Chapter Text
”Who’s got him?” Barbara could all but see the cogwheels turning behind Walt’s sharp, yellow eyes. She knew he was considering how much he could tell her, and she tried not to seem too desperate, too frightened. ”Walt”, she said as calmly as she could manage. ”I need to know.”
Claw-tipped fingers gave her hands a gentle squeeze.
”They’re called the Arcane Order.” Walt slipped into his teacher role, as he often did when he needed to distance himself from a topic. ”They… protect the balance between magic and mortal. ”
That did not seem bad to her, in and of itself.
”And what do they want with Jim?”
”As a bargaining piece, perhaps. They need something called the Genesis Seals… ”
”-then let’s give them the-”
”-to end the world.”
She fell silent, blue eyes narrowing.
”Why would they want that? The balance…”
Walt gave a slow shrug, shaking his head. That particular thing he did not know.
”I suppose they think humanity is lost-”
”-I don’t care.” She did, insofar as it meant freeing Jim. ”Merlin has a plan, right? He’ll save him?”
A coldness bloomed in her stomach at his expression. Merlin wouldn’t.
”He said… he won’t jeopardize the mortal plane for one troll. That’s what he said.”
She felt like the air had been punched out of her lungs. The disgust she felt for the selfish man in that moment bordered on hatred.
”Walt.”
”I will talk to them.”
”The Arcane Order?”
”I will talk to Merlin. And his apprentice. And Blinky. We will save him, Barbara.” His grip on her fingers tightened to the point of pain, but it mollified her somewhat – she knew he cared deeply for Jim. ”You must stay here.” She opened her mouth to protest. ”Promise me.” There was a guttural rumble at the back of his throat and she knew then and there that he would not help her, not in the way she needed him to now – he had already lost one from his nest and he needed her to stay safely behind so that he was free to navigate the situation the way he knew best without worrying about her.
She knew him well, and her heart ached for him.
”I promise.” The lie left her lips easily because in that moment she truly meant it.
”And I swear I will get Jim back, Barbara. Do you trust me?”
He so badly needed to be trusted.
”Of course I do.” Her lips brushed his forehead. ”I will always trust you.”
He left.
She waited, behind the house, watching the shadow of the ominous fortress hovering over the city, only the edges of it visible beyond the clouds. There was no chance of her staying behind, leaving Jim’s life up to chance, to the sliver of possibility that Walt may be able to convince Merlin to give a damn. No.
She may not have a lot of magical contacts – at least not anyone who wouldn’t call Walt before she had time to finish the sentence- but she had others. Still glaring at the fortress, she fished her phone from her pocket and dialed a number.
”Harry? I need a favor…”
Walt’s study was immaculate, and if it wasn’t for her mission she would have felt awkward entering when he wasn’t at home. There was no doubt in her mind that he had both traps and alarms set up, so she didn’t go near his desk. Instead, she went directly to his book shelf, skimming the book titles until they became grimoires. Perfect.
Could she call herself a witch or a wizard or even a happy amateur? Not really. Upon noticing her interest in magic, Walt had started to gradually ease her into it. It was something she imagined she could maybe develop, in time. Walt seemed more optimistic, and the night she had finally made her palm glow with a soft light he had opened a bottle of the really fine wine.
There was no time to actually research any spells, when the doorbell rang she just grabbed a book and ran downstairs. Dammit, she would have wanted to leave a note, but if she didn’t come back he would put two and two together, surely…
Outside the house, Harry waited patiently; a portly elderly gentleman who’s grandchild she had delivered in the backseat of a car. He was also an old pilot who currently took tourists on short flights in his old Cessna 150.
”You sure you about this?” was the first thing he said when she stepped outside. ”I listened to the news, nobody knows what that thing is.”
”I just need you to fly me as close as possible.”
She locked the door and they got into his car.
”Alright then.” He was quiet for awhile, but he looked worried. ”Does Walt know that you’re going to a UFO?”
”He doesn’t need to know.”
Silence stretched. Then:
”I think he’d want to know”, Harry mumbled, but said nothing else about it after she’d given him a sharp look.
”I bet it’s one of those Marketing stunts”, he said hopefully as he parked the car and they moved to the small plane. ”It’s gonna turn out to be a Coca Cola commercial, you’ll see. Or one of those apple phones.”
