A/N - Man howdy! Has it been a long time or what? A year since my last update here, and I feel awful for keeping you all waiting. I'm really sorry, guys! I know I said I was getting back into the swing of things, but you know how it is; sometimes being a grown up stinks. The good news is that there might be a light at the end of the tunnel, work-wise. After a year of 12-hour third shift hours, I may be getting moved to something with a little more sane schedule! I'm going to try my best to keep working on this. To try and make up for the extra-long wait, this chapter is quite a bit longer than what I usually write. I hope you enjoy it! Until next time! :)
"Hey, mom." It was two words. The lump formed in my throat, even though I knew it wasn't really her. How many times I'd hoped for a smile like that when I was foster kid? I'd lost count over the years, and had given up on seeing many early on. "I guess you…" my voice broke before I could even force the words out. She glided across the ground and took my hands in hers, and the smile deepened.
"Look at you, Harry - you're all grown up." She reached out uncertain hands, which I took in my own. They were cool and firm, and somehow familiar all at once. She looked up at me for a moment with shining eyes, and then she looked around in curiosity. "I knew you'd probably come far, but I had no idea you'd be able to do this." A small crease formed between her eyebrows as she turned to look up at the two suns. "Oh no, no, this is no good, Harry."
I tried to keep up as she shifted gears. "Wait, you understand what's going on?"
"Oh yes, this is a form of spirit calling. I don't understand the specifics, but I can feel the source. There's a lot of wild, dark energy flooding the spell… It must be important for you to try something so stupid." She wasn't wrong. "What on Earth possessed you to use this place?"
I'm sure the look on my face was sheepish; all I could come up with was, "Gotta save the world - two of them, actually. Don't you know this already?" Faulty spirit memory would not be good at all. I briefly wondered if the Well was somehow corrupting the spell, but she set me straight.
She shook her head and gave me a sad smile. "The spell you've chosen takes time to build. I won't catch up to where you are for some time, and there isn't enough of it to do that."
"What do you mean?" I asked. Logically, I understood that the sooner this was over with, the better. It was hard to separate emotion, though. I knew it wasn't her, but in a way it kind of was.
She drew up beside me and linked her arm into mine, and then got us walking. I had no idea why – there was nothing here but the plain. "It's because of where you are. I know this place, Harry. Using the power of the Well will… change you. The danger is great, and you should hurry."
She was right about that, and it pulled me back to what I was supposed to be here for. I could feel the folds of my brain vibrating – what else was the Well doing to me? "I need to get to the far edge of the Dreamlands. Lea was willing to bargain, but the price was too high." She scowled at that, but nodded. "I know, right?" I agreed. "I need to learn how to Whisperwalk, or whatever other way I can to fast-travel myself and two others out there."
She paused to consider this for a moment. "Do you know where you're going? The Dreamlands are vast."
I nodded once. "We have a guide. Ulsharavas will be joining us, but I guess she can't or won't do all the work." Mom frowned, but didn't interrupt. "Lea mentioned Wayfaring, too. She also mentioned something about it drawing unwanted notice from the locals."
She stopped walking and turned to face me, though the look of displeasure hadn't quite faded. "I can teach you these things, but Harry, you should not trust The Nocnitsa she-"
"You mean Ulsharavas?" I'd never heard of her referred to by any other name. What was it Lea had called her? There was sound off in the distance. I looked around for the source, but all I could see was the endless expanse of nothingness we stood upon.
"She has many names, and had quite a reputation even before my… passing." The sound was getting louder, and it sounded like a voice. "We are nearly out of time, my son. If we are to teach you what you need, it must be now. Just remember what I've said about Night Maiden. Are you ready?"
"As ever I will be. What do we do?" I hitched my shoulders and did my best to ignore the now very distinctive sound of someone yelling. It was unnerving because I'm pretty sure it was me.
"You need not do anything, except maybe forgive me afterward," she said. She reached up to seize my head between her hands.
"This is going to hurt a lot, isn't it?"
"Oh my, yes it will," she said with only a hint of a smile. I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to ignore the way they throbbed uncomfortably behind my eyelids. "And Harry?" I squinched one eye open. "Don't come back here again. Not like this."
"Yes, mom." Maybe it was my imagination, but I could swear I heard her say something very uncouth. Which I took exception to – I'm plenty couth when I want to be. That was the last thought I really remember with any clarity, because my world exploded. There was no other word for what I felt. It went beyond pain, and I've endured more than my fair share. I don't know what it feels like to be torn apart, but that was as close to it as I ever wanted to get.
