Your Dimension Or Mine?

by Cynthia Kimball

  “It would be oh, so, easy,” he whispered, his breath washing over her ear. “I will help you, but you need to do one thing, just one tiny thing. Can you do that?”

  “Mmhmm.”

  “Good girl.” Something soft, a warm breeze, stroked her head. “All you have to do is say yes when I ask you a question. Can you do that?”

  “Mmhmm,” she responded, her mind feeling like mush. What was she responding too?

  “No, no, pet. You need to respond with a yes, can you do that?”

  Slowly she began to move her mouth around. It took all of her energy to do it. “Ysss,” she mumbled, groaning from the effort.

  “Ahh, good girl. Now, I will take you from here the moment you answer my next question. Do you hear me, pet? The moment you answer yes to the next question, they can’t harm you anymore. Ever again.”

  “Mmm,” she said, sighing in hopeful contentment. She didn’t want to feel achy anymore, and her chest still ached. And her ankle was burning. Why was it burning? “Ankle,” she tried to say, but it came out as gibberish.

  “Shh, pet, you don’t need to say anything else. Just say yes to the following, and they will never hurt you again.” His lips touched her ear, and she shuddered even as her ankle burst into flames. “Do you accept your enslavement to me, pet?”

  “Ankle,” she said a little more forcefully. She wanted to grab her ankle and rub away the flames, but her muscles wouldn’t obey. He needed to do it. “Douse the flames,” she murmured.

  “There are no flames, pet. Answer the question. Do you accept your enslavement to me?”

  She heard the words and a part of her brain wanted to say yes in the worst way, but she couldn’t concentrate on that. “Ankle on fire!” she screamed as her muscles seemed to wake up, and she jolted into a seated position, glancing around her even as she rubbed frantically at her ankle.

  Mayir appeared almost immediately dressed in what looked like silk pajamas. “What happened?” he asked looking around. Even as he did, a hiss left his lips. “Orion!” he bellowed and in the next instant, he was gone.

  Groaning, it didn’t take long before the reality of her “dream” took shape. He had got to her; in the place she should have been safest, he found her and almost had her.

  “Thank you,” she whispered as her ankle continued to lightly burn. Immediately, she decided she needed to send a thank you note to the makers of that anklet. Whatever magic they put in that thing saved her butt more than once.

  To say she got little sleep that night was an overstatement. The only sleep she had seemed to be a precursor to Orion’s visit.

  “How did he get in?” Mayir hissed for the seventeenth time since she finally stopped trying to sleep. Once she gave up, she dressed in a pair of dark skinny jeans and a T-shirt of her favorite rock band and

  joined him.

  “I thought he wasn’t allowed here,” she said as she made a bagel and cream cheese appear in front of her.

  “He isn’t. There are barriers put in place to make sure he cannot enter our dimension. These barriers are strengthened daily. Someone is not doing their job.” His eyes darkened and she was glad that look wasn’t for her. It looked as though someone’s head would be on a platter. “Verisha!”

  The name sounded familiar and the moment the man appeared in front of them, she remembered who he was, the first individual she saw on this planet and the one who brought her here.

  He cast a glance at her, smiling, before his smile disappeared and he turned. “Yes, Mayir?”

  With a wave of Mayir’s hand, every window glazed over and a small hum seemed to go through the room. “One of the barriers is down. I need you to check them inconspicuously. Find out who has not been doing their job.”

  “How could that be?” Verisha asked calmly. “And how do you know?”

  “Because Orion came here last night and tried to spirit Arwen away,” he growled waving at her.

  Almost immediately, Verisha’s expression turned to anger. “He came to Zeta? No! His filth will not be allowed!” He looked over at her, and while his expression calmed, his eyes did not. “Are you all right?”

  “Uh, yes? Just didn’t get much sleep.” She wasn’t sure how to respond to him. Who was he that Mayir would call for him?

