by Mark Cole
Harry shook his head and pulled a knife from his pocket. “Not a chance.”
John sighed and removed his hand from her shoulder. “I’m sorry to hear that.” Faster than Harry could react, John kicked his foot out. The five-foot-long pipe he had been working his foot under caught the large man square in the groin. Harry doubled over in pain. John snatched the airborne end of the pip and held it like a staff.
He struck the second man on the side of the neck, and spinning with the rebound, John swept the pipe low, and knocked the third man from his feet. John slammed the groaning Harry to the ground with a blow to his ribs.
Tossing the pipe away, John reached out for her hand. “Let’s go.”
Terra slid the knife she had drawn back into its holster. “What you just did was either very brave or very foolish.”
John laughed and shook his head as they turned onto the street, walking away from the bar. He let go of her hand as they kept walking, but Terra could still feel the warmth of his touch linger on her skin. “It doesn’t matter which; it worked. What’s your real name?”
“Jane,” Terra said with a smirk. “Jane Smith, in case you don’t remember. Now, my bravely foolish or foolishly brave guardian, what is yours?”
He looked at her with a wry look on his face. “Hmm… I could have swore he said your name was Terra. Man, if you can’t trust random assailants in the alley, who can you trust?”
Laughing, she said, “I’m Terra. Terra Duval. And you are?”
He stepped in front of her and started walking backwards. With a deep bow befitting a knight at court, he said, “Alex Zane, humbly at your service.”
Chapter Three - An Early Start
Alex awoke to the dull roar of pain echoing through his skull. He slowly moved his hand to feel his injury, and cool grass met his hand as it brushed the ground. What? Wasn’t I inside? he thought. The smell of pine filled the crisp air as Alex opened his eyes and gained his bearings. A fire crackled nearby, and he jumped when he saw the woman sitting across the fire from him.
Terra! “We need to go after that thing that took Terra!” Alex tried to stand, but everything spun and he fell back.
The woman’s golden eyes narrowed, and she studied him. “No,” she said. “If we chased after them, we would die.”
Alex shook his head and immediately regretted the movement as nausea blossomed in his stomach. He fought the sensation down and forced himself to his feet. “I’m going after her.” The wooden sword lay across the woman’s lap, and he pointed at it. “Give that to me, and I’ll save her myself.”
She languidly rose to her feet and held the weapon by its hilt. “When I arrived, you were laid out in the corner waiting to be gutted,” the woman said as she tucked some loose black hair behind her ear. Her eyes probed his searchingly. “No. I’ll not have your blood on my hands because you think you can kill twenty halfmen singlehandedly.”
“I can defend myself well enough,” Alex snapped. “That thing… halfman… just took Terra! I have to save her!”
“Are you dense, man? You. Can. Not. Help. Her.” She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “He’s from Earth,” she muttered just loud enough for Alex to hear. “He just doesn’t know any better.” She rounded the fire and handed the wooden sword to him. “Listen to me, Terra was taken by a halfman shaman. It’s Demon-spawn. If I had come moments later, it would have killed you. I was fortunate to be able to stabilize his gateway and redirect it to the outskirts of the Forest of Souls, just on the edge of the Adorac Mountains.”
Alex ran his left hand through his hair. “Demon-spawn? Forest of Souls? Adorac Mountains? What are you talking about!”
“What’s your name, human?” she asked.
“Alex Zane.”
“I’m Caitlyn Shadowpaw, Warden of the Forest.” She placed a hand gently on his shoulder. “This is going to be difficult for you to understand, but you aren’t on Earth anymore.”
Alex’s mind ground to a screeching halt. “What? That’s…”
“Impossible? Listen to me, Alex. Earth, the Realm of Balance, is but one of nine Realms. You are now on the Realm of Magic, on Dae.”
“Like a different plane of existence?” he asked in a daze.
