The Memory Garden

Chapter 7 by Helene Neale  

Sniff.  Sniff.  Tantalizing scent.  Damn this rain for hiding your scent you tantalizing morsel.  The large grey rat wondered around and through the rubble lining the edges of the ally searching for that that had tickled its fancy.  Clop.  Clop.  The rat freezes and looks around for the source of the noise.  It quickly spots the upright creature that is dripping dirty water and smells of wet wool.  The creature does not seem to notice him so thinking himself safe he continues on his way.Snap.  Something has grabbed him.  The rat struggles furtively within the grasp of his capturer, twisting and turning trying to bite the hand that restrains him.Crunch.  The lights slowly fade.Limped curls hang down her shoulders as she trudges along dripping water and oil in the light rain.  With practiced ease she navigates the alleyway avoiding all the garbage and puddles that would ruin her last pair of dress shoes.  With her home spun sweater, brown knee length skirt and light jacket she looks like a beggar that found some new clothes.  The rain drips off her mindless where it falls collecting whatever bits of oil and old makeup accumulated on the skin that it cleansed on its passing.Through the fall of rain she sees the myriad of wildlife that tends to inhabit these alleyways, from the hunting cat to the rats to the insectoids that hide under eaves and boxes to avoid the rain.  Most people who look upon the insectoids recoil at their almost human appearance.  Standing five to six inches tall they have chitinous skin multihued with the colours of the rainbow.  The frail translucent wings fold neatly along their backs.  They have thorny legs and grasping appendages, curly antenna and multifaceted eyes.  In the forests these creatures would feast on the forest debris and leave fungal spores behind.  In the city they eat organic matter of the vegetable variety that has seen better days. The fungal spores they leave behind grow into tiny shrooms that give off a sweet smelling pollen.  Addicts search out these shrooms to eat them for their unusual property of making the eater smaller.  Yet for all their diminutive properties they are highly addictive and loosen the bowels of those foolish enough to ingest them.Continuing on her way, she spots a rat that to its folly does not consider her a threat.  As it watches her approach it turns its head and continues searching for whatever caught its attention earlier.  Quick like a cat she grabs the rat. With practiced ease she calmly snaps its neck while it is struggling to escape.  Once she is certain it could no longer escape, she opens her bag and places it inside and continues on her way.  The only witnesses to the grisly murder a disappointed cat and a few insectoids.Reaching the end of the alley she comes to a crossroads, to the left the road to the Ministry, to the right a favorite drinking establishment of hers.  She looks at her watch and it’s 20 min before she has to be at work.  Figuring she has time for a drink or two before work she heads right.  The outside of the establishment looks pretty non-descript with old-fashioned shutters and an old sign bearing a picture of a cow churning cream and the name Creamery Goodness.  Opening the massive door to The Cream, as everyone calls it for short, she steps through the portal that can accommodate three men abreast.  While her eyes adjust to the bright interior she looks around.  There are few patrons in at this time, but within a half hour this place will be filled.  Tables lay scattered about the floor in whatever pattern the cleaning crew decided to leave them.  The bar itself is semicircular and nestled into the corner.  The wall behind the bar is a huge mirror reflecting everything it saw for all to see.  Bottles with various coloured fluids line the counter along this wall within easy reach for the not so common bartender.  Part of the draw of The Cream was its bartender Matilda.Matilda stood about six feet tall and had two thick legs that ended in hooves with large dark splotches that marred her pristine white hide.  A tail hung from her backside that would swing wildly when she was angry.  Her arms were like a man’s except longer and ended in three fingers and not five.  Her chest was flat except when the muscles bulged as she lifted something heavy.  Her face was attractive with her big cow eyes and gentle face.  Anyone new to The Cream fixated on the large udder that was suspended from Matilda’s waist.The dripping patron approaches the bar and takes her usual seat and smiles at Matilda.“Good eve Lacey.”“No not really, but hello Matilda.”“Would ye like the house special?”“No thanks, just the usual please, you know dairy makes me nauseous.”Noticing the black circles under Lacey’s eyes Matilda asks “you no sleep well?” while pouring a coconut rum for Lacey.Smirking Lacey replies, “Not a wink, every time I was almost asleep the nightmares would come.”“It bad you can’t have dairy, I’s know a cure for that, put you right out it would”Lacey finishes the drink with practiced ease and asks for another.“It’s just that since I lost Jared and little Amy, work no longer holds any interest for me, or life for that matter…but I am to much of a coward to end it.”  Fresh water burst forth from her already dry well of sorrow.  Lacey scrubs at her face with the back of her hand embarrassed by her outburst, then surprised at the grime detailing her delicate hands.  She looks into the mirror behind the bar and sees a face she doesn’t recognize.  Wet greasy locks hang limply around a small oval of a face.  The eyes are black rimmed from to little sleep and her usual bright green eyes shone back at her dully.  Her sweater had seen better days and there is a splotch of mud on her skirt, probably from the rat she caught earlier.  She gulps back her drink like a drowning victim then turns accusing eyes onto Matilda.