Close Encounters of the Magical Kind

by Jeffrey M. Poole

  “Water a tree? Why would he wish to do this now?” the griffin inquired, confused.

  “Let’s just say that I have to relieve a little pressure,” Steve added.

  “You need to urinate?”

  “I was trying to avoid saying that, but yeah, I do.”

  “Very well. I will land. Will this take long?”

  “Not at all,” Steve assured the griffin. “Just find me a tree.”

  “All this talk about having to go has made we want to go, too,” Sarah confessed.

  Steve laughed out loud. “Hah! I knew it!”

  “I was fine until you said something. This is your fault.”

  “Better find us two trees,” Steve told the griffin.

  “You think I’m using a tree? You’d better wake up, buster.”

  Tesur landed and Sarah hopped off his back. Steve, still gripping Sarah’s hips, was pulled along with her. Steve started to inspect the nearby trees when Sarah turned to face Tesur.

  “Don’t go anywhere. We’ll be right back.”

  “Where are we going?” Steve asked, puzzled.

  “Why in the world would you think I’d go to the bathroom out here when the one in our cabin would work just fine?”

  Before Steve could protest, Sarah had teleported them back to their cabin. She pulled her husband’s hands off of her and wedged him in a chair at their dinner table.

  “Don’t go anywhere, either. I’ll be right back.”

  “Very funny.”

  As soon as she had done her business, Sarah returned to the table, eyed Steve, and laughed.

  “You’re on your own. I love you to death, honey, but you’re gonna have to take care of this one yourself.”

  “I’ll manage.”

  As soon as Sarah teleported them back to Tesur, and were airborne once more, Steve finally laughed.

  “Everything okay back there?” Sarah asked, turning to look back at her husband.

  “Yep, it will be.”

  “Will be?”

  “I’m going to have to clean the bathroom.”

  “What? What did you do?”

  “Well, I’m weightless, remember?”

  “Yes, obviously. Oh, no. You didn’t!”

  “I guess all parts of me were weightless.”

  “Honey, you can’t be serious!”

  “I’ll clean it when this is all said and done, okay?”

  “That’s… gross.”

  Sarah noticed that Tesur was now angling towards a mountain that looked no different from any of the others they had seen. This one was barren; no trees, no discernible features, and had only bare rock to meet their eyes. The griffin dipped his wings and brought them lower.

  “Is that the one?” Sarah asked. She peered intently at the looming mountain. “I really don’t see anywhere to land.”

  “Nor do I see any type of arch anywhere,” Steve pointed out.

  Tesur ignored them and continued his descent. He banked left and began to slowly circle around to the mountain’s western face. Sarah could see that they were heading toward a small plateau nearly three quarters of the way up the side of the mountain. As they neared the plateau they could also see that parts of the western face were concealed by a dense shroud of mist.

  “I don’t remember seeing any fog as we approached,” Steve commented as they drew nearer.

  “Neither did I,” Sarah admitted.

  Instead of coming in for a landing Tesur began beating his wings and climbed higher. He continued to circle around the mountain, approaching the southern face in just a few minutes. There, appearing where it hadn’t been before, was a second plateau. This one was also covered in mist, which began to clear as they came closer.

  As before, Tesur flew higher. The southern plateau fell away as they continued their trek around the mountain. They approached the eastern face and were surprised to see another plateau appear as they neared. Steve tapped her shoulder and nodded back the way they had come.

  “Look! That last plateau has vanished! What do you think it means?”

  “That we’re on the right track,” Sarah quietly answered. “Shh. I think we need to be quiet.”

  “Gotcha.”

  The third plateau appeared and was quickly passed. As they continued flying around the mountain’s circumference, approaching the northern face they were startled to see that there wasn’t a fourth plateau. Bewildered, Sarah looked up and noticed that they were several hundred feet from the mountain’s peak. However, the peak was hidden from sight by a thick cloud that she hadn’t noticed before. Had it always been there? Wouldn’t they have noticed that the mountaintop was shrouded by a blanket of clouds?

