by Martha Carr
Maggie put her hands back on her hips, standing up straighter. "This is about proving my value to the greater good."
"Yes, proving your presence, not just as the Elemental but Maggie Parker is necessary to provide something useful and vital for the ship. There's a lot we don't know about the Earth, too. Putting the machine back together could open up completely new pathways to communicate that have been lost so long no one remembers."
"We need to find the other Elementals."
"We will, but for now, focus."
"What do I start with?"
"Try creating birds inside the bubbles. Different kinds. It will require focus and trusting the energy to choose how to do it."
"Make some birds. Create something with a beating heart."
"All energy is basically the same. What you're asking the energy to do is take a different shape. That's at the basis of everything we do. It's how Bernie can transport himself using bubbles. Bubbles are energy in their purest form."
Maggie blew the air out of her lungs and shut her eyes. "Birds. Okay, song birds, something small that tweets." She held out her hands and felt the cool ribbon slowly winding its way through her head, spreading out to the sides and down her back like a slow massage. Something was forming in her mouth and she felt around it with her tongue till she couldn't hold it in anymore, opening her eyes in time to see the bubbles coming out. Each bubble expanded as it came into the air as a small, black and yellow ball of fluff tumbled inside, slowly taking shape and growing wings and stick-like legs and feet.
"Goldfinch! I love these birds."
The bubbles floated in the air toward the trees, popping gently one by one as the birds took flight, finding a place to roost on different branches letting out noisy tweets and hopping up and down their new perch. "That was almost too easy." Maggie watched the birds carefully. "I want to look away in case they blow up in small puffs of feathers and beaks."
Wilmark let out a laugh, even surprising himself. "You're not what I expected of an Elemental, and especially the one who controls the compass. That was only the first lesson, very basic. But we need to go to the next level, to where you can feel the magic inside of you and use spells sometimes instead of bubbles. That takes more confidence and the ability to command the magic without exactly telling it what to do. It's something you have to feel from in here," he said, pounding his chest. "What you can believe from within here, you can command to appear out here."
"It's amazing more people don't use magic to steal and loot." The different strange robberies that had been happening passed through Maggie's mind.
"That's a strange thing about magic, or maybe about all of us, no matter what we are, elf or Peabrain or gnome. Magic in its pure form won't respond to evil. It takes very old, dark magic to manipulate magic enough to create harm, but those who do usually pay for it with the core of their inner being. Even good men who play with the dark magic for good reasons end up losing everything."
A goldfinch flew across the yard and lighted on Maggie's shoulder, twittering in her ear. Maggie laughed and looked at Wilmark. "What now?"
"Now, we practice a spell to create light that you can command. Settle in, this may take a while."
"What's the spell?"
"Et factus est unus, et lumen. And the light and I became one." Light surrounded Wilmark, his eyes glowing and he raised an arm, bracing his stance and sent out a long line of light, whipping it in the air with a crack. Dexter let out a bark and a squeak, running under the porch. The chickens squawked and ran for the coop in one feathery mass.
"That was sweet! That's going to cut down on egg production this week. Although with all the shenanigans in this backyard I'm surprised they've laid anything lately." The bird on Maggie's shoulder took flight, heading for the fence furthest from the golden light bending and curving, extending from Wilmark's hand.
"Now you try it," he said.
Maggie nodded. "No time like the present. Et factus est unus, et lumen." A blue light wrapped itself around Maggie, unraveling just as fast and whipping out like an extension from her hand, slicing across the back fence leaving a burn mark. Maggie lurched backward, surprised but held her stance and her arm steady, despite the constant pulse of energy. "Is this like the ghostbusters? Do we blow up if the lines cross?"
"Just the opposite. Bring your line closer, steady..."
Maggie felt the energy seeking out what she wanted to do. It was as simple as breathing. She had a desire to take in air and it just happened. She had a desire to see what would happen when the lines of light merged, and the blue light coiled itself around the golden light, blending until it was one steady stream. "I can feel your energy!" she shouted, a rush of adrenaline going through her body. "It feels like... like joy," she gasped.
