A Snow Drop Welcome

In March, in Gasparian, New York, the Snow Drops were the first flowers to show themselves after the long, cold months of winter.

Mrs. Snyder figured she was probably the only one to even notice the precious things and she did her best every year to prolong their short lives.

The only thing, however, she was ninety-two years old and to carry the filled water bucket with her walker, she had to lift it a few feet, put it down, struggle forward, then pick it up again, until she reached her precious, fleeting beauties. She tipped the bucket and they drank.

While she was hunched over, tipping the life-giving water, a loud noise approached fast over her shoulder, so loud she jumped in fright and dropped the heavy water bucket onto her flowers, crushing them.

Her backyard was lined by thick bushes and whatever it was apparently landed in the middle of them. Mrs. Snyder pushed herself up into a walking position and bravely shuffled to the still vibrating vegetation.

From out of it came a tall man with a black coat. His mouth smiled, though his eyes frowned. Peach sat on his shoulder, but she went unnoticed.

Mrs. Snyder was confused, to say the least, even perhaps a bit frightened, but she was determined to remain hospitable, as was the way of the people in her town.

Way Before The Wright Brothers

"This method of travel is an ancient magic, developed and known only by the Nefarious line. In this way, we were the first in the world to fly."

"Everyone knows the Wright Brothers were the first in the world to fly," Peach innocently corrected him. She looked around, but she could not tell where they were. Above them were stars, perhaps, and below them land, but everything was blurry and purple and a loud whistling noise interrupted her thoughts.

Roil laughed deep and long at her comment about the Wright Brothers.

"I see you have read a lot about history then?"

"Yes, I have read many books for my age."

"And how many books might that be, at your age?" Roil chuckled and mocked her, then his expression turned strange and he stopped smiling. "Yet, with all your knowledge, you know nothing really, do you? Especially this manner in which you are currently traveling!"

"We must be in some type of airplane."

"The Wright Brothers again, I see. No, I'm afraid you are as wrong as wrong can be. We are not in an airplane. In fact, we are in nothing at all, besides the sphere I have you confined in. I believe your great uncle, Ector, somehow learned this method of travel, and that is how he escaped me, along with my last queen."

Peach looked around again. The sky was a light blue just below them, and just above was the infinite blackness of space, right there for her to touch. What was this?

"You should be enjoying this!" Roil chided her.

"Why am I so small? What have you done to me?"

"I just made you easier to handle, that's all. Come now, can't you just relax and feel the cool air rushing over you?"

"I feel nothing, except closed in."

"Right, the sphere does that. Here, hold on a second."

Roil placed her atop his left shoulder and released her from the confines of the sphere. A cold, biting wind swept through her. She had trouble catching her breath and her eyes teared as she blinked rapidly.

"How are we doing this?"

"It's rather amazing, isn't it, and not bad at all for the environment like those nasty old jetliners. I know they say anyone can accomplish anything, as long as they put their mind to it, but this is pushing it to the extreme, don't you think?"

Roil spread his arms and his dark robes rippled in the wind like the wings of a great bat. He performed a long, graceful forward flip and past the top of the arc, Peach lost hold of him and she screamed and flailed her arms and legs frantically. Roil grabbed her and placed her once again on his shoulder.

"You can't fall out here because this magic is greater than the Earth's magic, or what you would probably call gravity."

He pushed her away until she floated beside him.

"See?" He held out his hand to her. "Come."

Gasparian, NY

Roil slowly turned to look at Peach more closely. She was sobbing inconsolably, hiding her face in her hands. Thort handed her a handkerchief and Roil scowled at him until he backed away to stand beside Tubble. Roil then stared at Peach some more wondering what to do. Finally, he sighed, and pointed a long, bony finger at her.

"I think it would be best if you came with me, to verify your information."

Just as he said this a beam of yellow light shot from the tip of his finger and struck Peach in the middle of her forehead. This yellow light turned into a sphere that enclosed her, and before it and she shrank to the size of a lemon, she fell into a deep trance she did not wake from until they were well on their way to America.

Somewhere over the Atlantic Ocean, the sensation of falling sharply awoke Peach from her deep, magical slumber. When she opened her eyes everything appeared huge to her and every audible sound had turned into a dull hum. She saw Roil Nefarious floating beside her, watching her in deep concentration. Her eyes locked onto his while he dug deep into her brain.

Just at this time, the words "Gasparian, NY" repeated over and over inside her mind. It seemed like Roil was causing it, and he was going to be able to see those words just by staring into her eyes. He looked gigantic standing beside her and that's when she realized she was the one who had changed proportions, and her eyes remained locked upon Roil's penetrating stare. The words "Gasparian, NY" kept right on pounding louder and louder inside her.

"Gasparian, NY," called out Roil and he looked at Peach triumphantly.

"How did you do that?"

"It has to be specific and I have to know something already. You told me America so I just had to ask 'Where in America is Ector Preux?' 'Where is Ector Preux?' simply wouldn't have cut it."

"But how did you see the thoughts inside my head?"

"Not all your thoughts. Only the answer to my question. Mind reading is equal parts cunning and concentration, as is most magic. This kind is common actually: used by most spell practitioners."

"But, how are we flying?"

Striking a Deal

"You're his little Peach then that he keeps asking about?"

"Is he okay?"

"He's alive. And that's all you need to know."

"My mother won't do anything, so I've come. I need my dad back."

"How heartwarming! So far we have honored his request not to hurt any of his family and yet, you come right to us. How ironic."

"Like I said, I'll tell you where Ector Preux is if you release my dad."

