The Dark Ice Chronicles - The Magi

Chapter 15 - All I Ever Needed Is Here In My Arms

After separating from my fellow half-pod-person and going home, I take a shoebox out from under my bed and place Evan’s picture inside it, along with a few other random personal objects. Among them are this broken black gel bracelet I got at school after another Dark warlock committed suicide (I wore it out from overuse, but I couldn’t bear to throw it away) and an old Mythos action figure I used to play with when I was really little. It’s Icarus, his wings already starting to melt. Not sure what value he has, other than sentimental.

Icarus and his wings serve as a paperweight now, holding Evan’s picture in place. Perfect. She’ll stay nice and safe now.

The next morning, before I head out for school, I grab a box of Trader Joe’s peanut butter cups - I’d agreed to bring some to Ms. Y’s class for our holiday party.

The peanut butter cups aren’t a big hit, not when some other guy brings Oreos and another brings Spam musubi. Not that those aren’t good items - the musubi in particular is very addicting - but I feel that I wasted my time bringing the peanut butter cups. At least Evan is willing to share in the delicious, melt-in-your-mouth goodness.

We don’t meet up at the old firehouse right away after school. Kevin can’t come at all because he still has to work at the ice cream shop (on the coldest day of the season so far, too - the daytime high today is only 46 degrees, and it’s expected to dip as low as 42 by Sunday, the winter solstice.) Evan, Adele, and Rachel have to all get home first to check in on the Michaelsen ‘rents, too, so we aren’t able to meet up until three o’clock, despite the fact that we all get out of school around noon today.

“I should warn you girls,” Harris says when he opens the garage door, “Thor usually takes a while to stop gettin’ vocal with new people. So don’t be afraid if he growls or barks at you a lot, okay?”

“I’ll growl right back at him if he does,” Michelle says.

“He’ll take that as a challenge,” Harris says. “So don’t do it.” As soon as all the girls, plus me, are inside, Harris closes the door and goes into the back, where Thor is snoozing next to his water bowl. The image calls to mind (at least to me) the thought of a drunk hairy dude with a beer gut snoring in his armchair with a bottle in his hand, so I snicker a bit. I’m not sure if my laugh is what wakes up Thor first, or if it’s Harris nudging him in the side.

Either way, he sits bolt upright, his nose pointed straight at the girls, and starts growling lightly, exactly as Harris said he would.

“Easy, boy,” Harris says, rubbing the big dog’s neck and shoulders.

Thor bounds away from Harris and up to the girls, then starts sniffing their legs thoroughly. He even gives me a once-over before pushing off and rounding on Evan, giving a satisfied snort in the process. He passes Evan and Adele without comment, then comes back to Michelle, who was his first target. He growls at her, loudly, and she growls back. In the background, I see Harris do a facepalm.

But then Thor backs down, sits on his hind legs, wags his tail, and starts panting, his mouth stretched open in what can almost be described as a smile.

“Aww, look,” Michelle says, squatting down so she can pet him - and get licked in the face, which she doesn’t seem to mind all that much. “He’s an adorable little beastie, isn’t he?”

Rachel gets down next to Michelle. “Yeah, LLY too, Thor,” she giggles as he nuzzles up to her.

“What kind of dog is he?” Adele asks. “I wanna say a schnauzer, but he’s so big.”

“Yeah, even the giant schnauzers don’t get more than, I dunno, two feet? Two and a half?” Evan looks around for someone to answer.

Harris shrugs. “I always figured he was just a really unusually big specimen.”