Forced Magic (14 page)

The little beast was staring at me in shock. It must have
been quite a surprise to him when I appeared after grabbing his foot. I took
complete advantage of his surprise and dragged him away from the stroller and
the crying baby. The magic continued to build up inside me.  I forced it out
and sent a wave of power through the goblin and out toward the stroller. The
goblin went limp in my hands, and, as the wave passed the stroller, the baby
went quiet. My heart went cold. I didn’t mean for the magic to affect the baby.
I looked down at the now limp form of the goblin.  Terror flooded my heart! If
I had killed the goblin, then surely I had killed the baby. The goblin let out
a snort. I looked down at him and discovered that he was sleeping, just
sleeping. I dropped him and rushed over to the stroller. I looked inside and
saw the baby. It was sleeping peacefully. My forced spell had just put them to
sleep. I made a promise to practice my magic and get a better grip on it.

I could hear the frightened voices of the parents as they
ran in our direction. A flash of pain hit me in my bad hip as the goblin had
recovered quickly, blindsided me, and smashed into the hip. I crumbled to the
ground. The goblin was on top of me, sneering, as he looked in the direction of
the voices.

“That was my snack you just took from me, Flap. No worries
though, there are plenty others out there. You can’t be everywhere at once,
dragon survivor.”

With these words a blue light appeared behind him. He
flipped over backwards and disappeared into it with an insane little giggle.

The mom and dad came rushing up going straight to the
stroller, and found their baby sleeping peacefully. They helped me up, thanking
me over and over again. I could hear the siren as the police got closer. The
acid was burning my foot, and the blow to my hip made it too hard for me to
just run off. That was when the gnome showed up. He stood there as the mother
and father screamed in terror. She clutched the baby to her chest and the
father stood in front of her, protecting them both. Then, with a wave of the
gnome's hand, a pulse went out. As it washed over the parents, a strange
confused look came over their faces. They got the stroller, and, without a
second look at me, walked calmly back to the pool. I sat there in the grass not
wanting to move.  The little gnome looked around as if he was looking for something.
I realized he was looking for me. After a few seconds, he moved in the
direction of the approaching sirens. As he walked off, I got up and quickly
went back to the pool.

The family was still there getting their stuff. They seemed
fine, as if nothing had happened. I wanted to get a look at the baby to make
sure it was all right. Mom decided to change him before they went back to their
room, so she unwrapped the little guy from his blanket while cooing at him. I
sat down at a table nearby not wanting to be noticed for staring. The baby
wasn’t crying, so I didn’t think it was hurt. The mother changed his diaper and
tickled his little feet. I could hear him laughing and cooing. Tears of relief
flooded my eyes and I sat there quietly and watched the family leave. They
really didn’t pay any attention to me, except for the little girl. She was
holding her daddy's hand, and, pulling on his finger, pointed at me.

“Daddy, that’s the man who jumped the fence when the green
monkey got Joey.”

The dad looked at me with a little embarrassed smile. I
smiled back, the tears still streaming out of my eyes. The pulse had no effect
on the little girl. She remembered everything. I said a little prayer in hopes
that she didn’t have nightmares from it for the rest of her life. The family
left and after a few moments I got up and limped back to my room. I was hyper
aware of every sound and shadow as I made my way back. I was sore and stiff. My
hip hurt and there was still a burning feeling on my toes, but I was all right.
The thing that bothered me the most, was the words of the goblin, that there
were others. I had to find a way to stop this from happening again.

I walked into the room and saw Fetch sitting on the bed. He
was watching some reality TV show. He had gotten some burgers and bottled
sodas. I picked up a bottle and threw it at the side of his head. It bounced
off and hit the floor.

“Where were you?” I shouted at him.

He slowly turned to me. I could tell he was ready to
retaliate until he saw the look on my face. He could tell that something had
occurred. I sat on the bed next to him and told him what had happened. His eyes
shifted colors as he sat there listening to my story. We had sat around long
enough, now we needed to start acting. There seemed to be too many magic
creatures that were victimizing non-magic people. It had to stop.

“We've got to tell Johnathen about this, Fetch. We have to
do something.”

Fetch nodded his head in agreement. I texted Michelle
telling her I needed to see her, right away. When I received no immediate
response to the text, I called.

“Look, Michelle, I need to talk to you. Something bad has
happened and I need to talk to someone about it. You said you would see us in a
couple of days and it has been weeks and I REALLY NEED TO TALK TO SOMEONE
NOW!!! “

I hung up the phone and put my head in my hands. A few
minutes later I heard a scratching at the door. Fetch and I both jumped up
ready for an attack. This thing had scared us both and we were now ready for
anything. I put out my hand and Fetch shot a burst of flame into it. I walked
up to the door keeping to one side. There was another sound of scratching. My
senses seemed to intensify and it felt like I had two, strong, fast beating,
hearts in my chest as I got ready to open the door. Fetch planted himself
squarely in front of the door going into cameo mode. He let out a little “huff”
to let me know he was ready. I flung open the door to the surprising sight of
one of Johnathen's bobcats.  It quickly slunk in and, jumping over Fetch, sat
on the bed.  Its mouth opened and Johnathen's voice came out.

