Nomadin

by Cormier, Shawn P.

  "I've just got to have it!" Windy hauled on the string as if trying to land a prized fish. "It's amazing!"

  "Stop it!" came another shout from the other end of the string.

  "Windy! Let go," Ilien demanded. "We don't have time for this."

  Windy yanked hard on the string and fell back as out from the window sailed a very belligerent—kite?

  "I said let me go!" it screamed as it tried to pull away.

  Kink shot to his feet, his canine face creased with delight. "A parakite!"

  The door to the cabin burst open and the hulking form of the Giant emerged, knuckling sleep from his eyes. The shrieks of his wife blasted out the open door. "You tell those dogs of yours to keep it down or I swear you'll be sleeping with them on a permanent basis!"

  The Giant looked in surprise at the scene before him. "What the—Hey! Let go of my parakite!"

  "Run!" Kink yelled.

  Kink and Ilien were halfway to the last dog house when Windy screamed. Ilien looked back. The princess stood below the window surrounded by a litter of magical plates, pictures and candlesticks, still clutching the string, and the parakite was dive-bombing her in an attempt to break free of her clutches.

  "Let it go!" Ilien begged her. "The Giant is right behind you!"

  Windy released the magical kite just as the Giant's two massive hands closed around her waist.

  "Gotchya!" But the Giant's relief soon turned to disappointment as the parakite floated up and out of his reach.

  "I'm free!" it shouted. "Free! Free at last!" It flew higher, twirling and circling in the air. "You'll never catch me now! Never!"

  The Giant watched in disbelief as the kite disappeared into the flat, grey sky. "Come back," he pleaded. He wiped away a tear and his face tightened in rage. "Now look what you've done! You've lost my kite!" He lifted Windy into the air, his brow knitting in anger. "You're gonna pay for this." He turned a hot gaze on Ilien and Kink. "You're all gonna pay for this!"

  The front door to the cabin flew open with a bang and out strode the Giant's wife, larger and hairier even than the Giant himself. "Look at this mess!" she screeched, her fists clenched in fury like two hairy war hammers. She shook them at her husband. "I've had it with you, mister! I've simply had it! That's it, out it goes, all of it!" She stormed about, picking up the magical items strewn around the yard. "And look at that window! First it was that stupid kite, then the dogs, now that, that Nomadin boy! Well no more! It's all going in the trash. All of it!"

  The Giant watched his angry wife with a panicked look on his stonewall face.

  "Now get over here and clean up this mess. Right now!" she screamed. "You just wait until I get my hands on you. You've had it!"

  Kink crept back over to the Giant, his tail tucked between his legs. When the Giant glanced down at him, the massive dog curled into a pitiful, shivering ball.

  "Move it, mister!" His wife stood with her muscular arms crossed upon her bulging belly, a hairy, bare foot tapping the ground in staccato. "Well, what are you waiting for? You're in enough trouble as it is, so stop your lollygagging and come pick up the rest of this junk at once!"

  The Giant cast a distressed look at the empty sky and gave out a loud sigh.

  "If you don't come this instant you can sleep out here with the dogs!" his wife shouted. Her feet picked up their tempo. "In a dog house!" she screamed.

  A smile suddenly lit up the Giant's stony face as something in him seemed to snap into place. He set Windy down. He placed a hand on Kink's head and scratched him tenderly behind the ear.

  "Come on boy," he said. "It's alright. Come on." Kink looked up, his tongue quivering in fear. "That's a good boy. Don't be afraid. Come on. Let's go."

  "And where do you think you're going?" his wife screeched as she watched him walk toward the row of rundown dog houses. "Fine! Go then. Sleep with them forever, for all I care!"

  The Giant turned to Windy and Ilien as he passed. "Well, aren't you coming?"

  They both stood frozen, unsure of what to do, but the Giant's wife stepped forward and they followed quickly after Kink.

  "Goodbye dear," the Giant called back.

  "Goodbye? Get back here! Who's gonna clean up this mess?"

  The Giant knelt down and reached a thick arm into the dog house. It almost didn't fit.

  "Frankly my darling, I don't give a—" His image froze. His hulking form blinked once, then disappeared.

