Chapter 19: Racing into Trouble

Chapter 19: Racing into Trouble

“Wow!” I exclaimed, my mouth dropping open. “This isn’t like any automobile I’ve ever seen before.”

While it was similar to a normal car in that it had four wheels and an engine, that was where the similarities ended. A shimmering glass canopy covered the passenger area and the frame looked much more rounded than a normal car would be.

Mr. Penderblast beamed with pride. “That’s because I fixed it up. Those peasants can drive about all they like in their crude-looking conveyances but I intend to drive in style.”

Mana Powered Car

Grade: B

Created by Penderblast

While I was still interested in learning about combustion engines, I was even more curious about mana engines after reading that description.

“How is your car powered by mana?” I asked as he opened the hatch for me.

“I’m glad you asked,” he said, closing me in and walking around to the driver’s side. “Would you like to help me power it up?”

“What do I have to do?” I asked, eager to see the machine in action.

“Hold this,” he said with a twisted smile on his face.

I knew something was wrong the moment I took the small metal rod attached to a string. It felt similar to the ritual Miss Spencer taught me. Parts of my soul were carved from my core and sucked out as though through a straw.

Mr. Penderblast held his hand over mine and said, “Don’t drop it. It only works while you stay in contact.”

It continued for about a minute until I felt myself start to get dizzy. Then the device stopped all on its own. When he saw me sag in my seat, Mr. Penderblast smiled and took the rod out of my hand.

“Excellent! That outta be enough fuel to get us to Manhattan. “What did you think?”

My hands we tingling the same way they did when I held the flibberjublet. I also felt…drained. “I don’t know. What did it do exactly?”

The grin was back on his face. “We use negative mana pressure to siphon mana through direct skin contact. That mana is stored in a fuel cell which can then power limited magic items. It’s not the same as powering them directly, but it opens up a lot of avenues for us.”

“Neat,” I replied, settling into my seat as the car hummed to life.

The next thing I knew, we were on our way back to Manhattan. The ride was smoother than I’d come to expect from traveling in cars. It also accelerated differently than I was used to. Rather than stuttering briefly when it changed gears, the transition from slow to fast was seamless.

“I’m fairly confident I can take it over two hundred miles per hour,” Mr. Penderblast boasted as we crossed the Brooklyn Bridge. “Not that I’ve had the opportunity to test it yet. Would you like to accompany me when I do?”

I gaped at him. That sounded dangerous. He’d almost exploded himself once since I met him and now he wanted to drive nearly four times the legal speed limit.

“Do I have to be in the car when you do it?” I asked, hoping to find a diplomatic way out.

“Not if you don’t want to,” he laughed. “But don’t you want to live a little?”

“That’s exactly why I don’t want to be in the car!” I shot back, causing us both to laugh.

He got out and opened the hatch for me when we arrived at the orphanage. “Do you need me to walk you in?”

I shook my head. “No. That’ll probably just make it worse.”

“Remember the Tinkerer’s Guild,” he said, as he climbed back in his car and pulled the hatch shut.

Then he was gone.

I expected Miss Havasu to be mad. Actually, I expected her to be asleep. She was neither. Even though it was well after midnight, she sat at her desk engrossed in a novel.

“Ah, Mr. Evans,” she said, looking at me through her spectacles as she set the book down. “I see you’re still ignoring curfew.”

“I’m sorry,” I mumbled. “It was out of my control, I-”

She held up a hand to cut me off. “I don’t want to hear excuses. However, I do want to talk about the food.”

“I’ll bring some tomorrow,” I began again. “I promise-”

She cut me off again. “The food that arrived today was more than adequate. The courier delivered enough food for three meals for everyone and only had to be reheated. You’ve outdone yourself.”

“I have?” I asked, wondering just what Miss Aires did.

“Yes,” she replied with a smile. “While it remains to be seen how much money you’re going to pitch in from this new job, I do have to say, I like the food very much.”

“Uh, thanks,” I offered, still unsure whether a punishment was coming.

“Did you earn anything today?” She asked outright when I didn’t comment on the income situation.

I shook my head. “Something came up and I-”

She waved my excuse off. “Today you get a free pass for the delicious food. Just see to it that you sort yourself out tomorrow. Have a good night, Oliver.”

Not looking a gift horse in the mouth, I quickly retreated and made my way upstairs. When I got to the girl’s floor, I tried to tiptoe to the stairwell leading up to my room but was caught off guard by a whispered voice coming from the window.

“Oliver, is that you?” Beth asked, beckoning for me to come outside.

I turned and tiptoed over to her. “Yeah. What are you doing up? Isn’t it cold out there?”

She nodded, rubbing her arms for good measure. “Of course it’s cold. I need you to come with me though.”

My face flushed with heat as I realized what she was asking. Wordlessly, I climbed through the window and followed her up the fire escape to the roof.

