Confessions of the Magpie Wizard Book 3: Dissolution (Chapters 19 & 20) (Patreon)

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Chapter 19

Being a Holy Brother felt like I had two girlfriends to check in with. Kiyo wasn’t happy that I was somewhere other than with her, but I was able to get her to see sense. Eventually. I had to promise to call her the very moment I was done. Ms. Edwards was similarly supportive. There hadn’t been any change in Haru’s status, and since she didn’t have any missions for me, I was a free man.

The Nagoya Tower had been built with an eye for future expansion, if you believed the staff. If you took a more cynical viewpoint, an awful lot of metal, plastic and circuity had gone into making a school that was somewhere between half and two-thirds empty. Magical talent only existed in a fraction of a percentage of the human population, so they could have gotten by with a much less ostentatious school.

Was Headmaster Tachibana an egomaniac who threw his political weight around to get special treatment for his school, or was he a visionary who thought big and wanted the Nagoya Academy to be ready for future generations? I knew the man and I can’t quite say. I’ll leave that to the historians. As a patriot of the Grim Horde, I didn’t mind seeing the Anti-Demonic League waste resources. The money lavished on the tower meant there had been fewer fighter planes and drones I’d faced in England.

One of the Tower’s luxuries was a multi-story section dedicated to a combination shopping center and food court. We students dined there as much as we could, since the alternative was the regular cafeteria’s slop. You could also pick up clothing, video games and other trivialities. I hadn’t availed myself of it much, since my stipend from the League was enough to dine out a few times a week, and frankly, my needs were mostly met by the school’s default amenities. I reminded myself that I ought to put more care in my wardrobe, since I was the only one of us wearing his uniform. The others were dressed neatly, but more casually. They didn’t comment on it, but I still felt like the odd man out.

Hiro, Paul and I ventured into a section of the mall I had never visited before. The signs were plainer than in the shopping areas I had seen in my brief trip to Iceland and while visiting Tokyo with Kiyo. Shops in the outside world had distinctive names, after the owners or a trademarkable descriptor of their wares.

In the tower, though? Everything was frightfully generic. “Burgers,” “Ice Cream,” “Uniforms,” “Games & Collectables,” and so on. I suppose when you have the only game in town, you don’t have to advertise.

At the end of the row was the creatively named “Bowling.” I was so used to everything being half-deserted that the line of students blocking our way to the front counter shocked me.

“It seems you picked a popular destination,” I said.

“No worries,” replied Hiro. “We have a reservation.”

It wasn’t much longer before the other students had cycled through, including a disappointed Leo Hernandez. He had been turned away right ahead of us and he went towards the door with a sullen expression.

Hiro, ever the people pleaser, jumped up and waved him down. “Hey Leo, you want in? We’ve got room for a fourth.”

The mustached young man’s face went from sullen to surprised. “Sure, bro. What’s my share?” He went for his wallet, but Hiro firmly shook his head.

“Put that away. This is my treat.”

Leo eyed him suspiciously for a moment, but nodded. “Thanks, man,” he said, adding on a brief, but polite, bow.

“Evening, Hernandez.” I put out a hand, which he took.

His eyes narrowed just a hair. “Evening, Marlowe.” Most of my interactions with Leo had involved sparring sessions during combat training. I might have done a little trash talking once or twice, and he had never quite managed to beat me in all the months we’d clashed. I saw it all as educational for the poor boy, though he didn’t quite agree. Still, he didn’t need to grip quite so tightly, though I think I gave a good showing.

Paul cleared his throat. “Don’t think I’ve had the pleasure. Paul Wilson.”

He turned and let go of my hand. He had to look up to meet Paul’s eyes. We all did, but Leo was the shortest man there. “Leo Hernandez.” He and Paul shook, and I noticed he didn’t attack my companion quite as aggressively. I supposed I’d have to lighten up a little on training day.

The introductions were interrupted as we came up to the counter. While Hiro confirmed the reservation, I peered into the alley itself. I’d seen vague references to the sport in human books I’d read, but it hadn’t caught on back in Pandemonium. It was frightfully loud, but it looked simple enough. Roll a ball at a set of pins, let the machines reset them and repeat. It seemed like the type of banal activity that required alcohol and good friends to make it interesting. I’d have to see if one of the two would suffice.

Once we had rented some uncomfortable shoes and selected our bowling balls, we sat around a small computer console. At least, most of us did. It took Leo a small eternity to test every last ball on the rack behind us.

“Come on, Leo,” I called at him. “We don’t have all night!”

“You don’t just go with the first ball, Magpie” he said. “You’ve got to make sure it’s got the right weight and balance.”

