The Wizard Returns: Book Three of the Wizard Born Series (49 page)

“Left the trail?” Jamie’s voice became shrill. “Is he crazy? What’s he doing?”

“Can’t see him,” she said, binoculars still held to her face.

Jamie’s mouth felt dry as dust from a pharaoh’s tomb, and he could feel his heart racing. He ramped up his magical senses to the extreme and listened closely with his enhanced hearing, but all he heard was the rustling of the leaves in the trees and a bird chirping somewhere in the distance.

Then he became aware of Fred’s heart, hammering in her chest, and her short, gasping breaths.

“I see him!” she shouted, and Jamie winced and covered his ears. “He’s back on the trail, waving his arms and jumping up and down...now he’s running toward us.”

Jamie tensed even more and looked ahead.

“My God!” Fred shouted again. “Ohmagodohmagodohmagod! The demon’s chasing him...and he’s a
monster
!”

“I already told you that.”

“He’s so big and...horrible...and
fast
.” Jamie heard Fred suck in her breath. “He’s really really fast.”

“How close are they?”

“Ummm...three quarters of a mile, maybe...they’re moving pretty quick. Rollie’s staying ahead...um...half a mile to go. Get ready, Jamie.”

Jamie stared at the path and strained to hear their approach. He felt, rather than heard, the demon running — whump, thump, whump thump, whump, thump — in a rapid, repeating pattern. The ominous sounds shook from the ground up through Jamie’s legs and into his body.

In a few seconds, Rollie came streaking over the rise, pumping his arms furiously and running straight for the doorway. Right behind him was the demon, terrifyingly close. He loped on all fours, his massive shoulders bulging with every stride. His hands struck the earth almost simultaneously, the claws extended and gripping the ground for better traction. With Jamie’s slow-motion vision, he could see the huge paws hit the dirt,
whump
, and bits of gravel shoot up around them, like ejecta from a meteor strike.

The demon pulled itself forward on his arms, bent his spine, and brought his hind legs far beneath its body. When his back feet landed, the wickedly curved claws dug into the path, and he pushed itself ahead as he extended his arms again.

He looked larger and more hideous than Jamie remembered, his broad face contorted in an evil snarl, baring dagger-like teeth. What really struck Jamie about the beast were his eyes, glowing red, supernaturally intense.

He bore down on Rollie like a leathery locomotive. It was the scariest thing Jamie had ever witnessed, his best friend being chased by the most dangerous killing machine the world had ever known, an awful conglomeration of muscle, fangs and claws, malevolently intent on ripping Rollie to bloody shreds and eating him.

Then Jamie noticed Rollie’s eyes. They weren’t wide with fear, as Jamie had expected, but were narrow and hard with determination.
Rollie
wants to beat the demon
,
not just to save his life
, Jamie suddenly realized
. He wants to prove he’s good enough
.
He’s not quite good enough at basketball, but he’s good enough to defeat this monster
.

He wants to prove he’s good enough for his father
.

It had all boiled down to this. Rollie versus the demon. Rollie was ahead, but barely.

Rollie took a glance over his shoulder to gauge the gap between them, but stumbled and slowed. Jamie’s heart skipped a beat and the breath caught in his throat as Rollie fell and rolled over his shoulder.

The demon made up the distance in two rapid strides.
Look out!
Jamie almost shouted. He started to drop his shield to try and help Rollie, but knew there wasn’t enough time. His spells were useless anyway. There was nothing he could do but watch, in horrifying slow motion.

The monster swiped one huge hand down at Rollie. Rollie blurred as he rolled and disappeared, the wicked claws striking empty ground, and Jamie felt the force of the impact from where he stood. Rollie reappeared a few yards away, still rolling, and he sprang to his feet and resumed sprinting toward Jamie and the open portal.
Agile as a cat
, Jamie remembered.

The beast roared in rage and lunged ahead.
Well, Rollie managed to make him mad. He won’t think to use his power
.

Rollie raced on.

Only fifty yards to go
. Rollie blurred and seemed to run even faster, the demon pushing after him relentlessly.
Thirty yards! Come on, Rollie
.

Rollie ran directly at the magic doorway and blurred again, vanishing right in front of it. The demon plunged through the opening and Fred shrieked, “He’s in, he’s in! Close it! Hurry!”

