Fire and Fantasy: A Limited Edition Collection of Urban and Epic Fantasy

by CK Dawn

  He sighed to refrain from showing his frustration and punched a button on the wall. “Pure water for our guest,” he ordered.

  Shortly afterward, the door slid open, and a man with a seahorse body walked in on two legs. He set the water down then respectfully bowed and withdrew.

  “You have a very interesting staff,” said Faye.

  “They’re pets. Not staff.”

  “You mean slaves?”

  Pexami chuckled. “Mere terminology. They do their job. That’s all I care about.”

  Faye took a sip of the pure water. She glanced at Pexami, knowing he was waiting for a compliment.

  “The best and most expensive water available,” he said. She smiled. Pleased with himself, he drank his water.

  She praised some of the artwork to ease his mood. It worked.

  Then he said, “What do you need? I asked for an extension on the job.”

  “Then you’ll have it. A forever extension.”

  Pexami waved his arms. “I can’t give you your deposit back.”

  She smiled. “I’m not asking for the money back. But I’m afraid I have to cancel the job.”

  “Come on! I know the key means a lot to you, and I’m the best you can get here.”

  “Exactly. Here, in this submarine dimension. But when the key floated to the human world, you were no longer the best person. As the results have shown—”

  “Sonya is—or was—my best soldier. Her loss caused much damage to my business.”

  “You wouldn’t have a penny of my money had I known you would use her. She isn’t a soldier. She’s a witch. And I told you the artifact attracts interest from the toughest players in the submarine dimension, didn’t I? Spells and magic won’t cut it. If she’s your best bet, then seriously, you have no hope of getting the key. So I am canceling the job.”

  “But Sonya didn’t die in vain. There was an incident, an explosion of some sort, and I know for a fact that the key had been sent back into our dimension—on my turf. All you need is a bit of patience. If the key is here, I’ll find it for you.”

  “Patience is something I don’t have. Instead of canceling the job, I’m swapping it for a new one. What do you say?”

  Pexami contemplated. “It depends. What do you need done?”

  “I need you to get someone out of the Heating Ducts.”

  Pexami stared at her blankly for a brief second. His reaction didn’t surprise her. The Heating Ducts was the informal moniker of the nastiest prison system in the submarine dimension. “That’s a totally different kind of job.”

  “You can’t handle it?”

  “I didn’t say that. It’s just very different—”

  “You’re not getting another penny out of me.”

  “There are two things that might make the job difficult. The Heating Ducts doesn’t house ordinary petty thieves. Whoever it is you want me to yank out of there has to be a big deal. Second, to break into the Heating Ducts, I have to get the right pets, and they don’t come cheap.”

  “No pets are getting into the Heating Ducts!”

  “Exactly. You need high-end pets, and a master of my caliber. That’s what you’re really paying for.”

  “As I said, I won’t pay you any more money than what we’ve already agreed upon. If you can’t do the job, I have someone else in mind.”

  “Good luck!”

  Faye smiled and turned as if to leave.

  “Can I think about it?” he asked to her back.

  Without turning around, she said, “No. As I said, I have no patience. If you accept the job now, and get it done by tomorrow, you will get the money, and I’ll even throw in a ten percent bonus. If not, I’ll get someone else. Others may not be of your caliber, but they’ll get the job done—when and where I need it done. No questions asked.”

  “All right. I accept. Ten percent extra for the rush job.”

  She stopped, turned around, and smiled at him.

  Faye exited Pexami’s house as quickly as she could. When she was safe and sound in a carriage used by her trusted dolphins, she opened her purse and checked the tubes of potion she had inside. A row of ten pockets, with two empty now.

  She knew she had put them to good use. One for Lorcan. One in Pexami’s water.

  A few days were enough for Pexami to finish his task for her. Then he would vanish for good. Nobody cared about the disappearance of criminal of this submarine dimension.

  Twelve

  “I didn’t see you, and you didn’t see me, all right? Let’s both of us go about our own business.” Lorcan raised his hands, making peace with the couple he had caught in the middle of intimate activity. He didn’t need to be super intelligent to tell they shouldn’t have been doing whatever they were doing where they were doing it.

