Gypsy Witch

by David Delaney

  Whoa!

  Portal first, then troll killing.

  I waited for a snarky response from the voice in my head, but all I got was silence.

  Interesting.

  I used my sonic weapon roar to daze the enemies in front of me. The trolls fell back, shaking their massive heads. The imps that had started to come around after my first roar dropped back to the ground – I didn't think they would be getting back up any time soon. I did not waste my advantage. I leapt at the portal and began to shred. I let the burning pain course through me and feed my rage.

  One of the trolls recovered faster than its comrades and jumped onto my back, clamping its steel jaws down on my shoulder. My Ollphiest skin was near impenetrable and the troll shrieked its annoyance as it bit ferociously, over and over, seeking blood.

  I reached back and sunk my claws into the troll's head. I ripped it from my back and tossed it aside.

  The portal was almost closed. Just a few more swipes should do it.

  The trolls were not about to let that happen.

  All three had regained their feet, shrieking at me in defiance. The portal would just have to wait. I rounded on the trolls, growling and baring my wicked fangs. The trolls didn't even blink they just continued their shrieking. The Low Creatures didn't fear me. That was their first mistake, and it would also be their last.

  The trolls spread out, taking two steps to the side for every step forward.

  I growled.

  The trolls charged.

  In the immortal words of The Thing: it was clobberin' time.

  CHAPTER 15

  Jimmy sprinted for campus. There would be people there, and he didn't care what Lucy had said: there was strength in numbers. Of course, he wasn't a super fit guy, so he was sucking wind, bent double with a side stitch after only a block. As he tried to catch his breath, he thought about what could have gone wrong with the spell. Was all magic this unstable? Lucy seemed to have no trouble controlling her power.

  Fireballs.

  Lucy could conjure up fireballs.

  Jimmy started to get excited again about the possibilities that learning magic would provide. He would be able to do anything he wanted.

  Still, the love spell was wreaking so much havoc. He figured it was a case of operator error. Tinkerbelle must have done something wrong. Lucy had suggested as much when she had accused him of messing around with things he didn't understand.

  The only thing he understood clearly was that Tinkerbelle and Dahlia were supposed to be immune, protected from the effects of the spell. Heck, the effects were only supposed to work on one person, his intended – Maddie.

  Maddie?

  Lucy had said Maddie had some sort of shield, had even called her a natural-born Paragon, whatever that was. But what if Maddie's protection had failed the same way Tinkerbelle's and Dahlia's had failed? It made sense. When a computer virus was let loose, it didn't only infect some computers; it infected all of them.

  He needed to find Maddie, to make sure she was safe. Even though the current crisis wasn't his fault, he still felt protective of Maddie. She was why he'd even agreed to the stupid love spell at all.

  He knew Maddie was at a charity dance her sorority was sponsoring. He always knew where she was. He didn't consider himself a stalker; he was just interested in her life and kept himself informed.

  Luckily for him, the dance was being held on campus, the direction he was already heading. He sped up to a fast walk; he figured he could be there within twenty minutes. What would he say to Maddie when he found her? What if she came onto him the way all the other girls had? Would he be able to control himself? If she was safe, if she didn't seem all crazy the way Dahlia and Tinkerbelle had been, maybe he could have a couple of dances with her? And then after . . . well . . . after he would just follow Maddie's lead.

  When he arrived at the dance, he was shocked at the number of people in attendance – and by the fact that they were all dressed like super heroes or fantasy characters. It must be a cosplay themed party, Jimmy thought. How was he supposed to find Maddie in this crowd? He wandered around, pushing past Iron Mans, Bat Girls, and a ton of Anime characters. How would he even recognize Maddie if she was in costume?

  Jimmy was oblivious to the fact that all the women at the dance were staring after him as he passed by. A few even walked away from their dates to follow after him.

  Jimmy only noticed that he was being trailed by a Xena Warrior Princess, two Little Mermaids, and a Super Girl when one of the Little Mermaids grabbed at Xena and tried to push her out of the way to get closer to Jimmy.

  "Move, you bitch," the Little Mermaid shouted.

  Xena turned and pushed the Little Mermaid away, causing her to trip over her fish tail. In the over-crowded hall, this started a domino effect. Super heroes started tripping over Mario Brothers, who fell into characters from Overwatch. This caused several shoving matches between people who had had too much to drink.

