Crocodile Queen

by Phil Armstrong

  The spider appeared for the briefest of moments before it sank its fangs into Kaan's finger injecting its venomous load directly into a small vein just below the surface of Kaan’s skin. Kaan felt a small stabbing pain and immediately dropped the book onto the wooden podium. He didn't make a sound; he raised his hand and stared at the two small puncture wounds that appeared on the side of his smallest finger. Within seconds he felt dizzy, nauseous, and a strange tingling sensation swept through his body.

  Kaan managed to register some faint sounds of concern before his world turned dark, and he felt suspended in a state somewhere between sleep and consciousness. He wasn't dead, for he could still think and reason, but he'd lost his sense of sight, smell, and hearing. He couldn’t move, or feel any muscle in his entire body, in fact, he couldn't feel anything at all, and perhaps he was dead?

  A few of the monks heard Kaan drop the book, as he started to stagger around uncontrollably. It was obvious from his sudden appearance and demeanor, that he was unwell. He flailed his arms around wildly, trying to desperately regain his balance, and then he stopped abruptly. It was frightening to watch as he literally stopped moving, as if frozen, like he was suspended within the timeless still of a movie frame or immortalized within an oil painting by a Dutch master. Kaan’s body was upright, it looked like rigor-mortis had inflicted his body, the other monks leapt to Kaan’s assistance, it was then that they noticed his face, hands, and skin, had started to change into a hardened state. At first it appeared to be hard skin, then it changed again to a porcelain-like appearance, before solidifying into stone. Panic spread as the monks decided what they could do, they stared at a stone statue of Kaan, so heavy it was virtually unmovable. Evil forces were at play, penetrating the sanctuary of the monastery; the elders were suspicious and gravely concerned. A few examined the book, impatiently snatching it from each other while desperately searching to find a key to this mystery.

  The room fell strangely silent, before the stone room’s large wooden doors burst open in a crescendo of guttural growls, two ferocious Bayerhold's charged through the doors indiscriminately attacking the monks. One of the beasts stationed himself at the door to repel any fleeing monks, the other pounced upon anyone that moved, mauling them mercilessly with his bulk and sheer, raw, power. It was clear to any witness that the beasts would kill everyone in their path. The monk’s resolve had been softened with ale, the lateness of the hour, and the calming spell they’d unwittingly sung together; they were no match for the rampaging beasts. Together, the Bayerholds savaged their prey easily, showing no mercy. One of the younger monks fought bravely, grabbing a broken shard of wood that had separated from a smashed chair leg. He jabbed at the Bayerhold forcing his snapping jaws backwards temporarily, the beast backed up and diverted his attention to an easier target, attacking an elder, cowering in fear, against a nearby wall. The fight continued, with the beasts moving in for their final kills. The young monk used his training as best he could, he tried to remain calm and take stock of the scene unfolding before him. The Crocodile Queen had trained the young monk in the art of combat, he could hear her voice echoing through his head, "Survey the theatre of war."

  Two monks were still fighting, one badly injured, with one about to die from a fatal bite to the neck. No weapons were brought into the stone room, only broken tables and chairs could be used. No escape route was allowed, except for the double wooden doors guarded by the beasts. “Calculate the odds of survival, slim. Form a plan,” the young monk recited, he watched in horror as the bodies of the remaining monks fell to the ground and the beast’s attention turned to him. He felt his grip tighten upon the broken chair leg; he glanced at the stone statue showing Kaan frozen in that awkward pose. The beasts attacked together squaring up to him, readying themselves for one last fight. His mind was racing but he knew the odds were not in his favor; he couldn’t stay and fight. He dropped his improvised weapon and reached for his necklace. A golden coin was suspended from the young monk’s neck, held by a thin golden chain, he grasped at the coin, holding it between his thumb and index finger as he concentrated as hard as he could. Fueled by intense fear, he focused on the Crocodile Queen's pretty face, forming her image in his mind. The beasts decided to charge, running at full speed towards the brave slim-framed monk. As they moved in for the kill they seemed startled and confused as monk’s robes shook violently then simply disappeared into thin air. No one was left alive to witness the amusing sight of two startled and confused Bayerhold's crashing head first into a solid stone wall.

  The young monk had finally harnessed his gift for dimensional travel, this gift was extremely rare, he'd been assigned to the Crocodile Queen to study and develop his talents further. The monastery elders had secretly hoped he would develop into a master, like the Crocodile Queen, capable of fighting evil across realms and dimensions. The Crocodile Queen was the most talented master alive today in this discipline, and it was clear the young monk still had a lot to learn. He’d demonstrated natural raw abilities, but was a long way off mastering the technique sufficiently to control his emotions, energy, and focus. He respected the Crocodile Queen immensely, but he feared her reputation.

