The Girl in Red

by Clyde Andrews

Table of Contents
Part 1 appears
in this issue.

conclusion

“I’m ready,” she said softy.

“Okay, here goes,” I said as I pushed open the doors.

Beyond the double doors was another large room. A lot darker than the first. I then realised, as I walked in, it was illuminated by candles: dozens of them, hanging from fancy chandeliers. That was certainly out of place on a building site. Suddenly I felt my arm being squeezed. It was Elizabeth.

But before I could turn around to reassure her again, I saw what she must have to cause her fright. The man, I assumed was the one we were looking for, was standing at the far end of this room. He stood in a cloak, obscured by a large bench that looked something like a morgue examination table.

“I had not been expecting to see you so soon, Elizabeth!” the man said. “I see that you have brought a friend. How nice. Is he your father?”

Elizabeth, now so close to me, caused me to walk more awkwardly than usual. I let her be; she was scared and I was feeling a little anxious myself. Why is it all these dark magician types are so presumptuous? I could sense it before this man opened his mouth by the way he stood behind the table: shoulders back and square, chin high, stomach in. All were obvious signs this guy was full of himself.

I’ve said it a thousand times before; give someone a little power and they think they can take on the world. What was the old saying: “Absolute power corrupts absolutely.” This certainly holds true; except that in the case of dark magicians, a minute amount of magical power can corrupt.

“What do you want, Elizabeth? I am too busy to deal with you now,” the dark magician sneered.

“You don’t have to deal with her. You have to deal with me,” I said with my own confidence, a confidence that comes from dealing with this sort all my life.

“Listen, old man. Go back to your home, sit by the fire with your slippers on. You belong there.”

“I will, when I have dealt with the likes of you,” I said as Elizabeth clutched onto me tighter. “It’s all right, Elizabeth. I have this guy worked out already,”

“What are you blathering about, old man?” the dark magician said as he left the comfort of the table and started to cross the room.

Before the dark magician could come any closer to Elizabeth I separated her from myself. “Hold still.”

“Why? What are you going to do?”

I did not answer her. Instead I had to concentrate. Quickly I drew a circle around her in chalk on the concrete floor. On the outside of the circle I added a mathematical formula. Upon completion of the formula a magical force field surrounded her; sparking rainbow patterns when touched. She was now safe.

The dark magician stopped dead in his tracks. “I see you are a magician, old man.”

“Yes, so you had better approach me with caution.”

“Ha, You think you are powerful? You think you are stronger than I? I think not. You are an insect! An ant! A nothing!”

Unbelievable, these guys just get more and more egotistical as time goes by. If he wanted some verbal sparring I was up for it. “Don’t make me come over there and spank you, young man!” Elizabeth chuckled. She really did have a great sense of humour.

“Old man, you are sad. Elizabeth understands me. She was going to help me in my mission.”

This time Elizabeth could not contain herself. She burst into laughter. She certainly felt safer inside the magic circle.

“I think she thinks you are delirious. And I agree.”

The dark magician did not answer. Instead he drew a circle on the concrete with chalk. I noticed it was similar to the circle I had drawn around Elizabeth. But, to my horror, I did notice some differences. The polynomial fractions were more complicated. He was drawing a transport circle. But what was he planning to transport? Before I could contemplate it any further, a Doberman appeared in the circle.

“Attack! Attack!” the dark magician screamed.

The dog headed straight for me. As soon as it left the circle, another dog appeared, then another. I had to think fast. As in no time flat there were over a dozen snarling, slavering black dogs in the room. What to do? what to do? Without even thinking, almost by instinct, I drew a formula on each one of my leather shoes. Immediately I lifted up from the floor. Just in the nick of time as three hungry looking Dobermans snapped at my heals as I rose. I sighed, relieved I was safe.

“The ceiling won’t save you, old man,” the dark magician said as he rubbed a portion of his formula out with the heel of his hand and quickly scribbled in a new formula. This time inside the circle eagles appeared. “Fly! Attack!”

Now I knew what the dark magician meant. I was suspended in mid-air. Vicious dogs below, and now eagles sharing the same air space as me. Things were looking grim indeed.

Elizabeth waited patiently in the circle, arms folded and a frown drawn upon her face. All she could do was watch as she could not get out even if she wanted to: she did not know how; the force field flared every time she touched it. She was trapped, but safe. An uneasy compromise, but a necessary one.

