Chapter 14

Keflavik, Iceland

Tuesday, October 11th, 2050

Thankfully, things calmed down considerably after that inauspicious start to our work study. The anticlimactic hunt for the Sverðhvalur turned out to be the most exciting experience in our first few weeks on the job. The following day, we were brought out to keep a butcher shop’s meat cool after their walk-in freezer conked out. We used a Killer Frost spell to generate enough cold, though it took some practice to figure out how to keep the meat cool without freezing it. We earned a few pounds of somewhat freezer-burnt steak for our efforts, and not the fake plant-based stuff you’d get at most of the local restaurants.

The day after, we went out to investigate reports of a pterodactyl harassing a farmer’s sheep. The man was so obviously intoxicated that I was surprised he hadn’t seen a pink elephant instead. Still, in keeping with my promise to Mariko, we made a thorough search of a nearby copse of trees to demonstrate that there was nothing prehistoric hiding there.

Sometimes, the local authorities would bring the problems to us. Magic Bolt hadn’t been designed to open an uncooperative jewel thief’s safe, but it certainly did the trick! On another occasion, we helped bring down a diseased tree in one of the city’s parks.

We settled into a comfortable groove. We would arrive at the Outreach Office early in the morning, wait for somebody to come by looking to employ us, enjoy a lunch from one of the local cafés, and work through the rest of the afternoon until Mr. Maki came to escort us back home. I couldn’t tell what the Divine Blade did to keep himself occupied, but it clearly didn’t involve us.

However, the good times ran out, as they always do. I was overjoyed to see Mr. Maki when he swung by the Outreach Office that Tuesday.

My white uniform was stained a filthy tan with half-dried mud. Mariko and Kowalski were in much the same shape. Heida had already gone home to clean herself off, the lucky girl. Henrik Olvirsson had kept us, since he thought, and I quote, ‘perhaps a little misery will help you learn’. I could see why he and the harsh Mr. Maki got on.

The Divine Blade was gob-smacked when he saw our sorry state. “What happened to you three?” He cast an accusatory glare at Henrik.

“Mistakes were made,” he replied. I had to give it to the Icelandic wizard; I didn’t know many people who could withstand Mr. Maki’s gaze without flinching. “Would you three care to explain what happened?”

“It was going well… until it wasn’t,” I muttered. “One of the local greenhouses came by requesting our assistance.”

Mariko harumphed at that. “Request? They were extremely rude. ‘We pay our taxes, you are going to do it and like it!’ They did not even give us a chance to say yes or no first.”

“We should have shown them the door,” I said. “Would have saved us a lot of troubles.”

“Unless their mouths literally spewed filth, that doesn’t explain the mud,” said Mr. Maki. “Speed it up.”

“It was a split-level building, and their elevator was out,” said Kowalski. “They had gotten a shipment of some fancy tropical dirt to grow pineapples.”

“I wasn’t about to haul bag upon bag of soil up the stairs, like they suggested,” I said, bristling at the affront to my noble personage. “Besides, the Da… Lord knows they’d have demanded we clean up if we so much as smudged their precious tile. So, I suggested we use the empty elevator shaft.”

Mariko smirked at me. “Which is funny, since Kasasagi is afraid of heights and elevators.”

“Hardly pertinent to the story, my dear,” I said, feeling my face grow hot. “Buddy wasn’t feeling cooperative, which is the most sense the beast has ever shown. So, we decided to make platforms out of Svalinn’s Mercy shields.”

“That took way too much magic, though,” added Kowalski. “We got like three bags up and I was getting close to Wizard’s Desolation.”

“So that’s when Mariko tried bribing Buddy into doing his fair share,” I said. “Promised him some snacks later. We thought he was playing ball at first; Heida was at the ground level with Kowalski to hand the little brat the bags of soil, and Mariko and I would take them at the top to stack them.”

“Which is when Buddy was… Buddy,” said the crestfallen Kowalski. “I don’t know why, but he ripped open a bag of dirt, grabbed a hose and…” He gestured at his once-white uniform, which was now a similar shade of rich brown as Mariko’s hair.

“Wait, that doesn’t make sense,” said Mr. Maki. “You just said you and Heida were at ground level. How did you two get muddy?”

“Buddy’s a vindictive little bastard, but he’s thorough,” I said. I could practically hear Kowalski slump over, but just that moment I wasn’t feeling like being polite.

“I… see. Henrik, what do we owe in damages?”

“One imported bag of soil from Hawaii.” That seemed like a small expense, but they’d had to fly them in from Hawaii via Japan, and jet fuel didn’t come cheap. “Concrete floors clean up more easily than students. Or the reputation of the Wizard Corps.”

Mr. Maki indicated my mud-spattered uniform. “Why are you all still filthy? I taught you at least three spells to help deal with that!”

