The Price of Magic Read online

  “And Baxter is better at… well, he’s better at… at everything about being a man.”

  “Remember, you’re a handsome young man,” said the dragon. “There are scores of girls that think you’re a catch. I’ve heard them talking around town.”

  “Yeah?”

  “Of course. But Baxter is right about them. They do talk to one another. If you treat one of them shabbily, it will get around.”

  “Well, I’ll just have to be a gentleman.”

  “Exactly.”

  “Which I am.”

  “Of course you are.”

  “Thanks,” he said, downing the last of his tea. She moved out of the way so that he could stand up. “Would it be so hard for Baxter to at least pretend he was afraid of my magic?”

  “It’s just not him,” said Zoey, as he headed back in the door. “After all, you should see what he does at night to the world’s most powerful sorceress.”

  “Gah! I don’t want to hear that. She’s my sister.”

  “It makes me wish he fancied dragons,” she said.

  As was usually the case in front of the main gate, a small crowd gathered hoping to catch a glimpse of the world famous Drache Girl. They weren’t much interested in Peter, with the exception of one older woman who stared intently at him, probably wondering if he was the sorceress in disguise.

  Two blocks down, Peter hired a rickshaw, pulled by a particularly large lizzie. As he sat back and let the creature pull him along, he noticed that its tail had an ugly scar in the shape of a large bite mark. It had probably been made by a utahraptor or an achillobator.

  Lucetta Hartley had specifically asked that he not pick her up from her residence. That was probably because she was still staying in the temporary housing just north of town square. Originally built as a large block of apartments, it had been repurposed by the city government. Even with these four hundred apartments specifically for new arrivals, there was a significant shortage of housing in the city.

  Waiting on the corner in front of Finkler’s Bakery was the young lady in question, wearing a light green day dress, trimmed in black lace and with a black necktie and black top hat. She was a very pretty girl with light brown hair and large green eyes. Her button nose was covered with just a few freckles. When she saw the lizzie pulling the rickshaw, she stepped back a foot, but when she saw Peter, her face lit up with a broad smile.

  “Good day, Miss Hartley,” said Peter, hopping down from the vehicle.

  “Wizard Bassington.”

  “Peter, please,” he said, offering her his hand.

  “I don’t know. On a first date?”

  “I’ll be honest, I haven’t gotten used to being called Wizard Bassington yet. Besides, things are less formal here in Birmisia than back in Brechalon. I mean, after all, here we are without a chaperone.”

  A look passed across her face, and he quickly added, “Not that we need one. This is just a luncheon and I assure you that you will be treated throughout as a lady ought.”

  She smiled once again and he guided her into the rickshaw seat, climbing in after her. Her voluminous dress left no free room in the small compartment.

  “I must say, I’m not yet used to Birmisa,” said Miss Hartley, looking at the lizzie, who looked right back at her.

  “Café Idella,” Peter ordered the lizardman, and then smiled back at the young lady. “Most of the lizzies I’ve met are actually quite decent. We have a lizzie nursemaid, Rassy, that takes care of my little niece, and a butler named Cheery that’s as fine a fellow as you would want. Mind you, he doesn’t say much. But he’s always ready with a drink when you need it.”

  The lizzie pulling the rickshaw took mostly side streets, rather than the main thoroughfares to avoid steam carriage traffic, so Peter had to resort to phrases like “the Church of the Apostles is just down that way,” and “one block over is the Victory Obelisk.”

  “I bloody well have to get a car,” he muttered to himself.

  “What was that?”

  “Here we are, coming up on Café Idella. Have you ever eaten here?”

  “No, I haven’t.”

  “Well, you’re in for a treat.”

  They stopped in front of the restaurant and Peter helped Miss Hartley down. Then, arm in arm, they made their way to the entrance. Café Idella was roughly the size of Café Etta, but that restaurant featured an open air dining area, while Café Idella had a similar sized area enclosed in glass walls. They waited only a moment before being shown their seats near the left back corner of the room. This provided them with a perfect view of the carefully cultivated garden out back, complete with a large fountain featuring a stone fish with water shooting out of its mouth.

