by Charley Case
“Dude.” She shouted, pointing at the handhold. “Careful with my baby. Do you know how much that's going to cost to fix?”
Finn raised an eyebrow. “I’m not taking credit for that. You did something that no one in the universe has ever done. You made me vomit from motion sickness. I swallowed it, but the cost of not having me spew my breakfast all over the place is a broken handle. Besides, I can repair it with a spell. The more important thing we need to deal with is Penny.” He held her limp form up so Mila could see it.
She had heard him say Penny was out and even saw her in his hands, but it hadn't really hit her what that meant.
Mila’s jaw dropped. “What the fuck happened? Did she get hurt in the fight?”
Finn shook his head. “I think whatever has been messing with magic is happening to her. She was feeling woozy in town, but she seemed to be recovering before we got into the chase. We need to get away from the area of effect of whatever this is.” He held her body up to his ear as he listened to her heartbeat. “We need to hurry. Her heart is weak. I hate to say this, but step on it.”
Mila nodded and picked up speed. She didn't go as fast and reckless as on her way up the mountain, but she still pushed the limits.
Taking only the occasional glance at Finn and Penny, Mila got to see an interesting side to their relationship.
Finn's face was stony, but with a slight downturn to his lips, as he watched for any sign of change in his friend. She noticed he was absent-mindedly stroking her wing, and occasionally he would mutter some vague promise to her if she would just wake up. Mila had made promises like that in her times of dire need; everyone had.
A sniff from Finn made Mila take her eyes from the road and glance at him. Tears wet his cheeks, but he made no move to wipe them away.
Mila reached over and stroked Penny’s hip, the only thing she could reach as Finn cradled her against his chest. “She’s going to be okay. If we get to town and she’s still not up, we keep on going until she does. We’ll keep her safe.”
Finn nodded, not taking his eyes off of her. “I know we will. But this is bad. Dragons are mostly solidified magic, they don't have a whole lot of biological parts to them, especially faerie dragons.” He sniffed. “I promised I would keep her safe while we found her a hoard.” He choked out a laugh. “Stupid little jerk never even told me what we were looking for. She just stuck with me while I fumbled our way through the universe. Whenever we found an artifact or some lost treasure, I would ask if it was what she needed. She would just shake her head and laugh.”
“She does that shit to me too, you know. She’s been your partner for a long time, and it’s hard to see your friends in a bad way, but she’s going to be fine.”
Finn shook his head. “She hasn't been my partner for a long time. Twenty years ago, she got her wings broken, saving my sorry ass during a fight with a pack of rat-men. Since that day we’ve been family. I’m the only one she’s got, and she’s the only one I’ve got.”
Mila saw the end of the firebreak road and a paved highway that led down into Boulder. “Not anymore. I know you guys have history, but no matter how you slice it, there are three of us now. It’s not you and Penny against the universe. Now it’s the three of us.” She smiled at him, her heart breaking to see the big dwarf so distraught. “Three might not seem like much, but its fifty percent more than when you got here.”
Finn gave her a half-smile and nodded.”I know you’re with us. Penny does too. Don't tell her I said this, but she told me you’re her favorite person she’s ever met.”
Mila felt her cheeks flush. “That’s sweet.” She said, slowing the car to a stop and pulling onto the highway, then laying on some speed to get them away from the mountain and its twisted magic.
“You don't understand.” Finn pressed, patting Penny on the side. “Penny is over two hundred and fifty years old. Do you know how many people you meet in two hundred and fifty years?”
Mila looked over at the tiny dragon, her mouth open in shock. How could she be that old? She was so…snarky. A memory of Mila’s abuela flashed in her mind, and she realized Penny wasn't some rebellious young teen like her snarky attitude suggested; she was an old woman who was done with everyone’s shit. The thought almost made her laugh, but she controlled herself.
“I’m guessing it’s a lot of people?” Mila said, with a shrug.
Finn nodded. “Yeah. It’s a lot. And, of all those people, you are her favorite. That’s the nicest thing I’ve heard her say about anyone. Including me.”