  Sarah shook her head. No, probably not. After all, the plateaus didn’t appear until they had followed the correct path around the mountain.

  Sarah felt Tesur increase the tempo of his wings. He was trying to reach the peak! Was that where this mysterious arch was?

  Rising higher, they pushed their way through the thick clouds to see what they’d find at the top of the mountain. The clouds suddenly cleared and they saw that they had reached their goal. The top of the mountain was inexplicably flat. It was, Sarah realized with a start, the fourth and final plateau. Only when Tesur had landed and was facing due north did they find what they were looking for. Directly before their eyes the air shimmered, as though waves of heat were emanating from deep within the mountain.

  The Arch materialized in front of them.

  It was a strangely organic looking formation, as though it had sprouted up and out of the rock. The Arch stretched from one side of the mountaintop to the other, and was nearly fifty feet tall at the apex of the arc.

  “This is it,” the griffin breathed with excitement. “The Arch. We found it!”

  Sarah, with Steve virtually attached at the hips, dismounted, and stared up at the spooky stone curve rising above their heads. She glanced over at their griffin guide and saw that Tesur’s eyes were wide open and his head was slowly pivoting in place.

  “What now?” Sarah asked. “We found the Arch. What do we have to do next?”

  “Now we wait.”

  “What are we waiting for?” Steve wanted to know.

  Tesur gasped and pointed a wing at a point visible through the Arch.

  “That.”

  Husband and wife turned to see what the griffin was looking at. Seeing nothing out of the ordinary, Sarah turned back to Tesur gave a slight cough.

  “We don’t see anything. What are you looking at?”

  “Do you not see it?” Tesur asked as he strode closer to the Arch. “Only visible through the Arch and only for those who have a need to find it.”

  Steve looked back through the Arch and raised an eyebrow.

  “I see a cloud, dude.”

  “Only it isn’t a cloud,” Tesur corrected. “That’s Ranal!”

  Chapter 7 – Eyes of the Beholder

  “You’re telling me that you see an island?” Steve began, looking skeptically back at their griffin friend. “You actually see a floating island and not some insignificant cloud?”

  Tesur nodded, “Of course. Trees, rocks, grass. I see it all.”

  “I don’t see anything, either,” Sarah confided to her husband. “It must be because we’re not looking for it.”

  “But we are looking for it,” Steve argued.

  “True, but we have no reason to, only Tesur does.”

  “We must be off,” the griffin impatiently told them. “Look. The island is on the move. If we don’t get moving we won’t be able to catch up to it. Let’s get our feathers in the air.”

  As soon as both Sarah and Steve were back on Tesur’s back the old griffin surprised them both by moving as far away from the Arch as he could.

  “What are we doing?” Steve whispered.

  “Hush,” Sarah whispered back.

  Tesur broke out into a run. His wings extended and they lifted into the air, but not by much. Sarah eyed the approaching Arch. It looked as tho
ugh the old griffin was deliberately adjusting his course so that they could all fly through the Arch.

  “What’d you do that for?” Sarah inquired as she looked back at the curved formation of rocks. “Why did you fly through it?”

  “It’s the only way we’d be able to approach,” Tesur assured her. “Passing through the Arch constitutes my acceptance of the final leg of my Journey.”

  “You can’t turn back now,” Sarah guessed. “Even if you wanted to, right?”

  “Correct. I am now committed.”

  “Were you having your doubts?” Steve asked from his position behind Sarah.

  “No,” the griffin answered. He beat his wings as they rose higher into the air. “I wish to see my beloved Salana. I know she awaits me on Ranal.”

  “Was she your mate?” Sarah softly asked.

  “Aye. We mated young, nearly 120 years ago. She felt the Pull almost 10 years ago this winter. Words cannot begin to describe how much I miss her.”

  Several minutes later they had reached the same altitude of the large cloud and began their approach. Sarah stared at the wispy outlines of their target and shook her head. If Tesur had shown any amount of skepticism whatsoever she would have never believed the large fluffy cloud could be hiding an island. However, their griffin guide had insisted he saw only an island, not a cloud.

