Crocodile Queen

by Phil Armstrong

  The Crocodile Queen smiled, breathed deeply, and sipped the jasmine tea allowing the strong sunlight to wash over her face. She had to admit her dress was pretty, but the things on her feet were impractical, garish, and uncomfortable. She didn't miss the weight of her sword, and felt light, free, yet vulnerable in what for her was an unusual style of dressing. Despite the lack of protection, she felt calm, unusually safe, which was a feeling she'd not felt in a long time.

  Images flashed through the Crocodile Queen’s mind, slain bloody monks, karcons, devlins, wood sprites, Jean, witches, crocodiles, the monastery. Her life was a shambled mess, she’d always tried to project an air of calm, calculated control, but she missed Jean desperately, and wanted him so badly to be by her side, instead, she had two naive, but well-intentioned kids. The old woman in Mong Kok, on the Kowloon side of Hong Kong harbor, she knew, these kids were full of potential, she recognized the power of their gifts gained through their lineage, but they'd be lucky to realize their full potential.

  "OK, it’s time to go. I'm starting to get too comfortable here and that's when complacent mistakes are made," the Crocodile Queen rose from her chair, struggled to balance in her heels, regained her composure and marched out of the lobby defiantly. Ally wondered if she would look back to see if she were following her, but she didn't. She headed straight to the elevators, nodding politely to the staff and attendants stationed within the lobby area. Not a word was spoken in the uncomfortable ride up to their suite in the elevator, Ally replayed the sequence of events back in her head wondering if she'd done anything wrong. As they exited the elevator and headed down the hallway to their room, the Crocodile Queen suddenly stopped, she stooped down to release her feet from their tight restraints of her fashionable shoes, "Get these damn things off," she mumbled, as she perched precariously on one heel supporting her weight with her hand on a hallway wall. She continued to pull at her shoes.

  "Have I done anything wrong?" inquired Ally, slightly bemused by the struggle that unfolded before her.

  The Crocodile Queen finally managed to release her foot, holding the beautiful red-bottomed shoes in her hand, "No, not at all, I'm just angry and it’s all starting to get to me. This has to work, the letter, the cryptic verse, it all has to work out or Kaan ... " she didn't complete her sentence. "We can't fail on this mission, it’s a lot of pressure, I know I need to be strong, and that's why I'm angry. I'm stronger, and more determined when I'm angry." It was a good line, but Ally wasn't buying it. For the first time the events were getting to her, she wished Jean were here to reassure her, she wished Kaan were fighting by her side. Her teacher and mentor at the monastery had been slain, the old woman in Kowloon was too scared to openly help her, and she was saddled with two willing but inexperienced kids. What if this letter was a dud? What if she couldn't find a solution to this riddle? Where was the necklace containing the amulet? What if this was a quest for fool’s gold? What if she couldn't release Kaan? How would she live with herself, knowing she’d failed so many? It was all starting to get to her, but she had to remain strong, optimistic, and defiant, for the sake of these two kids, who Elora would make short work of.

  "Come on,” said Ally, “let's get back to the room and update Dan." The Crocodile Queen had dropped a few inches in height, as she walked barefoot towards their suite. Ally towered over her, elegantly walking toe-to-heel style in her posh shoes.

  The next hour was spent updating Dan on what happened in their meeting and what they'd learned. Dan was inquisitive, he asked numerous detailed questions, Ally grew tired of providing the answers, but the Crocodile Queen was more patient, as if taking the time to answer in detail provided a welcome delay from returning to the task ahead.

  "So now we wait for this package at the front desk, and we go from there," Dan said, stating the obvious.

  Ally smiled sweetly, "Yup, that's what we do Dan."

  Dan scratched his head in dismay, “Tell me something, how are we supposed to crack this riddle? and do it quickly, when this Mr. Flash character, with all of his resources couldn’t solve it?”

  “Because Mr. Flash never managed to travel back in time and talk to Ethel, did he? Ethel’s the only person in history that’s studied this mystery as much as Mr. Flash. If we combine their knowledge we should be ok,” Ally sounded sure of herself; she didn’t want to dwell on the task at hand, feeding Dan’s doubts and insecurities. It was a silly discussion as Dan was super talented at solving puzzles and riddles.

  The Crocodile Queen disappeared into one of the bedrooms, after a few minutes she emerged wearing more comfortable clothes, "I'm going to take a quick nap, conserve my energy while we’re all safe, you two stay close, don't leave the suite, do you understand?"

  Dan pulled a face, the Crocodile Queen approached him quickly, "Listen to me, this is not a game, don't get comfortable or sloppy, it will cost you your life, or hers," she pointed to Ally while holding onto Dan’s stare. "Elora is one nasty," she stopped in mid-sentence, "well, let’s just say she'd have no qualms making you two suffer, and it doesn't matter to her where you are in this world, or any other world, that's why you need to stay close to me, got it?"

  "Yes," muttered Dan, knowing he'd received a bit of a dressing down.

  "Good," she said, walking into the bedroom and closing the door behind her.

