by JD Cole
“My brother, Chris, he doesn’t really believe what he is yet. He’s stuck in Europe, in the middle of the war-”
“This would be the defective- apologies, that is not kind. This would be your oldest brother, the one who inherited the least of Daknanyx’ magic?”
“Yeah, Christian. Since we waiting anyway, can we go get him?”
“I don’t see why not.”
“Yes! That’s the whole reason I came to find Uncle Krin! I gotta bring Chris home and convince him about all this Dragon stuff.”
Zaiyensa cocked her head. “You must still testify at the trial.”
“I dunno what I could say that would be useful, but if you help me get Christian home, I’ll testify as much as you like!”
“Your arrival,” the white Dragon announced as she stood, “has stirred my curiosity for adventure and excitement. I suppose I have lounged in Strenovia long enough. It will be interesting to visit Earth proper again.” Zaiyensa closed her eyes for several moments, observing several regions of the world to acquaint herself with Earth’s modern societies and fashion styles. Nodding to herself, she shapeshifted into human form, simultaneously weaving a new outfit of ether for herself.
Devon’s eyes widened as he stared down at Zaiyensa. Tall. Leggy. Busty. Long, black hair tied in a high ponytail. Greek features and a healthy tan. A sharp, tailored suit of indigo over a blouse of jet-black silk. Open-toed sandals. For all that, however, her eyes retained their red behind the stylish spectacles she wore.
Zaiyensa spread her arms, smiling. “What do you think? Do I pass for a woman of the era?”
“You’re good-looking, for sure,” Devon shapeshifted into his natural human form, willing an appearance that more approximated a private mercenary. With some effort, he managed to appear clothed in durable khaki-like pants and combat boots, with a tactical shirt complete with camo-patterned sleeves and shoulders which, of course, did nothing to hide the size and shape of his muscles. “But he’s in a warzone, most people on our side would wear stuff more like this,” he said.
Zaiyensa considered him for a moment, then shook her head. “I like this look better,” she gestured to herself. “I am the goddess of love, after all. I deserve to flaunt some style. Come now, let us embark on a quest to find your brother!” She turned and, without a word or gesture, opened an ethergate into Eastern Europe.
Devon enthusiastically followed her through, but was less than thrilled with what he saw on the other side. “Hoh, this place is messed up,” he said.
They appeared to be in a town that was all but deserted. Few of the buildings were more than rubble. “Christian was here not long ago,” Zaiyensa declared. “There was a battle... I believe his side lost.”
Sure enough, Devon saw, there were several spots of still-rising smoke. Then he spotted the first body. The man had been a soldier, or a rebel, evidenced by the rifle lying by his side. Soon, Devon recognized more bodies strewn about the area, and he closed his eyes, trying to force down the panic and anxiety he’d carried since Boston.
“What is the matter, Devon?” the white Dragon asked with curiosity.
Devon pulled in a deep breath, immediately regretting it as he smelled death. “I don’t... I don’t like to see suffering, or dead bodies.”
Zaiyensa looked around at the battleground, nodding. “You are kind-hearted. Trust me, it becomes easier with time.”
“That’s what I’m afraid of. I could be better at destruction than the mullets who did all this.”
A dirty, banged up Toyota Tundra rumbled from around the corner of a ruined shop front, stopping when the driver noticed the human-looking Dragons. The engine stopped and five men dressed in soldier’s uniforms piled out, laughing and pointing. Their eyes were all drawn to Zaiyensa, who gazed at them in disgust. The soldiers kept their rifles and pistols lowered as they approached, none of them feeling threatened by the unarmed pair.
“They are wondering if we’re anyone important, and most of them are fantasizing about killing you and having their way with me,” Zaiyensa said. “What do you think, should we get rid of them?”
Devon sighed. “I don’t really wanna see any more killing. But they’re probably part of the army that’s chasing Chris and murdering civilians, so I have no problem kicking their asses.”
“Kicking their asses!” Zaiyensa smiled. “Such a colorful expression!” In the blink of an eye, she appeared behind one of the advancing soldiers, swiftly kicking him in the posterior and sending him flying several dozen yards down the ruined street. She bent over laughing at the sight while the soldier’s comrades froze in shock, unable to believe what they had just witnessed.
