Deep Into Destiny

by Scot C Morgan

  She glanced at the door to her office, thinking on who might be walking the hall outside. She would've been teaching a class soon, if the department hadn't assigned someone to cover her teaching duties after she didn't show up for work several days ago. She knew they'd probably assumed she had fallen ill. With tenure, she wasn't worried about her job, not that keeping it was important to her anymore—neither were whichever toned-bodied young women were likely walking past just outside her closed door.

  She had something else on her mind. Someone else. For the first time in a long time, she couldn't stop thinking about a man.

  I'll teach him to play me for the fool.

  Sitting in her desk chair, she turned it slightly from side to side, glancing around her office at the books she'd once been so fond of. Despite the power of her physical appeal to every man who saw her, and to a considerable number of women, she had put in the time and effort to earn her academic pedigree. Since high school, she'd read more, studied longer, and generally worked harder than anyone else in her classes. She knew how beautiful she was, and she wanted to make damn sure she'd never have to doubt whether she'd truly earned what she got in life. If she worked harder than anyone else, she'd always told herself, there couldn't be any doubt she deserved everything she got.

  And that's what she'd done. And it had been enough. She achieved what she set out to do, and had the majority of her life ahead of her to enjoy…until Dennis changed everything for her.

  She stopped swiveling her chair and stared at the stack of ungraded papers on her desk.

  This is meaningless.

  Leaning forward in her chair, she swung her left arm across the top of her desk, knocking the entire stack of papers off the mahogany surface. Half of them slammed into the wall beside her, then dropped to the floor where the others had fallen.

  "That…man!"

  The nostrils of her petite nose flared as she breathed heavy with anger. She stood, her legs shoving her chair against the bookshelf behind her. She put her hands on her desk to steady herself. The sudden upswell of emotion had made her feel a little dizzy…and something strange was happening to her eyes. Her room looked blurry and a faint haze of moving color half-filled her vision. Or was it in her head? She didn't know.

  Her anger with Dennis for the interruption to her professorial world that ruined her for the mundane life she now knew she'd been living began to give way to a feeling she hated even worse. She became acutely aware of the fact that being back in Austin, sitting in her office, she was fated to a life that could never give her the sense of accomplishment…the power she felt during her brief time in Galderia.

  She hated Dennis for taking her away from her comfortable professorial life. But she seethed with a fury for his trickery that cast her back to endure a perfectly normal life. She'd eaten of the fruit of the tree of true power, and everything about her life on Earth now tasted too bitter to swallow anymore.

  I can't accept this.

  She stood up straight, removing her hands from her desk, turning them over and looked at her palms. She whispered an incantation she'd once used to summon a cloud of violet smoke to hold Alara in midair from the top of Yedia's high defensive city wall.

  I should've let her fall to her death.

  Knowing the magic she intended to summon required intense concentration, she dismissed from her mind the image of Alara enveloped in the magical mists, and returned to whispering the incantation, not knowing if the magic would work on Earth.

  Within a minute, the magical violet smoke she'd produced from her hands filled her office. She sat down at her desk again and breathed it in, focusing her mind to recall, with the aid of the magical vapors, precisely what she'd read from one of the sorcerer's books—a spell he'd forbidden her to learn. Though she seemed to have no use for it at the time, she later secretly went to the book again and studied the text of the forbidden spell. The fact that the sorcerer had forbidden her to learn it made it clear to her that she must, that she would. And so she did, as she did with so many others during her time alone with the vast collection of tomes in the sorcerer's tower. They were too much to remember in every detail unaided, but the cloud she'd now produced was also a spell from one of the forbidden books.

  The words she sought to see again began to appear in her mind's eye, written in the arcane language she'd learned.

  Yes. This is it. You thought your loins would put a stop to my rise, Den. You were wrong. I've only just begun.

  Chapter 8

  "It's true, Monica," Sydney said. "I saw Allison heading to one of the counselor's offices."

