A Familiar Problem

by Sam Cheever

  I’d jump started his heart!

  Not my intended result but better. I’d only hoped to blast him out of the pool. I grabbed his shoulders and shook him, casting quick glances toward the enraged demon stalking our way. “Deg! Wake up, hurry…”

  A silvery light appeared on the air between us and the demon and I sucked air in a surprised gasp. Mabel had finally arrived. And she stood between us and certain death. We were safe for the moment.

  But I needed to get Deg out of there. If Mabel used her magic to hold the monster off, we’d be found. “Deg, come on, you need to wake up.”

  His eyes fluttered and slowly opened. Immediately, he started retching, regurgitating what looked like a couple of gallons of water onto the grass.

  Deg groaned, wiping a hand over his mouth. “What train was I hit with that time?” He shook his head, turning a pain-filled glare my way. “Are you having trouble with the whole ‘don’t use your magic while wearing the bracelets’ thing?”

  “Shut up. I saved your life.” I bristled slightly but his complaining was actually comforting. At least he was alive.

  I was dimly aware of Mabel speaking to the demon, but I was focused on helping Deg to his feet and mostly tuned them out.

  Imagine my surprise when I finally had him upright, leaning heavily on me, and turned to find the Nephilim and the demon standing side by side, glaring at us.

  “Are you trying to kill me?” the demon asked in a tooth-filled snarl.

  I blinked. “Well, yeah. If that’s what it takes.”

  Mabel snorted. I gave her a disbelieving look as she smiled.

  “LA, Deg, this is Abdiel. He works in the catacombs.”

  Deg took a step closer, his hands clenching into fists. “Worked…past tense…because I’m about to kill him.”

  The demon snorted, rolling his round, black eyes. “Pipe down, Witch. I’m on your side.”

  Deg’s aura started to shimmer with silvery light and I grabbed his wrist. “Don’t!”

  Not only did none of us need another fiery explosion, but I was watching Mabel’s body language. She wasn’t afraid of Abdiel. “Is this true?”

  She nodded. “Abdiel is loyal to Trudy. When he found out who you were he offered to help.”

  “Then why were you screaming at us to run from him?” I asked, totally confused.

  “I wasn’t. I saw him coming and realized how you’d take it. I was afraid you’d do exactly what you did. Although, I have to admit the outcome surprises me. Usually someone who uses magic while wearing Reginald’s bracelets ends up in pieces.”

  Shoving that information away to examine later, I skimmed a look toward the demon. “What’s going on? Who’s Reginald and how is it possible he’s able to roll right over Trudy like he did?”

  The demon ran a long, black tongue over his lips, the tip slipping just behind the curved fangs. I barely restrained a shudder. “That’s too long of a story for right now. But the CliffsNotes version is…”

  I held up a hand. “Wait…you know about CliffsNotes?”

  He rolled his eyes again. Apparently, the demon was sensitive and judgmental. “Of course. I don’t live under a rock.”

  I looked at Mabel, shaking my head.

  She grinned. “The demonic realm runs closely to the human realm. The two are actually very much alike.”

  Now that was a subject for another day. “Anyway,” I said, returning my attention to the demon. “Give me the abbreviated version.”

  “Trudy didn’t exactly ask to be queen. She was drafted by Reginald. It didn’t take long for her to realize she was nothing more than a figurehead. Reginald is the force behind the throne.”

  Deg frowned. “Then why didn’t he just become the ruler?”

  “Because it would never be allowed,” Mabel interjected. “Reginald comes from a long line of wizards, known to be cruel and motivated by their own interests alone. He has neither the bloodline nor the temperament to be king.”

  “So why does Trudy allow him to control her?” Deg asked. “If she’s anything like LA and her mother and grandmother, she’s no shrinking violet.”

  I spared him a smile. “That’s true. From everything I’ve heard about my aunt, she was a powerful Familiar, more powerful than any of the rest of the women in our family. She wouldn’t allow Reginald to control her unless…” My eyes went wide as I realized the truth. “He’s poisoned her somehow, hasn’t he? Weakened her to the point where she couldn’t foment so much as a disagreement, let alone a rebellion.”

