by J. M. Briggs
“Thank you, Thor.” Sif gave him a small smile. “I hope you don’t mind.”
“Of course not,” Thor replied quickly. “I’m not interested in sleeping just yet.” He looked at the guard who was staring at Sif with a blend of interest and fear. “Shall we speak outside?”
“That might be best.”
Giving the guard one more look, Thor stepped outside the gate and smiled at Sif. He was fully aware of how angry Merlin and Morgana would be, but that made him a little pleased.
“You reacted to Odin’s announcement earlier,” Thor said uneasily. Watching her in the corner of his eye, Thor noted that she looked a touch embarrassed. “You knew about it?”
“I’ve heard a bit about the Iron Soul,” Sif said. “We don’t know much about it, but it is said to be a testament to the power of the Iron Realm. My father has theorized that your world’s position at the top of the trunk in the Tree of Reality is the reason for it. Your world touches so many different worlds.”
“Were you surprised to learn that I was the Iron Soul?” Truthfully, Thor was unsure of what answer he hoped she’d give as he stored the information she’d given him away.
“The Iron Soul,” Sif echoed. “That’s not surprising really.”
“I know.” Thor chuckled and gestured back to the village. “They seemed to expect me to have a different reaction.”
“Many would be surprised.” Sif looked a bit too amused. “But then you are… very confident in your abilities.”
“That’s you being polite about my arrogance.” Smirking, Thor let his amusement bubble up from his chest. It didn’t bother him when Sif pointed it out like it did when Morgana did it.
“Well, I can’t say that you don’t know yourself. From what I understand about the magic of the Iron Realm that is a vital part of it.”
“How does your power work then?” Thor asked before he could consider how personal the question might be. “I mean, you aren’t a mage.”
“I’m not human; I just look like one,” Sif said. Thor watched her lick her lips as she looked at a nearby tree in thought. “It’s a bit hard to explain really, but I am still a being of energy Thor…. Just contained in a flesh vessel.” He must have grimaced or made some foul expression because Sif flinched a little. “I mean, this is what I look like, this is what I was born as, but it also isn’t the whole of it. I hold myself together through intent, through the need to survive in your world.” She paused again and considered him with a slight smirk of her own. “In fact perhaps we aren’t so different. At your core as the Iron Soul, you are magical energy held together by the intent of the world.”
“Perhaps,” Thor answered shortly, uncomfortable with the suggestion.
“Well, my magic is me using some of my natural energy to bend the rules of your universe. The principles of control are the same as you and the Sídhe I suppose, but unlike you and other mages who draw power from the earth I use my own living energy.”
“So you could die by using too much then, correct?”
“Indeed, time is the only thing that recharges my power, but from what I understand a mage can use too much magic and burn away their own body, so we both must be cautious.”
The sound of someone by the gate made them both pause in silence for a moment. As the footfalls moved on Sif relaxed and smiled gently at him. “I shouldn’t linger, Thor, I was just concerned.”
“About what?” Thor asked. “Surely not that Merlin and Morgana would harm me.”
“I wasn’t sure how you would react to the news.” Sif tilted her head so her golden braid slipped out from beneath her hood. “I realize now how foolish that was.”
“Perhaps.” A smile tugged at his lips despite his best efforts. “But I am grateful for the sentiment Sif.” He paused and looked out into the darkness. “Will you be alright by yourself.”
Sif laughed a sweet musical sound that made Thor flush and his stomach twist. She gave him a knowing look before leaning up on her toes and kissing his cheek. “I’ll be fine Thor,” she assured him. “I’m sure we’ll see each other soon.”
Without another word, Sif gracefully moved away from the village gates. Thor watched her until she vanished into the dark trees. Still, in a daze, he reached back and knocked on the gate. As they opened to allow him back into the village, Thor glanced back one more time hoping to catch another glimpse of Sif, but she was gone.
22
The Enslaved
She was having the dream again. Alex hated that it was becoming so frequent that she was fully aware that she was dreaming. And yet despite everything she’d ever heard about lucid dreams, she couldn’t wrestle control of this dream from her subconscious. It wasn’t enough that last week she’d been knocked unconscious after the Sídhe attack for an unknown reason, it wasn’t enough that midterms were only days away, but she had to keep having the same awful dream.
There wasn’t anything she could do to change it though. With a sigh of defeat, Alex stepped out onto the bright deck of the gently swaying ship. By now the dream had long since lost whatever beauty the blue sky and ocean brought to it. Still, Alex had to admit that it was better than the reoccurring nightmare of the Sídhe tunnels that had plagued her… was it really just last year? Yet there had been a sense of warning to those dreams, a sense that she was doing something and maybe learning something even when the prophetic nature of the dream eluded her. But with this recurring dream, she had no understanding of why she was having it. Judging from the old fashioned ship and the period clothing this was at least a couple centuries in the past, so why was she seeing it?