What greeted me in my private space was an even stranger sight. Gordon sat on the wall right next to Sam. I gave Beth an incredulous look and she returned a reassuring smile. “Relax Oliver, we’re here to help.”

I eyed Gordon nervously, worried he was going to find the book on magic bags that was hidden just a few feet from him. A part of me was also convinced he was holding my two friends against their will somehow. He seemed to notice this.

“Relax, Runt,” he said, holding his hands up as a sign of peace. “You’re obviously into something good and I want in. You missed it today but we ate like kings this morning.”

“And for dinner,” Sam pointed out helpfully. “I can’t remember the last time I had pot roast. That was delicious.”

“Focus, you two,” Beth said, scowling at the two boys for good measure. “The point is, we’re worried about you. Did you just work all day to pay for that?”

“No,” I replied, sitting on the wall next to Beth. “I traded something I made yesterday for the food. Today was…different. I did something on accident and got lost.”

“What happened?” Sam asked with a look of concern on his face. “You were gone again when I woke up. I thought you were just getting an early start.”

“I can’t explain what happened,” I continued. “But I saw Grace.”

That earned me a collective gasp from both Sam and Beth. Gordon didn’t react but that was just because I’d never shared the intimate details of my past with him.

“Was it your stepmom?” Beth asked, the scowl returning to her face as she said the word.

“No,” I replied. “Not exactly. Anyhow, I wound up in Brooklyn with no way back, so I started walking and found another guild over there. I found out they have bedrooms there so I took a nap and sort of overslept. Then a man I met there drove me home.”

I left out a lot of details but I had no clue how I was going to explain the rest of it to Beth and Gordon. Then I got an idea.

“Would you guys like to see the guild?” I asked, looking toward the Chrysler Building in the distance as it towered over the other buildings in the area.

“It’s awful late,” Beth said, fidgeting with her shirt. “Can’t we do it in the morning?”

I shook my head. “It’s more crowded during the day. I might be able to sneak you in since it’s late.”

She still shook her head. “It’s dangerous to walk around at night. Let’s do it in the morning.”

I sighed, looking over at the boys. While they seemed less hesitant about the idea, neither of them dared to go against Beth. In the end, we agreed to head out at first light.

Sam stopped me when we got to our room. “Here’s the money from today’s deliveries. Did you manage to get more today?”

I shook my head as he slipped a handful of copper to me. “I didn’t make it to my guild. We can get more for all of you in the morning.”

He nodded absently. “What are you going to do?”

I shrugged, knowing full well I was going to have to face the music with both Miss Aires and Miss Spencer for ditching them. Would either of them believe my shadow kidnapped me and exiled me in Brooklyn? Maybe Mr. Penderblast could vouch for me.

Congratulations, you have reached level 4

+100 HP

+100 Mana

+100 Stamina

Skill Unlocked: Appraise

I woke with a start. Something was very wrong. A tingling sensation started in my core and spread through my body. It felt like I had to pee, followed by a sudden feeling of intense relief. I struggled to stifle a moan as the feeling swept over me in waves. The red text claiming I leveled up still hung in the darkness.

Focusing on the text helped take the edge off of the intensity I was experiencing. I was level four but I already knew that. Was there a delay between the red and the yellow words? Why did the red ones only show up when I slept? Had I received them before? What was Appraise?

Info: Appraise allows further Analysis to determine the condition of an item.

I digested the new message as the last of the euphoria washed away. Appraise sounded useful. I was going to have to try it out. First, though, I worried I was going to need a change of pants. It felt like I’d wet myself. Strangely, when I checked, I found my underwear was clean and dry.

Self Cleaning Underwear

Rank: B

Condition: 98%

Made by: Spencer

Info: Absorbs most contaminants.

Did I just do two percent damage to my underwear? However, I was satisfied that I was still clean. A part of me wanted to put my fancy underwear to the ultimate test. However, the thought of everyone laughing at me if my magic undies failed the test put the kibosh on that real quick.

***

Even though I’d slept most of the previous day, I was still groggy when Sam woke me. Gordon was already up and anxious to leave.

“Do you think breakfast is here yet?” He asked. “I want to get my share before we go.”

“We can eat at the guild,” I replied, sitting up in my bed and rubbing the sleep from my eyes.

“They better have good food,” Gordon replied, making a fist at me. “Or else!”

“Where do you think all the food you ate today came from?” I asked, chuckling nervously.

He shrugged but the answer must have been enough because he walked through the door without another word. When I felt ready, I emerged into the hall to find the three of them waiting for me. Beth stood by the open window and asked, “Are you ready?”

“Why the window?” I asked.

She held a finger to her lips for me to lower my tone. “While you’re allowed to do this, none of us are. We need to come back before breakfast and do our normal jobs. We can deliver packages in between.”

Gordon climbed out the window and gave me a hard stare. “There had better be food!”