“Michelle said you were very upset. I sensed a pulse of
magic at the hotel. What happened?”

I told the whole story again. When I finished, Johnathen's
voice came through the bobcat again.

"They are getting bolder and out of control. For one to
act on its own that way, means that things are getting bad."

“Wasn’t it sent by the person trying to kill me?" I
asked.

“No. I don’t think so. If it was, it would have attacked you
directly. Besides, there would have never been any way to tell where you were.
You have been wearing the teardrop?”

“Yes, and Fetch has stayed out of sight."

I didn’t want to tell Johnathen that Fetch had been going
out on his own to hunt and fly around. I didn’t want to be a tattle tale.
Besides, I was upset that Johnathen and Michelle had blown me off.

"Did you hear all of that, Michelle?” said Johnathen.

“Yes” said Michelle's voice out of the bobcat.

It sounded like it was coming from a long way off.

“Jack, I'm almost there."

I sat down in a chair again, my head in my hands. I was
relieved that Michelle was coming. The bobcat jumped down off the bed and came
over to me, putting a paw on my lap. Johnathen spoke again.

“I’m sorry, Jack, it was my fault that Michelle hasn’t been
around. It’s just that things have gotten dangerous. Somehow word has gotten
out about you. You are something of a celebrity, Jack. People are concerned
that you might cause trouble. I am trying to get you an appointment to see the
council. They are being stubborn and there has been more than one incident over
goblins and other creatures openly attacking non-magic people. I am trying to
explain that you really don’t have anything to do with it. I was afraid if
Michelle was seen with you, she would be in trouble herself."

“What?" I said. "Tell her not to come here then. I
don’t want her to get in trouble."

There was a knock at the door.

“Too late," said Johnathen.

I jumped up and opened the door to see Michelle standing
there. She looked concerned as she stepped in and gave me a hug. Fetch bumped
me out of the way to get one too.

“Well," said Johnathen, "I will leave you all now.
Jack, I will be coming to see you myself soon. I still want to see what you can
do.”

With that the bobcat headed for the door. Michelle opened it
and the bobcat ran off.

“He seemed upset,” I said. “Is he ok?”

“He got mad when I demanded to come see you. He is just
worried."

I could tell that there was more to it than that, by looking
at her face, but I didn’t want to push it. I was just glad to see her.

“You shouldn’t have come. If I had known you could be in
danger, I wouldn’t have sent you that message.”

 “It was my decision to come, Jack. I did tell you I would
see you in a few days, and I can make up my own mind and take care of myself.”

In that short sentence I could tell what kind of
conversations Michelle and Johnathen had been having lately. Again, I didn’t
want to press it. My mind was in a whirl. I knew in my heart that I couldn’t be
there to keep every goblin or fairy from attacking, but I felt that I needed to
do something. I had an idea, something I had been thinking about for a while
now. I wanted to run it by Michelle.

“It is Johnathen's ultimate goal to get the word out about
the magic world right?” I asked Michelle.

“Yes, you know it is."

Michelle was looking at me while absentmindedly scratching
Fetch's head. She seemed upset. I knew it had to do with Johnathen but I didn’t
want to push it. I had to tell her my idea though, so I walked over and got my
computer.

"Let’s go down and get some coffee."

Fetch perked up at the idea of coffee. His mood was
beginning to mirror Michelle's mood. I wanted to make them both feel better. If
I was right, then this just might do it.

We walked down to the little coffee shop. They had great
mocha lattes, something that I discovered was a favorite of Fetch's. It was a
big shop and was usually not very busy at night. With a little clever
maneuvering, Fetch could sneak inside, and we could sit at a corner table, away
from the cameras, and drink a few in peace. They had Wi-Fi there too. Not
something I usually concerned myself over, but tonight it was important if my
idea was to work.

We got lucky and found an available corner table. After
placing our drink order I got my computer started. I kept looking over my
shoulder, expecting to see a blue ball and an army of goblins appear. I was
sure the last one had to have told some of his little snot buddies about me. I
was beginning to think this was a bad idea, going out of the room. Michelle
grabbed my hand. I looked her in the eyes and I saw strength in them. She had
been through so much.

“You can’t live in fear, Jack."

I knew she was right.  After everything that had happened,
the worst thing I could do is live in fear. I squeezed her hand as I smiled at
her.  I felt Fetch's paw on top of both our hands. I was a little overwhelmed
for a second. In all my life I had never had friends like this. Not ones that I
could truly count on. The closest thing I had would be my brother. He was the
only person from my old life that could match the closeness I had for these
two. I took a deep breath and a sip of my coffee and began.

“Ok, creatures in the magic world have a problem with
computers. You told me that some can’t use them and others just won’t try. We
now have a connection to the magic world but we are still able to use
computers. Why don’t we use this technology to tell the world about
magic?"

Michelle l gave me a blank look. ”What do you mean? Like a
blog or something?”

