Chapter Three: Big Red, narrated by Blair Gilbert

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As soon as the Mustang was around the corner, the fugue lifted fully from Soda’s head and she gaped down the street. Had she just been hypnotised? And scammed?

“‘Sorry I didn’t get to kill your father personally?’” She slowly repeated out loud. Fifteen minutes ago, it felt like she’d been pouring her heart out to an old family friend. Now, she felt like an idiot. And also suddenly very grateful to even be alive.

“If that’s the worst that’s going to happen…” she said to herself, peering at the mess in the carport.

“It definitely isn’t,” replied a deep voice from somewhere down at her knee. Soda started violently, and looked down. Big Red, her father’s fat, grumpy cat, was next to her, his tail flicking rapidly, his orange fur all on end. He had brilliant green eyes, and he was staring avidly down the street. Soda let out a strangled laugh.

“Oh shit, Big Red! I’ve had a weird day man, I thought you just said something.”

He looked up at her, and frowned.

“I did. Now I’m going to do it some more. Please don’t get upset. We don’t have a lot of time. Come up to the house.”

He turned around and marched off purposefully. He had a deep voice with what Soda thought of as ‘the working class British accent’. Soda watched him go, her eyes narrowing. He turned around and shouted, which came out more like a yowl:

“Now!”

Soda’s stubborn streak won out, and she folded her arms.

“Let me get my stuff.”

“No no, leave the stuff. We’re not staying. Now come on.”

That rattled her. She followed Big Red up the stairs and inside.

“What? What do you mean, we’re not staying? Where are we going?” The cat herded her forcefully towards the office, which was still full of her dad’s unsorted junk.

“The woman who just took the car. She’ll be back soon, and she’ll be angry.”

Soda spun around, tripped over Big Red, and crashed to the ground in a tangle of limbs.

“Wouldn’t hire you for the Brigade,” he sniffed, shaking himself off.

“Why will she be angry?”

“Because there was something inside the car that she also wanted, and it’s not in there any more, and she’s going to figure it out and come back here and kill us both. Hey-hey- kid!”

Soda turned grey, and slumped over.

“Did you just faint? Oh for the love of… Soda. Soda!”

She blinked away the tingling darkness and realised her face was being swatted by Big Red’s huge paw.

“I thought you just said she’s going to kill us, that’s all.”

“I did, but not if we leave, right now! Well in just one minute ok? I promised Frank something. That trunk there. Open it up.”

There was all sorts of weird shit in the disused rooms of the house, but the office was the weirdest. It was painted forest green, with big rugs on the floor, and filled to the brim with old books in foreign languages, strange antique chemistry devices, and various trunks and boxes. Frank also loved art and every spare bit of wall was crammed with many different kinds of it: masks, paintings, scrolls. His desk stood in the middle, looking out big windows facing north across the hilly green suburbs to the city’s skyscrapers in the distance.

The trunk Big Red motioned to was the largest, and the most beautiful. It was a wood so dark it was almost black, with inlays full of intricately carved forest scenes. She’d opened it when they moved in, but it’d been empty. She shuffled over to it and pulled the lid open to reveal the faded but still lovely bottle green lining.

“I don’t get it. There’s still nothing in here?”

“Feel along the inner edge of the lid, towards the centre. There should be a little trigger, or a latch.”

“Oh… oh yeah! I feel it!”

There was a little bump, easy to mistake for a nail. It clicked in, and a false panel swung open. Inside the trunk’s lid was a secret, rectangular compartment. The fabric was more worn in places, suggesting something was slid snugly in and out many times. It contained an envelope with Frank’s blunt handwriting on the front:

SODA POP

Soda gasped and stared at it. Big Red butted her with his head impatiently.

“Sorry love, but we’re running out of time. Open it.”

Inside was a note, and a little pink jewel uncannily like a pomegranate seed. She tipped the jewel into her hand, and took out the note. It looked hastily written.

HEY SODA

IF YOU’RE READING THIS, I FUCKED UP EVEN MORE THAN I THOUGHT. SORRY I LEFT YOU TO DEAL WITH MY MESS. SWALLOW THE SEED - IT’LL PROTECT YOU. ASK BIG RED FOR HELP.

YOU’RE A GOOD KID. MY BEST WORK.

- FRANK

She burst into tears.

“Ah shit Dad, what is all this?”