“Why didn’t you tell me I looked like some shroom addict?”“I had sweetie but you would no listen.”The third drink was making itself felt as Lacey’s brain started to slow down and blur around the edges and the apathy set in once more.While having her forth drink something catches her dulled attention in the bottom of the glass.  Holding it up to the light she sees the blurred outline of a familiar figure but when she puts the glass down there is no one there.  Staring uncertainly at the spot the apparition made an appearance, the massive door opens and several Ministry employees enter, recently getting off shift.  Letting her hair fall forward to cover her face, Lacey sits there pretending to be invisible.  The last thing she needed was for one of the employees to report that they saw her drinking before a shift.  She had already been reprimanded for it already.Unknown to Lacey, the Ministry employees would not have recognized the sorry excuse for a human being she represented from the classy, popular Clemancy Forrestor that she was.  Digging into her bag, Lacey pulls out a handful of coins leaving them on the counter along with a few stray rat hairs, saying something non-committal to Matilda as she left.On her way to the ministry she feels eyes boring in to the back of her skull and looks around.  Seeing no one unusual she continues on thinking it is just her imagination.  As she approaches the ministry, images start to flash behind her eyes disorientating her, a man in a blue suit holding a paintbrush in a surreal landscape.  She stumbles.  Kaplin talking to two strange men and one looks as if he sees her, a beautiful chessboard that breaks in two. She falls to her knees holding her head and cursing her luck.  The visions continue, an old lady sitting at a piano missing a few keys, an image of a stylized rose and a pair of miniature talons gripping a lemon.  Realization came with the returning vision. This was the first time since the death of Jared and Amy that she had suffered these visions.  Shaking her head to clear the residual images swimming in her vision, she continues to the ministry feeling confused.            As she regains her composure she doesn’t notice the ministry guards approaching until they are almost on top of her.  Hastily she digs through her bag looking for her ID badge as she feels their menacing presence converging upon her.  Pulling it out triumphantly she waves it at the guards as only one inebriated can.  Looking her over they let her pass disappointed, taloned hands retreating back into their long sleeves.Sitting behind her desk in the Ministry of Ill Begots, a subdivision of the Ministry of Belongings, see starts to go through the stack of files heaped on her desk.  Her desk is located in a small dim room down a long corridor.  There are three other desks in the room each with their own operator, pale, skinny, wearing pants that are too short for them.  Each desk is accompanied by a squat purple filing cabinet that thinks it’s a head of the desk.  Seeing Lacey’s disheveled appearance, the operators look at each other and snicker.  Finding their jocularity to be tiring Lacey stops paying attention to them.  Hours pass and Lacey’s eye start to get heavy as she flips through file after file describing some illegal creature or substance seen.  The figures on the page start to blur together and the alcohol has long since gone to a better life with the other excrements that mortals tend to leave behind.  As she leans her head against the desk to help support it’s increasing weight, everything fades to black and the dreams come.The day began like any other.  Lacey kissed her husband and child before she walked out the door.  Today she was to fly to a small town call DuChamp located about 234km south of the Pinnacle.  She was on assignment and going to investigate reports of a captive dragonette.  The Ministry had strict rules about civilians owning magical creatures, as most were usually unpredictable.  Looking back at her two treasures, little blonde Amy held in Jared’s strong arms, she smiled fondly at them.  Sighing she heads out the door.  The Ministry was a good company to work for but they always had Lacey going out on assignment for days at a time and she was looking forward to having a little time with Jared and Amy.  But work calls, and it is never good practice to keep them waiting…bad things usually start to happen.Arriving at her desk in the Department of Ill Begots at the Ministry, Lacey greets her fellow associates, picks up the files she needs then heads out once more to the transport site.  One of the few perks of working for Ill Begots was you got to use the company transport…a very large dragon.  This was the third time Lacey used the transport and it still excited her.  Arriving at the transport site, she sees several other patrons already waiting to board.  As Lacey waits for her turn to board she looks around.  This dragon was a mottled dark earthy red colour and his hide shone in the morning light.  The scales around his muzzle and his belly were faded meaning he would be retired soon.  The dragon stood about 60 hands at the shoulder and he had a long graceful neck.  Perched between his ears a small man sits wearing regimental transport gear, tight white pants and a blue jacket with a golden dragon’s head embroidered along the back.  His eyes are completely clouded over and he seems to stare right through you.  He shares a telepathic link with the dragon and directs it where to go.  Rumor was that they infused the dragons blood into their systems to make the bond stronger.The other transport officer is a young woman also wearing the regimental transport gear, except her jacket is darker and embroidered with a spiral of silver stars instead of the dragon’s head.  She sits at the base of the dragon’s neck behind all the passengers.   She ensures the transport is safe and hidden from casual view.   

