Wizards (22 page)

"We’ll beat them to it." I offered Tyden my hand and we hopped across the desert in no time at all.

We ended up looking down on the town from the top of a hill. I must say the town of Barren lived up to its name. It consisted of a sprawl of squat ugly rectangular flat-roofed buildings with a small mud colored river running through the town. Most of Barren was dirt colored, a study in off-white and mucky grey.

The only color I saw was in the central square. Small triangular colored flags were strung on rope and hung around it. There was some kind of stage in the square too. I let my eyes focus on it and the scene snapped into sharp relief.

There was a small wooden corral with piles of dark cloth scattered across it. Men guarded the corral with long curved swords, as though the piles of cloth were valuable. A stage stood to the left of the corral, and beyond the stage a set of tall poles were stuck in the ground in a long line.

"What are the poles for?"

Tyden looked at me in astonishment. "The witches will be tied to them and burnt at Wickers Eve."

"What witches?"

"The ones being guarded. Are you blind?"

I realized the piles of cloth were people sitting on the earth in despair.

"That’s a lot of witches."

Tyden squinted up his eyes. "Only a dozen, if that. Some years there are as many as three dozen. More may arrive with the caravans. The people from far and wide gather in Barren for the festival."

"There are that many witches in this world?"

"Many girls become witches when they become unclean. It is the way of women to be driven by evil."

"How can you tell?"

"They trick and beguile men with their wanton ways. It is a certain sign. They can ride the wind and cause milk to go sour. They are evil and deserve to burn in the fires of hell."

I was lost for words. This society killed young girls by the dozen. I felt unclean looking at the town.

"When is Wickers Eve?"

"The third full moon after the summer solstice."

I stared at Tyden and he realized I wanted a more meaningful answer.

"Unless your world befuddles time it will be in three days’ time. When the sun sets on Wickers Eve the torches will be lit. The witches will scream in agony as the evil is burnt from their souls and the people will rejoice."

I can’t defend my next action, but Tyden's obvious delight at the murders to come was too much for me. I punched him in the face sending him rolling down the slope of the hill. I would have preferred it if we had been standing on a cliff.

It had gone well so far. Esmeralda agreed in principle to take the witches from Barren, should I figure out a way to rescue them. However, I knew she would want something in return and I wasn’t wrong.

"You will attend all the balls from now until the end of summer," Esmeralda said.

"Agreed."

"And you will accompany me to half of them, just the two of us, without the presence of Jenny."

"No. Jenny will be beside me, every time."

"You are not in a strong position to bargain, Jake."

"I’m in a perfect position, because I don't need to come to you at all. Perhaps I should take my offer to King Willim of Frode, or King Lantis of Alegon?"

Esmeralda stamped her foot.

"You came here asking for my help. Have you already forgotten?"

"I came here asking you to take in a dozen or more witches from another world. And by that I mean potential wizards, female wizards who would be in your debt."

"I liked it better when you were naïve. But you and I know these girls are victims, not real wizards."

"I'm not so sure about that and I am a wizard. How can you be so certain? A dozen young women in your kingdom would be no hardship, and if even one of them has genuine talent she would be a major asset."

Esmeralda batted her eyes at me and gave me a look that put me in mind of a lovesick cow.

"Please Jake. The people of Salice are already questioning your absence. Just attend the Friendship Ball with me and without Jenny. She has you all the time as it is."

"You forget, Jenny is my girlfriend. You’re just some crazy princess with a crush on me. I’m never going to marry you, Esmeralda. But I will turn up at your balls with Jenny and play along with this game until you find some way to get us out of this insanity without losing face."

"Most men would be happy to marry a princess and have your children inherit a kingdom. Or is the thought of bedding me so awful? You seemed keen to spank me the other day. Would my lord wizard like a second chance to see if it gets his juices flowing?"

I sighed, not for the first time since I hopped to Salice. I must admit, it had been a damned sight easier to get things done when she knew where I was and came looking for me. It took me hours to find her.

"Will you take the girls or should I look elsewhere?"

Esmeralda considered. "You will attend the balls?" I nodded. "Then we will take your girls into the kingdom."

"Do you need to check with your father?"

Esmeralda shook her head. I hoped she was right. I had hopped straight here from Barren, leaving Tyden on the hill where I punched him. He could make his own way to the town and seek a job. I was done with him and if he died, that was his hard luck. Finding somewhere to take the witches became my primary objective. Of course, there was still the little matter of rescuing them, but I needed someone willing to take them before I worried about that.

It seemed amazing that only a day or two ago, Jenny and I had been sitting in a coffee shop minding our own business. Now there was a stroppy and somewhat damaged young female wizard to worry about, not to mention a whole group of girls about to be burnt at the stake. I couldn't ignore them now that I knew about them. I had to do something.

"I need to rescue them sometime in the next three days, but according to my informant more victims may arrive so I’ll probably push it close to the third night before I make my move."

"They’ll need food and water when they arrive, but there is always plenty of food in the palace and water is not a problem. Bring them to the courtyard when you can. I’ll place someone on watch night and day until they get here."

I stood up and gave Esmeralda a quick kiss on the cheek. She blushed and put her hand over the spot.

"Thank you, Esmeralda. I have to go."

I hopped straight back to the gates of Jenny's college.

"You'll get killed for sure," Jenny told me after I explained my plan to her.

"Thanks for the vote of confidence."

