Calliope: Voice of the Writers

 

 

The Great Novel Race 2008:

Black Smoke and Distorted Mirrors

by Whitney Garrett

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Chapter 2

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  Shaska hummed a tune as she danced around her dressing room. Rhapsody watched her with a critical eye as she put her top hat in its special case on her dresser. She twirled in the middle of the room before jumping like a gazelle over to a three-panel partition screen that had a detailed Japanese cherry blossom tree displayed on it. Rhapsody rolled his slanted, feline eyes as she twirled her way behind the partition.

            “I don’t know what you’re so joyful about,” Rhapsody droned as Shaska’s black suit jacket was draped over the partition. “You completely got your moon confused with your sun[1] tonight.”

            “Yeah, I messed up, but I used great improv and no one noticed! Actually it turned out better this way. It built suspense! Aren’t you always going on about how important suspense is in those books you read?” More clothes joined the jacket on the partition.

            “Just because you saved face doesn’t mean you can brush aside the fact that your magic failed. Or you failed your magic, which is the more likely option,” Rhapsody absent-mindedly licked his right paw.

            Shaska’s head appeared above the partition looking annoyed. She shook her head at him before resting her heels back on the carpet, again completely out of his view. He heard a sigh that was vocalized loudly just for his sake before Shaska walked out from behind the partition. Shaska pulled her cream over-sized sweater down more, further covering the black skinny jeans she was wearing. Rhapsody eyed with distaste the way the sweater fell off one shoulder showing a black tank top that was being worn underneath. It was a careless look, which fit Shaska well.

            “I’ll just practice more next time,” Shaska said thoughtlessly as she moved to her dresser to pick up a hair holder.

            “You mean you’ll practice. Maybe if you had practiced before your first performance then this wouldn’t have happened. If you’re going to make a career off your magic in this dimension, you can’t be so careless!” Rhapsody’s tirade had managed to bring him to his feet.

            Shaska pulled her hair into a loose bun near the top of her head. As she wound the holder around her hair copious amounts fell out and other strands hung around her face threatening to come out of the holder. She spun around so she was facing Rhapsody causing hair to dance around her head.

            “Rhapsody, I’ve been doing magic all my life! And I did practice!” She contorted her face into a pout, while throwing her hands onto her hips.

            Rhapsody was unimpressed by her display of emotion, “Yes, you’ve been doing magic all your life, but not such complex magic. You’ve only been doing this level of magic for the last couple years. As for practicing, you practiced the sets individually, but never as a whole, and you only practiced each set once.”

            “Because everything worked the first time!” Shaska shouted, crossing her arms obviously pleased with herself.

            “Just because they worked once doesn’t mean they’ll work every time you do it!” Rhapsody raised his voice, frustrated that her couldn’t get Shaska to think rationally.

            Shaska looked at him in a new light. Her eyes held contemplation. Rhapsody was relieved to see that she was finally, really thinking things over, taking what he’d said seriously.

            “I wonder if you’d look better white,” Shaska suddenly said, moving forward to scoop Rhapsody up and hold him up to the light. Rhapsody yowled loudly as Shaska shook him about a bit imagining what he would look like with light glinting off ivory fur rather than the current ebony. “I mean I thought the black would be more traditional magician, but if you were white you may be more visible to the audience.”

            Rhapsody just scowled at her, waiting for her to have her fill and put him down. He didn’t have to wait long; soon she put him down to gather her things into a big, black tote bag. As she was pulling on her black ballet flats there was a knock at the door of the dressing room.

            Mark opened the door and stuck his head in, “Great show tonight, Shassie!”

            Shaska gritted her teeth against the hated nickname and exclaimed, “Thanks, Mark!” then quietly added, “And I thought I’d asked you not to call me that.”

            Mark ignored the comment as he always did, “Well, you had better be getting home to rest. Do you need me to take you home?”

            “No, it’s pretty close and I’d rather walk.”

            Mark looked disappointed, “Okay, see you tomorrow!”