Approaching the woman, Lacey hands her travel papers.  The women being rather tall and lanky and vaguely familiar turns her hand over to reveal a device that looks like a large silver coin with a blue gem at its center.  It sits comfortably in her palm and is held in place by two bands that wrap around her thumb and pinky.  She passes it over the papers, then over Lacey’s ID badge.  Seconds pass, then the women nods and says, “Welcome aboard Sky High Transport Mrs. Forrestor.  Your dragon today is known as Wilmarishclove.  Enjoy your trip.”She shows Lacey to a saddle at the base of the dragon’s neck.  Double-checking the straps to make sure they are well fastened, Lacey watches as three other passengers are placed through the same scrutiny before being shown to seats.  Placed in front of her was a short portly woman with small hands and hooves.  She scowled at Lacey as soon as she noticed Lacey looking at her.  Behind her sat a gangly man with scaly hide and short spiky hair.  He grinned at Lacey, looking her up and down making her want to fasten up her coat a little more.  Getting comfortable she noticed a pair of scaly hands at her side and shuddered.  Trying to come up with a polite refusal for the gentleman she failed to notice the driver giving the signal to take off.  The dragon spread his immense wings and his powerful muscles propelled them into the air leaving Lacey’s stomach on the ground.The flight lasted about one hour and the small town of
DuChamp came into view.  Spiraling down towards the ground a small park came into focus amidst a city of houses.  Aiming for the park, the dragon landed delicately despite it’s bulk and Lacey unfastened her safety harness.  Climbing down she confirmed with the Driver the time of pickup and took several steps back to give the dragon room to take off without knocking her over.The park was small with well-maintained lawns and trees.  The paths were paved and red, orange and yellow leaves littered the ground.  The paths wound throughout the park in gray twisting lines.  Pulling out her GPS, a small hand held compass that pointed the direction to any location spoken to it, she stated her destination and headed off north checking her pockets to ensure everything is in place…the anti venom in particular in case things go badly.The house was located in a quiet neighborhood.  There was a small white picket fence out front that looked like it could use a new coat of paint.  Weeds had over grown the little flowerbed and the lawn desperately needed a mow.  Opening the gate produced a loud squeak.  Walking towards the front door she navigated through the jungle not to sure what could be hidden in the weeds.  The door was a faded bright blue and contained a brass knocker.  A set of wind chimes sang mournfully in the morning breeze.  Grasping the knocker, she gave it a good beating listening to the noise reverberate throughout the house.  While she waited for the owner to answer, she ran her fingers through her hair and straightened her clothes.  She knocked twice more without a response.  Looking into the little window she saw a neat foyer that lead into a kitchen.  There was a light on in the kitchen.  Trying the handle, it doesn’t budge.  “Damn, I hate breaking into places on assignment” she mutters to herself.  Pulling out a small disk shaped device that looks like a snake curled in on itself, she whispered the word Idoru.  Upon hearing this word the disk uncurled itself into a thin little snake like thing that slithered into the lock.  A few short seconds later there was an audible click and the door opened.  While in training, she asked her professor what Idoru meant.  He replied: “Clemancy, you are not the first to ask and probably not the last.  