Page 19 of No Charm Done
“Why would you go back to 1926, where the magicians who put you in here are going to just grab you again, instead of coming to 2026 where you could start fresh?”
“Listen here, Melrose—”
“Oh, we’re doing last names now? Okay, Shaw.”
“—I didn’t ask for your rescue. Back in my day, I worked the rackets with a real classy dame, and she deserves better than wondering if her partner just up and lammed it.”
Luna’s eyebrows shot up. “A classy dame? Whose partner lammed it?” She studied his face with an intensity that made him feel oddly exposed. “Wow, so people actually talked like that, huh? Wild.”
“What’s that mean?”
“Nothing. It’s just—look, I came here to help you because you helped my mother and her friends. First of all, I’ve only got this one spell left. I’m not taking you back to 1926 so I can get stuck there, while you get recaptured by whatever magician you charmed, swindled, and/or aggravated.”
“For your information, the guy had it coming.”
“No doubt. But I only get one trip, and we’re going to my time.”
There was something in the way she said it—firm but not unkind—that reminded him of Kelly Melrose. This one had her mother’s steel spine, he could tell.
“Actually, Elias,” Max offered, “you might like 2026. I know I’m looking forward to getting back there.”
Luna made a face. “Who said I was rescuing you?”
“You know what, just take Max and get outta here.” Elias turned away, his hands already moving in the familiar patterns of his tunnel-digging spell. “I’ve been getting along just fine without any rescue operations, thanks very much. I got my own escape plan.”
Luna looked past Elias, toward his pet-sized tunnel. “Aw, cool! Is that a secret tunnel? Like The Great Escape!”
“Well, I don’t know how great it is. Been working on it for the better part of a century, and—”
Luna burst out laughing. Not the polite laugh of someone trying to be nice, but the kind of genuine, delighted laughter that made Elias want to say something funnier next time. “No, no—The Great Escape! The movie! With Steve McQueen and the motorcycle and the—” She caught sight of his genuinely confused expression. “Oh. Right. You don’t know what I’m talking about, do you?”
“Lady, the last picture show I ever saw had one Al Jolson and zero baseballs.”
“SHAW!” A new voice boomed from behind the scary door on the far side of the room. “SHAW, YOU MISERABLE SONUVABITCH!”
Heavy footsteps echoed. Multiple sets, moving with purpose, and Elias felt suddenly carbonated with dread. “Oh hell.” He swiftly hid his tunnel project behind the brain poster.
“Who’s that?” Luna asked, though her casual tone had sharpened considerably.
“Guards. Magician guards.” Max had gone pale. “They must have detected your arrival.”
The footsteps were getting closer, accompanied by voices carrying the unmistakable authority of people who were deeply unhappy and had the power to make that everyone else’s problem.
“—definitely detected unauthorized dimensional breach—”
“—trace leads right to Shaw’s cell—”
“—about time we caught him trying something—”
Max flung himself at the door, panic overtaking whatever dignity he’d been struggling to maintain. “It was his idea,” he shouted. “The tunnel is behind that poster! Shaw made me help! I told him it was a bad idea but he made me—”
“Max,” Elias said sharply. “Shut up.”
Luna grabbed Elias’s hand. “Well, this has been delightful, but it’s time we took our leave.”
She closed her eyes, and Elias could feel magic gathering around her like a warm breeze. Real magic, too—not the sluggish half-strength stuff that kept him limping along in the waiting room. This dame can open a portal just by thinking about it?
“Slow down there, Melrose. We haven’t finished our little time-travel discussion.”