Images flashed inside my mind's-eye. A man dressed like a Bedouin spoke in Farsi about something that seemed familiar. A cat skittered across a frozen pond, chasing moonbeams. Heather leaves blew in the wind under a dim forest while a woman out of sight spoke. Mountains belched fire and smoke into a gray sky. Water dripped from stalactites in a deep cavern that was lit by gleaming fungus. And all the while, I could sense a change within me, something fundamental.
It was then that I realized just how much power I was holding. I knew without a doubt that I could shatter a continent. I could find my enemies and crush them like so many bugs, easy as breathing. No sooner had that thought occurred to me that I was transported to another place. Nicodemus sat in a dingy room, poring over a stack of books, and he looked much worse for the wear than the last time I'd seen him.
It would be so easy to tear Anduriel's coin from him and turn the man inside out. I laughed, and reached out with my hand. He sucked in a breath, looking around the room wildly. His eyes closed, and Anduriel's sickly green eyes opened on Nick's forehead. The Fallen looked right at me, and they both smiled wickedly. "Finally," he said, and a chill deeper than anything I had ever felt gripped me.
This was wrong. No one should be able to have this much raw strength at their disposal.
Then, as suddenly as the scene had appeared, it vanished. I felt myself being pulled inexorably back to my body. I could see the pit, but the din of noise made it impossible to hear anything. My throat was raw, and my chest ached. "Bonnie!" I croaked. "Coll.. Collapse.." My insides felt like they were on fire, and I couldn't finish the sentence without emptying my stomach. When I tried to speak again, my guts completely rebelled in spectacular fashion. I managed to mumble something between heaves. Then I passed out.
When I came to, I opened my eyes and groaned. A pained survey of my surroundings showed that I was laid out on the cot in the cabin: Alfred must have brought me up from the Well. I was glad I hadn't needed to climb all those stairs, too. When I sat up, my body let me know just how unhappy it was – muscles twitched; tendons and ligaments tightened, and my belly couldn't decide if it needed filling or emptying again. My tongue felt like it was dryer than the Sahara Desert, and it was a long minute or ten before I worked up the gumption to roll off the bed. That went about as well as you might expect. I landed flat on my face.
The need for water was what finally forced me up with a groan. "Oh, you're awake!" Bonnie chirped from the table. I grunted something unintelligible and shambled over to where I kept my cache of supplies. I fumbled the cap off a gallon jug of water and carefully – if shakily – sipped from it. The sour taste didn't immediately go away, and neither did the wretched cramping of my insides. I brought the jug to the table and dragged out a chair to sit in.
"You look awful, dad. How do you feel?" Bonnie asked, quietly.
"Lousy," I grumbled. The word hardly did justice to describe the state I was in, but I just couldn't be bothered. I took a few more cautious sips, knowing better than to guzzle – no matter how much I wanted to. The queasiness in my belly settled a bit, enough for me to consider opening a package of crackers. Instead, I sat there nursing my head between my fingers.
"Was it worth it? Did it work?" I considered Bonnie's words and thought about Wayfaring and what I needed to do. I was immediately rewarded with a stabbing sensation behind my left eye, but there were memories to go with it. It was a strange sensation because I knew they were my mother's, but they felt no different from my own. The man dressed in Middle Eastern garb was Abu. He taught me – my mother – how to shift her perspective while in the Nevernever. It had taken weeks to grasp the concept, and months to accomplish without his help. Some of the other things I'd caught flashes of were images that needed to be focused upon. Others were places that she had seen in her travels.
It was confusing, and painful. "Yeah, I think I got what I needed. How long was I out?" I squinted out the window and could see daylight, but was worried that my plan had cost us more time than we could afford to lose.
Bonnie's reply was a relief. "It was only a couple of hours. Are we leaving for Remnant tonight?" I wanted to, but there was just no way I was up to it. Hell's Bells, I wasn't even sure I was up to driving the Water Beetle, let alone use magic to open a Way or the fancy new skill I'd just been force-fed. I needed time to recover, no matter how urgent the situation was. I wouldn't be doing Karrin or Yang any favors by rushing ahead in strung out shape.
"I don't think so, kiddo. I'm not really keen to go to war with a short nap on the spiritual equivalent of the rack under my belt." I wasn't into the idea of going to war at all, but you know what they say; wish in one hand… I pushed off the table to stand up. "Besides, there's something else we need to do before we leave. What time is it, around four?" She gave me an eye-firmative, so I stood up and scanned the room; my duffel and staff were by the door. I screwed the cap back on the water jug and put it away, then scooped up Bonnie and took a last look around the cabin. My eyes fell on the workbench and there was a moment of regret that I hadn't had any time to make potions lately. I could think of a few that might come in handy for a foray into the Nevernever.
