The Well of Many Worlds

by Luke Metcalf

  “What is that? Part of your costume? What are you? A vampire wizard?” he chuckled. “Just being a vampire wasn’t good enough?”

  “Uh, yeah, kind of.” Emily blushed and laughed and felt like a goof. Then she cleared her throat and stepped up to Mitchell. “Why were you so rude to me earlier in the club? And how do you know those four men? What happened when you left? Are you following them?”

  “I apologize if I appeared rude – it was nothing personal. Unfortunately, I don’t have time to explain everything now, so if you don’t mind…”

  “I was trying to find the gas station over there.” She pointed vaguely off in another direction. He held out his arm to her and she took it, walking through the trees as if on air.

  As they walked Emily felt totally safe and protected with him. Her mind swirled with a thousand questions and her heart was brimming with emotion, but she remained silent, too intimidated and filled with wonder and confusion to even speak. When they reached the gas station she turned and looked at him. Her hair had fallen over her face. He reached out and tucked it gently behind her ear.

  “Let’s keep this between us,” he said, winking at her.

  She nodded. “But who are you? What’s your name? Why do the wolves listen to you?”

  “Come.” He gestured to one of the wolves and it ran over to them. “Don’t be afraid, it won’t harm you.” The wolf stood before them with its tongue lolling out. “Here.” Mitchell took her hand and placed it on the animal’s head. “Sweet dreams, Emily,” he said, releasing her hand and giving a gallant bow, never taking his eyes off hers.

  He and the wolves moved so swiftly, they seemed to dissolve into the shadows of the forest. For a moment, Emily stood rooted to the spot, staring into the trees, her eyes wide with wonder and her mouth hanging open. Finally, she returned to reality and wandered in a daze over to the gas station, where she called her mother on the pay phone.

  “Mom, I…” Where could she even begin? How could she describe what had just happened without sounding like she’d lost her mind? “I ran out of gas and I don’t have any money. Could you come meet me?”

  What had he meant by “sweet dreams?” She wondered. Did he know about her dreams? When she got home she pestered Mercurios to tell her more about the boy.

  “I am telling you I don’t know who he is,” he insisted. “It is very strange that you have been having dreams about him.”

  “The way he controlled those wolves, do you think he could be from Magella too?”

  The imp stared at her for several moments before nodding. “That’s what I was thinking. He seems to possess supernatural powers.”

  “Are there vampires in Magella? I thought it was a costume, but the way he controlled those wolves… Do you think that’s why the word ‘demons’ was carved under ‘Vadas Asger’? Did vampires come over and they thought they were demons?”

  “Vampires are very rare in Magella, the Paladin, Rangers and Wizards Guild have destroyed most of them. But it is possible. He is more likely a wizard or necromancer.”

  “What about the other part of the dream that I’ve been having? That… That demon? And what did you mean by this recurring dream being my power awakening inside me or whatever?”

  “It’s your great destiny, Emily.” Mercurios’s eyes flashed with mischievous excitement.

  “Why do you keep saying that? What do you mean by my ‘great destiny?’ You just mean you think I can become a powerful wizard and reclaim the throne in my parents kingdom, right?”

  “You know it’s much more than that! The demon is awakening inside you Emily, tee-hee-hee. Do not fight it.”

  “What… demon?”

  “It is your great destiny, or at least it was meant to be. When you were conceived, the Lich King of Darguul forced your parents to summon a demon into you. Once you were born you were to be sent to Darguul to be trained by the Necromancers Guild until you became an adult and a powerful necromancer, and then the demon inside you would awaken and possess you and through you it would rule your parents’ kingdom and turn all the people into slaves and worshippers of the demon lord, Orcus, and then conquer all of Magella. But something unexpected happened. The Well of Many Worlds had been lost for nearly a thousand years, and then it inexplicably appeared in your parents’ castle one day. The Lich King realized that a demon would be able to use the Well to tear a permanent rift, to open a permanent gate between the Abyss, the realm of the demon lords, and the worlds of the living. He decided that that would be your great destiny. But your parents were having none of that. They decided to flee the Lich King and conduct an exorcism ceremony on you and banish the demon inside you back to the Abyss and save the worlds of the living. They wanted to escape, but the Lich King found out and sent a group of necromancers to kill your parents and if possible bring you and the Well of Many Worlds back to Darguul. That is when your parents sent you and your brother and sister into the Well with instructions that the familiars let you all assimilate, then bring you back to Magella when you were adults to get you an exorcism before the demon fully awakens, and be trained at the Fengusberry Academy so you could reclaim the throne.”

