Aubrey Arthur and the Last Refuge of Magic

By Russ Anderson, Jr and Michael Fogg

Nearly two years have passed since the magic died.

Twelve year-old orphan Aubrey Arthur is the only source of magic left in a world once teeming with enchantment, and that has made her an unwilling beacon to the world’s few surviving magical creatures. A giant with the body of a man and the head of a horse, a goblin who eats nightmares, a beautiful forest spirit who looks human except for her long cow’s tail. These refugees, and more, have come from all across the globe to gather at her isolated Louisiana home. Some are peaceful, some are dangerous. Others are just plain hungry. When a remnant of the most evil witch in history shows up on her doorstep, though, Aubrey must decide whether all survivors are truly welcome at the safe haven she’s created. Things are complicated by the arrival of a mysterious, sword-wielding intruder who seems intent on driving the magical refugees away, and a new girl at school named Zora--who may end up being the biggest threat of all.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Russ Anderson, Jr
• Release date: Feb 4, 2023
• ISBN: 9798215518977

Book preview

CHAPTER ONE

The horses huffed and grunted, sedated by the evening’s damp, oppressive heat. Aubrey Arthur tried not to disturb them as she crept down the aisle between their stalls.

Aubrey was just shy of her thirteenth birthday, and wore an old, baggy Star Wars T-shirt that made her look even younger. She was under five feet tall, with thick, dark hair, olive skin, and bright blue eyes. Anyone who saw her lurking in the stables that night might have thought she was indulging a young girl’s passion for horses—but Aubrey didn’t particularly like horses, didn’t like their musky smell or the fact that they pooped wherever they pleased or that they could be as temperamental and unpredictable as cats. She wasn’t here for them.

Her walkie talkie crackled, and she drew it out of the old canvas backpack slung over one shoulder. What is it? she asked.

Is Ruby with you? Martin demanded from the speaker, his voice staticky and distant.

No, I thought she was with you. Aubrey gave the talkie a confused look. Where are you? she asked.

Over by the pasture. I'm not getting any blips on the witch glass. Are you sure we're in the right place?

Aubrey cast her light across the floor, being careful not to raise the beam too high. She was trespassing, and it would be difficult to explain what she was doing if somebody saw her light and caught her here. Somehow, she didn't think the truth would go over well: Sorry to intrude, but we're looking for a magical creature who may be hiding here because our town is probably the last place in the world with magic. You haven't seen any fairies or centaurs, have you?

Nope. Better to just pretend she and Martin were a couple of kids from town who thought it would be fun to spend a school night dodging horse patties in the dark. Better still to just not get caught in the first place. She was taking a chance using the light at all, but she certainly wasn't going to find anything without it. She'd never been very good at hide-and-seek.

That’s what Ruby said, she told Martin, but her tone was uncertain and troubled. Some birds told her a small magical animal has been hanging around this farm for days now.

"Wait… Ruby can actually talk to birds? Martin asked. I thought it was just an expression. You know, like, ‘a little bird told me’?"

Sure she can. Aubrey paused, a terrible thought occurring to her. But I mean… I've never seen her do it.

Martin sputtered. "So she might have sent us out here as a joke?"

She wouldn't do that, Aubrey replied.

She might be back at the house right now, watching Lifetime and turning the tap water into brandy! Again!

Just take a breath, okay?

I'm trying not to! Did you know they pile all the manure up in big mounds on the edge of the pasture? They're taller than me! I thought they were hills! I almost climbed up on top of one!

Aubrey sighed. She could hear the horses, she could smell the horses, but she couldn't really see any of them. If there was something in here that wasn't supposed to be—other than her, of course—there was no way she was going to find it unless it walked right into her flashlight beam. They should have prepared more, maybe used a little of their precious magic to cast a finding spell.

We need a better plan, she said to Martin. Meet me back at the road.

Hallelujah, Martin said, and signed off before she could change her mind.

Aubrey slipped the walkie talkie into her pack. Then she cleared her throat and spoke into the darkness.

