by M. L. Ryan
“Are you all right, carisa?” he implored. Gently taking my face in his hands, he furrowed his brow. “Why are you wet?”
I leaned into his caress. “I’m fine and some old woman spit water all over me.”
Alex nodded and glanced at his mentor. “Stomach problems, I assume?”
Sebastian offered me an “I-told-you-so” look and repeated what he’d gleaned from the guards. “She was just about to tell me about the episode when you arrived.”
They both sat back and eyeballed me with expectation. I opted for the abridged version, mostly because I didn’t want to deal with Sebastian knowing the erotic details. “I fell asleep, and Doc Martens tried to bust into my dream again.”
“Tried?” Alex repeated.
“Yes, he was doing his best to get in, but something stopped him.”
Sebastian narrowed his eyes and asked, “What would that be?”
“Rufus.”
16
The dog wagged his tail when I said his name, but remained on the floor with his head between his front paws. He looked a little played out himself.
“Explain,” Alex and Sebastian ordered simultaneously.
And I did. When I finished, both Xyzok surveyed Rufus with a mix of suspicion and gratitude. Well, actually, Alex looked mostly grateful while Sebastian’s expression showed he wasn’t quite buying my story.
Sebastian eyed Rufus warily. “So you contend that this animal scared the Dekankaran away?”
“I’m not sure,” I replied after some thought. “He might have just forced me to wake up, but he knew I was in trouble.”
As though he was aware we were talking about him, Rufus sat up and inclined his furry head.
“Curious,” Alex said quietly. “Most curious indeed.”
I pushed in the retractable footrest and leaned down to pat my canine protector. “What more proof do you guys need? If Rufus were in cahoots with Doc, he wouldn’t have helped me. Plus, this means if Rufus sleeps with us, we don’t have to stay in the safe room anymore.” Alex and I had continued our arguing about him sleeping somewhere else. He didn’t want to leave me “unprotected,” and I didn’t want him to be depleted by exposure to the more concentrated praseodymium.
Alex tapped his chin. “I’m not convinced Rufus did anything more than react to your discomfort.” I opened my mouth to voice my objections, but Alex held out his hand to silence me. “However, regardless of why he did it, if he can wake you and prevent Doc Martens from making any additional forays into your subconscious, he can be useful.”
“Alexander, I’m not certain I like where this seems to be going,” Sebastian protested. “Besides, the dog didn’t stop Doc Martens from getting into her dream—he just made him leave.”
“Look, I can’t continue to stay in the safe room. It was designed only to house the generals for a very short period of time. While the chamber’s ability to drain power may be advantageous as a means to force bickering leaders to make important decisions, in this case it is decidedly less propitious.”
Sebastian snorted. “There is no need for you to take sole responsibility for guarding her. We can trade off. That way there will be time to recover between shifts.”
“Not that I have any objection to sharing a room with you, Sebastian, given our previous bodily cohabitation, but I’m not sure having both of you semi-depleted is the answer.”
Alex nodded in agreement. “She’s right. We all need to be in top form. Perhaps an experiment is in order. We will let Rufus accompany us to our original room, and Sebastian and I will keep watch while you sleep. When Doc Martens returns, we will be able to observe the dog’s reactions and his ability to repel.”
“I do not like this,” Sebastian cautioned. “We still have not determined how this beast was able to cross into Courso. There are too many questions.”
My blood pressure started to spike. “This beast saved my ass more than just today; he led you to me after I was kidnapped,” I snapped. “If he’s not just a dog, I don’t give a damn. He’s had plenty of opportunity to do something dastardly if that was his intention. Instead, all he’s done is keep me safe. He even growled at my mother! How much more evidence do you need that he only has my best interests at heart!”
I was yelling by the end and drew out the last words to emphasize my displeasure. My tirade had an effect: Sebastian stepped back, while Alex drew his hands up as if surrendering. I hoped their postures were a result of my persuasive argument rather than fear they might be immolated, but whatever worked.
