Chapter 17

Jim

Frizzy and I were both getting educated. Surprising--and then again, not--that Mindy hadn’t let some air show through Winnalea. I knew about the .44 magnum she kept in the night stand. Mindy’s conscience bothered her. The inflexible indoctrination, “seek and destroy,” sounded unreasonable and unfair. However, with the exception of Sammy’s recount of the brownie baking brownies, all ORBs Blinking to Earth before now had immediately attacked. Mindy wouldn’t say much about them, except that the animalistic creatures terrified her.

Sammy’s account relieved me. Mindy would never shoot a child, albeit a big-ass kiddo, and if she didn’t kill this Winnalea ORB, then it was a sure thing young Garlic was fine and dandy, and his mama wouldn’t be dumping a bucket of whupass on me.

“Guess what else, Daddy?” Sammy grinned like the cat-that-got-the-cream, so no doubt this was something she was NOT supposed to know.

I struggled to keep a stern expression. “Been snooping, Miss Samantha?”

“I was thirsty, but when I saw Mommy and Winnalea talking so serious, I decided to wait until they finished,” she explained. An angel couldn’t have looked more innocent.

I shook my head. “I can’t decide if you will be an actress or a detective.”

“Both!”

“What did you see, Sammy,” Frizzy demanded.

Sammy clapped her hands. “Mommy can do magic! Ta-da!”

“Honey, are you sure you weren’t sleep-walking or playing make-believe?” Weirdville just keeps getting weirder.

“Positive. Cross my heart and hope to die, stick a needle in my eye, honest.” She drew an imaginary cross on her chest.

“It stands to reason,” Frizzy rationalized. “If the child and the father are capable of magic, there is a strong possibility that the mother is also capable.”

I laughed. “What are you talking about, Frizzy? If I could do magic, I would have flown out of the castle instead of borrowing the oxen.”

“The drawbridge opened and closed for you twice. Rapunzel’s magic is limited to inside the tower, so your magic raised and lowered the drawbridge. I do not understand why you received no training.”

“Nobody on Earth has magic...well, not real magic.”

“Hmmm...” Frizzy rubbed her chin. “Perhaps people are not the only thing traveling during a Blink.”

I caught on faster this time. “You think the magic from here is Blinking to Earth?”

“It would account for the occurrences.”