My name is Aubrey Arthur. I’m a friend. I can take you to a safe place. If you stay here, you'll get caught, and that'll be bad for both of us.

She waited a few seconds.

Then… she heard it more than saw it, a dark something flitting across the dim light from the door at the end of the aisle. It passed no more than ten feet in front of her before disappearing again. She heard it scurry across a pile of hay. A horse snorted irritably.

Aubrey held her breath and waited to see if it would appear again. Was it just a rat? She really, really hoped it wasn't a rat, because it looked about the size of a dog.

When Ruby had told her something magical might be hiding out at the horse farm out on Curtwood Road, she’d been light on details. The ‘birds’ who had supposedly given her the informa-tion hadn't been much help in identifying the creature. All they'd told her was that it was small, and it wasn't making much of an effort to conceal itself. Aubrey had no idea if the thing was dangerous. She switched the flashlight to her other hand so she could wipe the sweat off her palm.

She shone her light into the stall where she thought the shadow had gone. An old chestnut colored horse looked up reproachfully from its spot on the floor. Aubrey checked the corners—all empty—before moving on.

I’m not going to hurt you, she said, dearly hoping that whatever-it-was felt the same way about her. There are more like you. Survivors. We can help you.

The horse in the next stall was pressed against the back wall, as far from the gate as possible. Its tail battered the air and its head jerked back and forth like it was being harried by a fly. Clearly, it was a little freaked out.

What's the matter, boy? she asked, though she had no idea whether the horse was a boy or not. Something get in there with you?

Not wanting to get too close to the skittish horse, Aubrey shone her light through the gate that led into the stall. Some-thing small and pink peered out at her through the slats. She had been right about its size, but she couldn't make out much more about it with the gate in the way. Its eyes were wide and frightened.

I'm not going to hurt you, she said again. Why don’t you come out of there?

She moved closer, trying to get a better look, but the creature didn't like the light. It pressed backward, burying itself beneath the hay. The horse made a sound like an old car trying to start and scraped at the floor with its front hooves.

Mindful of the horse and careful to move slowly, Aubrey lifted her light and shone it over the top of the gate. She recoiled when she got a good look at the thing on the other side. It was about the shape and size of a small potbelly pig and completely hairless. Its head was shaped like a football, and sat on top of no discernible neck, with a nose that tilted upward like a weathervane. Deep wrinkles covered its body, as if it had been fitted with skin two sizes too big, and clear fluid seeped from the folds. Its four thin legs ended in tiny, padded feet, like a very small dog’s. There was something almost human about its big, expressive black eyes and its droopy mouth, and somehow, that made it even more revolting. Aubrey had never seen anything like it before. It definitely wasn’t a humdrum, or non-magical, creature though, so score one for Ruby.

Aubrey realized her encouraging smile had turned into a grimace. With an effort, she put her face back together and slowly raised the walkie talkie.

Martin, come to the barn, she said, not taking her eyes off the creature. I found—

And that was when the horse decided it had seen enough. It whinnied and reared suddenly, its forelegs smacking the wall of the narrow stall and its hooves coming down in the hay inches from the small creature. The thing squealed and sprang out of its hiding place, darting for the gate. And even though Aubrey had been calling to it a second ago, the sight of the awful thing charging startled her. She yelped and jumped back. Her feet got tangled beneath her and she sprawled backward into the dirt.

The creature shot out beneath the gate, scampered over Aubrey's leg, and bolted for another gate. But the alarm had already spread down the aisle, and the big black bronco in that stall gave a whinny of warning. The creature got the message and changed direction, sprinting toward the door at the end of the aisle.

Aubrey scooped up her flashlight from where she’d dropped it and started after the creature. It wasn't built for speed, but terror had given it turbo power. It was going to get away if she didn't do something.

Martin! she shouted into her walkie talkie, no longer worried about anybody hearing. It's heading for the door!

Martin's voice was ragged as he replied. He was running. Which door? East or South?

I don't know! The one I came in through!