Paul checked his watch. “Mags has a point. We’ve only got this lane for an hour. Hurry up!”

Leo let out an annoyed grunt and settled on a bright pink ball. “Fine, fine.”

“You seem to know your way around here,” said Hiro.

“We’re here every Friday night,” replied Leo. “Don’t think I’m going easy on you just because you’re newbs.”

Hiro gave the newcomer a challenging grin. “Wouldn’t want you to. Paul, you’re up first.”

“Alright, but I’m a little rusty,” said Paul.

I turned from Paul’s go at the pins to snipe a little at Leo. If he was going to say Magpie in that tone, it was time to rib him back. “You’re out here every week? Seems to me an experienced bowler would know to get a reservation.”

His eyes narrowed again. “My buds cancelled last second and they wouldn’t let me take up a lane by myself.”

“Oh? What came up?” asked Hiro. “We’re glad to have you here, but that’s lame that they did that.” He met my gaze on the last part, and I took the meaning. I could settle my quarrel with Leo another time.

“It’s a stupid memorial thing,” he said. “Fifteenth anniversary of the fall of Washington DC. The President of the American Remnant is giving a speech and they wanted to watch it live.”

Paul had finished his frame and perked up at that. “Wait, that’s tonight?”

“I guess?” Leo shrugged. “I don’t get what the big deal is. It’s not like he’s going to say something so great that the Horde feels bad and gives it all back.”

“Where are you from?” asked Paul, his voice a little testy.

“Saga,” he replied.

“Not where do you live, I mean originally. Where are your parents from?”

“Michigan,” he replied. “Why?”

“So, you’re American too?” Paul shook his head disdainfully. “Man, you need to show some pride in where you’re from! Feel that anger at what got taken from us! You can’t just accept things, or they won’t ever change!”

“I train and study all week to take it back,” he replied. “Sometimes I just want a night off to myself to relax a little and throw a few balls around.”

Before Paul could deliver a rejoinder, Hiro coughed. “Let’s agree to disagree. Leo’s right, we’re here to have fun. Is that okay, Paul?”

I thought Paul wanted to continue, but he shrugged. “Yeah, I am being a little intense for guy’s night. Hiro, you’re up next.”

A relieved looking Takehara grabbed his ball as Paul took a seat across from Leo and I. “Tell me about yourself, Leo.”

“Not much to tell,” he replied with a shrug. “I’m in remedial classes, and I bowl on weekends.”

“You must keep your nose clean,” said Paul. “I haven’t heard about you much, besides you having a sister in class 2-A.”

“Cousin, actually,” said Leo. “Yeah, Gabriella. Let’s keep her off limits. I get enough of my parents asking why I’m not in a top class like her. Sick of hearing about her.”

“You’ll have to excuse Paul,” I said. “By the time things get to him, the information has probably passed through a dozen hands.”

“I’m only as good as my sources,” said Paul, a little defensively. “It’s why it’s nice to get it from the horse’s mouth sometimes.”

“Paul, I have heard of you,” said Leo. “Good things, though. You’re the one who landed Mariko Yamada.”

“With a little outside assistance,” I said, feeling a little left out of the conversation.

Paul leaned back and chuckled. “Landed is a strong term.” He put a finger to his mouth when Hiro returned.

“Magpie, you’re up. Have you ever done this before?”

“Can’t say that I have,” I replied as I took my ball from a small platform.

“You’ll do fine,” he said. “Keep track of your thumb. The ball where go wherever you point it.”

I nodded, though I had some doubts. I couldn’t copy a spell from the Headmaster to cheat, like I had when I thrashed Hiro in the batting cages. Still, this wasn’t really a competition, I told myself. We were just out to blow off some steam. A computerized screen revealed that Paul had taken six pins to Hiro’s nine. Takehara always had to set a high bar, didn’t he?

My first throw went into the gutter. I followed Hiro’s advice and picked up five on the second. Not great, but it wasn’t a crushing defeat either. Though, Leo followed me up and got a strike straight away.

I came back to find that the conversation had turned to sports. Each had their favorite. Hiro with his baseball, Paul with American football and Leo with the rest of the world’s football. Paul kept calling it soccer for some reason, which annoyed Leo to no end for reasons I didn’t understand. I ended up tilting the conversation in Hiro’s favor, since he had taught me enough to have an opinion on baseball.

As soon as Hiro was out of earshot, though, Paul got a wicked grin on his face. “Like I was saying, though, landing is a strong term. She’s a good girl, y’know? Doesn’t keep us from having fun.”

“I saw the evidence before,” I replied. “That was a fetching choker she’s been wearing.”