“We’re better than we were. Spot Clean,” said Mariko for the fourth time since the incident. The spell was designed to gather all of the liquid on the body to a single point. The utility spell was fantastic for juice spills and the like, but the remaining dried mud didn’t have enough liquid to work properly. A pitifully tiny ball of brown water, no bigger than a golf ball, levitated above her hand. “It just wasn’t enough.”

“You’d better not be about to drop that on my floor,” said Henrik.

“Of course not,” said Mariko, ducking back into the kitchen.

Mr. Maki massaged his eyebrows. “Cadet Kowalski! This outburst will not go unpunished.”

“What? But it wasn’t me!”

“Buddy’s your magic,” he said. “When Takehara destroyed those treadmills, I took him out of combat training because of the threat he posed. If you can’t get him under control, then you aren’t worthy of that uniform.”

A loud, electric pop echoed through the office. Kowalski had slipped on his disruptor; Mr. Olvirsson had been rather insistent. “Sorry, sir.”

“I’ve been over this with you; don’t be sorry, be better! I hope you three are ready for a walk, because you aren’t going to dirty up the rented van.”

“What? That hardly seems fair!” My words tumbled out, and I could immediately tell I’d made a mistake.

“Cadet Marlowe, a unit is only as strong as its weakest member. Kowalski’s success is yours. You three can use the trip home to discuss strategies for reigning in Buddy.”

I held my tongue. No sense digging myself deeper.

****************

“I’m sorry.”

“So you say, Kowalski,” I snapped. “We’re still paying for your screwup!”

“You can be more pleasant about it, Soren,” chided Mariko. “It isn’t that far to walk.”

“Distance isn’t the point,” I said.

“Mama, those people are dirty!”

A woman who made me think of an older Heida scooped up her pointing toddler, her face nearly as red as mine. “I’m so sorry. Th-thank you for your service.”

I forced the old Malthus charm to the surface. “It’s our pleasure, ma’am.” As soon as we’d rounded the corner, I let me smile drop. “We’re having to parade through the busiest part of Keflavik in this state! Kowalski, I thought we were making progress! Buddy loved going for a swim, and he hasn’t acted out all week! Why now?”

“I don’t know,” he said.

“Is there something we can help you out with?” asked Mariko. “You know we are here if you need us.”

“Yeah, I do,” he replied with a sigh. “I’m sick of this! Mariko, did you have trouble with your magic?”

“The trouble is that I had magic at all,” she muttered under her breath. She was all smiles an instant later. “No, not like you have. Perhaps you could ask Rose or Hiro? They really struggled with their affinities.”

“Yeah, maybe.” Another pop filled the air. “Is it okay if I take it off? Buddy’s really fighting me.”

“I suppose not; we’re almost back. Mariko, you can take the first shower.”

“Thank you, Kasasagi.” She bowed briefly, but all decorum was thrown out as soon as she opened the door. I could hear her footsteps reverberating through the house as she dashed up the stairs.

“Buddy, please don’t… y’know. Do anything too rough. Please.” Kowalski bent down and unclamped the disruptor, and an angry shadow emerged, thrashing about in an almost canine form. He ran into the yard, vanishing into the tall grass in an instant.

Kowalski turned to me, his brow knit with worry. “Should we stop him?”

“Can we stop him?”

“Probably not,” he conceded.

“Then don’t fret about it. Let’s just enjoy some fresh air for a moment.” I leaned against the wall, checking my SatoChat feed. “Hiro is oddly fond of Douglas MacArthur quotes for a Japanese boy.”

“Oh? What’s today’s? I haven’t seen it yet.”

I raised an eyebrow. “You follow Hiro? I didn’t realize you two were friends.”

“Not really, but I follow everyone in class,” he said.

“Well, today’s is, ‘Age wrinkles the body, quitting wrinkles the soul’.”

“That’s a pretty good one,” he said. “It makes you think; Mrs. Perera never really gave up, and she was spry right until the end.”

“Again, you’re oddly fond of citing a known terrorist.” And spry? I’d had to give Holy Sister McCaw way too many piggyback rides to use that word to describe her.

He chuckled nervously. “I guess I wasn’t there. It doesn’t feel real sometimes, y’know? Sometimes when I wake up I think I’m still in Nagoya, ready for another day of class.”

“Trust me, I was there, and the Tower Attack still feels like a bad dream sometimes.”

We stood in silence for another moment, watching Buddy cavort in the yard. “Wow, he’s really enjoying himself, huh?”

“Someone ought to,” I said. I envied the simple being; he didn’t seem to be bothered by anything, no matter how much trouble he caused. I missed my conscience-free, devil may care life.

