Chapter 54: Last Resorts

It wasn’t only Darlene waiting for Wil at home. Bob was there, as was Sheriff Harrington, and an unfamiliar bald man who looked permanently grim and ready for trouble. Darlene was happy to see him, but she was the only one.

“What in the hell did you think you were doing?” Bob asked as soon as Wil stepped inside his dim living room. He’d made it back as the sun was setting, and had walked in, ready to collapse. It wasn’t the best way to be greeted after failing.

“You’re going to have to be more specific,” said Wil. He eyed the third man but didn’t say anything about him yet. “Was it the tearing up land in Gallard Springs, or…?”

Bob covered his face with his hand. “You know damned well it’s about Sheriff Boone.”

Sheriff Harrington spoke up. “He called me not long ago to complain about you. You’re getting a bit of a reputation of lawlessness.”

“Yes, I have some concerns.” The bald man’s voice was a low rumble. “Between the violence this winter, the bickering between wizards, a house exploding, and this, you people don’t make a very good impression. We will not tolerate any shenanigans while President Bullworth is visiting.”

Darlene sighed loud enough to be heard. “Welcome home, Wil. These gentlemen are here to see you.”

Wil chuckled. “Thanks, babe.” He continued past them and collapsed into his favorite cushy armchair. “I’ll address that in order, if you don’t mind. No? Good.

“Sheriff Boone, was it? He tried to stop me and threatened me, and so I sent him away harmlessly. He threatened me again and I ran because I don’t feel like being shot by someone who yells demands and threats first. We’re supposed to be innocent until proven guilty, right?

“Which leads me into point two. My reputation as lawless comes from people in power who throw that power around recklessly. It’s not my fault they start fights they can’t win. I’m not going to surrender to some bully yelling orders just because they think they can point a gun at me and I’ll do what they say.”

Once upon a time, he would’ve done that, Wil mused. A lot had happened in the last year. Something his father said to him came to mind. As he went through life and faced trials, Wil became a more refined version of himself. Sometimes that meant becoming more of himself, and sometimes it meant changing drastically.

“And the third point?” said the security man.

“Right. While these problems happen around me, I’m not the one causing them. I’m the one fixing them. The three men who invaded my home and blew up my best friend’s house are no longer in town, and I’m sure you and your men are good at what you do. I will not cause any problems, and I didn’t mean to cause them today. I was just trying to get my project finished.”

“And did you?” Darlene asked.

Wil let himself sink into the chair. “No, I overextended and hurt myself. The sheriff caught up to me as I was resting, and I had to run. Thomas is going to win.”

“I’m sorry, son,” said Bob. “You tried. Is there any way to fix things?”

“Like maybe getting the help of your local sheriff in talking to neighboring towns to get favors,” Sheriff Harrington suggested.

Wil laughed, holding his hands up in surrender. “You’re right. Next time I will. But…I need time to recover, and I don’t think we have it. It’s okay. We’ve got enough to give President Bullworth a good showing, but not enough to blow everyone’s minds.”

“Aside from the fact that what we did is already going to blow their minds and be applied all across the country,” said Darlene.

“I guess.”

The bald man cleared his throat. “You clearly have things to talk about. I’m here as a formality. The president is not worried about you. The worry is my own. If you are sure that the people you’ve been feuding with aren’t a danger and there are notable people of interest in town to worry about, then I’ll leave this.” He held up a folder full of files and slapped it down on a footstool and left the house.

Bob waited until the man left and then turned to Wil. “Mayor Pam wants to lodge a formal complaint about you. This makes multiple times now you’ve come to Gallard Springs and caused trouble. She wants to ban you from entering.”

Wil’s stomach dropped. “Well, that’s not good. What can I do to smooth things over?”

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“Now you’re talking sense,” said Sheriff Harrington. “You can apologize to the sheriff, maybe spend a night in jail as a token show of contrition. Undoing the damage you did would go a long way into making sure you’re not arrested on sight.”

“Now hold on a minute,” said Darlene. She tried to sit up but collapsed back into her seat. Getting around was hard for her now, but none of her fire had dimmed. “That’s not damage. That’s a highly complex working of runes and leylines, one that’s going to change their lives for the better.”

“They didn’t ask for it or want it,” said Bob, although he made a face. “And Pam is pissed at me specifically for letting you go ahead and do it anyway. It’s not good for neighboring towns like this to feud needlessly.”

