by Wilson, Maer
“Stop, right now.” She looked around at the others. “And anyone else who plans to pick names that are strongly associated with Earth's literature. It won't do. It simply won't do.”
I hid my smile. The male frowned, but his face cleared as he got a sly look on his little green face. “Fine, I'll be Romeo, and you can be my Juliet, since I adore you so much. And you can't say no because those are perfectly good names.” He had her. No way could she argue with that. She rolled her eyes at him again, but I could see she was secretly pleased at being adored publicly.
Juliet smiled at me. “We're also from Avalon.” She nodded to Aurelia. “But we're from another kingdom than the elves. They're of the Shining Trees, and we're from the tropical zone. The name would translate to Sunset Islands.”
Aurelia added, “The Gryffins are also from Avalon, and their land would be called 'Dream Sky' in your language.”
The genie spoke next, “I'm Kareem. My realm's name would translate to 'Cobalt' in your language, for the blue of our seas. I also represent the harpies and leprechauns today.”
Romeo sneered at the mention of leprechauns.
“Be nice,” his wife quietly chided him.
The pixie spoke next. She was a pale pinkish color, with white hair pulled into a ponytail and pointed ears. She had big, dark brown eyes, framed with white lashes. She wore a light green tunic, dark green leggings and ankle high black boots. Her wings were neatly folded, but I could see they had lightened up from before. They were currently a medium blue. I got the impression the color of her wings reflected her emotional state.
She stood and formally bowed to us and in a childlike voice said, “I'm Ceil. I apologize for swinging on your lamp.”
“No problem, no harm done.” I hoped.
“I'm here for the others from my world, the banshees and centaurs. The basilisks are also from our world, but they are wild beasts. I do not represent them. The Three Peoples do not approve of them being allowed onto Earth.” She peered at Thulu, Reo and me in turn, seeing if we understood this. We nodded.
“We come from the 'World of Two Moons.' Centaurs and pixies are from the forest lands. Banshees are from the Otherworld.” She sat back down.
The fairy was next. She had a tiny, high-pitched voice. “I'm Aela. I represent the unicorns and trolls, as well as my own people, of course. All three of our peoples are from the same kingdom of Fairie.” She paused, briefly. “You probably figured that out.”
She was a very pale blue and had long amethyst colored hair. Her wings were iridescent pastels. She wore a pale lavender tunic, belted with a dark blue belt, over dark blue leggings and bare feet. She had a little bow and quiver sticking up behind her right shoulder. A bag was slung across her chest to hang at her left hip. Her tiny face had delicate little features with dark sloe eyes. When seated, she had been admiring her toes and fingers. After this speech, she returned to doing so.
“What's with your fingers and toes?” I asked.
She immediately flew in close, so I could see. Her tiny nails were a bright red. Her wings fluttered a soft breeze across my cheek, and I could smell a floral scent from her, although I couldn't identify it.
“Nail polish is a wonderful thing, don't you think?” she asked excitedly.
“It is indeed,” I agreed with a smile.
“So how come all of you speak English?” Reo asked.
Aurelia answered, “Because most of us have been here before. These delegates were chosen to come to you, specifically because they spoke English. All of the delegates speak at least two of the major languages of your world.”
“Why to us?” Thulu asked.
“We need to get in touch with Dhavenbahtek. We have been informed that you know him and can arrange this.”
“Why can't you do that on your own?”
Romeo answered, “We tried.”
“I couldn't fly in,” said Aela.
“Me either,” said Ceil.
“He has erected potent protections around his property. The entire estate is covered with a magical globe, which nothing from off-world can pierce, including telepathy. None of us can get through it,” said Aurelia. She continued, “There is one around your house, as well, although not as strong as the one at Dhavenbahtek's.”
“He mentioned there were protections in place. So, we have a globe, too? But Reo came through it,” I added.
“Yours is mostly against beings from off-realm.”
“Okay, but why didn't you just call him on the phone? Or go to his gate?”
