Daniel Taylor Between Two Worlds

by Monica Davis

  As she had every afternoon over the past few days, Vanessa sat with James and Danny’s mother at the Taylors’ kitchen table. Anne’s face was buried in a handkerchief. She continued to blame herself for failing, not only as a wife but also as a mother. James had put his arm around her and was trying to calm her down. “Anne, it’s not your fault that he ran away.”

  Ran away … that was what Anne believed.

  James had asked Vanessa not to tell Anne the truth for now, both to avoid upsetting her unnecessarily and, more importantly, to avoid putting her in danger. “If Daniel’s in the underworld, and I think that’s likely, then we can’t do anything about it,” James had told her in a rare unguarded moment. “I can’t get him out of there.” Vanessa also suspected he was there, as she hadn’t seen Marla since the day of his disappearance. James and Vanessa hoped that he’d come back soon. But as the days went by, this became less probable.

  The school vacation was over, and Anne had called in sick for Daniel. She didn’t go to work, either. Vanessa had told Mike that she didn’t want to talk about Daniel just then, that they weren’t going to see each other for a while so that they could work out their feelings. But when she thought of Daniel, she couldn’t help but cry.

  Vanessa couldn’t describe how much it hurt her that Daniel had gone away without even saying goodbye. At night when she closed her eyes and tried to sleep, she saw Sirina lying on top of Danny, kissing him. He’s probably having fun down there! she thought angrily. But she tried to keep her emotions in check. Anne had it worse than her. After all, she was abandoned twice — first by her husband, then by her child. Nevertheless, Vanessa felt like someone had torn her heart out of her chest. She missed Danny, she blamed herself for their fight, and she was afraid for him. Over the past few days, she had done plenty of research on the Internet, had questioned James closely, and had absorbed all the information she could about demons and the underworld. Most of it was terrifying. Vanessa kept dreaming about Danny and waking up crying. They weren’t pleasant dreams. Danny had looked horrible, with a distorted face and glowing eyes and horns growing out of his head. She didn’t want him to transform into an evil soul-sucking creature.

  She missed him dreadfully …

  Anne blew her nose into her handkerchief, then said to James, “He wanted so badly to meet you, and I kept putting him off. Why couldn’t I just tell him that he’d see you soon?” She looked at him penetratingly. “I don’t want to hear any more excuses!”

  James ran a hand through his hair. He had been doing this all evening, and it was becoming increasingly disheveled. He was really quite an attractive man, and the resemblance to Daniel was so strong that the tightness beneath Vanessa’s sternum became almost unbearable when she looked at him for too long. Danny had inherited his father’s tall, slim figure and his green eyes. The coal-black hair must have come from his demonic mother.

  When James didn’t answer, Anne stood up and went over to the telephone that hung on the wall next to the refrigerator. “I want to talk to Officer Thompson. We have to do something, James! I can’t sit around uselessly any longer — and you’ve been no help at all.”

  Vanessa knew that Rhea Thompson was an acquaintance of James; like him, she worked for the same underground organization. Not twenty-four hours after Daniel’s disappearance, she had presented herself at Anne’s house as a police officer who had supposedly been notified by James.

  Anne picked up the phone and was about to dial the number when James came up behind her and took the receiver out of her hand.

  “Anne, the police can’t help us.”

  “But why not?” Anne’s gaze shifted between James and Vanessa. “I can tell that you’re hiding something from me!” she cried. “What is it? Is it Danny? Did they find him? Is he dead?” She broke down sobbing in front of James, who was just able to catch her. He lifted her in his arms and carried her into the living room, where he laid her on the couch.

  Vanessa followed them, noticing only then that she, too, was crying. She was so afraid for Danny! Maybe the demons had done something to him, and he really was dead!

  No — she mustn’t think that way.

  “He’s not dead, Anne, don’t even think that.” James covered her with a checkered blanket and sat down beside her. He stroked her blond hair, but then pulled his hand back quickly. “It’s … complicated, and I don’t know how exactly to explain everything to you. But it’s time you found out.”