  "No!" his wife cried. "Anselm, come back! Don't leave! I'm sorry!"

  Next, Kink threaded his way into the dog house and vanished.

  Ilien looked back at the Giant's wife as she began to sob. When she saw him staring at her, she renewed her screeching.

  "Get out of here, Nomadin! You're to blame for all this. I knew you'd be trouble. Go and good riddance!" She stooped down and picked up a magical item to throw at him.

  Windy tried to wait and see what it was, but Ilien quickly pulled her back and into the dog house.

  Chapter XII

  A Shadow in the Dark

  Ilien ran around inside the spacious dog house half-expecting bells and whistles to sound off. But to his surprise nothing happened. He scratched his head. For some reason he was still surrounded by plank boards and the unpleasant smell of wet dog.

  "I don't think it's working," he said, pressing himself against the back wall and staring at the entrance. At any moment he expected to see the craggy face of the Giant's wife peeking through the doorway.

  "You don't think what's working?" Windy asked, a bit too loudly.

  "Sshh!" Ilien whispered. "This! Look around. We're still in the dog house."

  Windy lowered her voice. "Considering that's what we're actually in, I'd say things are working just fine."

  Ilien crept forward, trying to peer outside. "No. You don't understand. This is a magical dog house. It's supposed to take us to the Swan, wherever that is."

  "A magical dog house?" Windy looked around as if she'd suddenly found herself in a grand cathedral. "You don't say." She glanced back at the open entrance way. "You don't suppose she's still out there?" she asked, seemingly oblivious of their predicament. "Boy, was she mad. I just wish you hadn't pulled me back so soon. I might have caught whatever it was she was throwing at us."

  Ilien shook his head and stared out the door, wondering what to do next. Maybe there was a lever he had to pull, a button he had to push, anything. He glanced about the spacious interior.

  "Maybe I should peek and see if she's still out there," Windy offered. "I bet I could grab that magical talisman she threw. It must be right outside the door."

  "No!" Ilien pinned Windy with a stern look. "No peeking, and no grabbing."

  "I'll peek if I want to," she replied. "You can't tell me what to do."

  "Fine. Go ahead and stick your head where it doesn't belong. But don't come crying to me if the Giant's wife is right outside, waiting to snatch you the way a hungry bird plucks a worm from its hole."

  Windy looked back at the gloomy entryway, her face suddenly drawn with concern. "You think so?" she whispered.

  "Peek out and see."

  That was enough to quiet Windy for the time being.

  "Why are we still here?" Ilien wrung his hands in exasperation. "Why are we still in this god-awful dog house?"

  "Maybe you have to tell it where you want to go," Windy said, still peering out the door. She looked back at Ilien. "You know, like a carriage driver or something."

  Ilien shot her a sharp glance.

  "Well I don't hear you coming up with any bright ideas," she said.

  Ilien shook his head, but despite his misgivings he tried it anyhow, just to quiet her again. "Take us to the Swan," he announced. Nothing happened. He cast another bothered expression in Windy's direction.

  "I wouldn't take you either," Windy huffed. "Rather rude, I'd say. Try it again and try to be more courteous, why don't you."

  Ilien moaned.

  "Well how would you like it if—"

  "Okay," he sa
id, holding his head in his hands. "God, you're something else." He cleared his throat to address the dog house once more. "Will you please take us to the Swan, please?"

  "Pretty please," Windy coached.

  "Pretty please," Ilien said through clenched teeth.

  Nothing happened.

  "Oh well, it was worth a try. Courtesy never hurts, my Aunt Olive used to say."

  "Oh for crying out loud." But before Ilien could continue berating the princess, she cried out in delight.

  "Look! Look at the doorway. It's changing!"

  The same flat grey that hung like paper above the forest now filled the entryway. Yet somehow a pale light still lit the inside of the dog house. As they watched, the grey gave way to black, littered with a glittering of tiny stars. Soon a myriad of bright, multicolored lights speckled the entrance. Tiny orbs of red and yellow glowed here. Pinpoints of blue and white shined there. Though it looked exactly like the night sky above Ilien's house, it was oddly disturbing.