"A form of joy. I suppose you could call it that. It's a natural run off from combining your energy with someone else. A kind of cosmic cooperation." Wilmark withdrew his energy, letting it drain away and Maggie felt the sensation ease, even as the blue light faded and she was left with a mild ringing in her ears.
"That was like a sweet, sweet drug but without all the baking. When can we do that again?"
"You have a lot to learn and not much time to do it all. If the other Elementals show up, you have to be ready for the quest."
"What quest? No one mentioned a quest."
"No one, meaning Bernie. Not surprised. He likes to reel out the more difficult information one step at a time. Finding all the Elementals is only the beginning of your adventure. Getting everyone to the ancient machinery where the pieces go back together is another." Wilmark held up his hand. "For another day, you have to focus. We have to get in as much training today as we can."
"You have me for the day, but tonight I have a date." She saw Wilmark flinch and what was becoming a familiar scowl reappear on his face. "He's not what you think he is. Jake is a good man, I trust my instincts."
"Trust them, but verify. There is too much at stake for such an egregious error. There kind are not to be trusted."
"It wasn't always that way, was it?"
"Any brotherhood we shared was too long ago to matter anymore."
"If it existed once, it matters and it could exist again."
"You have enough battles ahead of you. Don't pick up this one, too. Now focus, or you will be here all night instead..."
"Tell me the next spell, Godwin Knight. I'm ready."
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Jake came walking up the front walk as Maggie watched from an upstairs window. He looked up just before he stepped onto the porch and saw her in the window, smiling as he waved. She waved back and grabbed her jacket to go downstairs.
"You're wearing a dress. I don't think I've seen you in a dress the entire time I've known you." Bernie sat on Maggie's bed, his head propped up on pillows.
"You haven't known me that long and get off my bed. You're leaving a dirt smudge on my pillow."
"Cost of doing business," he said, sitting up.
"Feet off too." She stood there in her favorite blue dress and flats, her hands on her hips.
"Fine, have it your way." Bernie swung his feet to the floor and watched her look in the mirror one last time, checking her teeth. "He's not gonna be looking at your teeth in that dress. You can relax."
Dexter let out a bark and a squeak and jumped up.
"He's getting to be more like a dog every day." Maggie slipped into her soft leather jacket and headed for the stairs. There was a sharp knock at the front door.
"Yeah, I think changing him back has sailed. You own a weird dog. Don't breed him. I don't want to know what the outcome would look like. New territory. You'll need to get him fixed." Dexter growled at Bernie.
Maggie smiled and went down the steps jumping over the third step and landing at the bottom. "You get to stay home," said Maggie, looking up at Bernie as she scooped up her purse. "Three's a crowd and don't start with any tall bastard stuff. I was taking care of myself long before you showed up, I can f
igure this out too."
"That was before you knew there was magic."
Maggie checked one last time in the small mirror hanging near the front door. "Magic was still here, I just didn't know it and I got along fine."
"Yeah, well, be careful and keep it in mind. It's all I ask." Bernie came down a few steps. "Hey, did you get that mac 'n cheese like I asked?"
"You mean those old noodles and orange dust? I got it. You make me look like a health nut, Bernie. You sure you aren't shaving a few hundred years off your life?"
"No, our general constitution is like a steel boiler. Burns up everything."
There was another sharp knock on the front door.
"Be careful out there, kid. You have your gun with you? Remember, peaches," whispered Bernie as Maggie waved at him to go upstairs, scowling. "Not a pretty look for a date, just saying. Keep one leg on the floor at all times. Isn't that something you Peabrains tell each other?"
"You'd be amazed what you can do with just one leg in the air," Maggie whispered, before turning around and opening the door, smiling up at Jake. She stood in the doorway, not letting him get inside where he might get a glimpse of Bernie. "You're right on time!"
