LOST

Stew woke up to a wet tongue in the face and hot breath that smelled like dog biscuits. “Okay, Goose. I’m up. I’m up.” He sat up and stretched, feeling rested and surprised at how comfortable the couch was. He looked around and didn’t see Alex. The coffee percolating was the only noise in the whole apartment, aside from Goose, who whined to go outside. Stew patted him on the head and yawned his way to the kitchen where, on the counter, there was a note.

Stew,

Sorry you had to wake up alone but I

remembered I didn’t have any breakfast

stuff. Ma-Maw and I have gone to the

store. Coffee should be ready. See you soon.

I hope you know that I still love you

-Alexoxo

“I wonder if she has a travel mug,” he said as he looked through her cabinets, “so I can have my coffee while I take you out.”

After searching several cabinets, he did find a travel mug—a hot pink one. “Oh, man. Whatever.” He grabbed it, damn the color, and poured himself a mug of what he considered to be the nectar of the gods, sweetened it, lightened it, took a sip and sighed with satisfaction. He slipped on his shoes and snatched Goose’s collar off the counter and headed out the door toward the elevator to go downstairs to the dog walk area. When Goose was finished with his business, they arrived back at Alex’s apartment to see Wiz standing at the door.

“Wiz? What the hell are you doing here?”

“Good. You’re dressed. We don’t have any time to waste.”

“How’d you know I was here?”

“Process of elimination. I went to your apartment and no one answered, so… Listen to me.” Wiz sighed and his eyes became serious. “He took Alex.”

“Who took Alex?” Stew asked, wondering if he was confusing Jacqueline for a man but ruled that out because she was, actually, quite beautiful for her age.

“Zachary. Come on.”

“Crap. Yeah, hold on,” Stew said as all three of them jogged down the hall. “How do you know he took her? She was just going to the store.”

“Regan saw him throw her into a van.”

“She’s sure it was her?”

“Yes. We were at the diner when she saw Alex being grabbed by someone. She flew out the door and caught up to make sure. By the time I got there, Zachary was speeding off in the van. There was nothing we could do.”

“We can call the cops!” Stew proclaimed as they stepped onto the elevator.

“I don’t know what good they can do, but we can try. Stew, there’s something else.”

“What?” Stew said, tears beginning to well in his eyes.

“Alex’s grandmother is dead.”

“What?! Zachary killed her?”

“I’m afraid it looks that way. I’m sorry.”

“I guess Jackie Rose really is dead.”

“Jackie Rose? Who is that?”

Stew began to sob uncontrollably.

“Stew, you have to calm down. Hysterics is not going to help anything here.”

“I didn’t…”

“Didn’t what?”

“We had a small argument last night.”

“You and this Jackie Rose?”

“No. Me and Alex. I told her I had a secret but couldn’t bring myself to tell her. She got mad. I promised her I would tell her during breakfast this morning. I never got the chance.”

“When we catch up to Zachary, then you’ll get your chance to tell her. Don’t worry. Okay?”

“Okay,” Stew replied, running his hand through his unkempt hair. “You wouldn’t be able to make me a ball cap. Would you?”

“A ball cap? For what?”

Stew pointed to the shaggy mop on top of his head, sticking out in every direction as they walked through the lobby downstairs.

“So? What’s wrong with it?”

“I’m not rocking the Einstein do. Just give me a damn baseball cap!”

“Your girlfriend just got kidnapped and you’re worried about your hair?” Wiz asked as he produced a bright, blue hat with a red ‘C’ on the front and handed it to Stew. “I hope it’s your size. If not… tough luck.”

“It’s fine,” Stew replied as he put the hat on. “So… what do we do first? Cops. Oh, wait—the primary witness is a faerie.”

“Regan can tell me what to say to them. We’re fine. Just call them.”

Stew dug in his pocket for his cellphone, got it out and dialed 911. He hesitated, his finger hovering above the ‘send’ button. “Wait a second—if we call the cops and tell them Alex has been kidnapped, they’ll want to set up here. We’ll be stuck. Our hands will be tied,” Stew paused. “What about Detective Alderman? Can we call her?”

“I trust her, but I can’t trust that she won’t bring help. I think we’re on our own. Speaking of… we have to avoid the diner. That area’s where it all happened, so, I’m sure Detective Alderman’s down there somewhere. She means well, but she’ll just slow us down.”

They were about to step out the door when Marie showed up in their way.