  "What do we do now?" Windy asked, hovering closer to Ilien.

  Ilien shrugged and pulled away. "Maybe you should peek and see what's out there."

  "Will you please stop? I think this dog house has made you a bit cranky."

  Ilien had no response. He was too busy studying the starry entrance with a strange fascination. There were two red suns in the center of the doorway that seemed to be looking in at him, like two ruby eyes. Now and then they twinkled as if they were blinking. Their presence began to make him feel uneasy. The air inside the dog house grew uncomfortably warm and he pulled at his collar and swallowed.

  Something wasn't right. The ruby eyes appeared larger than they had been a moment before. The feeling of uneasiness grew into fear, but Ilien couldn't seem to take his eyes away. Caught in their spell, he was only vaguely aware of Windy talking to him.

  "Ilien. What are you doing?"

  The ruby eyes began to pulsate, swelling in size, drawing him deeper into a trance. A numbing fear swept over him like a cold wave, but still he was helpless to turn away.

  "Ilien?"

  He closed his eyes and cried out weakly. Windy grabbed his arm and spun him around.

  "Ilien. What's wrong? You're trembling."

  "There's something out there," he whispered, opening his eyes.

  The princess backed away in fear. "Ilien! My god, your eyes!"

  "What? What's wrong with my eyes?"

  "They're red. They're blood red!"

  Ilien clutched at his eyes in panic, spinning to face the entrance again. The ruby eyes were gone. Staring back at him were his own brown eyes. He reached out a trembling hand. The eyes widened as they watched it approach. Then they swiveled back and fixed him with an angry glare. Ilien tried to pull his hand away, but couldn't.

  "Ilien!" Windy's shout sounded as if it came from somewhere outside the dog house.

  Ilien, came an echo from the eyes. Ilien sat frozen in fear as the eyes drew closer, growing larger. Ilien, they whispered.

  "Ilien!" He heard Windy's voice again, hushed, receding, as if calling to him from somewhere above the surface of a still lake as he drifted slowly to its murky bottom. The eyes followed him downward into the shadowy depths. Deeper he descended, darkened silence closing in around him, but the eyes, always the eyes were there, sailing down with him, their soft, brown glow just visible above him.

  Windy's voice called to him once more, almost imperceptible now. "Ilien! Can you hear me?"

  Can you hear me? the eyes whispered. The darkness deepened around them. There is no reason to be afraid. Come closer. The eyes drifted nearer, swelling like flooded pools as they approached. Closer, they urged.

  Soon they hovered so close above him that Ilien could see an image of a man reflected in their glassy surface, a man with glowing eyes, streaming hair as black as cinder, skin grey as ash. Long, black robes hung loosely around his lean frame. It was an image not wholly unfamiliar. It wasn't until Ilien reached his own hand to his face that he realized the reflection was somehow his own. He pulled his hand back in fear.

  Do not be afraid. Look deeper.

  The eyes pressed closer, pupils dilating into two black pits. A distant light, like the flicker at the far end of a tunnel, shone in their depths. Ilien felt himself walking, packed earth beneath his feet.

  Deeper. The sound of the eyes reverberated down the length of the tunnel. Go to the light. I have something to show you. Ilien's footsteps echoed in the darkness. The light grew brighter as he drew near its source. Come closer. Do not be afraid. Behold!

  Ilien exited from the shadows into the bright light of day. He stood at the base of a low, wooded hill. Behind him a tunnel stretched away into blackness, bored into the green earth. He knew where he was immediately.

  "This is Southford."

  He jumped back in surprise. He heard the words come out of his mouth, but the voice was not his own. "This is the hill behind Parson's farm," he heard himself speak again, his voice deep and commanding.

  Do not be afraid, echoed his real voice from the cave. There is something you must see.

  Ilien spun around but the tunnel remained empty. He caught a glimpse of his hands, held in fists before him. They were the hands of a man, lean and hard. He looked at himself in awe. Black robes hung loose around his shoulders. He was tall, his long, lean legs clothed in tight, black pants, his feet in black leather boots.

  "Who am I?" he asked, still afraid of his own voice.