  The man didn’t look convinced. He approached Lorcan slowly and glanced cautiously at the empty corridor.

  Lorcan was a fraction taller than six foot one, but his head ended just above the man’s chest. He figured he would be at quite a disadvantage in a one-on-one fight. Plus, the man had a gun.

  He backed away, and the man advanced.

  “No, Grant. Not here,” the woman said in English as she tugged the man’s elbow.

  “But he saw us, Millie! Is he the human you talked about?” Grant’s English had a heavy accent.

  “It’s a pleasure to be the topic of conversation in the middle of your busy activities. But since you know so much about me, and I don’t know anything about you, don’t you think it’s safe for you to let me go?” Lorcan backed out further until his back hit a wall.

  Grant thrust the gun’s muzzle in his direction.

  “Don’t, Grant. Everyone will be back soon. If you shoot him now, there won’t be enough time to clean up.”

  “I’ll be quick,” Grant growled, once again aiming the gun at Lorcan.

  Lorcan raised his hands, seeking a truce. “Okay, we all want the same thing. I want to leave, and you don’t want Faye to know what you’re doing here. So why don’t you just let me leave, and we’ll consider we never met.”

  Grant brandished the gun. “Dead people don’t talk.”

  “And they don’t give information, either. I haven’t given Faye the information she wants from me. I can give it to you, if you’d rather.”

  Millie and Grant glanced quickly at each other.

  “How can we be sure you won’t cheat?” Millie asked.

  “You can’t be. You’ll have to take my word for it.”

  Grant looked at Millie. “I can hold him until we get to the master. If he’s bluffing, it’ll be up to the master to take care of him.”

  Millie hesitated.

  Grant held her shoulders. “Come on, honey, this could be our one and only chance.”

  “What if he’s already told Faye? What if she’s on to it? Did you see Kai come in? He rarely makes an appearance like that around here unless he’s sure they have something.”

  “I haven’t told Faye anything,” Lorcan said.

  “Why did she leave you alone?” Grant asked.

  “She didn’t exactly. Kai knocked me out. She locked me inside the room, and I picked the lock to get out.”

  Grant nodded. “That’s why she left. She didn’t think you could get out.” He turned toward Millie. “I’ll take him now, Millie. You pack your things. I’ll come back for you tonight, and we’ll leave together.”

  Millie nodded.

  “Be careful.” Grant kissed Millie on the cheek and pushed Lorcan out the door.

  They walked out onto the street, Grant right behind Lorcan. His gun was hidden inside his jacket, and he kept it pressed against Lorcan’s back.

  It was just a normal town outside, and people were going about their business. If Lorcan hadn’t known this was Nepolymbus, he would have thought he was in Brighton, a seaside town in England, during a festive season where people wore strange costumes and sunbathed on rocky beaches.

  They soon approached the dome wall and the gate that m
arked the boundary between the water and air dimensions. Others zoomed in and out of the gate. When they entered the water, they began swimming like fish. As soon as they reached land, they walked on feet.

  While it was sunny inside—if that was how you could describe the gray shade of daylight inside the dome—outside the gate, it was pitch dark. The water looked eerie.

  Lorcan knew he was in no condition to swim, but Grant pushed him ahead toward the water.

  “Where are we going?” Lorcan asked.

  “I’ve got to go to work. I work at the Heating Ducts, and I think it’s the perfect location to keep you.”

  “I can’t go in the water.”

  “Well, you’ll have to. I’m not paying for your transport.”

  Lorcan tried to wriggle out of Grant’s grasp, but Grant pulled the gun out from under his jacket and pointed it at him in plain sight. Bystanders on the street stopped and stared. Grant flipped a pocket open, flashing something that looked like a badge. They acknowledged it and walked away.

  “There’s one thing you should know about this dimension. The Heating Ducts is a prison for the most dangerous criminals. I’m a guard there. That makes you a criminal. You can scream, or tell people what you saw back in the house, but nobody will believe you.”