  "What were you doing over there?" Monica asked.

  "Nothing, really. I just…" Sydney stopped talking and, with tears welling in her eyes, looked at Monica.

  "It's okay." Monica reached across the dining hall table and put her hand atop Sydney's. As usual, scores of university students filled a majority of the tables in the expansive room, surrounded by a variety of food options: tacos, sub sandwiches, pizza, chicken, and the always-busy coffee stand, which also offered muffins, apples, and bananas. Monica didn't need to whisper, though the conversation was meant to be private. Numerous other conversations throughout the room, combined with the resin-sealed poorly-stained concrete floor, provided an echoing background of white noise that ensured their chat would stay between the two of them. "We're back now. I know it's all been crazy, but you're not crazy. I don't blame Allison for going to talk to somebody about what happened. Or anyone who'd do that."

  "Yeah." Sydney wiped the corner of her eye, as she cast her gaze downward. "Me neither."

  "But I think she might be causing herself more trouble. No one is going to believe what happened to us." Monica dipped her head slightly to look into Sydney's eyes again. "But we have each other."

  Sydney smiled, feeling comforted by her friend's words and the fact that at least Monica understood what was going through her head. Finally, she chuckled, releasing some of the tension she felt. "Yeah. Some crazy shit. Do you think they're alright? Dennis and the others. I went by his place this morning. There was no answer when I knocked on the door. I hope he's back too."

  "Honestly, I don't know," Monica said. "The whole thing is wild. If I didn't have you to talk to, I'd think it was all in my head."

  The two of them stared at each other silently for a few moments.

  "This is going to sound extremely weird," Sydney said.

  Monica started nodding her head slightly.

  Sydney glanced to either side, making sure no one was sitting close enough to hear their conversation. "Part of me wants to go back."

  Monica took a few seconds before she said, "Me too."

  "Is that stupid?"

  Monica shrugged, then looked around. "Makes sense to me. All this seems unimportant now."

  "Yeah, exactly. I can't go back to sitting in class listening to lectures."

  "Not that we did that as much as we were supposed to."

  Sydney chuckled. "You know what I mean."

  "I do."

  "What if they never make it back?" A pallor came over Sydney's face. "What if Dennis is stuck there for the rest of his life? That's not a safe world."

  Sydney acknowledged to herself that she cared for Dennis a lot more than she ever knew she had before her time in Galderia.

  For a moment, Monica seemed to be trying to figure out how to answer. "This world isn't safe either, when you think about it. I mean, just watch the news."

  "Not the same thing. I haven't seen any giant ape monsters on the news lately."

  "True," Monica said. "But even with those things in Galderia, I'd…I'd probably go back, if I could. If we could."

  Sydney's large breasts shifted slightly downward like settling mountains after a subterranean cave-in as she exhaled sharply, feeling frustrated at being safe back in Austin, but wanting to be in the more dangerous—and exciting—world of Galderia.

  Monica stood up. "I'm glad Ms. Thompson didn't come back, at least. Maybe on
e of the monsters there will get her." She grinned. "I'm going to the bathroom. When I get back, let's go do something to get our minds off all this."

  "We have class."

  "You're the one who just said you can't go back to sitting in class after what we've been through."

  "Okay. Fine."

  Monica nodded to her before leaving the table to head across the foodcourt toward the restrooms.

  Sydney traced her finger in random paths over the top of the speckled, mostly white tabletop, images of Dennis filling her mind. She pictured him seated in class between her and Monica—before his physical transformation. Even then, she'd felt some attraction for him. He didn't stand up to the athletic guys she usually ended up making out with on the couch at whatever weekend party she attended. But his face was handsome, even before he'd grown in Galderia. And, she thought, he was funny and charming, even if a little awkward. "No. Clueless was more like it." She grinned. "But not now." Now, she thought, he's more a man than any of these college guys.

  And not just his body. Though, wow!

