The Blender’s Bargain – Chapter 9

Archie

Garrick had his arms around me. Me! We were close enough to kiss! And I had to go and break the spell by talking.

Dumb move, Archie.

“We should turn on the news,” he says, placing his hand on my shoulder. “And no, you shouldn’t go anywhere.”

I run a hand through my hair, rattled by the heated undercurrent now charging the room. I shouldn’t have let my guard down, shouldn’t have stayed when I was already tipsy. The wine loosened me up just enough to let long buried feelings rise too close to the surface. Feelings I have no business entertaining, especially after Lex.

A muffled voice interrupts my spiraling thoughts. “Good heavens, what was that dreadful shaking?”

I glance at the coffee table and find both the blender and toaster on the floor amid the wreckage of books and knickknacks that fell from the shelves.

Garrick hurries over to right the appliances. “Are you two all right in there? That shaking was an earthquake.”

“Earthquake?” Arvid’s refined voice drifts up, tinged with disbelief. “The very earth trembled and heaved? How alarming!”

I stifle a chuckle. We take seismic activity for granted, but for someone from ancient times, it must seem fantastical. “Don’t worry. It’s pretty normal here. Just a little shaking.”

Ysroth harrumphs, unconvinced. “Simply delightful. As if being trapped in a kitchen appliance weren’t dreadful enough, now the ground itself quakes and shudders without warning. You modern folk must have nerves of steel.”

I laugh. “We’re used to it. Latara is famous for earthquakes.”

“Latara…” Ysroth muses. “We called it Latara too in our time, known for its mountains and forests, not unsteady ground.”

Something tugs at my memory. “How long ago do you think you lived here?”

Garrick snaps his fingers. “Yeah, I’m wondering the same thing. Maybe they lived here in ancient times, before the continents started to shift.”

“Indeed, we were among the first inhabitants here,” Arvid confirms. “Though much of our history has doubtless been lost in the intervening ages.”

My eyes widen. “Not really. I just took the kids in my class on a field trip to see ancient Lataran artifacts. We saw all kinds of your weapons and art.”

“You don’t say.” Ysroth sounds pleased. “Well, I’m delighted our legacy lives on, even if only in dusty old relics.”

Huh. To think our museum collection holds artifacts from the very civilization these beings hailed from, centuries upon centuries ago. It’s incredible.

“When we settled here over three hundred years ago, there were no humans. Just artifacts,” Garrick says, his eyes trained on the window.

“I’m sorry. What did you say?” Ysroth asks.

Garrick doesn’t respond, so I step in. “Our ships arrived here from Earth three centuries ago. The planet was uninhabited, but we found the artifacts within a few decades.”

“Ships?” Ysroth asks.

“Spaceships.” I nod and follow Garrick to the window.

“I don’t understand.” Ysroth sighs. “What is this ‘space’ you speak of?”

Before we can explain further, the TV against the far wall crackles to life. Garrick shoots me a bewildered look. Neither of us turned it on.

A newscaster’s voice fills the room.

“…reporting live with some disturbing updates on the strange events occurring not just here in Stellura today, but across the continent.” The camera zooms out to reveal a flustered reporter standing on a city street. “I’m coming to you live from Vieil Étoile, where earlier reports of peculiar seismic activity have given way to something even more bizarre.”

The appliances fall silent, and Garrick and I exchange an uneasy glance. This doesn’t sound good.

The newscaster continues, pressing a finger to his earpiece. “I’m receiving word now that something unprecedented is unfolding in Lumina Heights. Unconfirmed reports describe fissures opening in the streets, and some sort of… anomaly emerging from within.”

“What on earth?” Garrick murmurs. Dread uncurls in the pit of my stomach. First possessed objects, now this?

Ysroth speaks up, urgency in his gravelly voice. “Quickly, turn up the volume on that damned contraption. We must gather as much information as we can.”

Garrick grabs the remote and increases the volume as the news switches to a different reporter.

“…strange tremors preceded the incident, with epicenters shifting across the continent,” the reporter explains. “Scientists are unable to explain this abnormal seismic activity.”

The footage shows shaky phone video of cracks splitting pavements, and the signal cuts out. Another grainy video starts, providing a glimpse of the source itself — a swirling vortex emitting an eerie purple glow. The caption below reads “Mysterious anomaly – Lumina Heights.”

I glance wide-eyed at Garrick. “That’s not far from here.”

He nods. “Something wicked this way comes.”

I burst out with a quick laugh. “All you literature people love Shakespeare.”

Ysroth and Arvid murmur to each other from their places on the table, sounding increasingly concerned. Finally, Arvid speaks up. “Master Garrick, Mistress Archie, I’m afraid this constitutes dark magic of the highest order.”

Garrick mutes the television, and we turn our full attention to the appliances. “What do you mean, dark magic?” I ask.

Ysroth sighs. “What you’re dealing with here is no mere parlor trick or illusion. The tremors, the cracks, the strange occurrences — they all point to someone tampering with volatile primordial powers.”

I swallow hard. “But who would do that? And why here, why now?”

“Those are excellent questions,” Arvid replies. “I’m afraid we lack answers. But one thing is clear, dangerous magic has been unleashed upon your city. Whether by a sorcerer or a natural event, we do not know. But we must act quickly to contain it.”

“Contain it?” Garrick looks incredulous, raking a hand through his hair. “How are we supposed to contain fucking magical fissures opening up everywhere?”