  Jimmy's mouth hung open as he watched the pandemonium breaking out around him. And then he spotted Maddie.

  She was trying to break up an altercation between a Hermione Granger and a girl dressed as what could only be described as a sexy Storm Trooper.

  "Maddie," Jimmy shouted, waving to try and get her attention.

  The noise level in the hall had reached rock concert level, and Jimmy realized that there was no way Maddie could hear him over the roar of hundreds of angry people. He ran in Maddie's general direction, but women kept jumping in his way and tugging at anything they could grab – an arm, his shirt. One girl dove for his feet and clutched onto one of his legs. Jimmy kicked out, trying to dislodge the clinging woman. All around him, the shoving matches were turning into fights. The crowd was quickly spiraling out of control and it was all focused on Jimmy.

  A hand clamped down on Jimmy's shoulder and spun him around. He found himself face to face with Maddie. She was dressed as Wonder Woman, and she looked amazing. Jimmy stood motionless; waiting to see if Maddie would react to him, if the spell had worked.

  "Jimmy? What's going on?" shouted Maddie over the noise. "Get off of him! What's wrong with you?" Maddie swatted at the girl holding onto Jimmy's leg. "I don't know what's happened. Everyone's decided to lose their minds all at once."

  Nothing.

  Every other woman in the room was clawing to get at Jimmy, and Maddie was just Maddie. Damn.

  Jimmy came to his senses quickly. "We need to get out of here. This is turning into a riot," he said, trying to pull Maddie after him.

  "What? I can't leave. I'm one of the hostesses," said Maddie.

  A Princess Leia jumped on Jimmy's back.

  "Whoo hoo!" the Princess Leia yelled.

  "Oh for the love of—" said Maddie, as she pried the Princess Leia from Jimmy's back. Princess Leia was clearly not happy about Maddie interfering with her fun, and she started throwing slaps at Maddie's head.

  Jimmy got in between the two of them and Princess Leia's demeanor switched in a flash; she became all smiles and started thrusting her hips at Jimmy.

  "On second thought, follow me," Maddie yelled at Jimmy.

  Jimmy followed Maddie through the crowd; he could tell she was trying to get them out of the worst of the fighting. Unfortunately, Jimmy was the cause of the problem and whenever a new group of girls spotted him, things continued to escalate. A girl dressed as Harley Quinn was waving Maddie and Jimmy toward an open door. Maddie grabbed Jimmy's hand and strong-armed her way through the people blocking their path. They made it through the door and Harley Quinn slammed it shut, getting it locked before anyone else could get through.

  They were standing in a serving area between the hall and the kitchen. Several food trolleys were piled with pots, pans, and a few cases of bottled water.

  Maddie pulled her cellphone from one of her Wonder Woman boots, "Thanks, Jen. You're a life saver. This is Jimmy," said Maddie, nodding at Jimmy. "I'm calling 911. This is has to be some kind of planned riot – a flash mob or something.
People think that kind of stuff is funny. Well, it's not," she said, phone pressed to her ear. "Hello? Yes, I'd like to report a riot in progress—"

  Jimmy knew what was causing everyone to freak out, but who'd believe him? A slender hand with long, blood red fingernails slipped around Jimmy's waist and cupped his crotch.

  "I'll show you mine, if you show me yours," Harley Quinn purred in his ear.

  "Jen! What the hell?" Maddie yelled. "No, not you," Maddie said into the phone. "Just send the Swat team to Hoight Hall," Maddie shouted at the 911 operator before hanging up and pushing Harley Quinn away from Jimmy. "Jen, knock it off!"

  Harley Quinn snarled at Maddie.

  "Jen?" Maddie said softly.

  Harley Quinn lunged at Maddie, trying to dig her nails into Maddie's face. "He's mine, you slut," she screamed.

  Jimmy grabbed the girl by the hips and pulled her away from Maddie. The moment his hands touched her, she started squirming and moaning. She spun around and jumped on Jimmy, wrapping her legs tight around his waist. Her lips found his mouth and she kissed him, hard.

  "Please," Harley Quinn begged.

