Forced Magic (26 page)

Fetch made a retching sound and covered his nose at this
comment.  Molly laughed a nervous little laugh at his gesture.

”Yeah pal," I said to Fetch. “I would choke you all the
way down.” 

Fetch gave one of his usual ‘Huh’ sounds. Molly giggled
again. I walked over to Pete and jabbed a finger in his chest.

“You owe me for erasing my life. Please help me. Let me and
Fetch go to the one person that could answer our questions. Help us make sure
Michelle is safe. She is just another victim in all of this and has done some
amazing things to prove that she has the right to exist, either in this world
or the other, with all of her memories intact. All I have seen of magic, so
far, is how it is used to control and manipulate people. It has to end. It has
to stop. I have a feeling that you all don’t fully agree with this council, or
you would have at least tried to turn me over to them. Please help me. Show me
that there is some of the good that I always found in the books I've read my
entire life. Show me that there are true heroes in this realm of magic.”

I didn’t know that this was what I felt, until I said it out
loud. I wasn’t sure I could trust these fairies, but maybe, if I could get them
to help me go to Johnathen, I could change his mind about the fey and show him
that they were not all bad. I felt like I was betraying him in some way, but so
much had been said about how I was different from anything else ever seen in
the magic world. Maybe it was mine and Fetch's destiny to change people’s
opinions of things in the magic world. I couldn’t help but feel that if
Johnathen was willing to accept me and help the council accept me, then maybe I
could help him change his mind about the fairies. It was worth a shot.

I didn’t know what Smith had originally planned, but I hoped
he would see things my way. If anything, I wanted an explanation about the
daggers and why Johnathen had given one to Michelle as well as one to me.

Fetch came to stand in front of me. He looked at each of
them showing that he supported me. I felt a wave of gratitude for him. In a way
this affected him more than me. He was part of this magic world since he was a
dragon, and for some reason he chose to go against his very nature and spare
me. The many times I got mad at him, the times I tried to drive him off, and he
still stuck with me. He was a victim too. From what I understood about Fetch
letting me live, he may have turned all other dragons against him. Never
accepted fully by his own kind, he would always be an outcast.  Me, Michelle,
Johnathen and Fetch, we had to help each other. We seemed to be trapped in
between two worlds. Never fully accepted by either one. We were a strange
family.  In many ways Michelle was like a sister to me. I had to find her.

I realized that everyone was staring at me, as if waiting
for what I would say next.

Finally Samantha spoke up, her voice heavy with sarcasm,
“Fine, oh great dragon survivor, what is your plan? And it better be good.
Anyone gets hurt, I will personally feed you to fetch.”

She had a crooked smile on her face. It might have been my
imagination, but I figured I might have won a grudging respect from her. I thought
she might have tangled with this council on more than one occasion. I noticed
that Pete and Molly were dressed in the most impeccable ways. Pete, with his
Armani suit, and Molly, looking like she just walked out of a fashion magazine.
This was quite different from Samantha's light summer dress. I wondered if this
was her way of saying she was an individual, different and not wanting to fit
into the norm.

“Great!” I thought to myself. "I’m dealing with a bad
girl rebel fairy. I’m surprised she doesn’t have a tattoo on her arm that says
'Born to Flutter'.”

Smith spoke up. “Ok Jack, what’s your plan?”

He had a slight smile on his face and a twinkle in his eyes.
I remembered our first conversation and realized he was enjoying this
immensely.

“Ok, we need to find Johnathen and Michelle and find out
what is going on."

I paused for a second. This sounded better in my head. They
were all staring at me with blank looks on their faces. I knew I needed to get
in touch with Johnathen without him knowing I was on the side of fairies. I
would spring that on him when the time was right.

I continued, “Does anyone know how to get ahold of a wizard
or his animal messengers?”

Samantha groaned in frustration and looking at Fetch asked
in a pleading voice, “Why didn’t you eat him?”

“Wait," I said. “I was just asking, in case. I have a
backup plan if you can’t. If I could get ahold of him, tell him I need to see
him, then I could find out if Michelle has confronted him yet, and we can take
it from there.”

At that moment I remembered my cell phone that Michelle had
given me. I felt stupid for not remembering it before. I reached into my pocket
and pulled it out. Molly made a little sound of interest, Pete sighed in
disgust, and Samantha gave me a blank stare. I remembered that most people in
the magic world were baffled by technology.

“Uh, cell phone, forgot about it,” I mumbled.

“We know what it is,” said Pete. “Who will you contact with
it? Johnathen? He is known for having problems with tech stuff, just like a lot
of us do, so you won’t be able to call him."