The door! Of course, it was still shut! The creature was bolting toward a closed door!

Slowing down to save energy, Aubrey reached into her back-pack. From the glimpse she'd gotten of the little guy, she was pretty sure he didn't have opposable thumbs, and even if he did, he was too short to reach the latch on the door. She might have to chase him around in the dark for a little while longer, but at least he wasn't getting out of the barn. With a little help from Martin, she'd have him bagged up in no time.

Then the door the creature was racing toward burst open. For a moment Aubrey could see Martin framed in the doorway, a gasping silhouette against the moonlit landscape behind him. It was like Aubrey thinking his name had conjured him. She shouted for him to close the door, just as he caught sight of the repulsive, tiny monster bearing down on him like the world's tiniest runaway train.

The pig-thing crashed into Martin before he could get out of the way. They tumbled over together, but Martin had enough presence of mind to grab for it, his fingers sinking into the creature’s skin folds. Fluid squelched out like he’d squeezed a sponge. He groaned in disgust but managed to hold on as the thing squirmed and wriggled on top of him.

Hold it! Aubrey cried. She yanked a folded square of cloth out of her backpack and shook it out. It was black and shimmery, and about the size of an empty garment bag.

Hurry! he shouted, sputtering as mucus or sweat or whatever it was the creature was leaking splashed across his face. It squealed in terror and scrabbled its rough pads over him. Aubrey reached his side and bent over, dropping the mouth of the black bag over the creature.

At that moment, the creature dissolved in Martin's arms. Its entire body melted into the same clear, viscous liquid it had been sweating out of its folds, and all of it splashed down over Martin’s arms and across his face and chest, soaking him to the bone. It was like he’d suddenly found himself holding a bucket full of water—only without the bucket.

He rolled over onto his side, coughing and sputtering. Oh my God! he cried. What did you do?

I didn't do anything! Aubrey insisted. She looked inside the bag, but it was empty. Did you squish it?

I got some in my mouth! Martin said, spitting. It blew up and it's in my mouth!

A door banged on the other side of the barn, from the direction of the farmhouse. Martin, who was still struggling not to vomit, didn't notice, but Aubrey knew what it meant. Someone had heard them, and they were coming to investigate. She grabbed his arm and hauled him to his feet. His glasses and walkie-talkie were on the ground, so she scooped both up and shoved them at him.

We gotta go! she hissed. And the two of them ran.

CHAPTER TWO

When they reached the road, they found Ruby waiting in the drainage ditch where they'd left their bikes. It turned out, she hadn’t gone home to watch Lifetime after all.

Ruby was only eight inches tall, and dressed all in black leather and denim, so even with her feathered wings and her bright pink skin, she was nearly invisible in the grass. Aubrey might have stepped on her if Ruby hadn't been sitting right next to the ditch's other occupant.

The ugly, wrinkled creature from the barn lay curled up beside Martin's bike, the deep folds in its skin barely wet now that it was calm. In fact, it seemed to be sleeping as Martin and Aubrey slid down into the ditch beside it.

I found him wandering on the other side of the road, Ruby explained. That trick he pulled with you takes a lot out of him, so he was ready to listen to reason. Especially once I showed him the cheese. She brandished a half-eaten cheese stick. He said he'd come back to the house with us.

Aubrey bent over, her hands on her knees, trying to catch her breath. "What is he?" she asked.

He's a cutie patootie, that's what he is, Ruby replied. Then, maybe realizing her answer hadn’t been helpful, she added, His name is Rex. He's a squonk.

Aubrey and Martin shared a look. Cutie patootie, Aubrey said.

Yeah, adorable, Martin deadpanned. He was still sticky from the bath the creature had given him.

*****

It was early autumn, and the sky above them was filled with stars and moonlight as they pedaled back toward town. Crickets played a triumphal accompaniment and moths fell out of the sky toward their bike lights like confetti. They swung back and forth in the dark, drawing imaginary sine waves across the road, right down the middle of a tunnel made of pavement and cypress trees.