”Probably”, she said as she climbed inside. ”But I need you to fly me as close as possible. Close enough for me to jump.”
His face fell.
”Barbara, it’s too dangerous. I can’t let you.”
”Harry, you promised.”
”Barbara…”
”They have Jim.”
She hadn’t meant to tell him, but the old man’s watery eyes widened. She could see the questions gathering like storm clouds and she hastened to add.
”I don’t have time to explain, we need to go now. The police will not be able to help here, I promise. Harry, please.”
He nodded slowly, then swallowed and started the plane, navigating it into the air with practiced ease. When the fortress finally came into view he inhaled sharply.
”That thing looks dangerous”, he told her, the kindly old man turned tense and grim.
”It probably is. Better be quick about it.”
”Right. Gonna take you around the top balcony there, flying as low as possible. Get ready.” A moment later: ”Are those cannons?”
Barbara froze, staring out the window at yes, those looked suspiciously like some sort of cannons. Too late to turn back and no time for research.
”One circle, Barb. That’s it.”
She took a deep breath, adjusting her messenger bag so that it wasn’t in the way. Inside she kept the grimoire, her phone, a small peppar spray and a first aid kit. A portal spell was the only one she had looked up, and it was purely theoretical. Who knew if she would even be able to cast it?
Best case scenario it would work flawlessly and she would be out of there with her son and back home before Walt returned – the only challenge being explaining to him how Jim escaped the Order.
Worst case scenario… she wondered how Walt would react to another ’this is not an emergency but-’ text.
As Harry moved the plane closer, she arranged herself in a position to jump. Closer… closer…
-now-
”Good luck.”
She jumped. For a heartbeat that seemed to slow down and last forever, there was nothing but clouds beneath her-
- then she was on the other side of the balustrade and landed hard on the black stone. The impact knocked the air from her lungs despite her efforts to make it a good fall. She gingerly eased herself up on her feet.
At least nothing’s broken.
To her relief there was no thunder from cannons, the only sound was the dwindling noise of plane engines as Harry disappeared into the clouds below.
”So far, so good.” Except talking to oneself is not a very good sign. She adjusted her glasses and had a good look at what she could see of the fortress. Elaborate design, clearly with intimidation in mind. The Order was obviously powerful enough not to be discreet. Along the black stone wall was several windows, each leading into what looked like big rooms. And then finally, a door. Huge and heavy, old, the dark wood seemed to have some sort of symbols burned into it in vertical lines, like something you might find in an old scroll…
She pushed down the black iron handle and gave the door a decisive push, fully expecting it to be locked –
- and it swung open.
Powerful enough not to be discreet or worry about security.
There was a dark corridor, and when she stepped inside, lanterns flared to life along the walls. Pausing, she took the book from the bag and flipped through it, skimming a couple of pages at random. From the text, she couldn’t even determine the language. Should have checked. But she had picked the book at random… squinting at some of the symbols, she believed she knew how some were supposed to be pronounced, at least. The borders had helpful illustrations, but were they supposed to be indicative or decorative?
A golden cup, overflowing with water…
Guttural chatter from the darkness further down the corridor made her stop short. She recognized that sound, had fought them in her own kitchen once. Lips thinning, she tried a door and dipped inside.
No sooner had she exhaled than a fire flared up at the other end of the room, casting everything in an ominous red light.
”Such a bold intruder.”
The faceless voice was full of malicious amusement that made her press herself against the door behind her, eyes darting from shadow to shadow –
A flurry of snow, then a shape took form in an eerie pale light. A short young man with a cruel smile and unearthly eyes with pitch black whites and glowing irises. A threadbare, black cloak covered him, and on his head rested the skull of a horned animal she did not recognize. In his hand he held a vicious-looking staff that seemed to be made partly of ice and its cold light made a sharp contrast to the warmth of the fire. He hovered a few feet above the floor, watching her.
She wished she had asked Walt more questions.
”Enough!” Another figure marched out of the shadows on the other side of the room, tall and imposing. Enormous black feathers formed a cloak and collar that made a backdrop to bright red hair and… a blindfold? They too held a staff, but this one glowed red. ”You dare to enter uninvited? Who are you?”
Barbara squared her shoulders and stepped away from the door.
”My name is Barbara Lake.” She announced herself with a strong, clear voice, addressing both of them. ”And I’m here to get my son.”