  She'd taught him well, sacred artifacts were known to harness energies from their storied past, owners, and surroundings; over the last year they’d worked upon summoning this powerful vibrational energy and using it, controlling it, and amplifying it. How could he summon the energy from deep within his body and use it to push his spirit through the physical world, allowing him to enter other spiritual realms. He knew it was possible, and he’d heard stories and legends of monks dedicating their entire life towards this pursuit, often without success. It required an extreme amount of meditation, total focus, and flawless control of your internal energy. One day he became disillusioned with his inability to breakthrough into another realm, there were some small signs of real improvement, lots of encouragement, but it wasn't enough for the impatient young monk. He’d demonstrated with hard work and constant practice, an ability to summon energy, concentrate it, and harness it. These were the steps required to move into another realm. The final step involved relating this summoned energy to a driving force or strong emotional feeling from within. This feeling could only be explained as a passion, an all-consuming feeling, like revenge, jealousy, fear, or perhaps the strongest and most reliable feeling, love. The monk had never loved any woman; he had no family, and found it difficult to make the necessary internal connection to enable the final step.

  After a long arduous meditation session, where he'd given all that was asked of him and shown great promise, the Crocodile Queen decided to try something different. She presented the young monk with a golden coin, suspended by a thin gold chain in the form of a necklace. He was shocked and delighted.

  She wanted him to focus his energy, to consciously change the natural resonating pattern of his body’s energy. He’d never managed to create enough emotion, passion, or feeling, required to physically transport. The fear coursing through his veins at the sight of the marauding beasts had shown him in an instant what the Crocodile Queen was trying to extract from him, what she was looking for, and the level of intensity required. The gold coin the Crocodile Queen had gifted to him originated from the days of the Roman Empire, cast in Firenze, Italy, on Earth, within the Fifth Realm. The Crocodile Queen had intended to give it as a gift to her lover, Jean, a crusading French Knight from the same realm.

  She had reluctantly succumbed to a greater need, as the coin would allow a point of focus for the young monk, hopefully to make that necessary connection. The coin was one of an identical pair; its duplicate was suspended from the neck of the Crocodile Queen. She would never admit it, but she’d grown to like and respect the young monk and cared deeply about her mentorship role required to assist him in developing his potential. She knew the closer he got to realizing his ability to jump realms, the more danger he would be in, attracting the attentions of the dark underworld forces. He was a good student, and
she saw his face, and his reaction, as he initially winced and cringed visibly when he was assigned to her for tutelage. He'd been ridiculed and teased about it by the other monks, to his credit, he’d progressed steadily and taken direction without question. He'd completed every assignment and never shirked his responsibility. She knew his preferred role model was Kaan, and he secretly longed for Kaan’s respect. To protect him and preserve his fledgling talent, she’d decided to give him the coin. The Crocodile Queen was a supreme white witch; she’d cast a spell upon the coin. If the young monk managed to jump realms, the coin would channel his direction, enabling him to transport directly to Crescent Island, her home.

  The coin had a storied history; it had witnessed war, love, greed, malice, and revenge. It could tell stories of the most powerful and foolish people throughout human history. The coin had changed hands as a gift, been stolen, betrothed, sold, auctioned, and smuggled, during its checkered past. Once, it had become separated from it pair, only to be reunited decades later by an avid collector, a Benedictine monk who’d gifted the coins to the Crocodile Queen as a token of gratitude.

  One of these powerful coins now hung around the neck of a young, inexperienced, and petrified monk, now staring at two blood-thirsty Bayerhold's about to pounce. In an instant, he was transported to Crescent Island, Bardonia, in the Sixth Realm.

  * * * * *

  The Crocodile Queen had already left her home and returned to Earth, the Fifth Realm; she was in Westtown planning her approach on how to re-engage with Dan and Ally. She suspected they may be under reconnaissance and a careless naive approach could put both kids, and herself, in immense danger. She'd decided to watch Ally's movements for a couple of days, to establish that they were not being watched. On this visit, the Crocodile Queen was dressed in more modern, darker clothes, as she tried harder to look more inconspicuous. She waited outside on the street watching the entrance to an older building made from red brick, she hoped that Ally would emerge soon. She scanned the street cautiously, she searched for anyone trying to look casual, and attempting to blend in. She was starting to feel that her heightened paranoia was unfounded and unjustified.