  Sarah eyed the cloud from underneath as they had ascended. She had halfway expected to see stone crags protruding out from beneath the cloud’s underbelly, but she hadn’t. She had thought that perhaps the cloud was some type of concealment spell and that only by getting up close to Ranal would she be able to see it for what it was.

  Wrong on all counts.

  The closer they flew to the island the more her doubts grew. She could only hope that Tesur knew what he was doing. Whether his eyesight was strong enough to penetrate the cloud cover or else he only saw a floating island, she didn’t know. She only…

  Sarah frowned. They had been flying towards the island for several minutes now and they were no closer now than they were when they first flew through the Arch. Coincidence? Were they caught in some sort of air current that was slowing their progress?

  She turned to look back at the mountaintop. There it was, fading rapidly from sight. That proved they were still moving forward. She returned her gaze to the cloud. Island. Whatever.

  Ranal still wasn’t getting any closer.

  Alarmed, Sarah tapped Tesur’s shoulder.

  “Why aren’t we getting closer? Is the cloud moving that fast?”

  “I feel the Pull diminishing,” Tesur answered. He squawked angrily. “I cannot explain it. The Pull has remained strong through my entire journey.”

  “Until now,” Steve guessed.

  “Correct.”

  Sarah swallowed nervously.

  “It’s us. We’re the problem.”

  “What about us?” her husband wanted to know.

  “We’re not supposed to be here. This journey is supposed to be for griffins only. Ranal is keeping us from approaching.”

  “You’re telling me that island is conscious?”

  “I’m telling you there are rules in place,” Sarah exclaimed, frustrated. “And we’re not following them, so we’re not allowed to approach. If we don’t get off Tesur’s back then we’re going to prevent him from ever reaching Ranal.”

  “Can’t you just teleport us there?” Steve asked. “You can see where we need to go. Surely you can see enough to make a jump, right?”

  Sarah closed her eyes and concentrated. The only image she was able to see was the swirling mists from within the cloud.

  “No. If I try to teleport inside that cloud then that’s exactly what I’m going to get. I don’t see any land anywhere, so you don’t want me trying to teleport there.”

  “You are correct,” Tesur confirmed. “Ranal is preventing my approach. If you try to force your way into that sacred place then you will fall to your death.”

  “Couldn’t you risk it?” Steve pressed. “If you teleport us out there and solid land isn’t there, couldn’t you just teleport us back to the Arch?”

  Tesur squawked angrily.

  “Approaching the Arch must be done properly. You will dishonor all griffins if you simply ‘appear’ before it.”

  “When will it stop being a cloud and start being solid land?” Sarah asked.

  “I suspect Ranal will present itself only when you step foot on its surface,” the griffin answered.

  “Why would the Fae send us to a floating island if we can’t even step foot there?” Steve grumbled. “What good does it do to tell us the flower we want is on that island, get us within reach of it, and then yank it away from us?”

  “They wouldn’t have told us about all of this unless they believed we were truly capable of collecting a flower,” Sarah patiently explained. “We’re here. Ranal is just over there. There must be a way to get over there.”

  “Maybe we just weren’t meant to find it,” Steve said.

  “And doom the Fae? I don’t accept that,” Sarah snapped.

  “We’re running out of time,” Steve pointed out. “You heard Tesur. He’s losing the Pull. Clearly Ranal doesn’t want us to… wait. What if Ranal is trying to protect us?”

  “Protect us from what?” Sarah asked.

  “From our own folly. What if we, as humans, aren’t allowed to step foot on Ranal? Or maybe it’s like the Underworld in Greek mythology. Once you get there you can’t get back.”

  “If that were the case then the Fae would never have sent us out after it,” Sarah told him. “Besides, I think that’s why the Fae chose me to contact. I alone, with my teleportation jhorun, can get us back safely. No, I don’t accept that we’ve come this far only to fail now. There’s gotta be a way. Think!”

  Sarah suddenly spun in her seat to stare back at her husband. Somehow, and she didn’t know how, she could sense that Steve was smiling. Had he thought of something that would work?