“Detective Alderman,” Wiz said, surprised at her timing.

“I was just coming to talk to you guys,” she said in a somber tone.

“We know,” Stew announced.

“You know what?”

“That Alex has been kidnapped,” Wiz said, stepping around her.

“Well, that confirms what the witness at the diner said, but how did you know? Reporters haven’t even been allowed to interview anyone yet.”

“Does it matter?” Wiz said sharply. “We don’t have a lot of time to argue the point, Detective.”

“Okay. So, what are we doing about it?”

“We…” Wiz said, pointing to himself and Stew, “…are going after him.”

“You can’t expect me to stand here and do nothing.”

“We know where he’s going,” Wiz admitted.

“We do?” Stew asked.

“I do,” Wiz amended.

“Where’s that, Wiz?” Marie asked.

“The airport.”

“Neither of you can drive. I’ll take you in my car. Come on.” She ran down the street toward her car. Wiz and Stew followed. Goose ran beside them, still tethered by a leash. “You know,” she said, turning to Wiz, “I’ve been looking for you for three days.”

“I’m sorry. I meant to call…”

“It’s okay. I just wanted to let you know.” She pressed a button on her key fob, remotely unlocking her car doors as they approached it. “Get in. Goose… you know the rules.”

What was she trying to say, Wiz wondered, by implying there was no reason she was looking for me? Wiz dismissed the question, hoping he could get an answer later. “Marie, you don’t happen to have that dagger with you,” Wiz said as he opened the back door behind the front passenger seat and let Goose jump in first.

“No,” Mare replied, getting in the driver’s side and starting the car. “Do we need it?”

“Yes. Is it at your apartment?”

“Yeah. It’ll be just a couple minutes out of the way. You know where he’s taking her. Don’t you?”

“Yes. I believe so.”

“Would you care to enlighten us?” She asked, looking at Wiz in the rearview mirror.

“If you promise not to tell anyone.”

“Deal.”

“Bergen, Norway.”

“Norway?!” Stew shouted from the front passenger seat. “Um, I hate to break it to you, but I don’t have that kind of money.”

“I’ll cover it. Don’t worry about it,” Marie said, putting her hand on Stew’s shoulder as she looked out the back window to get ready to pull out of the parallel spot she was parked in.

“Marie, I couldn’t ask you…” Wiz began to argue.

“I said…” she backed up, stopped and put the car in drive before continuing, “…don’t worry about it. If that’s where we need to go to find him and get Alex back, that’s what we’ll do.”

“I can’t let you go with us, Marie. It’s far too dangerous.”

“And it’s not dangerous for Alex?”

“Won’t you get in trouble?”

“I’ll tell my captain that I had a family emergency come up and I had to leave town for a couple days.”

“All right. To the airport, then,” Wiz said, realizing he was not going to win the argument.

“Wait—can’t you just have all the flights cancelled?” Stew asked Marie.

“Ha! Based on what? A hunch? He’s probably not even using the name Di Corvo. So… all we have is a description. And, yes, I could have that sent to airport security but then…”

“We’ll be stuck with ten thousand questions from every direction,” Wiz deduced.

“Exactly,” Marie agreed.

“Yep. We’re screwed. What’s in Norway, anyway?” Stew asked.

“What used to be Thórsholr.”

“Which is?”

“Where we used to live.”

“We? As in you and I?”

“Yes.”

“Let me guess—twelve hundred years ago?”

“You got it. Marie, do you have your passport up to date?”

“Yeah. I’ll have to grab that when I get the dagger.”

“Damn it!” Stew exclaimed.

“What?” Wiz asked.

“I don’t have my passport. If you had told me we were going to—”

“Where is it?” Wiz asked.

“At my apartment.”

“No. Where, precisely?”

Stew closed his eyes, trying to recall. “Fireproof safe… top of the refrigerator.”

Wiz held out his empty hand and a moment later, produced Stew’s passport and handed it to him. Stew examined it thoroughly. “This doesn’t look fake.”

“It isn’t. I think you’ll find that it is no longer in your fireproof safe.”

“I’ve got to learn to do that.”

“We couldn’t do that with my passport and the dagger?” Marie asked, a bit irritated.

“I can’t think of everything,” Wiz replied. “Not to mention, it saps my energy.”

“Where’s yours?” Stew asked.

“My pocket. I had a feeling I’d need it, so, I had one made. I’m afraid it’s a bit less than legal. I’m sorry, Marie.”