When I trained here my professor said it represented ‘open’ in Flemming.  Apparently they had a strange sense of humour.”Quickly reaching around the door, she caught the small disk as it fell out the other side of the lock.  Placing the disk back into her pocket, she pushed the door open and called hello.  Her words bounced hollowly off the walls.The inside of the house was in better repair then the outside yet sparsely decorated.  A small bench sat near the door with a small mirror hung above it.  As she explored the place she became aware of musk like odour that permeated the house.  The house was simply laid out with two bedrooms and a bathroom down the right hallway, a kitchen in front and the living room area to the left.  Entering the kitchen, she found the source of light, a heat lamp connected to a timer reflecting down on a small nest of eggs.  Cursing her luck she started looking overhead for the mother.  Turning to the right, she headed down the hall to check the two rooms, breathing shallowly as the fumes made her dizzy.  Peering into the first room she saw bolts of fabric, yarn and various other craft projects scattered about the room.  The room seemed unusually cluttered compared to the rest of the house.  Closing the door in case the mother was hiding in there, she continued down the hall to check the other room.  As she approached the door she noticed that the musk was significantly stronger.  Placing her ear to the door she listened not hearing anything.  Frowning she reached for the door handle and carefully opened the door.  Reeling from the overpowering fumes exiting the room, Lacey wiped her eyes to remove the tears and looked into the room holding her breath.  The room was relatively small and contained only three pieces of furniture, a bed, an armoire and bedside table.  Lying upon the bed were two bodies.  The two shared no resemblance to each other except for the fact that they are both very much dead.  One was a middle-aged women, the other a creature almost identical in appearance to the dragons used by the ministry.  The creature would have stood 18 inches tall.  It had clawed grasping appendages in the front and perched on its back legs.  A long whip like tail protruded from its posterior and it had poison glands located under its forked tongue.  The bedside table supported a small white doily atop of which sat an old fashioned lamp.  Resting against the lamp was a white envelope addressed to “Employee of the Ministry”.  The other occupant on the table was a small vial that used to contain a fluorescent green liquid.  Pocketing the envelope she picked up the vial with the doily and proceeded out of the room back towards the kitchen.  Taking a deep breath she exclaimed:“Of all the cursed luck…why in Carmine’s name do I get all these cursed assignments?  Could my day get any worse?”Back in the kitchen she placed the vial carefully on the table and started rummaging through the cupboards looking for a zip lock bag or something similar.  Finding some sandwich bags she grabbed one and carefully placed the empty vial into the bag ensuring she did not come into contact with any of the edges directly.  After tying the bag, she placed it on the table and pulled out her phone and called the Ministry.“Ministry hotline, how may I direct your call?”“Hello? Cleaners Department please.” Lacey replied.There was a slight pause while the call was transferred.“Cleaners Department.  Where we clean life’s little messes.  This is Borus Placek, how can I help you?” answered the voice on the other end of the line with a thick Russian accent.“Hi, this is agent Clemancy Forrester, badge number Angry Orange Vincent 19.  I need a clean up crew at