  The imp stopped talking to allow time for this lengthy explanation to sink in. Emily thought about all the times she had had her dream and battled the demon.

  “You’re telling me that that demon I’ve been dreaming about is not only real… but it’s inside me?”

  “Yes.”

  “INSIDE ME?” Her voice was rising toward hysteria.

  “Yes. And soon it will possess you completely.”

  Seventeen

  “Why didn’t you tell me this before?” Emily shouted. “First you tell me I’m a wizard from another world and my name is Talia and now you’re saying I’m possessed by a demon? A demon? Who or what the hell am I?”

  “I thought you knew and were just pretending. Hasn’t it been whispering to you in your mind your whole life?”

  “Whispering to me? What? No! Oh my god, I can’t take this.” Emily put her head in her hands, her breathing fast and shallow. She looked up, her face was pale. “I feel light-headed. I can’t breathe.”

  “It’s anxiety, calm down,” said Mercurios. “Lie down, catch your breath. Perhaps the demon’s slumber has been very deep and only now that it is beginning to awaken and gain power is it communicating with you.”

  Emily did as he suggested and lay down on her bed. “Oh my god, I’m possessed. I need an exorcism!” She sat bolt upright again, filled with terror. “How do I get it out of me?” she screamed. “Please get it out of me! I’ve seen what happens to those people in horror movies! Get me a priest!”

  “Please calm down! Yes, the only way is through an exorcism. But that is very advanced magic indeed, might be years before you are powerful enough. Would be too late by then. The only way is to take you to Magella to the Fengusberry Academy. There are some of the most powerful wizards in Magella there. They will be able to do the exorcism and then you can begin your advanced training in wizardry.”

  “But what if we can’t find the Well? We still have no idea who, what or where this Vadas Asger is.” Emily stared at Mercurios. “Wait a second, are you just saying this to trick me into going to Magella?”

  “No, I swear!”

  “Then why didn’t you tell me earlier?”

  “Oh, don’t worry, if we can never return to Magella the demon will awaken and I will teach you magic and you will conquer and enslave this world. That’s why I was telling you to just go with it. It is very likely that we will not be able to ever find the Well and get back to Magella.”

  “Don’t worry? JUST GO WITH IT?” Emily shouted. “You’re saying you didn’t tell me because you think we’re stuck here anyways so it’s inevitable and… Wait a minute, you don’t seem concerned, I get the feeling you want this demon to awaken. Are you insane? I don’t want to turn into a demon and enslave the world!”

  “Well, that won’t be your decision. I am quite sure the demon wil
l want to enslave the world, so just relax and go with it. It will be useless to fight it.”

  “Stop saying that!”

  “I cannot believe that you didn’t know,” said Mercurios. “Please, you did know. Admit it. Don’t play games. All those times I laughed and winked after you’d say ‘Oh no, Mercurios, I don’t want to slay my enemies, I don’t want to enslave the world,’” he did an absurd impression of her voice, ‘“Oh no, Mercurios I wouldn’t want to do that, I would never want to crush my enemies unmerciful.’” The imp burst out laughing. “I knew you were just playing games, deep down you want to but you haven’t accepted yourself fully yet.” He put a hand on her knee, his eyes concerned, supportive and sincere. “And there’s nothing wrong with that, Emily, it’s the most natural thing in the world. You have to accept yourself for who you are, you have a demon inside you. Just enjoy it, go with it, dare to be different. You want to enslave the world and crush your enemies and that’s okay. Accept it, you need to be more inclusive.”