  Nodding, he turned back and bowed to her trainer. “You will have the zoor within the day.” Mayir once again flicked his hand and the windows went back to normal even as the hum went away. Instantly, Verisha disappeared.

  “Who…?” Ari began to ask, but Mayir stopped her.

  “Do not speak of him. Nobody must know we suspect them.”

  The fact he spoke in her head while he was in front of her rendered her speechless for a few minutes.

  “Terrian will be here within the hour,” he said conversationally as she finished eating her breakfast. “I suggest you go do your preparations for his visit.”

  She took an hour to get ready, not because she needed it. She knew exactly what outfit she would wear, but because her mind kept going off in different directions, and it was hard to concentrate.

  She started soaping up her arms and her mind drifted to the Orion fiasco. Twenty minutes later she found her left arm four inches thick in suds. Then as she shaved her legs, her mind switched to Verisha, and she was abruptly brought out of that thought as her skin burned because she was shaving the same area for the who-knows-how-many’th time.

  After fixing her hair and pulling the cashmere dress over her head, she waited for Mayir to summon her. He told her he wished to speak to Terrian before she saw him to apprise him of the trouble.

  Waiting was not easy. Was he here? How was he reacting? Did the dress make her chest look too big? Should she wear the necklace?

  “Arwen, join us.”

  “It’s time,” she whispered as she straightened the dress even though it didn’t need it and walked out the door. Sure she could have magicked herself down there, but quite honestly she needed the extra few seconds to try and stop the butterflies zooming around in her stomach.

  Chapter Thirteen - Dating Was Easy

  As Ari took the last step into the room, she immediately noticed the four new people. They looked nothing like Mayir and his guards. Whereas the men of Zeta were large, imposing, and radiated a strange purple aura she had come to recognize as their magical signature, the four newcomers looked much more human. If she didn’t look at their uniforms.

  Three of them stood off to the side dressed in charcoal gray pants that looked metallic and yet when they moved, they flowed like material. Their shirts consisted of a light gray weave that looked remarkably like crisscrossing chains. Covering their shirts was a simple black sash that went over their right shoulder. They stood at attention, a helmet tucked under their left arm.

  Leaving them, her eyes fell upon the man standing next to her trainer. Instantly she recognized his face from the picture on the IDS website, but it was so much more intriguing in person. Dark black hair was pulled back into a low ponytail at his neck which emphasized his strong square jaw. From his jaw, her eyes glided up to his lips, which were a deep natural rosy red any woman on earth would kill for. High cheekbones and a straight nose drew her gaze, and for a moment she wondered how he had received the scar that ran from underneath his left eye to his left ear until she finally looked into his silver eyes.

  They were looking right back at her and a smile curved up the corners of his lips. “You are even more stunning in person, Arwen,” he said, a strange and yet alluring accent coloring each word. “The men in your dimension must be very happy indeed if all of your females look like you.”

  “They seem to want us to be anorexic Barbie dolls,” she said in response, immediately wincing at the stupid line. Why had she never learned to accept a compliment? Terrian cocked his head in confusion.

  Mayir snorted, though in all fairness it did look like he tried to hide his amusement. “I have spoken to Terrian about our little problem, and he assures me he is willing to help in any
way he can, and considering the expression on his face, I can tell he means it.”

  Straightening up, Terrian sent him a quelling look, which just made Mayir laugh aloud. “Come, tell Arwen what is being done on your side,” he said as he sat down on his chair.

  Even though he had never once tried to make anyone feel comfortable in the room by getting them something to sit on, Ari wanted Terrian to be as comfortable as possible. Two minutes later a short lavender loveseat appeared as well as three folding chairs near the soldiers. She was quite pleased with her accomplishment until one of the soldiers let out a low chuckle.

  “Stop!” Terrian said sharply and the soldier immediately stood straight and looked ahead.

  “Is there something wrong?” she asked, looking at the three chairs. Then she saw it. One of the chairs was a kiddie chair. “Oops. I’m still learning,” she explained, glancing between Terrian and his men. To her surprise, one of the men opened the kiddie chair and sat upon it, his back straight, feet on the ground and his head held high.