  A rich smile grew on her face as she relieved the memory of her rescue by Dennis from Saber Kong. Instinctively, she rubbed one of her wrists as she thought about him standing before her in his loin cloth, stretching over her to reach the shackles which held her arms up against the cave wall behind her.

  A few moments later, she realized she'd been running the tip of her tongue over her full lips. She became aware of the warmth she'd developed between her thighs and felt a slight moistness beneath her panties. Closing her mouth, she looked around to see who might've seen her getting carried away.

  After confirming no one was gape-jawed at her public display of her private world, she looked across the foodcourt, anticipating Monica to come out of the women's room soon. As a seemingly never-ending procession of hormone-controlled young men and women crisscrossed in front of her eyes interrupted her line of sight, she struggled to keep the corner hiding the door itself in view. Eager to leave as soon as possible in light of her solo public display of…affection, she craned her head, tilting it left then right to look past the passersby. After a few seconds of doing this, she froze. It felt like every muscle in her body tensed simultaneously when she saw the familiar face of the woman walking toward her.

  It wasn't Monica.

  Chapter 9

  Monica stepped out of the food court bathroom excited for her and Sydney to get off-campus and do something fun. Maybe Lake Austin, she thought, picturing her favorite stretch of the river which ran through the city, just south of downtown. She imagined what the sun would feel like on her bikini-clad body as she and Sydney sprawled out on the grassy area beside the popular spring-fed swimming hole a little west of Congress Street. She grinned in anticipation of the inevitable string of college studs leering at the two of them, and the subsequent pickup lines that would surely follow. She knew she'd turn all of them down, at least today. But the distraction would be nice. Just what we need, she thought.

  Maybe Brad will see me there and I can ignore him.

  The time she spent in Galderia, and with Dennis, had quelled the fire she once had for Brad. But she still held on to the resentment she developed at how Brad had treated her. Still, she realized Brad had actually done her a favor. After all, she thought, if it wasn't for the way he'd treated her, she and Sydney never would have gone back to Dennis' apartment.

  Would we have been transported to Galderia if we weren't there in bed with him?

  She shook her head as she cast the thoughts aside. She couldn't make sense of the fact that one of the worst things to happen to her, might also have been one of the best things to happen to her.

  "Enough of Galderia," she said. "At least for today."

  She scanned through the moving sea of fellow college students as she tried to put eyes on Sydney. "Get our bikinis and go."

  A young man glanced at her and raised his eyebrows for a moment before smiling at her. Evidently he'd heard her bikini comment, which wasn't intended for anyone else's ears.

  She ignored him, but took a little pleasure at the interest he expressed in her.

  As she walked a meandering path across the food court, a brown-haired woman wearing a purple silk blouse stood with her back to Monica. "There you are!" the woman screamed, addressing whoever she was facing. Monica's pulse sped up. She knew the table where she'd left Sydney sat directly in front of the woman.

  The background noise of dozens of small groups of young men and women chatting, though considerable, wasn't enough to offset the intensity of the brown-haired woman. Monica felt a chill up her spine as she recognized her voice.

  Ms. Thompson had shown deadly abilities on Galderia, but Monica hoped her powers had stayed there. But the way the professor sorceress screamed at Sydney made Monica fear the worst. She felt an urgent need to get to Sydney, and for the two of them to get as far from the crazed woman as possible.

  Monica broke into a run, moving to get around Ms. Thompson without coming too close to her. Most of the other students in the vicinity were moving back, obviously alarmed by the rage the tenured professor displayed. As she ran beside Ms. Thompson, Monica glanced at her, in a quick attempt to gauge how serious the situation truly was.

  "Oh, shit." Monica didn't slow down at seeing the purple mist swirling around Ms. Thompson's left hand.

  "Monica!" Sydney stood on the other side of the table she and Monica had been using, her hands touching the edge of it, like she was waiting for Ms. Thompson to choose a side and make her move to get to her. Monica could see the fear in Sydney's eyes, along with something else—defiance.