  It was a subtle feeling at first, but the Crocodile Queen’s skin that touched the coin suspended from her neck seemed to react, it started with a mild tingle, and progressed to a burning searing sensation, the coin eventually became uncomfortably hot. She had warned the young monk about abusing the extraordinary privilege the coin afforded, it was only to be used when she was present, and they were training, or in the case of a real life-threatening emergency. If it was abused, the Crocodile Queen threatened to take the coin back. The coin had heated to a point it was now burning her skin, she reached upwards towards her collarbone to separate it from her exposed skin. She held the coin between her cold hands and realized the young monk, if he were successful, would now be waiting for her, at her home on Crescent Island. She shook her head, hoping this wasn't a foolish act or silly prank. If she travelled back to her home, to find a sheepish, naïve, young monk, beaming with foolish pride about his ability to transport for the first time, she would be livid. He was going to receive the sharp end of her tongue, the sniggers from his fellow monks when he was assigned to her initially would soon be validated.

  Calming her initial anger, she allowed another thought to scamper through her mind, what if the monastery had been breached? What if this was a legitimate cry for help, an emergency? The young monk would have been perfectly safe housed within the refuge provided by the Monastery of Light, why would he have activated the coin? He must have been frightened badly to successfully activate the coin. Now she was worried, what's happened to the monastery and what's happened to Kaan? Was he at the monastery or was he travelling? She knew the monks stationed at the monastery, some of the elders were martial arts specialists, but they were older. A wave of panic washed over her, 'I have to go,' she mumbled to herself, rubbing the coin suspended from her neck.

  The Crocodile Queen transported into the Grand Hall of her residence on Crescent Island, her sudden appearance startled Atheria who was perched upon an antique chair wondering how she would receive a young monk, newly arrived at the castle, and demanding to see the Crocodile Queen, "Oh good, I'm relieved your back. I've just been informed of a visitor, a monk, he’s insisting that he gets an audience with you to relay vitally important news." Atheria seemed relieved; there was no need for her now to pretend to be the Crocodile Queen.

  "You’re back early though?" she inquired.

  "Yes, because of this monk; I fear he’s the bearer of bad news, perhaps he brings a more pressing situation than protecting Dan and Ally? Let's bring him in and have a chat with him, but you can’t look like me, that will freak him out. I need you to change back to another form. He can't be exposed to two of us, that would just confuse matters."

  “Do you know this monk?”

  "Yes. I know the monk, we can trust him,” the Crocodile Queen appeared agitated.

  "Hear him out, but remember, there’s nothing more pressing than protecting Dan and Ally. Do not introduce me as Atheria, and don’t expose the existence of my race; in fact, don’t introduce me at all, I’m going to blend in as a servant.” Atheria instantly morphed into the shape of a slender woman, dressed in plain servant’s clothes, a disguise that Atheria had previously used when she needed to be anonymous.

  The Crocodile Queen walked briskly towards the doors of the Grand Hall, she glanced over her shoulder observing Atheria who assumed her new role by arranging water jars on a large table at the rear of the hall. The Crocodile Queen opened one of the doors to be greeted by two large Ricar guards; they prevented a frightened, nervous, and pacing monk, from entering the hall. With a wave of her hand the guards stepped aside obediently, allowing the monk to enter. She waved him forward into the room and he duly obliged following her instructions. The monk was so nervous he failed to notice the spectacle of the Grand Hall or even acknowledge the existence of the young servant girl working at the rear of the hall.

  The monk focused his attention on the small child-like girl that greeted him, she wore a long, woven-silk, gold colored, shimmering dress adorned with crisp white lace cuffs, "Where’s the Crocodile Queen?" he inquired. There was something about the area around this child’s eyes that was strangely familiar, but this girl was not the disciplined, strong, mature, fearsome warrior, who had mentored him at the monastery.

  "Yes, it’s me,” she said, in a high-pitched voice of a child, “I can take this child-like form when I visit this realm, I change my appearance for my own protection." The monk interrupted her abruptly, a nervous bundle of frenetic energy.

  "Rose, really is that you?”

  “Yes, why are you here, why did you activate the coin,” inquired the Crocodile Queen.

  This familiarity opened the floodgates, “We were attacked, they're all dead," he stuttered quickly, forgetting to breathe.

  "Calm down boy," she hissed, "come in and sit down, then you can tell me all about this unfortunate matter," she said calmly, trying to reassure him.

  He followed her instructions sitting with his back towards the servant girl, "Two beasts attacked us from within the monastery, they were too powerful, they killed everyone. I managed to get the coin to work, I was the only one that managed to escape."

  "Calm down, how did the beasts get into the monastery?" The Crocodile Queen kept her anxiety under control as she tried to calm the stricken boy.

  "I don't know, they just burst through the doors as we sang hymns. Kaan, I forgot about Kaan!" He repositioned his weight nervously, knowing how close her friendship was with Kaan.

  "What about Kaan?" she inquired, pulling the sleeve of his robe and demanding his full attention and focus.