Magic - Chapter 19
I followed Kalle as he ping-ponged between the containers like a rat looking for a piece of cheese, hitting a dead end and then doubling back on himself.
This is a portal fantasy series with mythological roots and action-adventure tendencies. You can search through all my work on my website.
Ollie wasn't looking for trouble, but after she saved the Antichrist from being slaughtered, it came for her.
Ollie lived by one rule. Never get involved with anyone for any reason; humans, demons, fae folk, it didn't matter. They were all trouble. Keeping her distance was how she survived in the criminal underworld for so long.
Keep your head down and don't piss anyone off. That was her motto, especially since her clients all had access to powerful dark magic.
She thought she had a flawless system for keeping her nose clean, so how did she wind up in a stolen car, with a demon spawn in her back seat, driving away from her ex-lover and a gang of demons ready to skin her alive?
That's a good question.
And why did she agree to help save the demon's life so she didn't get sacrificed to open the gates of Hell?
An even better question.
She had one rule. One stupid rule. And tonight...it goes right down the toilet.
Now, the only way for Ollie to get her life back is to save the girl, prevent the Apocalypse, and track down the people who betrayed her.
They will pay. Oh yes, they will all pay.
I followed Kalle as he ping-ponged between the containers like a rat looking for a piece of cheese, hitting a dead end and then doubling back on himself. He pulled a clipboard from the end of a row of containers and stared at it, scratching his head.
“I’m sorry about this,” he replied. “I thought for sure that container 3-8-4-2-1 was in this—aha—” He pointed at his sheet and then pulled a walkie-talkie from his belt. “Operations, this is 623.”
“Go ahead, Kalle,” a gruff voice squawked back.
“This manifest doesn’t have container 3-8-4-2-1 on it, but I’m sure it came in last night. I have the owner here, and she is pissed. Over.” Kalle smiled at me. “Just play along, okay?”
“Oh, that won’t be a problem, my friend,” I said. “I’m always pissed, including right now.”
The walkie crackled to life again. “I’m showing an override here to expedite the container for delivery. It has your code. Over.”
“That’s impossible. It hasn’t passed through customs.” Kalle’s smile faded into an irritated scowl. “Where is it now? Over.”
“They’re loading it on a cargo truck at entrance thirteen,” the walkie replied. “Over.”
“Do not let that truck leave, operations. Do you hear me? Over.”
“Roger, roger.”
Kalle flagged down one of the many golf carts zipping back and forth across the dock and pushed its driver out of her seat. “Get in.” I hopped into the passenger seat, and he took off, leaving the irritated woman flailing her hands in frustration.
“This doesn’t make any sense,” he said, shaking his head. “I would never—you have to believe me! I would never call you here and then—it doesn’t make any sense.”
“It makes perfect sense to me, my friend. You have a traitor and a liar in your organization.”
He shook his head. “I don’t believe it. My men are loyal to a fault.”
“Nobody ever believes it. I have never met a good person that didn’t vehemently deny one of their people was crooked. Anybody can justify anything given enough money, and the people who are messing with me have plenty of money—and they stiffed me, which makes it even more infuriating.”
“This is very troubling.”
“Do you remember when I slid you five thousand Escudo to get a look inside one of your containers?”
“Of course, but that was different. You were—”
“What? Beautiful? I don’t—”
“I was going to say very annoying.” He smiled. “But I get your point. I have not been perfect in my life, have I?”
“None of us have. That’s part of the human condition, or the—” He didn’t know I wasn’t human, so I bit my tongue. “Maybe the most human condition of all. I remember your wife was sick, and she needed some surgery or another—”
“A new heart valve,” Kalle said. “It was a horrible time, and I didn’t have the money…”
“I played on that, the same way somebody is playing on you right now.”
“I don’t like this story.”
“Think of it this way. You took that money, your wife is still with you, and you have two beautiful children. I’m sure you would say that was worth it, wouldn’t you?”
He spun the wheel, and we turned left down another row of containers. “Of course. It saved her life.”
“Just remember that whoever betrayed you, they have similar motivations. None of us are mustache-twirling evil henchmen, no matter what the storybooks say.” It felt a little silly telling him that when I was looking for vengeance against my own betrayal, but we’re all hypocrites.