  Abdiel nodded. “He’s using wizard magics on her. They keep her weak and slightly disoriented. It’s actually a wonder she functions as well as she does under them. It’s a testament to her power. Reginald expected her to be bedridden.”

  “Is there nobody who can help her?”

  “Yes,” Abdiel and Mabel said, almost in unison. “You.”

  Chapter Thirteen

  “Me?” I questioned, shocked. “How?”

  “Reginald has factions at all of the barriers between the dimensions. His plan is to blow the barriers with interdimensional breach bombs and overrun the other worlds. Once he has control of everything, he’ll finish Trudy off and take the throne himself.”

  “That’s why your brothers left,” Deg mused.

  “Yes. Each of them is in charge of one of the barriers. I must go to mine, which is between Axismundi and the demonic realm.” She glanced at Abdiel, whose wide mouth had pinched around his fangs. “Abdiel has agreed to stay and help you free Trudy.”

  “How?” I asked. “We can’t use magic and we have no idea who’s with Trudy and who’s against her.”

  “That’s where my help is needed,” Abdiel growled. He was clearly not happy about it.

  Deg lifted his hands. “We’re not going to be able to do much with these things on. No offense LA but I could do without your ‘help’ as long as you’re wearing them.”

  I shook my head. “Ungrateful Witch.”

  “You almost killed me!”

  “Yeah, but then I saved you again.” I shrugged. In my mind we were pretty much even. Sort of.

  “Almost killing me again in the process.” Shaking his head, Deg glared at the demon. “Unless you know how to remove them?”

  Abdiel’s hand came up and I jerked backward, eyeing the deadly curved claws. He gave me a look. “If you’ll allow me. I’m one of the bracelet keepers. I can remove them.”

  Looking to Mabel for reassurance that I could trust him, I slowly lifted my arms at her nod.

  The demon reached out and touched a clawed fingertip to a bracelet, inserting the tip into a tiny hole I hadn’t noticed before. The bracelet snicked open and fell to the ground at my feet. He quickly dispatched the other one and, after receiving a warning glare from Deg, removed his too.

  We rubbed our raw and bloody wrists. “Those things are diabolical.”

  Abdiel’s eyes narrowed. “Reginald isn’t afraid to use torture to get what he wants. The catacombs were his idea too.”

  I shuddered.

  “I don’t have to tell you that we can’t allow him to gain control of all of the dimensions,” Mabel said.

  “Not quite all,” Abdiel reminded her.

  She sighed. “We’re not sure about that though, are we?”

  “What do you mean?” I asked.

  “The Heavenly dimension should be immune to his power. The gates have withstood all kinds of attacks over the millennia. They absorb the energy from each attempt and become immune to it for the next time. Wizards attempted to breach it three thousand years ago.”

  “Then it should be safe,” Deg posited.

  But Mabel didn’t look convinced.

  “What aren’t you telling us?” I asked.

  She sighed. “Reginald is part Dark Faery. It’s the reason his power is so great and his magic so nasty. The Dark Faeries have never tried to breach the Heavenly barrier...”

  “So, it might be enough to turn his wizard magic into a viable weapon,” I f
inished for her.

  We all stood in silence for a moment. Then Mabel’s head came up. “But it won’t be a concern because we’re going to stop him.” She gave us a sad smile. “I must go.”

  Abdiel’s head swiveled, his black gaze going wide. “They come. We need to move.”

  Mabel touched Abdiel’s arm. “Keep them safe my friend. And I promise to protect your people.”

  He inclined his head. “I’ll hold you to that promise, little Nephilim.”

  As Mabel dissolved in a soft burst of light, Abdiel pointed to the falls. “Behind the falls there are passageways…”

  My head was shaking before he finished the sentence. “I’m not going back inside that mountain.”

  He shook his head. “We don’t have time to argue. In about ten seconds they’re going to round that bend in the road and see us.”