            Shaska picked up her tote bag as he left and turned to Rhapsody, “Ready to go?”

            “Yes, please! I’ve been ready to go since we got here!” Rhapsody said darkly as she picked him up and gently placed him in her tote. Shaska hooked her finger on the tote’s strap which rested precariously on her shoulder. She hugged the tote to her body being mindful not to squash Rhapsody so he wouldn’t suffocate. Rhapsody poked his head out and gave her a disdainful look that Shaska thought might have been his main purpose in the action rather than just needing to get some air.

            Shaska exited the theatre through the back door and into the alley behind it. Night had fallen during the show and though it was still before midnight, looking around one might think it was closer to 2:00. It had rained recently so the asphalt was damp. As Shaska walked down the alley, she skirted around a large puddle. The sounds of sirens traveled to their hears from elsewhere in the city. A few blocks down a dog barked, horns honked, and a woman was yelling reprimands at her children. Rhapsody scowled at the noise, but Shaska smiled and began humming again.

            “How can you enjoy city life? It’s so loud here! No wonder you can’t concentrate your magic!”

            “Maybe I can’t concentrate because of your negative attitude!” Shaska shot back. Rhapsody said nothing. Shaska’s humming stopped, she looked down at him concerned. He was of a quiet nature, but he usually had some kind of comeback. Rhapsody looked up at her, his gray, luminous eyes looking very much like twin moons. Shaska was surprised to see sadness in his big eyes.

            Shaska looked away. Down the sidewalk was a street vendor selling talismans. Shaska had seen them before. They had talismans to ward off poverty, hunger, sickness, the IRS, and more. Shaska rolled her eyes at such “magic.” Every real magician knew that no mere talisman could stop such problems in life. Even magicians had to deal with these matters, and more.

            A few blocks later and Shaska and Rhapsody were still silent. Their surroundings had changed, though. The cracked concrete sidewalk had turned into new pavement that had decorative bricks worked into it. Little trees lined the street and little mosaic tiles surrounded each tree. Pawn shops turned into expensive boutiques and rundown bars became cozy coffee shops.

            Shaska was lost in thoughts surrounding a new book store that had just opened when Rhapsody’s quiet voice reached her, “Am I too hard on you?” The simple question held much emotion in it. Shaska could tell it was hard for him to ask.

            “Don’t be silly. You’re my guardian, you’re supposed to be hard on me. Especially since I don’t listen. You keep me from failing completely! I’m so laid back that if you didn’t push me, I’d never go anywhere!” She smiled down at him. Though he didn’t exactly smile, his expression softened.

            As they neared their apartment Rhapsody’s head disappeared into the tote. Shaska held out her hand, and Rhapsody appeared with her keys in his feline teeth. Keys in hand, Shaska walked up the steps to her apartment. As she approached the door she noticed a strange aura seeping out from under the door.

            “Rhapsody, do you see that?”

            “Don’t open the door!” Rhapsody commanded. He climbed out of the tote and began to sniff the door frame. “Someone’s been here, and they weren’t baking you muffins.”

            “What do you mean?” Shaska asked, leaving the key in the lock without turning the bolt. It was obvious that Rhapsody sensed something wrong. His fur was standing on end, his teeth were bared, and his eyes showed concentration. Rhapsody’s senses were never wrong. Shaska shivered despite the warm night.

            “Someone made a spell in there,” Rhapsody answered, bending down to look under the door. “Whoever made it is gone now, which means the spell has been activated.”

            “Any chance they made it here and left?” Shaska asked with a nervous smile.

            Rhapsody looked up at her gravely, “We need to leave. It’s not safe.”

            Shaska’s eyes widened. For the first time since she was a little child, she felt very afraid. Maybe she was too young to be out on her own. Her home had been infiltrated. She should have listened to Rhapsody and never tried to make it in this dimension. But a spell! That meant it was another magician.