“It’s all right, Elizabeth. Just stay where you are and you will be fine,” I shouted down to her. She nodded in understanding. But I did not have much time for reassurance. The eagles were nearly at me. I reached into my pocket and produced a marker. On my hand I hastily drew a well remembered formula. It was a spell that turned all I touched with that hand to stone. One by one I touched the eagles as they charged for me. And one by one they fell to the floor as solid blocks of rock; smashing into a million pieces as they hit the ground.

The dark magician did not seem concerned. He had other plans. His eyes, deep set, focused on Elizabeth. His thin lips formed a smirk and he headed straight for her. He was certainly determined if nothing else.

I could see the dark magician make a bee-line for Elizabeth. And from the look on his face he seemed to have a plan to get her out. I was getting rather annoyed at all these eagles attacking me. No sooner had I turned one to stone, when another would come from the circle. I had to get to that circle first. Besides, even though I was fending off the eagles, their talons and beaks still managed to find me; my clothes were getting ripped to shreds. A few even nicked some skin. I had to get down, but below me were those damn dogs and their fangs. I’m sure they could do more damage than eagle talons. I was being overwhelmed; maybe this magician was smarter than most.

The eagles were taking their toll; I was getting tired and these beasts below did not stop either. In the air or on the ground they tried to get at me. But I had one hope. One thought that may work, and being honest, it was the only chance I had. For the moment.

I saw that the dark magician had reached Elizabeth’s circle from the corner of my eye.

“Well, well, my dear. I see that the old fool has trapped you like an animal. How amusing,” he said.

“You’re a bastard,” Elizabeth screamed.

“Just stay calm, Elizabeth. I will be with you shortly,” I said, hovering over to Elizabeth, still fending off eagles.

“Touchy, aren’t we? And I thought you had a thing for me. How you have changed your tune,” he smiled.

“You’re mad. I never, ever wanted you. You’re a creep,” Elizabeth spat.

“No matter. I will have you out of there momentarily. And then we can continue with our affair. You can still prove useful. I will let you help me... if you co-operate.”

“WHAT? I will never help you... I have never wanted to help you... I hate you.”

“Yes, you do. You find me irresistible. I am powerful and you cannot resist that. Women like men who are powerful.”

“Your irresistible all right. Irresistible to yourself. No woman in their right mind would even go near you.”

“You did.”

“Don’t listen to him, Elizabeth. He is trying to make you succumb to his will. He is trying to make your mind weaken to his. Stay strong. I won’t be long,” I said as I drew another formula on my other hand. Which wasn’t easy. I had to fend off eagles with my elbows now, while drawing using the opposite hand; I am normally right handed. Writing with your left, while concentrating and blocking attacks requires a great deal of effort. I was getting tired and sweat beaded down my forehead, but the job was finished.

“You are weak, old man. You have no escape. No way to beat me.” With that the dark magician began to draw another circle around Elizabeth. I saw what he was going to do immediately. Damn, I thought to myself. I had forgotten, in my haste, to place a locking formula onto Elizabeth’s circle. The dark magician was going to cancel mine out. Sort of like a negative and a negative. They cannot exist together; as it is in life, it is in magic.

Two formulas of the same design cannot exist together. If he completed his circle around mine, Elizabeth would be free. I had to act. I opened my hand with the second formula on it, and from my palm a light burst forth. Blinding, brilliant light. A magical light that blinded all who saw it. The eagles, all of them fell to the floor. The dogs, milling below me cowered away. I smiled. Exhausted, bloody, and perspiring like a race-horse, but I smiled.

“WHAT? Attack! Attack, my animals. My creations. I command you!” the dark magician screamed as he saw what I had done. His work with Elizabeth incomplete.

“They cannot attack. They are blinded by my magic. It will take hours before they can see again. A bit of a problem for you I know,” I said a victorious smile upon my face.

Elizabeth cheered.

“Silence! My dogs don’t need to see. They can still smell you. So you see you cannot come down from there. You are still trapped. So leave me to my important work,” he smirked, continuing his formula around his circle.

But I did not need to get down. I took off my jacket and threw it over to the circle that was transporting the animals. The jacket fell upon it and covered it. The formula smudged, rendering the transport circle useless. Again I smiled. The dark magician did not see this, he continued with his work.

You see, the reason I did not erase the first formula from my hand was that I knew it may come in handy later. When I land, any dog that comes near me I will turn to stone. I rubbed the formula from my shoes, and began to gently sink to earth. A couple of Dobermans tried to attack me, but I saw to them; they would now make great garden ornaments. I could now tend to Elizabeth and finish this dark magician. When I turned to her, however, she was gone. As was our enemy.

