Chapter 13
Belfast, North Ireland
Sunday, December 11th, 2050
While I doubted I’d have been ever allowed to choose my plus one for the event, I couldn’t help but wonder if my conduct had influenced Sergeant Lakhdar’s choice of escort. I once again had found myself sharing a flight with Asahi Maki, the chosen champion of the Anti-Demonic League and Wizard Corps. The difference was that this time, I was right next to him. I won’t say that he was corpulent; his exercise routine saw to that. However, he loved rice and sugar far too much, and muscle takes up space, too. So, I ended up sharing some of my seat with the great hero.
“No upgrade to first class for us this time, sir?” I grunted, trying to defend my own space.
His booming laugh disturbed the other passengers and left my ears ringing. “That was a stroke of luck last time. Consider it part of your punishment for getting on Carine’s bad side.”
“Carine? Then you’re on a first name basis with her?”
He nodded. “There aren’t that many wizards. You’re bound to serve with everybody sooner or later, especially if they keep you busy like me.”
“I’m a bit surprised you could find the time for little old me, sir. I know they work you terribly hard.”
The man’s grin was positively feral, and it was one of those looks that made me half convinced he knew the full truth about me, but wasn’t choosing to end me yet. Headmaster Tachibana had once said he’d entrusted that secret to a trusted friend as insurance against me acting, well, demonic. As far as I was concerned, the Divine Blade himself was the prime candidate. I couldn’t exactly ask him directly, of course. So instead, I let the worry fester, as I had for months.
I’d been so caught up in my ruminations that I nearly missed his words. “The entire world doesn’t revolve around you, Mr. Marlowe. I was already invited. The only difference is that I’ve been ordered to keep you on a tight leash while we’re in North Ireland.”
And he was true to his word, never leaving my side for an instant all through security and customs. We were held up because a few of the guards insisted on autographs and photos with Mr. Maki, but it also meant less scrutiny for me.
At least, until a guard with a red dot in the middle of her forehead approached me. I wasn’t sure what it was for, but it looked intentional, and I wasn’t about to ask a security guard any potentially awkward questions. Not when we were so close to done!
“Oh! You are that Magpie Wizard guy!”
“You’ve heard of me?” I asked, a little taken aback.
“Of course! You saved that school in Japan. Can I get a picture with you?” Before I could answer, she was already next to me, holding up her phone.
“Miss…”
“Padma,” she said, tapping a button on her screen to change it from picture to video. I looked positively dashing, especially for someone who’d just spent all night in a tin can. “Can you say, ‘I am here with my good friend, Padma Patel’?”
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My old cad’s instincts told me to play along, just in case. She was a pretty young thing, after all. And if I was going to get accosted in public, I might as well have a little fun with her.
I flashed her a rakish grin as I pulled her close by her trim waist, bringing us face to face. I could have kissed her if I’d wanted, but there were limits to fun. “Padma Patel? I love the alliteration, my dear. A lovely name for a lovely woman. You’re wasted on such a drab uniform.”
She burst out in nervous laughter as she shut off the phone. I still held her close, so I could practically feel her knees knocking. “Th-that was not the line, but… oh, that one will keep me warm for a while.”
“Marlowe! Are you coming or not?” barked Mr. Maki.
I pulled back, tipping my green Wizard Corps cap at her. “Glad to be of service, Padma. Until we meet again.” Luckily, I’d chosen the cap over the beret; they’re harder to emote with.
Perhaps I should have laid off a bit; the poor girl nearly swooned. Her exaggerated response seemed a bit much, considering my actual role in the whole sorry affair.
“Not a bad little airport,” said Mr. Maki once we’d been cleared. Whatever they’d saved on the airfare had been spent on a private limo. Not an awful choice, given how crowded the buses all around us were. “Not as nice as the one in Dublin.”
“Sir, I have to ask. How the dev… dickens do all of these people have an opinion about me? You’ve all kept the media far away from me, and I spent most of the last few months in isolation. Heck, those cereal people barely got ahold of me.”
He frowned at that, shaking his head ruefully. “He steals my Wizard Puffs right out from under me, and he doesn’t even know how…”
“In all seriousness, sir, it’s a bit of a bother. You know why I would prefer that my whole role in the Tower Attack be forgotten.”
“Zone of Silence,” he intoned, cutting us off from the rest of the world. “You can consider it your penance for betraying us,” he said. “But to answer your question, do you recall what happened shortly before the Holy Brothers sprang their little trap?”
I thought through recent events. “The Horde made a play for Sumatra?”
“Exactly,” he said. “And we pushed them back, but the losses were staggering. We were already rebuilding our navies and air forces from the failed defense of England, and then we took another heavy blow on the opposite end of the Earth. Now the replacements for the Atlantic Command are going to have to be shared with the Pacific Command, and old ships that were due to be phased out are being held together with duct tape because they’re still mostly functional.”
“That’s… distressing.”
“The Tower Attack was almost convenient,” he said, glaring daggers at me. “Don’t get me wrong; it was an awful, cowardly display, Mr. Marlowe, and good people died needlessly.”
“Th-that they did, sir.” I squirmed in my seat. Poor, naïve, stubborn Rei. As much as I’d promised Mariko to forgive myself, that one was still a work in progress.
Seeing my distress, he backed off. “However, it let the people focus on a smashing success. No students died… well, aside from those who were helping the Holy Brothers.”
Such a lack of concern! It seemed I was the only one who mourned poor, delusional Rei.
Mr. Maki continued. “From the outside, it was the story of a group of trainees who managed to overcome a group of professional terrorists to save their headmaster and their school. The League capitalized on that to distract everyone from awkward questions about our military readiness.”
“But why me?”
“Remember your little broadcast, announcing that Maggie’s minions were on the run? It’s made you the spokesman for all of your friends,” he replied.
“They managed to get me groupies based on that? I was barely on air a minute!”
His laugh echoed in the magical bubble. “The internet doesn’t need much; they start making their own fun, if you let them. I’ve seen the polls; I’m still more popular…”
“Deservedly so, sir,” I said. Of course the old showboat was paying attention to popularity polls!
“It isn’t even close.” He looked down at me, almost with pity. “However, you have your niche. Let’s just say that you’re very popular with the sort of women who read romance novels about vampires.”
“I’ll take that as a compliment,” I said. “That waitress in Iceland must have been one of them, too.”
“Probably,” he said. “You’re being made a hero. Takehara, too, though the difference is that he earned accolades in Taiwan. He’s older news, while you’re the exciting new flavor. Enjoy it while you can.”
“I’ll try not to let it go to my head,” I said, all the while puffing myself up. The idea of being widely beloved was decidedly foreign to me, for all sorts of reasons. Still, if they were all so foolish, then who was I to disagree?