Alex felt her body moving forward against her will. Her stride was long and strong, making her body feel off balance when combined with the sway of the ship on the waves. Yet there was no hesitation in her body, no matter how she might feel. Alex marched to the ship’s steering wheel, helm a voice in her head whispered. Her footfalls seemed to echo against the wooden planks of the ship and she easily adjusted her body with the rise and fall of the ship. It was almost comforting as she breathed in the scent of salt, but the air was once again tainted with the foul rotting smell. Then she looked down at the deck. The air rushed from her lungs and Alex’s eyes widened in horror and shock.
There were rows of dark-skinned and naked men moving around on the deck. All of their eyes were downcast with looks of defeat marring their features. All of them were stained with filth but were obediently jogging in large circles. Sailors were circling them like predators, some with smirks while others looked uneasy. She found her eyes landing on a younger looking sailor who kept lowering his eyes and she felt her mouth twist into a sneer. A rush of irritation coursed through her that Alex couldn’t stop and felt ashamed of.
Then her eyes shifted back to the rows of men and she took them in a critical eye despite her urge to snap her eyes shut. This was new, horrifying and new. She wanted to wake up, but she didn’t. Two of the men were missing arms with scarred stubs in their place. They were slim with their ribs just beginning to show: fed just enough to keep them from dying. One of the men swayed dangerously and was caught by the others beside him. A voice called for a doctor and a small man came rushing out of the cabins below the helm.
She just watched as the doctor in his neat clothes examined the fainted man. He opened the man’s eyes and peered at them before opening his mouth and studying his throat. The others were herded by sharp words by the sailors and pressed back towards the grate leading to the hold. Alex swallowed thickly as they quietly marched below deck. Moments later the low sound of metal chains echoed up onto deck along with the thick stench that had always haunted this dream. A cold hole opened in her gut that threatened to swallow her whole. It was a slave ship.
The ill slave was taken below deck, but she didn’t move or try to speak. Alex was still until another group of slaves was brought up onto the deck. One made a dash for the side of the ship only to be grabbed roughly by two of the sailors. They threw him back into the group of slaves who
cast down their eyes. Her eyes narrowed on that slave who sank to his knees, a look of utter despair on his face before he was pulled up to begin the exercises. She glanced back towards the fainted slave and doctor, but there seemed to be no change. Alex didn’t move and just kept watching the men being put through exercises by the crew who watched them carefully. A deafening roar of anger and despair washed through her and Alex desperately hoped that she’d do something, say something to stop this, but nothing came out.
Suddenly one of the men lashed out at a crewman and hit him squarely in the jaw. Two of the soon to be slaves tried to grab him, shouting at him in an unfamiliar language. More of the crew rushed forward and grabbed the rebellious man with sharp brutal movements, slamming him against the side of the ship. Alex inwardly flinched, but her body didn’t move an inch. Fear clawed at her for a moment as the men fought, but for the slave rather than the crew.
“The usual Captain?” a sailor asked. He sounded bored.
“Yes,” Alex felt her lips reply, though a much deeper and colder voice rolled out. “Watch the attempted jumper. If he tries anything again remind him that he’ll be returning to his homeland as a headless spirit.”
“Yes Captain,” the sailor answered. His voice was calm, clearly used to the ugly words. “Anything more sir?”
“We’re almost through the Middle Passage. Double check provisions; tomorrow I want to start fattening the slaves up again. Increase their rations.”
“Should make them behave better,” the sailor said. “Except for those that throw themselves overboard.”
Alex would have been shaking with rage at the remark, she would have been screaming and she would have been fighting back the urge to be physically ill if she’d had any control over her body. Instead, she just stood there as the slaves were all taken below deck once more. Her eyes lingered on the entrance with a churning sense of dread and the hope that she’d never go down there in this dream. History had never been her subject, but she could remember fragments that she’d learned about the slave trade in American History. Now she felt that she knew too much.
A sharp pain on her face made Alex twitch, her whole body moving just the tiniest bit. At first, she was surprised; it had never reacted to anything from her before, but then she felt the pain again. It was deeper this time, and her skin felt like it was burning. Around her, the ship began to blur and Alex struggled to understand where the pain was coming from.
Eyes snapping open, Alex felt like she was falling as the rocking of the ship vanished out from under her. The air was suddenly dry and stale and the world felt hazy around her. She gasped for air just as a sharp pain along her face brought her back to reality. The pain was followed by another and on instinct she snapped her hand out to the right, striking something even as she threw off her comforter and rolled off her bed to the left. Something was running down her face and a dull ache was present near her right eye.
Alex brought her hand up and wiped at the warm sticky fluid dripping down her face, but didn’t pay it much mind. Instead, she tried to see what had attacked her as her heart pounded so loudly it echoed in her ears. In the darkness, Alex couldn’t see what was in the room. The soft blue light of her laptop charger beneath the desk only cast a faint glow that made the room seem larger and eerier than it truly was.
