"It's always about the stories, isn't it?"
Beth
McGill raised an eyebrow as she and the hobgoblin standing next to
her waited near the entrance to the maze of hallways and rooms that
took up the back of the converted warehouse. In front of them was a
public square, with actual grass and trees, lit by skylights when the
sun was out and overhead lights at night. During the day, it was
crowded, but that evening it was deserted except for them and a
handful of guards.
“Stories?”
Beth asked as she pushed her glasses back up her nose and stuck her
hands into the pockets of her green army jacket, which she wore over
her faded blue jeans and her Space
Cats
t-shirt. Beth had been chatting with Glien about their mutual friend,
Puck the faerie Emigre, while waiting for him, Michiko and the others
to finish their meeting; to Beth's surprise, the hobgoblin was
actually better-read and better-spoken than many humans she knew.
Glien
had a headful of floppy black hair, a rather large nose, and a plain
black outfit with matching sunglasses to go with the red skin and
taloned fingers common to all hobgoblins. He had once been in charge
of rooftop maintenance in the abandoned warehouse that the hobgoblins
had rebuilt and now called home, but an unfortunate incident some
weeks back had caused him to ask to be reassigned. He was now an
administrative assistant, and thankful for a job that might be more
stressful but was absolutely less dangerous.
"Think
about it, Beth," Glien said. "Everyone has a story, even if
they never tell it, even if nothing really happens in it. Consider
those birds."
He
pointed towards the rafters, and Beth could see half a dozen birds,
flying from beam to beam or resting in their nests. “Magpies?”
she said. “They're not that common around here, are they?”
“No,
and that's where their stories begin. Why did they settle here? Did
an Emigre bring them? Did they have to fight off any pigeons? Why do
they keep out of the trees? Who feeds them? And...” Glien stared at
one beam. “Is that my hat that one of them used to feather its
nest?”
Beth
found herself smiling. “Isn't there an old rhyme about magpies?”
“One
for sorrow, two for joy. And, apparently, fifteen to steal my
favorite hat.”
Beth
shook her head, more with wonderment than disbelief. "Promise
me," she said, “that when I'm old enough, you'll let me listen
in to you and Puck during one of your tavern chats.”
"Commitments.
Schedules. Disputes such as the one that Puck is tending to right
now. All the things that can keep friends apart." Glien stared
into the distance. "Let us hope that this can be resolved,"
he said. "Then, Puck and I will retire to Wonderland and tell
the old stories once more."
"Stories,"
Gregor grumbled as he stuck his head out of the shoulder bag Beth
carried him in. He was a small black and white guinea pig, with an
annoyed expression no amount of cuteness or fuzziness could conceal.
"Is that all you can talk about?"
"Ah.
The guinea pig who was a great sorcerer. Centuries in limbo after the
yak incident. Reincarnated to seek redemption, but in a manner he
curses every day. Quite a tale."
"Point
proven," Gregor said as he ducked back down.
"And
the quiet girl," Glien said to Beth. "Never knowing what
was around her, what she could do. Now, her eyes are opened, and as
she tries to better herself, her story becomes entwined with
another's."
"Michiko's?"
Beth asked.
"The
Monkey Queen. Raised to be a hero, but still all too human
underneath. A magnificent fighter with a marshmallow heart. And then
she meets you. Two people, brought together by need and happenstance,
weaving two stories into one. And that's how epics are made."
"Epic?"
Beth said. “More like a comedy sometimes.”
"Life
can be a comedy," Glien said. "The trick is knowing what's
worth laughing about—"
"Hold
that thought. There's something happening by the front door."
Beth pointed across the square. Near the entrance, two guards were
having a heated discussion with a gang of hobgoblins, five young
males wearing brown tunics.
Gregor
popped out of his shoulder bag again. "Have we seen them
before?" he asked.
"I
don't recognize them," Glien said. "Perhaps they've just
emigrated."
"Or..."