Penny sucked in a breath and shot up into a sitting position in Finn's arms. She coughed a gassy plume of flame that shot out, making Mila duck or have her hair burned off.
The car swerved as Mila dove towards the shifter to get out of the fireball’s way. A car horn made Mila jerk the wheel the other way. She popped them back up and found their lane, waving an apology at the car next to them.
Finn rolled the window down and turned Penny, so she was facing away from Mila, and towards the car next to them. Mila saw that the guy was giving her the finger for nearly hitting him, but his expression changed when Penny started coughing balls of flame at him. Mila didn't see much of his face past the yellow and orange coughing fit, but she did see his car back off and leave them a wide berth.
After a minute, Penny calmed, and Finn rolled the window up.
“You okay?” Finn asked, wiping any residual wetness from his face. “You scared the shit out of us.”
Penny climbed into his lap and shook out her scales before flexing her wings a few times. She sat on his knee, her eyes a little bleary as she blinked. She gazed at him and puffed a smoke ring from her nostrils.
Finn smiled. “We need to do something about that. Can't have you going to Lala land every time we come across whatever this is. I’m going to send a message to Hermin and Garret. Maybe they’ll have an idea.”
Penny nodded, deep in thought.
“Do you need something?” Mila asked, concern in her voice.
Penny looked at her, and the corner of her mouth went up in a half-smile. “Chi. Shir.” She pointed at her stomach.
Mila laughed. “We can do that. I could use some lunch myself after using the Ivar twice.” She stepped on the gas and sped down the mountain towards a good lunch.
They rode in silence for a minute, then Mila raised an eyebrow and looked over at Finn. “You said you two have been partners for twenty years?”
“More than twenty. It was twenty years when I realized we were family.” Finn said, eliciting a smile from Penny.
“How long have you been together?” Mila asked, a suspicion rising.
Finn and Penny communicated silently the way long time partners do. “About thirty years or so. Right?”
“Shir chi.” Penny stated.
Finn's brows went up. “Really? Huh. I guess it’s been thirty-six.”
Mila licked her lips. “So, you two have been working together for thirty-six years, and you were already a treasure hunting before you met Penny. You were also in your father’s army for a few years before you left home… Uh, Finn. How old are you?”
Finn looked at the ceiling doing the math in his head. He opened his mouth to answer, but Mila held up a hand and stopped him.
“You know what?” Mila shook her head. “Let’s just keep it a mystery. I’m not sure I want to know, for sure, that I’m dating a geriatric.”
Finn laughed. “Age is relative. Comparing our two races’ rates of aging, we’re about the same age.”
“Oh, god. That sounds just like what a creepy old dude at a bar would say while hitting on a college girl.”
Penny chuckled. “Squee, shir.”
Mila burst out laughing. “You mean like a male cougar?”
Finn furrowed his brow. “What’s a cougar?”
Mila laughed even harder. “It’s an older woman who sleeps with young men. It’s a perfect nickname!”
“No.” Finn shook his head, frowning at Penny. “That is no
t a good nickname.”
“Whatever you say, manther!”
Mila nearly peed herself with laughter, especially when she saw the look of defeat on Finn's face.
Chapter Seventeen
Driving at a reasonable pace, at least for Mila, it took twenty minutes to get to town. On the ride down the mountain, Finn sent one of the cards Hermin had given them off with a burst of magic, saying they needed to meet. Finn had written the name of the diner they had eaten earlier since he didn't know the name of anywhere else in Boulder.
Finn made sure that Penny was actually feeling better and not just pretending to keep them from worrying. When she finally growled at him, “are you sure you’re fine?” he knew she was on the mend for real.
They pulled into the diner’s small lot and saw Hermin and Garret sitting in a booth by the window, both of them stuffing pancakes into their mouths.
“Looks like they didn't waste any time,” Finn said, impressed Garret got the whole pancake in his mouth in one bite.