  "Come on!" Monica skirted a few misplaced chairs as she made her way to Sydney, then reached out with her right arm and grabbed her friend's wrist, barely slowing enough to do so.

  Sydney shuffled her feet quickly to keep her balance as Monica pulled her into a run. Nodding toward one of the exits, Monica released Sydney's wrist. The two of them hurried across the room, ignoring a couple of questions from some of the confused spectators.

  "What's the rush?"

  "Slow down, princess."

  Out of the corner of her eye, Monica watched Sydney shove a chair from her path. Both of them still running for the door, she then turned to see Sydney glance back at Ms. Thompson.

  "Watch out!" Sydney dove toward Monica, slamming into her side as a thick cloud of violet fog rushed past where Monica had just been running. Sydney stumbled as she pushed Monica clear, clinging to her side to keep both of them from falling.

  Screams sounded throughout the room and dozens of people scrambled for the exits, including the one Monica and Sydney had nearly reached, slowing their escape.

  Monica noticed the violet torrent impact the wall beside them, then dissipate without any sign of damage. Not wanting to spend any more time trying to figure out what Ms. Thompson meant the smoke to do, she steadied Sydney and the two of them funneled into the panicked crowd to get through the door.

  Sydney went through first, and Monica glanced back before following her.

  "Come on!" Sydney said, holding the door open for her friend, even as two more students rushed past her.

  Monica had frozen, staring at the last faint wisps of the vanishing violet smoke.

  A young man, walking as if entranced, stepped to Ms. Thompson's side. Despite everyone else in the room having the good sense to get the hell out of there, the young man seemed eerily calm, apparently unconcerned with what had happened. Monica watched as he turned and looked at Ms. Thompson.

  "I'm here to serve," she heard him say.

  She saw Ms. Thompson nod at her and the man who'd declared his loyalty to the professor started running toward her.

  "Come on!" Sydney screamed.

  Monica bolted out the door, pushing her ahead.

  "Go!" Monica said. "He's coming!"

  "What?"

  "Just run!"

  In the distance, down the wide corridor in either direction people fled, some screaming, others
yelling for people to get out of the way. Enough of the students had evidently witnessed the magical purple smoke Ms. Thompson cast across the room that the expansive interior walkway which usually played host to foot-dragging, flirtations, and general fraternization, filling the time between classes, now was overrun with a contagious panic. The fleeing witnesses to the professors magic and rage spread their panic to those who hadn't seen the incident.

  Monica saw a young woman stumble and fall up ahead. Two people jumped over the girl, and Monica wanted to rush to her aid, but someone in the fleeing stream of students stopped and helped her up. Monica and Sydney caught up with them just as the fallen woman and her rescuer got up to a run again.

  Monica and Sydney rushed down the hall that connected the foodcourt with the one of the school's recreation areas, trailing dozens of others who also were fleeing for their lives.

  "She back there?" Sydney asked Monica, neither slowing their pace.

  "Keep going." Monica put her hand to the wall as they reached a corner.

  "Aagh!" Sydney yelled and Monica glanced back and witnessed Sydney crashing to her knees then falling forward, barely getting her arms in front of her in time to keep her face from smacking into the floor. A young man piled on top of her, wrapping his arms around her and holding her down. He was the one Ms. Thompson had charmed somehow.

  Monica jerked to a halt and scrambled to get the man off of Sydney. The three of them wrestled and Monica punched Sydney's attacker several times, but he didn't loosen his grip on Sydney.

  Monica, now on the floor herself, still struggling to pry the man's grip from Sydney, rolled slightly and bumped into someone standing over her. She looked up and saw another familiar face. She was relieved it wasn't Ms. Thompson, who evidently hadn't given chase, or was still coming.

  "Allison." Monica continued to pry at the arms of the young man who held Sydney down. "Help me get him off her!"

  Sydney was struggling, but the guy was strong and had her in a bear hug, pinning her arms to her side.