  He turned to her with a solemn expression. “Thank you, my lady. It is rare that one is offered a seat in the house of Mayir.”

  She smiled tentatively at him before turning back. “Sorry,” she whispered. Her mind had concentrated so hard on the loveseat that she barely even thought about the chairs.

  “It was a kind thing to do,” Terrian assured her. “My personal guards are not usually offered such accommodation. For now, though, I must ask them to leave so the three of us can have a private conversation.” The one who had sat down stood up and all three of them saluted him, stomped their right foot once, turned, and walked out of the room.

  That was strange.

  “Shall we sit?” Terrian asked, waving toward the love seat.

  Once she sat down, she was very aware of the man seated next to her. But she was afraid to say something and embarrass herself in front of both men. She was a constant source of amusement to Mayir as it was.

  “I was explaining to Mayir before you came down how my family’s protection works,” Terrian began. “It is not as simple as just electing to protect someone. The protection our family affords its members and guards is granted through a ceremony known as the Ishmara. It is very sacred to us and unfortunately, we cannot just share it with everyone. However, there are things we can do to help you, Arwen.”

  As she listened to him, she took note of the way his voice would lilt on certain words, and how his mouth formed syllables. It was quite hypnotic. She had never met anyone like him before. Unfortunately, her mind was so caught up in what she was seeing she missed most of what he was actually saying.

  “Arwen?” Her name brought her back to the here and now, and she realized she must have missed something.

  “Yes?” Maybe if she tried to pass it off as nothing, Mayir wouldn’t comment.

  “She was too busy gawking at you to listen.” And then again, maybe not. Shooting him a glare, she focused her mind on the here and now.

  “I apologize. What was it you were saying?” she asked Terrian.

  “I thought you and I should spend some time in each other’s company. Once we get to know one another, I might be able to help you learn to deflect magical attack by lending you some of my protection. Once you figure out how to do it, you can then practice on your own.”

  “Oh. Sounds good.” And you, Ari, sound like an idiot. Groaning inwardly, she kept a stupid smile plastered on her face. Maybe there was a dating service for the I-become-an-idiot-around-good-looking-men crowd.

  Terrian held out his hand, and she hesitantly put hers into it, relishing the feeling of his skin against hers when he closed his fingers around her palm as they stood up. Before she could ask where they would go, as she knew Mayir would not give up his stone room, the room disappeared and once again they were in the dirt.

  “Oh, very funny, Mayir!” she called, a rumbling chuckle his only response. She sent Terrian an apologetic look. “Sorry. He tortured me with this vista for two weeks. He has a sick sense of humor.”

  “Well, at least we are alone,” he said with a smile, looking around. “It reminds me of one of the places I take Abriethon.” Dipping down, he dug his fingers in the dirt. “Yes,” he said standing back up. “Just like it.”

  “Well,” she said, wanting somewhere comfortable to sit. “Would you like me to conjure some chairs? Or make some grass?”

  “Whichever you feel up to doing. Or if you don’t feel like it, we can walk.”

  Nodding her head, and hoping she did not make a fool of herself, she closed her eyes and imagined grass. But as Arizona winter grass came to mind, she frowned. It was so sharp and prickly. It would not be comfortable to sit on. Instead, her mind thought of the softness of a favorite stuffed animal from her childhood as she imagined the ground covered in soft green fur-like grass. Slowly, she moved through the steps, making sure she hadn’t overlooked anything, and when she finally opened her eyes she burst out laughing.

  As far as the eye could see, the ground was covered in bright green fur. Kicking off her heels, she rubbed her feet along it. “Yep, just like what I remembered,” she giggled. She glanced at her companion who was smiling.

  “Is this grass on Earth?” he asked, offering his hand to help steady her as she sat down.

  “Not quite. The grass where I come from is prickly and uncomfortable to sit on. So I imagined one of my favorite stuffed animals from when I was a kid. His fur made me think of grass at the time.” Her fingers stroked the ground. “Just like this.”