“Carisa, calm down,” Alex said in a tone that was probably a favorite of hostage negotiators or salespersons on Black Friday. I guess that answered my intellect versus ignition question. “Sebastian has a valid concern, but I am willing to allow a little leeway as far as the dog goes. However,” he added sternly, “you will always have someone guarding you and Rufus just in case.”
I flashed a brilliant smile at Alex. “Gleexna, caryxa. Gleexna so much.”
Ruffling Rufus’ thick coat, I gave the pup the good news. “You are being sprung, dude!” He responded to my excitement and wagged his entire backside.
“Hold on, we have to complete his test first. If he passes, then he can be officially on monitored house arrest,” Alex admonished.
Geez, I wish he were this persistent when it came to getting rid of his post-shave facial hair nubblets in the sink. “Fine, we’ll test him. The sooner the better.”
“If you are up to it, we can try tonight.”
“You’ve got a date,” I said with as much enthusiasm as I could muster. Subjecting myself to another round of mental dodge ball with Doc so soon was probably not the best idea. I still felt off from today’s encounter, but if it meant getting Rufus out of jail, I’d find a way to get through it.
As it turned out, it took longer than we figured. Maybe Doc was also spent from our encounter in the basement, because he didn’t show up again for two more days. In any case, when he finally crashed my dream—something about waiting in line for the last installment of George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire series only to have George himself, dressed in a pirate’s outfit, announce the release date had been changed to 2020—Rufus began to carry on much as he did before. The dog sensed Doc Marten’s presence about the same time I did, which convinced me he must pick up on my mounting tension while I slept.
Based on Alex’s observations, it seemed likely that Doc was expelled because the dog forced me to wake up. He also noted that the barking and pawing began well before there was any outward indication I was in trouble. Alex concluded that the canine alarm system was as good, if not better, than expected, and my furry friend could do an excellent job of keeping me Doc Martens-free and him strong and rested.
Sebastian was still skeptical, and voiced his objections to Rufus becoming my supernatural service dog with all the pompous verbal diarrhea I’d come to expect. In the end, however, he acquiesced after Alex’s assurances that Rufus would remain under surveillance. This promise led to the rather amusing sight each morning of Rufus and me jogging around the outer perimeter of the summer residence with three Xyzok underlings and at least that many royal guards running behind. Aside from occasional chasing of squirrel-like creatures and an unfortunate leg-lifting incident where Rufus tried to mark the ankle of a stationary sentry, the dog did nothing untoward.
The same could not be said for our Dekankaran nemesis. Whether he was pissed we’d found a way to prevent his dream invasions, or had planned all along to increase the incentive to make Coursodon cave, wasn’t clear. But when the Tryplexyn Sea turned bright red and dead fish began to wash up on the rocky shore, the motivation didn’t matter.
At first, I thought a phytoplankton overgrowth was to blame. However, unlike red tides, where algal overgrowth is often isolated, all the water was affected except an area about forty feet from the residence, which remained clear. Closer inspection revealed no unusual microorganisms or their toxic byproducts. The sea was just blood red and
lethal, at least to the aquatic life that normally called the Tryplexyn home. The non-dead zone was thought to be protected by the praseodymium content of the rocky shore, but no one knew for sure. I didn’t want to think about what else was planned in the remaining two weeks until our time was up.
The newest natural disaster brought an even greater frenzy of activity: more troops and powerful thaumaturgists showed up within hours. Now that our defense readiness condition had soared to somewhere between DEFCON 1 and all hell’s broke loose, excursions outside the walls were off limits. This new restriction made bending more difficult, but given the choice between confining myself to the enclosed gardens or being shot if I left the no-fly zone was an easy one to make.