Eventually they turned onto a side road and, after a couple hundred yards, turned again onto a driveway marked by a solitary mailbox with the name ARTHUR stenciled on it in faded letters. The trees and Spanish moss closed in as the driveway plunged into a ravine. If anyone had been watching the kids turn off the road, it might have looked like they'd vanished into the underworld.

They coasted down the slope of the driveway, standing up on their pedals and leaning low over the handlebars to pick up speed. Martin was in the lead when they hit the bottom, at which point they both sat down and began to pedal furiously. A chorus of frogs cheered them on from the woods on either side. Aubrey gained ground on the uphill leg, just managing to nose ahead of Martin as they reached the top of the hill.

Here, the trees fell away and the driveway leveled off, curving across a vast expanse of lawn toward an ancient gray plantation house, three stories tall, with eight white pillars lined up along the front. It was dark except for the porch light, and that wasn’t much against the dark immensity of the house itself.

As soon as they were at the top of the slope, Aubrey skidded to a stop. I won! she shouted between gulps of air.

But Martin blasted right by her, still pedaling as hard as he could. Finish line's at the house! he yelled back over his shoulder, his voice dopplering like the roar of a passing train.

Aubrey sputtered. It is not!

He was already halfway there, though. Grumbling, she followed, but did not try to catch up. Instead, she adopted the stately pace of someone doing a victory lap after they've already won—because she had.

In the front yard, an eight-foot-tall giant stopped pushing an old-fashioned reel mower to watch their approach. After a moment he left the mower, which looked like a toy in his hands, and started toward the front of the house.

Martin dropped his bike in the grass and ran in circles around it, arms pumping over his head. Aubrey, scoffing, was still mentally counting all the reasons she had won when she pulled up next to him. Before she could start explaining them to him, though, a woman rose from the swing under the house's porch light and started down the steps.

The giant who had been pushing the mower reached them at the same time the woman did. They made a strange pair. The giant was human in appearance from the neck down. He wore blue jeans and brown work boots, and no shirt. Thick muscles rippled under his skin, which was a dark khaki color. Instead of a human head, though, he had the head of a horse. The horse head was white and started at his shoulders, where the base of his human neck would have been. His name was Romeo Yap.

The woman was more ordinary, but only by comparison. She had a heart-shaped, human face, big blue eyes, and a cascade of blonde hair that reached to the small of her back. She might have been twenty-five, and she was achingly beautiful—but if you spent too much time studying that beauty, you were bound to notice the long, thin cow's tail hanging out of the back of her jeans, flicking the air down by her ankles. Her name was Halle, and she was a hulder, a kind of forest spirit. If she had a last name, Aubrey hadn't learned it yet.

Well met, Aubrey Arthur, Romeo Yap said. He had been at the house for weeks, but Aubrey was still weirded out watching that horse mouth form human words. His voice was deep and rumbly, with a Filipino accent.

Why are you mowing the grass at night? Aubrey asked. I said you could let it go for a couple of days.

I prefer to stay busy, Romeo said. If it causes you distress, though…

No, Aubrey said. The truth was, the yard hadn’t looked this good since the magic died and took all the landscaping spells with it. We need to get you a riding mower, though.

You know how he is, Halle said with an adoring sigh, handing Romeo a glass of lemonade. He can’t ever sit still for long. It's a beautiful night, so I decided to sit out here and wait for you too.

Martin collapsed in the grass, his thin chest heaving. While Halle moved to check on him, Romeo inspected the bikes. His massive shoulders sagged. I see your adventure was not fruitful…

You see wrong, Aubrey said, getting off her bike with a grin. Hang on a sec, I'll show you.

She took the black bag out of her backpack, unfolded it, and laid it out full-length on the grass.

Ah, I see, Romeo said, bobbing his large head.

What is that? Halle asked, turning away from Martin.

It's a tesseract sheath, Aubrey explained. There's a pocket dimension inside it. You can fold the bag up as small as you like, but on the inside it's about the size of a tractor trailer.