“Yes.” Caitlyn placed her hands on his arms and guided him to a seat near the fire. “The Realm of Balance is the fifth realm. Life, Good, Order, Magic, Balance, Science, Chaos, Evil, and Death; the Nine Realms counteract one another to create balance on Earth. The equilibrium shifts from time to time resulting in changes on the Realm of Balance. Right now, the balance lies closer to the Outer Realms.
“The planes of Magic and Science, being adjacent to the Realm of Balance, exert the most influence on Earth. As you can see from your world, the scales lean heavily toward science.”
This is insane! “I’d say so,” Alex said with a laugh. “There’s no such thing as magic.”
Caitlyn sat next to him and glared. “Then what did that shaman use to subdue you so easily? His breath?”
Alex opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out.
“Just because you can’t see it, doesn’t mean magic isn’t there. In the deep jungle, far under the ocean, and within the light-less caverns of your planet, magic still exists. It isn’t much, and much of what remains isn’t good, but it is still there.”
She’s serious. “What happens if magic goes away entirely?”
Caitlyn shrugged. “None really know for sure. Some think anything could hapen. It could cause the very nature of reality to unravel and destroy everything we know.”
Alex let go of the wooden sword and raised both of his hands to his face. “You’re insane. This isn’t possible! I don’t believe you.”
The muscles in Caitlyn’s jaw flexed, and she stiffened. “Look up then, human, and see that I’m telling the truth.”
What? Alex averted his gaze, and he struggled to comprehend what he saw. Two moons hung in the sky above the trees in the forest clearing. He rubbed his eyes, but the second moon didn’t disappear. “I’m seeing things. I’m sure there’s a rational explanation for this.”
Caitlyn’s hand returned to his shoulder, and Alex looked at her. “I already told you. You aren’t on Earth, Alex.”
Shaking his head, Alex said, “No. I don’t believe it. There’s no such thing as magic.”
The glare returned to her face, and Caitlyn rose to her feet. “Fine! You want proof?” She took two steps away from him and dropped to her hands and knees, golden eyes fixed on his.
“What are…” his voice trailed of when the sickening sound of bones breaking began.
Caitlyn’s jaw snapped and elongated. Her green dress turned black and fused with her skin, becoming a thick coat of fur. Her hands balled into fists and turned into paws. Ligaments and joints cracked as they shifted. The sounds stopped, and a large panther stood before Alex.
“Caitlyn?” Alex said as he reached a hand toward the woman turned animal. She glanced at the hand, and Alex thought better of touching her fur.
“Do you believe me now?” she asked, her voice thick with pain.
“Uh… Yeah… Are you okay?”
She sat on her haunches and nodded. “It just hurts to change.”
“I can imagine,” Alex muttered. “Are you a shape-shifter?”
“Not exactly, but close. A shape-shifter is a magic user that uses his or her power to change into several animal forms. I’m a changeling, a sentient animal that can take on human form. We are only able to change from our animal form into a human one. It takes several years of study for a shape-shifter to learn an animal form, but changelings are able to turn into a human from a very young age, with no study or training.”
Alex wasn’t sure what to say, and an uncomfortable silence passed between them. “So why isn’t there any magic on Earth?” he asked at length.
Caitlyn turned and stared into the fire, her black tail twitching back and forth in the grass. “About two hundred years ago, the Nine Realms were in
a state of perfect equilibrium. Then, a powerful Demon Lord, Azreal, killed all of the other lords of the Eighth Realm, the Realm of Evil. He began to covertly exert influence in the Realms of Chaos and Death.
“Without raising the suspicions of the Inner Realms, Azreal marshaled an enormous army, and used it to strike a devastating blow. Five years ago, his armies were able to gain footholds on three of the Realms.
“The Realms of Good, Order, and Magic were all occupied. The only one to repel the invaders was the Realm of Life, the innermost Realm.”
“How does Terra tie into all of this?” Alex asked.
“I’m sorry, but I can’t tell you. Terra must have had reasons for keeping you in the dark. Suffice to say that Terra is one of the key elements in the success of the war against Azreal.”
“you can’t tell me?” he asked. “Or, you won’t tell me?” Silence met his question. “Fine, what can you tell me about her? Is she from here? From this Realm?”