I thought back to the times Michelle would show Johnathen
something about tech stuff. He wouldn’t even touch the computer when she showed
him the YouTube battle, with me and Fetch against Booger and the snot brigade.

“Uh, this was given to me by Michelle,” I said reluctantly.

Mentally I was kicking myself for not thinking of this sooner.

"We were keeping in contact with each other."

“You mean you had the ability to speak to her this whole
time and you didn’t?" said Samantha.

“So sorry, your fairy highness. Before I could use it I was
shot and beaten with baseball bats, then I was passed out for a while,” I said
through gritted teeth.

”That’s two, “she said, looking at me in a very threatening
way.

“Great! “ I thought, pulling up Michelle’s number and
texting her. “Now she’s keeping track of what I do that makes her mad. I don’t
even have a clue what that is."

I texted two words 'U ok?' and waited. It didn’t take long
for the response.

“Check Facebook. Help the dragons go see Pek."

I sent her a question mark and got no response. This worried
me. Obviously there was something on her Facebook page that would help us find
her.

I repeated those words to the others. When I said the name
'Pek' they all gave each other a look. I knew I had heard the name before, I
just couldn’t remember when or where.

“I need to get to a computer," I said. "This phone
can’t get Internet. Do you guys know where I can access a computer?”

“Your text from Michelle has the answer,” said Smith. “I
think it’s time you met Pek.”

It hit me where I had heard the name before. Michelle had
talked about him with Johnathen and with Smith. He was the elf with a knack for
computers. I was about to meet this Pek.

I looked over to Smith's workbench and saw his computer was
gone. I turned back to him with a questioning look.

“When we got back here, I found my computer gone. I didn’t
want to alarm anyone. It seems as if someone was trying to keep us from using
computers, another reason to see Pek. He might be in trouble. He should be
warned."

I was trying to text Michelle again as Smith was talking. I
was encouraged by her message that she was still unharmed, but her lack of a
response after her message had me worried.  I wondered what she would think
when she discovered that I was working with the fey. Still, no response.

“Ok," I said, “let’s go see this Pek.”

We left Smith's tunnel home, walking across the park. I kept
my eyes open looking for any signs of one of Johnathen's bobcat messengers.
They were nowhere to be seen. Samantha had surrounded us in a cloak of
concealment, allowing us to walk undetected through the park. I could see it
shimmering in the dark. It surrounded us like a dome and kept up with us as we
walked. We walked in silence except for Molly. Molly never stopped talking. She
was fascinated by me and Fetch and was not afraid to let us know. She asked us
everything from what kind of deodorant I used to asking Fetch how he got rid of
evidence of going to the bathroom. Samantha had gasped in protest and began to
berate her for asking such a personal question. Fetch stepped in-between them,
staring at Samantha, telling her in his unique mute way that it was ok. He
seemed to be in a good mood. I could tell that he felt we would soon be
reunited with Michelle and was also happy that he didn’t have to go into cameo
mode as usual. He went up to a very full garbage can. At first I was afraid he
was going to go right then and there, but, with a short burst of flame, caught
the trash around it and in it on fire. Within a matter of seconds the garbage
was reduced to ash. He looked at Molly who didn’t seem to understand at first.

“He burns it," I said. “He lights it on fire and
destroys all evidence of it.”

I tried to sound casual about this, like I had known the
answer all along. The truth was I had wondered that myself a time or two. There
was still so much I didn’t know about Fetch. I still had no idea how he was
able to get those bags of food he kept showing up with.

Our short walk through the park led us to a tunnel going
under the street. I looked over at Fetch. He was looking back at me with a
half-smile on his face. I was sure that he was thinking about the first time we
met. It seemed like forever. I was definitely a different person, and not just
physically. With all that I had learned and experienced in such a short time, I
had gained a confidence I had not had before.  My whole life I had run away
from conflict. Now I have fought goblins, faced a dragon, made friends with
gnomes, and now I am leading a group of fey into what could very well be a
confrontation with a wizard.

 The tunnel opened up to a type of subway stop. Green balls
of energy were whisking people to their destinations, yet another surprise from
this realm of magic. I guessed that not all magic users could transport
themselves like Michelle or even the goblins could. I looked around thinking of
the goblins and looking for their blue balls that appeared before they would
show up. I didn’t see any.

Shaking my head to try and focus on the task at hand, I took
out the cell phone that Michelle had given me. I texted her hoping for a
response. I got one. Hurry Jack, Facebook important. See Pek.

Everybody seemed to be in agreement that this Pek guy would
have answers for me. We all got into a bubble and started moving fast through a
tunnel. I was relieved that I finally got a response from Michelle. She was ok
for now, but she seemed to be running out of time. She couldn’t tell me where
she was. I was hoping this Pek could.