“Huh?”

“You don’t need to be so bashful,” I said. “That must have been quite the hickey.”

“Of course you’d think that,” he replied.

“Sign of a dirty mind,” said Leo. This time, though, it seemed more like friendly ribbing than a challenge.

“No doubt,” said Paul. “Think, man. If I gave her a hickey, she could just heal it away.”

The topic was dropped once Hiro was back among us and we switched over to baseball again. It resumed on his third frame.

“Then what was the choker for?” I asked. She had seemed awfully embarrassed about something.

“Just a little gift,” he said. “Something to remind her of me during the day, since we aren’t in the same class.”

“I don’t get how that works out,” said Leo. “You’re kinda militant, and she’s a demonkin. What do you talk about?”

“That isn’t the first time you’ve called her that,” I said. “I assure you, it isn’t true. Let’s not spread any rumors, shall we?” It’s not that I cared overmuch about what the rumor mill said about her, but the word demonkin had a special danger to me. I wanted as few people being suspicious of their fellow students as possible.

Paul nodded my way. “Magpie’s right. She’s kinda hung up on not killing devils, but that’s just her being silly.”

Hiro returned, and another frame came and went. Leo was far in the lead, having earned a strike on every go around, while only Paul had managed a spare so far. If it hadn’t been for Leo, I wouldn’t have learned about the odd scoring system of the game. I brought up the rear, but I wasn’t too far behind Hiro. I called that a win for not having played the game before.

Besides, the gossip-hound in me found the time between my turns more interesting. I was due a real report of how things were going, seeing as I’d set Paul and Mariko up.

“Silly, eh?” I asked.

“Sure,” said Paul. “You don’t have to agree with your girl on everything, and you don’t share everything going on in your head. That’s a good way to spoil things. You gotta have your secrets.”

“Believe me, I can sympathize with that,” I replied. “How are things going? She seems pleased.”

“Just she’s kind of a normal, dull girl. Nothing too exciting, but pleasant. We talk about knitting, and we’ve been watching some TV shows together. Just wish she’d be a little more…” He trailed off, trying to think of a proper euphemism. “Adventurous?”

“She isn’t putting out,” said Leo, not suffering from undue delicacy.

“Yup, you got it,” said Paul.

I raised an eyebrow. I noticed they didn’t seem overly concerned about the school’s rules on fraternization. It shows that rules only apply if you’re caught. “You certainly were implying something different when we met in the woods.”

“Sure, because it’s fun teasing her. And it’s not like I haven’t gotten anywhere at all.” He shot us both a knowing grin. “Man, she has the softest…” He straightened up and his expression became unreadable. “Pastries. She made me an apple tart the other day.”

As I expected, Hiro had showed back up again. “Hey, I got my first strike of the night!”

We exchanged high fives. I felt a little bad for leaving Hiro out of the real conversation, but I didn’t think he’d care to join in.

Leo gave me a nudge once it was Hiro’s turn again. “You played a good wingman for Paul. How about setting me up with your friend Rose? She’s fine as heck.”

I smirked at that. There are some phrases that sound so childish when substitute curses are used. “She’s off limits, I’m afraid.”

He cocked his head at me. “What, are you dating her too?”

“Nah, it’s her powers,” said Paul. “She’s all out of control. I heard she set a fire the other day with a Merlin’s Lantern.”

Leo snorted at that. “You need better sources, man. That’s crazy.”

I chuckled at him. “No, that’s exactly what happened. I’m surprised you didn’t hear about it. She tends to get a bit blustery when she’s hot and bothered.”

“Oh,” said Leo, looking a little shaken. “Yeah, I’m going to steer clear of that.”

Paul clapped Leo on the shoulder. “Maybe you could go with Mariko once I’m done with her. She listens to Mags, so he can get you the hookup.”

That brought me up short. “Once you’re done?”

He gave me a quizzical look. “Why do you sound surprised?”

Why was I surprised? I had specifically set them up to give her a rebound after Hiro had rebuffed her. I had assumed it would be a brief fling, but somehow, hearing somebody talk about my friend like that felt off.

I put aside my reservations. I was being ridiculous. What I had with Kiyo was the outlier, not the norm. “I suppose you just seemed more serious than that.”

He shrugged. “She’s nice and all, but it’s not like anyone’s here to find a wife. We’re all just playing around before we get thrown into the meat grinder.”

An honorable man would have vowed to tell his friend and confidante about this discovery. I knew exactly how much of a romantic she was, and that she’d have been devastated that Paul was discussing the softness of her “pastries” in mixed company, much less already planning to move on.

