Black Saturday

VIII

Rahal and Solomon huddled together, drawing Luna's attention. She wondered what they were up to, and figured it couldn't be anything good.

Solomon turned to her and said, 'Alright, Loons, we'll cut you a deal. You either come with me to find some magical crap, or you can stick with Eni and deal with her parents.'

She hadn't expected such an offer. Both options upset her. Every look at Solomon filled her with unease, and the thought of spending time with him felt downright frightening.

He looked... presentable. Nothing wrong with him. He wore all denim— a denim jacket over a plain white t-shirt, and blue jeans. He wore his hair long, shaggy, wiry, and complete with sideburns. His olive skin looked attractive, but there wasn't anything special about him.

It was his vibe that felt off. People don't have vibes like that, Luna thought.

Rahal fumbled with the Black Saturday placed above her ear. 'I just thought of some'n.'

Oh thank goodness.

'What is it?' Luna asked, voice dreamy once more.

'I'm an elf.'

Both Solomon and Luna felt their legs buckle, as if the sheer banality of the statement was trying to force them to fall. Luna in particular scoffed and threw out her hands.

Solomon shouted, 'How many years at college did it take you to arrive at that universe shattering conclusion?'

'A couple.' And her face was completely straight when she said it.

A giggle bubbled through Luna's chest, and she soon found herself halved over laughing. All her apprehension towards Rahal lifted off her shoulders, and she remembered just why they were friends.

Solomon couldn't help but to laugh, and he said, 'Alright, whatever. What's the situation, Loons?'

Luna didn't hesitate to say, 'I'll go with Enekai.'

'Alright, I'll come with.'

They rode a horse-drawn carriage through the evening rain for several hours, exchanging jokes and stories and bite-sized candies. Luna's tensions eased, and she felt better about being around the two once she was reminded that they weren't villainous.

Listening to the rain crash upon the carriage top relaxed them, and the warm glow of Rahal's magelight didn't offend them too much. They passed evergreen trees— conifers and junipers that rode out the bitter rains. Luna saw little in the way of civilization, save for isolated farms and abandoned shacks ever so often. The whole atmosphere felt saturnine, just as Rahal had described it. As the sky grew darker and darker, she could have sworn the woodlands took on an evil nature. Perhaps that was just the night combined with the dead skies.

About six hours in, Rahal stretched and said, 'I can't stand this. It's mental, how you're supposed to expect to stay sane on these trips. It's been, what, six hours?'

'At least the smell's not so bad,' Luna said.

'I mean, yeah... But it'd be better to just zip to Morgunstjarna.'

Luna popped a chocolate button. 'That's what we have the Floo network for.'

Solomon added, 'How did they develop that anyway?'

'I don't know the specifics...'

'Bet it's like a warp zone,' Rahal said, taking a chocolate button for herself. 'You know, like that quantum entanglement nonsense.' Luna drew a blank. 'It's Muggle magic, love, don't sweat it.' She leaned against a sill and stared out into the night.

The darkness of the night weighed on Luna ever more heavily as they trekked on. She asked, 'How much longer until we arrive?' but Rahal didn't give her any attention. So again she asked, 'How much longer until we get there?'

'Hmm? Oh— about another two hours. That was Felsmere, so yeah. Right arse, innit? Takes way too long.' Rahal started to laugh, but that laugh faded when she noticed Luna's eyes stuck on the passing forest. She looked out the window again as well. 'It's creepy, I know.'

Luna snapped her attention back to her. 'I-it's not that it's creepy, just...'

'No, don't sugarcoat it. It's true. This is what all of our woodlands feel like these days. Cold. Evil. Like a thousand demons are staring back atcha. It's the most awful feeling in the world, to know that civilization's dying all 'round you and there's nothing you can do to stop it.'

Suddenly, Solomon said, 'Eni, what's this I hear about Burgess returning to Janvier?'

She barely turned. 'Where'd you hear that?'

'Hendrikson just sent me a text.' He pointed at his eye. 'I thought he was dead?'

Rahal put her fist in her palm and considered this. 'Anthony doesn't know when to quit.'

Solomon grabbed her wrist and said more firmly this time, 'I thought he was dead.'

Rahal's gaze wavered. Luna watched on, half expecting the two to start hitting each other, half expecting them both to admit to trolling her again. Instead, Rahal pushed Solomon's hand away.

'It's nothing.'

'Nothing!' Solomon then called out to the carriage driver, 'Alright, you can stop us here! Go no further! We'll pay you for the whole trip.'

All of her voice's dreaminess had gone when she asked, 'What's wrong?'

'Enekai didn't kill a man. Normally, you'd call that a good thing.' Solomon lit a cigarette with his finger. 'Not in this case. Not at all. I hope you don't mind us skipping meeting her parents.'

Rahal said morosely, 'She'll be glad she didn't.'

'We've gotta meet with Poxhart and Moz right now.'

They stepped out of the carriage. Luna didn't like being outside, in the middle of the forest, and she felt badly for the poor coachman who had to ride out all alone with little more than a dagger to protect him. After paying the coachman, Solomon came back to the group and lifted his wand. Once more, sparkles danced around them and they zapped away.