  "Dan, she's acting like this to protect us, you know that, right?" Ally flicked her hair from her pretty shoulders. Dan noticed again how beautiful she looked in her dress and heels.

  He nodded reluctantly, "You weren't there Ally, and she forgets that I've fought in bloody battles, killed raging Karcons, I’m not a kid."

  Ally's voice lowered to a whisper, "Come on Dan, I don’t know, but I don’t think their nastier than some dark evil spirit witch bitch, remember what Elora was doing to your body through your dreams, imagine what she’d do to you if she got access to you for real. Dan, just listen to her, I think she knows what she's doing, and she's trying to help us." Ally then tried to change the subject, "I wish I could keep these," she sighed looking at her shoes, "but I get the feeling that I can't." Ally headed into the other bedroom, "Wait here and don't move," Dan resented being told what to do. Ally returned wearing a white tee shirt, tight blue jeans and white socks; Dan thought she looked just as appealing.

  The afternoon drifted by slowly with Dan and Ally chatting about school, life, the Dream Cane, his past adventures with Raj, and Kaan; they tried to watch some local television but the programming in Hong Kong seemed weird to them. Eventually, the Crocodile Queen emerged looking refreshed from her nap, the conversation returned to James Mason, finding the necklace, deciphering the cryptic clues, and their impatience. They questioned Mr. Flash a couple of times, their position swaying from total confidence that he would deliver the letters to a brief fleeting position that he would deceive them and ignore the order’s warning.

  Dan glanced at the time again, it was displayed prominently in the top right-hand corner of the television screen showing the news channel where they’d muted the sound. The time displayed was 5.05pm, the blinding sun had moved steadily across the harbor, it was now obscured behind a wall of glass, shelter provided by another high-rise hotel facing their suite. "It's time," Dan pointed to the television.

  "Well Jessica," Ally stood to address the Crocodile Queen, "shall we get our package from the front desk?"

  "Let’s go," responded the Crocodile Queen, with a hint of uncertainty.

  Dan continued to stare out across the busy bay of the harbor of Hong Kong. The boats continued to traverse the channel of water oblivious to their visit and the darker side of this world.

  The Crocodile Queen paused, "Let's go,” she said again, “all of us," she led the way with Dan springing excitedly from his chair.

  The elevator ride to the lobby was excruciating, as Dan stared at his feet trying to work out why the Crocodile Queen was nervous.

  The high-pitched chime alerted them to their imminent arrival at the lobby level, the
Crocodile Queen was the first to exit the mirrored elevator bank. She didn't wait for the others, she immediately walked across the polished marbled lobby, and past the sofas adorned with waiting guests, past the doors attended by young men in smart uniforms and approached the check-in reception desk. A young man peered obliviously into his monitor before jerking to attention as the Crocodile Queen glared, annoyed at his lack of promptness, "How can I help you?" he managed to blurt out under pressure.

  "There's supposed to be a package for me - Jessica," the Crocodile Queen sounded mildly irritated.

  The young man turned and examined the wall of wooden shelving behind him, he retrieved a bulky envelope and read the label stuck to its cover, "Jessica," had been printed by hand across the label. He turned and offered the envelope to the Crocodile Queen, just as Dan and Ally caught up and approached from behind.

  The Crocodile Queen snatched the envelope; she was surprised at how heavy it was. She walked briskly to the right of the check-in desk, loitering near the tall silver and glass railing overlooking the tea lounge. She opened the envelope hurriedly inspecting the papers, hand written notes, and another smaller envelope with older documents that had a different odor to them. She glanced around the lobby and inspected the lounge, that's when she noticed two men sitting in the lounge below staring at her perched high above them. The lounge had emptied, the two men were not drinking or eating anything, they just simply sat and observed. One of the men moved his chair backwards so he could observe her better, his position made it awkward to converse with the other man. It made no sense. They stared at her and quickly glanced away trying to conceal their apparent interest and intent. They casually pushed their chairs back as if to stand and leave the circular table.

  The Crocodile Queen became very suspicious, she couldn't tell if it were the reflection of the strong sunlight bouncing off the water or a trick played by her eyes, but she saw something that wasn't right. The man furthest away from her pushed himself from the chair to stand, in doing so, his body shape seemed to flicker. It was fast, and so subtle to the untrained eye, most people wouldn’t have noticed it. When you've encountered, fought, and killed, as many demons as the Crocodile Queen has, you learn to see them hiding in plain sight.

  She couldn't explain it, it was like a sixth sense, she didn't have time to explain it. Their faces, their haircuts, their shapes, their mannerisms, and of course this shape shifting flicker was not a trick of the light. With every cell in her body she just knew, "Quickly," she barked, "follow me, now!"

  Without looking at the men, the Crocodile Queen rushed to the elevators, followed quickly by Ally and Dan. Once inside the elevator, the Crocodile Queen pressed her room’s keycard against the scanner, selected her floor and stood silent. A small Japanese woman had entered the elevator, she smiled politely as the doors closed. The Japanese woman had selected the eighth floor; they all waited for her to exit, which she did, slowly, laboriously, and painfully, "So what's all the rush about?" inquired Ally.