They all looked at me blankly, then at each other. Aurelia's skin turned a bit pink.
“To tell you the truth, we did not think of this.” She hesitated. “Do you have his – number? And may we use your phone?” I had his number, all right.
“Yes, of course,” I said. I started to get my phone from my purse. Thulu put his hand on my arm.
“I apologize, but may I ask what you want with Dhavenbahtek?”
Aurelia again was the one who answered. “We mean him no harm,” she assured us. “We know that he has successfully dealt with the Light Ones in the past. We believe the Light One known as Gabriel is the one responsible for the portals opening. We need Dhavenbahtek to deal with Gabriel before things get worse.”
Thulu, Reo and I looked at each other. I wondered if this was the Gabriel and suspected it was.
“That might not make much sense to you, but Dhavenbahtek will understand. We are not friends of Gabriel.”
“That is quite right. I have a score to settle with him.” Romeo's voice was grim and the expression on his face was very hard.
We looked at him questioningly.
“Fifty years ago, Gabriel threw me through a portal and sealed it after me. My lovely wife was stranded on this side. We've only just been reunited.” His animosity toward Gabriel was palpable.
“Why would he do such a thing?” asked Reo.
The goblin looked at the others. They nodded.
“Tell them,” said Kareem.
The goblin shrugged. “Who knows why Gabriel does anything? A small group of us were walking along in a big redwood forest. One of our friend's had opened the portal, and we came through to see the gigantic trees. We left the portal very small and hidden in bushes. No one was around, and we were very careful to be unseen. Gabriel swooped in on those oversized wings of his, opened another portal and started chucking goblins through. He tore my hand from my wife's. She tripped and fell under some of the bushes. Gabriel closed the portal before anyone could stop him.”
Juliet said, “I called after Gabriel when he started to leave. My ankle was twisted and I could barely stand. He came back, towered over me. I begged him to re-open the portal so I could return. I told him I didn't think I could make it to the other portal without help, and I couldn't open it up full, even if I did. He just stared at me with those black eyes of his, laughed and flew off.” While it had been many years, I could still sense her underlying distress. Romeo patted her hand.
“It took me hours to find where we had left our portal, but by then, it was gone. I'd fashioned a walking stick and gathered what edible plants I could find. I waited for several days, but I knew I couldn't stay there alone or I'd die. I started to make my way west and eventually made it to a rest stop.”
Romeo took over. “Many of us had been injured when we were thrown through. Our friend who had opened the portal was killed. Gabriel had crushed him when he picked him up and threw him back into the portal. I was unconscious for days afterward. Once I regained consciousness, no one would consider opening another portal. Word had gotten out what Gabriel had done, and people were afraid, you see.
“Finally, we went to the elves and asked for their help. By the time we got someone to open a portal near our first one, my sweet girl was gone. It had been over two weeks since I'd lost her. We looked in that area for weeks, but we didn't find any sign of her. The others were certain she was dead, but I knew she wasn't.” There were tears in his eyes.
>
Juliet patted his arm as he explained. “One day, Gabriel showed up again. We hid that time, but I think he knew we were there. After that, the elves said it was too dangerous for us to continue our search. They said they had looked through the forest and surrounding area in every direction for hundreds of miles. They had even used a scrying bowl and saw nothing. Only a murky brown something showed up, and they didn't even know what it was. They assumed it was interference.”
Juliet laughed ruefully. “That was probably me. I disguised myself as a small brown dog. A family from Idaho was at a rest stop at the beach. They took me for a stray and took me with them.
“My leg was injured, so I stayed with that family until it healed. I made my way back to the forest, sneaking on vehicles that traveled west. I've lived as a dog a lot these last fifty years.” Her smile was shaky.
Romeo continued, “I've come back and checked the area as often as I could, but there was never any sign of her.”
“I left notes under rocks, tied in pouches on trees. That's a big forest, though. It would be easy to be in the wrong area. I guess we just kept missing each other.”