I was not the only one affected by new limits. The Glyzimutitch Zolmere placed increased constraints on the general populace that ranged from dusk-to-dawn curfews, to the right for law enforcement to detain pretty much anyone. In fact, instead of “probable cause,” all that was required now was any vague inkling of suspicion. A woman in the capital was dragged off to an undisclosed interrogation center when she was overheard questioning the legality of a search of a neighbor’s apartment. Definitely some crazy stuff was going down, and Alenquai wasn’t even close to being the most prohibitive. In Nyqui, the king decreed that anyone caught utilizing magic for purposes other than basic needs would be subject to imprisonment. He reasoned that it would make it easier to detect any upsurge in supernatural power, which might help catch Doc Martens. Of course, there was no evidence that a measurable efflux of energy preceded any of his attacks, but that didn’t seem to matter.
The only positive development was the most recent offense against nature convinced the queen that having all the royals under one roof was misguided. Apparently, the tainting of the Tryplexyn hit just a bit too close to home, so Kyzal and Tjryxina were whisked away to a different secure location. Alex wanted Tannis to leave as well, but she refused, arguing if she had to be holed up somewhere, she sure as hell didn’t want to be trapped with her older brother.
“If I’m going to die, I prefer to do so with family members I actually like,” she announced. She was probably just speaking in hyperbole, but she might have been serious. It was hard to tell. Kyzal was a pain under the best of circumstances.
Hewlyxnathin also had to go, not because he worried he might become collateral Doc-damage, but because he had a dental appointment in his hometown.
“Normally, I would cancel, but it took two months to get in. In case we manage to survive whatever seems to be coming, taking good care of your teeth is extremely important when you turn into a beaver,” he explained while packing his bag.
This was something he never mentioned before. “Does this mean I should get regular pedicures to keep my talons in tip-top shape when I bend?”
He glanced down at my feet. “It wouldn’t hurt. You might also think about deep conditioning your hair. It will enhance the condition of your feathers.”
I scowled. “Anything else I need to know about Yterixa maintenance?”
“I would have brought it up sooner, but I didn’t realize your physical forms were merging until recently.” He moved my hair to get a better look at the white streak in the back. “Not everyone takes on the features of their animal.”
“Do you?”
“Of course! That is why I need to go to the dentist. If I don’t, my incisors continue to grow, and I have a hard time not biting my lips.”
Given the choice between hawk-like hair color and freakishly long front teeth, I figured I got the less egregious zoomorphic trait. But I still had one nagging question.
“Is this going to get much worse?” I asked, nervously fingering my frizzy tresses.
“Well, you are not going to sprout feathers, if that’s what you are worried about. You may get a bit more contrast, color-wise. As far as the volume,” Hewlyxnathin added, eyes twinkling, “that has nothing to do with anything Yterixa. You’ll just have to wait until you get back to the dry air in Arizona.”
I crossed my arms and a huffed out an exaggerated sigh. “Ha-ha, very amusing, but I wasn’t referring to my hair being out of control, just the color. It’s probably a good thing you’re leaving. I think you’ve been hanging around Sebastian too much for my own good.”
With a bemused smile, Hewlyxnathin zipped up his duffle and hoisted it onto his shoulder. “Don’t blame the Xyzok, Hailey. I think it is you that is rubbing off on me.”
He was probably right; I was of the opinion that pretty much anything was fair game for a smart-ass comment. Maybe not out loud, though. That was what separated me from Sebastian. I knew when to keep the snark to myself, while he seemed to be lacking that particular filter. Some of my best stuff was never heard by anyone other than me.
Without my Yterixa tutor, my merely boring days became unbelievably boring. I wasn’t comfortable bending without Hewlyxnathin’s reassuring presence, so that distraction was out. Rufus and I spent many of the daylight hours sitting in one of the interior gardens. He lounged on the grass, while I read urban fantasy on my Kindle. Before I became aware of magical, otherworldly beings, tales of vampires, ghosts, and such seemed too preposterous for my taste. Now those scenarios seemed completely believable, particularly the were-creature stories. However, I couldn’t help but critique the authors’ descriptions of the actual shifting from human to animal based on my own experiences.
