Convergence

We soared over a desert looking area. There was a very large, modern style house near the side of a cliff that was surrounded by dirt and dried brush. The trees that landscaped the house were turning brown and looked ready to move on to plant heaven. We landed near the house and Ashe promptly shrank before leaping into Rick’s arms.

Rick snuggled her gently. “All done, Ashe.”

She disappeared the same as before.

“Is she okay?” I asked. “She looked tired.”

Rick’s voice came out slow and raspy. “She’s not strong enough to be out for so long let alone big and flying.” He paused coughing out a half-hearted laugh. “Or should I say I’m not strong enough.” We slowly made our way down the walkway toward the house.

“You? How does that work anyway? Your summon creature, I mean. Could I get one? Ashe is awfully cute.”

“Summon creatures aren’t meant to be cute.” The smile spread across his face. “But she certainly is. A summon creature has to find you not the other way around. It senses your power level and what you need and then presents itself to you, usually in a dream. Then it’s up to you to communicate with it.”

“Communicate? How?”

“In whatever form you want. You can speak to it or sign to it or just send telepathic messages to it.”

“Well, what do you say to it?”

“Whatever you want. Shoot the breeze about the weather or ask it a million stupid questions, it doesn’t matter.” We reached the door and he started to wobble. He used the side of the house to keep himself from falling over and took a few deep breaths.

“It shares your magic, doesn’t it?” I put my hands on him hoping to somehow make him feel better. “That’s why you’re also weak.” He looked so pale.

“See,” he was breathing as if he had just run a marathon. “You know more than you let on, Princess.”

“Stop calling me that.” Maybe it was because he was so weak or maybe I was just getting used to it, but I wasn’t as mad when he called me princess.

He smiled and I pushed the doorbell. We heard footsteps approach and he pushed away from the house, standing tall before positioning himself between me and the door just before it opened. An older slightly plump woman answered the door. She was maybe an inch shorter than me. Her bright blue eyes sparkled and she smiled.

“Young people! Oh, I rarely get young people around here. Come to think of it, I rarely get people. Oh, you must come in, you must.” She dragged both of us in. Rick was far too tired to resist. “I’ve just made the most scrumptious lemon bars before I remembered I have no one to share them with.”

I wanted to say something, but how could I?

She shoved both of us down on to her sofa. “Here we are, nice and comfy. Do you like tea, dears?”

I opened my mouth to speak but she just kept on talking.

“I’ll go put on the kettle. A nice oolong is just perfect for my bars. Or do you prefer black tea?”

I opened my mouth again and was met with the same continuance of yammering.

“I have a delightful Earl Grey. The bergamot enhances the sweet lemons quite nicely. I suppose it only matters if you prefer complimentary flavors or contrasting flavors.” She flitted away to what I can only assume to be the direction of her kitchen still talking about how the bars were made from fresh lemons she grew in the conservatory in the back of her house and then started listing the other plants.

“She sure is chatty,” I said quietly. “And lemons go with just about everything. I don’t know why she’s so worried about the type of tea to serve.”

“Be careful around her and don’t eat anything.”

“Why?”

“There’s magic here. I’m too weak to pinpoint it but she could be a demon or maybe it’s just residue from the previous owners. I’m just saying be careful.”

“…of course the vines I allow to grow completely wild have started taking over my walls.” She returned quickly with a plate of lemon squares on a tray with a tea set. It looked heavy but she managed.

“Here we are. Oh, you must be so hungry. How’d you manage to get all the way out here anyway? I’ll bet you were on your way to the lake and made a wrong turn.” She filled a teacup and handed it to me before offering to Rick who politely declined with a wave of his hand. "I get so many young people in the summer. At least four all season long. They get lost and tell me their stories. Oh, young people have such stories!”

How could they get a word in beside her constant stream of babble?

“Oh but I’m being so talkative.”

I choked on my spit with the cup almost to my lips and tried to suppress the slight coughing fit. Rick reached over guiding my hand to put the cup back down. I could see in his eyes that he didn’t want me to drink it.

“Be careful, dear, it’s hot,” she said casually while handing me a small lemon square. “So tell me your story?”

There was a moment of silence. I was stunned at first. I had gotten so used to the sound of her voice taking in every second of my existence that the silence made me uneasy.

“Um…well.” What do I tell her?

Rick’s voice broke her from me. “I was taking her out to the lake, you’re right about that. It seems to have dried up over the years.”