  “Inclusive?” she shrieked.

  “Besides, imagine how fun it will be to be a powerful demon terrorizing this ridiculous world, haha! Power is such fun!” The imp clapped his hands and capered about with glee. “Ah, such fun such fun indeed. We shall terrorize them all!”

  “Okay listen, you are my familiar, right?” said Emily, grabbing the imp and holding him up as he squirmed to be free.

  “Yes, please put me down.”

  “And you must obey my commands?”

  “Yes, unless they contradict your mother’s commands.”

  She grabbed him by his throat, staring into his eyes. “Well, I command you to do everything in your power to help me get this demon out of me!”

  “Yes, I will obey” – the imp cringed – “please do not smite me!”

  That night Emily had trouble sleeping. She tossed and turned, horrified by the revelation that she was possessed by a demon. She also couldn’t stop thinking about the young man from her dreams, wondering who he was. She was now totally obsessed with him. Her bedroom seemed unbearably hot and she kicked off her bed sheets. She found it difficult to concentrate on anything other than him for more than a few minutes, and then her thoughts would inevitably return to him. Part of her wanted to just give in and think of nothing but him. Maybe I have a fever, she thought, though she didn’t feel as though she was getting sick. She thought about how she longed for him, how she was filled with a terrible aching and emptiness in her heart for him, how she felt such a desperate need for him in every fiber of her being, and how she was willing to say or do anything to be with him. She rolled over, obsessively replaying every word he had said to her over and over in her mind, searching for hidden meanings, answers. She loved how calm and confident he was, how he radiated confidence and raw, primal masculine power like a magnetic field. Beautiful like an angel and ferocious like a beast. Finally, just before dawn, she fell asleep.

  When she awoke a few hours later her body was filled with a soft, voluptuous languor instead of the usual terror. Her lips spread into a delicious smile as she remembered her dream from the night before. She thought of the two of them standing in the moonlit glade surrounded by wolves. Her whole body felt relaxed, as if all her muscles had melted into happiness.

  “Wow,” she sighed. “What a hot dream, so crazy.” Then she remembered the conversation with the imp, “and disturbing.”

  Downstairs, she sat eating at the breakfast table with her mother, who was flipping through a newspaper, glancing up at her every so often.

  Emily’s eyes fell on the front headline in her mother’s hands: “Wolves Escape from Transport Trailer.” She let out a gasp.

  Her mother looked at her questioningly. “What?”

  “The wolves that escaped,” Emily stammered. “Could I read that?”

  Her mother stared at the newspaper a moment, and then handed it to her. Emily read aloud: “Last night at approximately 11:00 p.m., five Arctic wolves escaped from a trailer transporting them to York’s Wild Kingdom Zoo. The driver of the trailer, who has requested that his name be withheld, reported stopping for a man who was standing in the middle of the road. The next thing he remembers was waking up in the driver’s seat of the truck. When he searched the trailer, he found that the animals were gone. The driver was not injured.”

  “Apparently there were a couple of terrible fires last night too,” her mother said.

  “Hmm?” murmured Emily, barely hearing her mother. She couldn’t read any more. Could it be true that what she had experienced last night at the club and in the forest was not a dream? Was it real? Was he real?

  She finished breakfast and rushed up to her bedroom. “Mercurios,” she whispered fiercely.

  The imp appeared on her dressing table. “At your service.”

  “Who was that boy last night? I thought it must have been another dream. But, but it wasn’t.”

  “I know. He is different, and so are those other men. There is something otherworldly about them. I’ve been thinking about this all night, yes indeed, thinking long and hard. Emily, I am certain that you are correct, they are from Magella. They are not of this world. That is what I believe. It is possible that they came through the Well of Many Worlds, as we did. Though who they are and for what purpose, I do not know. They may be after you, either to bring you back to the Lich King in Darguul, or to kill you. Or their being here may have nothing to do with you at all.”