The trek down to the dock didn't take long, and did a lot to clear my head. By the time my things were stowed and the boat puttered out of the reef, I was feeling better. Okay, maybe it was less better than it was not quite so awful, but it was something. The headache and nausea had faded to the background, and I did my best to ignore it. I was lucky that Lake Michigan was calm today, or the state of my guts might have been worse off.
I arrived at the marina and wasted no time getting tied up, after which I found a payphone to make a couple of quick calls. I got Karrin's voice mail, so I left a message and hung up. I picked up the receiver and plunked in my change again, and then dialed another number. The phone rang three times before a young man's voice answered, "Carpenter residence, Daniel speaking."
"Hey, Danny, it's Harry. How's it goin'?" Daniel was the eldest son of my closest friend, Michael Carpenter. He was a good kid, if a little headstrong. He was also a member of the Chicago Alliance, and he knew his way around a fight. His weapons of choice were knives - I'd seen him train, and once in action. He might a little rash when it came to his daily life from time to time, but his skill was a different matter altogether. It wasn't for nothing that his father had once been a Knight of the Cross, and Charity, his mother, was no slouch either.
"Harry," he replied soberly. "Is there trouble?" Did I mention he was determined? I never liked the idea that anyone associated me with bad news as a first blush reaction, but I had to make allowances. Michael's early retirement had come as a direct result of helping me several years ago.
"No – well, yes, but nothing local. I'm heading out of town soon and wanted to spend some time with Maggie before we go. Is your mom around?" I heard a commotion of children's voices in the background, and Daniel covered the mouth of the receiver to shout something indistinct. When he came back over the line, he sounded more relaxed, if a little exasperated.
"Yeah, she's home, but she's got her hands full with chaos and dinner," he answered. "Come on over." He paused for a moment, and then asked "Do you need me to pack Maggie an overnight bag? When are you leaving?"
We'd had Maggie stay over several times during the summer, and Karrin hadn't ever given it a second thought. Even though she claimed not to be good with kids, they got along quite well. "That's not a bad idea. We'll probably head out before lunchtime tomorrow." I heard Charity calling out to Daniel in the background, followed by his muffled 'Hang on, I'll ask!' "What's that she's asking about?"
Daniel chuckled, and for a moment he sounded just like Michael. "She wants to know if you're staying for dinner, which is in about an hour."
I shook my head. "Not this time. We have an… out of town guest, and I have news for them that shouldn't wait. I'll be along shortly."
"Alright, Harry, see you then," he said. The wild laughter of children got closer. "Uh oh, incoming - gotta go!" and the line went dead. I looked at the receiver with an amused grin, and then hung it up. By the time I got back to the car, there was a little spring in my step, and my head didn't ache as much as it had an hour ago. After everything that had happened for the last couple of days, the drive to the Carpenter house was relaxing. I suppose that might speak to the kind of week I'd been having, but my mood was too good to dwell.
By the time I'd pulled up to the two-story colonial home, other people were getting home from their respective commutes. The neighborhood was lively with the sound of children playing, dogs barking, and car doors occasionally slamming. I had gone through the sidewalk gate and was walking toward the house when a large, white pickup pulled into the driveway with a couple of honks. I waved and changed direction to meet Michael at the corner of the house.
He parked the truck and shut off the engine, and then got out and made his way around to the gate, limping along with the assistance of his cane. He had acquired that by helping me, but you couldn't tell by the big smile and the wave he gave me. He'd nearly died, and while I couldn't quite forgive myself, he had accepted it and moved on with his life. His construction business was doing well, and the limit of his recovery could have been much worse; his 'retirement' was probably going to end up being a lot better than mine.
"Harry!" he said. "It's good to see you! What brings you by?" I opened the side gate for him and clasped the hand he held out. His grip was firm, and I couldn't help but return the grin.
"I've got business out of town soon, and it might be a little while before I get back. I thought I'd take Maggie for the night." We walked slowly toward the front door while I briefly explained the situation, and had made it as far as Murphy's recovery by the time we got there.
"That's wonderful news, Harry," he replied with a smile, and though it never faltered, he looked down at the cane in his hand. I cringed inwardly; it hadn't even crossed my mind that Yang might have been able to do the same for him. For a moment I was tempted to march right into his house and call Murphy. If anyone on this Earth deserved to be restored to full health, it was Michael Carpenter. He'd had a taste of that freedom when Uriel had lent him his Grace last year.
The only problem with that was the cost. "Hey, I know what you're thinking, man. There's an unintended side-effect, though." He looked at me askance. "The monsters from Yang's world can show up here, now, or so Molly says," which caused Michael to frown, but he nodded. "But hey, I'm not convinced that's the whole story. I'm willing to take the chance if you are."