"Sounds like your terms are quite firmly in place. But, how do I know what you say is true and not made up just to set your father free? I mean, you are just a little girl after all, who would privilege you with such important information?"

"I heard my great aunt talking with my mother. I was outside. A window was open. They didn't know I was listening."

Even Peach thought what she was saying sounded false.

"Your great aunt..." Roil tapped his chin. "You mean Ector's sister?"

"Yes."

"My goodness, that woman cannot be trusted. She's insane! Why should I believe even a word she has to say, especially coming secondhand from a little thing like you? What if I release your father and what you say turns out to be nonsense, which I suspect it probably is. I'll end up on just another wild goose chase, and I'm beginning to have my fill of those."

Peach looked to Thort and Tubble who anticipated her response with bated breath.

"Please, let me just see my father and I will tell you."

"You sound like a girl desperate enough to make things up, right to the face of I, Roil Nefarious."

Roil began pacing the room exactly as he had everyday for the past week while the search for Ector Preux grew larger and longer, and as he started to feel more and more defeated.

"He's in America," said Peach at last.

"Where in America?"

"Let me see my father."

Roil threw his hands up in the air.

"What makes your loony aunt think Ector went there of all places?"

"Because that's where he sent his son all those many years ago."

Roil Nefarious stopped dead in his tracks.

Great News

Her father disappeared as she tried to take in the massive room before her. Not only was it huge, but its walls, from end to end were covered in dark oil paintings of every Nefarious wizard over the past 1,000 years.

"What have you two brought me?" asked Roil since Peach would not answer him.

"She says she knows where we can find old Ector," Thort answered for her.

"She what?" thundered Roil.

"She says she knows-"

"Yes yes, I heard what you said. What did she say exactly?"

"I was standing guard outside of Polonius's and she comes dawdling up and says, 'I know where Ector Preux is.' I couldn't believe my own ears."

"She used his last name?"

"Yes she did."

"Come, girl," said Roil, suddenly kindly, and he stood up. He was an unusually tall man at almost seven feet. His shoulders were hunched and neck arched as he was forced to look down on most people most of the time, except for his guards whom he motioned to step aside as he approached Peach. He placed a long, spider-like arm around her shoulder. "Be calm, child. I don't scare you that much, do I?"

She was not scared. Instead, she began seeing two of him again and her dad once more. His bruised, cut face flashed across her mind's eye with alarming clarity. She couldn't understand what he might have done wrong. This all happened months before they wanted Ector.

"I'll tell you where Ector is if you let my dad go."

Roil leaned back and smiled until eventually, he was beaming.

She Was Unafraid

Spiral turned and faced Thort, his eyes widening completely, contemplating the meaning of Thort's shouting, then lazily closed them again halfway.

"There's no need to raise your voice," he said as calmly as ever.

Thort held his ground until the white tiger pushed the front door of the house open with his paw. They had to step down a few feet in order to enter. The ancient, stone building was, over the centuries, sinking into the forest soil, and the roof, with all of its moss and dead branches, must certainly have looked like the forest floor itself from the sky up above.

Because the giant guards had to crouch nearly in half to enter, Tubble took Peach off his shoulders and stood her on the ground between Thort and himself. Spiral turned and stared at her, but somehow she was calm and unafraid. Just as her feet touched the floor, her powers kicked in and she was able to see what happened to her father, some six months prior. He was pushed through this same crypt-like door, across this very threshold she now stood on, his hands tied behind his back as one of the guards, yes, Tubble it was, did the pushing.

A man sat on the couch in front of her father, the same man sitting on the same couch in front of her, with his back to both of them, concentrating on the flames in his roaring fireplace. Peach could hear the wood crackling and feel its heat. The scene in her mind was exactly the same as the one in front of her, just minus her father. Then, in both vision and real life, the man sitting on the couch turned around, and yes, he was the same man in both.

He was Roil Nefarious.

"Who are you?" he asked Peach, just as he had asked her father.

Spiral

Finally, it appeared they came to a dead end.

"Where is it?" Thort asked out loud, reaching about and touching every branch within sight.

Tubble moved forward with Peach still on his shoulders. Leaves scratched the top of her head and branches poked her in the side. Tubble thrust his hands between two unusual leaves of an orange color and when he pulled out he was holding a black vine. He yanked on it roughly and the brush and trees in front of them slid away to either side. Peach could see it was in fact a double sliding door painted exactly like the surrounding environment, practically in 3-D. Then, her eyes met what was facing them on the other side.

A large white tiger sat staring back at them in front of a low, darkened house. Even from where she sat on Tubble's shoulders, Peach could see there was something incredibly strange about its eyes. From over thirty feet away she could see they were glowing. The tiger stood up and walked towards them, keeping his horrible gaze on Peach the entire time.

"We need to see Roil," said Thort as if the tiger would understand him.

Peach could now better see what made the tiger's eyes so horrible. They were green with red blood vessels spreading out from thin black centers in undulating lines, like they were vibrating. Tubble held tightly to Peach's legs once she started pushing back in horror.

"Why do you bring a little child to me?" asked the tiger, ignoring Thort's demand. Peach was shocked to hear it talk. It had a man's voice, very gentle, but that only made him even more horrible. "Why do you keep her up so high?" he talked again, licking his lips.

"She is not for you, Spiral. Now once again, where is Roil?"

Still the tiger stared at Peach.

"Spiral, your master, where is he?"

Peach could not look away from his pulsating eyes, the blood vessels vibrating, the green glowing.

"Spiral!"