At the counter, a thin old man with wild hair and wearing an apron, had his back to Lois. In each hand, he had a cone. He rotated them clockwise, one vanilla, one chocolate, then crossed his arms to make a picturesque swirl.
Funny, how the ice cream machine works itself. Funny, how no one seemed to ask any questions about it, either.
Ohio must have different rules, Lois thought. Nah, not likely.
The thin old man was humming to himself. Lois cleared her throat softly. No response. Then she cleared it a little more loudly.
“Just a minute. Got a full house today. Machines are working overtime, not to mention this weather,” the thin old man went on.
“Hi, Salem,” Lois said.
The ice cream machines magically shut off. Salem turned around so slow, Lois thought she could hear him creaking.
“Say it isn’t so!”
In the back, a witch’s voice drifted out. “What is it, Salem?”
Salem didn’t answer. He was in too much shock.
The same mother who’d given Lois a dirty look pushed her way up the counter and said, “We’re waiting.”
Salem handed her the two cones.
“Hey, I didn’t order these,” she said.
“Those were mine!” a kid whined.
Salem snapped a finger and the machines kicked on. “No worries! Free ice cream for all. All you can eat!” He grabbed a stack of cones and placed them on the counter. “Today is a joyous day! We must celebrate!”
“Salem! We can’t keep giving out free ice cream. That’s not a good business model!” the witch said from the back.
Salem waved a hand. The people waiting in line practically crawled over each other to get at the cones. Amazing what free ice cream could do to a person.
“Agnes?” Lois asked Salem.
Salem, that big grin still on his face, nodded.
“Sounds like her.”
“Come on back, Lois! Come see her. The Muffler twins should be stopping in soon. It’s card night; they never miss card night.”
“I remember those card nights. Muffler twins still get mad when they lose?”
“They’ve calmed down with age.” He was out from behind the counter now, navigating through the onslaught of baseball players and coaches and moms and dads. “Really, you must come say hi!”
“I can’t stay long.” Lois pulled out her badge. “I’ve been promoted.”
“That’s right. You’re not Silver Griffin. Whew.” Salem mimed wiping away sweat from his forehead. He turned and shouted to Agnes. “Ag, get out here! Lois has come to visit!”
“Lois!?”
“I am on Silver Griffin business…unofficially. Things have been hectic lately—”
“You’re telling me,” Salem interrupted. “Wait, what? Silver Griffin business?” Salem grimaced. “So you must have heard about what happened the other night…”
Lois pulled out her phone and swiped the screen a few times until a blurry video of Maria, Ignatius, and a hulking Arachnid fought in the street, blue and black light erupting from Maria’s sword, and the Arachnid’s arms filling the screen.
“I see,” Salem said. “What is that, the internet?”
“Still haven’t gotten with the times yet?” Lois asked.
When Salem didn’t laugh, Lois said, “Yes, it’s the internet. It’s all over. Lacey has people working around the clock trying to get it off, but when we take down one, twenty copies replace it.”
Agnes came out of the back room, dried ice cream on her apron, hair in a ponytail. She gave a few sideways glances to the people fighting over the ice cream machine, mumbling something about how people of Earth will pretty much kill each other over anything, but when she saw Lois, her eyes lit up and a smile replaced her scowl.
“Lois! I can’t believe it.” The two witches hugged, then parted. “How’s Earl?” She put an arm around Salem. “Why do you look so glum?”
“Trevilsom Prison,” Salem answered.
“Trevilsom? What are you talking about?” Sudden realization dawned over Agnes’s face. “Oh, I see. Lois isn’t here on a friendly visit, is she? I thought you left the Silver Griffins.”
Lois nodded. “I did. In the PDA now, but running a check for Lacey. Been hectic lately.”
“So we’ve heard,” Agnes answered. “And witnessed firsthand.”
“That’s what I’m here about,” Lois said. “Oh, cheer up, Salem. I’m not here to take you to Trevilsom. I’m just here to make sure the Silver Griffins don’t need to put this to the top of their list. I mean, an Arachnid? On Earth? That’s almost unheard of. Those creatures hardly leave the Dark Forest, let alone Oriceran.”
“How long does that video go on for?” Salem asked. He looked a bit relaxed now that Trevilsom was off the table.
“Not much longer,” Lois answered. She took her glasses off, breathed on the lenses, and then wiped them off with her shirt. “Far as we know, only one person recorded it. More could’ve been witnesses, but so far nothing has popped up on the web.”
“Can’t we claim it was a hoax? Special effects, that sort of thing?” Agnes asked.
“Believe me, they are. Lacey has people posting videos in reply that point out the use of CGI. A Debunk Team, of sorts. Like I said, no need to worry about the cleanup. Lacey is a tough witch; she’ll handle it. We’re just worried for the people of Earth’s safety.”
“No need,” Agnes answered. “Salem asked how long the video went on because Maria Apple there was the last Oriceran standing.”
Lois’s eyes got big behind the lenses of her glasses. “A young witch took out an Arachnid?”
“A reanimated Arachnid,” Salem said quietly.
The crowd near the ice cream machines had thinned out. Most had gone outside to enjoy the last bit of sunlight left in the day. Others, too weary of the heat, stayed inside and sat at the various tables.
“Oh, no,” Lois said. “Reanimated? That’s the worst kind of dark magic.”
Salem and Agnes nodded.
“But the Arachnid has been disposed of…again?”
Salem clapped his hands together loudly and