Michael chuckled ruefully and shook his head, and he reached up to grip my shoulder with his free hand. "You may be, my friend, I am not. If the Lord willed it, I would be healed – I am content to leave things as they are." And that was Michael for you. His faith had carried him through everything that life had thrown at him. He wasn't about to abandon that belief now.
I was about to get back to the current goings-on when the front door opened and disgorged the wooly form of Mouse, immediately followed by Maggie and Charity. Mouse barked happily as he barreled into my legs, causing me to stumble backward. He whuffed and rubbed his face all over my hands, and I instinctively started giving him scratches. He responded with more happy noises and a judicious amount of slobbery kisses. "Hi, daddy!" Maggie shouted as she jumped off the top step. I had to kneel down to catch her, and her little arms wrapped around my neck and hugged it tightly. She planted a kiss on my cheek and gave me a toothy grin, all while Mouse yipped and bounced around us. "Are we going to see Murphy and Yang? Missus Carpenter said I was going to spend the night."
"You betcha, Spaghetti-O!" I replied, giving her a kiss on the forehead, which caused her to wrinkle up her nose and giggle. "I thought we'd introduce Yang to the wonders of Star Wars. What do you think, kiddo, you down to watch it again?"
Maggie's eyes grew round with unfeigned surprise. "She's never seen Star Wars?" I shook my head with a quiet 'nope'. "Then I don't mind. Everyone needs to see it!" I agreed wholeheartedly and gave her back a gentle pat. "Is Mouse gonna come, too?"
"Of course he is, Maggie. Mouse never gets tired of Star Wars, isn't that right boy?" He bounced his front paws off the ground a couple of times and barked agreeably. Charity had gone to stand beside Michael, and had curled an arm around his waist. He in turn rested his arm around her shoulder, and they both watched us with happy smiles. "Charity," I said, standing up and hoisting Maggie up into the crook of my arm. "How are you?"
"Well enough. Murphy called to say that she and Yang would have dinner ready soon." She held up Maggie's Hello Kittie backpack, which I took. "Daniel can come by tomorrow morning if you're short on time. Do you know when you might be back?"
I pondered that for a moment; I hadn't given a whole lot of thought to how long it might take to sort things out on Remnant. "It's hard to say for sure. There's a time differential that works in our favor, but a few days, at least – a week at most." A full week would work out to nearly two months. I dearly hoped that things wouldn't take that long, but there was no way of knowing. "If it looks like it will be longer, I'll try to get word to you." She accepted that with a dip of her head. Charity had been no stranger to having Michael absent for extended periods. "We should probably get going, get some food in this little belly right here," I said, gently wiggling a finger at Maggie's tummy, which elicited squirms and giggles and protestations from her.
The Carpenters in turn laughed and made their farewells. Michael held out a hand while Charity went back inside. I hooked the strap of Maggie's book bag with two fingers of my other hand and grasped his. "God go with you, Harry, be safe." And then he ruffled Maggie's hair. "See you soon, Maggie."
She smiled and waved at him. "G'bye Mister Carpenter!" He gave us a final wave and then limped up the steps and followed his wife into the house. I turned and started back to the car. "What's a time diff- differ-," she struggled with the word and gave up. "What's a time diff-thingy, dad?"
I hummed for a moment, trying to think of how best to explain it in terms she would understand. "You know how the sun comes up and goes down every day?" She nodded and made an 'uh-huh' noise. "Well, while our one day goes by, Yang's world gets eight days." She made an o face and frowned, and it was adorable to watch her try to wrap her little brain around that concept.
She settled on the one thing that made sense to her, though. "That's an awful lot of bedtimes for just one day, daddy." Of course it would come down to that.
I chuckled and said, "I suppose so, but how would they know that?" She shrugged her tiny shoulders and I set her down to open the car door. It was then that I was reminded of a shortcoming of later model cars: The seatbelt wasn't really designed for small children. That didn't stop Maggie from clambering into the seat, and Mouse followed her nimbly. It was wide enough that he'd be able to squeeze in between us and rest his paws and muzzle across her legs. I was confident of his ability to keep her safe, but, note to self, see about a proper harness. I buckled the lap belt and she pulled the strap until she could tuck it under her arm. Apparently this wasn't her first rodeo. I tousled her hair and shut the door, and then went around and got in my side of the car.
We had barely pulled away from the curb when Maggie asked, "Do you really hafta' take Yang back home?" I looked over at her, and she turned her face toward me while she stroked Mouse's mane of fur. "She's really nice."