Devon calmly walked toward them all, ignoring the two rifles that aimed and began firing at him. The bullets passed right through his body without causing wounds. The large Polynesian grabbed one of the diminutive communists by his collar, and tossed him over to where Zaiyensa had kicked his friend.
The three remaining soldiers began backing toward their truck, yelling and firing at the Dragons in fright. Neither Dragon attempted to evade, instead making themselves intangible to the hostile fire. “Rather loud, isn’t it?” Zaiyensa shouted to Devon over the cacophony of automatic weapons fire.
“How you did that move, where you disappeared and reappeared behind them so fast?” Devon shouted back. “I like learn how do that.”
“There are several methods,” she shouted in reply. “I used a spell to move like the ether. Watch!” Again, Zaiyensa disappeared, simultaneously reappearing next to the soldiers’ truck as if she was Marvel Comics’ “Quicksilver”. She bent slightly to reach under the front bumper, then lifted the vehicle entirely and held it above her head. The soldiers yelled louder in fright and turned to begin firing at her once more.
“Enough,” Devon punched one soldier unconscious with a single blow, “with the,” again with another, “guns already!” and once more with the last soldier. “Frickin losers.” He pointed at the truck. “Let’s use that.”
She looked up at the vehicle in her hand, and nimbly set it down.
Devon, being a gearhead, popped the hood to take a quick look at the engine. “What is a Toyota doing out in this dump? Poor thing.” Slamming the hood closed, he climbed into the driver’s seat which was on the opposite side of where he was used to.
Zaiyensa took the passenger seat after observing Devon. “How do these work, exactly?” she asked, closing her door and wiggling her behind in the cushioned seat, pleased that it was more comfortable than human carriages of old.
“You teach me some more magic, I’ll teach you how to build and drive cars,” Devon promised.
« CHAPTER 16 »
Who or What is the Goblin King?
Kelli continued to slumber in the bed, and only her mother and Sorvir were still there, seated closely together on the sheets to her left.
“Are you ready, Mrs. Ingram?”
“I-I think so,” Vanessa sniffed. Sorvir took her hand gently and, bowing his head, began to whisper a chant.
Vanessa immediately felt a change in the air. It started as a tingling at the back of her neck, but quickly changed and began to feel like an emotional blanket was being drawn over her shoulders... a blanket woven from pure serenity. Her vision lost focus, everything fading to white until she lost all sense of where she was.
“Mom?”
Vanessa blinked, still unable to see anything but white. “Mom?” the voice called again, behind her. She turned and saw Kelli standing before her, surrounded by empty white space.
“Kelli!” Vanessa ran to her daughter, and Kelli stood, running to meet her. They embraced tightly, crying.
“Where are we?” Kelli asked through her tears. “Where’s dad? Is he okay?”
Vanessa was about to answer when Sorvir materialized beside them. “We will get him back, Highness. Even now, preparations and plans are being made to bring him home. Have faith in your people.”
“What is this place?” Kelli asked, hol
ding on to her mother’s hands.
“It was decided that you and your mother should be together during this trying time, my Queen. You should not be awake while your body recovers, so I have prepared a shi’un. The place and memory have not been chosen yet, so it appears empty.”
“I see,” Kelli said. She looked at her mother. “What about Erica? And Kim?”
“They wanted to talk with some other people and find out more about dragons and... what did she call them? The werewolf night things?”
“The nightfangs,” Kelli corrected her. “They helped the alien kidnap me. Kim will find out more so her friends can help us stop them.” She looked at Sorvir. “Any chance we can see where my dad is at?”
Sorvir shook his head. “I’m sorry, Highness, the mystics cannot scrye into the Shadowlands. And even in shi’un, the king is able to block access to any memories that could be found within his castle.”
“Why,” Kelli slumped to her knees, “why would he do this? Why does he hate me enough to take my dad?”
Sorvir sat beside her, as did Vanessa. “Insanity rarely needs a reason, Highness. I’m sorry.”