  “So he is dead?” she whispered, looking at James through her tears.

  “No!” James propped his elbows on his knees and put his head in his hands. “I don’t know how to start … From the very beginning, I guess.” He looked over at Anne, sighing. “Many thousands of years ago, there was a group of druids were capable of magic. They were powerful sorcerers with superhuman abilities. Some of them used their powers for good, but others succumbed to the temptations of evil and abused their might to corrupt the rest of humanity. Those magicians grew ever more wicked and ruthless, and so a war broke out. In order to continue to corrupt humans and rob them of their vital energy, they created their own kingdom deep underground. From then on, the two groups were locked in battle with each other: demons and watchers. Demons are basically a race of humans that long ago split off from the family tree.”

  Anne was staring at him as though he wasn’t quite right in the head. “Why are you telling me this, James? I don’t want to hear a fairy tale — I want to know where my child is!”

  “I’m coming to that,” James murmured, his eyes lowered. He turned toward Anne but didn’t meet her eyes. “I lied to you back then, when I said that Daniel’s mother had disappeared and I couldn’t take care of Daniel because I traveled so much for work.”

  Anne raised her eyebrows. “And?”

  “Well, Daniel’s mother … she was … murdered.”

  Anne’s eyes widened. “James! That’s terrible!” She sat up and moved closer to him, taking his hand. “Did the police catch the killer?”

  “No, I … the police would have thought I was crazy if I had told them the truth; you won’t believe me, either.”

  Vanessa had perched herself in an armchair and was raptly listening to James’ story; many of the details were new to her.

  “Well, tell me, already!” Anne was fidgeting impatiently.

  “Daniel’s mother — Kitana was her name — well, she was …” He took a deep breath. “… a demon.”

  Anne burst out laughing. “Yeah, right!” She scowled. “That’s enough! I’m calling Officer Thompson!”

  Vanessa felt compelled to say something. She jumped to her feet and grabbed Anne’s arm before she could even stand up. “James is right. Danny’s half demon, I can confirm it!”

  Anne slumped back down on the couch. “You’re pulling my leg, the both of you.”

  “No, unfortunately, we’re not.” James gently laid a hand on her shoulder. “Just hear me out. Do you remember that I went to a different school than you and Peter?”

  “Of course,” Anne whispered. “You went to boarding school.”

  “Yes, but it wasn’t just any boarding school. I was trained as a watcher.”

  “A watcher?”

  “I’m not an ordinary human, Anne. Neither is your son. Look.” James stretched out his hand, and a staff of bright light formed within it.

  Vanessa gasped. Anne blinked rapidly, her mouth hanging open, until James made a fist and the rod of light vanished.

  “Wow, that was a great trick!” Anne smiled, and James shook his head despairingly.

  “Something else, then,” he murmured, standing up. “Give me your hand.”

  “Another trick?” Anne got up and reached a hand out to James while Vanessa looked on, spellbound. No sooner had their fingers intertwined than they both disappeared with a quiet “pop.”

  “What?!” Vanessa shot up from her chair. “Where are you?” She groped at the empty air around her, but no one was there.

  A few seconds later,
she heard another “pop.”

  Vanessa spun around. Anne and James were standing behind her, arms wrapped around each other.

  Vanessa ran over to them. “What happened?”

  “W-we were … standing in the middle of a desert!” Anne let James lead her over to the couch. Anne shut her eyes and leaned back. “Am I dreaming?”

  James pulled her into his arms, and her head sank onto his shoulder. “You’re not dreaming. We were just in the Mojave Desert. I can translocate — it’s something like beaming on Star Trek. Because I’m a watcher.”

  Beaming? “Wow!” Vanessa exclaimed.

  James turned to her. “Could you get me something to eat? Translocation requires an awful lot of energy.”

  In fact, James looked exhausted. The circles under his eyes were much darker than before.

  Vanessa hurried into the kitchen to make him a grilled cheese sandwich, but kept an ear out for what James was saying to Anne: “You can’t imagine how much I wanted to tell you the truth when we were kids. But I couldn’t. I swore an oath.”

