The Lost Mage (27 page)

From the backdoor of the restaurant came a surprised shout. “Hey! What are you doing?”

“Um, we’re just … we were here earlier,” she held up the doggie bag as proof, “and he thinks he may have left his watch on the table, so we wanted to check the dumpster,” Nora struggled to come up with a reasonable explanation. Darakin continued looking at the garbage.

“Why wouldn’t you go inside and check the lost and found?”

“Well, that seems like a good idea. Thank you for suggesting it.”

The boy turned to leave, but then turned back. “Hey, you’re not the ones who’ve been going through the garbage every night, are you? Because if you are, could you stop? Every day I come into work and have to sweep up all the garbage you leave in the street. It’s really annoying.”

Darakin looked up at the boy for the first time. “Someone’s been rummaging around in here?”

“Well, you for one.”

“I haven’t touched anything.”

“Okay, so it’s not you. It just seems kind of weird that that’s been happening and now here you are.”

Darakin ignored that and asked, “Have you noticed anything else out of the ordinary?”

“You mean besides an albino man going through the garbage?”

“I’m not an albino.”

“Whatever, dude. Other than slimy garbage all over the street every morning, no, nothing unusual.”

“Slimy? The garbage is slimy?”

“Isn’t all garbage? But now that you mention it, it is extra gross. I didn’t think we served that kind of sticky, yucky stuff here.”

“You know how garbage gets,” Nora wanted to end the conversation before Darakin started talking about lizard demons to this boy. “Thank you, you’ve been very helpful.”

“Yeah, sure lady. Remember to check with lost and found.”

“I will. Thanks.”

The busboy went back inside and Darakin lowered himself to the ground. “You see, Nora? The krekdapop has been here.”

“Probably, but you heard the kid, he comes overnight and it’s all messed up in the morning.”

“We can search this road for more slime. It may be leaving a trail of some sort.”

“Let me ask you something. Even if we find it, what are you going to do? Have you remembered how to get rid of it yet?”

“No, but I’m still hoping something will come to me.”

“Great.” Nora’s voice indicated she thought it was anything but great.

“Nora, I have to try. Which way is the park from here?”

She pointed and he started walking that way, examining every inch of wall and road surface along the way for signs of lizard demon slime. Nora followed reluctantly behind.

When they reached the end of the narrow truck lane, Darakin turned to Nora. “I don’t understand, I’d have thought we’d find some sign of it here.”

“Well, I can’t believe I’m saying this, but we might need to come overnight and wait for him to show up.”

“That’s a great idea! Can we come back tonight? Since we’re not working?”

Nora’s sighed. “I suppose so.” After a moment’s thought, she asked, “Is it really dangerous? I mean, should I be worried? I was kind of thinking it was a joke until now.”

“Yes, Nora, it is dangerous. I’m ashamed to admit it, but I’d have you stay home if I didn’t think I’d get lost while following it. But we’re both going to stay back out of sight. I’m just hoping that seeing it will jog something in my memory. Maybe we could just try to follow it to wherever it’s staying and then go back when we’re better prepared?”

“Okay. That sounds better than confronting it here in this alley.” Nora was distressed at the thought of Darakin fighting some sort of monster, but she didn’t want to show it. Against her better judgment, she was growing quite attached to Darakin. She was pretty sure that he liked her and it was obvious that they had a sexual attraction, but she didn’t know how he felt about having a long term relationship with her.

“Well, if we’re going to be up all night, we should probably go home and get some rest.” Darakin looked around, unsure of where he was.

“This way,” Nora took his arm and led him toward the bus stop.

“I’ll drop you off at home and then I’m going to the store for some supplies.”

“Supplies for what?”

“For tonight, silly.”

Darakin wasn’t sure what supplies she was referring to, but he tried to be helpful. “Some magic electric candles would be good – you know for the dark alley.”

