Rebels (Wizard of New Town, #2) | eBook Sample

Take Me Out of the Marketplace

"Excuse me," Max said as he bumped into another person. "This is nuts," he mumbled to himself. "Just a few minutes ago this place was Westside Mall."

Now the place looked like an old fashioned marketplace. Instead of individual stores, there were individual stands. One person was yelling about his new shipment of scarves and other clothes and another was trying to hock jewelry.

Suddenly a flounder was shoved in Max's face. "Fresh fish!" the seller shouted. Max smiled uneasily and edged his way around as the salesperson continued to shove the fish in his face and say, "Eh? Eh?"

"Quickly, Max, we must find a purveyor of magical items," said the talking magic wand. It circled Max and floated into the air. It stopped to hover as if it was trying to get a bird's eye view of the place.

Max closed his eyes and rubbed his temples. He hoped that if he did this enough everything would return to normal. He hadn't really believed the magic wand when it told him that a spell was changing the modern world into a fantasy land, but seeing this marketplace...it seemed so real. The clamoring, the smells of fish and things Max didn't want to think about, and the feel of the hot sun on his skin; it was just too much.

All the wand could tell him was that some villain believed that magic was dying thanks to progress and science and decided to revert everything.

Max opened his eyes. Nope, the marketplace was still there. So much for his hope that this was all a dream or some hallucination. He couldn't really be some kind of hero on a quest to save the world. That was just ridiculous. He was just...Max.

Just a few hours ago, he was a writer trying to figure out his next book. The muses were not kind and he had writer's block. He'd fallen asleep in the library while researching the Dark Ages and that's when everything went crazy. His two best friends were now at each other's throats and his pen transformed into a magic wand!

That's it! Max thought. He must still be dreaming. He was back at the library still slumbering and drooling on that book. Max began to slap his face. "Wake up," he said. "Wake up." The magic wand floated back down to him as Max slapped his face again.

"I have located the merchant," said the wand.

***

"So," said the merchant, an older man wearing what looked like a knitted skull cap, "you're interested in some magical items. What kind?" Though he seemed to say "kind" like "key-end."

"We would like a magic bag, the endless canteen, the never-ending cauldron, and the non-rip clothes and shoes," said the wand. "For starters."

The older man looked at Max. "Eh? Having your wand speak for ye? What be ye? A mute?" But he said it like "moot."

"N-n-no," Max stammered. "He, uh, it...he..."

The wand floated over to the merchant's face. "Does it really matter who does business as long as you get paid?"

The merchant shrugged. He whistled and a couple of small fairies appeared. "Get over to Amazing.com and order the items." The two fairies disappeared into the morning sky. "And tell them not to send it by insect drones this time!" he shouted after them. The merchant returned to staring at Max. "I suppose ye'd be wanting a pouch for your wand. It isn't wise to have it floating around like that." His eyes darted around and he leaned in closer to Max. "Some people aren't as kind as me." He smiled a big grin of rotted teeth. Max could smell week-old fish on his breath.

The fairies soon returned with the requested items. The merchant added up the price. "That'll be ten pounds of magic dust."

The wand began to huff, which basically involved it changing colors and throwing sparks. "Ten pounds? That-that-that is outrageous!"

"We be in a recession."

Max held up a finger. "Uh, one moment, Sir." He turned to the wand. "Slight problem," he whispered. "I only have cash. I've written enough books to know that the people in 'crazy past-land' don't take modern money." Max waved his hands dramatically at the "crazy past-land" part.

"Check your wallet, my boy."

Max felt his pockets. "Uh, where is my wallet?" The beginnings of panic washed over him as he worried about his lost wallet.

The wand sighed and turned a blue-ish color. "The pouch on your belt. It looks like a coin purse."

"This little thing?" said Max holding up a brown bag with a golden tie. "This doesn't even look like it could hold an ounce."

"That's why it is called magic. You just think of the amount and it will be poured out."

"From where?"

"You're bank account of course."

"That sounds an awful lot like a debit card."

The wand huffed again and turned. "Well it's not. It's magic. So there."

Max poured out the required amount. The merchant asked if he wanted a receipt. The wand told Max to get one so that he would be reimbursed by the universe once his quest ended.

As a fairy wrote up the receipt, the wand instructed Max to open the magic bag and put the items in it. "It'll all fit," the wand said when Max asked how everything could fit into that bag. And it did all fit. There was even room for more, but the wand said they needed to travel light. Max slung it over his shoulder and the bag nestled right next to his hip.

Max then tied the wand pouch to his belt. The pouch kind of looked like a mix between a Wild West gun holster and a case for a cell phone. The wand settled down into it. It sighed. "Hmm, zy-mole hide. Not as good griffin feathers, but it'll do."

Just before Max turned to leave the older merchant grabbed his arm. "All those items...ye wouldn't be on a quest, now?"

Max gulped. His eye twitched.

The wand floated back out. "No no no. The lad is off to meet his bride. It's quite the journey plus he needs something to give to the family. Killing two birds and all that."

The merchant's eyes narrowed. "I see..."

The merchant released Max. Max took a couple steps backwards as the merchant continued to watch him. He turned cautiously then and walked away...quickly.

As soon as Max was gone, the merchant waved his hand over a bowl of water. The liquid shimmered for a second and then an image of an old manor appeared. "What do you want?" came a voice from deep within. It was a voice full of authority. It sounded like some divine being speaking with thunder and lightning.

"I believe I ran into the one you've been looking for," said the merchant.

"And why would you turn him in?"

"Because, Master Wizard, in the Old World I couldn't sell any of my stationary because no one sends letters anymore. I was going out of business. But here, heh, everyone wants what I'm selling. I'm no longer the out-of-date old man...I'm the boss, now. I can't let some brat change that."

"Excellent," said the Wizard. "Send me a picture of this...Chosen One and you will be rewarded."

"My security fairies have a video of him and his wand."

The liquid in the bowl rippled as the Wizard laughed. "Perfect."