  Vanessa peered briefly into the living room. There was a faint smile on Anne’s lips. “You were always the unattainable fairy-tale prince for me.”

  James was also smiling. “Not the spoiled rich kid?”

  “That, too.” Anne’s cheeks reddened as she looked at James.

  Vanessa would have liked to leave the two alone. It was obvious that they felt drawn to each other. She rushed to make the sandwich, not wanting to miss any details of the story. She placed it on a plate, grabbed a can of beer, and hurried back into the room.

  James gratefully took the sandwich and devoured it in a few bites.

  Anne sighed. “I’ve never seen Daniel do any magic.”

  “His powers have only just emerged,” James said, placing the empty plate on the coffee table and opening the can of beer. “That’s why I made sure to give you that cellphone number. I had to know if anything unusual happened.”

  “He had been so quiet recently,” Anne whispered, closing her eyes. “I thought it was because of Peter and me.”

  “He didn’t want to upset you,” Vanessa interjected. “After all that you’ve been through.”

  Anne cleared her throat and turned back to James. “What have you been living off of all these years? Have you been working?” The questions just poured out of her. “And where exactly have you been? I tried to get an address for you, but you were nowhere to be found. Not even your parents could tell me where you were. When there was an emergency, when Danny was sick, you were right there. Were you living in hiding at your parents’ — no, you beamed here, isn’t that right?”

  James nodded. “Yes. I also translocated here to secretly visit my parents. They had to swear not to reveal my whereabouts to you. Most of the time, my parents didn’t even know themselves. I’ve been on the run this whole time — from the demons, but also from the Guild.”

  “Why from the Guild?” Vanessa asked.

  “I can’t trust anyone.” James lowered his eyes. He finished his beer and went on. “I’ve lived here and there. Europe, Australia, even Africa. I earn my living by doing translations. During my watcher training, I learned a number of ancient languages. It’s been very useful. I offer my services on the Internet under a pseudonym, mostly to museums, and the pay is good.”

  “What were you doing when you were in Cairo?” Anne asked. “Or were you not really there at all?”

  “No, I was there.” James nodded thoughtfully. “I was in the last year of my studies. I was working in a little group led by one of my professors, excavating a pyramid. We were looking for magical artifacts. For one in particular …” He hesitated for a moment, as though he didn’t want to tell them the rest of the story. “We were searching for a scepter.”

  Anne scooted closer to him. “Why?”

  “It was supposed to be a very powerful artifact. With it, you could rule the world.” He sighed. “I found it.”

  Vanessa froze. Anne sat up straight and looked at James. “Then what happened?”

  “I was young and stupid, and I activated it on my own. This alerted the demons that the scepter had been found. A demon appeared before me, a lovely young woman with a baby in her arms. She warned me of the danger. We fled together and hid the scepter somewhere else. That was nineteen years ago. The Watchers’ Guild cast me out, but I didn’t care. I was so in love with Kitana that I scarcely had eyes for anything else around me.”

  Vanessa noticed that Anne had tensed up. “Kitana. Daniel’s mother?”

  James nodded. He stroked Anne’s arm gently. “I could tell you much more; it would take hours to fill you in on everything. For example, there’s a certain prophesy made by a demonic oracle. Kitana said that one day the scepter would save her child, and that’s why she hadn’t destroyed it. And I haven’t, either.”

  Anne sat up ramrod straight. “This scepter will save Daniel?”

  James nodded. “I think so. Kitana learned this from the oracle shortly before she fled from the other demons. She had just given birth to a daughter. Her husband wanted to kill the baby, because he didn’t want her to ascend to the throne one day. Her name was Marla.”

  “Marla?” Vanessa gasped. “I know her!”

  James’ mouth fell open. His face went as white as a sheet. “What?”

  Vanessa’s heart raced. “It’s true!”

  “Marla … She’s alive?!” he choked out.

  “Yes.” Vanessa nodded.

  “Are you sure?”

