Genie and Engineer 1: The Engineer Wizard (41 page)

Harvey’s

Room 408

South Lake Tahoe

Nevada side of the state line

June

Saturday 4:39 a.m. PST

I
t
wouldn’t be long until dawn now. Paul lay half-awake in a small chair next to the
hotel’s queen sized bed. Capie was still sound asleep, tucked up tightly
between two pillows.

Paul was really worried about her father. Yes, he was still
mad at Chris Kingsley for alerting the FBI, an event that had led to all the
unpleasantness in Chicago. And yes, Paul understood Chris’s intentions had been
good, that he was trying to protect his only child. But in this universe, good
intentions rarely counted for much. Otherwise, mankind would have achieved a
utopia thousands of years previously.

But later in the day, after the wedding, Chris would be his
father-in-law and Capie loved him deeply. If anything were to happen to her
father, she would be devastated. And Paul was convinced that the professor was
in grave danger, no doubt about it.

And Dr. Kingsley just didn’t seem to understand the reality
of that danger. And yes, Paul had tried his best to convince him otherwise in
the few minutes available to them. But in vain.

Paul sighed wearily. To be sure, Capie’s father was from an
earlier generation, virtually the same one as Paul himself and apparently
unacquainted with personal violence. At a guess, Paul suspected that the man
had never been mugged or physically attacked. He lacked any personal experience
for the perspective needed. Violence happened to other people and never to him,
not in his safe and secure little universe. Paul had pretty much possessed the
same mindset, right up until he had faced the Oni in the Himalaya Mountains.
That experience had done wonders to change his perspective.

It didn’t take a rocket scientist to predict what would
happen next. Ruggiero or one of the other wizards of
Errabêlu
would
conduct some type of search for Paul in the Chicago area. They would watch the
rental house, Capie’s house and Chris’s as well, hoping to nab Paul at one of
those locations. When that failed, they would probably grab the professor and
hold him as bait, threatening to kill him if Paul didn’t surrender.

Taking the burner smart phone from his shirt pocket, Paul
checked the status for the hundredth time in the last twelve hours. Yes, the
phone was still on and fully charged. No, there had been no missed calls or any
messages. Paul was not totally convinced that the spell Jaret implanted in
Chris and the cell phone idea would work as well as intended. It had been an
improvised arrangement and as such there were a dozen ways it might fail.
Still, it had been the best idea he could come up with at the time. And, if it
worked, he would know if and when Chris fell into
Errabêlu’s
hands
.

But if that did happen, what could Paul do about it?

At the moment, painfully little. His tantalum block was
woefully inadequate against a single Oni, let alone against a larger group of
them or against a genuine wizard. Only a new talisman would even the odds somewhat
and give him a chance. And that was assuming that Paul could keep Capie, and
yes, Chris too, out of range of
Errabêlu
in the process. A big if, that.

For a few moments, Paul toyed with the idea of going back to
Chris’s house and forcing the professor to come with them. Reluctantly, he dropped
the idea. Both Capie and her father would fight him tooth and nail.

So, at the moment, Paul could do very little. Oh, he could
consult with a few super-intelligences; try to develop a plan that might help
rescue the professor. But Paul was less than sanguine about any such approach.
Instead, he would probably have to wait until he had his new talisman before he
could do anything to help the man. Therefore, he needed to fabricate that new
talisman with all possible speed. How much time he had to do so was anyone’s
guess. Perhaps only days. Or perhaps months. Hopefully, the wizards of
Errabêlu
wouldn’t move all that fast, since they could afford to take the long view.
Hopefully.

There was still a lot to do on that new talisman too. Yes,
he had the tantalum, converted to 180m. And there was the emerald, though it
was still sitting in that small cave under East Bauer Road in Naperville and only
a portion of it had yet been converted to rare isotopes. There was still the pallasite
meteorite to acquire and convert and then the komatiite rock. That would take
weeks, perhaps months to accomplish.

And he and Capie would have to find a place to stay, after
the wedding. And establish new identities, a residence, acquire furniture and
home furnishings and so forth. More work to be done.

He took a deep breath. These were things to be discussed
with Capie, after she woke up. He knew how this was supposed to work in the
future. He no longer had the luxury to make unilateral decisions for both of
them. There would be give and take now, compromises to make, joint decisions
and yes, even disagreements and perhaps an argument or two. All of these things
and more he was prepared for.

After all, that was marriage. And he was looking forward to
it with all of his heart.

• • • •

The rustle of sheets woke him with a start.

“Hello, darling,” Capie purred as she stretched her arms and
rolled to her side to look at him with a huge smile. “My, what a sleep! Was I
out for very long?”

