Save Magic City

By Rocsanne Shield

Hurled into the time flow by a banishing spell, 13th century Edmund lands into the USA, 2007, in answer to Leona's fervent prayers for help to save her town.

The corporation employing the townspeople has left, the bank foreclosures have created whole streets of empty houses, people are leaving in droves... the town is slowly dying.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Stratton Press
• Release date: Mar 20, 2018
• ISBN: 9781948654616

Rocsanne Shield

Rocsanne Shield was born in Romania and traveled widely before settling in Canada. She spends her time among the flowers in her garden or at the computer writing more fantastic stories. You may visit her website at http://www.medievalhearts.com, where you can meet her other heroes and heroines.

Book preview

Characters in

Order of Appearance

2007

Leo—An eight-year-old boy.

Leona—Leo’s adoptive mother.

Sir Edmund—A wizard with problems.

1307

Arthur—Edmund’s brother-in-law.

Philippa—Edmund’s half-cousin and his intended bride (against her wishes).

Baby Simon—Philippa’s son from a previous marriage.

Lord Sloanne—A powerful sorcerer fighting evil under all its various forms.

Enhancer or, better, Enhanceress—A magic sword with a soul.

Blanche—Edmund’s half-sister and Arthur’s wife.

Sir Brandon d’Aubernon—A knight said to have traveled in time.

Lady Adrienne—Brandon’s wife who has the power to know the near future.

Mistress Emma—A healer with magic powers and Lord Sloanne’s wife.

2007

Nadine—Leona’s best friend.

Burt—Leader of baseball team.

Squirrel—An eight-year-old girl and Leo’s best friend.

Raccoon—A thirteen-year-old boy and Leo’s best friend.

The town’s mayor—Soon to be the ex-mayor.

Robert, the ex–Law King—A debarred lawyer.

Dan—The good-hearted trucker.

Fred, Mary, and children Josh, Annie, and baby—A family from Cancer County.

Marilyn—A drug addict and answers the Internet ad offering help for all in need.

Todd—A computer expert with illegal past activities.

Dialogue Guides:

Hello…—Characters’ verbal dialogues

Hello…—A person’s private thoughts

Hello…—Mental dialogues without audible words

Chapter 01

The Discovery

USA, late spring of 2007

"M om! Mom! Come see what I found!"

The dark-haired, dark-eyed eight-year-old boy stopped at the door of their little house. He knew she was his adoptive mother, but for the past two years, she had been all the family he had and he loved her so much.

Mom, you must!

I must what, little lion? Leona, his honey-blonde mom, asked.

Roaar! The boy immediately fell into their game, imitating the jungle king with much enthusiasm. He knew the meaning of his name, Leonard, was "strong lion," and he was proud of it. It was also a good means for Leona to make him eat and go to bed at an early hour so that he could grow big and strong as his namesake.

Roaar! Mom, you must come and see what I found. May I keep it? May I? Please?

Well, I suppose you might, if it is not a wild animal—you know, it may be sick or bite, and it might even die if you take it in captivity…

I know, I know. I promised I won’t bring any more to the house, and I kept it, didn’t I? Didn’t I, Mom?

You did, and you did.

I did and I did what?

You did promise and you did keep it.

So, may I keep it?

Keep what?

Dunno…It’s big and made of steel, and it’s in the forest, and we need the truck to bring it home.

Bring what home? she asked, but Leo was already rushing away from the house, intent on getting back to his find.

Leo, come back! First, you wash and sit down to eat then we go.

Mom, but what if someone finds it and takes it away?

You said it is big. If it is that big, nobody can take it away without a truck. It will last till you finish eating. But first, go and wash, now!

Mom, if I wash and promise to eat all on my plate, but later, when we come back… Leonard stopped to reconsider, and added, We could take sandwiches and bottles with water and have a picnic. Wouldn’t it be fantastic? He had learned a new word and now everything was fantastic.

We-ell…You win! She laughed with joy at her—yes, her son’s happy yell. They both enjoyed going for picnics, but they didn’t always have the time. No, that wasn’t entirely true. Leo always had time for fun and games. It was his job to be a happy child. She was the one without time on her hands. She worked at a jeweler’s shop, and customers were getting fewer by the day, so much so that Leona was afraid that the store would close.

The factory in their small town had already closed down and many of the townspeople had started to look for work somewhere else. Would it become a ghost town, as in the ages past, when miners would build a new life around a successful mine, only to move away as soon as the mine was exhausted?

Mom? Leonard, her little Leo, was back, water sparkling in his hair, which he had slicked back much like a grown-up.

Yes, my dear, I lost it again…

I’ll help you find it, Mom. Now can we go? It was another of their games. When she was lost in her thoughts, Leo would help her find the elusive IT, asking funny questions and making her laugh.