We reached a kind of station and got out of the bubble.
There were too many fantasy creatures to count, all rushing around like they
were going to work or heading home. If it wasn’t for the fact that some were
floating, seemed to be on fire, or some other fantastic magical thing was
surrounding them, you could almost believe that it was just another subway
station in some major city, something you would see in a movie or television
show.

I saw two bobcats running through the station and wondered
if they were Johnathen's. I looked around and discovered many different bobcats
and other animals running around. I guessed that animals were used in this way
a lot. If I could just see them, I think I could have figured out if they were
Johnathen's or not, but, as quick as I spotted them, they disappeared, moving
through the crowd in a flash.

We had walked from the underground station into the cool
night air of the desert. Not paying attention to what direction we had been
headed I had no idea where we were. All I could see was the dark outline of
cacti and hear the sound of coyotes howling. As far as I knew, we were either
out of the city limits in the middle of the desert or in a large vacant lot in
the middle of town. Tucson is like that. You never knew what you were going to
find around the next turn. Maybe that was why all the magic creatures of the
world seemed to be here. There were so many places to hide.

  We walked through the desert for a short while and came
across a dirt road. Without any hesitation Smith began to lead us down this
road. He seemed to know where he was going. As we walked, I remembered the
first time I saw Smith. I wondered if he had known I was there, watching him
shoo away that troll from the dumpster. I had the feeling that he did. There
was definitely more to him than I understood.

We reached the end of the road. There was a small trailer
with bright floodlights surrounding it. A small picket fence stretched around
the piece of property. All around the yard was an assortment of different
colored lights and electronic devices in an odd decorative style. Everything
from Christmas lights to Halloween pumpkins and bats surrounded us as we walked
through the yard. Neon signs glowing the cliché 'EAT AT JOE'S' or 'Get car
washed here' littered the ground. All of them were working, blinking and
shining brightly. You could probably see the light for miles and I wondered why
this Pek creature didn’t try to hide himself like all of the other residents of
the magical realm did. It was as if he wanted to be discovered.  As we walked
up to the front door, we must have stepped across some kind of hidden sensor.
Two of those waving things you would usually see in front of a car dealership
popped up. One looked like a tin Christmas soldier. The other was a gorilla.
They waved up-and-down and side-to-side like overly excited guards. Molly
squealed in delight and Pete, who I guess had never seen anything like that
before, pulled out his sword.

Smith walked up to the door of the trailer and knocked.

“Go away,” said an angry voice from within. “I’m busy and I
don’t care if my Santa Claus is freaking out your dogs. I’m not turning him
off.”

I guessed that he was referring to the big waving Santa on
top of the trailer. You could hear him 'HO, HO, HO'ing', loudly and happily.
Smith chuckled at this and pushed the door open, signaling us to follow him
inside.

As bright and colorful as it was outside, it was dark and
shadowy inside. The only light in the small trailer was coming from a laptop
computer. In the glow of the screen I got my first glimpse of this mysterious
Pek.

He had a long curved nose. His greasy looking black hair
hung down in his eyes. A pair of glasses hung in the air about four inches from
his face. He was about two feet tall from what I could tell and I could hear
his short fingers hitting the keyboard of his laptop computer at an alarmingly
fast pace. Without looking up he spoke to us.

“Rude, “he said in a high but gruff voice. “After telling
you to go away, you still just barge right in. So rude.”

“Sorry old friend, “said Smith,”but we don’t have the time
to wait for a formal invitation."

At the sound of Smith's voice, Pek's eyebrows jumped to the
top of his head. His ears gave a little wiggle and I noticed that they came to
a point.

“Ah, Smith," said Pek. ”So you have come to see me, eh?
Tired of cleaning up after that Troll? Well, you can forget my vote to get you
back on the council. You have made your goblin nest now, so it is your
responsibility to eat in it.”

“I’m not here for me,” said Smith, with a little impatience
in his voice. ”I have brought some friends to see you. We need your help."

”Of course you do. Everyone does these days. Well what is
it? Someone wants to learn how to use a cell phone? Or maybe an explanation of
how a debit card works? Hmm?"

"No, no my friend, nothing like that. There is danger
afoot and my young friends, Fetch and Jack need your help."

At the mention of our names, Pek slammed his fingers on the
keyboard so hard that it had to have broken something. Slowly Pek's face
appeared above the screen of his computer. He stared at me and Fetch. Clapping
his hands together the lights in the trailer came on revealing a small table
and one chair on which Pek was sitting. Nothing else was in the trailer except discarded
empty boxes of to-go food scattered around the floor. Pek moved out of his
chair and walked around the table. His face was getting redder by the second
and by the time he had moved to the other side of the table it was reaching a
deep purple.