She sniffled, and looked at the gem in her palm. A seed?

“Does the note say to swallow it?”

Big Red was hopping from paw to paw impatiently. She nodded, trying to hold in her sobs and hiccuping a little.

“And does it say to do what Big Red says?”

She nodded again.

“Then please do it,” he said, a hint of genuine desperation creeping in.

“Curiouser and curiouser,” she muttered. She dropped the jewel into her mouth and swallowed it. At first, nothing happened. Then, all of a sudden, she was glowing red, like she was being lit from the inside. She could see all her veins and arteries, her skin turned ruby, then gold, then searing hot - she screamed - then it was over.

Her head spun, and she looked around blearily. Did the room look… different? What was all this stuff?

“Yes! Great. Next step, time to go, time to go…”

Big Red threaded himself around her legs, shuffling her forward as her head turned this way and that. What had previously been ‘weird tiki junk’ and ‘antique chemistry sets’ now looked much… stranger. There were intricate looping glass contraptions, and many jars full of powdered substances. Tools like swiss army knives with different coloured circular lenses. A dagger made of moonstone.

“Wait a minute! What are those!” An open case of what she’d previously thought were bocce balls were now round vials full of some kind of shimmering liquid.

“Ah, actually. Grab some of those - carefully. Good idea.” Fascinated, she held one up to the light. It seemed to respond to her touch, roiling around her fingers.

“What are they?”

“Bombs.”

“Fucking excuse me?”

She nearly dropped it, causing Big Red to flinch.

“Well, they work like bombs. They do different things. No time just now.” She closed the case and brought it along as he hustled her into her bedroom.

“Get some cash, different kinds.”

Soda glanced at him sideways, her mind running through all the time she’d spent with this cat, all the time he’d spent alone in the house…

“Look, we don’t have time to talk right now, bloody hell. Do you want to die! Just get the cash and let’s go!”

Soda huffed and reached into the loose floorboard in the cupboard, also known as the Bank of Frank. She grabbed a few wads and stuffed it, the case of bombs, and a jacket into a backpack. As they hurried out Soda noticed one of the hall paintings, a storm at sea, was thrashing with rain and lightning, and rattling slightly on the wall. A mobile made of bits of broken cutlery hanging in the window was buzzing and singing discordantly. The muffled sounds of clanging and chittering rose in other rooms. Soda began to run, then slammed the front door shut behind her. As the deadbolt clicked in, she saw blue sparks.

“What - is - happening,” she panted.

“One more thing,” said Big Red calmly, though Soda was trembling all over. She followed him down the stairs, and to the mess under the house where the car had been. He pawed away the debris, revealed a dirty oil tray, neatly flipped it out of the way and started furiously digging. Soda came over and watched him uncover a small jewellery box.

“Quickly. Grab it.”

Soda reached down and felt a strange fizzing sensation as her hand closed around the box, as though she was touching a lightning globe. Big Red let out a sigh of relief, making Soda squint.

“What is this?”

“Something dangerous that shouldn’t be here. Now you and me have to figure out where it actually belongs.”

“Ohhhh shit… Big Red. Is this a quest?”

“What?” He scoffed. “Psh, no, we’re just the unfortunate bystanders. Rowan is the one who gets sent on quests.”

“This is magic. You’re a magic cat. My dad was into magic. Magic is real.”

A grin spread across her face. All those years of reading young adult fantasy novels, wishing wistfully that she could have her own sassy talking animal… well that part was less fun than anticipated so far.

“What gave it away?” He asked drily.

“Somewhere between the floating cow, and the weird pill, and the talking cat.”

“Where was the floating cow?”

“Out by the yoga retreat. I just assumed I’d smoked funny weed.”

Big Red looked troubled.

“Listen, there’s been some weird stuff on the TV while you’ve been gone,” he started. But then he stopped, because they’d both heard the same noise. A rapidly approaching roar, tearing through the too-quiet afternoon.

“Oh bollocks. We took too long! She’s back!” Big Red was arched up, his fur all on end. In the distance, at the bottom of the hill, Soda saw a flash of ivory amidst a growing swirl of purple, billowing smoke.

“Doesn’t this belong to her?” Soda asked, clutching the jewellery box to her chest. It felt warm, and the buzzing sensation was quite pleasant.