Halle's eyes widened and she clapped in delight. I didn't think anything like that existed anymore! Where did you find it?

I've had it since before… you know, before. She left it at that. Before meant the same thing to all of them—before the disaster that destroyed most of the world’s magic and magical creatures.

She opened the bag. Come on out, guys. We're home.

There was a pause, and then Ruby appeared, backing through the open mouth of the bag. Rex the squonk stuck his upturned nose out into the air next. He hesitated, probably catching a whiff of all the unknown people gathered around the bag, but Ruby spoke encouragingly, cajoling him to take his first hesitant steps onto the grass. Once he was out of the bag, he crowded next to Ruby, who laughed and patted him affectionately.

Meet Rex, Aubrey said. He's a squonk.

Ain't he a doll? Ruby rubbed a hand over Rex's bald, wrinkled scalp.

Halle looked like she'd eaten something that didn't agree with her. Romeo’s expression was more inscrutable—but with that face, he was always inscrutable.

Does he speak? Romeo asked.

Not so much, Ruby said.

Halle looked genuinely perplexed. Then how do you know his name is Rex?

Oh, my mistake, Ruby said, her tone sharpening. "What I meant was he doesn't talk to you."

Why don't you get him some food, Aubrey suggested, changing the subject before Halle realized Ruby was being mean. The cow-tailed girl seemed dim-witted, but Aubrey suspected at least some of her flightiness was an act. In any case, she hadn't done anything to earn Ruby snapping at her. Ruby just didn't like her.

The fairy sniffed and shrugged. Sure. Come on, Rex. I'll show you where we keep the grub.

They started across the grass toward the barn, which sat near the tree line on the east side of the house. Rex moved apprehensively at first, casting nervous glances back at Aubrey and the others as he crept along. When they were far enough away that none of them could have grabbed him, he relaxed a little, and then he and Ruby were bounding across the lawn together. They reached the barn in seconds, and Ruby pounded on the door until someone let them in. For a moment, as the door stood open, the yard filled with the noise from inside, then it closed and everything went late-autumn still again.

Romeo watched as Aubrey folded up the tesseract sheath and slipped it back into her backpack. That is a powerful artifact, he said, his voice low and reverential.

It's not a big deal, she said, wondering if showing them the sheath had been a mistake. It's not even strong magic. There used to be millions of these things.

There used to be millions of us too, Romeo pointed out.

Nobody knew what to say to that. They stood around awkwardly until Martin, grasping for something to fill the silence, clapped his hands.

I need to clean up before I head home. Aubrey, can I…? He pointed at the house while sidling toward it. Aubrey nodded and he headed inside.

Is there anything we should know about our new arrival? Romeo asked when Martin was gone. Any abilities or… tendencies we should be aware of?

Well, he can turn into about five gallons of snot when he's scared, but other than that… Aubrey shrugged. We’ll see if we can find something about him in the library, but he seems mostly harmless.

We'll do everything we can to make him feel at home, Romeo assured her.

Aubrey nodded, distracted. I know, she said. Then she began to walk toward the barn, where Ruby had taken Rex.

Is everything okay? Romeo asked after her.

She turned back but continued to walk backward. Fine. I just… need a few minutes to myself. Tell Martin to come get me before he leaves, okay?

She could hear laughing voices and the plunk and twang of a ukulele coming from inside the barn. That was where most of the refugees were staying, and where Ruby was currently introducing Rex to his new roommates. Aubrey went right past the door and circled around the back. There was a trailhead there, wide and well-used, that plunged between the trees, cutting a path through the woods that bounded the Arthur property. She didn't bother pulling out her flashlight. She knew the path well, and there was nothing on it she needed to be afraid of.

Small shapes skittered and shuffled under her feet. These woods were loaded with frogs and toads, thanks to a pact Aubrey had made more than a year ago. The pact went like this: Aubrey used a tiny bit of magic to discourage their natural predators—mostly birds and snakes—from coming onto her property. In return, the frogs alerted her when something was wrong. As an early warning system, it worked surprisingly well. Frogs seemed slow and dopey, but they noticed a lot.