Beth glanced at the gang and looked below the surface. Oh
boy,
she thought, realizing the guards needed to know what they were
really up against. She blinked, and her second sight kicked in.
The
seemings that had concealed the true identities of the bullies
vanished. The hobgoblins, and Gregor, could see what Beth had
seen—five ogres, tall and muscular, with pale skin and pointed
teeth, dressed in castoff clothes and carrying clubs. Beth tried to
keep calm, but inside she was starting to panic.
The
ogres turned to face Beth and Glien. "You!" the biggest
ogre roared as he pointed at Beth, lifting his club. "You've
ruined everything!" The guards reached for their weapons as the
other hobgoblins in the square ran for cover.
"Gregor,"
Beth said as she set the guinea pig's shoulder bag down, "restrain
them until reinforcements get here. Glien—"
"Powerful
big rats!" the hobgoblin shouted. He spun away from Beth and ran
into the hallway maze. "Powerful! Big! Rats!"
"That
works too, I guess," Beth said as she dug into a jacket pocket.
* * *
The
tension was thicker than molasses in the conference room. "What
are you saying?" Councilor Vrech finally asked, breaking the
uneasy silence. He was an older hobgoblin, with a full gray beard and
piercing black eyes, wearing a black tunic with red trim and matching
trousers. He had come from the Hoblands, on Faerie, to help the
hobgoblin Emigres with a crisis.
"That
some hobgoblins are engaging in criminal activity against other
Emigres." Puck pointed to the pile of papers in front of him. He
was dressed the same way he always was, black vest over white shirt,
jeans, socks and sandals. "We have at least five documented
incidents in the last two weeks. One of them led to a witness being
assaulted. Her injuries might have been worse had the Monkey Queen
not rescued her."
Windsor,
dressed in his ornate purple coat with matching hat, leaned forward
in his creaky chair. "The faeries in the encampment are
concerned for their safety at night,” he said as light reflected
off the pommel of his rapier. “I can't blame them."
"And
why would a scoundrel like you care what happens to them?" Vrech
snapped.
"Things
change." Windsor shrugged and smiled.
"But
this proposal!" Amitya, the mayor of the hobgoblin warehouse,
tapped the paper on the table. Her long hair was done up in a bun,
and her red robe rustled as she gestured angrily. "Armed guards!
A curfew! This will affect hobgoblins with jobs outside the
warehouse!"
"We've
already written in provisions to cover that," Puck said. "And
we can discuss easing the restrictions once the incidents stop."
"Singling
all of us out for the actions of a few is hardly fair." Vrech
had anger in his eyes.
"I
know." The other four all looked back at the Monkey Queen as she
stood. Michiko was wearing her “costume”, as Beth called it, her
yellow karate jacket covering a black t-shirt and leggings and her
red pillbox hat with the long matching scarf. "I don't like this
myself, Councilor. I know it singles an entire community out for the
actions of a few. But everyone else is worried. They think they'll be
attacked next. And it doesn't help that we haven't been able to
catch—"
The
door flew open. Glien ran into the room and hid behind a file
cabinet. "Powerful big rats!" he shouted, trying to make
himself as small as he could.
Windsor
raised an eyebrow. "He's not handling your pest control, is he?"
"Hellrats?"
Amitya shivered.
Michiko
glanced out the door. "No, but there are rats out there,"
she said. "Come on, Windsor." She pulled her shrunken staff
from her pocket; it grew to its normal size as she ran out of the
room. Windsor drew his rapier as he followed.
* * *
Gregor
gestured. As he did, one of the ogres took two steps towards Beth.
His third step was stopped short; Beth could see, with her second
sight, the barrier spell Gregor had cast that was invisible to
everyone else.
The
ogres began to beat against the barrier. "Better get the Monkey
Queen, girl," the guinea pig said. “I won't be able to hold
them for too long.”
"Michiko
should be here in a moment," Beth said. "They won't break
through before then."