Finn climbed out of the car, Penny jumping to his shoulder, and headed for the diner's door, holding it open for Mila. “After you, darlin’.”
“Aw. Thanks, manther,” she said with a wicked smile.
Finn rolled his eyes, hoping the awful nickname would go away on its own. Penny laughing hysterically on his shoulder made him think he might have to come up with a new tactic.
“Oh, you two are hilarious,” Finn grumped, following Mila into the old-timey diner filled with red pleather seating and chrome everything else.
Hermin was facing the door and gave them a wave when they came in. “Over here.”
The two Huldu scooted over to make room in the booth, and Finn and Mila took the offered seats. Penny hopped off Finn's shoulder and snatched a piece of bacon from Garret’s plate.
“Hey!” he reached out to take the bacon back, but the growl Penny let out made him think again. “Okay, I’ll just order some more. No need to be rude.”
“You’ll have to forgive her,” Mila said in Penny's defense. “She was just about dead half an hour ago. She needs to replenish her magic.”
“Almost dead? What happened?” Hermin asked, stuffing another half a pancake in his mouth, dripping syrup down the corner of his beard.
“Uh, you have a little…” Mila pointed to the corner of her mouth, then slowly ran her finger towards her chin. “On second thought, you’re probably going to need to wash that out.”
Garret waggled a finger, and a thin stream of bubbles shot out and embedded themselves in Hermin’s beard, greedily sucking up the syrup before popping away to nothing.
“Well, that’s handy,” Finn said, envy rearing its ugly head. “I wish I knew that little trick.”
“A little anti-syrup spell I worked up about, oh…when was syrup invented?” Garret said. “Anyway, Penny was almost dead? What happened?”
Finn told the tale of the chase up the mountain and the subsequent fight and avalanche, then relayed the part about Penny being unconscious when they got back to the car.
“Oh, that avalanche was you?” Hermin sighed with relief. “I thought we had royally messed something up. Do you know how hard it is to get snow to stick to the side of a mountain? I heard it nearly drove the architects crazy trying to get it right.”
“Yeah,” Mila rolled her eyes, “the avalanche was us, but the fucked-up magic wasn't. We need to figure out how to stop it, or at least keep it from killing Penny.”
Finn cut in, “Have you guys been affected by the twists?”
“The twists?” Hermin said, considering the phrase. “I like that, fitting name. And no, we haven't. Not really. We spoke with Preston and his people this morning, and they asked us pretty much the same thing. Honestly, we spend our days underground. I haven't noticed a thing, but a few of our people came back complaining about their magic being a little slow to react.”
“Last we had heard,” Garret continued, swallowing a bite of hash browns, “the effects were pretty mild. Most people have been saying that either their magic was slow, or it was harder to concentrate when casting. We haven't heard anything about it being so bad magicals are being knocked out. You okay?” he asked Penny, who sagged her shoulders in annoyance and nodded, taking a second piece of bacon.
“Penny’s a little more magical than most, being a dragon and all,” Finn said.
“That’s true,” Garret said. “I hadn't considered that. If she was knocked out, how was it when you cast?”
Finn shrugged. “I couldn't tell there was anything wrong. I don’t think it affects me like it does most people. Mila was able to channel her powers through her pistol without issue.”
“Yeah, I didn't notice anything, but then again, I wouldn't know what to look for. I haven't exactly been using magic. At least not in a spellcasting capacity,” Mila admitted.
Hermin considered them for a second. “Maybe it doesn't affect dwarven magic? And using celestial magic, well, that’s a whole other playbook. I wouldn't even know where to begin.”
Finn shook his head. “We had a run-in with some guys earlier, and a runic paper of mine stopped working, and that was all dwarven magic.”
Hermin leaned back, crossing his arms, thinking, while Garret leaned his elbows on the table and leaned in. “You’re sure the runes didn't work? It wasn't something else?”
Finn tried to think of what else it could have been and nodded. “Yeah. I’m sure. I showed it to them, and they saw a piece of paper with runes on it. Now that I think about it, the runes were glowing green, not purple like they should have been.”
