s about the same size, though you have more toys in yours.” He stopped at the kitchen door and leaned against the frame. “Don’t you know you’re not supposed to water them or feed them after midnight?”
Leira grabbed a dish towel and wiped off the troll as she spun around, her eyes wide. “I knew you had been to Earth before.” She shook her head, frowning. “Why lie about it?”
“No lies. I’ve never been to Earth but doesn’t mean I’m unaware of all this.”
Yumfuck stood on the kitchen table and shook his entire body, spraying a fine mist in a foot-wide radius. “You could have just asked. I would have obliged,” he chirped. “Oooh, lavender scent!” He licked his fur and scrambled off the table, bouncing on to the chair and scaling down the leg, running out of the room.
“His shows are on. He discovered Law and Order.” Leira put down the dish towel and took a seat at the table. “What do you know that Turner Underwood can’t teach me.”
“It’s something I have to show you more than tell you.” Jackson moved cautiously toward the table, pulling out the chair.
“That’s going to get annoying pretty fast. Look, we’re strangers to each other and you have information I need. That’s all this is right now. Show me what you know.”
“Fair enough.” He stretched his arms across the table, his hands open. “Take my hands.” He gave a short, one-sided shrug. “You want to know, take my hands.”
Leira startled as he did the same impatient twitch she did at least once a day. She put her hands into his as he grasped her fingers tightly and his eyes began to glow, the energy pulling in from the ground and up through his body, lighting up the symbols. The magic sparked between their hands and shot through Leira, lighting up her skin, casting a glow around her entire body. “What the fuck?” She looked at her arms and legs, the hairs on her arms standing on end.
“Give in to it. Fighting it will only make it harder for me to show you. A little trust will be necessary.”
Leira took a deep breath, doing her best to let go. Think of your favorite places. Interrogation. She felt herself relax a little picturing the middle-aged banker who killed his wife and shot himself trying to cover it up. He eventually confessed but not until after Leira and Hagan carefully laid it all out for him. Good times. Favorite things to do. The familiar sound of handcuffs closing made her laugh.
You and I are more alike than you know.
Leira heard Jackson’s voice inside her head as she instinctively pulled her hands back, but Jackson’s grip was strong, and the energy was holding them together. He rose out of his chair, his chest across the table as he pulled against Leira and sat back down. Welcome to a Jaspar mind meld. It’s unique to our kind. We can connect on a deeper level.
His energy was mixing with hers, intertwining as his voice rolled through her head. Haven’t been able to do this since I was a kid. Don’t run into too many Jaspar Elves anymore. Met a very old Elf who showed me Oriceran’s past in a way that gets under your skin. The battle with Rhazdon’s followers… That was a bloody mess.
Wait, you were there? How?
You’ll see, hang on.
What does that mean? Leira loosened her grip around Jackson’s hands but the energy still sealed them together.
Okay, this is where it gets a little tricky.
Leira felt her muscles tense under their own power as the energy surged through her. She resisted at first, wary of losing herself.
We won’t let it get that far. I can feel what you’re feeling. If you try, you can do the same.
Leira looked into his eyes and felt her energy open up as Jackson’s thoughts came rushing into her head. Dude, slow down! His memories unreeled, spilling out without any order, filling every inch of her thoughts. Images of Oriceran spun through her mind as she watched the gargoyles in the post office fly swiftly overhead, their wingtips barely missing each other. They gracefully swooped and rose, opening the small brass-framed cubbies and inserting the mail, just as quickly darting away to gather more, their leather pouches flapping against their backs. The memory compressed into a rose-colored swirl, elongating as it looped and swirled away, replaced by a field of tall yellow flowers with blooms the size of a large melon. Underneath were entire troll villages with small houses built out of mud and shaded by the flowers. Trolls of various sizes ran between the mud houses, cackling and rolling, while others sat back and watched.
A pang of loneliness rang through Leira’s body as she realized Yumfuck must have come from a village but just as quickly the memory flattened out in a swirl of yellow and zipped away. Leira took in a sharp breath as she overlooked a sharp drop down a rocky cliff, another memory. He’s a scavenger.
Jackson’s voice filled her head again. That’s right. A noble profession. I bring back to life what others have lost or forgotten. She heard the edge in his voice and took in a deeper breath, amazed at the view over the Conca, the winding river far below. “I can feel the wind in my face,” she said, amazed. Her eyes were wide-open, glowing as they darted back and forth but all she could see in front of her was the wide open-terrain of Oriceran and the sharp drop below.
It’s part of the memory. I remember that venture. Not surprised it came up. There were a few hairy moments. Really seared itself into my memory.
“How much further?”