“Fetch and Jack,” he said slowly and carefully. “Fetch and
Jack, here in my trailer. You have no idea how I have wanted this moment to
happen. I have dreamed about it these past weeks more than any other dream I
have had. You incredible, living, walking, FLAPS!” he screamed. “Do you have
any idea the trouble you have caused? You stupid, airheaded, abominations! What
right do you even have to exist?”

He moved toward us, getting in Fetch's face.

"You couldn’t have just eaten him, huh?“ he scolded
Fetch. “No, No, NO! You had to choose to go against nature itself. Do you have
any idea how much work I have had to do on the internet to erase your fight in
the parking lot?”

He had walked back to his little table touching the back of
his computer. He had a box just like Michelle had. He touched the laptop almost
lovingly. You could hear him mumbling to himself. He gently shut his computer,
and, to the surprise of everyone, he turned back around and charged us. His
hands were claws and his face was a mask of cartoon rage.

Molly had stepped in front of us and caught him as he
launched at us, murder in his eyes, his hands reaching toward us like claws,
wanting to scratch our eyes out.

“Ah! “Said Smith, “Nothing like the passion of an Elf.”

Fighting her, it took Molly shouting his name a few times
before the little guy stopped trying to break away from her to get to us.
Looking Molly in the face, he finally stopped and went limp.

“Molly, dear," he said in a wavering voice, “one of my
best pupils. Please tell them to leave. Please get them away from me. I just
can’t help them no matter what it is. No, no, my heart can’t take the strain.
No, please send them away dear please?”

Talking calmly, Molly managed to get Pek to calm down. After
a few angry glances and kicks in our direction and a half-mumbled promise not
to charge us again, Molly let him go. He walked around to his chair again and
sat at his computer, ignoring all of us.

Speaking only to Molly, “Now dear, what can I do for
you?"

The emphasis on the word 'you' let us all know that he would
not even acknowledge that the rest of us were even there. I looked at Fetch and
could tell he was trying to keep from laughing. I didn’t blame him. Pek was
like a demented Christmas elf. It was hard to believe he was this computer
magician everyone kept talking about. It hadn’t gone unnoticed that he knew
Molly. I wondered if Michelle had known that Pek seemed to be teaching fairies
about computers. When I thought about it, I realized that, just a short time
ago, I would not have stood here with fairies the way I was now. I had been
told they were untrustworthy by one of the few people I considered a friend. I
had no idea how Johnathen would react to all of this. Once again, I hoped I
could change his mind about fairies. Pek, who worked with Michelle, seemed to
know fairies, and, the way he was looking at Molly, was even fond of at least
some of them. Could Johnathen have been wrong about all of the fairies? Maybe
he had met some bad ones in the past and placed some kind of judgment on all of
them.  My head was spinning over all of this. I was beginning to realize that
it was going to be a very hard task to convince Johnathen, and perhaps
Michelle, that the fey were not all bad.

Pek continued to rant in mine and Fetch's direction. He
would go back and forth from looking furiously at me and Fetch, to looking
fondly and sweetly at Molly. The others he completely ignored. It looked so
comical it was very hard not to laugh.

Pete was studying an empty box of chicken like it was the
most interesting thing he had ever seen. Samantha had her hands over her mouth,
shaking with uncontrollable laughter, while Smith looked at her with the stern
stare of a teacher trying to silently warn a student before they said or did
something they were going to regret. Once again I was reminded that I was now
part of a world that just didn’t make much sense.

Molly took over. She knelt down and began to talk to Pek,
reassuring him that this was very important, or they would never have disturbed
him. She was the only one of us who seemed to take this little guy seriously. I
couldn’t help but stare at this creature wondering what he was. As Molly began
to explain how we needed his help, he caught me staring at him. He jumped up
onto his chair and threw a half empty soda can at me.

“Stop staring at me! “He screamed.

I was beginning to get a little annoyed by this guy. His
high-strung attitude was getting us nowhere and time started to weigh heavy on
me. The longer this took, the more Michelle might need our help. I hoped
Johnathen wouldn’t be too mad at her. I remembered what he did to me in the
hotel room. I didn’t think he would ever do that to Michelle, but as strange
and as tired as he had been acting lately, I couldn’t be sure he wouldn’t do
something he would later regret.

I looked at the ceiling and tried to keep from looking at
him. Pek sat back down and in a calm voice spoke to Molly.

“Now dear, please tell this old elf what he can do to help
you.”