"Intruders!"
Beth
turned and saw a hobgoblin in a blue robe, with a matching triangular
hat and a crazed look, aiming a glowing brass rod at the ogres.
"Krexx!" she shouted. "Don't—"
The
hobgoblin sorcerer pushed a button on the rod. A bolt of magic force
shot from its tip. It struck Gregor's barrier in the spot where one
ogre had been relentlessly pounding it. There was a flash of white
light.
Beth
could see that the barrier spell had collapsed. So
has Gregor,
she realized as she glanced at his shoulder bag; he had been stunned
by the magical backlash when the barrier went down. The ogres pushed
the hobgoblin guards aside as they turned towards her.
"Beth,
get back." Michiko ran out of the maze that was the hobgoblin
living quarters, passing Krexx as she headed towards the ogres,
Windsor on her heels.
"Monkey
Queen!" Krexx hissed. "You brought the ogres here! You will
pay!" He raised his rod.
"Krexx!"
The hobgoblin turned towards Beth. Her right arm was stretched out
shoulder high, and in her right hand she held her new magic wand. It
was made from a branch from a redwood tree, curved slightly in the
middle to fit into Beth's hand. There were one large blue crystal and
two smaller ones set into the wood near one end and a copper tip at
the other, and brass inlays running along the surface, connecting the
crystals to the copper and each other.
Beth
had been discussing ways to defend herself with Michiko, and Beth
admittedly came up with the idea after one too many Harry Potter
movie marathons, but Michiko thought it was sound all the same. Mec
the gremlin craftsman had started to design and enchant the wand
weeks ago, but the process had been delayed when he had taken over
running the gadget shop where he worked. He had finished it a few
days ago, and Beth hadn't used it yet beyond some quick testing and
training, though the scorched walls of Mec's secret laboratory showed
that it worked well.
"Put
the rod down," Beth said slowly. "We don't want you to hurt
anyone."
"You
would say that!" Krexx shouted. "You're working with them!"
"No,
I'm not. We're trying to stop the ogres—"
"You're
trying to stop us! Lock us in this warehouse until we starve!"
"That's
not—"
"We
will be free!" Krexx pointed his rod at Beth and pushed the
button.
"Zap!"
Beth shouted. The trigger word activated her wand, and as the
crystals glowed a brilliant blue, a bolt of magical force shot from
the tip. I
really hope this works,
she thought in the split-second afterward.
The
bolts from Krexx's rod and Beth's wand smashed into each other and
exploded. The light, bright as day, filled the warehouse for a
moment. The floor below was scorched, but no one was hurt.
"Earthling!"
Krexx yelled at Beth. "Now you will pay!" He pushed the
button on his rod again.
That
wand trick won't work twice,
Beth thought as she slapped at the pocket on the right sleeve on her
jacket, touching and holding down the button as she held her breath.
A glittery force field sprung up around her, one of the tricks that
had been enchanted into the jacket by Gregor and the faerie Emigre
Scylla. The bolt struck the force field, with enough strength to
knock Beth over, and dissipated.
"What
does it take to get rid of—" Krexx started to say. Before he
could finish, his rod was knocked from his hands.
"Krexx."
The hobgoblin looked up and shuddered as the Monkey Queen stood in
front of him. "Remember what I told you the last time you
threatened Beth?" She struck the rod with the tip of her staff,
shattering it. Krexx fell to the floor and curled into a ball.
"Thanks,"
Beth said as Michiko helped her up.
Michiko
glared at Beth. "Didn't I tell you to get back?" she
snapped.
Oh
boy,
Beth thought. "There wasn't time. And Krexx went crazy when he
saw you."
"Gregor
could have handled that."
"I
could use some help," Windsor said loudly. Three of the ogres
were already down, but the faerie was being pressed by the other two,
who were driving him back as he dodged and parried their attacks.