At the bottom of the path, she emerged into a clearing near the edge of a creek. A couple of paces from the edge of the water, she laid down on a mat of moss and cypress needles, lacing her fingers behind her head and considering the sky.

It had been a long night, but a productive one. They'd rescued a magical creature, one that was certain to have been caught, or at least seen, at some point, and the humdrum world was none the wiser. For the moment, they were all safe. She felt energized, twitchy, but not at all in the mood to be around people. Not so long ago, she was alone nearly all the time, but it was getting harder and harder to grab these moments to herself.

She let her mind wander for a while, willing herself to relax, until she heard movement in the trees behind her. She looked up as Martin emerged into the clearing, his flashlight bobbing in the dark.

Hey, over here, she said, waving. She sat up, and a few frogs of various sizes tumbled from where they’d climbed up onto her chest. She hadn't even noticed they were there.

Martin had cleaned the remnants of squonk juice off. It looked like he'd even rinsed his shirt out. Everything okay? Romeo said you took off.

Yeah, she said, offering no further explanation. Martin knew how she was, knew she needed time by herself to decompress, and sometimes that need struck without warning. We have to see if the library has anything on squonks.

I’ll take a look the day after tomorrow, he said. Assuming we don't have to go save somebody else, I mean.

Starting near the beginning of the summer, seven magical refugees had wandered into their town, singly and in groups, survivors of the worldwide disaster that had nearly destroyed magic. Seven wasn't a lot when you considered how many magical creatures had once populated the Earth, but it was a lot for two middle schoolers and a fairy to handle. Luckily, none of the refugees had been too much trouble, and most of them wanted to help—but whenever Aubrey slowed down long enough to think about it, she knew it was just a matter of time before somebody high-maintenance showed up.

High-maintenance, or just plain dangerous.

Why not come by tomorrow? she asked.

My mom's got the night off, he said.

Oh, right.

Aubrey sometimes forgot that Martin had to sneak out for middle-of-the-night adventures like the one they'd just returned from. This wasn't usually a problem, since his mom worked nights at the hospital and his sister, Claudia, was seventeen and not much interested in what Martin got up to. But his mom didn't work every night, and Claudia's disinterest only went so far, so occasionally he had to be home before the sun went down.

What about right after school? Aubrey asked. You can come over for an hour, right?

Actually, he said, drawing the last syllable out. I thought maybe I'd hang out with my mom instead. You know? I haven't seen her much this last month, between school starting and… this. He waved vaguely back in the direction of the house.

Oh, okay.

But listen, maybe you could… come over for dinner? He said it with a cringe in his voice, as if he were suggesting Aubrey spend some time in a medieval torture device.

Aubrey looked at him blankly. That won't help us figure out Rex. All the books are here.

Martin laughed. The whole point is to get away from the books and the… the dissolving pig-things for one night. She must have still looked confused because he continued. Mom wants to meet you, and I bet she'd make her famous lasagna if she knew you were coming over. It won second place in… some contest or other. Once. A long time ago. Probably before we were born.

Aubrey shook her head. I need to be here. It's bad enough I have to leave Ruby in charge during the day while I'm at school.

Martin's mouth twisted in annoyance. It'd take a couple hours, tops. The trip out to the farm tonight took longer. And my mom would be cooler about me spending so much time over here if she finally got to meet you.

Aubrey knew she should just go to dinner, but she didn't want to spend an evening re-telling all the lies she'd been spinning about her living situation for the last year and a half, how her parents had died in a plane crash and she now lived in her big, isolated house with her dowager Aunt Addie. What if Martin's mom heard that and decided she wanted to meet Addie too? Considering Addie was really a golem, and that golem was currently in no condition to pretend to be her aunt… well, that would be just one more problem, wouldn't it?

But now Martin was sulking. Aubrey was usually immune to his sulks, but this one was harder because she knew he was right. They’d gotten away with all of this for the entire summer, but Martin’s mom wasn’t the type to let her remain incognito forever… and the last thing Aubrey wanted was the older woman taking matters into her own hands and showing up in the driveway of the Arthur house unannounced.