Wil sighed and nodded. “After the presentation and the president’s visit, I’ll repair the damage and spend a night in jail and apologize.”

“I appreciate that, son,” said Harrington. “You don’t have to be at odds with the law. We could be allies, if you’re willing to work with me.”

Soon after, both of them left. Darlene waited ten seconds after the front door closed to ask, “You’re not serious, right?”

“No, I was lying through my teeth,” Wil laughed. “I’m going to use the president to smooth this over. I think I’ve got one chance to complete this, and it’s not going to be easy or pleasant. In fact, I’m pretty sure you’re not going to like my plan.”

Darlene eyed him warily. “If I’m not going to like it, get me a drink and the footbath first.”

Wil happily did as he was told. Most of his exhaustion was magical in nature, and although he wanted to curl up and fall asleep, he still had a little life in him to spare. Making a big pitcher of iced tea and heating the water for the footbath the old fashioned way gave him time to think of how he was going to pitch it.

“That’s better,” said Darlene as she rested with her feet in scalding water with a cold drink in hand. Her eyelids fluttered shut and she groaned as she made herself comfortable. “Alright, hit me with the stuff I won’t like.”

He popped off the top of his beer and took a drink. The cold and bitterness soothed him after two days of working himself to the bone. “Well, I can tell you right now that there’s no way I could possibly move any leylines around. I’m done for the next few days, and should probably avoid magic in general during then.”

Darlene grimaced and set her drink down. “That’s not what I was hoping to hear, but you sound awfully cheerful about it. If not you, then how are we going to do it?”

This was the part that he knew was likely to set her off, if anything did.

“Thomas is going to do it for me,” said Wil. “He’s not great at earth magic, and he doesn’t have the knack for changing the leylines I do, but he could finish it for us.”

His wonderful, patient, darling girlfriend nodded patiently and took a slow, deep breath. “And how on earth do you plan on getting the traitor to do that? I don’t exactly see him cooperating with us for any reason. Let alone one that might upstage him. Please tell me you’ve got a plan beyond asking nicely.”

Wil smiled.

“Godsdammit Wil,” Darlene groaned and covered her face with her hands. She drew her hands down, stretching out her face comically before she sighed and said, “You can’t be serious.”

“I am, actually.”

He didn’t expect her or anyone else to understand. Hell, if he suggested it to Bram, his friend might’ve gone on the angry tirade Darlene avoided. It wasn’t because he had any special plan or idea that would help him convince his former friend. Wil didn’t need one. Obviously, Darlene disagreed with that.

“Why? Why would he help?”

“He might not,” Wil admitted. He took another long drink of beer, and his head swimmed and flashed out. He was more tired than he thought. “But every step of the way he’s talked about how much he regretted hurting us and being sneaky. If he’s serious about it, he’s going to get the chance to make things right.”

Darlene waved him off. “I guess we really are down to our last resorts. I don’t think it’ll work. I think it’s a bad plan, actually. But I can tell by that stupid smile that you’re convinced it will and there’s nothing I can possibly do to convince you otherwise.”

Wil smiled wider.

“I hate you sometimes,” said Darlene.

“I know,” said Wil. And then an idea hit him. “Wanna put a wager on it?”

“You want to place a wager on whether the man who betrayed us will have a change of heart and help us beat him in front of everything and thus deny him of his greatest desire? You want to bet on whether or not we’ll win with the longest odds imaginable? Fine. What do you get if you win?”

Wil answered immediately. “You marry me.”

Darlene blinked. “What?”

“You’ve said no to me so far,” Wil said, “because you don’t want to feel pressured into it because of the baby. Well, I want to marry you, and I am confident this will work.”

“You’re serious?”

Wil finished off his beer and set it on a side table. “Completely. I don’t want to just squeak by, Darlene. I want the biggest win imaginable. And that includes having you by my side.”

She turned red, and tears filled her eyes. “Stupid pregnancy hormones,” she said, voice raw. “I was going to stick by your side regardless, idiot.”

“Yeah,” said Wil, “but this way you’re stuck with me forever.”

“And what if I win?” Darlene asked.

“I marry you. And you get to design the wedding that I’ll pay for.” He grinned as Darlene rolled her eyes.

“I’m designing it either way,” she said. “But you better get me a good ring. Not an expensive one, a good one.”

Wil stood up and kneeled to Darlene’s side. He took her hands in his and said, “You have my word. I want it all Darlene, and I want it with you.”

She had no more objections.