“Thirty-two hours,” Paul replied, with a cheerful smile. “A
new record. Tell me, ‘Are there any side-effects?’”

She grinned in return. “‘Dry mouth, headache, the
irresistible urge to run on a small wheel.’” She giggled. “Dr. McKay and Dr.
Carson Beckett in
Stargate Atlantis
. How appropriate!”

“And how do you feel?”

“‘Taller,’” she glibly answered.

Paul smiled at her quote from
Captain America, The First
Avenger
.

“Also hungry.” She sat up in bed. “And I feel something else
too. It’s hard to describe. Kind of a like a buzz in the background, a sound
that you can’t quite hear. It’s weird.”

“You did a good job of describing it,” he complimented her. “That
is the power of magic at your disposal.” He shrugged, finding it hard to not
grin like the village idiot. “I wish that I had an amulet to give you but I
don’t, not yet. We will have to wait until we can make you one.”

“Okay, but not until after the wedding,” she argued. “You
can buy me a pair of solid gold bracelets then.”

Paul chuckled. “We will look into it. There is this place in
Nevada I know of where we can get the gold. But that’s for later. Let me see if
you can cast a spell. Here, take my tantalum. I recommend that you use an
incantation. It helps me concentrate. But it’s not really necessary, if you don’t
want to.”

She took a tight grip on the tantalum and closed her eyes.
But nothing seemed to happen.

She opened her eyes, looking very disappointed.

“I don’t understand,” she pouted. “I tried to levitate but
the spell didn’t work! Something’s wrong!”

Paul reached out to cup the side of her face with one hand.
“Nothing’s wrong, dear. It just takes time, concentration and some practice.
You’ll get the hang of it, trust me.”

She sighed. “I hope so.” She looked around. “Where is
Jaret?”

“He had to run an errand,” Paul informed her. “To get ready
for the wedding. We, ah, had that discussion on isotopes and quantum mechanics.
It took six hours to properly explain and then Jaret said he needed a break, in
order to deal with his new headache properly.”

Capie smiled at him. “You loved doing that to him, didn’t
you?”

“Who?
Moi
? Heaven forbid!” he said with a feigned
innocent air.

“Right. Okay, as long as I have magical powers now, I would
like to quickly check on Dad, and then eat a decent breakfast. After that, we
can find a place to get married, right?” she asked with a knowing grin.

“Well…,” he said, looking up at the ceiling. “To tell you
the truth, I have been checking up on your father. It seems that the two of us
are rather famous in the Chicago news right now. I, the malicious killer,
kidnapped the innocent, beautiful, handicapped daughter of a famous scientist.
The news media is going crazy there. Your father posted a $50,000 reward for
any information leading to your safe return.”

Capie shook her head sadly. “I hope he did that just for
appearance’s sake.”

Paul shrugged and then smiled. “And as far as the wedding
chapel is concerned, I’ve already picked a nice place right here in town.”

“Really?” Capie asked, raising her eyebrows. “What place is
that?”

“Ye Olde Ball & Chain,” Paul stated with a dead pan
delivery.

“Oh, you! That is
not
funny!” she responded with a
dirty look, reaching up to smack his arm. “Where’s the telephone book? I’ll
find us a real place.”

“Okay, okay. So we scratch that one off the list. Good thing
I picked an alternate,” said Paul, rubbing his arm. “Je t`aime Wedding Chapel.
Which means….”

“I love you,” finished Capie. “In French. How appropriate.
After we eat, I want to see what sort of facilities that place has. Oh, and I
need a wedding dress and a few other things! How much time do I have for
shopping? Ooh, a better question, how much money can I spend? Is there a fast
bakery in town?”

In shock, Paul watched as she jumped from the bed and rushed
into the bathroom. It would seem that her physical condition had improved
immeasurably while she had been asleep.

“I need a shower and a change of clothing!” she hollered
through the door. “Don’t just stand there with that big silly grin on your
face, get busy! We have lots to do! Get a move on!”

South Lake Tahoe

Nevada side of the state line

Je t`aime Wedding Chapel

June

Saturday 3:09 p.m. CST

N
ervous,
his left pinkie finger twitching spasmodically, Paul stood at the front of the
small chapel, dressed in a full black tuxedo. He could feel a small river of
sweat running down his spine beneath his clothes. For some reason, it seemed
hot in the room.

