Shifting Truth

by Francheska Fifield

  I can't see it, I can't even hear it, but I can feel it. I can feel it causing the earth to tremble. The force of it knocks both of us to the ground and opens up the cavern to the point where we can see sky. Unfortunately, it also causes destabilization and ground above us shakes. Before Brisa or I can do anything (like scream) we were pulled towards him, or her, or it, whatever, by an invisible cord we are tethered and lifted into the air. Rocks, trees, the environment itself, fall around us. We just keep lifting up-up-up until finally, we are safely on top of a partially collapsed shaft. He sets us down where our camp had been.

  Brisa practically kisses the ground she is so happy to be out of there. She gulps in great big breaths of air hyperventilating; trying to shove more oxygen into her lungs than they can actually hold. She looks terrified and relieved all-in-one. I can't blame her. The entire trip so far has been a horrific experience, one I hope never to repeat. Beth will kill me…so will Brian. Hell, …they are both so going to kill me.

  So this is how it goes out with a bang. We destroy half of a mountain. I can't believe it. The demonic energy floating around will attract all kinds of shady characters and magical entities. This is going to go over very well… yeah really, really well.

  "That might not have been the safest option."

  "I will return do not worry."

  Well, thank you for acknowledging that you almost made me piss my pants. He floats in the air where she (dammit I really, really need to find out if it is a male or female demon and which one is present and which is taking the back seat and who is controlling Beth's body. It unnerves me that I am calling her and it)…wait a minute.

  "Wait what do you mean you will return? Where are you going?"

  "To ensure no one else will ever find the temple. The modern world does not need it; nor should they have access to it. We were meant to sleep when Solomon passed. We were meant to sleep or return to the demonic realm and stay there. I will ensure no one ever disturbs us again."

  Well, that is terrifying. I wonder what is going to happen until I hear loud bangs, crumbling rocks, and see plumes of smoke and dust filling the air. Looks almost like someone nuked the mountain…it also sounded it. I worry about a rockslide and can hear one in the distance. I’m not sure how, but he did manages to deviate it so that the rockslide won't hit us. I hope there isn’t a town at the base of wherever it lands. The guilt will never leave me since I don't know. Instead, I will be plagued with curiosity and the potential guilt for the rest of my life.

  I want to check. Want to see what it is like where it landed. To make sure no one was hurt. To provide aid if possible, but I know…I know we don't have time for that. It terrifies me but that's how it is. I don't want to think it, but one town is a worthy sacrifice when the destabilization of the Fae world would cause a ripple effect throughout our world and affect everyone and everything in it.

  Kyle's death is wrong, how it happened, his power could destabilize everything. Could ruin the balance that we have going. I know Beth would make the decision that one village is worth the sacrifice to ensure that the power fairy doesn't destabilize the entire world. With her down for the count I have to make the tough decisions. It will haunt me forever and now I finally understand how she lives.

  I can't say it is fair or that it is easy, as it definitely is not that, but it is her life and I can understand why she wants to keep it. Her life has never been easy and I hoped having this profession would make it easier. But it seems not. I can't imagine living every day with this kind of heavy burden. What have we done to her, what has our father created, just to suffer?

  "Jason we need to get back. Can feel it…can feel the power so close. There's something wrong… shouldn't be feeling it. Shouldn't be here. It should be stuck in fairy world…they were supposed to have it trapped… it trapped it there. So that the world was safe until we got back with a way to banish him. How? How… what is going on?"

  Before she can say anything else I can see it. An incorporeal form almost like the demons, but bright-bright red, angry green, and purple swirl and twist. A twist mind connects to it. Kyle, my sister's partner…partner and her betrayer.

  The demon arrives wearing Beth's body. He looks at the strange being and blinks. No other reaction. Just a blink. Then suddenly, suddenly it isn't a demon standing there anymore. I can tell the change in the eyes, the swirling power vortex disappears, and her awareness fills her eyes once again. Beth is back.

  "Kyle even in death you're causing me nothing but trouble you asshole!"

  She grabs her sword and lifts it charging the ball of lightning that comes at her. It is no use she can't fight magic with metal. The lightning hits her sword, flashes, and sends her flying backward. She screams and this time it is in pain, not rage. We need the demon to drive her body to defeat Kyle, but because she feels so strongly about this she is suppressing the demon and taking control. She tosses her sword and pulls out a gun.

  "Bastard die!"

  She shoots and bullet after bullet goes through him. She curses then reaches into a zipped pocket and grabs what looks to be a special round. I have no idea what is so different about it, but I can feel the power just from her pulling it out. She snarls and smiles.

  "Try this on for size dickhead."

  "Beth, what is that?"

  "A type of power exploding round. Watch."

  She takes aim and fires. I know what happens when power connects with pure energy…explosions. Brisa knows too and creates an air shield around herself. It is weaker than a pure blood fairy, but it swirls around her in an obvious attempt to keep her safe. I drop to the ground and cover my head with my hands.

  Brisa bolts behind Beth. Demons or not everyone knows to fear pure energy more. Demons can actually be bargained with or you can make a deal with one. Malice and energy are dangerous and uncontrollable forces.