“Can you believe this crap?” I complained, pointing out the plot holes to Rufus. “Who’d believe someone can change from a person to a saber-toothed tiger and have their clothing remain intact and still on when they revert back to original form?” Rufus lifted his head and regarded me carefully. “You know I’m right,” I continued. “Just because the author doesn’t want to offend anyone with a bunch of naked people running around is no reason to abandon the laws of physics.” The same thing always bothered me about the Hulk. I knew there was no polite way to disguise the raging green hard-on he must have sported, but there was no way he wouldn’t be bustin’ out of those shorts when he hulked-out.
Rufus continued to stare at me. Geez. I have so freakin’ little to do, I’m having a book club with my dog. Giving myself a mental slap in the face, I vowed to find something more productive to do with my time. I might not be a Xyzok or particularly knowledgeable about magic, but I did have a graduate degree in physiology. I was trained in logical thinking, experimental observations, and the scientific method—intellectual geeky stuff that outside the laboratory was a pretty useless skillset. In this case, these carefully crafted deductive skills could come in handy. Okay, maybe they weren’t that finely honed, but if nothing else, I could offer a fresh perspective.
I prepared a long speech, meticulously laying out the reasons my input would provide significant contributions to outwit our nemesis, and tracked down Alex and Sebastian to make my pitch. They were ensconced in a small parlor located near the safe room, and I could hear the agitation in their voices long before I reached the doorway.
“I agree it is a risk, Alexander. A tremendous one.”
“Even if we got useful information, I’m not convinced the end justifies the means,” Alex conceded. “The worst part is, I know Hailey wouldn’t think twice about it. If only we knew for sure.”
Sebastian gave an audible sigh. “That is why we cannot ask her until we are certain.”
I’d had enough of being talked about behind my back or, in this case, in front of me and a little to the right. I abandoned my eavesdropping spot in the hall and stepped into the room.
“Ask me what?”
The expressions on their faces were identical—surprise mixed with a healthy dose of oh, shit, she heard that.
“Carisa,” Alex eventually croaked out, “we didn’t know you were here.”
“You mean, you didn’t know I could hear,” I sneered, pointing to my ears. “I’d have thought with your super-charged auditory capabilities, you would have picked up my arrival. Oh, but I forgot, you were distracted by y
our discussion of what you couldn’t tell me.” Sebastian winced and Alex pulled at his collar, but neither continued the conversation. “No sense playing mute now that the cat’s out of the bag. Spill it, Blondie.”
Alex motioned for me to sit. I chose an over-stuffed, ornate slipper chair, and the guys sat across from me on the matching sofa. Once again, no one seemed eager to start, so I waved my hand in the universal sign for “move it along.”
“We are convinced Doc Martens must have his own safe house somewhere in this dimension for him to be able to wreak havoc upon us. Some of our scientists are of the opinion that they might be able to approximate its location if he is allowed to enter your dreams,” Alex said finally.
That didn’t seem as dire as the tone of their voices implied. “Holy crap, guys. Is that it? He’s already barged in a few times, and I’ve lived to tell the tale. What’s one more if it can help?”
Sebastian stole a glance at Alex. “That is exactly the reaction we feared, my dear. You would likely have to endure his… encroachment for longer than you have previously in order for this to have any chance of success. That would require that you be placed in a magically-induced slumber so that you could not awaken prematurely.”
I still didn’t get what the big deal was. They knock me out, pinpoint his secret fortress of evil, and then wake me up. However, their sour expressions and stiff posture told me I was definitely missing something.
“Doesn’t sound so bad to me. What’s the catch?”
Reaching across the low table that separated our seats, Alex took my hand and twined his fingers in mine. “If you cannot wake yourself, we aren’t certain what the Dekankaran might be able to do if he is given more time in your head. Your previous encounters have always been brief, but for this to work, you will need to engage him for a much longer period of time.”
I had to admit, my initial enthusiasm for the project was waning ever so slightly. The dream invasions were truly frightening, and they had been of short duration, sort of like a trailer for a scary movie. I wasn’t looking forward to enduring the complete feature film of horror, but, really, it seemed like a small price to pay for trying to keep the world safe. Wanting a better idea of the cost-benefits involved, I asked, “How likely is it they will get useful information out of this, and what’s the worst that can happen?”