Caitlyn was silent for a few moments as she contemplated answering him. “Yes, she was born here on Dae, but there’s more to it, to her, than that.”
“What do you mean?” Alex asked. He took the panther’s silence as refusal to answer and instead asked, “Why was she on Earth?”
“She was looking for… something.”
“What was she looking for?” Silence me him again. “Why did that thing, that halfman, take her?”
Caitlyn hesitated again before answering. “She’s important.”
“Why is she important?” Silence. “You said she was born here, which implies she has origins of another kind from somewhere else. What are they?” More silence.
Alex clenched his teeth in frustration and ran his hand through his hair. “Did she find what she was looking for, or is that something else you won’t answer?”
Caitlyn looked over her shoulder at him. “I hope so.”
“Are you an off-limits topic also?” he asked, irritated by her obtuse treatment of his questions.
“No.”
“Are you from here?”
“Yes,” Caitlyn said. “I was born not far from here. That’s where we’re going.”
“Where’s that?” Alex asked.
“Starfall Village, the ancestral home of my kind.”
“And what kind of being are you?” Alex snapped. His face was flushed and fists balled. I’ve had just about enough of this evasiveness!
Caitlyn rose to her feet and bared her teeth. Alex felt her low, rumbling growl in his chest. “I understand that you’ve been plucked from your normal life, and you’re likely afraid of dying for the first time in your life, but I will leave you here in the middle of the forest, if you don’t start talking with some civility. Luna knows I could get to Starfall faster without you slowing me down. The only reason I brought you here was because of Terra, because she must have seen something in you.”
Alex drew himself up and glared at the panther. The slight chill forgotten, his clenched fists trembled with anger. “Look here, Cat, I’ve seen more blood and death in my twenty-six years than any man should have to endure in a lifetime. I’ve seen women nailed to walls with railroad spikes. I’ve seen the corpses of mothers and fathers who were killed after watching their children burn to cinders in front of them.
“I’ve killed with these hands,” he said, holding his hands out in front of himself as if they dripped with blood. He winced at the memories that flooded through him. “And had friends die in my arms. If you think I’m being impolite now, keep dodging my questions, and you’ll find out just how impolite I can be.”
Caitlyn sat back down and gave him another appraising look. “I apologize,” she said. “I spoke in haste, but I’ve done nothing for you to snap at me for.”
Alex closed his eyes and breathed in through his nose and out through his mouth. “No, Caitlyn, I’m sorry. I’m just worried about Terra. We shouldn’t be just sitting here having a fireside chat. We need to be doing something!”
“We are. We are going to Starfall Village to get help. Terra should be fine for now. If the shaman had wanted her dead, then it would have just killed her on Earth. We’ll save her, Alex. You have my word, but blindly charging after her would get us captured or killed.” Caitlyn rose to her feet and surveyed the surrounding forest.
“We’ll need more firewood for the fire and something to eat,” she said. “Gather what you can, and I’ll see about hunting something for us.” Alex nodded his assent, and Caitlyn prowled into the tree line.
He walked away from the fire and began gathering broken branches. The trees were mostly pine and oak; most of the branches were out of his reach, and he had to climb a short distance up some of the trunks to gather what he deemed to be enough firewood.
The treetops swayed in the strong winds, but the forest floor was calm, and the exertion kept Alex warm. Oh, hell. What is Max going to think when he comes to check on me and I’m gone? He’s going to think I’m dead…
Alex took a deep breath and let it out slowly. I’ll figure something out. Maybe Caitlyn can get a message to him. He dropped the last armload of wood near the fire, and as if summoned by his thoughts, Caitlyn came back into the clearing carrying a rabbit in each hand. So she’s human again.
“Do you have a knife with you?” she asked.
“Yeah.” Alex dug in his pocket and pulled out a small Leatherman multi-tool. “Just this though,” he said as he flipped out the short two inch blade.