Garret was about to say something when the waitress came to the table. It was the same woman that had served them earlier, and she recognized them; Penny in particular.
“You’re back,” she said, a little surprised. “You know what you want?”
Mila ordered a club sandwich and water, then her phone started ringing, and she checked the caller ID. “Huh. I need to take this,” she said, excusing herself and sliding out of the booth.
Finn watched her go, but Penny's rumbling stomach brought him back to the task at hand. He ordered a French dip with fries and steak and baked potato for Penny.
The waitress lifted an eyebrow. “You’re ordering your lizard a steak?”
Finn reached out and grabbed hold of Penny's tail, keeping her in place as she lunged. “She’s had a rough day. She deserves it. Thanks.”
The waitress shrugged and walked away to put in the order.
“Maybe it’s because you do most of your magic through touch.” Hermin got right back to the conversation.
Finn shook his head. “I cast at least one spell that didn't require me to touch the ground. I superheated some rocks that I threw at the guys. It went off without even a hiccup.”
“Yeah, but you were touching the stones when you cast it; you said you threw them,” Hermin argued.
“The spell doesn't happen until the stones are in the air; otherwise, I would just melt my own hand.”
The two Huldu nodded and sat back to think some more.
Penny, seeing that they were not watching their plates, helped herself to Hermin’s hash browns.
Mila hit the answer button and put the phone to her ear. “Professor Hoff… Gregory. I didn't expect to hear from you for a while.”
“Mila.” Gregory’s voice was excited. “You are not going to believe what has happened to me!”
Mila smiled. She had never heard him so animated. “What?”
“After I left your place last night, I couldn't sleep, so I started making some calls. I’ve gotten quite a few contacts in the magical world over the years. I asked if they had any information on Valkyries. Most of them didn't know anything more than I shared with you. I wasn't getting anywhere, so I went to my local market. You know what kind of ‘market’ I’m talking about?”
Mila laughed. “Yes. I’ve been several times.”
“Good, good. I went down to the market and asked around; in person, people wer
e even less inclined to tell me anything. So, eventually, I went home.”
Mila waited for the bomb to drop, but remembered that Gregory always liked his students to prompt him. She guessed it was his way of making sure they were engaged in the lesson.
“And?” Mila said, drawing out the word.
Mila could hear the smile in his voice. “And I got a call. From a Valkyrie.”
“Seriously?!”
“Yes, dear. Seriously. At first, the Valkyrie was all threats, telling me to stop drawing attention to them, or she would have to do something about it, but when I said I had been asking around for another Valkyrie, she changed her tune.” He chuckled. “Well, actually, she was still pretty intense, but she wanted to know all about you. Now, of course, I’m not just giving out your information to a stranger, so I told her she would have to leave a number, and I could have you call her. So she gave me her number, and I’m sending it to you now.”
Mila's phone dinged, and she looked to see a text notification from Gregory. [Victoria Gara 919-476-…]
“Got it. Gregory, this is amazing. I don't know how to thank you,” Mila said, unable to contain her excitement.
“No need to thank me at all, dear. I always look out for my students. But that wasn't all. She also gave me a message to pass on to you.” He cleared his throat, and she heard a piece of paper crinkle on his end. “I didn't want to get this wrong, so I wrote it down. You ready?”
“Yes!”
“Okay. Victoria, that’s her name, she said, ‘Your power comes from who you are, not what you are. Your convictions are the catalyst, not your desire. Trust in yourself, and you will have all the control you need.’ I’m not sure what she means there, but hopefully, it helps.”
Mila nodded, committing the words to memory. “I think I understand. Thank you so much, Gregory. How can I repay you? Seriously.”
He chuckled. “Well, if you’re insisting. I hear there is a Dryad that sells tooters at your Market. If you could overnight me a few, I would be very grateful. The tooter game up here in Canada is, well, I’m not entirely sure there are even tooters, to tell the truth.”