“Where have you gone, dark magician?” I called out as I turned another dog to rock.

“Silence, old man. I am working now,” the dark magician said from the far side of the room.

I turned quickly to see him placing Elizabeth onto the table.

“What have you done to her?”

“She decided it would be better if she helped me in my mission. Very good of her, don’t you think?”

“And... What would your mission be exactly?” I said as I approached him, noticing immediately the large magic circle on the floor protecting him. He had added a locking formula; damn it not only was he a megalomaniac, but he was a smart one. The worst kind in my opinion.

“I am going to sacrifice this beauty, to appease my Lord. My Master, my God. He will come forth and smite all unbelievers. With this sacrifice I will summon him. He will answer me, and make me his agent. I will be all powerful.”

“Yeah, yeah. I have heard it all before. Mirages of the mind create delusions of the soul. And you have the most delusional soul I have come across in a long while,” I said as I analysed the circle before me.

Firstly I had to unlock the locking spell, then cancel out the circle. Something that would take time. As the right combination must be used to unlock the magical formula. Sort of like finding a pin number for a credit card. I simply did not have the time.

The dark magician had already began his ceremony. The ceremonial knife and candles already in place. He began chanting. I swallowed hard. Just then another Doberman made an attack at me. Of course the dog, why didn’t I think of it before? How silly. The dogs being a creation of the dark magician could pass through his circle. Getting one on my side, that was the easy part; a simple touch and the right incantation would do that. The difficult part is getting the dog still enough so I could do it. They weren’t exactly on my side.

The dark magician continued with his ritual. I just had to avoid the dogs, while I thought of a plan to calm one down long enough for me to do my work. You know the old saying: “The best way to a man’s heart is through his stomach.” Well, an animal is no different.

Avoiding the dogs was a little more difficult than I first thought. After all, dogs have good hearing and a great sense of smell. But I got there. I found an out of the way corner of the room.

Satisfied I was going to be okay for a while, I bent down, rather stiffly, and drew a little circle. Once I had completed the maths, a juicy piece of rump steak appeared. Perfect for a hungry dog. One just happened to find me no sooner than the meat appeared. What great timing. It snarled, until it caught scent of the meat, and from there it was an easy victim.

“As shadow is to me, you are now mine,” I whispered to the dog as it gulped down the steak. It wagged its stump of a tail. He was now my new best friend. “Attack the bad man. Attack him. Make me proud,” I commanded my new friend.

The dog stopped eating. Turned to the dark magician chanting behind the table and bolted for him. You see, I had cured the dog’s vision while I had his attention. He was now a perfect attack animal. The dog passed the magical force field of the dark magicians with a spark; and was upon him within seconds. He was not prepared for this attack. The result an easy target. I commanded the dog to hold him. He obeyed. God I love dogs, so eager to please.

“What... have you done, old man? I... I... must finish my work... .I must, it is nearly... complete,” the dark magician said, in absolute fear.

The circle had been broken by the dog. I could now approach the table with Elizabeth lying on it. But before I did that, I repaired the circle with my own formula. I did not want any more stray animals disturbing me.

“You’re finished, dark magician,” I said as I walked over to him. “Here, let me help you up.”

He reached out his hand. “Call off your dog.”

“Fido. Come!” The dog came, it seemed to like the name Fido.

“That’s better. Now get me up so I can finish you,” he spat finding a new confidence now that a Doberman was not breathing down his neck.

As my hand touched the dark magician’s to help him up, he turned instantly to stone.

“Oh dear, I forgot about that spell I had on my hand. Oh well, my garden looks like it’s going to have a lot of new ornaments in it.” I laughed. I suppose the dark magician didn’t see the funny side of that. He didn’t laugh back.

“Oh, L.J.P. thank you,” Elizabeth said as she was now free from the dark magicians holding spell. She was safe. We were both safe; well, from this guy at least.

“How about I buy us a thickshake? Would you like that, my treat?” she said getting off the cold metal table.

“Sure. I like double chocolate,” I said as I offered her my hand. “Hang on. I almost forgot again. I had better rub off this spell. I don’t want you as a statue, too. Lord knows I seem to have accumulated an awful lot of those lately.”

Elizabeth laughed. “Yeah. What happens to the ones that aren’t statues, will they be blind forever?”

“No, I just have to erase the transport circle and they will return to the ether in which they came, all except my new friend. I’ll call him Fido.”

But Elizabeth did not answer. She was just happy to be free.

“How about a cookie with that thickshake and it’s a deal?”

She smiled. “Come, Fido.”