"Which would at least solve the problem with the police," Jenny mused. "They haven't dropped the charges against you, Jake. They just decided to let you go while they gather more evidence."

"How do you know?"

"I got my father to ask a friend of his who works in the police. He told dad that it's unusual for the police to do it, but not illegal. You're officially out on police bail."

"They might have mentioned it," I muttered. As far as I could remember, all that happened was Sergeant Jones said I was free to go.

"I expect they have a couple of policemen ready and willing to swear an oath they heard it all being explained to you. The point is, if you get delayed in Barren or Salice they might claim you’ve done a runner and put out a warrant for your arrest. You'll be guilty just because they said you ran."

"If I get killed, I won't be worrying about it."

Jenny punched me gently on the shoulder. We sat in the coffee shop where this all started. I met Jenny as she came out of college and we managed to grab our favorite table in the cafe. When Jenny picked up the Evening Chronicle from the rack, I took it out of her hands and put it back. That paper seemed determined to kill me and I had enough trouble on my plate as it was.

"Esmeralda got you to agree to go to all the royal balls?"

"With you at my side. She wanted you to stay home for some of them."

"I may have to. My grades are dropping through the floor." Jenny smiled at me. "I'm proud of you for standing up to her. You wouldn't have done that when we first met."

"I have to start work tomorrow on Mr. Griffith's job. I promised him, and he's my only source of income."

"Jake Morrissey, saving the world on the days he doesn't have to work in a wood yard," Jenny said with a sad smile on her face.

I looked around the shop and spotted a couple of unexpected faces.

"It seems the police are following us," I said in a whisper. "That couple over there are cops. I've seen them before at the station."

"Let's go back to your house. We can hop to the cave from your room."

When we arrived in the Bat Cave, I was surprised to see Fluffy sitting by the entrance in the side of the cliff. It took me a few seconds to realize he wasn’t alone and somebody sat beside him.

"Bronwyn!" Jenny called out and the figure turned towards us.

"I came to see Retnor. Jake said I could," Bronwyn said defensively. Since anything I said would stir her up I went to the stove to make a cup of tea. The great thing about the British is we will stop any conflict long enough to sit and have a cup of tea with our enemies. It is our one inestimable contribution to civilization.

Jenny and Bronwyn talked quietly to each other while I went through the tea making ritual. There’s something comforting about making tea. Warming the pot with boiling water from the kettle and emptying it out again. Adding the tea bags and waiting until the kettle water is boiling fiercely before tipping the water into the pot. The pot always comes to the kettle, never the other way around. I put the lid on the pot and waited for it to brew.

A friend of mine turns the pot three times before pouring, but I think that’s silly. After letting the tea brew, the trick is to lift the lid and give the tea bags a quick stir before pouring.

Wars have been fought and scientists have pondered the merits of whether the milk should be put in the cup before or after the tea. I have an uncle who proved to me he could taste the difference between the two. The truth is that those of us in North Wales prefer putting the tea in first though I can live with either method.

"Sugar?" I shouted in Bronwyn's direction.

"Two! Sweeteners if you have them."

As if. She would have to put up with the granulated cane sugar. When I get fat I will start buying diet products, until then, I am a whole milk, pure sugar fanatic and to hell with health gurus.

By the time I stirred three cups and one large mug of tea I was calm again. That’s the true magic of tea, the ritual gives you time to find inner peace. It just doesn't work when you make instant coffee.

"I take it your parents think you’re at home?" I asked as I handed Bronwyn her cup.

"Locked in my bedroom by my father. Jenny told me about the hopscotch court you keep under your carpet of your bedroom and I drew one of those. It took me ten goes to get it to work with the carpet covering it."

"Mum scrubbed it off while I was away," I reminisced. "That’s how I convinced myself I didn't need a physical court, just the one in my mind."

"With a little cajoling from your girlfriend," Jenny put in quickly.

"That helped too," I admitted.

"The police are trying to get me to say you assaulted me. Some inspector with a drooping face who can barely talk has been at me."

"That would be Inspector Thomas. I wished him laryngitis and it seems to have stuck."

"My boyfriend is an evil wizard and you must never copy his terrible magic."

Bronwyn grinned and so did we.

"I could get you arrested and sent to jail for child abuse," Bronwyn said, and the grins faded from our faces. "I'm not going too. You saved my life," she said hastily. "I'm just saying I’m going to be your friend."

"And…?" I asked. There’s always a demand after a statement like that.

"Please let me come up here and talk to the three of you, Jake. I won't be any trouble and I’ll tidy the cave up after me and everything."

"I’ve told you before you are welcome here. But, you must never bring any friends here."

"I wouldn't," Bronwyn said indignantly.

"Then everything will be fine."

We settled down to drink our tea. I commanded the cave to get a little warmer. It was getting chilly as the evening progressed. Fluffy sat upright with his mug in his hands. He was very partial to a mug of tea. I found that strange as he was a true carnivore.

Perhaps it was because he used to share tea with me in my room when he was little. We would often sit by the window in the evening and watch the stars come out as we took sips from the same cup.

I knew this was the calm before the storm. It wasn't only the witches I had to rescue; it was the certainty that with the police following me everything would change.

I found I was smiling as I contemplated that fact. Apart from Jenny, I had a dragon and a damaged child as my friends. Somehow, the three of them seemed more than enough to deal with, whatever tomorrow brought.