  I will show you, his real voice said from within the cave.

  Ilien peered hesitantly into the shadows. He still could see no one. "Who are you?"

  I will show you that too. Trust me. I will show you everything. But first you must go to your house.

  "My house," Ilien repeated in his deep, man's voice.

  Yes. I will show you everything.

  As Ilien walked the stony trail leading from the cave he became aware of the unearthly silence surrounding him. The air hung heavy and still. The raucous calls of the crows that normally roosted in the tall pines around Parson's farm were absent. Even his footsteps on the thick carpet of dead leaves beneath his feet were silent.

  He moved out from beneath the forest canopy and into a freshly tilled field. He breathed deep the sweet smell of earth mixed with decay. Everything looked different from the unusual vantage point of a tall man. As a boy he would have walked with his head bent to the ground, searching for stones to throw, or sticks to use as makeshift swords. Now the earth below his feet seemed so distant, less important. He glided forward with long, easy strides, head up, eager to arrive at his destination. What before would have taken thirty minutes was shortly completed. He stood before his house, outside the fence surrounding the front yard.

  For a moment he thought it odd that he hadn't seen a single soul as he had walked along. The hired hands Farmer Parson would have had toiling in his fields, the ever-present town folk traveling the road, even the cows normally grazing by Parson's pond, all were missing. He was completely alone, as if he was the only living being left in the entire town.

  Do not be afraid, soothed the voice of a child in his ear, his real voice. This is your home. Go inside. There is nothing to fear. Go inside. You will see.

  But Ilien could not move. He stood with his man's hands gripping the fence, staring at his house. A sense of dread stole over him, like the feeling he had one summer after he had broken Farmer Parson's window with a stone. He had stood outside the fence until supper time then, afraid to enter his house and tell his mother what he'd done. Now as he looked at its familiar façade, that same fear returned.

  There is nothing to fear, the house seemed to whisper, the second story windows staring at him blankly. Ilien found himself trembling, his knuckles turning white as he gripped the fence. All your questions will be answered. Open the gate. Come inside. To the study. There is something you must see.

  "What is it?" Ilien asked, startled again by the sound of the man's voice he spoke with.

  You are con
fused. You have questions, his real voice answered. You want to know who you are, who I am. Inside you will find the answers.

  The gate swung silently open beside him.

  "No!" Ilien jumped at the fierce shout from his back pocket. "Don't listen to him. Go back!" yelled his pencil.

  The front door flew open. Framed in a pale light stood the unimposing figure of Gallund.

  "Stop!" the wizard cried, raising a hand in Ilien's direction. "Go back, Reknamarken. You have no power here. Your strength has grown but you are still imprisoned. You are only a shadow. Nothing more!"

  Ilien stood dumbfounded. Gallund was looking directly at him. Sudden movement from the second story window caught his eye. He looked up to see his mother peering down, her eyes aglow with a strange, red light.

  You are wrong, Nomadin, came Ilien's real voice from the air around him. I am free. I have always been free.

  As quick as a cat his mother moved back from the window.

  "Flee, my boy!" Gallund shouted, looking past Ilien. "You mustn't let them catch you!"

  Ilien's mother appeared behind the wizard. Gallund spun to face her, stepping forward to block her way. The door slammed shut behind him, leaving Ilien all alone, still gripping the fence around the front yard in clenched hands.

  "Do not be afraid." His real voice spoke again, but this time not in his ear. It came from somewhere behind him. He spun around.

  A boy with soft, brown eyes stood staring at him, arms crossed, smiling—an image of himself so perfect that Ilien stepped back in alarm.

  "Who are you?" he asked.

  "You heard the wizard." The boy's eyes narrowed. "The question is, who are you?"

  The front door to Ilien's house opened and the sound of his mother's voice spilled into the yard.

  "Ilien! Ilien!"

  His mother was hurt! Without thinking Ilien jumped the gate and ran for the house. Halfway there his mother appeared in the doorway, eyes ablaze, hands on her hips. Her hair stood out like a frightened cat's. Her lips stretched thin and angry across her face. When she saw Ilien she softened her expression. She forced a smile, and tried to pet down her disheveled hair.