  Deg grabbed my hand. “Come on, LA. If he tries to take us back to that hell hole you have my word I’ll help you blast him to dust.”

  I skimmed the demon a glower.

  He simply shook his head. “Move it!”

  We started running, the demon striding quickly behind us. He hadn’t been lying. We’d barely ducked beneath the thick wall of pounding water and spray before a large contingent of Reginald’s soldiers rounded the bend.

  We found a spot where we could watch them at the edge of the falls, obscured by the rising mist where the water hit the pond.

  They stopped near where we’d been standing, one of the guards crouching down and picking up our discarded bracelets. They conferred for a moment and then one of them pointed toward the falls, the three in front gesturing wildly. They seemed to be arguing about something.

  “What are they doing?” I asked Abdiel.

  He sighed. “This area is protected by light magic. Trudy’s followers were able to ward it off before Reginald got full control. It’s the last bastion of positive energy in the place.”

  Something in the tone of his voice made me glance his way.

  The demon’s red face had gone pale. He was shaking and his skin was oily with sweat. His craggy lips were pinched around his fangs.

  “What’s wrong?”

  He lifted his hands. “I’m stained from my exposure to Reginald. The warding is trying to expel me.”

  He dropped to one knee and leaned over, panting around a low groan. “It’s like acid sliding over my skin.”

  The guards suddenly broke into movement, heading directly toward the pool.

  I looked at Abdiel. “They’re coming. What should we do?”

  He shook his head, dropping down to the other knee and doubling over in obvious pain. “They…won’t…come…inside…” He broke off, his jaw tight and his breath coming out in ragged moans.

  Reginald’s soldiers stopped at the spot where Deg, Abdiel and I had landed when I’d blasted us from the pool. The grass was mashed and mangled there.

  I watched in horror as their gazes slid toward the waterfall. “They know we’re in here.”

  Abdiel gave off a long, groan and fell to his side, writhing on the rocky ground.

  “We need to keep him quiet,” Deg said. He placed a hand over the demon’s head and silvery light suddenly bathed it.

  Abdiel cried out.

  The soldiers’ gazes shot toward the exact spot where we hid. One of them started moving. He certainly looked like he intended to come inside. He was mere yards from the edge of the falls when I panicked. He was showing no signs of being affected by the warding.

  “He’s coming in!” I told Deg.

  Deg’s head came up. “Shift!” he whispered harshly.

  I didn’t hesitate. I immediately grabbed my shifting energy and yanked it forward. Running toward a small gap in the cave wall, I leapt toward it just as I heard heavy footsteps on the rocky floor. The world slanted, reshaped itself and turned gray and black. My feet hit the floor just inside the opening, landing with a soft plop I doubted anyone beyond the gap would hear.

  I dug in and ran, my feline form low and fast in the small passage. Scents I hadn’t noticed before assailed me. Sounds exploded in my sensitive ears.

  The soft plop of heavy paws behind me stayed close and the sough of breath on the air was a steady, comforting song.

  Deg was right behind me in his canine form.

  We reached a turn in the passage and I screeched to a stop, panting with fear as the walls seemed to close in on me. I tried to breathe through the sudden panic, not sure what had initiated it.

  Flashbacks of my days in the catacomb cell made my fur stand on end. I hissed softly as pain twisted in my belly.

  Deg dropped to his haunches and looked at me, his sleek Greyhound form, much larger than mine, seemed to strain the boundaries of the passageway. If anyone should be feeling claustrophobic it was him.

  But he seemed calm. His golden-brown gaze settled on mine and a warmth infused me, coating the panic with a muffling energy.

  He’d used our common energy pathway to send me calming magics. It was something we’d only recently discovered we could do.

  Thanks, I told him tentatively.

  By mutual, silent consent, we went very still, listening to the voices growling back and forth from the cave.

  “What are you doing here, Abdiel?” A gruff voice asked.

  “I…I thought I saw the escaped prisoners come in here.”