  I wonder if the demons inside are terrified of the death of their host or angered that she has taken over again. I have other things to worry about though because without the demons in charge holding her together blood starts out of Beth's side. She presses against it with one hand, lifts the gun with the other, and fires.

  The bullet explodes with the clash of power coming together fighting for dominance. A wave of light, winds like a tornado, and everyone and everything flies backward. The form sparkes and sizzles. I’m not sure if he is hurt or more energized, but it doesn't matter right now. He disappears and I can only hope it is for more than a little while. I have a feeling we will not be that lucky though.

  All of us are injured in some way. Brisa is holding her head and it is bleeding. I can feel bruises forming on my entire body. I had been lying face down it caused me to roll down part of the hill we stood on, but rolling is better than being tossed. I will be bruised, but not broken.

  I prioritize Brisa as needing help first. If Beth goes unconscious the demons will take over and heal her. I have less to worry about there. Not to mention Beth does this for a living. She can care for herself. Brisa… Brisa is a half-human half-fairy hybrid. She doesn't do this for a living, she doesn't know how to handle this, and she is scared and alone. Abandoned by both sides of her people. She has to be the first priority for someone.

  "Brisa are you okay? Brisa wake up!"

  She opens her eyes. They are looking lost and slightly unconfused, almost unaware. She definitely has a concussion.

  "Be careful. You were tossed pretty far."

  I start patching her up feeling for injuries we won't be able to see. There are no broken bones or punctures that I can feel. Her shield of wind had probably saved her life… the impact would have split her head open entirely if not for what power she does have. We would have seen brains instead of blood. I can’t help but shudder at the thought.

  "Brisa I need you to look at me. Focus on my voice. I need to patch you up. Stay very still okay." She blinks but doesn't respond. This is such a mess. What have I done?

  After getting Brisa patched up I go over to check on Beth
. I feel a pulse, it is study…slow, but study. It doesn't seem her heart is overworking itself, but she is not waking up and that worries me. I can only hope that the demons are healing whatever is wrong with her, that she won't die. If she does any hope of defeating the magical form, aka what is left of Kyle, will be gone.

  I let Brisa sit up against the rock, she can barely move, some of the focus is slowly coming back in her eyes, but all she will be feeling right now is pain. The longer she can be still the better. So I do the only thing I can do…find some sticks and scraps and start a fire. I dig out the cooking pots and pans and decide to make something to eat. It will be dark soon…dark and cold. I will have to drag both of them closer to the fire, curl up around them as a bear or something equally large, something warm to keep them safe.

  While working I can only wish for a cell phone…if only. I could call Brian or the Fae, anyone that can come and help. Both of them need a hospital and neither of them can go to a regular human hospital. How the hell am I [CB7]going to get them out of here safely? As a human I can probably carry Brisa back, I might even be able to carry Beth if I left her sword behind…not that that is an option. She would kill me. There is no way I can carry both of them, our packs, and our weapons back. Not all the way down the mountain.

  It is nothing to focus on now, I can bitch until the cows come home but it will do no good. If Brisa is okay enough we can contact the Fae maybe they can send someone out to help get us back to the plane. Or get us back to their world. If only the Fae still had the power teleportation…but no that had been lost long ago when a lot of the older Fae died. The older ones… the powerful ones.

  Not that the ones now are any slouches, the ruler is a particular piece of work. I’m not even entirely sure what his power is just that it is on par with the demons, Solomon's demons, not the lesser ones the greater ones. And yet he is still considered weak compared to the old Fae that have passed. It is no wonder that the Fae world is so protected.

  It does leave me wondering though, what happened over in the other world? Kyle is supposed to be trapped by their magic in the Fae world; sequestered in an uninhabited area. He is supposed to be stuck there keeping the world and everyone in it safe from the power and malice that his nonhuman form contains. If he has gotten out what does that mean about the Fae world? What is wrong with it? What happened to it? What happened to the people whose powers were holding him in place?

  Even the Fae can die. They are only considered immortal because it is so hard to actually kill one of them. The only thing that really kill them is another Fae just as powerful as they are or allowing themselves to fade away and returning their power to the hills. It is a noble sacrifice if you think about it, letting your power return to the world to keep your descendants safe, to keep future generations alive.

  Worrying about that now is a waste of energy. Kyle breaking free means the Fae have lost control, something that has never happened. I have no way to contact them so it is pointless to fuss, at least until Brisa is available to help.

  I am worried about the Fae, but I am more worried about Brian. We left him in the Fae lands searching for rituals, combing the history for similar situations and the best way to deal with it. Beth will have a cow if she becomes aware for long enough to wonder about Brian. Second will be the worry over the backlash of power the Fae had to have suffered when Kyle broke free.

  Then we have to figure out how to perform whatever ceremony Brian discovered. With Kyle no longer trapped that means we have to find a way to summon and trap him and complete the demonic ritual. Hell in a handbasket this mission is going to hell. I can't understand why the hell Beth signs up for this shit.

  Course her usual jobs are hunting down stray vampires and werewolves. Kyle had been her partner when the Fae had gotten out of hand or when taking down nests or covens. This, this is the kind of thing that no one did. How the hell had the rest of us been dragged into this? How the hell had the Fae gotten Beth to agree? She hates the Fae.