  Lorcan pushed Grant away.

  Grant brandished the gun. “I can shoot you right here—in the line of duty. Nobody will miss you. Or you can start swimming now with me, and I can lock you in the Heating Ducts for safekeeping. You’ll live if you choose the second option. What do you say?”

  Lorcan nodded and moved toward the wall of water. He knew this option would have the same outcome as the first option Grant had given him—he wouldn’t be able to survive the watery environment as a human. This was the bottom of the deep sea, somewhere far beneath the Earth.

  Grant continued to walk into the water, pushing Lorcan further away from the gate. Lorcan wanted to swim back to the dome, but every movement seemed as difficult as moving a mountain. He couldn’t breathe. His lungs and his brain would stop working in a few seconds due to the pressure he was already feeling.

  Grant must have thought he couldn’t swim. He tucked his gun away and pulled Lorcan farther away from land.

  Lorcan couldn’t speak. He couldn’t get away from Grant, and it was too dark for him to see anything. His brain had gone numb, and so had his body.

  Using the last bit of strength he had, Lorcan reached for Grant’s gun. Feeling the tug, Grant looked back, but it was too late. Lorcan aimed at his head and shot. As Grant’s body sank, Lorcan felt nothing else. His brain was dying. He couldn’t hold onto the gun. He let go, and his body floated to and fro with the currents.

  Then he heard a cheerful whistling sound. In the mysterious dim light that permeated the water, he saw the silhouettes of the dolphins and the carriage box charging toward him.

  They swung the box over toward him. As the door slid open, Lorcan rolled inside. The door closed instantly, and the water that had come in with him drained out quickly from the bottom of the double-layered floor. The floor immediately sealed itself up afterward.

  Lorcan flopped onto a passenger bench. “Thank you, Miracle and Flipper.”

  He heard another whistle, and the dolphins surged ahead and then swam in a circle. Maybe they needed him to tell them where he needed to go. He recalled seeing the surface on the way from the hospital to Nepolymbus. He didn’t know what their word for the hospital was or what they would call the surface.

  “Can we go to the surface?” he asked.

  The dolphins continued swimming in circles.

  “Okay, so I guess you don’t understand that. Can we go back to the hospital?”

  They let out a happy sound and swam ahead. Lorcan figured they would follow the same route. When they reached the place where he had seen the surface, he would point it out and ask them to take him up. Content with his plan, he leaned back and relaxed. In no time, he got the feeling they were getting close to the spot. He looked out of the window and upward.

  But instead of seeing the surface, he saw the shadows of the sharks.

  Thirteen

  Millie scrambled back to her quarters to change into her work clothes right after Grant took Lorcan out of the house. This could be a disaster. She should have been more disciplined about her activities and her lust for Grant. If her cover had been blown because of this incident, she would have wasted years or planning and preparation. Most importantly, she would disappoint her father.

  “Where have you been?”

  Faye’s voice startled Millie, and she dropped the candle she was carrying to the floor. She whirled around and got down to her knees. “I’m so sorry,” she said. “I didn’t mean to drop it.”

  “Why are you so jumpy, Millie?”

  “I didn’t expect you to come in here.”

  “Why not? And I asked where you’ve been.”

  “I’ve been to the temple, Faye.”

  “Do you think there were so many people there I wouldn’t notice who actually attended?”

  “No, Faye. I was there. I don’t know what I can do to make you believe me.”

  Faye helped Millie up. “Nobody bows in my house. We’re all equal, remember? We’re sisters.”

  “But I’ll always be your humble servant, regardless of how much things have changed.”

  Faye nodded. “Yes, things have changed. But the social classes in Nepolymbus are so ingrained in people’s minds. That will never change.” She sighed. “Did you know Lorcan left?”

  “Lorcan who? Oh, the human?”

  Faye nodded. “Kai hit him quite hard, and I gave him a soothing potion that should have made him sleep for a quite a while. I don’t understand how he not only came to, but also got out of the room. Unless he had help.” She narrowed her eyes at Millie.

