Find Magessica
Philippe listened carefully to the voice on the other side of the phone call. He closed his eyes and slowly put the ornate ivory phone back into the pocket of his jacket as he tried to figure out what to do next.
“Was that your goddess friend?” snapped Bone Maiden. “I don’t know why you like hanging around with her.”
“You mean, Aje?” he replied. “Don’t be jealous. She’s a goddess and I’m just a skater boi. I’m not even in the friend zone.”
“You wish you were more than that,” she snorted as she stared back at her phone. “What does she want now? You’re always doing everything she says.”
Philippe sat down in his comfortable easy chair and stared at his EGG glowing in his new Incubator. “It’s not like I have a choice. And I have so much to be grateful for because of her. Besides, there’s more important things to worry about. Like, where to start our search for Magessica. Aje wouldn’t have told me to start looking for her if it wasn’t important.”
“I can think of more important things. There’s new stuff at the store to get. New boxes and stuff.” Bone Maiden shoved her phone into her designer purse and opened the door to exit Philippe’s house. “I’ve got to get the latest and greatest before anyone else does.”
“Wait! Don’t go now. I need help figuring things out.”
“Nonsense. You’ll figure it out. You always do,” said Bone Maiden. She poked her head out the door and looked back and forth. “I don’t see him. Good!”
“See who?”
“That dorky Armstrong,” said Bone Maiden. “Did you know that he wrote me a love letter? As if! I know he’s been creeping on me for a while, but he’s been acting weirder and weirder lately.”
“Weird? What do you mean?” asked Philippe. “You mean like stalking you or something?”
“Totally! I could tell he had a crush on me a long time ago, but he kept his distance. But, a few weeks ago, I saw him talking to that weird water guy, and he hadn’t been right since.”
“Thaloc was talking to Armstrong? I didn’t think he talked in a language you could understand.”
Bone Maiden shrugged. “I don’t know if Armstrong was even listening. He looked scared about something. Then Thaloc just disappeared in thin air and Armstrong ran off. Or rolled. Whatever he does.”
“And now he’s stalking you?” asked Philippe. “How would talking to Thaloc do that?”
“Beats me, but every time I’ve seen Armstrong off in the distance, he’s got this blank look in his eyes and starts heading my way. It’s every day too. I had to dodge him to get over here today. Thank goodness I can change my looks and give him the slip.” She looked around again and let out a sigh of relief. “OK. I’m off to meet Azi at the store. Laters!”
Philippe watched as Bone Maiden headed off towards the store and made sure no one was following her. He sank back down on his chair and threw his head back. “I really need everyone’s help to find Magessica. I can’t be spending time on getting a love crazed Armstrong to behave himself,” he said aloud. As he closed his eyes, he could hear Aje’s words come back to him. “Find Magessica. The fate of VIMworld is at stake!”
Author’s note: stories in the ‘VIMglory’ series occur chronologically between ‘Opening Day’ and ‘The Man Who Has Everything’.