  My brain is aching by the time the food is done. We lost track of time inside the mountain and I don't really give a damn how bright it is outside. The meal is done, I have a migraine, Beth is unconscious, and Brisa is breathing and sitting on her own but still looks slightly unfocused. I go over with a bowl of soup and feed her. I spoon feed her bite by bite, piece by piece; she manages to take it all with minimal spilling before she closes her eyes. The snoring starts literally the second her eyes are fully closed. I would worry, but snoring when sleeping means you are actually sleeping not unconscious. That has to count for something. Now I have to move on to patching up my sister.

  No brother wants to do something like this. I have to strip her clothes off. They are mostly torn anyway. I have to inspect her body for injuries and wrap broken ribs, have to patch up holes and cuts. I have to give her antidotes for poison. Then have to take the one spare pair of clothing she has and dress her again. It is a brother's worst nightmare and not just because I have seen my little sister naked…no one wants that. But more so because I have seen how badly she is really hurt. The fact that she is still bleeding, that she is bleeding again, means the demons are not in control or are fighting for control. Her unconsciousness means she is either in control or her spirit is broken.

  I have to wonder what the power surge has done to her spirit and the demons. Has her body been short-circuited while she and the demons fight for control? Is everything inside of her ok? Will I be able to wake her? Should I try?

  For now, there is nothing to be done. I have patched her body up as best as I can and that is that. I sit down to eat, put Beth's serving inside of a thermos, and build up the fire. I don't want it going out while we are sleeping. I carefully drag Beth over, carefully walk Brisa over (the fact that she is able to stand even with help is amazing), turn myself into a great big bear, sit up, pull them both into my furry belly, wrap my big arms around them, and decide it is time to rest. Rest is what we all need right now. Tomorrow, tomorrow we can worry about everything else. For now we need sleep.

  Chapter Eight

  I wake up to see the vortex is back in the eyes of my sister's body. Which means one of the demons is in control again.

  "Could you guys by any chance tell me which one of you is in control? I don't know if I should call you he or she, which name I should go with. I do not want to offend anyone."

  She blinks at me turns his head, and starts walking. Doesn't eat breakfast or wait for Brisa to wake up, doesn't wait for me to shoulder our packs. No, it just starts walking down the mountain. I’m not sure Beth is the driving force between its need to hurry or if it is just a rude ass. Arrogance is common in demons; it could be anything really.

  I wake Brisa and make sure she eats. She is much more aware this morning, able to communicate, able to move around, and the awareness is back in her eyes. I breathe the giant sigh of relief glad that at least something is going right.

  We eat some breakfast, taking our time and I wonder if Beth and her demons really will run all the way back to Fae, or at least the human village near the base of the mountain before we can even finish eating and pack up. I will probably be carrying most of the equipment, its true Beth's body is carrying her weapons bag, but that is about it. Brisa can't carry her own bag; she will be barely stable enough to walk herself. Luckily, I am use to roughing it. My job pretty much demands I be used to it…having a contract with a demon doesn't hurt either.

  "Come on Brisa we have to get going. I'm a little afraid to leave whatever's possessing Beth alone. I'm afraid it might accidentally kill someone if they look at them wrong."

  "Then perhaps you shouldn't have put demons inside of her body."

  I sigh. I have a feeling this argument will be taking place on a daily basis until we get her back home. Where she will run away and never speak to me again. If she does it will be to tell me what an idiot brother I am and how terrible I have treated Beth. Newsflash, I already know. But it is necessity, we are doing what we have to do and that is
that.

  “Let's just get going, she took all the weapons. God only knows what she'll do with them.” Brisa sighs but nods and stands. She starts down the mountain and I wonder if it would be faster if we could turn into animals and fly. Too bad Brisa isn't a full-blood Fae, she could carry us both down on the wind.

  I do notice that she is moving much faster than I expected. I look down and see that even though her feet are moving it looks almost like she isn't touching the ground. She is using her powers. That will get us down the mountain faster, but if she truly has a bad concussion that hasn't healed overnight (and since she is not a full-blood Fae I doubt it) that can cause much more damage. I debat telling her we can take it slower, but when I open my mouth she glares at me.

  "Don't say it, Jason. We need to get back. I can have a healer Fae fix me when I get home. This won't be anything permanent. For now, it's less about how healthy I am and more about making sure that Beth and the demons get there in one piece so they can banish whatever it is that Kyle has become."

  I have no response, no response I can give because she is right. I have been the one insisting that it is most important that we do this no matter what. No matter the cost to us individually. It is the whole world that matters now. Beth knows it, I know it, Brisa knows it too. Just because I feel horrible that this innocent girl has been thrust into our world doesn't mean I can change it.

  "You're right."

  I pick up my pace, going almost at a jog, she keeps up but I can see the sweat coming off her brow and pouring down her face more and more with every foot we run. I can't stop, we can't stop. This is our job: get Beth to Solomon's Temple, get the way to banish Kyle, get Beth back to the Fae world. With Kyle loose it is even more imperative that we complete the task sooner rather than later.