There and Back Again: A Girl's Tale

Chapter 2 The Company of Wizards

Chapter 2 The Company of Wizards

"Well look what the cat dragged in."

Jim was the last person Elwen wanted to see after running through a thunderstorm to get away from a crazy old man. She glared at him and shook herself in an attempt to be rid of the water clinging to her hair and clothes.

"You're dripping all over my clean floors!" he shouted.

Jim was the manager of the crap roach motel masquerading as a block of flats in which Elwen resided. He was a horrid, squatty man with beetle black eyes, thinning hair, and what looked like a spare tire poking out the top of his pants.

"These floors haven't been mopped in ages," Elwen fired back. "God knows what all has been spilled and left to rot, so shut your hole!"

Jim sneered, showing off his cracked yellow teeth.

"I'd be careful of that mouth of yours if I were you. Don't forget, I've got keys to every door in this building, including yours."

Elwen advanced toward the portly fellow. Her confident stride caught him off guard and he stumbled back a few paces.

"And I sleep with weapons that I'm not afraid to use. Don't you forget that."

Elwen left a grumbling Jim in the lobby and made the trek up four flights of stairs. She lived in a one-room flat with a bathroom and kitchen the size of a broom closet each and there was probably enough black mold to take out a small third-world country. It was temporary. That's what she told herself every time the tap didn't work or she found a family of mice living in her wardrobe. It's only temporary.

She locked the door behind her and propped a chair against the knob, more out of habit than fear. She wasn't bluffing when she said she slept with weapons. She had a wooden bokken propped against her mattress and a knife beneath her pillow. Guys like Jim didn't frighten her; they were all bark and no bite. And if they did bite, she usually bit harder. There was no need to invite trouble, however, so she barricaded the door.

She peeled off her soaked clothes and chucked them into a dirty laundry pile. She took a quick scalding hot shower, but it wasn't enough to chase away the uneasiness that had settled into her bones like a chill. When she finished, Elwen located her favorite oversized sweater and fuzzy leggings and made her way to the couch.

She knew logically that she should write off the old fellow as possibly criminally insane and forget all that had transpired. Pretend it never happened and get on with her life.

Is this the life you were meant to live?

Elwen jerked to attention. The voice she heard hadn't come from her own mind. It sounded like the shop owner, almost as if he were sitting right next to her. She felt it again; the tingling sensation. Magic.

"Maybe I'm the crazy one," she muttered aloud to no one. I hope.

Elwen shoved herself off the couch and went to the kitchen to make tea. She wasn't thirsty but the process of making it calmed her mind. But when she picked up the kettle in preparation to fill it, she found it heavier than normal.

She gave the kettle a shake and was startled by the heavy clunking coming from inside. Had she dropped something in there and forgotten? It was heavier than any fork or spoon she owned. She reached inside and gripped the object, feeling cool metal. When she pulled her hand out and released the object, her eyes widened and she swore heartily.

Elwen held a very large chunk of iron shaped unmistakably like a key. It wasn't like any key she'd ever seen before. It was much too large for any modern door and was inscribed with more strange runes that she didn't recognize, though different from the writing on the sign outside of the Blue Hat. It was elegantly crafted, obviously done with care, and Elwen felt that it was created for some great purpose.