, DuChamp.  I have one human women and a female dragonette that need to be taken care of.”“Has the place been secured?”“Yes there appears to be no one else here.”“A crew will be sent to you.  They should arrive within an hour.  Let me confirm your information…Agent Forrester, badge AOV 19 needs clean up crew at

in DuChamp?”“That sounds correct.”“Thank you agent, the crew has been sent off.”  With that he hung up.She hung up the phone and sat at the table to examine the eggs while she waited for the cleaners to arrive.  There were 7 eggs within the nest, mottled blue with golden spots.  She poked at one to see how far along they were and noticed that the shells were very hard. The shells of the dragonette are soft when they are laid and get progressively harder as they near gestation.  Theses one were closer to hatching then she liked.  Lacey cursed again “This just get better and better.”While she waited, she recalled the letter and pulled it out of her pocket and took a closer look at it.  The writing was elegant and well written. Opening it up she reads: 

Dear Ministry Pawn, I know what I did was wrong, but I could not leave her all alone.  She has brought me much joy and I could not let you murder her.  So instead you will not get her, neither of us.  But I don’t have the heart to destroy her innocent brood so I will leave that grisly task to you.  Congratulations, you are now a murderer of innocents.So farewell and know that you can never hurt Allwin nor me again. 

Reading it over again she noticed the lack of a signature.  Lacey shook her head in disappointment.  The ministry has ways of learning what they need, even from the dead.  She did not agree with them but had no power to prevent it.“You foolish women, it would have been easier on you if you had just come along quietly” she commented in the direction of the dead women. Looking at her watch, she grabs her phone and calls the ministry again and asks for the transport department.“Transport department, where we take you there in style.  Patrick O’Reilly at your service” answered a chirping voice.“Hello, agent Clemancy Forrester, I need to reschedule my pick up time. It appears I will be detained till later this evening.  Can you fit me in there somewhere?”“When and where were you to be picked up?”“Pickup was for 2 at DuChamp park, but I have been detained so I will need a later time”“One moment please.”  The phone goes quiet for a moment then this jarring music started to play in the background as she waited on hold.A short while later the chirping voice that she presumed belonged to Mr O’Reilly came back on and gave her what she was looking for.“I contacted your flight and they will alter their route to pick you up at 6 in the

DuChamp
Park.”“Thanks” she replied meaning it and hung up the phone. While she waited she started to rummage through the cupboards and fridge looking for anything edible.  She figured she may as well as she was going to be here a while.  Finding enough pieces to make a sandwich she sits down to eat it watching the eggs.  There were rather pretty if you did not consider that they contained poisonous creatures.  Looking at the crumbs on her plate she realized she was still famished, which was odd as she had eaten earlier that day, and it wasn’t even lunchtime yet.  While she waited she started to feel closed in, like the house was getting smaller and started to pace restlessly. ”Well may as well get you guys packed up, I am sure the personnel at the ministry are just itching to get their hands on you”. She grabbed a small container from the cupboard and started to transfer the eggs into it.  Positioning it just right to move the whole nest into the container at once she nearly jumps out of her skin as someone calls out. “Hello? Agent Forrester?” “In here” she called back, nearly dropping the nest in the process, saving it by putting her hip in the way to catch it.  Checking the nest she noticed that the eggs had shifted around but still seemed all accounted for.  She noticed one of the eggs was smaller then the others.“Odd I thought you were all the same size.”  She muttered to herself, shrugged and placed a cover of the container.“What’s odd agent?” asked a husky voice behind her.  Lacey almost jumps out of her skin for the second time.  A tall half-breed is standing behind her looking at the container.   “Odd, I am not sure.  I think I am just chasing shadows.  There is something about this place that has me on edge” she answers as she tries to regain her composure.“Very well agent.  Where are the two?“There are in the back room.  Careful the fumes are nasty”“Thank you sir, but we are familiar with our work” He turned and headed down the hall, three men trailing him carrying various stretchers and bags.   While the cleaners were taking care of the bodies, Lacey pulled out a granola bar from her purse and starts to pace again feeling even more confined and restless.  She grabbed the container with the nest, the letter and the vial and went to wait outside for the cleaners.  Taking several deep breaths of fresh air, she sits on the step and rubs at her temple. A hand reached over and touched her shoulder from behind.  She jumped and let out a small screech.  Turning around she saw the half-breed looking slightly amused.  She looked around and realized the time had passed and she never noticed.  Looking at her watch 2 hours passed without her knowledge.  Feeling slightly disorientated, she looks to the half-breed wondering what he wanted.“We are all done inside sir, I just need you to sign here and here please”She signed where he indicated and while doing so he asked:“Is everything all right, you’re looking a little pale?”“Yes fine, I am just a little tired is all…it has been a long day”The half-breed nodded and wished her a good day.  Gathering up his crew and the bodies he headed out.Lacey rubbed at her temples still feeling unusually constrained.  The feeling seemed almost alien in nature, but as she was not feeling well, she figured it was just a weird affect from the musk of the bodies in the house.  At the rendezvous site she took a seat on the little park bench waiting for the transport to arrive.  Without realizing it she fell asleep and was awoken with a start by a large gust of wind as the transport landed.  Quickly standing, she fished in her pockets for her papers cutting her finger.  Letting out another curse, she stuck her finger in her mouth and handed the papers over to the transport personnel.  The papers were quickly scanned and she climbed into place. 