  “What a lovely establishment,” she said.

  “Wait until you taste the food.”

  It was at that moment that a tall, thin waiter appeared beside them.

  “Good day to you,” he said, with a distinctly Mirsannan accent. “How very nice of you to join us. Today, in addition to our usual faire, the chef has prepared a very nice saurolophus tail in white wine. It is cooked with onions and potatoes and is served with a savory winter squash and cranberry tart.”

  “I’ve never eaten saralophonius… or whatever he said,” said Miss Hartley.

  “I haven’t either,” said Peter. “Shall we live dangerously?”

  “Lets.”

  “We’ll have that, then,” Peter told the waiter.

  “Very good, sir.”

  “So, tell me a bit about yourself, Miss Hartley,” said Peter, once the waiter had gone.

  “You know already that we’re new arrivals. My father brought us all here. He worked on the railway back in Brechalon—the Langsington to Brightman line. Then he got an offer out of nowhere for the Mallontah and Birmisia Railroad. Can you imagine that?”

  “I don’t know anything at all about railroads, but this is a land of opportunity.”

  “So the whole family packed up and left Brechalon. We had a choice of here or Mallontah, but everybody said Birmisia. And here we are.”

  “I think you made the right choice. I was in St. Ulixes just once, but it was more than enough. Filthy place. Nothing but dust.”

  “That’s what I hear,” said Miss Hartley, nodding. “So it’s me, my mum and dad, my older sister Lelene and her husband Ewan—Ewan Wade. They’re still newlyweds really. And then there’s my little brother Liam.”

  “You’re all in the one apartment?”

  “Yes, it’s been a tight squeeze, I can tell you, even with Dad mostly away on the train. But that’s all over now. We’ve got a house coming.”

  “What do you mean? Are they bringing it here from somewhere?”

  “No, silly.” She playfully slapped his arm. “They’re building it. It’s part of a new scheme. This construction company, BB&C, are building fifty fine new houses in the southeast part of town. Each has its own little garden and then they share a park with a little pond between them.”

  “It sounds very nice,” said Peter. “Your father needs to watch out though. There are unscrupulous people out there ready to take advantage of newcomers.”

  “Dad asked about these fellows with the mayor’s office, and got a good report.”

  The waiter arrived followed by another. Each carried a large covered dish. After setting one in front of each of them, they lifted the silver cloches together to reveal their meals.

  “Good golly!” said Miss Hartley. “If I eat half of this, I won’t be hungry for tea.”

  “You’re right. This is way too much for lunch. I wonder what their dinner portions look like.” Peter rubbed his chin. “Oh well, I guess if you order dinosaur, you have to expect something big. We’ll just eat what we want and take the rest home. Your apartment has an icebox, doesn’t it?”

  “We have a froredor,” she said, clearly proud that her family was prosperous enough to own a magical refrigeration box. “Say, could you turn an icebox into a froredor with your magic?”

 
“I could,” he said, leaning forward, and with only a hint of a smirk.

  Cutting into the large piece of meat that filled half of his plate, Peter took a bite, careful to get a bit of onion on the fork with it. It was delicious. Though he had never tasted this particular beast before, he had over the past two years, tried and enjoyed several varieties of dinosaur. The meat was not quite like anything he had ever tasted outside of Birmisia, and it wasn’t all the same. Having had grilled utahraptor once, he had thought it very similar to duck. This wasn’t though. It was much more like pork. The whole meal was excellent. He especially enjoyed the squash and cranberry tart.

  “It’s nice to see you here enjoying yourself, Mr. Bassington,” said a loud female voice from behind him, “particularly while my sister sits at home waiting for your visit.”

  Turning in his chair, Peter looked up into the stern face of Gabrielle Drake. Her husband stood several paces behind her.

  “I suppose it’s a good thing to find out now that you’re a two-timing cad, rather than later, when Abby is even more hopelessly in love with you.”