"Yeah," I replied, "she is. I promised to help her get back home to her family and friends." That much was certainly true, but she deserved to hear the rest of it. "There are also some monsters they need help with."
"Are they scary monsters?" she asked.
"I've seen scarier," I shrugged. Also true. In fact, now that I thought back to the encounter at the warehouse, Itsy aside, the people-sized ones had been a piece of cake. "They're called Grimm, and they're pretty easy to beat." I wasn't about to get into the Outsider angle. Maggie knew what I did for a living, but there were some things she was just better off not knowing about. Hell's bells, I was a grown man and I might have been better off not knowing.
"Is Yang's home far away? Can she come visit us?"
I resisted the urge to shake my head. I didn't want to burst her bubble, but I couldn't lie to her either. "It's really, really far away, kiddo. I wouldn't say never, but any time she comes here, lots of time passes for her people." I looked at my daughter, and she was frowning, as if she were thinking very hard. "Think of it this way. We get to share something that nobody from her world has ever seen. I bet you she'll never forget it." I risked another glance from traffic, and the frown remained. "What'cha thinkin' about?"
Maggie chewed on her lip for a moment before answering with another question. "Are you going to use magic to take her home?" Trust a kid to answer a question with another question. She'd been spending too much time with Molly. Or maybe that was just a kid thing. I vaguely recalled being pretty inquisitive at her age.
"Kinda. Why do you ask?"
"If I can learn magic, can we go visit Yang?" The question stunned me. Granted, Maggie had only been in my life a short time, but she had never asked about the particulars of what I did. I drove for a while without answering, wondering how to approach her question – which, I might add, probably wasn't totally about Yang.
"Are you sure you want to learn magic, Maggie? It's not an easy thing, you know." Anything to stall for time. Was I really considering this? My only real experience in teaching someone else had been with Molly, and that had gone rather well, for the most part. It could have turned out much worse, as in both of us being dead. That would be one advantage in teaching Maggie: Molls had started out in her teens, and had been largely self-taught. No one had been there to explain the rules to her, and it had very nearly gotten her executed by the Council. My daughter, on the other hand, could have things clearly spelled (ha-ha) out.
There was another thing that I didn't like to admit, and it had been on my mind ever since I'd come back into her life. Maggie had already been a target once because of who I was and what I did. It had cost her mother's life, and it was bound to happen again, no matter how much I planned for it. Sure, she had Mouse, but he wasn't invincible, and she couldn't be at Michael's twenty four-seven.
Maggie remained silent for a minute or two before she spoke up again. "Is it harder than math?" The look she gave me was dubious.
I barked out a laugh. "Way harder than math, which is something else you need, by the way."
"So I have to do well in school, too?" The look of doubt changed to one of consternation when I nodded.
"You can't do magic without math most of the time, kiddo." That wasn't always necessarily true, but magic was about order as much as it was about will and intent. "Careful measurements are important. Too much fluid for a potion base might singe off your eyebrows, if you're lucky."
Her face lit up with shock, and one of her hands slapped against her forehead to make sure hers were still there. "Really?" she squeaked. "Has that happened to you before?"
"Yup. And that's just one example; I've had other accidents, too." Most of those hadn't been due to faulty calculations on my part, but the lesson was still valid. Then I remembered something Ebenezar had told me once after said de-eyebrowing incident. "You have to be careful with magic, kiddo, because magic will never be careful with you." She nodded, wide-eyed, and hugged her little arms around Mouse's neck just a little tighter.
I let that thought sink it with her for a few miles before I asked the most important question. "Why else do you want to learn?" I held up a finger when she started to answer. "I want you to think about that for a while. Magic isn't just a way to get you things that you want." That was a truth I'd been fortunate to learn early on. Warlocks came about when people gave in to selfish desires. Sometimes it was an honest mistake with the right motivations, but it was very easy to slip down the wrong path. If we really were going to do this, I wanted to be sure Maggie had good reasons.
Maggie had gone back to frowning.
"I haven't said no, but this is really important, spaghetti-o. Why you do something is just as important as what you do, understand?"
She nodded and settled back into the seat to stare out the window. Her thinking cap was on, and she absently fidgeted with Mouse's collar. Mouse craned his neck around and gave me a big doggy grin. I shrugged and winked at him.
The rest of the drive back to Karrin's was mercifully quiet without being awkward. Our time together was often brief, and we hadn't ever had a serious discussion like this before. She was a good child, and her asking for something was rare. Up to this point our time had been filled with silly stories, play time at the park, and games of pretend.