Aubrey sighed. Okay, fine.

Martin grinned. Seriously?

That lasagna better be good.

He laughed and moved like he was going to hug her… but something on her face must have made him think better of it. Aubrey wasn’t much of a hugger.

Great, he said instead. You just made my life so much easier, Aubrey. Seriously. And we’ll be right back here the night after, seeing what we can find out about Rex.

Okay, Aubrey said. She was already regretting it. The thought of sitting across from Martin’s family and pretending she was just a normal orphan girl made her very tired.

We usually eat around six-thirty on mom’s off-nights, Martin said. Don’t be late.

Aubrey stared at him, aghast. "Am I ever late?"

Martin scoffed and started back up the twisting path. She watched the telltale beam of his flashlight, still visible long after he was gone. When he’d reached a safe distance, almost at the trailhead, the beam paused, and he called back down the path, his voice muted by distance and vegetation.

You know I won that race, right?

Aubrey rolled her eyes. She wasn’t even going to dignify that with a response.

CHAPTER THREE

When she'd been alive, one of Mariana Arthur's favorite pearls had been, Never go to bed with dirty dishes in the sink.

It was strange advice from someone whose house magically cleaned and maintained itself, but Aubrey had understood even from a young age that her mother hadn’t really been talking about dishes. What she meant was it was better to put off sleep for a little while than to start the next day with an unpleasant chore.

Aubrey was thinking about this the next morning as she trudged sleepily down the wooden steps to the basement. The bottom of the staircase was lit by a single bare bulb, mounted to a vertical beam, and below that bulb was a knife switch.

Aubrey threw the switch, and more bulbs burst to life in all directions, their light expanding outward toward the horizon. Wooden support beams, just like the one the switch was mounted to, lined up at regular intervals to prop up the ten-foot-high ceiling. The rest of the space was filled—absolutely filled—with tall metal shelves, and each and every one of these shelves was stuffed with forgotten magical bric-a-brac.

Aubrey couldn't see the outer walls of the basement from where she stood. She wasn't literally in her basement at all, but in a pocket of extradimensional space with the portal attached to her basement door. It was like how the tesseract sheath worked, which made it handy for storing mountains of material in a relatively small space.

She turned down an aisle, moving past shelves of dusty clutter that would have looked right at home at a yard sale—old lamps, old-fashioned military helmets, milk crates full of who-knew-what, a standing mirror that flickered strangely as Aubrey passed (or maybe it was just a trick of the light), and hundreds of other things. Most of what was down here had been useless junk even before magic was destroyed. A little ways down the aisle, the line of shelves was interrupted by an old wingback chair. Something man-sized and utterly motionless lay against this chair, with a white sheet draped over it.

Steeling herself for what lay beneath, Aubrey yanked the sheet back.

A tall, middle-aged blond man was in the chair, not so much sitting in it as propped rigidly across the front of it like a folded umbrella. A snarl twisted his handsome features, his eyes were wide and furious. His limbs were twisted awkwardly, and his head lay cocked hard to one side. One arm pointed accusingly at the ceiling, its first finger extended.

Aubrey waited a beat, like she always did, just to make sure he wasn't going to move unexpectedly. But he was as still as a statue. Just like always.

Hey, Uncle David, she said. How'd you sleep?

The frozen man didn't reply, so she unzipped her backpack and took out the tesseract sheath. Here was the chore she should have taken care of last night, rather than collapsing straight into her bed.

She got on her knees in front of him and slipped the mouth of the tesseract sheath over his feet. Then she worked the bag up and over his entire body. The mouth was just wide enough to accept him, but it was a tight fit in some places. As he disappeared inside, his shape was briefly visible, pressing up and out against the shiny black fabric, and then the bag collapsed flat, drawing him through the portal into the pocket dimension inside.

When he was fully in the bag, Aubrey made sure he wasn't blocking the entrance or standing on his