  “Completely sure. We’re … well, we were … not exactly friends, but I know her. If I had only known this all before … She was the one who tracked Danny down to bring him back to the underworld. Why didn’t I tell you this sooner? Danny told me that she was his half-sister!” Vanessa had been so fixated on Daniel that she had forgotten everything else.

  James jumped up. “Marla’s alive!” He paced through the room like a caged animal, running a hand through his hair. “I always thought they would have long ago …” He gave a deep sigh. “I just assumed that Marla was …” James’ voice broke and his eyes swam with tears as he looked at Vanessa. “I’m so happy she’s alive. Do you know where she is?”

  Vanessa frowned. “No, unfortunately. Since Danny’s been gone, she’s disappeared.”

  There was a brief silence until Anne finally cleared her throat. She looked at James, and he continued his story. Kitana’s demonic husband Obron had wanted a boy who could be heir to the throne, and therefore Marla had to go.

  “Her own father wanted Marla dead?” Vanessa interrupted. “Why is she still alive, then?” Something about this story didn’t add up.

  “That wasn’t the real reason. It actually had to do with the scepter and Kitana’s past.”

  Instead of explaining about the artifact, James pulled a silver chain he wore around his neck out from beneath his shirt and showed Anne and Vanessa the little oval-shaped amulet on it. There was a red stone in the middle that looked like an eye. “If I ever take this off,” James told them, “I’ll become visible to the demons. It’s the only reason I am able to be here with you at all right now. As long as I wear the eye of Horus, I see the creatures differently. They emit a kind of red aura. When I visited Daniel in the hospital for the blood transfusion, his aura was a light orange. He isn’t fully transformed …” James turned to Anne. “You weren’t allowed to tell Daniel that I wanted to see him because all the underworlders are mentally linked to one another. They would have been able to find me despite the amulet, and then they’d torture me to discover the scepter’s hiding place. The artifact must never fall into their hands.”

  “Torture?” Anne whispered, squeezing James’ hand.

  Vanessa would have liked to learn more about the magic amulet and the scepter — what made it so important for the demons, for instance — but James was moving on.

  “After we had once moved on, Kitana created a portal to get the computer I had left in the hotel room we had been previously
been in. At least, that’s what she claimed, but it was really just an excuse; that became clear to me later, when I found my laptop at the bottom of my suitcase. Kitana gave the amulet to me and Danny, who she left with me, so that the demons wouldn’t discover our new hiding place. She had other reasons for leaving …

  “But Marla, who was supposed to remain with us, ran after her — the little girl always clung to her mother. I hadn’t yet mastered the art of translocation, and I blamed myself for what happened next.” James lowered his head. “Just when Kitana was about to get back — she had already created the portal — several demons in long, grey robes were suddenly standing behind her and Marla. They must have detected her activities. One of them grabbed Marla from the portal. And then … then I saw one of the demons walk up to Kitana and set her alight with a blue fire. The portal instantly closed. I had always assumed that Marla had perished as well.”

  Anne was staring at James. It was evident that she couldn’t quite come to terms with what she had just been told.

  James was looking at the floor. His hands balled into fists, he sat down next to Anne and cleared his throat. He looked very sad. Anne stroked his hand for a long time, then stood up, trembling. “I think I need a drink.”

  After Anne had disappeared into the kitchen, Vanessa leaned over to James and whispered, “What do you think the demons want from Danny?”

  James said quietly, “According to the laws of succession, he’ll be the next Overlord.”

  “Yes, he told me that, but he said that he refused.”

  “I don’t really think they ever would have accepted him as the Overlord, so I have to presume that they want something else from him.”

  “The scepter.” Her heart was beating wildly.

  James nodded. “At first, I thought that they would kill Daniel because his blood is impure, but after you informed me that he had returned from the underworld unscathed … Kitana once told me that the scepter must never fall into their hands. Into anyone’s hands, not even the watchers. The temptation is too great for anyone, even for those who are pure of heart. The scepter radiates a dark magic that can corrupt anyone. It grants the bearer unimaginable power, multiplying his or her own powers many times over.”