  “What? What is it? Do you have an idea?”

  Her husband pointed at the cloud.

  “We just have to get Tesur to step foot on that island, right?”

  Sarah nodded, “Right. Do you have a plan for getting us over to that cloud?”

  Steve nodded. “As a matter of fact, I do. I have an idea.”

  “What’s your plan? I’ll tell you if it’ll work.”

  “The Pull is almost gone!” Tesur cried out. “Please hurry! If I can no longer feel the Pull then I will lose the ability to see Ranal. Make haste!”

  Sarah watched her husband scoot backwards, climb over Tesur’s wings, and then hook his arms under the point where the wings joined with the griffin’s back. He extended his arms out as far as he could on either side of his body and opened his hands, palms facing backwards. He looked up at her and grinned.

  “I’m going to do my Iron Man thing again. I’d hold on to something if I were you.”

  Sarah paled. She lunged forward to grab Tesur around his neck.

  “What is…” the griffin began but then saw Steve angling his hands to deliver a powerful blast.

  “Same as before, pal. You steer and I’ll push. Are you ready?”

  Tesur nodded eagerly, “Aye!”

  Steve released jhorun into both hands at the same time, blasting out twin jets of fire. They were propelled forward way faster than Tesur could ever fly. Within moments Steve could tell that it was going to work. The island was finally approaching.

  “Ranal is beginning to fade!” Tesur squawked with dismay. “We will not reach it in time!”

  Sure enough, from their perspective the cloud was beginning to disappear. At the rate it was dematerializing they only had about thirty seconds before it would be completely gone. Sarah quickly sat up and took stock of their situation.

  “Give it all you’ve got, honey! Hurry!”

  Sarah heard her husband grunt with the strain of holding his arms in place under Tesur’s wings. She didn’t know how much more he’d be
able to take since his arms had to be under a considerable amount of strain. She glanced backwards and gave him a reassuring smile. Steve didn’t notice. She could tell he was focused on getting the three of them to island just as quickly as possible.

  Sarah felt the heat on her back get even hotter. She glanced backwards. The jets shooting out of Steve’s hands, which were about twenty feet long, had increased to thirty. Even though she knew Steve was in considerable pain she couldn’t help but giggle. Steve was flying like Iron Man! The look on her husband’s face was priceless. If only she had her camera. Eyes wide open, huge grin, and that telltale smug look on his face.

  Sarah smiled and shook her head. How many people could say they were able to propel themselves by blasting out jets of fire? In fact, Sarah wondered if his fire jets had enough power to lift him off the ground when he wasn’t rendered weightless. Did she dare ask him? If she did, she knew full well her husband would want to try.

  She decided to leave that discussion for another time.

  Sarah heard an excited whoop, which was completely out of character for the situation they were in. Did Steve find something funny? Did he not know that Tesur would be doomed if they didn’t make it to the cloud in the next fifteen seconds? She risked another glance back and stifled a giggle. Steve had a look of sheer joy on his face as he blasted jets of fire out of his hands.

  Yes, she grudgingly admitted, he kinda did look like Iron Man. A look of concern appeared on her husband’s face. Alarmed, Sarah faced forward.

  “We’re almost there! Tesur, Steve is not going to be able to tell where you want to land. If you see a suitable landing point then you’d better let him know!”

  “Angle for that mound of rocks!” Tesur squawked, dipping a wing to turn more to the left.

  “I see clouds, dude,” Steve called out. “Just say ‘left or right’, or ‘faster or slower’. All you have to do is let me know when you need me to stop.”

  “Angle to the left,” the griffin instructed. “A little more. Just a little… no. Too far. Too far! Back to the right! Hurry!! There, that’s better. We’re nearly there. Give it another five seconds and then stop. Our momentum will take us the rest of the way in.”

  Sarah felt the exact moment Steve extinguished his hands. Their speed diminished and she was thrust forward in her seat. Alarmed, she noticed the swirling substance of the cloud’s interior grow closer. She had to tell herself over and over that the griffin knew what he was doing.