  “We’re just having lunch, Gabby,” said Peter, noticing from the corners of his eyes that all the nearby patrons were watching. “I never promised your sister anything more than a bit of fun.”

  “So, the girls are just here for your amusement, are they?” she fumed.

  “I didn’t mean…”

  “You had best stay out of my way.” She pointed her finger in his face, and even though he knew she had no magical abilities, he still found the gesture unnerving. “I’ll sock you right in the eye, you rascal, even if your sister is a friend of mine.”

  Gabby Drake stormed off, her large bustle, even bigger because of a giant red bow on it, following in her wake. Kaspar Drake stared rather blankly at the young wizard for a moment and then started after his wife.

  “Well,” said Miss Hartley.

  “Um, I apologize for that,” said Peter.

  “You have nothing to apologize for. She had no cause to go at you like that. We’re not doing anything wrong, just having lunch.”

  “Yes.”

  “I didn’t suddenly assume we were engaged just because we came out to a café together, and if this Abigail girl did, well that’s her fault. After all, you say you made no promises to her either.”

  “No, I didn’t. We have gone out quite a bit.”

  “That’s what we’re supposed to do. We’re young and we’re having a good time. We’re supposed to get to know one another, to make new friends, and create some memories.”

  “Yes, that’s right,” said Peter.

  “You don’t mind that I’ll be going out with Donal Althaus tomorrow.”

  “You’re what now?”

  “I’m having lunch with him tomorrow and then I’m going out to dinner the following night with Collier Wissinger. Of course, my mother will be joining us as a chaperone.”

  “Collier Wissinger?” wondered Peter. “He’s supposed to be dating my cousin.”

  “I’m sure they don’t have anything serious. They’re just having fun—just like you and me and that Abigail girl.”

  They left Café Idella about thirty minutes later, carrying wooden plates containing their leftovers carefully wrapped in wax paper. They took the rickshaw, which had been waiting for them all through their meal, and travelled north again to Town Square. Here, Peter climbed out of the small cab and paid the lizzie, including a generous tip.

  “I’m going to have this fellow take you on home,” he told Miss Hartley. “That way you won’t have to carry your food all that way. He’s paid up, so just tell him where to go. You won’t need to do anything else.”

  “You’re sure it’s safe?”

  “Oh yes.”

  “Well, I had a lovely time.”

  “Thank you for the pleasure of your company,” he said, and then nodded for the lizzie to go, which the reptilian did.

  Peter turned around on his heel and walked west on First. He could see the ships and boats in Crescent Bay on his right, while once he passed the businesses near the square, the south side of the street was mostly cheap apartments with small businesses on the bottom floor, interspersed with storage buildings. He was miles from home, and if he kept going west, it would be a more than a mile before he reached the trolley station. So he turned left through a narrow street, knowing that going south, he would run into the trolley line in a block or two.

  A chill wind suddenly whipped by, blowing cold air up his pant legs and into his rather light coat. Peter stuffed his hands in his pockets and tucked his head down. The image of Abigail Bassett’s smiling face appeared before him.

  “I’ve made a serious mistake,” he said to himself. “I have made a serious mistake.”

  “Oh, I don’t know,” said a gruff voice in front of him.

  Peter looked up to see two large men dressed in overalls. He looked around, noticing not only that there was no one else about, but that in the present neighborhood, he looked quite out of place with his expensive suit.

  “’E says he made a serious mistake, Tim,” said one of the men to the other. “But ’ow could a fine young gentl’man like ’im make a mistake.”

  “Maybe ’e mistakenly came to someplace ’e didn’t b’long.”

  “We’ll that could be sumfin’ of a mistake, unless ’e ’ad two chaps to ’elp ’im out… for a small remuneration o’ course.”

  “Kafira provides, doesn’t she,” said Peter, in a small voice, pulling his right hand from his pocket.

  “That she does.”

  “Uuthanum.” The two men froze. “I’ve been having the worst day. Nothing has gone the way it ought to have, you know what I mean?”

  The two men stared at him, their bodies immobile.