  “Oh no, Faye, why would I do such thing? And even if I wanted to, I don’t have the knowledge to make it happen.”

  Faye smiled. “I don’t suspect you.” She narrowed her eyes again. “Or maybe I should?”

  Millie could see Faye’s eyes had turned cold, and her shoulders stiffened for a moment. She went down to her knees again. “Faye, I would never betray you. I didn’t go to the temple today. I’m sorry. I stayed home to see Grant. It’s only once a month that I’m free enough to do so. I’m so sorry, Faye.”

  Faye smiled again, but the smile didn’t reach her eyes. “It feels better telling the truth, doesn’t it? I understand how hard it is to love someone like Grant.”

  “Please forgive me, Faye. Grant was born into his social class. It wasn’t his fault.”

  “There’s nothing to forgive. Love makes people do stupid things, doesn’t it?”

  “Yes, yes, Faye.” Millie was so frightened that tears had streamed down her face. She shrunk down, hoping in her mind to make herself as small as possible so that Faye would pay her no mind and simply walk away. “Love is stupid,” she muttered through her tears.

  Faye crouched down. “How stupid?”

  Millie blinked. “I don't know what you mean.”

  “Do you really love him enough to do something for him?”

  “What do you need me to do?”

  “It's not for me. It's for your lover. I know there will be an attack at the Heating Ducts. The mercenaries were ordered to leave no living trace behind. You know what will happen to the guards, right?”

  “Oh, please help us. I’ll go to the Heating Ducts to tell Grant. Can I leave for a day, Faye?”

  “You won’t survive the Heating Ducts, Millie. Dating a guard there doesn’t make you any tougher. But I do have a solution for you. I have someone who can send to message to Grant. This person has access to the internal chamber, and I’m sure reaching Grant won’t be a problem.”

  “What do I owe you for that, Faye?”

  “Nothing.” Faye smiled then said, “I could make use of the gateway to the surface, though. You know, where the humans live.”

  “Oh, I don’t k
now—”

  “You don’t have the Pass,” Faye cut in, “but your father does.”

  “I’ll talk to him.”

  “There’s no time to waste. The moment the Pass is in my hand, I’ll send the messenger in for Grant.”

  “I’ll leave to talk to Father right now, Faye,” Millie said then bowed and scurried out of the room.

  She ran for a distance until her legs threatened to give up on her. She wasn't used to physical labor, but she told herself she had to get used to being a commoner. If Faye could do it, so could she.

  That was so close, she thought. For a moment, she had thought Faye was going to kill her. Faye was capable of anything. She was fair, but when it came to the reign she believed in, she would kill without mercy.

  Millie looked at the gate of the dome. What had she just promised Faye? The Pass to the surface? Her father was going to kill her just for asking. But she had no choice. Faye would kill her if she returned empty-handed. Millie exited the gate and swam home.

  Fourteen

  “No, no, go back down,” Lorcan shouted at the dolphins, but it was too late. The sharks had seen them.

  The sharks dove down so fast that Miracle and Flipper couldn’t get away quickly enough. The dolphins swam around and around, dodging the shark attack. Lorcan was thrown up and down and sideways in the carriage. The dolphins let out a whistling noise that Lorcan thought was probably a call for help.

  Flipper was bitten first.

  Then Miracle.

  Lorcan looked at the desperate animals being slaughtered, feeling hopeless because there was nothing he could do. And he would be the next casualty.

  As the carriage sank, Lorcan saw the jaws full of sharp teeth moving toward him. He opened the door and dove out just before the monstrous jaws crushed the carriage.

  He instantly felt the pressure of the water that his human body couldn’t handle. He was at the bottom of a submarine dimension. He might be wrong—maybe the surface up there wasn’t the way to Earth.

  He sank.

  From the corner of his eye, he could see the shape of a dome, but it might just be the dome of the hospital where he had killed the doctor. There was no point in him heading toward that dimension. He grabbed at the edge of a strange-looking pear-shaped rock to anchor his body, only to discover it wasn’t just a rock. From his vantage point, he could see a hole in it, like a gate to something.