Jamie dropped his shield and quickly gestured with one hand. The doorway winked out, and he stared at the space where it had stood. He gasped for air as he remembered to breathe, his hands out to raise his shield again at a moment’s notice. “Fred, is he gone? The demon?”

“Yes!” she called from high in the tree. “He’s gone. He went through the doorway. I’m sure of it.”

Jamie started to raise his arms in triumph, but paused when he heard Fred say, “Jamie? Where’s Rollie?”

“Huh?” Jamie turned around in a quick circle, scanning for his friend. “Rollie!” He turned again, and his heart sank to his toes as he cupped his hand to his mouth. “Rollie! Where are you?”

There was no answer, only the awful stillness of the wilderness.

“He must’ve gone through the doorway, Jamie! You gotta go get him.”

“If he passed through, then he’s dead!” he cried. “
No!”

“Go get him anyway. You’ve got to try!”

Jamie’s pulse raced as he started the outline of another doorway, but suddenly jumped when he felt the tap on his shoulder. He spun to see Rollie’s grinning face.

“Miss me?” Rollie said.

Jamie sucked in his breath and put his hand over his heart. “You scared me! Where’d you go?”

“I veered off at the last second like I said I would, but I had to keep going to make sure the coast was clear.” He gave a quick nod. “But he’s gone, right?”

“Yeah. The demon’s gone. You did it.”

Rollie exhaled heavily as the realization seemed to sink in. He held his hand up high, and Jamie slapped it and smiled broadly, an incredible feeling of relief washing over him in a glorious wave. He could see it in Rollie’s eyes, too, and they grinned at each other wordlessly, the way that only best friends can, until a voice interrupted them from above.

“Jamie?” Fred called. “Get me
down
from here!”

Jamie and Rollie laughed when they looked up at Fred, sitting on the branch high over their heads, still tied to the trunk. “I’m coming.” Jamie said, and floated to the treetop to fetch her.

Chapter 39

All three families filled Rachel’s family room that evening while the kids told Rollie’s father about their encounter with the demon. Carl and Larry stood quietly by with their arms loosely crossed, while Rachel waited with Lisa and Adele. Rachel leaned close to Adele and whispered, “How did you manage to get Garrett to come over here? Doesn’t he think we’re in league with the Devil?”

“I threatened to divorce him if he didn’t.”

Lisa gave Adele a sideways glance but didn’t say anything.

Rollie finished the story and gazed at his father, who sat at the end of the couch, elbows on his knees, studying the floor. There was a long moment of silence before Garrett looked up at Rollie. “Did you really save that little boy on that other world?”

“No, sir. Jamie exaggerated that part. It was more of a group effort.”

“No it wasn’t, Mr. Wilkins,” Jamie said quickly. “If Rollie hadn’t run with his super speed to get the cure from Mrs. Malley, that boy would’ve died.”

Fred nodded firmly. “It’s true. And Rollie’s the one who found out how to get rid of the demon. He worked harder than anybody.”

Garrett’s brow wrinkled. “Is that true?”

Rollie shrugged. “That part is, yeah.”

Garrett stared at Rollie for a long time, working his mouth slowly from side to side, chewing on the strange reality of it all. Then he rose and walked across the room toward Rollie. Rollie stood, too, and they faced each other while everyone else held their collective breath. “Rollie....” Garrett cleared his throat. “I guess I’d have to say...I’d have to say I’m proud of you.” A weak smile flickered across Garrett’s face, then he nodded and wrapped his arms around his son, pulling him to his chest. They stood there for a moment in a warm embrace that was long overdue, and Garrett said, “I want you to come home, Rollie. Today. Will you?”

“I’ll think about it,” Rollie said into his shoulder. “Okay, I thought about it. I will.”

Rachel didn’t know whether to clap or cry, so she did both.

Adele wiped her eyes with one hand and said, “Well, Fred, I guess you can take the hex off our house now.”

Garrett spun and faced her. “What hex?”

Fred chuckled. “She had me put a spell on your house so nobody would buy it.”

Garrett gaped at Fred. “So
that’s
why the real estate agent couldn’t get anybody to look at it.”

“I’m sorry, honey,” Adele said, “but I
had
to have Fred do that. There’s no way we’re ever moving away from our friends.”

Garrett shook his head and smiled sheepishly. “You realize it’s going to be hard for me to get used to all this magic business, don’t you?”