“She thinks it does,” Big Red hissed, as the roaring grew louder. “Get down!”

Soda dove behind the fence and crashed into the neglected garden. A BOOM like a cannon went off, leaving a crater where she’d been standing. Big Red leapt into her arms, yowling, “hold me tight!”

Before she could do more than squeeze him close, another BOOM sounded, and the fence all around her shattered, sending shards of wood and clumps of garden everywhere. Soda was so sure she was dead, it took a moment of Big Red’s wriggling to make her realise she hadn’t been pulverised.

“What the fuck?” She choked.

“Ambrosia seed,” said Big Red, slightly strangled. “Worth a fortune. Makes you impervious to magical harm, for a while anyway.”

“Damn,” was all Soda could say.

They could hear the Mustang rumble to a stop nearby. Then BOOM! and this time the noise rattled her entire skeleton, and she felt warm blood leaking out her nose. But she unscrunched one eye just enough to see they were on a little island of safety.

“Soda, open the box and put the necklace on. Now. Now.”

She tugged the box open as it buzzed like angry bees. Inside was a moss-coloured stone about the width and length of Soda’s pinky, strung on a fine chain. She pulled it over her head just in time to hear another BOOM and then-

-she was elsewhere entirely. Big Red was gone, as was Rowan, the house, Brisbane. The world, for all she knew. It was dark, and she blinked rapidly, her ears still ringing from the explosions. She seemed to be in a forest, in a small clearing, but the trees were so thick they blotted out any sign of the sky. A strange gloaming barely lit the area. She looked down, and the pendant was radiating the gentle light. It had stopped buzzing. She held it up, letting it turn slowly. It was beautiful: complex shades of green with tendrils of colour winding deep inside. Cautiously, she touched a finger to it, and felt

An eternity of years pouring rushing drowning power aching heart bursting joy sorrow terror power terror power sorrow darkness all things going dark all things dark forever

All things dark, forever-

-Soda pulled her hand away like it had been burned, and realised she was screaming. And she was no longer in the forest, she was in a tiny calm bubble surrounded by swirling dust and chaos. Big Red was shouting at her but her ears were ringing too much to hear him. She scrambled to her feet, half-falling, half-running back up towards the Corolla.

Rowan was standing at the bottom of the driveway, aiming an enormous, elaborately decorated pistol at Soda and Big Red. She spotted the cat and let out a long whistle.

“Holy shit. Hooooollleeeeeee shit. Of all the scum to find on the bottom of my boot… William. I never thought I’d see you again.”

“I can’t hear you because you tried to explode us with your hand cannon!” Red shouted back.

“Where is it, asshole!”

Rowan was cocking the hammer again, but Soda didn’t waste any more time. One arm still tightly around Big Red, she reached into her bag and lobbed the first vial she could get her hands on straight at Rowan.

Rowan caught it right in the chest. It exploded onto her, coating her in shining, viscous fluid. She stumbled backwards, shouting, “UERGH!”

Soda didn’t wait to see what happened next. She tossed Big Red in the car like a sack of potatoes and had the car in reverse before she could even think. Rowan, she saw with fascinated horror, was being attacked by tangles of thick vines trying to smother her and pull her to the ground. Unsettlingly, she was laughing. The vines thrashed and boiled around her but couldn’t get a purchase, and soon started burning away.

“Another!” Shouted Big Red.

Soda grabbed one at random and lobbed it out the window. It smashed onto the Mustang, and burst outward into a shining bubble that warped and groaned. It took in the car, Rowan, her vines, and the letterbox. Rowan shook off the last of the greenery.

“That’s my car, you little shit! You—”

Whatever she was about to say was cut off, because with a sudden WOMP, everything inside the bubble disappeared. Soda rolled to a stop and stared, mouth agape. The street was abruptly quiet again. There was no sign of car or woman, except for the smoking holes in her front yard and the missing letterbox.

“Nice shot!” Big Red shouted. “Now drive!”

Soda reversed the car onto the road with a screech and then sped off.

“What did that do?”

Her hands gripped the wheel tightly, her glance darting from rear view mirror to empty streets.

“Transporter spell. A really strong one! Sent everything inside the bubble somewhere… else.”

“Like where?”

“I dunno, didn’t make it did I? Could be next door, could be Timbuktu. More likely to be further than nearer, it being a weapon and all.”