  “Before we get into what is going on, tell me how you found the Interdimensional Dating Service,” he said, sitting down next to her. It wasn’t until then that she actually noticed what he was wearing; she had been too fascinated by his face. His pants looked similar to jeans, though they seemed more expensive than any jeans she had ever seen. His shoes were dark gray leather and his shirt a dark gray button-down. He just seemed so human and yet, he wasn’t.

  “Well,” she laughed softly. “Did I tell you much about my sisters?”

  “Just a little.”

  Smiling, she told him about her family. “Well, my sister Cory is now almost fifty years old and she and her boyfriend seem happy. It is my sister Jane who is the most different of the three of us. She likes lists and planning and making sure everything turns out just so. Ever since Mom left, she has made it her job to get me married off. You should see some of the weird guys she has set me up with.” As the words left her lips, she cast him a glance underneath her lashes. How many times had Jane told her a major rule was to never talk about past dates with a new one?

  A large smile crossed his face. “Oh, I think I would like to. If they are anywhere near as strange as some of the dates I have been set up on, they are worthy of a story told well.”

  “Tell you what, let’s trade off. I will tell you one and then you can tell me one.” If they shared, it couldn’t necessarily be bad. “I’ll start off with my last Jane-approved date.” She went on to describe Jay, from his beady eyes to his leers, before going on to his ability to chew and talk at the same time. By the time she got to his reference of her adult films—the ones that weren’t adult—Terrian was laughing. But when she ended with the fact she got stuck with the bill, he stopped.

  “The horrid man left you with the bill? No wonder you have not found anyone worthy of you. What a cad.”

  She smiled at his defense of her. “So, what date do you want to start out with? As you have been around for much longer than I have, I’m sure you have some doozies.”

  He leaned back on his hands and thought. “Ah, I know. My mother set me up with the daughter of a friend of hers. Kylea is from the Vilean Dimension. They are a very different race than my own—half my size, and the women have beards and mustaches. The evening was quite disconcerting.”

  The image of a female dwarf having dinner across from him came to mind, and Ari started to laugh.

  “You laugh now. She insisted we go to a restaurant on her worl
d.” He paused, a distinct look of disgust crossing his face. “They do not eat the same things I do either.” He cocked his head in her direction. “When you eat an animal, do you eat the inside or the outside?”

  Jerking her head back in surprise at the question, she immediately answered, “Pieces of meat from the inside of the animal.”

  “Me too. Vileans think that is disgusting. They eat the skin, fur, and tail of the animal. Feet are a delicacy and…blood is considered better than wine,” he shuddered. “Vilean bruckbeast is not palatable.”

  Giggling, she smiled. “I don’t think I could have done it.”

  “Our date was cut short,” he said dryly.

  “What’s your world like?”

  “Ahh, the Delania Dimension is made up of many planets, but as far as I know, ours is the only one that is habitable. Darinth is quite large with three continents. The one I live on is the largest and yet least populated. Our hamlet is the largest one on the planet. The library we live in is right in the middle of the city…”

  “Wait. Library. I’m beginning to think that what you think a library is and what I think a library is are two different things.” Remembering his messages, she was pretty sure of it.

  He raised an eyebrow. “The building you live in is a house, yes?”

  “Well, I lived in an apartment, but a building for one family is a house.”

  “A library is a very large house containing not just living spaces, but also a ballroom, kitchens, guest rooms for dignitaries…”

  “Sounds like a palace,” Ari said, her eyes wide. “Like where royal or really rich people live.”

  “Royal! Yes! My father is the crown prince, as such, we live there. Well, most of us.”

  “You live in a palace and your father is the crown prince…” Her voice drifted off even as her heart went thud. There was no way she had anything in common with a prince. IDS seemed crueler by the minute. Looking straight at him, she grimaced. “I’m nobody, Terrian. A simple girl from a simple town on Earth. I’m not good enough…”