I looked at her as she pondered the heavy question of why and couldn't help but feel a little sad. She had every appearance of taking this as seriously as any adult would. No parent can ever be prepared for the first signs of growing up, I guess. I'd just have to do my best to help her keep a little of the occasional Dresden immaturity. Very occasional, anyway. Oh, shut up.
When we pulled into the driveway, Maggie's thoughtful semblance vanished and she cheered with glee as she tugged on her seatbelt. "Alright, hang on, you," I grumbled, though I couldn't hide the grin as I undid the buckle. She and Karrin didn't get to see each other very often, but they got along fabulously. Murphy didn't think she was good with kids, but she could have fooled me.
Maggie wriggled free and tried to push open the car door. In the end, Mouse helped her out with a casual nudge of a massive paw, and then they were off. I took my time gathering my things; there was a ritual to these visits that was too cute to interrupt.
My daughter skipped up to the porch while Mouse trotted alongside, and they climbed the steps. Once they were in front of the door, Maggie reached up on her tiptoes and rang the bell. Mouse, for his part, sat and let his tongue loll out between his jaws.
The door opened and Karrin stuck her head out. She looked around, pretending not to see her pint-sized visitor or her pony-sized companion. "Oh, what's the world coming to when people ring my doorbell and run off?" Murphy decried in her best little old lady voice.
Maggie giggled and waved her arms, "I'm down here, Miss Murphy! Can we come in and play?"
"Oh!" Murphy exclaimed, hands flying to her cheeks in mock surprise. "It's a munchkin and a horse of a different color! Do you represent the Lollipop Guild?" Maggie laughed and shook her head. "Well, I guess you can come in, then," she said. She took a step back and pushed the door open. Maggie stepped inside, and Mouse followed behind her. He paused to snuffle at Karrin's outstretched hand, and she rewarded him collar scritchies that made him shiver and make happy noises.
I walked up to the door with my duffel slung over my shoulder and staff in hand. Karrin took one look at me and shook her head. "You look like crap, Harry."
"Gee, thanks. I suppose it could be worse, though." She gave me a questioning look. "I could be cripplingly short, too."
Karrin laughed and slapped playfully at my elbow, and then she took a fistful of my duster and hauled on it gently. "Get down here, Jolly Green Giant." I let her drag me down and planted a kiss on her lips. When we came up for air, she gave me a concerned look. "Your eyes are more bloodshot than white, Harry. Are you okay?" Her tone was muted.
"It's nothing a good night's sleep won't fix." I straightened, but she didn't let go; her eyebrows were knitted together. "No, really - I might be a little rough around the edges, but I've had it way worse." She gave me the sideways look of disbelief. "Would it make you feel better if I let you carry me inside?" She snorted and put her arm around my side, and we went inside.
I could hear Maggie and Yang chattering happily in the kitchen as I put my staff in the popcorn tin and unzipped my duffel to retrieve Bonnie. Karrin took my duster and hung it on a hook. Bonnie's eyelights twinkled in their sockets, and I took her to the bookshelf and set her down.
"Karrin, did you say anything about tonight's entertainment to Yang?"
Karrin shook her head. "Only that you have a surprise for her." She gave me a pat on the arm and shooed me toward the hallway. "Dinner's just about done. You smell like sweaty roots and dirt – why don't you go clean up?" She gave me a wink when I wrinkled my nose in agreement, and went back to the kitchen.
I made a beeline for the bathroom with a fresh set of clothes from my bag. I didn't bother with the light; I just stripped, ran cold water and got scrubbed. The icy pinpricks did as much to invigorate me as the soap, and soon enough I was briskly toweling myself dry.
Once I had dressed and deposited my not-so shockingly filthy garments into the hamper, I paused long enough to hop on one foot, then the other as I slipped on a pair of socks. After that, my mostly-settled stomach was thoroughly complaining about being empty, and I went to the kitchen to join everyone else.
Karrin was at the stove, tending to three different pots, the contents of which weren't hard to guess; since she'd known that Maggie was coming, it was likely her favorite, or the closest approximation that Murphy could manage: Spaghetti. I glanced over at the windows that they'd blown out with their light show the night before last. They were covered with heavy-duty plastic, and I made a mental note to call Michael in the morning to see if he could spare a couple of guys to come fix them up while we were gone.
The other two girls were sitting side by side at the table, looking at pictures on Yang's scroll. Maggie was cooing over a dark-haired girl, presumably Blake. "Her eyes are so pretty. Is the color how come she can see in the dark?"
Yang shook her head and laughed. "I don't think so, Mags. It's because she's a Faunus – most of them can see really well at night." She looked up at me. "Hey, Harry. How'd your thing go?" She slid the scroll over so Maggie could continue to look at pictures.