            Shaska sagged against the doorframe. She felt violated. Her safety spells had failed. She sank onto the stoop and drew her legs to her chest. Rhapsody looked at her blank stare with a worried eye. He rested his front paws on her knees and softly licked her hand to get her attention.

            “Little one, this isn’t the time,” he said in an unusually gentle voice, “We should take refuge at The Shop.”

            A tear rolled down Shaska’s face, but she quickly wiped it away. She looked at the door to her apartment. The foul aura seemed to taunt her. A sudden look of determination came over her face. Someone was trying to scare her, hurt her, and control her. She didn’t know who and she didn’t know why, but she wasn’t going to let them.

            Shaska stood up, squared her shoulders, braced herself, and unlocked the door before Rhapsody could stop her. Rhapsody’s shout was drowned out; a sudden blast of dark magic knocked them back as the door opened forcefully on its own. Shaska screamed as the explosive aura knocked her down the stairs, where she landed hard on her right ankle. Rhapsody landed softly on his feet next to her. The dark aura formed the shape of a hawk which flew low over their heads before dispersing. Shaska looked over at Rhapsody who was lying next to her breathing hard. Shaska was confused; it had happened so fast, but it was over and they were both in one piece.

            “Was it just a message?” Shaska asked.

            “Oh, it was a message alright; and more. You’ve been cursed,” Rhapsody panted.

            “Cursed?” Shaska said meekly.

            “Come, there may be clues as to the nature of the curse inside,” Rhapsody ran up the stairs into the house.

            Shaska followed at a slower pace, finding as she stood that she had hurt her ankle. After gingerly making her way into the apartment, she found Rhapsody in the kitchen. The small kitchen was a mess. While it was never tidy, the cabinet that held the ingredients Shaska used for potions had been emptied out onto the counter. Their good stew pot was on the stove top, which showed evidence that whatever had been made in the pot had spilled over. Bird feathers were everywhere and the canary’s cage was empty. Shaska had a feeling that there was no use looking for her bird, and her stomach turned. As Rhapsody investigated the mess, Shaska gently lowered herself into one of the counter stools.

            “It looks like the main ingredient was bird bones. That sounds like a bad luck curse,” Rhapsody padded his way across the counter, trying to keep his paws out of the spilled yak’s milk. He stopped in front of Shaska, finding a relatively clean surface to sit on. “Why did you open the door?”

            Shaska turned away from him muttering, “I was wondering when you were going to ask that.”

            “Shaska, I told you not to open the door! Now look what your irresponsibility has gotten us! Why would you do something as stupid as opening that door when you knew something bad would happen?!”

            Shaska gave a frustrated yell then replied, “I didn’t want someone to scare me! I didn’t want to be controlled! I wasn’t about to run like a coward!”

            “A coward?! Since when is wisdom the same as cowardice?”

            “Just let it go, Rhapsody!” Shaska yelled.

            Rhapsody glared at her, then said in an ominously quiet voice, “I can’t let it go. I’m supposed to watch out  for you. Protect you.” Then he raised his voice, “Do you have to make it so hard for me?!”

            Shaska looked down, tears in her eyes. After a few minutes neither of them had said anything or even moved, then Shaska said in a small voice, “We should probably clean this up.”

            “Leave it,” Rhapsody said calmly, “Go pack some things. We need to leave for The Shop immediately. Whoever did this may come back.”

            “Okay, but we’re not telling her about this,” Shaska said finally looking up. “If we tell her then the whole Community will find out, and I don’t need them knowing what a loser magician I am.”

            “You’re not a loser,” Rhapsody said so gently that Shaska felt great love for the cat. Her usual smile came back to her face. She leaned down and kissed the feline between his ears. Then he continued, “You’re just green.”

            Shaska frowned, “Thanks.” She stood up to get some things together. However she stood up too quickly and her legs got caught in the stool’s. Rhapsody’s eyes followed her surprised ones as she fell backward. She hit the floor hard with a grunt.

            Rhapsody looked down at her before calmly stating, “It looks like the curse is already taking effect.”

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