The trucks idled near the entrance. A hairy, lumbering driver stood outside screaming at a poor woman holding a clipboard. She flinched with every move of his hands.
“Perla,” Kalle said, bringing his cart to a stop and hopping out. “Having some trouble?”
The driver wore the stained blue hat of the FC Porto soccer team and a cut-off shirt that showed off his flabby arms. “This is such bull!”
“What seems to be the problem?” Kalle said, hands high and speaking in a calming voice.
“We’re ready to go, and you people are saying we can’t leave. I have shipments to make today. Time is money.”
“I’m sorry, sir.” Kalle walked around the truck. “Ah yes, 3-8-4-2-1. This is what I was looking for.” Kalle turned back to the man. “I’m afraid this container was cleared in error.”
“That’s a you problem,” the man said. “I radioed my boss saying I was leaving port. She expects me back there as soon as possible.”
The pleasant smile faded from Kalle’s face. “Then you need to call your boss back and tell her that you’ve been detained because this has become very much a you problem.”
The trucker threw his arms in the air. “Why even call us to pick up, then?”
“Mistakes happen. I’m sure you understand.”
“I don’t understand, but what am I gonna do about it? Nothing.” He kicked the ground and walked off. It wasn’t the truck driver’s fault he had something that belonged to me. He was just doing his job, but he had unwittingly aligned himself with forces that opposed me, and that meant, on some level, that he opposed me.
Kalle whistled to a crane operator, and though I didn’t understand the gestures he made, I was able to figure out that he was telling the operator to pull the container off the truck. Even though Kalle was the boss, it still took half an hour to comply with the request and another twenty to haul the container from the truck. An hour later, the truck was gone, along with the pissed-off driver, and we were standing in front of the container, ready to open it.
I tried to contain my excitement as the door swung open, but when I saw her, my heart sang, and I rushed forward to hug my beloved car around the hood. “Lily!” She was the best lead I had in my search for the jerk demon that betrayed me, and I had tracked her all over the world. After I had my moment with Lily, I turned and hugged Kalle tightly. Rare tears welled in my eyes. Lily was one of the only long-term relationships I had which wasn’t toxic, and now I had her back.
‘Thank you, my friend,” I said.
“It was my pleasure.” Of course, it wasn’t just his pleasure. I paid him for the privilege, using most of the money I had made since the night I stopped the Apocalypse. It was worth it. I hoped that maybe Moloch or Balaam would be too stupid to know how valuable the wand was, and it would be waiting for me in the passenger’s seat. It wasn’t, which was disappointing, though not unexpected.
Kalle called his people over and had them fill up my tank. For thirty thousand Escudo, it was the most expensive gas ever, but I would have gladly paid it twice over. Lily rode rough when I pulled her out of the container. She sounded like an old smoker coughing up their last bit of lung, but she drove.
“How are you going to get it home?” Kalle asked, resting his hand on my open window as I idled by the front entrance. He was sweet, but there was no way I was going to tell him the truth. Humans didn’t need to know that I could teleport at will. “Do you need me to arrange a lift for you?”
I shook my head. “No, thank you. I’ve got it covered. Tell your family I said hello.”
“Would you like to meet them?” Kalle asked excitedly. “Calandra is making Bacalhua tonight. I’m sure she wouldn’t mind making another piece of fish for you.”
“Absolutely not.” I patted his hand. “I was just trying to be polite, Kalle. Now, can you please take your hand off my window?”
He smiled and brought his hand up in a wave. “Another time, then.”
I appreciated Kalle, but I was never going to accept that dinner. It sounded horrible. I pulled out of the yard and turned onto the road on my way to the main street. There weren’t many places to perform magic by the port, but Porto had plenty of blind alleys.
“It’s good to have you back, girl,” I said out loud to Lily. She sounded sick, like something had taken all the soul out of her and crushed it under their thumb. “Just hang with me, we’ll have you feeling better in no time.”
It was an uneventful trip back to the city, which I was thankful for. When I arrived, I turned into the first one-way alley I could find, which wasn’t hard to find. I held my hand up toward the end of the alley. “Porth yn ôl Los Angeles, a Phil.”
A green portal opened in front of me, and I disappeared into it with Lily.
This is a portal fantasy series with mythological roots and action-adventure tendencies. You can search through all my work on my website.