“No. It’s okay. Yours is an extremely special situation and it calls for extremely special measures. Wait a second… how are you going to get the dagger past customs?” she said as she pulled into a parking space outside her apartment building.

“I’ve got it covered. Just get it and let’s go.”

Marie let the car idle, wasting no time getting out of the car and into her building.

“Are we really going to let her come with us?” Stew asked.

“Do we have a choice? I don’t think she’s going to take ‘no’ for an answer. Besides that, she knows just as much as you do. We might as well have her all the way on board.”

“You make it sound like there’s still—”

Marie opened the car door, got back in, put her passport in her purse and handed Wiz the dagger.

“You are quick,” Wiz said.

“I just hope you know what you’re doing.” She put the car in reverse and quickly got back out on the street.

Wiz held the dagger in his hands in front of him. Stew twisted around in his seat to get a look at it.

“So, Zachary was going to kill me with that?”

“One of his henchmen was holding it above you, ready to pierce your heart with it, when I tackled him and it flew out of his hands.”

“What are we going to do with it?”

“Well, if my thinking is correct, we’re going to kill him with it.” Stew stared at it, taking in the irony of it all. “You see these markings?” Wiz asked him, pointing to the blade.

“Yeah.”

“The letters are Theban. The Theban alphabet was used by some early pagans for writing spells and incantations, and, in the case of this dagger, imbuing power into objects. These translate to ‘divinus letum’ which is Latin for ‘divine death.’ I think it was given the power to kill an immortal.” Wiz held the dagger in his hands and a moment later, when Wiz expected the dagger to contort, shift and mold itself into an ornately decorated curio box... nothing happened. “What the… That should have worked. There must be some other magic embedded.”

“I have an idea,” Marie said.

“I’m listening,” Wiz said with much interest.

“Can you make a box for it? A wooden box? You can create wood, right?”

“Yes.”

“And make the inside to where it fits snugly?”

“Sure. Why?”

“Well, if it looks more like something to look at and less like a weapon…”

“I understand now.” Wiz held out the dagger again and a wooden box formed around it. He opened the box and the dagger fit in a slot carved into the wood.

“Whoa,” he said, his mouth gaping open in awe as he peered around the headrest. “So, someday, I’ll be able to do that?”

“Yes,” Wiz answered. “Someday… after much training. Remember… it’s taken me over twelve hundred years to get this far. And I still have more to learn.”

“Who does the teaching?” Stew said, very curious about what he was in for.

“The master must be one tier above the student. So, an initiate—or fifth tier—can be trained by a fourth tier. Though, when you’ve finished your training, you must be promoted by someone at least two tiers above you. Lucky for you, I can do that.”

“That sounds more complicated than the police force,” Marie commented.

“I imagine it is. Are you sure you’re not going to get in trouble for this?”

“I’m sure. I talked to my partner while I was getting the dagger and passport and told him I had to be out of town for a few days. I think he suspects something but… don’t worry. He won’t say anything.”

“We’re investing a great deal of trust in you.”

“You don’t think I’ve had to put the same amount of trust in you? You escaped from jail, and I still trusted you. You were the lead suspect in Stew’s attack… and I still trusted you.”

“Okay. Okay. I see your point. We just have to be extra careful.”

“I’m a police detective. I get paid to be extra careful.”

Wiz knew that he had lost yet another debate and didn’t say anything else the rest of the way to the airport.

The four of them, including Goose, arrived at Charlotte International Airport at around nine-thirty a.m. Marie thought about parking in short term parking and paying whatever outrageous amount she had to when they got back, but reason got the best of her. She drove around to long term parking and found a space there.

Before getting out of the car, Wiz turned to Goose, “Unless you want to be locked up in a kennel for several hours, you need to go shadow. Okay?” He unclipped the leash from Goose’s collar and rubbed his head. Goose barked a reply and then vanished—or seemingly so, at least. There was a thin veil of darkness outlining his shape.

“Go shadow? Sounds a little comic-booky. Don’t you think?” Stew said.

“What would you like me to call it? It’s simple and to the point and it’s what Goose understands.”

“It’s fine. Sorry. I was just saying…”

“We’re wasting time. Don’t you have a girlfriend to save?”

“So… do we run or take the shuttle?” Stew asked.

“Considering a shuttle just pulled up behind you, I think that might be the smarter option,” Marie said with a smirk.