She turned to him. “Oh yes, yes. Haven’t had a good rain in such a long time. The lake has grown very low but the surrounding area is still very beautiful. The same can’t be said for my property, I’m afraid. I only water the inside plants. Oh but you’re looking as peckish as my plants!” She giggled to herself.

On a normal day in a normal situation, I might’ve liked this woman. She was warm and very friendly like a kindly old grandmother, but something about her just made me feel uneasy. Rick laughed and talked with her like he was talking to his great aunt, but I could tell he didn’t trust her.

“Eat, child, eat, eat!” It was almost an order. “You’ll feel so much better when you get some food in your belly.” She took a bite of her square and smiled brightly between us.

I placed my lemon bar on the table in front of me. “Excuse me, ma’am, but could you direct me to your bathroom please?”

“Oh, such a polite young girl. Yes, dear, just go out there to the hall where you just came in and head down that way.” She pointed toward the back of the house. “The closer room is broken, I’m afraid. Need to get a plumber out here to look at it. It’s so hard to get that plumber to come out here. He always charges so much money. I’ve been looking at books trying to find a way to do the projects myself, but I don’t have all the necessary literature. I suppose I’ll have to head into town to the library, but gas is so expensive nowadays. Why I remember when….”

I walked away when she started telling Rick about the price of gas. I could figure out where it was on my own.

I wandered around toward the backside of the house. The last lit area I saw was her conservatory. It was so filled with plants I found it hard to believe she could walk in there to water them. I was afraid that if I walked completely into the room, the vines carpeting the floor would wrap around me and then I’d get eaten by a giant plant like the Audrey II from Little Shop of Horrors.

I rounded the corner to see a very dark hallway. It didn’t seem like the power was working. I tested the doors but they were all locked, all but one.

I opened it but couldn’t see much. The air felt cold and my footsteps echoed in the space. I reached around on the wall and felt the tile before my fingers touched the switch. A light came on, but not enough to see the entire room.

The bathroom was huge and had a pink crystal mini chandelier. The mirror over the sink took up most of the wall and only one of the vanity lights was on. I could see the sink but the toilet was in shadows and the tub, which I could only imagine was more like a pool, was in complete darkness. I saw shadows moving in the tub and tried to convince myself it was caused by my eyes playing tricks on me. I looked carefully into the toilet and wondered exactly how bad I needed to use it.

There was a gentle tap at the door but it made me jump as if it was a loud bang.

“Yes,” I called.

“It’s me,” said Rick. “Are you okay? You’ve been gone a long time and that woman is driving me nuts.”

“What?” I opened the door. “I just got here.”

He huffed. “Maybe it just feels like a long time then.”

“Are you feeling better? You should eat something to boost your strength.”

He pushed by me looking around the bathroom. “I’ll be alright. We can eat soon.”

“What is it?”

“There’s something in here.” He pulled me to the door and walked farther inside.

“I thought I saw something over there in the tub earlier.”

I heard him sigh and he reached into his shirt again and called Ashe. She appeared out of nowhere and lay in Rick’s arms. She still looked so tired. Her large ears twitched and then shot up high while she looked toward the tub. A low growl began to rumble in her belly.

“You have good eyes,” said Rick.

“Is it…is it another boggart thing?”

“No. I think it’s just a harmless gnome. Ashe would attack if it were dangerous.”

“She’s really tired. I don’t think she’d have the strength to attack.”

Rick glared at me. “Really? You’re just going to give it away just like that.”

“What?” The single light went out and something started to skitter across the floor. I let out a yelp. “Something brushed by my leg.”

Rick pulled a flashlight from his backpack and turned it in my direction. “What’s that?”

I looked down under my foot. Somehow, a small piece of paper appeared there. I reached down and lifted it to the light. There was something printed on it.

“Where once was darkness, now find light, with all my powers I call forth the light. Illuminate.” The chandelier sparked and bathed the entire room in light. “Whoa.” I stared at the overhanging lamp in awe. “Did I just do that?”

Rick looked at me mirroring my astonishment. “Yes. You shouldn’t have your powers without the book.” He took the page from me. “But a page is part of the book.” The wheels in his head started turning. “Since you always had powers, and only a fraction of your magic is trapped in the book, then that must mean you can get back some of your powers for every page of the book you read.”

“But wait, if I take the magic out of the page then can we still use it to find the entire book?”