Several sandwiches and two water bottles later, mother and son were in the cabin of their truck, driving on the routed forest road, toward a place as yet hidden by foliage.

Stop here, Mom…It is not far, but not on the road.

What were you doing here alone? Don’t you know that on the other side of the hill there’s the old military camp? We are not supposed to wander about… The abandoned place retained an aura of danger and adventure for the town’s children, and in truth, dangerous things might still be around; therefore, Leona did not like to know her little lion was playing close to those grounds.

Awww, Mom, I just was Tarzan in the jungle and was flying from tree to tree, and then I found it, and then I came home to tell you—

And?

And take it home. Please? Mom?

If it can be taken home, and does not belong to the military—

Awww, Mom…

What is this mysterious IT? You remember what I said about guns and any weapons you may find—

Mom, if it is not a gun, how do I know if it is a weapon?

Well, anything that may be used to harm another—

No, I am sure it is not a weapon. It is too big to be moved from its place…At least, I don’t think it’s a weapon. Come, I’ll show you. As soon as the car stopped, Leo was out and running into the undergrowth.

What am I going to do with you? But her question remained unanswered. She had no choice but to follow in her son’s steps. Luckily, she was not dressed for work in the store, but for the kitchen. She had changed her slippers for sturdy outdoor walking boots, but otherwise she had remained in her light pants and summer blouse, which put her pleasantly plump silhouette to good advantage.

The low branches she had to push out of her way returned with a slap after her passage. But soon, the branches were no more in the way—they were broken, the young forest growth squashed by a heavy weight. A metal weight, with points of brilliance where the sun touched it. It was quite long, about six or seven feet, wider at the shoulders…shoulders?! She looked again and held her breath, astonished at what lay on the forest floor before her.

A metal body—an armor of some kind…a man of steel…military, definitely military. Probably one of those newfangled space suits made to look like a medieval armor…even down to the sword detail…

"Leo, we cannot take it with us. It is military in nature, and we have no right to cart it away.

But, Mom—

No but! We are leaving it here and forget we ever saw it. For all we know, it may still be active.

Active? What do you think it may do? A young boy’s curiosity, to which she had no answer. Then she had an idea.

Remember the story of the alien robot?

Of course! It was one of several among his favorite movies. But all robots in these movies were fighters from another galaxy with powers they could not even start to understand and who, in the end, learned to love human beings. Cool, Mom. Let’s take him home and—

No, Leo, we must not touch it… But she was already too late. Her curious son was opening the visor of the metal helmet.

Wow! Mom, there is somebody inside!

What are you talking about? Leo, let’s go.

No, Mom, truly, there is somebody inside. I see the eyes. They are open and looking at me. Mom, how cool could this be?! Leo’s words acted like a fist clamping on her heart. Was a live somebody inside, or a robot with extraordinary powers? Leona did not want to discover the truth, but she knew that if alive, that somebody might be in trouble and in need of help. She could not just leave without trying to find out.

Mom? It is looking at me…It wants to speak…What should I do?

Well, order it to talk, order it to tell if it needs help. Then we should know what to do.

Mom? You order it. You know how, not me…

Yeah, she knew how…Sometimes she had to order her son to eat, to wash, or to simply come in the house at night.

OK, I’ll do it. But just in case it might jump up and attack us, you better go back to the car and wait for me there.

Mo-om…I found it. You cannot chase me away! I want to see what will happen. Please?

Sure. As if I really expected you to obey!

Obey…Must obey…Only for the good… The voice seemed to exist inside her mind.

Leo? What did you say?

Nothing. I was just thinking how to take the helmet from the rest and—

No! Don’t touch it again! Wait for me to see what it’s made of. She took two more steps to close the gap between herself and the mysterious armor and bent over the open visor. A pair of black dilated pupils surrounded by the thin, grey rings of the irises, stared fixedly at her.

Are you hurt?

Order me…Must obey…The pain… came again the voice.

Are you a ventriloquist? As Leona stood slightly bent to look inside the helmet, she could see part of the face and a mouth contracted in a grimace of pain. She was already accustomed with the moving shadows under the trees, but even with their random changes, she was sure not even a single muscle of the metal encased face had moved.

Ventri-loquist? You mean…forget…pain…must obey…You must order! The strange sequence of ideas made Leona understand one thing—the robot needed someone to order it to perform, or something akin to pain would wreak havoc with its circuits.

Can you move? Oh, yes, order…I order you to answer by blinking once for no, twice for yes. Do you hear me? A double blink signaled to her that the hearing circuit was functioning OK.