The practical devil in me figured that fun was fun, and she had to learn sometime. “Yes, of course. I suppose that’s all any of us can do with the lives we lead.”

We went on playing, though the conversation switched more to movies, video games and sports. I ended up taking last place. For some reason, I found my focus had broken, and I kept rolling gutter balls. I blamed my trying week. I had a lot on my mind.

Chapter 20

Nagoya, Japan

Saturday, July 23rd, 2050

“Good morning to you both,” said Headmaster Tachibana with a bow. He was entirely too cheerful for the early morning.

“Always a pleasure, sir,” I said, stifling a yawn. There were appearances to keep up, after all.

“I was a little surprised that you were willing to volunteer,” he said with a raised eyebrow. “Some people might have backed out after that unpleasantness.”

“I did promise, after all.” I had considered welching, but I needed to make sure I stayed in his good graces. “A man’s word is his bond.”

“If Magpie’s helping, then I’m part of the package.” Kiyo didn’t hold back her yawn, which made me finally join in as well.

I didn’t think he cared for her declaration, but he let it slide. Wanting to change the topic, I scanned the small workshop. “I must say, I’d expected something a bit more lavish.”

To my mind, it barely qualified as a shack. We could all stand comfortably in the squat, concrete structure at the forest’s edge, but I was lucky I had only brought one extra volunteer. The circular space was ringed with a continuous workbench that surrounded us on all sides, and there were three narrow tables at the center of the room. Every available surface was covered in textbooks, notebooks of hastily scrawled magical runes and fabricata whose function I couldn’t even guess. It stood in stark contrast with his spartan, orderly office.

“This suits my needs perfectly,” he said. “I work with some dangerous fabricata, so I wouldn’t want to risk the Tower itself.”

“Of course, sir.” How noble of him. More likely, he simply wanted a place to get away from his responsibilities. Why couldn’t he have said that? “What would you like us to do?”

“Let me get the prototype first.” He settled back into his rolling chair and pulled himself along the circular workbench, coming to a stop on the other side of the room.

“How’s the new leg treating you? Did they get the fit adjusted?”

“I’m surprised you remembered that,” he said. “Yes, thank you.”

“Soren’s always very thoughtful,” said Kiyo. She cast a longing look at my hand, and I knew she would be holding it if it weren’t for the mixed company.

He picked through a few magical wands that were laid out on the bench before selecting one nearly as long as my arm. It looked to be carved from some sort of animal bone, which wasn’t surprising. Fabricata seem to work best when they’re made of a naturally occurring material. Wood is functional, but particular types of ivory are the absolute best, much to the consternation of what animal rights groups still existed.

“Say hello to the Peace Bond Mark II,” he said, handing me the artifact. He stood, without assistance for once. It must have truly been a better prosthetic.

“I can’t imagine that monster would be easy to hide on your body,” I replied as I studied the wand.

“Of course. If it works, we’ll have to miniaturize it.” He gestured to a device that reminded me of a sewing machine. “Plastic and metal fabricata are less efficient, but that 3D printer should be able to produce enough in time for the War Games. Once we have the design down, at least.”

“I’m surprised you already have a prototype. I thought you were waiting on our input.” The runes were carved too finely to see easily, but I could make out the gist of it. It very much resembled the old spell.

“Oh, I am, I am,” he replied. “This is our starting point. I left room to carve more stanzas into the wand to amend the spell. Which brings us to why I wanted both of your help. Could you tell me exactly what happened right as Ms. Jones became paralyzed?”

“I mean, there isn’t much to tell,” she said. “We were in those uniforms that read the hits we took against the Peace Bond forcefield and would tighten up, so it’d be like we were really hurt. They worked. I got hit in the back hard enough that it decided I was paralyzed, but not enough to get through the shield.”

“Reviewing the footage, it looked like you had already taken a few simulated injuries, yes?”

She nodded. “Yeah, they almost got me with a long-range spell and it knocked out one of my arms. I couldn’t cast anymore after that, but I could pull the trigger on Lucile.”

“What’s strange is that the Peace Bond didn’t drop the force field when the suit thought your back was broken.” He eyed the wand. “If the suit registered a complete shutdown, it should have declared you ‘dead’ and dropped the shield altogether. We’ll have to test a few different scenarios to recreate the glitch.”

I thought back on the battle. Once a combatant was officially off the field, it seemed that you could do anything to them you pleased. “Might I ask why?”

“Hm?” Tachibana looked at me quizzically.

“Why are the protective barriers dropped once a student is disabled?”

“It’s an energy saving measure,” he said. “We power the Peace Bond with a special transmitting fabricata that a teacher charges periodically. We can have more than sixty students active at the same time, so we ensure there’s enough magical energy to go around.”