  "We have to leave Hong Kong right now!" the Crocodile Queen sounded unusually spooked, "those men in the lobby, they're demons, and they're here for us. We're in grave danger now, I don't know how they found us, but we have to leave, and I mean now." The panic that flashed through the Crocodile Queen’s eyes was so intense both Dan and Ally obeyed without question.

  Dan could sense her urgency, "Too right, let's get the hell out of here."

  Once out of the elevator they ran to their room fumbling with the electronic keycard that opened the door, "Grab only what you absolutely have to, we're going back to Westtown, your realm."

  "I thought you said that's dangerous for us all?" inquired Ally, a notable amount of concern running through her voice.

  "They're expecting me to run to a safe place, like Crescent Island, I can’t go there right now, I can't risk being tracked by the demons. Besides, if we're going to solve this cryptic riddle, shouldn't we use your modern technology?"

  Ally glanced at her silk dress laid out neatly on the bed next to her expensive shoes; she shook her head in disappointment. They gathered in the living room as the Crocodile Queen folded the large envelope in half, tucking it into the back of her pants. She extended her arms, Dan and Ally each grabbed a hand, the Crocodile Queen closed her eyes as the drapes started to flap wildly, a strong wind swirled around the luxurious suite. The room was flooded with a bright golden light easily drowning out the natural light from the windows. The room appeared to swirl in a circular motion around them and they simply vanished leaving behind a faint trace of their existence in the residue energy.

  * * * * *

  The Fifth Realm - Earth

  Chapter 9: Going Home.

  Westtown, Pennsylvania, U.S.A.

  “Not going home is already like death.”

  It was 7.20am in Westtown, Pennsylvania, when Dan's bedroom suddenly flooded with a bright crimson light, creating a small tear in the fabric of time. The Crocodile Queen, Dan and Ally, all arrived in Dan's bedroom in and instant. Dan and Ally were momentarily confused, their brains swirling, filled with crimson fog, both Dan and Ally were gripping the Dream Cane tightly. They returned as they had left. The Crocodile Queen stood over them both, she was fully alert and cognizant, "Ally, listen to me carefully," the request seemed to snap Ally back to reality, "take Dan to the coffee shop where we met, I will meet you in the coffee shop. We need to study this letter carefully, we must solve this riddle." The Crocodile Queen placed her fingers under Ally's chin, gently lifting her face to stare deeply into her pretty eyes, "Do you understand me?"

  Ally struggled to snap herself back to full consciousness, "Yes, yes, the coffee shop. I got it," stammered Ally, letting go of the grip she had on the Dream Cane, and resting back on her heels.

  In an instant the Crocodile Queen was gone, she just vanished right before their eyes. Dan was also starting to come to, he quickly opened his wardrobe door and stored the Dream Cane safely away, "To the coffee shop," he said, looking at Ally.

  "Yes," she said somewhat reluctantly, her eyes still full of crimson fog. Both Dan and Ally grabbed their school backpacks. They hastily left the apartment, before Liz’s return, they headed to the coffee shop as quickly as they could. Westtown was starting to wake up on a sleepy Sunday morning, the occasional car hummed along the quiet streets. Birds chirped loudly, as if to welcome the warming rays of the morning sun. They cut across the narrow streets, crossing roads, and winding their way towards the park, adjacent to the coffee shop’s location. They were close enough now to recognize the store’s signage, a man was holding the door open with one hand while balancing a cup of coffee in his other hand. He exited the coffee shop as Ally crossed the quiet street leading the way. She grabbed the door’s handle giving it a firm pull before entering the small cozy cafe. Immediately the welcoming smell of freshly ground coffee beans, and richly brewed coffee, welcomed them both inside. Dan darted his eyes around the store as he inspected each table, "She's not here yet," he whispered to Ally, they both approached the counter. A smartly dressed woman in her thirties looked up from her task of cleaning the chrome on the coffee machine.

  "Good morning, what can I get you two?"

  "Two large coffee's, both with milk, one with sugar please," Ally took control of the order while Dan glanced at the door, "sorry, I forgot, can I get a bottle of water with that as well please, my friend will be joining us soon?" Ally retrieved her wallet from her backpack and slid a $20 dollar note across the counter.

  "Sure-thing honey, take a seat, and I'll bring them over to you with your change" the lady said, pointing her nose in the direction of the small empty tables.

  It wasn't long before she arrived with the coffees and water, "This one has the sugar," she said, tapping one of the mugs and leaving Ally’s change on the table.

  "Where is she?" Dan was starting to fret, he kept turning around and staring at the door.

  "Relax, drink your coffee, she'll be here when she’s ready. You have to admit, she has
n’t let us down yet, has she?" Ally tried her best to calm Dan's nerves, but she felt the first pangs of anxiety starting to rise within her chest. She took a long sip of rich warm coffee, she let it flow into her mouth savoring the strong complex taste and inhaling the rich odor into her nostrils, "Relax," she whispered to herself, loud enough for Dan to hear it. They sat in silence for close to seven minutes sipping their coffee.