“And you think Malakai had something to do with it?” Maria probed. Instinct was taking over, an instinct she’d not felt before.
“If…if he did, I fear there is no hope,” Gramps said. He looked at the checkered-tile floor.
The mood in the ice cream shop was heavy. Sherlock hadn’t even gone sniffing around the freezers for drops of melted vanilla or double fudge.
“I’m sure they’re fine,” Maria said. “I’m sure she and the other agent just went on vacation or something.” An odd thought popped into her head. “Maybe they ran away to Vegas and got married!”
Agnes snorted. “Unlikely. Tone and Felah? If that happened, then I’ve lived to see it all,” the old witch said. A smile touched her lips, but there was no humor in it.
“Well, even if they’re not fine for the moment, I’m sure they’ll turn up,” Maria said. She was absent-mindedly stroking Sherlock, whose body was rigid. Is fear doing this? To both of us?
No one said anything for a long moment.
“I’ll go by myself, then,” Maria proclaimed. She stepped forward. “Open a portal.” She gazed around the room for a button. Will it be marked ‘PORTAL’? “How does it work? Do I have to text them or something? Is there an app for it like, you know, Uber?”
“ ‘Uber’?” one of the Muffler twins, Ginny, said. “Now that is a spell I’ve not heard before.”
“No, it’s an…” Maria trailed off. Not worth it. Explaining technology to old people, magical or not, was always a pain. “Never mind.” She looked at Gramps. “I have to go,” she said. “I have to go and find out how to get to the world in between.”
“I can’t let you go on your own,” Gramps said. “But until this business with Malakai is settled, I’m afraid our trip must be delayed.”
Giant man-spiders and portals, oh my.
It was like ripping off a Band-Aid for Maria. The longer she put off leaving, the harder the pain of actually doing it hit her. Pretty soon, she was sure she would chicken out. There had to be a way to open a portal without her grandfather. She was powerful, right?
“I know what you’re thinking,” Gramps said.
“Doesn’t he always?” Salem said.
Agnes chuckled. Just like her smile before, there was no humor in the chuckle.
“Creating a portal to an unknown world can be dangerous, Maria. You would risk your life?” Gramps asked.
“For the village, yes, I would,” Maria answered.
“She is your granddaughter,” Agnes said. “That much is true.”
Ignatius grinned at her. Then he looked at Maria, who was still stroking Sherlock. “Just be patient, Maria.”
“Be patient until we’re attacked by a giant spider? Until we’re possibly dead? How do we know he’s not watching us right now?” Maria said.
“Because I would sense him,” Salem said. He stood up and peered out the window. “Because I would sense such…evil. I’ve been around it all too much in my life, both on Oriceran and Earth. And I’m—” He stopped.
“What is it?” Agnes said.
“Yes, what is it?” the Muffler twins asked in unison. Maria thought their singsong voices were quite creepy.
“It’s…it’s Felah!” Salem shouted. He pressed his face up against the front windows, cupping his hands to shield his view from any light streaming in.
Malakai had watched the ice cream shop in his true form, standing in the window of a now vacant house on Graham Road, just off of Main Street, adjacent to Salem’s. The house had not always been vacant.
It was owned by a newlywed couple, Kevin and Melinda.
Malakai still had their blood on his mouth and claws.
He waited for the portal to open. Surely, he would see the light; that way he would know the music box was definitely there. You didn’t storm a haven of witches and wizards unless you were absolutely sure that what you wanted was inside, or you risked becoming a black stain across the road.
But no portal opened. They were just standing there, talking.
Waiting.
“I am so close, Master,” Malakai said aloud. He knew the Widow would be watching him, and would hear his voice, carried across the worlds. He knew she would not interfere, because he would not fail.
But he could wait no longer. The thought of them opening the portal without him seeing crossed his mind as the minutes rolled on. Have I missed my chance? Will I have to track them to Oriceran, across the vast lands and places where Arachnids are not welcome?
No. He wouldn’t get the chance. If he missed the portal, the Widow would kill him. Again.
Would it be so bad, to die? I could rest. That is where I am supposed to be, not here, not on this sorry excuse for a planet called Earth.
No.
The mission is clear. He was resurrected for one purpose, and he refused to fail; not for the Widow, but for himself.
He closed his eyes and licked the blood away from his claws.
In his head, the words to the spell rolled, and he transformed. He could feel the skin change, the bones move, the hair grow.
Inside, he remained the same. Empty.
He left the house and headed for the shop, looking like Felah Fyre.
Salem threw open the door.
“See?” Maria said, looking at Agnes, Ignatius, and the Muffler twins. “I told you it would all work out.”
Salem was half-hanging out of the door, waving emphatically to Felah. She moved lithely, her head up high, a smile on her face. But still…
There is something wrong with that smile, Maria thought. It’s…off.
“Fine,” Gramps said. “We’ll open the portal. Let’s just make sure Felah is okay.”
“Better wait until she leaves,” Agnes advised. “Salem and I will take her back to the headquarters if she’s hurt.”
Ignatius nodded.
Salem stepped out of the shop and stood on the sidewalk. The door closed, ringing the bell above. Maria turned to head to the back room when Sherlock growled.
Maria stopped in her tracks. “Sherlock?”
He kept growling, looking toward Salem and Felah. They were talking animatedly.
The bad feeling came back.
Maria reached for her