The Je t`aime Wedding Chapel was all it was purported to be.
White, paneled, double doors opened up to a spacious white-walled room with
bright green carpeting. Symmetrically organized on both sides of the room,
hefty ornate white cushioned chairs faced forward. The aisle down the center
led to a circular dais surrounded by ivy draped white columns. The white walls
were hung with gorgeous flower arrangements. Large, ornate candle holders stood
in each front corner, casting a warm light into the room. A small organ was on
the right side of the room, in front of the chairs on that side. A large woman
dressed in a too tight pink dress sat there, her eyes glued to the rear of the
chapel, ready to play the wedding march as soon as the bride showed up.

Paul’s ‘best man’ was standing right next to him, also
looking a bit nervous. Merlin, dressed in a black tuxedo, gray vest and small
red bowtie, was running a comb through his hair, trying to get every strand to
lie still and behave itself. So far, he was doing much better at his job than Paul
was with his.

For the millionth time, Paul glanced back at the rear chapel
door. Still no sign of the bride or her escort.

The chapel was nearly full, a tribute to Jaret’s influence
and magical wizardry. Some of the guests in the room were real, and some were
just holograms but even with Paul’s magic, he could scarcely tell the
difference. The crowd looked distinguished and prosperous as they sat in their
seats, conversing quietly amongst themselves. There were three photographers
working the room with cameras, snapping photographs of everything in sight,
flashes strobing every few seconds.

Where was Capie? She had Jaret with her, doing a really fast
shopping spree around Tahoe and in Carson City to the east, picking up last
minute items she deemed necessary for her wedding. Paul had heard her recite a
rather long list of things, too. When he had offered to help, she had simply shaken
her head and scoffed, “Men!” Wisely, he had not repeated the offer.

From the way she now moved and her speed, it would appear
that her spinal column was nearly completely healed. Just two days ago, she
could barely stand and walk a few steps. Paul didn’t know whether her acquiring
magical powers had fast-tracked her healing or if she was using magic to help
her muscles move properly again. The answer scarcely mattered to him, though.
She had the use of her body back again and that is what counted.

He sighed and tried to get his heart to stop beating so
fast.

What kind of husband would he be? Marie, his ex-wife,
certainly had an opinion on
that
topic. No doubt, if Capie heard it,
there would be no wedding.

Could he do a better job this time around? Paul certainly
hoped so. He sure intended to try.

The blare of the organ startled him.

Blaahh, blaahh, blah, blaaaahhhh! Blaahh, blAAhh, blah,
blAAAAhhhh!

Paul swung around. Sure enough, the two flower girls and Capie
and Jaret were all there, perched just beyond the chapel double doors. Capie
looked radiant in her white wedding dress. Jaret, dressed in an old-fashioned
tux, tails, black vest and white tie, sported a dazzling grin on his face that
just oozed pride. The two flower girls, holograms for sure, started off down
the aisle first. Then Capie and Jaret together followed along behind.

A sudden urge to run for the hills hit Paul in the stomach
but his legs felt like rubber.

Merlin reached out a hand and grasped Paul’s arm.

“Steady there, old man,” he whispered.

“Thanks,” Paul murmured appreciatively.

Behind him, Paul could hear Parson Abrahams move into
position on the dais.

The flower girls reached the front of the chapel and moved
off to one side. Capie marched into position beside Paul, her face beaming a
radiant smile. Jaret dropped back behind her.

Paul’s urge to run disappeared. There were suddenly no
doubts in his mind and nowhere else that he would rather be.

He returned her smile, his self-confidence unexpectedly
restored.

Parson Abrahams cleared his throat. “Dearly beloved, we are
gathered here this day….”

The words faded out in Paul’s hearing. He only saw Capie,
dressed in that beautiful white wedding dress and wearing the diamond necklace
he had given her.

Then a nudge from behind.

“Huh?” Paul muttered uncertainly.

“Answer the question!” hissed Merlin.

“Oh, yeah,” Paul mumbled, turning back to the front.

The parson was looking at him with a smug understanding
smile.

“I do,” Paul said, as confidently as he could manage.

“Do you, Copernicus Kingsley, take this man to be your
lawfully wedded husband, to have and to hold, in sickness and in health, till
death do you part?”

Capie looked at Paul and beamed. All three photographers
leaned inward to get candid close ups of the bride at that magic moment.

“I do,” she echoed as the strobes flashed simultaneously.

Merlin nudged Paul again. “The ring!” he whispered. Paul reached
back and took it from the other wizard’s hand.

The parson looked at Paul again, ever patient and
understanding.

“With this ring….” he prompted the groom.

Paul cleared his throat. “With this ring, I thee wed.”

“I now declare you husband and wife. You may kiss the
bride.”

This part Paul had no trouble with at all.