  Jimmy could see the madness in the girl's eyes. The love spell had done this; it was unbelievable. In that moment, Jimmy understood the power that was available was limitless. Of course, you couldn't be a screw-up like Tinkerbelle. No, the power had to be handled properly—

  Maddie let out a banshee wail and cracked Harley Quinn over the head with a frying pan. Harley Quinn's eyes crossed and she slid off of Jimmy, crumpling to the floor.

  "I didn't hit her too hard, did I?" Maddie asked.

  Jimmy knelt down and checked Harley Quinn out. "No blood; just a small bump."

  "I didn't want her to hurt anyone, including herself," Maddie explained, her voice quavering and her eyes filling with tears.

  Harley Quinn's eyes popped open, "You hit me, you bitch. I'm going to kill you." Her words were a little slurred, but she meant every word she said.

  "We need to leave. Now," said Jimmy.

  Harley Quinn was struggling to her feet. "You're dead, bitch! Dead!"

  Maddie dropped the pan and followed after Jimmy. They ran through the kitchen and out a back door into an alley. They followed the alley around the side of the building and out onto the walkway in front of the hall. The unruly crowd was starting to spill out of the front door.

  "We need to put as much space between us and this place as possible," said Jimmy.

  There was a quad to the left of the building and they ran across it, pausing when they reached the other side. They were in the middle of campus. If Harley Quinn or anyone else decided to chase them, they had lots of places to hide.

  Jimmy and Maddie where startled by the whoop-whoop of a police cruiser. It pulled up behind them, and two officers got out.

  "We had a report of riot," said a young female officer.

  "Yes, I called," said Maddie. "Back there, at Hoight Hall. Everyone's been drugged or something. They're totally acting crazy."

  "Calm down," said the other officer, a guy with a buzz cut and moustache. "Just start from the beginning, okay."

  "There isn't time for that People are going to get seriously hurt," said Maddie, her voice rising in volume until she was almost shouting.

  Jimmy was watching the female cop; she was staring directly into his eyes, tapping a finger on her holstered gun and licking her lips.

  "Uh-oh," Jimmy said under his breath.

  "There he is," a voice screamed from across the quad.

  The four of them – Jimmy, Maddie, and the two cops – turned as one. A horde of wild costumed women, led by Harley Quinn, was stampeding across the quad.

  "Holy shit," said the male cop.

  In an instant, a bad situation turned into a nightmare. The female cop stepped in front of Jimmy as if to shield him, drew her weapon, and started firing wildly into the mob of women. The gun sounded like a cannon. Jimmy hadn't realized anything could be that loud. Jimmy was mesmerized as he watched Harley Quinn and a Xena running next to her drop as bullets hit them.

  "Stop! Stop! Stop!" screamed Maddie.

  "Melendez, what are you doing?" the male cop yelled at his partner. "Stop firing!"

  Officer Melendez ignored that order and kept right on shooting, and she was an excellent shot. Jimmy pulled Maddie to the ground behind the cop car. He wasn't sure how much protection it would provide, but it was better than nothing. He looked up at Officer Melendez when there was a pause in the shooting; she had only stopped to reload. But, he was staring at her when Taser prongs hit her in the neck. She jerked once, dropped her gun, and then flailed around on the ground.

  "Thirteen-Mary-Three, officer needs assistance, multiple shots fired." The male cop was speaking rapidly into the walkie-talkie strapped to his vest.

  All the gunfire had only slowed the mob of women down, and now that no more bullets were flying in their direction, they were running straight at the police cruiser again.

  "Officer needs assistance, officer needs assistance!" yelled the male cop.

  Six fireballs sailed over the police cruiser and exploded in front of the onrushing, rioting mass. The ladies slid to stop, some of them toppling over as the abrupt halt in motion had them slamming into one another.

  Something landed with a thud on the roof of the patrol car.

  Jimmy craned his neck around to look.

  Lucy had arrived.

  Jimmy stared in awe. Lucy stood on top of the car, bouncing a fireball in the palm of her hand. She looked really mad and super dangerous. And she was magnificent.

  Lucy turned her gaze from the women to Jimmy. "I told you to stay in your apartment, but instead you went to a party?"

  "Do you know her?" Maddie whispered.