I blink at his language and nod. It’s nice to know I’m not the only foul-mouthed teacher who suppresses it at school.

“He has a point. This is way beyond our skill set,” I point out.

Ysroth huffs. “Now, now. No need for hysterics. Obviously, you lack the proper training, but luckily for you, we’re here to advise.”

“Training?” Garrick and I ask at the same time.

I don’t like the sound of this.

“We must start by investigating one of these rifts,” Arvid explains. “The one in… Lumina Heights, was it? If we can examine it directly, we may be able to determine the precise nature of the magic at work.”

“And then figure out how to seal it back up,” Ysroth adds.

Hmm, I don’t know about this. I glance between the appliances and Garrick. Traipsing straight into the heart of the bizarre happenings feels unwise. But the appliances clearly know far more about the magical forces at play here than we do. Refusing their guidance seems even more dangerous.

Garrick sighs, shaking his head. “Okay, say we check this thing out. What do we do if it’s…? I don’t know, something straight out of our worst nightmares?”

“Fear not!” Ysroth proclaims. “With my centuries of magical experience, any demon or apparition will prove no match for us.”

Somehow, his blustering confidence fails to reassure me.

“You’re stuck in a blender!” I yell at him, my voice cracking. “You can’t do anything!”

“Patience, Mistress Archie. We will figure this out together.”

I close my eyes and tip my head back. We’re already in too deep to turn back now, but there’s nothing I wouldn’t give to rewind time and go back to Garrick and me sitting on the couch together.

Actually, that sounds like a great idea.

“Fuck this,” I say, and Garrick turns to me with wide eyes. “I am so done with everything.” I walk up to the blender and pick it up. “Why don’t you take your earthquakes and your magic and your stupid ideas and talk to someone else? Hear me? I’m done.”

I set the blender back down on the coffee table and grab my bag.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa,” Garrick cautions, stepping in front of me with his arms outstretched. “Archie, what are you doing? You can’t leave.”

“Why not?” I retort, throwing my hands up in frustration. “I didn’t sign up for this. I just wanted to start my summer vacation. Go drown my sorrows about being dumped by Lex with my parents at the lake, not to be thrown into some crazy magical apocalypse.”

Garrick steps closer to me, his voice softening. “I know it’s overwhelming, but we can’t just ignore this. I don’t know why we were picked to listen to these magicians stuck in appliances, but we were.”

I shake my head, tears prickling at the corners of my eyes. “I can’t do this. I’m not a hero. I’m just a teacher. I don’t have any special powers or abilities. I’m a regular, ordinary, boring person.”

I was supposed to spend this summer lazing about in the lake, eating the amazing food my father makes, and drinking wine with my mother into the late night. Going on a magical quest? I’m afraid someone is going to get me committed.

“That doesn’t mean you can’t make a difference,” Garrick says, his voice firm. “You’re more than that,” he insists. He steps forward and takes my cheeks in his hands, his eyes meeting mine. Oh. I’m breathless. “You’re brave and smart and resourceful. And you’re not alone in this. We have each other, and we have those two weirdoes to guide us.” He jerks his head at Ysroth and Arvid.

“I heard that,” Ysroth grumbles.

I take a deep breath, trying to steady myself. He’s right, of course. I can’t just abandon everyone to whatever darkness is brewing in Lumina Heights. Not if I’ve been ‘chosen’ by these magical appliances to help.

But shit, this is terrifying.

“I’ll stay,” I say finally, my voice caught in my throat. “But I’m scared. I don’t know what to do.”

His hands fall to mine and squeeze once before he lets go. “We’re together. You’re not alone.”

Garrick by my side? What could go wrong? I almost laugh.

“Well, we should probably get moving then, right? It’s a good thing I wore my walking shoes today.”

I press my hand to my mouth as my body attempts to yawn and pull me back to the sleep I need. The end of the school year is always the hardest, and I forgo sleep in order to finish up final grades, gather art projects, and make something special for each student.

Instead, I attempt a confident smile despite my heart hammering in my chest. “It’ll be fun. We’ll take lots of pictures.”

Garrick snorts. “Somehow, I don’t think this will end up on any postcards.” But I catch the flicker of amusement in his eyes before he turns away to grab his shoes.

Ysroth harrumphs. “Postcards and pictures! Such odd notions you moderns have.”

I stifle a laugh as I gather the appliances into two bags. Our new friends clearly have a lot to learn about this era.

Locking the door behind us, Garrick and I make our way downstairs to the street. The night air holds an electric charge, humming with restless energy. In the distance, sirens wail. I shiver despite the balmy temperature.

“Do you think we could catch a cab, or…?” I ask, looking left and right. It’s possible that everything in the city is shut down, including the streets.

“This way.” Garrick gestures down the street. “Maybe on the avenue.”

The sidewalk is riddled with new cracks in the pavement, there are buckles in the road, and shattered glass is everywhere. The earthquake was pretty strong.

On the avenue, Garrick hails a taxi, opening the door for me to slide in. As he climbs in after, I catch the taxi driver eyeing our bags.

“Lumina Heights,” Garrick says, leaning forward. “The quicker, the better.”

The driver grunts, returning his attention to navigating the now chaotic streets. Garrick’s hand covers mine, a silent gesture of reassurance. I lace my fingers through his, struck again by his steadfast presence amid the upheaval.

He doesn’t let go.