The Tower (19 page)

Those had been my thoughts, exactly. But how could he have figured all of this out being stuck down in a subway tunnel? I continued reading.

Yeah, that was exactly what I was going to do. I turned the page over. Just one more line:

I dropped it; the page flamed up and fell to ashes. Wildcard—what a kidder. I bet he was having a good chuckle down in his lair. Still, he'd given me more proof that something funky was going on, and I was ready to have the last laugh.

Twenty: Sa'Fina

After my chance meeting with Wildcard, I went back to the Tower and mulled things over. He was right about everything in his now gone-to-ashes letter. Tried sorting things out in my mind, but it all got to be too much and with all that was going on, I started to go a bit nuts—obsession was not healthy.

Got up after a while and took a walk. On the Promenade Deck was Tenkita, staring out a porthole, and she was alone, as usual. For someone so gifted at performing and being around people she preferred solitude. What was she thinking about? Was she reliving her days of being beautiful? Was she thinking about her next magic gig? No answer, her face was a mask.

Yet, when she turned and saw me, her aged features lit up in a genuine smile and she greeted me warmly like an old friend. “Are you doing okay, Bill?”

“I'm okay, thanks for asking.” I paused a bit and told her, “I never forgot how much you helped me when I first came here; I never thanked you, either.”

“It's alright; that's what friends do.”

“That's what friends do,” I echoed, and was rewarded with a quick hug which made me feel a lot better. She'd always been my biggest supporter on the Tower, always with a good word for me and about me.

Then I heard a soft beep. “Oh,” she said, touching the com-link in her ear and turning away for a second, then back again. “I'm needed planet-side. Magic hour, I've got a session with the wannabes.” She grinned a little, very girlishly, I thought. “Some other time?” she suggested, and then she was off.

At least she was needed, but powers or no, she was as trapped as I was. Why I hadn't realized that before I didn't know, but I did now; there was one piece of unfinished business to take care of. After a quick search-and-find for one item and an address on the Net, I ran to the Hangar Bay and fortunately, another shuttle was just about to leave for Earth.

* * *

Funny thing about witches, gangsters, politicians and crooked lawyers; everyone knew who they were and where they lived. They weren't hiding or using aliases, unlike their counterparts in my universe; here, they operated out in the open and their activities were a matter of public record. It was just a matter of who wanted to cross the line and get to them and what they were willing to give up.

As for Sa'Fina, I didn't have to do much of a search for her. Her address was on the Net: Number 1135 Willow Lane, right in the heart of the most populated city in the USA, Los Angeles. No hiding for her, who would be stupid enough to try and take her down? Tenkita had tried and had actually come out on top and was rewarded with the scar of a lifetime.

My first stop was at Wilson's magic shop. He remembered me, greeted me with a big smile, saying I'd changed a lot since he'd last seen me. No magic, I assured him, just lots of hard work. When I gave him my order, he looked at what I'd written on the paper. His eyes widened.

“Are you positive you want this?” he asked. “It's, um, pretty pricey and it's only used in special cases.”

“Yeah, that's it,” I told him. “That's what I want.”

“Give me about thirty minutes, it'll be ready then.”

He went to work right away, getting it ready and while he was working, I took a stroll to the nearest bank to empty my account. After thirty minutes I returned to his little shop. It was all done and he'd bottled it up. I paid him but his eyes weren't on the money. They were on me, searchingly, as if to ask what my purpose was in doing this and if I knew what I was getting into. He never said a word about the cash; he just took it and stuck it rather carelessly in the register. At the door, he said, “Please give my regards to Tenkita.” That was it.

And now, twenty minutes later by taxi, I was standing outside the door of the Big Witch, wondering if I was on some kind of fool's errand or not. The driver, a cagey-looking middle-aged guy, had looked strangely at me when I gave him her address.

“Sure you wanna go there?” he'd asked. “I heard people go there, they don't come back, y'know what I'm sayin'?”

“Just drive.” He shrugged and took me to my destination, but stopped a block shy of her house. “Ain't getting that close, mister,” he said. “Just pay me and I'm outta here.” I paid him off and walked the rest of the way over.