I smiled. "I got us what we need; it wasn't what our guide asked for, but I'm hoping it will be good enough."
Yang's eyes lit up and a wide grin split her face. "That's great news, Harry!" Karrin brought over a large bowl of noodles and the sauce to go with it. "I can't thank you enough, both of you. I just hope it hasn't been too much trouble."
"What fun is life without a little excitement now and then, Sparky?" I replied. "Trouble we can deal with, but you know what they say – a friend in need is a friend indeed." Karrin set the rest of the food down, which included a basket of garlic bread and a plate of Mondo-sized meatballs. She took two and put them in a bowl of dry dog food that Mouse sat next to patiently. She gave him a pat and came to join us by sitting on my left. I reached over hand gave her hand a squeeze. "What you've done for Karrin alone, it's worth any amount of fuss. Right, Murph?"
She laced her fingers between mine and reached her hand out to Yang. "I'm grateful to you, Yang. Harry's life throws us a few curve balls, but this has been one of the better ones."
Yang took her hand in a light grip. "Even if it means an exploding building or two?"
"Hey now," I protested, "This time it was all legal-like, permits and everything. I don't think that one should count." Yang threw back her head barked a laugh. I looked at Maggie, who was trying her best to appreciate the joke, even though she didn't understand it. "You wanna say grace, short stuff?"
"Okay!" She hopped down from her seat and dragged it around the corner of the table, and then and reached out both of her hands to Yang and I. Once the circle was complete, she bowed her head. "God is great, thanks for the friends we meet, and thank you for the food on our plate, now good grief let's eat!"
"Amen to that!" I said, and started us off by helping Maggie with her plate. Dinner was filled with idle chit-chat as plates and bowls and basket were passed around. Yang had been feeling a little homesick, and so Karrin had taken them sightseeing to help get her mind off things. I hadn't been to the Navy Pier in a long time, but she had enjoyed it as much as I had. I'm sure the knowledge that she was almost home scattered the clouds that had been brewing over her head, and so her mood was cheerful.
"There's so much to Earth," she said between bites. "Murphy was telling me that there's something like ten billion people on this planet, which blows my mind."
"Oh? How's that?"
"Well, it's hard to say for sure with all the villages and towns out in the wilderness, but the total population between all the Kingdoms and Menagerie is somewhere around twenty-six million. I can't even picture how many people that would be – never mind all of your people." She swirled a piece of bread around in some sauce and popped it in her mouth. She chewed thoughtfully for a moment. "I guess since you don't have The Grimm to worry about…" she paused and glanced at Maggie. "It makes things like starting families easier."
"That's true, I suppose, but more people mean more problems, though most of them aren't really all that different from yours." I pushed my plate away and leaned back. "We might not have Grimm, but there are plenty of monsters out there."
"And bad guys, too," Maggie chimed in.
"Then it's a good thing we have our very own super powers, right?"
"You have superpowers?" Maggie squeaked. "You mean magic and stuff, like dad?"
Yang waved her hand dismissively. "Nothing fancy like that. My dad taught me how to fight and use my Aura. Mostly I'm pretty good at taking a beating and making something of it."
"Gee, that doesn't sound like anybody we know," Karrin said as she gave me a wry look. I responded by blowing a big ol' raspberry in her general direction, which Maggie giggled at. Yang in turn laughed with her.
We finished dinner not long after, and I could tell that Maggie was getting antsy. "What's up, Mags?"
She closed her eyes and shook her head with a coy little smile. "Uh-uh-uh," she said in a singsong little voice that just oozed Hope Carpenter. "I can't tell ya – it's a surprise!"
Yang looked over at Karrin and I in confusion. "The good news about going home wasn't the surprise?"
"I thought we'd share a very important piece of our cultural heritage with you before we got you back to Remnant." When she didn't say anything, I elaborated. "It's movie night at Casa de Murphy."
"Ooh, are there gonna be monsters?"
I chuckled and shook my head. "You'll see. Come on; let's wash the dishes while they get set up." Yang bounced up and started helping me gather up the plates and silverware. Karrin finished putting the leftovers into sealed plastic containers, and when she put them in the dented refrigerator, I could see a couple more with meats, cheeses, and vegetable sticks. Travel food. I was sure glad someone was thinking ahead. I would have – in fact, had often – just stopped for Twinkies, beef jerky, and coke whenever I had to go out of town.
Yang and I made short work of our chore and went into the living room. Karrin had set up the projector screen we'd managed to find in an antique store. I scooped Bonnie from her shelf. "Movie night?" she asked.
"Yeah, you up to a showing of Star Wars?" I murmured.