  “So I ask myself, ‘is God or the universe or Kafira conspiring against me?’ And then I meet you two blokes, and it all comes into focus. Kafira said ‘be true to yourself.’ Now, I’m no religious scholar, so I can’t quote book and verse, but I’m sure it’s there in the Holy Scriptures somewhere. And you know what? I haven’t been true to myself.”

  He made a come hither motion with his fingers and the two men, woodenly, walked three steps forward, so that their faces were about a foot from his.

  “I’ve said it before. Look at me. I’m a decent fellow. Some young ladies think I’m handsome enough. Plus, I just passed my test as a journeyman wizard. I should be living up to that.”

  Both men’s eyes became huge.

  “You want to see some magic?”

  Neither man moved, until the young wizard moved his forefinger up and down, and then their heads nodded along with it. Peter removed his left hand from his pocket and held it in front of their noses, palm up.

  “This is a creation spell. It was one of the tasks in my journeyman test. Sieor uuthanum sembia.” A .32 caliber revolver appeared out of nowhere, resting in his hand. He picked it up by the handle with his right and pointed it at the first man’s nose. The fellow’s eyes went cross-eyed as he stared at the barrel. “Bullets in it, too.”

  Peter stuffed the pistol into his pocket.

  “Uuthanum teigor. You two will walk directly to the police station and explain how you’ve been engaged in daylight robbery, or extortion, or whatever it is that you had planned for me. I suppose the police can sort it out. I’m going to take the trolley home, and then I’m going to figure out just what I need to do to get myself right.”

  By the time he stepped off the trolley, Peter was feeling quite chilled. The sky was becoming overcast and the wind was whipping up even more. It was so cold that by the time he reached the gate in front of Senta’s home, all of the looky-loos were gone. Inside the house, he was pleased to find a roaring fire in the fireplace. He quickly stepped over to it, first warming his hands.

  When he turned around to warm his back, he realized that he wasn’t alone in the room. Little Sen was playing in the corner with a pair of small wooden dinosaurs. Forming a half circle around
her was the form of the Zoey, the coral dragon, both eyes closed.

  “Hello, Sweetheart.”

  “Hi, Uncle.”

  “How was dinosaur riding?”

  “Fun.”

  “What are you doing in here all alone?”

  “Playing.”

  “Not really alone, is she?” said the dragon.

  “Sorry, I thought you were asleep.”

  “I have to eat something. Then I’m planning a nice four day nap.”

  “Low tea?” he asked.

  “No. I have to go kill something big and eat it.”

  “Should you be around the child when you’re so hungry?”

  Zoey opened one eye. “Nobody trusts the dragon.”

  One of the wooden dinosaurs, propelled by the child’s hand, climbed up the front of the dragon’s face. Sen voiced tiny little words as she created a conversation between the dinosaur now on the dragon’s head and the other on the hardwood floor.

  “That was thoughtless of me,” said Peter. “Obviously my niece trusts you. What I should have said was that I could babysit now and let you go ahead and find your meal.”

  “That would be nice, but you’ve got to really watch her. Nothing can happen to her.”

  “Oh, believe me, I know. I wouldn’t want Senta angry with me.”

  “She’s not the one you should worry about,” said the dragon.

  The young wizard walked across the room and sat down cross-legged on the floor next to the little girl, surprised to find that the area around the dragon was almost as warm as the area around the fireplace.

  With a quick flick of her forked tongue, Zoey was up and across the room in an instant. “Thanks,” she said, passing into the foyer. Peter heard the front door open and then close.

  “So what are the dinosaur’s names?” he asked Sen.

  “This one is Felicity,” she said, holding up what appeared to be a representation of an iguanodon. Then she held up the other toy, clearly a tyrannosaurus. “This one is Pernicia.”

  “Can I play?”

  “Okay, but you have to be Felicity.”

  They played with the toys for the better part of half an hour. Peter was amazed at the complex story lines the little girl created, all of which resulted in Pernicia killing and eating Felicity.”