A familiar voice echoed in the memory as the image shifted away from the cliff’s edge and Leira found herself looking at the Wizard, Louie, grinning as the wind ruffled his hair. His cheeks were red, and he was covered in sweat and a fine brown dust.
That was his first venture out with me. He was a fast learner.
Before Leira could say anything the image broke into small prisms, pieces of Louie’s face breaking apart, the light shining in every direction inside of her mind as it turned to colored dust and blew apart. “Fuck me…” She turned her head trying to follow the images. But just as quickly another started and Leira felt herself slip inside of the memory, forgetting where she was inside of her kitchen, sitting at the table. In front of her was a younger Eireka, laughing and r
unning down the main pathway outside the royal gardens of the Light Elves. She was dressed in long, layered pale silks and sandals and her dark hair was tied behind her in a long braid. She looks so happy.
She was happy. That was the best time of my life.
Leira heard the pain in his voice. My father. The thought slipped into her bones.
Eireka twirled and sang as the nearby reeds bent toward her, following her voice. A sense of belonging filled Leira and held her close for a moment, dissolving with the image. That was so easy, like I could take it for granted.
That was the love we felt for each other. I wanted you to feel that for yourself. It was real.
Leira’s eyes shined with tears. I’ve seen enough. She gathered her own energy through her feet, letting it surge up through her body, pushing at Jackson to let her hands go.
“No! Not like that!” He was shouting as a loud tear that sounded like fabric being rent slammed into both of their heads. Leira squeezed her eyes shut from the pain and lifted her shoulders toward her ears.
A wall of energy hit Leira square in her chest knocking the wind out of her and knocking over her chair, breaking the connection with Jackson as their hands came apart. The troll rolled over onto the black and white linoleum squares of the floor and grew till his head dusted the ceiling, the tips of his fur tinged blue. Jackson looked in horror as Leira gasped for breath and a rip in the world in between appeared. Her foot dangled in the void as the troll pulled at her leg. A loud, wet sucking sound pulled at her foot, dragging her toward the world in between.
Jackson crawled over the top of the table, landing on top of Leira, one hand on the stove as he called on his own magic and pulled her away. He turned in time to see a dark mist rolling through the world in between, seeping into their world, sticking to Leira’s skin and wrapping around her foot.
The troll roared in anger, shredding the mist with his claws as he pushed Jackson aside. The mist wrapped around his head, blinding him momentarily as he reached out and lifted Leira easily into the air, moving toward the living room. The black mist pulled at his head, back toward the world in between with each step as the troll strained against it, pieces of light shining through to direct him. He shook the guest house with each step as he pounded across the floor, his fur turning a darker gray blue.
Jackson summoned the energy through his feet, letting go of control as his arms lit up and the symbols rolled across his arms. He reached out and shoved the troll with the force of his magic, pushing him just beyond the reach of the dark mist as he landed right at the edge of the darkness. He felt his mind start to cloud as he scrambled backward like a crab across the small kitchen away from the tear in the world, slamming into the door of the oven. He watched in amazement, his mouth hanging open as the hole gradually dissipated, the mist leaving a black film along the floor. “What the fuck was that?” he muttered, his heart pounding.
He shook his head hard to regain his senses, wiping his face with his sleeve as he got to his feet and ran to Leira. The troll was already shrinking in size, his fur still a blue hue. “That’s not supposed to happen!” he shouted. He ran a hand through his thick hair, clamping his palm down hard on top of his head, his eyes wide in amazement. “Even with your spark of humanity that shouldn’t be… I mean, I’ve never seen anything… The troll turned blue goddammit!”
Leira was sitting up, her head resting in her hands, her elbows on her knees as she sucked in air as fast as she could to clear her mind. A wave of nausea came over her and she swallowed hard to keep down her stomach. “The…the dark mist.” She was having to spit out words in gulps. Her entire body seemed to be trying to regroup.
“In some ways…” she took another breath as her stomach turned over and she let out a loud retching noise. “In some ways… you’re a really great father and in some other ways your parenting skills could use some fine tuning…” She took in another deep breath and held it for a moment, slowly letting it out. “Not a good choice of first games to play with your daughter there, Dad.”
Jackson was bent over, his hands on his knees peering closely at Leira as the troll stood on her shoulder, quivering from head to toe.
“You alright little guy?” Jackson put out his hand to rub Yumfuck’s head as the troll growled at him, baring his sharp, tiny teeth. Jackson pulled back his hand but stayed where he was, watching Leira struggle to breathe normally. “Leira, I should have told you more before we did that, but I never would have guessed you have that kind of power. It’s like you won the genetic jackpot.”