Jake smiled and leaned in, kissing Maggie and briefly biting her lower lip. She felt the warmth spread up through her chest and smiled, mashing her lips against his. He put out his arm, bending it as she wrapped her hand in the crook of his arm. "Putt putt awaits us, Maggie Parker."
"My favorite. Where are we headed?"
Jake smiled and gave her a sidelong glance as they headed for his silver Chevy truck. "Peter Pan mini golf. Your mom texted me and gave me some tips."
"Standard operating behavior for Mom. It's one of my favorite places. Poppy used to take Diana and I there all the time. Wait till you see the high-top sneaker obstacle."
"Was that in Peter Pan? Did someone wear Converse All Stars?"
"No, but there weren't dinosaurs, either. It all kind of fits in the end. I love that place."
"After that is Lucky Robot for dinner."
"Sushi... yum. Boy, Mom is on her game. She must like you from afar."
"Hopefully afar. I keep getting the creepy feeling that someone is following me. Wouldn't be your mother, would it?"
Maggie laughed as he held open the car door, and she got in, looking up at Bernie in the window, trying to glare at him while Jake's back was turned. She saw the cloud of bubbles form around him, dissolving into nothing. Where are you off to Bernie?
She let out a laugh hoping it sounded sincere. "It's probably someone in Mom's network. Think of them as free bodyguards gathering intel for our own good. That's what Diana and I do." Hopefully not a gnome or a tall elf in leather pants.
"Consider it done." He gently shut the door and ran around to the other side, opening his door and sliding in. "I've been looking forward to this. I even got a new air freshener for you." He tapped the little cut out in the shape of a pine tree dangling from his rear-view mirror.
Maggie smiled, feeling herself relax. No way he's a tall bastard.
"Quit, I'll miss my shot." Maggie let out another giggle as her dark hair fell across her shoulder creating a shade along the side of her face.
"I told you I could tap dance." Jake stood to the side doing a time step as Maggie tried to ignore him.
"I never doubted you. You're a man of many talents." She leaned over, another giggle escaping her and took aim, sending the pink ball through the middle of the oversized dalmation.
"I don't remember these in Peter Pan either. Wasn't that nanny dog a Newfoundland?"
"That's a deep bench of knowledge you got there on Peter Pan. My mother really does know you." She walked to the other side and tapped the ball into the hole, leaning over to retrieve it. "It's your turn."
"I think you're a ringer, Parker." Jake steadied himself, despite how fast his heart was beating. He wanted the date to go well, but he couldn't get the warning out of his head that he had gotten from the local Kashgar council. Everyone wanted control of Maggie Parker and they saw Jake as a means to their end.
But he liked her, and just the sight of her in that dress had made his pulse quicken. Besides, he was tired of the feud. He chipped the ball and it ricocheted through the short tunnel and pinged around the back space, coming to rest down the hill from the hole.
"Oooh, tough shot," said Maggie, pursing her lips.
Jake tapped the ball and watched it roll just past the lip of the cup as Maggie let out a whoop and punched the air.
"You're very competitive," laughed Jake, smiling as she did a little dance.
"Diana has pointed that out to me a few times, usually when she's losing."
Jake tapped it again and watched it roll up to the cup and hang on to the edge, not quite going in. "Not my night," he said, smiling as he finally got it into the hole. "Well, not for golf." He slid his arm around Maggie's waist and pulled her closer, kissing her. She leaned in, smiling as she kissed him back. "This isn't getting you out of playing the whole course."
"I had a feeling." Jake kissed her forehead and held out his arm. "Lead the way. I'd concede now but..."
"No quitters, Jake. We finish what we start and there's only two holes to go."
"Is that on your family crest?"
Maggie put her ball down in front of the Loop De Loop, a striped, round wooden obstacle. She breathed in, holding it for a moment and hit the ball hard enough to send it through the loop and out the otherside, jumping over the slight hill in the back. "No, that's me and Diana again."