It was a modest looking two-story house, set next to a number of other pleasant-looking places in a quiet residential neighborhood. No one on the streets, no cars, no movements save for the sounds of insects buzzing and birds chirping now and again. I saw a white picket fence and a couple of white cats walking around, as if keeping guard. When they saw me approach the gate, they looked at me in unison, and when I walked in and rang the doorbell, one of them casually asked in a polite British accent, “Are you looking for our mistress?”

I remembered the talking rabbit from Tenkita's room—talking cats didn't throw me. I looked down at the guard-cat. He/It/Whatever just sat there waiting and like everything else in this world, I had a feeling that this animal could be a lot more trouble than just your average Hiya Kitty; magic and witchcraft were still way over my head.

“Yes, if that's possible,” I replied, still feeling a bit lame to be talking to an animal. “I'll see if she's available,” the cat answered. “Whom shall I say is calling?”

“Uh, my name's Bill Lampkin. I'm here on behalf of her…rival.” The cat simply looked at me and walked right through the doorway, phasing through it as a ghost might do. Only this was no ghost, was it?

A few seconds later, the door swung open and a voice, young and strong, upper-crust English and very feminine, called me in. The inside of the house was clean and quite Victorian-looking, replete with antique furniture, a grandfather clock, and many pictures of what must have been her ancestors. They were all a handsome group of people, and I heard the voice of the sorceress herself calling me into the center parlor: “This way, young man.”

I entered. There, on an overstuffed couch, in an equally overstuffed room, sat Sa'Fina herself. She was young, perhaps twenty-five or so, with a flowing mane of red hair framing an oval face. She had a model's figure with green eyes and a wide, thin-lipped mouth. I didn't know if this was her real form or just an illusion. It didn't matter, this was personal. She asked me to sit on another, smaller couch across from her, reached for a bell on a small table beside her, and tinkled it gently. A butler appeared, old, wrinkled, walking with a cane. “Tea for two in twenty minutes,” she commanded and he bowed slightly and then limped off.

“Yes, Miss.”

She gave me the grand tour. The bedrooms: Three of them, all clean and antiquated, her workshop where she prepared her potions, her valuables. The latter, she laid out on a bed: Enormous diamonds, rubies, emeralds, plus a lot of other stones I had never seen before. Gold, silver, platinum rings, pearls, she must have had immeasurable wealth. She detailed everything for me with a tinge of snobbishness as if to say, “You have no idea how rich or powerful or wonderful I am.” I thought she was just a snob. Incredibly wealthy and undoubtedly gifted in the arts of magic, but still a snob and also someone or something very, very dangerous.

Back in the drawing room—just the two of us. She regarded me coolly then spoke in her ever-so-upper-crust accent. “I was told by my cat that you were here to see me on some business?”

“Yes ma'am. That's not really a cat, is it?”

“Are you sure you want to know?”

Not really. She continued. “My cat”—she gave a harsh little chuckle—“told me it was something about my rival. You wouldn't be talking about Tenkita, would you?”

“Yes ma'am.”

“And you're here on her behalf?”

“She doesn't know I've come,” I answered. “Call it…returning a favor.”

“Why?”

Good question; I shrugged a little. “She's always been pretty nice to me and I've seen her do a lot of good work for those that need it. She, uh, sort of mentioned to me a long time ago why she looks the way she does. It doesn't seem fair that she has to go around looking like that all the time.”

“She looks how she looks, what business of it is yours?” the sorceress asked.

“Nothing, really,” I answered. “But losing a magic contest…pretty sucky way to take your anger out on someone, wasn't it?”

That wasn't the wisest thing to say. The witch suddenly arose and morphed into a hideous dragon, flames fairly spouting from her/its mouth. Towering over me, dragon-head almost touching the ceiling, she intoned ominously, “Have a care, Mr. Lampkin. I could easily turn you into something lower than low or erase you entirely!” I held my ground, I'd come too far to give up now.

“Yeah, you could,” I answered, feeling more than a bit of fear but also knowing that I could call her bluff. “But you won't. No challenge to it.” The dragon regarded me and then morphed itself back into human form again. The witch reclined on her couch, touching up her hair. Snapping her fingers, she conjured up a mirror, fixed her make-up, and then snapped the mirror away. I breathed a bit easier.