  “Are you stupid? You don’t have my special protections. You must be in agony.”

  “I’ve had better days. A little help would be appreciated.”

  “Reginald will want a report. No one else has set eyes on them.”

  The inference was clear. Abdiel was going to be grilled. He might be locked in the catacombs. Because he’d helped us.

  I felt bad for the demon but he clearly had known what he was signing up for when he’d volunteered to help. I’d ask Mabel about helping him later. Right at that moment we needed to get someplace where we could return to our human forms.

  Deg climbed to his paws and gave me a long look, then he started forward, plodding down the passage that would lead us deeper into the mountain.

  I bounded after Deg. The only way out of the current mess we were in was through it. At least we were finally moving under our own steam.

  Eventually the passageway began widening. Ahead of us, the route was growing lighter, hopefully indicating an open cavern. Figuring it was probably flooded with the light of some kind of moon or stars, I didn’t get overly excited.

  I realized Deg was getting ahead of me and hurried my steps. In his canine form he was fast and agile and his legs were five times longer than mine. I made a mental note to test my shifting magic. Maybe I could shift into something with longer legs next time.

  The thought made me smile.

  The passage continued to brighten as we moved through it. My sensitive feline perception gathered information as we ran.

  Fresh air, filled with the scent of flowers and growing things infused the musty stench of the passage. I could also smell the characteristic musk of a variety of wildlife. Smoke. And water.

  My tongue came out to scrape across my dry lips at the thought. I was dehydrated after my time in the catacombs.

  I shook off the thought and concentrated again on gathering information. The dead echoes of our paw-steps in the passage had been a constant since starting off. But ahead I heard sounds that indicated openness. There was a roar, the sound of water falling, and I had a sudden fear that we’d circled around and were back inside the catacombs.

  Behind the roar of water, birds were singing. There were no birds in the catacombs. And the air was much cleaner than in that horrible place.

  I honed my hearing to move past the roaring water.

  I heard the scrape of something over rock.

  A small creature rustled softly through the brush.

  And someone spoke…

  My pulse shot up. Almost at the same time, Deg and I slammed to a halt.

  We crept slowly forward, keeping
close to the walls. The air grew increasingly warmer and moist. The rock beneath our feet grew slick with moisture.

  Just as before, the smell of the water drew us forward and, as we stepped into a small cavern that was much too similar to the one in Trudy’s garden, we found ourselves looking at a shimmering wall of water, falling with a power and an energy that drove deep into my chest, echoing the beat of my heart.

  Deg and I shared a look. By unspoken agreement we shifted back and moved to a spot just inside a rough-hewn opening in the rock.

  We waited, listening, for evidence that people were near. And when we heard no one we stepped behind the roaring curtain of water.

  We stood on the slick ledge and stared out at an incredible sight. A park, baking in the heat of a bright sun that hung in a cerulean blue sky.

  In the distance was a recognizable pond. People sat at tables and lay on blankets in the shade.

  Children played with toy boats in the water.

  I turned an incredulous gaze toward Deg. His brow was knit in a frown. “It can’t be,” I told him.

  He shook his head. “There’s only one way to find out.”

  He stepped forward and I heard the taut ping of a magical barrier being breached. I pulled air into my lungs and followed him out from under the falls. The electricity of the energy barrier stung me briefly, like static electricity dancing over my skin as I pushed through.

  Then I was standing in a blinding sun looking out over Illusory Park. The forest stood sentinel over the spot around us, its well-known scents and smells like balm to my jangled nerves.

  Deg bent down and picked up a pile of clothing, showing me a shirt and jeans. “Is it possible someone knew we were coming?”

  I took the clothes from him and pulled them on. He did the same.

  We’d barely buttoned up before someone called our names. My head jerked up and a smile formed on my lips. “Is this a trick?”

  Deg gave a short bark of laughter. “If it is we’re both being fooled. I see them too.”

  I took off running, shrieking with laughter, and slammed into Brock’s arms, squeezing him tightly as Deg grabbed Mandy and swung her around.