She backed up and collided with her desk chair. Searching the darkness, Alex fought to still her breathing, but she couldn’t hear anything for a long moment. Then she heard a soft rustle of something small moving in the bed, but she couldn’t pinpoint the creature. Her fingers began to creep across the desk towards the lamp, but a sudden sound from the bed made her stop moving. It sounded like grumbling and there was a muted flash of light that burned itself into her eyes.
As her vision tried to clear, Alex shook her head and tried to search the room again. There was a flicker of magic in the air, faint, but she was certain it was there. She smirked at the realization that she could find whatever had attacked her. Taking a deep breath, Alex forced her eyes closed against every instinct. She felt her magic flare up through her chest and pushed it outward all around her as a cloud. It brushed over a thin thread of magic and she opened her eyes to find a faint line of dark silver magic shimmering through the air. It led to her bed where something small was moving beneath the covers she’d thrown back. For a moment Alex was frozen in surprise as she examined the thread. It was similar to the line of magic that had connected Chernobog and his shadow monsters. Frighteningly similar.
Reaching out, Alex touched her index finger to the thread. The moment she connected with it a rush of energy flew up her arm and struck her in the chest. Gasping for air, Alex grabbed at the magic and pulled it, trying to drag it away from the creature. A soft cry of alarm and pain from the bed wasn’t enough to stop her, and she grit her teeth. She could feel the magic rushing over her fingers, trying to flow towards the creature, but she tightened her grip. Her own magic swirled and spun around the other, and to Alex’s surprise, the alien magic suddenly spun back towards her. It blended with her own power without any effort and swam up her arm.
Her mind went blank as the magic filled her chest and gut. She couldn’t breathe for a moment as her heart beat against her ribs. From the bed, she vaguely heard a strange groan and then weeping. Her legs buckled and Alex scraped her back on her chair as she collapsed to the ground. The world spun around her for a long moment through which she barely held the panic at bay. Yet nothing attacked her, and the world slowly stabilized.
Grabbing her chair, Alex carefully pulled herself up onto her knees and kept listening. The soft tiny sobs were still audible but began to ease as she moved. Whatever was in the room with her was aware of her recovering. She made it to her feet and tried to see the source of the sounds once again, but only saw part of her comforter shift a tiny bit.
“I’m sorry,” a small voice called out of the darkness.
Reaching over her desk Alex flicked the switch of her desk lamp and illuminated part of the room with a soft glow. Her comforter jumped again and then a shape began to move around under it. As her eyes widened, Alex tracked its progress as it moved towards the bottom of the bed. She stopped breathing as it reached the end of the comforter and pushed it back before leaping forward onto the baseboard.
The creature was small humanoid only a few inches tall with pudgy facial features and tiny, but very pointed and slightly floppy ears. Tiny black eyes peered up at her in surprise as it stayed perched on the top of the footboard. There were shiny tear tracks on its cheeks that it rubbed quickly almost like it was embarrassed. As it didn’t seem to be a hurry to move, Alex leaned back and knocked on the shared wall with Nicki. She couldn’t seem to find her voice and her heart was still racing from the rush of magic. The small creature shifted nervously as sounds began to come from Nicki’s room, and Alex took the chance to get a better look at the thing. It was dressed in what looked like old doll clothes that had been altered to fit it and tiny leather boots.
“Alex?” Nicki called. There was a soft knock on the door. “You okay?”
Forcing her legs to move, Alex shifted around her desk and past the bookshelf to open the door. She pulled it open and gestured for Nicki to stay quiet. The creature had turned to keep watching her and tensed up as Nicki came in the room.
“You’re bleeding!” Nicki raised her hand to Alex’s cheek, pushing back her hair to inspect the wound. “Almost got your eye!” Nicki flexed her fingers and an orb of blue magic swirled into being.
“Nicki.” Alex nodded towards the bed pointedly.
Nicki turned so quickly that her red braid struck Alex’s shoulder and her blue eyes widened comically. She fumbled behind Alex’s back and the ceiling light came on, temporarily blinding Alex. The small fairy threw up an arm to shield its eyes from the light. For a moment Alex was completely at a loss. Her mind fixated on the strange realization that she was in her pajamas, bleeding and looking at a Brownie on her bed.
Then the creature lowered
its hands and blinked its small eyes at them. It seemed to have adjusted and was shifting nervously, watching and waiting to see what they would do. Nicki took a step forward with her magic glittering dangerously. Alex waved a hand, signaling her to wait.
“Are you going to attack us?” Alex heard herself ask, not having thought about the words.
“No!” Its voice was surprisingly low and had an odd echoey quality to it. “Don’t wish to harm anyone.”
“But faery creatures are under a spell,” Nicki protested suspiciously. “You already hurt Alex.”
“Spell broken now!” the creature cried. It leapt around joyfully for a second before slumping. “At least spell broken on me.” It raised its eyes to Alex and studied her. “Your magic broke spell. Thank you. Sorry for harm.”
“That’s okay.” Holding back a nervous giggle, Alex tried to organize her thoughts. “Uh, who and what are you?” She grimaced at her words. “Sorry if that’s rude, but uh, we’re a bit confused at the moment.”