  “I can’t believe that he’s actually real. What does it mean? And there was something so powerful about his presence,” she said, gazing off into the distance dreamily. “And his eyes were… hypnotizing, just like in my dreams.”

  “Yes, there is a spell that will help you resist any form of hypnosis. Perhaps that is the next one you should learn,” Mercurios said, holding up a gnarly finger.

  “But what if I don’t want to resist it?”

  “Foolish!” he cried, jumping up. “Do you not understand? They may very well be necromancers from Magella, or working for them. They may be associated with the ones who attacked your parents and may have used the Well specifically to come to Earth to hunt you. For all you know, if he had found out your real identity he might have killed or kidnapped you.”

  Emily frowned but said nothing.

  “Your mother would never be so foolish and reckless as to put herself under the power of anyone, much less a complete stranger.”

  “Wait, if the boy and the wolves weren’t a dream then what you told me wasn’t either. Is it true? Am I possessed by a demon?”

  “Yes.”

  “Well, then you remember what I told you.”

  “Yes, but the only way to get an exorcism is to find the Well.”

  Emily stared into the dressing table mirror.

  “My god, who am I? Or what am I? It’s about time to get the wheels of justice rolling and at the same time try to find out anything we can about the Well. I have to get this thing outta me. Tonight, I’m going down to the warehouse to have a talk with Sammy. Whatever is happening there they said it was going to be tonight.”

  “No, no, no, foolish girl! You need to learn the spells! Patience.”

  “Patience? That’s the last thing I need. Either I’ll turn into a demon or Cady Sunner and his goons will kill my mom and me. What we need is information.”

  Mercurios was about to say more but Emily cut him off with a hand over his mouth.

  “Don’t waste your breath. Either help me or go away.”

  “I will help you, but your mother would be very disappointed at your lack of discipline, yes, very disappointed indeed, Emily.”

  “Well, she isn’t here, is she?”

  “No, she is probably dead, killed protecting and saving you.” He stared at her with his beady eyes.

  She hadn’t considered this and felt a wave of guilt for someone she couldn’t even remember. She brushed it aside. “I get the feeling that you actually want me to become a demon. Well, you have to obey me and, guess what, I’m not a
fter a day of vengeance, I’m after a day of justice.”

  At school, Emily couldn’t concentrate. Twice her teachers asked if she was living in a dream world when she failed to respond to a question, and the other kids laughed at her. Her mind reeled back and forth between nervous anticipation at confronting Sammy, the fear of the dark power growing inside her, and her obsession with the young man from her dreams who she now knew was real. She had so many questions. She knew she had to find him again. Who was he? Was he really from Magella, or just a ridiculously hot animal-rights activist? And how did he know those men who seemed to be working with Sunner? Were they all from a different world? And if so, why were they here? She couldn’t stop thinking about the young man’s eyes and the effect they had on her.

  When she thought back to their encounter in the forest, she remembered how it had felt as if the past and the future had disappeared for a few minutes. Every ounce of her being had been present in those moments, exploding with life. She had to find him again. The natural place to start looking for him was at the club. But the all-ages night only happened there once a week, no one would be there now. Seven days seemed like an eternity to wait for her chance to go search for him. She prayed she would dream of him that night and find herself back in that silvery night in the forest, standing with him under the full moon.

  Walking through the halls between classes, Emily turned a corner and ran into Chanel.

  “Oh, hey!” Chanel said in her singsong voice. “Haven’t seen you around. Working on your family photo album?”

  Emily felt a flash of rage blaze through her. She had an idea. “Chanel, can I speak to you in private for a moment?”

  “What could you possibly have to say to me?”

  “It’s about Tom, and it’s private.”

  “Okay, but make it quick.”

  Emily led her into an empty classroom and as she turned to face her Mercurios appeared on her shoulder.

  “Yes, Emily,” whispered the imp, rubbing his little belly and licking his lips. “Time to try your charm spell on a living victim. Then perhaps you can make her drink acid. Now, remember the correct pronunciation.”