Mom, is it cool or what? Like the robots under orders! ‘Obey, Obey.’ And laughingly, Leo imitated the robot from one of his favorite programs on TV. Surveying the robot’s face, Leona concluded the pain must have receded, for the grimace was less fierce. Should I try again?

Yes, pray order me…

Can you move? one blink was the answer.

Then, I order you to move your right hand. His right hand—big mistake—was the sword hand! But to her surprise, the metal fingers of the gauntlet moved, letting the sword fall to the ground. Now move the left! She was starting to enjoy the game. A robot, which needed orders to be actin, and she could order anything…

Not anything. Only for the good.

I did not speak. How could you tell what I thought?

’Tis complicated…

"I order you to stop reading my mind. ’Tis…Ha! It is not nice. What if I think I like to have a robot and you take advantage…No, a robot cannot do that. You are not human. You cannot do such dirty things to humans."

Mom, Mom, may I order it too? Pretty please?

Sure, try and see what happens. But think what you ask, or you may regret it…

Like the story with the genie? Three wishes?

Something like that, yes. But remember the story with the wishes?

The one with the sausage? Do you think if I ask for one, you will wish it to stick to my nose? And then I wish it gone and we have used all three wishes? Cool! The image of a sausage glued to his nose was so hilarious that Leo took his time to laugh and think what to wish for.

I know what I wish! Robot, I order you to speak. Tell us your story!

Could you wait…till you order me…to take…my armor off?

Wow! He does obey. ‘Obey, obey,’ and he launched back into his imitation of defective but submissive robots.

Who is ‘robot’?…I am Edmund, the robot’s voice interrupted the game.

You are? Why do you need us to order you to move? Only robots need orders. Robots are metal men, like you, and they have circuitry and stuff, and they are programmed. Is your suit programmed? Did you fall, or did you burn a chip? Do you need oil to get the rust out off the joints of your suit?

What be circuitry…or chip…I know not. I be…a knight in armor…Would like…to get it off. Pray, order me to do so… Several more orders and his headache would be gone, of this he was pretty sure.

Chapter 02

Where Was He?

In his mind, images were fighting to gain a hold, but all was too jumbled, the visions were succeeding too fast. Who was he? This much he did remember.

He was Edmund, a warrior, a wizard with problems, a victim of his own spells, and just now he could do nothing of his own will, unless ordered, and only by someone with good intentions in one’s mind. His memory replayed the last events of his life as he could remember them:

1307, Cowill Earldom, England

Still feeble after a disabling headache, with trembling hands, Edmund went through the task of girding his belt. He then attached the sword and felt ready to start on his way when he heard the sound of horses approaching, coming closer and closer by the moment.

Someone, or worse yet, several of them, were closing in on his hideout. They had the bolt of pain that had made him drop, disabled, to thank for their finding him before he was ready to face his enemies. He had accepted that no other way was left for him but stay and fight. His brother-by-law, Arthur, had cursed him to suffer unrelenting pain every time he did something damaging to another living being. As an adult, he had discounted the suffering of a baby separated from his mother. He had stolen baby Simon thinking thus to force Philippa, Simon’s mother, into agreeing to marry him. He had left the baby with an old woman who most certainly had no good intentions in her soul, and the curse had struck him, keeping him in the hut until now when, measuring by his lessening headache, Simon’s situation was somehow improved…Now the time for him to pay was at hand.

Thus reinforced in thought, Edmund left the hut intent to choose a spot that would help and add to his battling skills for this—his last stand. Only, he had lost sight of one thing: the man leading his enemies was a most powerful sorcerer, for whom time would obey his bidding and thus, Edmund found himself surrounded the moment he was out of the hut.

Let go of your sword, and we’ll let you live to be judged, shouted Arthur at Edmund’s sight.

My dear brother-by-law, are you forgetting the promise you made to my beautiful sister Blanche, your beloved wife?

We have promised you freedom and a second chance, on condition nobody suffers anymore at your hands. You sullied your word of honor, as if it was nothing to you. We can no more forgive you without a judgment.

Well then, prepare for a showing of force…I see you do not have the magic sword with you. What happened? Someone stole it from you the way you stole it from me? No matter what the reason, I’m glad of it, for it evens out the results of battle.

Wishing for a victory will not bring you one, Sir Edmund, intervened Lord Sloanne. We are not bound by any rules of chivalry to come at you one by one, and so, you’ll face the two of us at once. For the last time, let your sword fall and give yourself up."

Would you, in my place? Upon Lord Sloanne’s silence, Edmund added, I did not think so either. Well, attack is better than defense, and with his battle cry, he threw himself upon Arthur, as he was the weaker of his two opponents. But Arthur was already calling the curse spell to his aid.