The shuttle driver activated the airbrakes, letting out a loud ‘pshhh’ sound—suitable punctuation for Marie’s well-timed remark. Stew had nothing to say as he followed Marie and Wiz onto the bus. Goose, not wanting to be tripped over, took up the rear.

“You don’t think he’ll hurt her, do you?” Stew asked Wiz as they rode the shuttle to the terminal.

“I don’t pretend to know what he’s capable of. I just hope we’re not too late when we get there.”

Upon arriving at one of the entrances, they exited the bus as quickly as they could. Wiz wondered if Stew realized that, not only were they going to try to save Alex and kill Zachary, but they were also racing toward the precise location where Stew would have to make his funeral pyre to complete his journey to immortality. He thought about mentioning it, but decided against it, figuring that rescuing Alex should be the number one priority and Stew didn’t need to be distracted.

Once inside, Stew realized they hadn’t had time to book a flight before leaving. “Which airline do we need to use?”

“Let’s go to the information desk first,” Marie decided.

As they approached the desk, the woman behind the counter looked up from her computer screen and smiled. “Welcome to Charlotte-Douglass. How can I help you?”

“We need to get to Bergen, Norway as soon as possible and don’t know which airline would be best suitable,” Wiz told her.

“Well, let’s see…” she said as she typed, “Norway… you can take Euro-Transcontinental Airlines which has more flights but some layovers, or Nordic Air with less flights and no layovers.”

“Thank you, Ma’am,” Wiz said. He turned around and looked at the dozens of ticket counters. “Anyone see Euro-Transcontinental or Nordic Air?”

“They’re just on the other side of the terminal divider, next to Global Airlines,” the woman informed them.

“Great,” Stew said with an enormous lack of enthusiasm as he saw the sea of people they were going to have to navigate through.

After having to wait in line for several minutes, they finally got their turn at the ticket counter. “When is the next flight to Bergen, Norway?” Wiz asked the Euro-Transcontinental ticket agent.

“Bergen. Hm. Tomorrow afternoon,” he replied.

“Tomorrow? No. We need one today. Did you have one earlier today, by chance?”

“Yes. We did. It left about forty-five minutes ago, with a layover in Newark, New Jersey.”

“And what time does it land in Bergen?”

“Two-thirty p.m. local time tomorrow.”

“All right. Thank you.” Wiz turned to Stew and Marie, “Let’s see what they say at Nordic Air. Shall we?”

They went to the agent two airlines over. There was no one in line, so, they were able to step right up to the counter.

“Yes, sir,” the woman behind the counter greeted Wiz.

“Anything leaving for Bergen today?”

“No. I’m sorry,” the ticket agent said. “We don’t have anything going to Bergen, actually.”

“You don’t?”

“We have a flight to Oslo that leaves at ten p.m. tonight,” she added.

“Oslo.” Wiz sighed and bit the side of his lip, not anywhere near ready to give up. “How far away from Bergen is that?” he asked, leaning forward.

“It’s only 175 kilometers. About a two hour train ride.”

“And when does the flight arrive in Oslo?” He squinted as he played an idea out in his head.

“Twelve noon, local time tomorrow.”

“That’s cutting it really close,” he said, staring past the agent.

“Three coach tickets to Oslo, please,” Marie told the agent, nudging Wiz to the side and handing her a credit card, before he had a chance to argue with her. Wiz looked at her, his eyes wide and jaw slack. “What?” she asked him, shrugging her shoulders. “It’s the best option we’re going to get. Unless you can build us a raft or something that can get us there faster.” She raised her eyebrows, waiting for an answer.

Wiz conceded the argument, realizing that, though, she said ‘build’, she meant ‘conjure’. He also understood that she knew that he could conjure no raft or anything else that could get them to Norway any quicker. “I just hope we get there in time.”

“I know,” she assured him. “Me, too.”

Tickets in hand, the group wandered aimlessly through the airport lobby. “So… what are we going to do for twelve hours?” Stew asked.

“I say we just go back to my place and just try to relax for a little bit. I have cable and some DVDs. We’ll stop at the store and get some munchies and drinks. We can have a pre-butt-kicking party.”

“I’m up for that,” Stew replied. “How about it, Wiz?”

“Sure. Why not? I mean, there’s nothing else we can do at the moment. Right?”

“To my place it is, then. We’re not bringing my car back here, by the way. We’ll take a taxi.”

Wiz nodded in approval.