Our story thus far: The creature leading Bellzy and Bub, the two 20-foot-tall worblatts, has conceded that he is not the Evil One but added “IT DOESN’T MEAN TODAY IS NOT THE DAY OF THE EVIL ONE. IT ONLY MEANS HE’S NOT HERE YET.” He turned to Bellzy and Bub, who were trying to cower behind each other, and said, “AS FOR YOU TWO” … but what was about to happen next had to wait, because of what did happen next.
The phone rang.
It was work.
“I can’t let this go to voicemail, would you folks mind if —” I asked the assembled multitude.
Grenn the elf looked amused. Seth the Dragon looked confused. The eagles looked irritated. Summer and Dejah looked around as if they were worried about how the others might react. As for the two worblatts and their enormous boss, they looked frightened and angry, respectively, but that didn’t seem to have anything to do with me.
I hit the green button on my phone.
“Hey,” I said.
“Say, Warren, how’s that city council story you promised coming?”
I closed my eyes in embarrassment. “I said I was going to have that for you last night, didn’t I?”
There was a long, familiar silence.
“You forgot to do it,” said the long-suffering voice on the other end.
“I keep telling you I need to retire,” I said, only half joking.
“OK, you think you can have it later today, at least?”
“Yeah, I hope so,” I said. “I’m kind of in the middle of something here.”
“It better be the end of the world as we know it,” my colleague said.
“Ha ha. Yeah, it’s something like that. Thanks for understanding.”
“Did I say I understand?”
“No, but you always cut me slack, and I appreciate it more than you know.”
“Right. I’ll be looking for that story.”
“It’s coming,” I said. “Bye.”
I hit the red button on my phone.
The sun was flitting in and out among the clouds, and the wind chimes were making a melodic tuneless tune in the light breeze. Out in the field the cloud of lake flies undulated over the tall grass and remains of summer wildflowers — goldenrod, white clover, compass plants, coneflowers and Black-eyed Susans —
“Did you really have to take that call?” I was surprised at how very irritated the eagle was, of all things.
“It was work, I can’t ignore when work calls,” I said.
“Remember the part where there’s a prophecy about how the Evil One will come to consume everything in his path on a certain day, and all of the signs are saying today is that day?” said Grenn the elfin being.
“Look, the one thing I know about prophecies is no one knows the day or the hour,” I said. “On the other hand, I know exactly the day and the hour that I have to get that city council story done. Do you mind?”
“Blasphemy!” screeched one of the eagles.
“Oh dear,” said Dejah.
“So,” said Seth the Dragon, turning to the giant who was not the Evil One after all, “if you’re not the Evil One after all, who are you, and what is this all about?”
Not the Evil One sneered down at all of us.
“WOULDN’T YOU LIKE TO KNOW?”
“Of course we would like to know,” Summer said in all sincerity.
“TOO BAD.”
And with that, the giant snapped his fingers. Bellzy and Bub the worblatts screamed, there was a bright light and a roaring sound, and the three huge beings disappeared.
For a moment only the wind chimes made any sound.
“What just happened?” asked the great buck.
“Mama, I’m scared,” said one of the fawns.
“Me too,” said the other fawn.
“It’s going to be all right, kids,” said the doe, but then looked at her mate for reassurance. “Isn’t it?”
Grenn the elf exchanged a look with Seth the Dragon.
“I honestly don’t know,” said the elf.