Adele put one arm around his shoulder and guided him toward the front door while Rollie followed. “It’s okay, we have plenty of time. Be prepared to be amazed, though.”

* * *

Rachel joined Lisa and Adele in Rachel’s upstairs bathroom, where they were fussing over Brinna, getting her ready for her first date on Earth with John Paul. “Well,” Rachel said, “Aiven certainly has made himself at home in the clubhouse. When I left him, he had Rollie’s action figures spread all over the place.”

“I’m glad somebody’s playing in it again,” Adele said. “It just didn’t seem right, sitting there empty in your backyard all the time.”

Brinna stood in front of the mirror, appraising the makeover the women were giving her. “Rachel, are you sure you don’t mind watching Aiven?”

“Who said Rachel’s watching him?” Lisa put one last touch of lipstick on Brinna. “I thought we all were.”

“We can take turns,” Adele said, fine tuning Brinna’s hairdo with a clinical turn of a brush.

“It’s wonderful that you are,” Brinna said. “Ma can’t mind him if she’s having dinner with Mrs. Wallace and her sister.”

“Your mother deserves a break now and then,” Rachel said, “and my mom and my aunt are really happy to have her. Mom’s been cleaning her condo all day.” Rachel patted Brinna’s light brown hair, appraised it critically, and spritzed it with a shot of hairspray. “Do you think it will be hard for your mother? Coming to a strange world and all?”

“I think she’s excited about it, though she would never admit it. She hasn’t had a social invitation in many years.” Brinna’s brow furrowed for a moment as she stared at her reflection in the mirror. She wore Rachel’s little black dress and low-heeled black sandals, and a gold beaded necklace of Adele’s hung around her neck. “Do you think my appearance will be acceptable? These clothes don’t leave much to the imagination.” She glanced down and winced. “This dress shows so much...so much skin.” She pronounced
skin
as if it were a naughty word.

Adele flipped one hand. “Around here, that dress is kinda modest. You should see what the teenagers wear.”

“Oh my.” Brinna frowned and took a deep breath. “Are you sure I look acceptable? I have never been to a restaurant before.”

“Honey,” Lisa said with a nod, “you look more than acceptable. You look marvelous.”

“John Paul won’t be able to take his eyes off you,” Adele said.

“But....” Brinna pursed her lips. “What do you mean when you say it’s an
Italian
restaurant?”

“We mean it’s really romantic, and the food is wonderful,” Rachel said. “It’s one of the best restaurants in Hendersonville. You’re going to take my car, since Carl’s truck is...well, it’s a truck.”

“What if a stranger tries to talk to me in the restaurant? What do I do?”

“Take your cues from John Paul,” Lisa said. “Somebody may hear your accent and ask if you’re from Ireland, but just tell them that your parents are from there.”

“And that you live in a little town called Rivershire,” Rachel added, “which is so small it doesn’t even have a traffic light.”

Lisa laughed. “It doesn’t have
any
lights. At least, not electric ones.”

Adele leaned her head out into the hall and said, “I believe somebody just got in from Louisiana, ’cause I hear John Paul now. Jamie must’ve made a doorway for him.”

Brinna sucked in her breath and stared at herself in the mirror. “How do I look? Do you think he’ll like it?”

“He’s gonna love it, Brinna,” Lisa said. “I think it’s time for this princess to meet her prince.”

Chapter 40

The sound of construction filled the air of Rivershire — hammers, saws, and the steady roar of a portable generator. Evelyn sat in a folding chair at the refreshment table and took in the hopeful energy of the scene. The new schoolhouse was taking shape quickly, swarmed with volunteers from around the community. The walls were framed, and workers were already putting up wooden siding. The roof trusses were set, and other men were hammering decking across them. Garrett sat astride a beam and took a sheet of plywood from Rollie and Bryce when they passed it up to him. Adele was on the far side of the site, talking to another family.

John Paul, shirtless and wearing a tool belt strapped around his waist, worked with the crew installing the siding, while Brinna hovered nearby, holding his lemonade for him.

Carl stood next to the building, manning the electric saw, the first the Rivershire locals had ever seen. With him was Bann, Mrs. Tully’s son, and the two men appeared to be studying the blueprints that were spread across a makeshift table that rested on a pair of sawhorses.