"You two are really close." Jake waited for Maggie to finish and set up his ball. She came walking back and leaned on her club.
"We had to rely on each other a lot growing up. Plus, she has always been pretty willing to go along with all of my ideas. That helps." Maggie hesitated but said what she was thinking, taking a chance. "Diana has always believed in me, without a lot of questions. She just does. It's like she thinks the world will take care of you in the end. I was never that sure and I guess that's why I'm a detective."
Jake's ball rolled back at him for the second time. On his third try he whacked the dark green ball hard and it spun around the loop, crashing out the back and overshot the hole.
"That's how they get ya," said Maggie, laughing. Jake let out a grunt and walked around to the back. He leaned over the ball and looked up in time to see two Kashgars leaning against a white Chevy in the parking lot. He recognized them from the council meeting. They had been lurking near the back, staring at him when he was called up to speak. He swallowed hard and glanced up again, locking eyes with the taller Kashgar with wild, curly brown hair that rose off the front like a wave. The Kashgar didn't do anything but glare at Jake, but that was enough.
The council was having him followed. Not a good sign. He leaned over and carefully took aim, tapping the ball into the hole on the first try.
"There you go! That's how you do it. Now we have a real putt-putt game going," laughed Maggie, already headed to the next hole.
I have to tell her. I have to warn her.
"Hey! Stop, hey!" The manager of the course was running after two teenagers, chasing them through the parking lot. Maggie instinctively dropped her club and took off running, her dress pushing on to her thighs as she picked up speed. Jake dropped his club and ran after her as the two Kashgars quickly got into their car and drove out of the parking lot.
His chance was lost. They caught up with the manager who was holding one of the kids tightly around the arm, breathing hard.
"What did they steal?" asked Maggie, hoping this could be settled with a lecture. Jake came up and stood right behind her. "I'm a detective," said Maggie, pulling her badge out of her purse.
"They defaced the rabbit! Look!" The manager pointed angrily at the large yellow rabbit holding a skateboard and noticed the oversized red lips he was now sporting.
"Is that paint?"
"Lipstick," muttered the young man, glancing over at his friend. "It was my mom's."
Jake covered his hand with his mouth to keep from smiling as Maggie squinted, trying not to do the same. "I just got them painted!" shouted the manager, still holding on tight, as the young teenager sagged in his grip.
"How about they clean it up and promise not to come back?" The manager shook his head. "Arrest them for vandalism!"
Jake jogged back to his car as the manager continued to hold onto his prize, the other teenager lurking nearby, and demanded Maggie do her duty. He pulled out an old towel from his trunk and ran to the rabbit, wiping off the offending lipstick. The manager turned around to protest one more time, pointing at the rabbit and noticed his proof was gone. He sputtered, stumbling over what to say next and let go of the teenager who took off running, his friend joining him as they sprinted out of the parking lot.
The manager flapped his arms, protesting that no one learns how to behave in public as Jake came and stood by Maggie's side. "All in all," he said, "a pretty exciting round of miniature golf."
She smiled and kissed him. "You're like a hero. Come on, I'm hungry. Time to get our sushi on." She took him by the hand and led him to the car.
He got in, ready to lay everything out for her before the good will she felt wore off completely, but she surprised him, leaning over the middle and taking his face in her hands, sliding her tongue into his mouth. He dropped the keys, pulling her closer, sliding his hand down her back. Maybe later, I'll tell her later.
Maggie sat in an orange chair in front of the large cherry blossom branch painted across the front wall of the restaurant. She picked up a piece of the crunchy atomic salmon roll and slid it whole into her mouth, her cheeks bulging out at the sides. "Yum," she mumbled, as she chewed. Her hair was still tangled in one small spot in the back from rolling around in the tight back seat of Jake's truck. A little of her lipstick had gotten on the collar of his shirt.
"Now I know you like me." Jake laughed, sliding around a piece of electric cat roll.