Vanessa grasped her daughter’s hand. “Sorvir, you told me when we started the shi’un you could take us some place comfortable to wait for word on Tom while Kelli heals?”
“Yes, when the queen chooses a place, we will immediately be taken there.”
Kelli sniffled. “So, like when we watched Taromus and Arii?”
“Yes,” Sorvir said, “just like that. Choose a place from your memories where you would be most comfortable, and my spell will transport us there.”
“Don’t you need my magic for this big of a spell?”
“I have an enchantment from Dufangen that will bolster me for a time. Your magic should keep focused on healing yourself.”
Kelli looked around, not really focused on any particular memory, but wishing she was with Ben. She almost remembered their wedding night, but immediately banished the thought. Sorvir did not know she was married, and the sprites did not like seeing her involved with Ben for some reason. Now was not the time to ask about it, though; her heart and mind were too heavily weighed down with fear and grief to hear whatever that answer was.
Her mind traveled to another memory with Bennett and Devon, on the island of Kauai. She closed her eyes and breathed deeply, suddenly aware that she could smell the trees and waters of Waipahe’e falls.
“FAT TALAHHHHHHP!”
The sounds of laughter drew Kelli’s eyes open just in time to see a fourteen-year old Devon jumping cannonball-style off the top of the falls into the pool below. All around the falls and the pool were classmates and friends and... Ben.
Kelli, Sorvir, and Vanessa stood just to the south of where all the teenagers were swimming or hanging out. The trio’s eyes were drawn mid-way down the cliff to where young Ben and Kelli sat on the rocks together, just near enough the falls to get sprayed by mist without being showered by the rushing water.
“I remember I explicitly forbid you from buying that bikini,” Vanessa frowned. “Close your eyes, Sorvir – “
“Mom-”
“- fifteen year-old girls have no business wearing that kind of -!”
“Mom... mom!”
“Did you always dress like that around Ben?!”
“Momohmygoshcalmdown!” Kelli looked up at Sorvir, blushing with obvious embarrassment. “Um, is it possible to just be here, without my younger self or my friends?”
Sorvir was unable to suppress his smile. “I will make it so,” he chuckled, and a moment later the teenagers were all gone.
“Really, Kel?” Vanessa frowned even harder.
“I’m sorry, okay, mom? You know I don’t dress slutty, but Ben really liked that swimsuit!”
“Name one boy on planet earth who wouldn’t like you wearing that, that fishing line!” her mother shot back.
Sorvir was covering his eyes with his hands, his shoulders racking violently as he attempted to keep from bursting out in laughter.
Kelli’s cheeks puffed and her lips pouted as she looked sideways at her cousin. “It wasn’t that bad,” she muttered. “Not like it was a thong or anything. I notice you didn’t say anything about that slut Charlie’s g-string, and her top was practically nipple-tape.”
“Charlotte Nagasi isn’t my daughter, you are, and I raised you better than that. And don’t call people sluts, even if she is one. That’s disrespectful.”
“Yes, mom,” Kelli replied, defeated. “Ehhhhhnyway,” she sat up straight, back-handing Sorvir on the shoulder when she saw he was still trying not to laugh. “I’m glad we could amuse you!” she half-shouted in a disapproving tone.
Sorvir coughed, his laughter finally escaping. He took a moment to compose himself. The sprite took another deep breath and began to smile, only to stop as he realized the queen had somehow managed to help him forget, for just a moment, the pain of his brother’s death. “Apologies,” he said with a subdued voice, “Your Highness. I... I just never in my life expected to see a sitting monarch receive such a stern scolding from her mother.”
“Yeah, for something that doesn’t even matter anymore,” Kelli replied.
“Whatever,” Vanessa rolled her eyes.
Kelli stared down at the water from their perch. “I was always scared of swimming here.”
“Technically, nobody’s supposed to come here anyway,” Kelli’s mother pointed out.
Kelli nodded. “Yeah, but the cops and forestry guys don’t seem to care that much. There’s something down in the water, though, that causes a vortex a few feet below the surface. It isn’t super strong, but if you’re not expecting it, it’ll suck you down and drown you.”
“Holy crap!” Vanessa said. “If I’d have known that, I would never have let you come here!”