“Doesn’t feel like I won something. Feels like the bends. What just happened?”
Jackson stood up straight, throwing his hands up in the air. “Fuck, it was like an ocean of energy came rolling through and tore at the connection we had just because you willed it. It was too much of a power surge and flipped what your world calls a breaker. Damn thing opened up the world in between. After that, it was a freak show with some dark blob rolling out to get you, and the troll turning blue. You do know what the fuck that means when a bonded troll turns blue, don’t you? It means you’re inches from death… from leaving this world… from being no more!” He was waving his arms, his eyes wide and some of his hair was sticking up straight. “Your mother and grandmother would cut me up into little bits very slowly if I got you killed on our first outing! And that tall Elf, the way he looks at you… He would figure out a way to throw me into the world in between if I ever harmed you. Yeah, I noticed.”
“Not sure I’d see that as the worst part of the story in that scenario and Correk is my friend.”
“Sure, let’s go with that.”
“Because that’s what it is.” Leira’s breathing was finally coming back to normal. “You know… if I’m dead.” She gave her father a crooked smile and leaned back against the couch. “Do you know that’s not even my worst encounter with the world in between?”
“What the fuck was that? I’ve never seen the world in between go hunting for guests.”
“That is what I like to call the dark mist. It doesn’t exactly hunt as much as go toward the light.” Leira shut her eyes for a moment and waited for the ringing in her ears to subside. “That large surge of energy combined with the sudden opening must have pulled the dark mist toward me. It felt like an enormous weight sitting on top of me.”
“I’m not sure that was the dark mist. You were ramping up the emotions there for a second after you saw your mother and demanded the magic help you. It was a winning combination. Fuck me.” Jackson bent over again and took in a deep breath. “Glad you have a ferocious little friend, there or we’d be spending an eternity together, just hanging out.”
Leira looked up at Jackson. “You would have followed me in.”
“More like been dragged behind you but yeah, I would have gone in swinging. Oh, motherfucker this one is going to take a few minutes to get over. I almost killed my only child I just met…” Spit flew from his mouth in the excitement. “That was worse than tangling with the black octopus off the coast of Trevilsom Prison.”
“Aloha,” chirped the troll as he blew Jackson a raspberry.
Jackson looked at the small troll. “That can’t be good.”
“It can mean more than one thing,” said Leira, as she let out a relieved laugh. “Not how I pictured father daughter outings either, but I have a feeling this is the norm for me. Now, tell me what else do I have to know about this energy in order to stay on this side of the veil.”
Jackson looked sheepish as he sat down on the couch. “Keep your emotions in check. I thought I was going to be able to show you some good memories and help you ramp up the energy slowly without pushing it all the way through the floor. I had no idea it would upset you that much. I mean, I figured you had a good childhood. I know Eireka would have seen to that…”
“Mom wasn’t around for a good chunk of it. Long story. Better saved for another time.” Leira’s voice grew strained.
“There’s so much more I have to show you bu
t I need more background before we try again. That was too dangerous. For now, there are two ways I know of that you can pull back when the energy is running away from you. One is to connect your mind with another Jaspar Elf and let them tamp it down with you.”
“You’re the only other Jaspar Elf I know of…”
“You have the ability to sense them around you, especially when your emotions are running high. I can teach you how to do that. The other way is to use a certain kind of artifact. This is where your old dad is really going to come in handy. One of the reasons Mara was so intent on finding me.” He smiled broadly, the creases around his eyes deepening but he was still sweating, and his hands were gripping his thighs. “I’ve heard about these artifacts before…”
“But you’ve never seen one. Great.”
“Let me finish. I’ve seen one…” He got up and paced the room. “Just didn’t get close enough to hold it, much less take it with me. They’re rare and highly desired, if you know what I mean. The only thing I know of that can hold back magic. They date from the time when Jaspar Elves and Atlanteans were thriving and their magic was dominating everything. Enemies came up with a way to enhance common objects to siphon off energy from magical beings. There is a catch.”
“There always is…”
“An artifact can only siphon off so much before it will implode and crater everything around it. You have to either find a way to leech out the magic back into the Earth or into someone else.”
“Or I learn to control the energy.”
“That’s not exactly a possibility. You’re becoming one with the energy and it’s endless. You don’t want to be endless.”
“You said not exactly.”
“You would have to be able to resist using your magic to its full potential all the time. Every time you push it, you blend a little more. The temptation grows. It’s a damn rush.”
“I don’t believe that’s the only answer.”
Jackson stood there mystified. “What do you mean, you don’t believe it? You think just because you say it that makes it true? That attitude comes from your mother’s side of the family.”