Beth
pointed her wand past Michiko, at one of the ogres. "Gregor was
unconscious! Zap!" The magical bolt hit the ogre just as he was
starting to swing at Windsor; he lost his balance and toppled over.
"That's
why you should have stepped back!" Michiko said as she threw her
staff past Beth, at the other ogre, hitting him on the head.
As
the ogre the staff hit fell over, out cold, Windsor slashed the one
Beth had zapped in his hand, disarming him, and knocked him out with
a hard punch to the jaw. "Perhaps this could wait?" he
said. Michiko glared at the faerie and nodded.
Beth
bent down and picked up Gregor's shoulder bag. "How is he?"
Michiko asked.
"Either
he's still unconscious," Beth said, "or he wanted to stay
out of our discussion."
"Wise
choice on his part either way," Windsor murmured. "Do you
think these might be the troublemakers?"
"Their
seemings did match the descriptions," Beth said.
"Go
get Puck and the others," Michiko said to Windsor. "We may
have to do some rewriting."
* * *
By
the time that Glien had been coaxed out of his hiding place and
brought with Puck, Vrech and Amitya to the square, Gregor had
recovered and was able to provide a full description of the ogres'
seemings. "So it was them all along," Vrech said, shaking
his head. "Making trouble and blaming it on us."
"I'm
wondering how they got their seemings," Windsor said as he
watched two dozen hobgoblin guards tie up the ogres. "If it's
someone local who cast them, it's questionable activity at best."
"All
the same...this agreement?" Amitya held up the papers Puck had
prepared and tore them in half. "Not needed."
"Absolutely,"
Puck said as Michiko nodded. "Windsor? Perhaps you could help me
escort Glien to Wonderland. He'll need something stronger than milk
this time."
"With
pleasure." Windsor put an arm around Glien. "I just hope he
doesn't get too philosophical until the third ale."
"Powerful
big rats," Glien said amiably as he and the fairies left.
Beth
looked over at Krexx, who was cradling his broken rod in his hands as
two guards stood watch over him. "What about him?" she
asked.
"We'll
have to talk to him," Amitya said. "Calm him down. Get him
to apologize."
"Apologize?"
Beth gave the sorcerer a dirty look. "He tried to kill me!"
"I
know. But we need him. He's the only one who understands how all the
magic he's set up keeps us running and safe and undiscovered. That's
why we put up with him."
Michiko
nodded. "I feel sorry for him."
"Sorry?"
Beth said. "Even with what he tried to do?"
Michiko
glared at Beth. "Humans aren't the only ones who suffer from mental illness," she said sharply. "Let's go home."
Beth felt her face redden as she and Michiko headed for the warehouse
door.
* * *
"Wow,"
Beth said, glancing at the clock as Michiko closed the apartment
door. "I didn't realize it was so late." Michiko nodded
silently as Beth put Gregor back in his cage; the guinea pig was
already asleep.
"Good
thing it's Saturday," Beth added. "For a few more minutes,
anyway." She forced a grin. "At least we can sleep in a
little tomorrow before breakfast." She glanced over at her
partner, who was watching her impassively. "Michiko?" Beth
asked.
"Yes?"
Michiko said.
"Is...is
there something wrong? Something you wanted to talk about?" Beth
swallowed. "Did I do anything?"
"Beth..."
"Why
have you been acting like this?" Beth said, trying not to plead.
"Why are you being so critical? So mean?"
Michiko
sighed. "Let's not get into this right now. We're both tired."
"But
what's wrong, Michiko? What did I do?"
"Later!"
Michiko snapped. She turned away from Beth and headed into her
bedroom, closing the door behind her.
Beth
stared at the door for a moment, feeling her cheeks redden, her
breathing shorten, her anger rise. "Fine!" she screamed.
"Go right ahead! Treat me like dirt!" She stormed into her
bedroom and slammed the door for emphasis.