Nora smiled. “We call them flashlights. Don’t worry, I’ll make sure we have one with fresh batteries.” Thinking about trying to explain flashlights and other devices to Darakin in the store was enough to give her a headache, so she definitely thought it was a good idea to leave him at home while she shopped.

Nora dropped Darakin off at home and went out to the store.

Darakin lay down on the sofa with Mrowley.

Where’s Nora?

“She went to the store to buy supplies.”

Does supplies mean cat food?

“I don’t think that’s what she had in mind, but maybe.”

It’s just that I haven’t eaten in days.

“Damn it, cat! I fed you this morning.”

Really? It feels like days.

“Well, it’s not.”

Want to watch the magic box?

“Sure.”

Mrowley got up and stepped on the remote until he hit the power button. The two then watched the television until Nora came home.

She struggled through the door with her packages. Darakin jumped up to give her a hand.

“What are you watching?”

“I don’t know, but it’s about these people with terrible problems. There’s this girl named Crystal who murdered her uncle after he did some terrible things to her, but nobody knows because her mother confessed to the crime and Crystal thinks she’s someone else since she had her brain transplant. The watchman –”

“Watchman?”

“Yes, the officer from the city guard who’s investigating the crime.”

“Oh, the detective.”

“Okay, him – he doesn’t believe her, but he’s also busy trying to cover up his own crime of shooting his wife’s lover. She doesn’t know that he knows she was unfaithful, but he does. Nobody knows what happened to her lover, who also happens to be the judge who was supposed to hear the case of the mother of Crystal –”

“Let me stop you right there, Darakin. They’re called soap operas and they’re ridiculous. They’re nothing like real life. It’s all just to keep people watching to see what insane thing will happen next.”

“I know it’s not real, Nora. You’ve explained about the magic box.”

“I mean really, a brain transplant?” she laughed.

“I know, the idea of putting one person’s body parts into another is just crazy.”

“Well, actually it’s not that outrageous.” Nora was hesitant to start this conversation.

“No.” Darakin’s eyes opened wide in dismay. “They do that here?”

“Yes, some parts, like livers and kidneys, but not a brain.”

“So nothing on this box is based on real life.”

“Well, some of the stuff they show is real. The news programs, for example.”

“How does one know the difference?”

“It’s usually pretty apparent. Most shows are fictional, news programs are real.”

“Well, there was this other program that said it was real about a bunch of people who were stuck in the wilderness and had to survive on the land, while traveling to find civilization. They were pretty hopeless at survival. They all turned on one another. I’m sure that quite a few of them didn’t make it.”

Nora laughed out loud. “Oh, don’t let the name of reality shows fool you. They’re anything but.”

“Reality shows aren’t real?”

“No, I’m pretty sure they’re scripted. Normal people don’t behave like that.”

Darakin shook his head. He doubted he would ever understand this society where words didn’t mean what he thought they meant and people behaved in a completely irrational manner.

“Anyway, I’ve got the supplies for our stakeout.”

Steak?

“What?”

“Our stakeout tonight, to wait for the lizard demon. Remember?”

I like steak … and lizard.

“Why are we bringing steak?”

Can I come?

“No, Mrowley, you can’t come.”

But I want steak.

“Mrowley wants some of the steak.”

Nora had watched the exchange between Darakin and the cat with amusement.

“No, not steak. Stakeout. It’s what you call it when you sit and wait for someone to show up or something to happen. Anyway, on all the cop – er, police, I mean watch programs, they always show them with all sorts of munchies, so I got us some.” She starts pulling things out of her bags. “Pistachio nuts, chocolate bars and some caffeinated sodas to keep us awake.”

No steak?
Mrowley sounded disappointed.

“Sorry, kitty, no steak.”

Nora smiled. “He thought we were having steak?”

“Yes.”

“Sorry, Mrowley, no steak, but Darakin, did you give him our leftovers?”

“Oh, no! I forgot.”

Darakin jumped up and opened the Galaxy bag. He pulled the Styrofoam boxes out.

Mrowley’s eyes opened in pleasure.
White boxes,
he said in a reverent voice.