“You're right, not much of a challenge,” she sniffed. A few seconds passed, and then she spoke again as the butler entered. “Tea-time,” she announced. The butler set everything out and left. “Drink up,” she urged. “I don't cast hexes on beverages,” she added when she noticed my hesitation. I took the tea, it smelled like jasmine.

“Nice.”

“I always liked the flavor myself,” she replied. A few moments silence while we drank, and then, “I suppose you're going to ask me to reverse the spell. That is why you're here, isn't it?”

I nodded. “Yes, ma'am.”

“Why should I?” she said coldly. “It's not worth it, although it wouldn't be too difficult, almost nothing is beyond my powers. If I caved in now, showed mercy, where would that leave me?” She was right, she didn't need anything or anyone and why should she help me? I had only one weapon, if it could be called that—the truth.

“Where would that leave you? Still on top of the heap,” I answered, shifting my position a little. I felt very uncomfortable in this house and wasn't all that sure she wouldn't hex me as well. “Look, I don't know what really happened between the two of you and it doesn't matter. What
does
matter is that you're still number one in the business. No one can touch you, what's it gonna hurt you to reverse what you've done? You've got it all; how much more do you want…or need?”

She laughed a little, not a pleasant sound. “At first glance, that's what everyone thinks. I don't have
everything
,” she answered, emphasizing the last word. “Even though people like to think that I have.” She waited a bit, choosing her words carefully. After a few moments of silence, she spoke again.

“I have no friends, no lover, no other life than what you see before you. Oh, yes, I have money and jewels and wealth beyond your wildest dreams. What you've seen is only a fraction of what I'm worth. I also have my reputation. I'm the greatest sorceress alive. I have the respect and fear of many; I have their envy as well.” She paused again. “And I also have so many enemies that if they knew my secrets, I wouldn't be here right now sharing this tea with you.”

“So, you have everything…and nothing?” I asked.

“You might call it that. It's my life now, I make the most of it.”

The sorceress looked at me very carefully, noting my condition. Even though I'd gotten my shot, I still wasn't totally okay and she knew it. Her eyes, I just noticed, were a beautiful green but also deep and bottomless, as cold and merciless as the ocean depths. They saw right through me and I shifted a bit uncomfortably in my seat. She then suddenly reached over and touched my forehead gently. I felt a shock, a connection, and then it was broken. “You're not from around here, are you?” she said in wonder, changing the topic.

“No, I'm a crosser.” All that from just one touch, my life was an open book to her. I actually felt sort of invaded but decided not to say anything. It would serve no purpose to lie.

“How unusual,” she remarked, eying me in a different way. “Tell me, in your world do you have magic?”

Shaking my head, I answered her, “Not the way it is here. We have illusions, but not pure magic, not like you can do,” I answered.

She then looked at me and said, “I could cure you of your illness. It would be a simple matter. I'm sure you've been told that magic and technology are often interconnected here?”

I nodded. She continued, “Well, that is true, but sometimes, magic is even more powerful than the latest drug on the market. One drop of a potion, and you'd be fine for the next sixty years.” She said it with such certainty that a spark of hope flared in me, only to be replaced by suspicion.

“And what would I have to give up in return?” I asked.

“You
are
intelligent,” she said, nodding her head at me. “Look at me and tell me what you think I'd want.”

I did, and what I saw in her eyes was too terrible to contemplate. I actually backed up on the couch, shook my head. “Truthfully, ma'am, I want to get well so badly I'd do just about anything, but not that. Thank you for the offer, I guess I'll take my chances with the medicine here.” I said that to her knowing my chances were slowly running out, but losing that one irredeemable part of me forever was something I wasn't prepared to trade.

“No problem,” she said. “Just a one-time deal; you'd be surprised at how many people have jumped at the chance. Youth, it's such a wonderful thing to have and to maintain with the cooperation of others.” That last remark chilled me to the bone. This woman was
far
more dangerous than I'd suspected.

She was silent for a bit, then asked, “And since you're not going to be staying with us much longer, that brings me back to your initial purpose of coming here. Why do you care what happens to Tenkita?”