His fur was still bristling, and he kept sticking his head out the window to look around.

“I need to make a call. Where’s your phone?”

“The battery died. Red, what the hell is this thing around my neck? What happened to me back there?”

She’d slipped the pendant inside her shirt. She could feel it even now, close to her heart, thrumming and warm. It felt…comforting, actually. That was weird.

“Nothing good. Sorry love, your dear old papa has put us both in some shit.”

“Yeah? Tell me something I don’t know. And she knew you! She called you William!”

“You’re deaf, how would you know what you heard?”

She slammed on the brakes, sending Big Red tumbling into the foot well.

“Oi!” He yowled indignantly, then: “ugh, Soda. Your car is a bloody pigsty. What is this, KFC?”

“Shut up. And answer even just like, one question honestly. Or else we’re gonna sit here and wait for Rowan to get back from wherever she is. I bet she’ll be really pissed.”

He glared at her, a low growl rumbling in his belly. He really was very big, wasn’t he? Then he huffed out an angry sigh, and climbed back up onto the seat.

“Alright, I’m sorry. You’ve had a big day. But please, I need to make a call.”

Soda huffed and drove off again. She rubbed her face and winced when she noticed all the blood and dirt. Protection from magical harm apparently didn’t extend to scratches from tumbling in dusty, gravelly yards.

“Mick wasn’t at home. Did he say he was going to Kitty’s?”

“Yeah, they left yesterday when all your dad’s equipment and wards started going haywire. Tried to bring me with 'em, sweethearts, but I hid so I could warn you. There’s actually been quite a bit of stuff in the news.”

“Do you watch TV when no one’s home? No wonder my electricity bill was so high last quarter!”

She glanced over at him, and sighed.

“Okay, you’re also having a bad day, I suppose. Headlines only, get me up to speed. I can only take so much at once.”

“I’ll do my best."

“Magic is real.”

“Are you going to ask stupid questions or smart questions?”

“Christ you’re the worst! How come I’m only just now finding out magic is real?”

“Well, I guess because Frank wanted to keep you safe.”

“I mean… why haven’t there been more signs? You know? How do you keep it secret?”

Big Red chuckled wheezily.

“Mate, we don’t even do a great job of covering it up. You lot just really love not believing in magic because science, which does the rest.”

“And Frank was a wizard?”

“Warlock. It’s different. Don’t go calling people wizards like that, you’ll get a smack.”

“Riiiiight. More about that later for sure. But this pendant.”

“Uhhhh, headlines only? Sort of magical religious artefact. Very old, very powerful, very dangerous. Rumoured to be cursed. Broadly believed to be made up.”

“Cursed! Is that going to be a problem?” Soda squeaked.

“Without the ambrosia seed, you’d have died before the next midnight,” Big Red explained, then, seeing Soda’s expression, added hastily, “but you’re safe for now! We just need to get rid of it as soon as possible. This was Frank’s backup plan, alright? Take it up with him.”

“Oh sure, so I get thrown into some weird nightmare forest vision or whatever and have to wear a freaky ancient power pendant that’s going to kill me!”

“I thought you wanted to go on a quest? …Hang on, what forest vision?”

“When I put it on, I briefly got transported somewhere else. A weird forest.”

“Huh. Frank never said nothing about no weird forests. That’s possibly concerning.”

“What? Why? Are you telling me Frank touched this thing?”

Big Red looked away.

“Frank didn’t die of a heart attack, did he.” Soda’s knuckles were white, gripped tightly around the steering wheel.

“Not exactly.”

“Fuck your ‘not exactly’! Red, did somebody murder him? Tell me the truth!”

“No! No, jeez, don’t get too dramatic. He was just stupid, and did a stupid thing, and paid the price. He got curious and got cursed. I dunno kiddo. Do you really wanna hear this?”

Soda sniffed, trying very hard to hold in a sob.

“No,” she finally said. “I thought my dad was a good man.”

Big Red was quiet as they wound along the Riverside Expressway. Brisbane’s skyscrapers rose up to their right, glass turned to molten gold in the fierce late afternoon sun. The river shimmered to their left. Everything felt staticky and surreal, like the heavy calm before an afternoon storm.

“I thought he was too, for what it’s worth."

“Alright, I need to think about all this.”

Soda’s head was racing and her heart ached and her ass hurt. And the day wasn’t even over.