Drop your sword! Remember to obey, or suffer as you pay! Even knowing the effect the curse had on his mind, Edmund was not to be stopped. If he were to die, at least he would take one of his enemies with him. The headache started pounding in his head and his sight blurred, but he continued moving toward Arthur, hoping for one last lucky strike…and one last lucky spell. He called out loud:

Enhancer sword, from whence you are, my order you’ll obey and show yourself—close to my fighting hand, to help the enemy defeat.

To everybody’s surprise, a slightly disoriented Blanche, with baby Simon leaning asleep on her shoulder, and her hand holding on to the Enhancer with iron grip, made a whooshing appearance in the clearing they were claiming as field of battle. Arthur’s heart gave a mighty beat; for he felt elated to see that his wife, Blanche, had baby Simon with her, yet at the same time afraid that Edmund still had a hold over her, as well as over the magic sword.

But neither Blanche, nor the sword seemed inclined to approach the embattled lord. On the contrary, as Blanche gathered her mind from the disturbing displacement she had suffered, she lifted the Enhancer and its red brilliant light made the men blink and look away. She could have passed the sword to Edmund, her beleaguered brother, but she did not move any closer. Her stance seemed to say, You keep your places, or I’m not responsible for the consequences. The Enhancer humming loudly in her hands was like a continuation of her arm and aimed threateningly at Edmund. No doubt, the sword had chosen to appear, but not to submit to its old master.

At almost the same instant, Lord Sloanne called upon the powers of the world for a banishment spell over Edmund.

"Be gone! Go far away, and lost to us;

With distance your powers loose.

Forgiveness that we offered, you have spurned…

A precious lesson have not yet learned.

In our hearts we still hope you will recant, and thus,

We will be waiting for you to repent…"

Meanwhile, Arthur, thinking how his brother-by-law would be imposing his extreme way of life on unsuspecting people wherever the banishment might take him, felt the need to improve on the initial call of the curse-spell,

"Wherever you be found, for any who would ask,

For good and for good only, you speed and do the task.

By my curse, to them forever you be bound!

Remember to obey, or suffer as you pay!"

As soon as Arthur finished, Lord Sloanne

continued from where he had stopped.

"Call not for help, unless human again are you,

Or feel, you will, how much we do resent you too."

A short pause for gathering more strength, and at his final call, Be gone! a strange thing happened. Edmund did not fall, nor suddenly disappear; instead, he began to lose substance. He became transparent so they could now see the hut behind him and the trees through his body. Gently, as if taken by a slow wind, Edmund’s image dispersed and disappeared, seemingly regretful to leave the world he had lived in until that moment.

Where was he gone to?

This, the scene of his banishment, came to haunt him again and again. He had been ordered to obey, and no pain should have been entailed unless…

Unless his actions were provoking suffering for someone else. But they all had wanted him to die, or to be away—as far as possible. Who then could be the one suffering at his hands?

Sloanne? Lord Sloanne was the wizard who had pronounced the banishing spell, so he could not be sorry for Edmund’s punishment. Young Arthur? He must be hating Edmund’s essence for the trouble he had created for Arthur and his friends, no less for Arthur’s wife, Edmund’s own sister, Blanche…And Blanche must be hating him for using her for his own interests, willfully fighting to free herself from his machinations. Mistress Emma? She was one person who would never forgive him for stealing her life force and leaving her at death’s door…so, no, not her either.

Still, the pain was so unrelenting that it needed a person, somebody who really suffered because of him to stir such a response in his mind. Only one of them could miss him at all, his half-sister, Blanche, of the golden hair and sweet nature. But he had made her hate him, just as he had with everybody else, had he not?

Blanche missed him! He must find his way back to her at least for this—her need for her big brother. But on another plane, he seemed to hear someone begging for help. Maybe not only one…A woman worried about a dying town and a boy wishing with all his heart for a father…not something that he knew about.

In the meantime, he could not move even his eyeballs from the pain that held him prisoner.

How was the spell going? Remember to obey, or suffer as you pay! This had been his favorite spell…when he had his powers intact, when the sword Enhancer was in his hands. This very spell had been turned against him when he, Edmund, had tried to ensnare Arthur and make the young knight his own slave. Interesting that he felt only regret, and not one of his murderous rages of the past.

Where was he?

All at once, he was interrupted from his painful musings by a child’s shout, Wow! Mom, there is somebody inside! and a powerful light blinded him completely. The boy had opened the visor of his helmet and a ray of sunshine had hit his unprotected eyes. Just as he could not move, he could not even blink. All he could do was think.

Obey…Must obey…Only for the good… With the last shreds of his fast fading consciousness, he projected his thought to the adult person whose presence he felt without seeing, hoping—against all hope—for help. Now that