“That’ll work.” Caitlyn sat beside the fire, crossing her legs as she did. She set one of the rabbits beside her and looked up at Alex. “Do you know how to skin and dress a rabbit?”
“Uh, no. I mean, I skinned a few when I was a kid, but it’s been a very long time. I could use a refresher.”
Caitlyn motioned him over. When he sat, she said, “Just pay close attention, and do what I do.”
Alex wiped the blade clean on his pants and started to skin the rabbit. He watched as Caitlyn cleaned and dressed hers, and she only had to correct his technique once. In short order, both of the rabbits were cooking over the fire.
“How do you change forms?” Alex asked.
Caitlyn poured some water from a skin over her and Alex’s hands, rinsing off the blood. “Well,” she started as she wiped her hands clean on a cloth, “it’s kind of hard to explain to someone who’s not a changeling. I guess the simplest way is just to say that I focus on one form or the other, and I can change into it. I can change fast or slow, but it hurts a lot more when I do it quickly.”
Alex took the proffered cloth and finished cleaning his hands. “Can you change just one part of yourself?”
“Like just an arm or something?” she asked.
He nodded.
“No, it doesn’t work like that. It’s an all or nothing thing.”
Alex scratched the back of his head, thinking of the best way to phrase his next question. “How were you clothed when you changed?”
Caitlyn seemed surprised by his question. “Why would I want to be naked? I would be freezing, and no offense, but you’re not my type.”
Laughing, Alex shook his head. “That’s not what I meant! Where do your clothes go when you’re in your panther form? How do they come back when you change into a human?”
“I’ve never thought about it before,” she said pensively. “The clothes are a part of me, and if I take them off, they would just disappear. I’d have new clothes if I changed into a panther then back into a human.”
“That doesn’t make any sense. I mean, where do they go?”
Caitlyn gave him a blank stare. “It’s just the way it is, Alex. You can’t always apply logic to magic. Sure, magic has rules, just like everything else, but they aren’t always set in a way that makes sense.”
“I guess that’s understandable,” he said, and they watched the rabbits cook. Well, I have the multi-tool, Alex thought, taking mental inventory of everything he had in his pockets. Cell phone, could use it as a light I guess. Car keys, improvised wea
pon. Wallet, completely useless. The multi-tool’ll be useful. The rest, not as much…
Caitlyn reached down and picked up the wooden sword from between them. Light glinted off of the metal disk on the bottom of the sword, and she studied it for a moment. One of her fingers traced the nine black circles engraved upon it.
“Terra gave this to you?” she asked.
“Yeah. For my birthday. I told her I used to train with swords when I was a kid, and she gave it to me. I haven’t picked one up in a long time.” Alex laughed. “Not since I last skinned a rabbit.”
“Are you any good with a sword?” Caitlyn asked, her face tight with intensity.
Alex shrugged. “I’m all right, I guess. Like I said, it’s been a while.”
She pointed at the metal disk. “Do you know what this is?”
“The pommel,” Alex responded without thinking. Is she testing me?
Caitlyn rolled her eyes at him. “Not what part of the sword it is. Do you know what this disk represents?”
Alex shook his head. He had thought the nine interconnected circles looked cool, but it didn’t mean anything as far as he knew.
“It’s the symbol for the Nine Realms,” Caitlyn explained. She pointed at the innermost circle. “This one’s the Realm of Life.” She moved her finger to the next circle. “And this one is the Realm of Good. Then it’s Order, Magic, Balance, Science, Chaos, Evil, and Death.”
“So Terra got it from here?”
“She took it when the Arcane City fell, before she left to go to Earth to…” Caitlyn stopped herself before she said more. “Guard this blade with your life,” she said as she held the wooden sword out to him.
Alex smiled and set the weapon in his lap. “I will. I can’t be Terra’s guardian without some kind of weapon.”
Caitlyn froze and stared at him for a few second before a smirk crept onto her face. “That’s a good point.”
Did I say something strange? Alex looked at the rabbits. They looked like they were getting close to done. “Is there any way to send a message to someone on Earth?”