“Well sure assuming the stone was programmed to only find the book and not the magic in it. If it was tracking the magic then it would always lead to you. The real question is what gave you that page?” He pulled the page he had from his pocket and handed it to me. “Read it.”

I looked at the page. “What lives in a dream now be revealed, the unseen is seen, the unreal now real. I summon you.”

A crazy-looking white squirrel-like rodent appeared. It had large, tubular-shaped ears like Ashe and large, charcoal eyes. There was black coloring on the tips of its ears and feet. It looked like it was wearing three black socks and missing the fourth and had a fluffy squirrel tail. Ashe stopped growling when she saw it.

“What in the world is that?” I said.

Rick started laughing. “It’s your summon creature.”

I punched his arm. “Don’t laugh at her, you’ll hurt her feelings.”

He clutched his arm but continued to smile. “What’s her name?”

“Squeak.”

“That’s a sound, not a name.”

“She told me her name is Squeak and so that’s what we’ll call her.”

He reached down and took a small blue stone from Squeak. “She’s been with you for a long time waiting for you to notice her.” He handed the stone to me. “Must’ve been hard on her not being able to contact you since you’ve always had your magic but never believed in it enough to access it. That stone acts like a cell. Just hold it and call her name.”

I smiled. “I don’t need it. I can feel her all around me now that I know what she feels like.” I put my hand out and she jumped up to my arm. She was so light. I rubbed my other hand over her head. “The squirrel reminds us not to take things too seriously.” I laughed. “Yes, you’re right. I’m way too serious about everything. I’m sorry for being such an idiot.” I nodded. “I know. I shouldn’t berate myself so much and I don’t have to be perfect.” She ran to my shoulder and played in my hair.

The room started to shake. Rick placed himself between me and the door.

“We need to get out of here.”

“Yes, I feel the magic now. Why couldn’t I feel it before?”

“I don’t think Ashe can handle flying yet.”

“Squeak can.”

Rick slowly opened the door and looked out. I stood on my toes and took a glance over his shoulder. The hallways had changed. We stepped out and looked around the corners. We had somehow ended up in a maze. Squeak darted off my shoulder and ran around the maze. Some turns brought her back behind us and she would take another path. She was faster than I had ever seen Ashe and mapped out a route in seconds.

“This way.” I ducked under his arm and followed Squeak until the front door was in sight.

“Wait, dears, wait!” called the woman. “You must have something nice to eat.”

Ashe jumped from Rick’s arms at the woman’s face. She screamed and fell to the ground. I felt bad for the old woman at first, but then I saw her for what she truly was. She looked like some sort of goblin I saw in some movie with her pointed teeth and slimy green skin. Her pointed teeth snarled as she swung her arm at Ashe.

Once outside, Squeak’s fur ruffled and she changed into a giant white sting ray floating inches off the ground.

“Time to go,” I said jumping on Squeak’s back.

Rick called to Ashe as Squeak took off. We were high in the sky before the woman was able to get back up. She screamed her frustrations at the sky.

“Wow! Just wow!” I said. “Can I assume that was another demon or whatever trying to capture us for her master?”

“Seems likely,” Rick said dismissively. He looked Ashe over making sure she wasn’t hurt. She let out a high pitched peep and licked his face. “Okay. I know I’m fussing. All done, Ashe.”

“Is she okay?”

He let out a low chuckle. “How did you do it?”

“Do what?”

“You can take back your magic from the pages in the book. You gave yourself the ability to see magic. You can communicate with your summon creature as easily as you’re talking with me now. Your summon creature takes on a different form when flying. I wouldn’t be surprised if your creature had more than one ability.”

I smiled at him. “I don’t know. Things seem a little easier all around now. I’m not afraid anymore and I seem to have accepted the fact I have magic… and it’s awesome!” I laughed. “Where to next?”

“I’m getting a signal east of here.”

“You hear that, Squeak? East.”

She let out a squeaky chirp and turned in the direction of the mountains.

“You know,” said Rick. “Your summon creature should be able to find the rest of your magic without needing the stone. I mean, she is connected to it. I could probably reprogram this stone to find you if we ever get separated.”

“What makes you think we would get separated?”

He was silent for a moment. “Well, we can’t be together every second of the day.”

We exchanged glances and I nodded in agreement.

“Besides,” the corner of his lips turned up slightly. “You tend to get into trouble when you wander.”

I glared at him and watched as he turned it around in his hands a few times. He smiled when it started flashing brightly and then shoved it back in his pocket.