"Oh sure, good choice for the newbie, dad! Original or extra crispy?" After Bob had done his show and tell on Demonreach a while back, I had learned that not only could he (and Bonnie) do that, they could also replay entire libraries' worth of movies – so long as they'd seen them at some point – complete with sound. She'd since spent a fair amount of time in front of a television or laptop to stock up on some favorites. Not that I had a lot of time for watching many, but up to that point, if I did have an opportunity, my only option had been the drive through.
I grinned and set her up on the shelf facing the opposite wall. "Let's stick with the classic. Han shot first – everybody knows that." Yang sat on the couch with one leg tucked under the other, but she watched what I was doing with great interest. Bonnie had thrown up an old Indian Head screen test, and I turned the little skull until she was more or less lined up.
"So, is this movie historical, or is it all made up?" she asked. Karrin and Maggie returned from the back of the house; Maggie wearing her pajamas and Karrin lugging an old camp cot and some bedding, which she leaned in a corner.
"Well, they say it happened a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away," I teased. Her eyes grew round, and I bit my tongue. Maggie clambered up into her lap and cuddled against her, and Yang circled her arms around my little girl like it was the most natural thing in the world. Karrin and I sat down. "Alright, Bonnie, hit it."
When the brass started playing, Yang jumped a little, but she leaned forward and started reading. "Space ships? Oh this oughta' be good. Why is it episode four, though?"
I shook my head, and Karrin snickered. "Four, five and six were the first ones they made. We don't really talk about the first three episodes." Mouse wandered in and flopped down in front of the couch, and Mister had been let in at some point; he hopped up onto the back of the couch and promptly ignored everyone in favor of bath time. "They're worth watching once or twice, but these three are the better ones. If you ever get time to see them, you'll understand." Yang seemed satisfied with that answer, and we all settled in.
Now, I don't know if you've ever had the pleasure of introducing someone to George Lucas' brainchild for the first time, but if you have, you'll know what I'm talking about. Karrin and I both spent more time watching Yang's reactions than the actual movie itself. If she noticed us watching, she was too busy enjoying it right along with Maggie.
Yang thought the droids were cute, even if C3PO reminded her of an old curmudgeon. "How long do you suppose they've been married?" It gave us both a good chuckle as a brief disagreement about the likelihood of robot marriage broke out between the two youngsters beside us, but it was all in good fun.
Darth Vader made a definite impression, and she wondered aloud what his 'semblance' was. Poor Luke, he gets mocked by all the newcomers, and Yang was merciless. To be fair, I guess he is a little whiny early on, but I wasn't about to feed into it.
When we got to one of my favorite parts of the movie, Yang was laughed. "'That wizard's just a crazy old man'? Did you trick me into watching a movie about you, Harry?" Karrin snorted and poked me in the ribs, which made me squirm a little.
"I'm not nearly as cool as Obi Wan Kenobi."
"OH, so they are the same guy!" she crowed.
"Daaad, you're not supposed to tell her," Maggie chided me.
"Drat! She tricked me! My plan is foiled!" I resolved to say no more, which lasted all of five minutes, and we spent the time leading up to meeting Old Ben heckling the sand people. Karrin thought it was very Mystery Science Three-thousand, and I agreed with her. That all kind of died down when they got back to Obi Wan's house, and after that, Yang was hooked.
I'd be lying if I said I made it through the whole film, but I'd had a long day. I dozed off somewhere around the time they went looking for a ride out of Mos Eisley. I guess you know you're getting older when sleep overrides good science fiction, but nobody saw fit to wake me up. It was a testament to just how ragged I was that I didn't hear Alderaan get blown up at all. In fact, the rest of the movie passed me by, and Murphy shook my shoulder so we could go to bed.
Yang, on the other hand, was wide awake. "Man, that was really good, Harry."
"Toldja so, Sparky: I'm glad you enjoyed it."
Maggie was also quite awake. "Dad, can we watch the rest?" She put on the puppy dog eyes and laid it on thick.
I squinted at the clock, which read a little after nine thirty and made a show of debating. "I dunno, kiddo, it's kinda late…"
She and Yang looked at one another and both dialed the cute up to eleven. "Pleeease?" they both said.
"Oh Harry, you knew this was going to happen," Murphy said as she finished setting up the cot.
"I am beset on all sides by tiny, adorable women. How can I say no to that?" The girls cheered. Murphy tagged me in the face with a well-aimed pillow. I snickered and tossed it back. "Score one for the lady. Don't let them stay up too late, Bonnie – no prequels tonight."
"You got it, dad! Now go to bed." She got no argument from me, and Karrin and I both trundled off to the bedroom.