  "Freeze, lady!" shouted the cop. He was standing in the classic shooter's stance, gun pointed directly at Lucy.

  Jimmy noticed that the cop couldn't keep the barrel steady; the guy was shaking in his boots.

  "Officer, if you shoot me," Lucy began calmly, "all the crazy-looking women over there are going to come over here and rip you to pieces."

  The cop glanced over at the mob which looked, to Jimmy, like it was starting to inch forward. The cop swung his gun back and forth between Lucy and the mob. Jimmy could read the indecision on his face: which posed a bigger threat, a mob of a hundred plus angry women or the lady shooting fireballs from her hands?

  "Everybody needs to freeze." He sounded like he was going to cry.

  "Officer," said Lucy, still using her calm voice, "why don't you pick up your partner, put her in the back of the cruiser, and then climb right in there with her? Trust me, it's the safest place for you both."

  The cop thought about it for all of five seconds and then he was moving as if Lucy had set his pants on fire. He shoved Officer Melendez unceremoniously into the back seat, plopped down next to her, and slammed the door, gun still held at the ready.

  Lucy jumped down onto the hood of the car and pointed at Jimmy and Maddie. "You two need to run, not walk, to that building behind me. I made sure the door's unlocked."

  Jimmy didn't need to be told twice. He grabbed Maddie's hand, but she wouldn't budge.

  "Maddie, we need to go," Jimmy hissed.

  "You do know her, don't you," Maddie said. "What's going on? How are you doing that with the fire?" Maddie asked Lucy.

  Lucy's face softened. "I promise, Maddie, after all this is over, I'll explain everything."

  "How do you know my name?" Maddie asked.

  Jimmy tugged at Maddie's hand. "Please we need to listen to her."

  "Knock it off Jimmy, I want to—"

  Maddie didn't get to finish because an invisible force slammed into the police car. It looked as if a giant fist had smashed down on the front end of the car. The metal vehicle crumpled like a kid's toy. The front end caved in, the windshield shattered, and Lucy was tossed backward.

  Jimmy let go of Maddie's hand and dropped to the ground, afraid somebody was shooting again. A st
ab of pain shot up through his knee; he had landed on officer Melendez's gun. He had never held any type of firearm before, but instinctively picked up the black piece of steel. It was lighter than he thought it would be. When he dared peek up at Maddie, he saw that she was glaring down at him, a frown on her face.

  "What are you doing?" Maddie asked.

  "I thought someone else was shooting," said Jimmy softly, getting to his feet, absently holding the gun in one hand. He stared opened mouth at the wrecked car. "What caused that?"

  "I don't know," said Maddie. "I think whatever it was came from the crowd though."

  Jimmy scanned the angry crowd of women. He zeroed in on a face he knew, and a spike of fear knifed through his gut.

  "Tinkerbelle," he whispered.

  "What'd you say?" Maddie asked.

  Tinkerbelle gave Jimmy a little wave. There was something wrong with her face. She stepped out of the crowd and walked toward Jimmy. It was her eyes –there was something off about her eyes. As she closed the distance, Jimmy could finally see what the problem was. Her eyes were black orbs; they were the most inhuman thing Jimmy had ever seen, including Orson with his claws and those bouncing little creatures from earlier. She looked . . . demonic was the word that popped into Jimmy's head.

  "I should have hit her harder," Jimmy mumbled.

  "Yeah, Jimmy, you should have," said Lucy, as she stepped around him and Maddie to confront Tinkerbelle.

  "What is she?" Maddie whispered.

  "Blood mage," answered Lucy. "Maddie, I really need you to go with Jimmy into the building behind me, please. Things are about to get . . . unpleasant." Lucy emphasized the seriousness of her words by igniting a fireball in each hand.

  This time, Maddie listened. She grabbed Jimmy's hand and ran for the building Lucy had indicated. Jimmy followed along obediently. He shoved Officer Mendez's gun into a pocket. Just in case, he assured himself.

  "No," screamed Tinkerbelle.

  The ground beneath Jimmy and Maddie cracked as a small tremor passed under them. They both looked over their shoulder as they ran. Tinkerbelle was doing something with her hands that was causing the ground to erupt – large spikes of earth jabbed upward from the quad. They were all aimed at Lucy.