Still feeling ravenous, she searched through her pockets avoiding the one she cut her finger on looking for something to eat.  Finding nothing she realized that she should not be hungry.  She got this slightly sick feeling in the pit of her stomach and promptly threw up.  After she wiped her mouth she looked at her cut finger and saw two little holes.  The sick feeling in her stomach climbed to her head and she slumped over unconscious as the dragon took to wing.              An undetermined amount of time later Lacey became aware of hands moving her and tried to stand up.“Hold still Lass or we might drop you.  It happens to some during transport, they are not used to the altitudes.  You just sit here for a bit and your senses will return in short order.”  Saying this Lacey gets placed on a padded bench just inside the transport office at the ministry.  Trying to clear her head she made sure all her things were in place forgetting about her cut finger for the time being.  Once the attendants were out of site she stood up and grabbed the chair as the world started to spin around her.  When everything settled back to some normalcy she headed towards her office.  One the way she dropped off the vial and letter at the evidence locker with a note to have the vial examined for contents.  She then dropped off the container of eggs to the Head of the Department of Ill Begots, Tolsen ‘Firelord’ Harris.  Ignoring his comments, she headed to her office not seeing Mr. Harris go a little red.  At her office she grabbed the most important paperwork and went home to spend time with Jared and Amy.Tolsen Harris was a little man whom she suspected did shrooms.  He was famous for his short temper, and you knew someone was in trouble when the fire alarms went off.  His hair would flare up like a brush fire and his face would turn beet red when he was in a temper that most called him Firelord behind his back.  Doing so to his face would have you cleaning the soot off his ceiling or other menial task he could find for you. Still feeling ravenous, she detoured to the lounge and grabbed a quick bite to eat.  Feeling time press on, she finished quickly then gathered her papers and headed home.Waking with a start Lacey lifts her head off the folders it was resting on and looks around still groggy from the dream.  Hearing a riotous laughter coming from down the hall, she tries to discern its source.  She sees Yuri walk by the office door still chuckling to himself carrying a keg over his shoulder.  Shaking her head at his antics of which she was sure she would hear about in great detail, she tries to clear the remnants of that bad dream. Seeing as she was not doing anything constructive, she grab the folders on her desk and headed out the door purposefully ignoring her office mates snide comments.Flipping through a file, she fails to realize where she’s going and walks right into a well-dressed gentleman.  Walking through him like he was a stonewall, the papers she was carrying flying all over, she lands not so delicately on her ass.  Quickly crawling around collecting her scattered papers and dignity, she mumbles apologies and does not see the wry grin on his face or Kaplin standing off to the side.  She stands using the offered hand, and finally looks into the face of the stoic figure that prevented her forward motion.  Blushing furiously and quickly retrieving her hand, she sees the dirt on his clean coat and realizes what a mess she is.  Trying to wipe away the offending dirt, he pushes her hand away.  A memory surfaces and she knows this man.  He was one of her mentors when she was training to become an agent.  He was what most new initiates tried to be, and her for that matter till she became disillusioned with the ministry.  Feeling even more distraught at having sullied this individual she fumbles in her pockets for a card and hands it to him.“I am so sorry. I did not see you there.  Here let me take care of the cleaning.  Just give me a call when you get it cleaned and I will pay for it.”Collecting the rest of her papers she hurries away not seeing the slightly raised eyebrow of the gentleman as he looked at her card.  The card she handed him was from the days when she was still a field agent, before the death of Jared and Amy. 

            Clemancy Forrester            Ministry of Ill Begots            Agent OAV 19 

On the card there is a slightly younger rather attractive picture of Lacey on the left side.  The words are blue emboss and there is an odd bar code at the bottom of the card that when rubbed will directly connect the cardholder to the person on the card.  The little picture will animate and will talk in reply to comments directed at it.  The old phone card theory before the new mobiles became popular.  Tucking the card into his pocket Matthew Lemon heads out of the ministry with Kaplin trailing behind carrying the Dawn’s package.