“We didn’t know either, the first time we came. Devon found it. He thinks there’s a hole at the bottom of the pool where water drains into the underground caves, not big enough for a person to fall through, but big enough to make a toilet bowl swirl.”
“Toilet bowl -?”
“That’s how Devon described it. He called this cliff the doo-doo jump,” Kelli chuckled. “The water’s about fifteen feet deep, so he thought it was fun to let it drag him all the way down in a twisty-swirl motion, then he’d swim back up. Once he figured out where the vortex is, he’d jump into it from right over there, over and over again.”
“That boy...” Vanessa breathed, shaking her head. “Such a knucklehead. I hope you never did that!”
“No way! I told you, I was scared to swim here after we heard about the toilet bowl. I just like coming here cuz’ it’s beautiful, and Ben would always stay with me on the rocks or up on the cliff.”
“I must say, I do find this place very pleasing to the senses,” Sorvir offered. “It is... not just peaceful, but welcoming.”
Vanessa looked around, her eyes widening as she finally thought about what was happening. “This is incredible. It feels so real... but we’re really still just sitting in Kelli’s room, aren’t we?”
“Yes,” the sprite confirmed.
“So,” Kelli dangled her legs over the edge of the cliff, “are we just supposed to hang out here until I’m healed? Isn’t there something we could be doing to help my dad?”
“The best thing you can do is recover your strength, Highness.”
“Well, what about this, then. After our Lifishi’un trial, Krin held Bennett for awhile in a separate shi’un dream and taught him a bunch of magic. Can we do something like that here? So that when I am healed and ready, I know how to handle the Birthright a little better to fight the king?”
Sorvir thought for a moment. “We could indeed. But you should understand any kind of training you undertake in shi’un will not completely remain with you when you wake. And you will not be strong enough to confront the king. You are years, perhaps decades from attaining that kind of skill.”
“That’s what Ben said, too, about not reta
ining stuff in shi’un. Why is that?”
“Time does not really exist in shi’un, not in any way that affects us. I would guess everything we have experienced here so far has happened within a single heartbeat in the real world.”
“Wow,” Kelli’s eyes widened. “Mind... blown. I mean, I kinda knew that from the Lifishi’un experience, but still.” Kelli chewed her lip for a moment, then closed her eyes in concentration. Her wings flashed into existence, immediately blurring with motion as she lifted herself forward off the cliff into a hover.
She smiled at the expression on her mother’s face. Vanessa was completely speechless. “Okay then,” the Sprite Queen took a deep breath, looking at Sorvir. “How about this. Use this shi’un to take us into the middle of the battles that have happened with Ercianodhon. Let me see how he fights, how he uses magic, and all the ways faeries have defeated or been defeated by him throughout history. That should be a good starting point to figure out what magic to practice, right?”
Sorvir thought for a moment, nodding slowly. “I see no reason we cannot do as you say. But what you are asking is the opposite of a peaceful recovery. We would be seeing war, Highness. Do not equate the battle of Boston with any of the goblin wars. Watching the destruction of living beings on this scale is not without consequence. It may hinder your body’s recovery if your emotions are agitated witnessing that level of suffering. And you would not be seeing those horrors alone.”
Kelli looked at her mom, who was shaking her head. “Kel, I don’t know... I don’t think, I don’t- I- “
“Okay, mom. Don’t worry. We won’t do that. Not now, anyway.” Kelli’s head lolled backward loosely and she stared straight up for several moments. “I’ve got it,” she announced, snapping her head forward to look at Sorvir and Vanessa. “Before I do anything else, I wanna know why he hates me.” She looked down at the pool of water, concentrating. “I want to see what happened to him, what made him insane, so full of hatred for the sprites.”
Sorvir reached for Kelli, but fell before he could grab her arm. The sky and the Earth swirled at Kelli’s unconscious command. Vanessa screamed as the ground disappeared, and the three of them soared across the sky, a huge forest speeding below them as they raced toward a large castle on an ocean coast. Then down they fell, through the ceilings, through walls, until they came to a stop on their hands and knees on the carpeted floor of a large bedroom.