It’s funny. I had been over that War Game a hundred times in my head and I’d watched the playback, but until that moment, something hadn’t clicked. “Permission to speak freely?” I asked.

He gave me a hesitant nod.

“You’re solving the wrong blasted problem!” I forced myself to dial back my outrage. Permission to speak freely didn’t mean I could afford to antagonize him. “Why wouldn’t an immobile student still need protection?”

“I…” Tachibana’s voice trailed off. “Well, because they’re noncombatants at that point. Nobody is going to target them.”

By the Dark Lord, how could someone be so trusting? “Sir, I know it’s been decades since you’ve been on a battlefield, but when you’re in the thick of it, you don’t always feel like stopping. Besides, what if somebody misses? When Rose went down, Yukiko and I were still shooting spells at each other.”

“Wait,” said Kiyo, growing horror in her voice. “The force field was supposed to drop? Thank God it didn’t! That’s what that kept me alive when the hillside collapsed!”

Tachibana’s own eyes had widened. “Oh, my goodness.” He collapsed back into his rolling chair. “We ran dozens of war games with the Peace Bond Mark I.” He removed his bowler hat and fanned himself as sweat ran down his balding head. I almost thought he was having a heart attack. “If anybody had missed with a Fireball… oh, my goodness.”

I wished I could have enjoyed my enemy’s misery. All that the devil in me could think was that, once again, I was helping the Wizard Corps to better itself. Hellfire and damnation! If I’d kept quiet, he would have persisted with rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic, while a fatal accident was only a matter of time.

He chuckled humorlessly. “It is amazing what makes sense on the drawing board.” His voice was barely above a whisper. “It was certainly energy efficient.” He gingerly turned over the wand in his hands a few times, as though it were a grenade with a pulled pin, before setting it aside on one of the tables. “I need to rethink my approach entirely. That will be everything for this morning.”

“Of course, sir. A good morning to you.” I turned away, only to have his chubby hand grab my sleeve.

“Mr. Marlowe,” he began, but stopped. He pursed his lips thoughtfully. “Mr. Marlowe, I can’t overemphasize how much you’ve helped the school today. Helped me today, really.”

“Please, think nothing of it,” I said. I didn’t need more reminders of how I’d strayed.

“You’ve saved at least one of my students’ lives,” he said, insistently. “If my mistake didn’t catch up with us this War Game, it would have eventually. It would have damaged the school’s reputation permanently.”

Yes, I’d already worked that part out myself. “Anybody would have done the same.”

He shook his head. “You would think so, but nobody else did. The entire staff looked signed off on the spell. I think… I think they just assumed that of course Headmaster Tachibana had thought through everything.” He released me, his face completely pale. “I owe you a debt that I cannot repay easily, but I will try. Please, let me know if there is anything you need.”

“Can we date again?” asked Kiyo, her voice full of hope.

“There’s nothing keeping you from dating,” he replied in an icy tone. “I’m sure you aren’t asking me to make an exception to the school’s fraternization rules. That would be extremely improper.”

Kiyo’s face turned red. “I kinda…” I gave her a nudge, and she got the hint, thankfully. “I mean, yes, that would be improper. Forget I said anything.”

“Naturally. Are you both available the same time next week? I’ll have the Peace Bond Mark III ready to test by then.”

I didn’t see an artful way out of it, so I nodded. “Of course, sir. Come along, my dear.”

“Y-yeah.” She gave him a goodbye bow and we made our way out of the workshop.

I waited until we were near the Tower again before speaking up. “You didn’t possibly think that would work, did you?”

“I thought it was worth a try,” she said, fidgeting awkwardly with her fingers. “He seemed pretty grateful.”

“He did give us more time off today than we expected,” I said, hitting the button on the elevator. We had been relieved from charity work to help with the headmaster’s doomed project, so the day was our oyster. I didn’t ask Kiyo what she wanted to do. I knew from experience that she’d say that was my job. Part of her nebulous boyfriend/girlfriend contract that she kept amending.

I checked the time on my phone. “The theater should be open soon. We could go catch a movie.”

“I like the way you think, Magpie,” she said. “It’s a dark place and pretty private in there.” She raised her eyebrow at me. “What?”

“I know I like to tease you, but for once, all I had in mind was watching a movie.”

Her eyes widened. “Dang. I guess I do have a dirty mind.”

As the elevator doors shut, I took her in my arms. “I wouldn’t have it any other way.” With all of the unearned praise I’d received lately for my so-called good deeds, a little sin was just the thing I needed to blast the stink of the Enemy off of me.

*******

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