“How’s Kiyo doing?” asked Kowalski. “I heard she’s in Australia with Hiro and Yukiko.”

“Oh, is she?” I tried to keep the surprise from my voice.

“Huh? You didn’t know? Aren’t you two dating?”

I couldn’t stop from flinching. “We were. Now we aren’t.”

Kowalski tilted his head. “Really? But you two were so cute together! She was always all over you.”

“Well, we aren’t anymore. I’ll ask you not to share what you might see in your feed; I’m unsubscribed for a reason.”

“Oh, then you probably don’t want to hear about that Australian guy that keeps showing up in—”

“No, I don’t,” I spat. “In fact, I’d consider a personal favor if you didn’t.”

“S-sure, man. No problem.” We stood in silence a moment. “Sun’s coming down.”

“Yes, it feels like that lazy orb only just rose,” I said.

“Yeah. It isn’t all bad, though. It makes me appreciate the sunlight more when it is around.”

“I see your meaning. ‘Tis better to have loved and lost’, eh?” That seemed as close as the boy got to being profound. I felt a tic better.

“Huh? I was just talking about the weather.”

I couldn’t help but roll my eyes. The irritating thing was, I couldn’t be sure if he was being coy or dense. My phone dinged, and Mariko invited us back in. “I call dibs on the second shower.”

“Y-yeah, that’s fair.”

As I ascended the stairs, I couldn’t stop thinking about Kiyo. How was my little Angel? Did she still think about me? Who was this Australian wizard, and why was she posting pictures of him online? I was half tempted to resubscribe to her feed, just to see the bastard. Would he look like me? I wasn’t sure if I preferred the idea that she wanted a replacement like me, or that she wanted somebody completely different.

I shook my head. No, wallowing wouldn’t get me anywhere. I silently wished for something to get my mind off of my ex.

Speaking of things to slough off, I swung by my room to gather some clean clothes. To my surprise, I wasn’t alone; Mariko was sitting on my bed in a bathrobe, tapping away at a small tablet with a stylus.

“Ms. Yamada? This is a tad unexpected…”

She immediately put down the tablet, hiding the screen from me. “This is embarrassing, but there is something I need that only you can do for me.” She began fussing with the bathrobe, earning my undivided attention.

I gulped. For once, Our Father Below delivers.

My randy imagination’s hopes were dashed again as she stopped at hiking up her right sleeve, revealing her scarred arm. The inflamed red patch extended from wrist to elbow. No matter how many times I saw it, it still made my own arm ache in sympathy.

“I must say, that’s the tamest strip tease I’ve ever seen.”

Her face flushed red, and not just from the heat of her shower. “Please do not joke like that! What if Mr. Maki overheard?”

“He’d agree with me,” I said. “Is something the matter with your arm?”

“I learned a downside to Spot Clean earlier,” she said, biting her lip. “There is a cream I rub into my old acid burns first thing every morning. It helps with the tremors.”

“I think I see where you’re going with this,” I said, pulling my chair over. “The spell couldn’t tell the difference between mud and cream?”

She nodded, and for the first time I noticed that her hand was trembling as badly as I’d ever seen it. “I use Spot Clean every morning to…” She gulped, avoiding eye contact. “After I shower, I use Spot Clean to dry off. The cream will not work if I am wet. I was alright earlier, but now I am shaking too much to cast the spell.”

“Spot Clean,” I said, tapping her proffered right hand. All of the liquid sitting on her skin condensed into my right hand, and I deposited it in an empty drinking glass at my bedside. Note to self: get a clean glass.

She blinked twice. “I am surprised.”

“Why?”

“I thought you would tease me more.” She deepened her voice. “‘What is in it for me, my dear?’ And then you would make a joke about my bust.”

“I sound nothing like that,” I said. “Besides, I enjoy a good lark, but I’m not cruel.”

Mariko smiled sweetly at me. “That you are not. Thank you, Kasasagi. I owe you one.” She rose to her feet, retrieving her tablet.

That sparked my curiosity. “Wait, you were shaking that badly and you tried to draw? You are a masochist after all.”

She shook her head, turning the device so I could see. “No, I was only reading my old manga one shot.”

“Oh? Can I see?”

“Absolutely not,” she said, clutching the tablet to her chest. “It is so embarrassing. I was a completely different person when I wrote it.”

“That’s half the fun, though,” I said. “You said you placed in a magazine contest, right? I seem to recall that.”

She shook her head. “I did, but please, it… Nothing good can come of it.”

“What do you mean?”

“If you do not like it, then I will be crushed. If you do like it, I will never be able to make another like it, and we will both be crushed. You see? There is no winning.”

I nodded, pretending to concede the point. I’d find a way to read that story, though. After all, I’d just heard on good authority that quitting would make me age, and I was far too vain to let that happen.