* * *
Beth
fumed as she waited for her computer to warm up. She couldn't
understand what was going on with Michiko. They had been best friends
almost since the day they'd met, and had been growing closer as time
went on. Beth was happy to be Michiko's roommate and partner in
adventure. She treasured the early morning coffee and chat, the
impulse all-night bingewatching, the pep talks and the silly faces.
That's
what made the last few days, since New Year's, hurt even more. Beth
could tell that Michiko was trying to push her away. As far as she
knew, she hadn't done anything to cause it, but deep down inside, she
couldn't help but wonder if it was her fault, agonize over what she
might have done wrong. And she wanted to apologize to Michiko,
regardless of whose fault it was, just to make things right, just to
see her smile and hear her laugh again.
Beth
saw that her computer was finally up and running; she opened her
browser and logged on to Facebook. More nervously than she expected,
she checked her friend requests, and pouted when she didn't see any
changes.
She
clicked on one name and stared at the page that was brought up. One
of the photos there was of a young woman, about Beth's age. She was
tall and skinny, almost gangly, with black hair and a wide smile that
tweaked her high cheekbones and offset her dark, brooding eyes. Her
name was Anneliese.
Beth
remembered her from her freshman year in high school. Anneliese had
been enrolled there by her parents, who had moved to Beth's suburb
after being transferred there by the German conglomerate they worked
for. Anneliese had trouble fitting in at school, with her awkwardness
and the language barrier, but when she met Beth, who never fit in
anywhere anyway, something clicked and the two became friends. They
grew more and more inseparable as the school year went on, the clumsy
foreigner and the quiet geek girl.
It
had ended suddenly, on the last day of class, when Anneliese's
parents were recalled to Germany on short notice. Beth had gone to
Anneliese's house to say goodbye, and it had ended with a tight,
lingering, tearful hug as her parents waited in the car. Anneliese
had finally let Beth go, given her one last sad silent look, and
gotten in the car for the trip back home and out of Beth's life.
It
had made for a long, lonely summer for Beth. Things got better for
her over the next few years as she made new friends at school, worse
as she left them behind to go to college in California, and better
again when she met Michiko. Anneliese had drifted from Beth's mind,
but the memories had been stirred again when she noticed that
Anneliese had friended some of her old classmates on Facebook. Beth
had sent her a friend request, along with an email summarizing the
last few years of her life with the Monkey Queen parts left out.
Beth
was hurt that Anneliese hadn't responded, but not surprised. After
all,
she thought as she closed her browser, the
way things have gone lately, they should just stamp "reject"
on my forehead and be done with it.
She
shut her computer down and went to bed. As she pressed her head
against her pillow, she found herself thinking, I
just wish that I could get used to rejection, that it hurt less the
more it happens. Instead, it hurts more. It hurts like Hell.
* * *
As
Michiko turned away from her bedroom door, she could hear Beth
yelling in the living room. She couldn't quite make out what her
roommate was saying, but there was no mistaking the sound of Beth's
bedroom door slamming.
Michiko
sat on her futon and hid her face in her hands. It's
not working,
she thought. It's
not working, and all I'm doing is hurting her. I was stupid for even
thinking it would work.
She
squeezed her eyes as tightly shut as she could. I
don't know what to do. If I tell her, if she finds out, it'll be
over. But if I don't...it could be over anyway.
Michiko
lowered her hands and stared blankly at the floor. It's
all my fault. I should have never let it go this far. But I did, and
now I'm paying for it. And so is Beth, and I never should have let
that happen.
I
need to say I'm sorry. Before it's too late.
Want more? Read Chapter Two here! http://monkeyqueenbooks.blogspot.com/2015/05/sneak-preview-tiding-of-magpies-chapter_6.html And read "The Author, The Archer And The King Of Magpies", an excerpt from Chapter Four, here! http://monkeyqueenbooks.blogspot.com/2015/03/the-author-archer-and-king-of-magpies.html And thanks for reading!
© 2015 by Robert Dahlen. All rights reserved, except for those protected by local "fair use" laws.
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