"Well, yeah, eventually I guess. I’m not the best with
computers. In fact, if I hadn’t had help I probably would never have gotten a
Facebook page."

I turned on my computer and found my Facebook page. It was
still there. It hadn’t been deleted yet. I had posts from people who really
didn’t know who I was. Most people never checked their Facebook friends list
and so it was conceivable that people would keep me without knowing who I was. 

“Here, let me show you what I mean.”

I wrote a message on my Facebook wall, “Not many people know
this but dragons love coffee! :)" I showed it to Michelle. She still
looked puzzled.

“I have seen a little girl who was not affected by the
memory pulse. There have to be people out there who have experienced magic,
and, because they either didn’t recognize it, or were afraid someone would
think they were crazy, they didn’t say anything about it. I was thinking of
keeping my Facebook page and seeing if I could find out if anyone else has seen
or experienced anything to do with magic. I know there are a lot of people out
there that talk about magic, but I figured if I kept it simple and even a
little funny at times, I might get some responses that could help us discover
who knows what. We could also use it as a way to get the word out there that
the magic world does exist."

Michelle’s eyes lit up. “Ok, I see where you are going with
this. The benefit is that the council would have no clue as to what we are
doing, and before they found out, the word could already be out there."

“Yeah, I mean, I could put little things out there like
‘Don’t pick up any cool looking rocks, they could be dragon eggs.’ and see what
kind of response I got. I mean I thought I would keep it simple to start, just
to see who would respond and why. This could be a great tool to get the word
out there as to what is going on. The more people are thinking about it and
keeping from getting pulsed, the better. Johnathen wanted to get the word out
about the magic world, why not use computers to do it?"

“I think that is a great idea, Jack! I don’t know why I
never thought of it myself. I mean, I have been teaching computers to the magic
world and I never thought to use it this way. It’s a great start, Jack. I can
start monitoring stuff more and I will make sure your Facebook page stays open.
But, there are those who are learning to use computers. You need to keep it
simple, Jack.  Keep it light, just like your post, for now. If you say or do
too much, it could draw too much attention to you. You don’t want to get in
trouble with the council before you see them. This could really work."

Michelle sat there looking at me for a few minutes. I could
tell she was trying to decide something.

“Let’s not tell Johnathen about this, at least not for a
while. I think he would try and put a stop to it, but if we could get more
people thinking about the magic world, then it would help in the long run. It
might even prevent a few tragedies."

“I thought it would be a good way to find those with magic
ties too. Like you and your elf blood, we could find others with connections to
the magic world and help them.”

Michelle smiled. “By the time you go before that council,
Jack, you are going to have more support than you know."

“That’s another thing I wanted to talk to you about. I think
we need to show ourselves to the magic world."

I said it all in a rush, not knowing what her response would
be. Most of what I was saying sounded like betraying Johnathen.  Michelle sat
there staring at me. I couldn’t read the look on her face. She had been
protected from the magic world for a long time. I really didn’t know her whole
story about what she had to do for the magic community to accept her. I had a
feeling that Johnathen had introduced her to just certain creatures of magic.
What I was proposing was to expose myself and Fetch to the whole magic
community.

“I would keep Johnathen's name out of it, Michelle. I
wouldn’t want him to get in trouble. But, if Fetch and I were to show
ourselves, then it could keep him from getting into trouble for hiding
us."

“I can’t tell you what to do, Jack. But, I will ask you to
wait before you do anything like that. You have to remember that Johnathen is
trying to protect you. He is trying to protect us all.  Exposing ourselves
slowly on the web to the non-magic world is one thing. But, to reveal
yourselves to the magic community, before Johnathen is ready for you to do so,
is dangerous. You don’t know what he went through for me. Please, Jack, just
give him some time before you do this. It is only fair to him.”

“Ok, I will, but you need to understand that I don’t want
someone to get hurt because of me. You guys keep telling me how special Fetch
and I are, and all I can think of is someone getting hurt because of that. I
want you and Johnathen to be safe too. The only reason I would expose myself to
the world, magic or non-magic, is because I want you all to be safe. I don’t
want another baby kidnaped because of me."

I hoped what I said made sense to her. I wanted everyone to
be safe. All the positive feelings I had because of the physical changes I had
undergone were fading fast. I was back to being frustrated and confused. I felt
guilty about what almost happened to the baby today.

“Jack," said Michelle, “you can’t blame yourself for
what happened today. It was just a renegade goblin causing trouble.”

“Yeah?” I asked. "Then why did it attack at the hotel
where Fetch and I were staying? Do you really think that was just chance? I
feel like someone is manipulating me, and, if it isn’t the fairies, then who
else? Who sent those goblins to attack me?"

“I don’t know, Jack. Johnathen is working on it right now.
Please don’t freak out on us. Just please give him more time. Give us more
time. Your idea with the Facebook is a good one and I have another idea for
you. Let’s go back to the room and I’ll show you what I mean."

When we got back to the room, Michelle pulled out her
computer. She had her little magic box attached to it and ran a wire to my
computer. She got on my Facebook page.

“Jack, you need to write your story.”