Everyone in the room was entranced by this story. I couldn't even imagine what she'd been through.
“How did you find each other?” I asked.
Romeo answered. “I volunteered to come through when we heard a portal was opened.”
“I happened to be watching TV and saw the goblin delegation as they arrived. I saw my beloved husband and completely forgot myself. I jumped up and yelled, 'I have to get to Bavaria!' My owner was terrified,” she explained, looking at me. “I was a chihuahua at the time.” Her eyes twinkled.
We all laughed. I imagined the look on the face of the pet owner when the dog metamorphosed into the goblin sitting before me.
“She was surprisingly helpful, once she got her heart rate under control – and stopped screaming. I think she was sad when I said I couldn't be her chihuahua anymore. I did give the woman a big hug and told her she was a great pet parent.” Juliet looked at Romeo.
“I should find the poor dear another puppy to love. She really was quite lovely.” She glanced over at the rest of us. “She called the studio for me and made contact with the delegation. One of the elves came and got me and took me to my husband.”
“But for fifty long years we were apart. Gabriel will pay for that.” Romeo was quite firm.
I looked at Thulu, and he nodded. So did Reo on the other side of me.
“If they're lying, they're certainly doing a good job of it,” he said, thoughtfully. “I'm getting a lot of emotions from them, but nothing that seems deceitful. Their thought patterns are a bit hard for me to read, but I don't think they're lying.”
I called Jones and briefly explained who was at the office. He asked to speak with Aurelia. She kept her answers short, mostly a 'yes' or 'no.' She asked us if he could join us at our office, which we agreed was fine.
We all relaxed a bit with each other after that. I still didn't trust the sodas, but I offered juice, tea and cookies. We sat around discussing how shocked our people were and what the entrance of new races through the portal might mean.
We had to admit that we didn't know much about the reactions of anyone outside of our immediate circle, other than what we'd seen on TV the night before.
It was a pleasant interlude. The other guests said they didn't have anything to share nearly as dramatic as Romeo and Juliet. We all agreed that their ordeal was bound to surface as one of the great stories. A real life Romeo and Juliet story that might have ended far worse than it had. I was betting they all had great stories to tell, though.
I liked the small couple. They stayed very close to each other, holding hands, patting each other's arms. I could feel the love they had for each other. It was kind of like me and Thulu, except we had rarely been parted for more than a few days.
Jones made good time. He came in the back door. I turned at the sound of it shutting. He stood looking a bit harassed, but the gun in his hand was quite steady.
Chapter 27
Everyone froze. While some of our guests were probably not at risk of injury, I'm sure others were – and we humans were for sure.
“Jones?” I said at the same time Aurelia spoke.
“Dhavi, honestly. I told you no one here wants to hurt you.”
Jones surveyed the room very carefully, making eye contact with each person. He lowered the gun and returned it to a shoulder holster hidden under his tailored linen suit jacket.
“I had to be certain.”
Aurelia nodded understandingly as Jones moved into the room. Aurelia rose and went to give him a hug. It was such a human thing to do, it surprised me.
“It's been a long time, my friend,” she said as she returned to the sofa.
“Indeed, it has.” He followed her and sat next to her on the sofa. I offered him tea, which he accepted.
Aurelia continued, “Well, to get right to it, we were hoping you would banish the Light Ones and seal their portal. I hate to do that to all of them, but since no one is stopping Gabriel, I do not believe we have a choice.”
“I am already working on it,” said Jones. He quickly explained what was going on with the relics. Aurelia frowned at him.
“Dhavi, why would you wait so long to find the relics? You had to know the portal would open again. You know this feud with Gabriel isn't over, either. It will never be over.”
Jones looked down at his hands and sighed. “Yes, I know. Time simply got away from me. As for Gabriel, I had such a long respite this time, I hoped it was finished.”
“Well, you need to be done with this crime experiment and focus on the problem at hand.” She sounded like a stern parent – or a very old friend.
Jones looked up. “Yes, well technology hasn't caught up to me yet, anyway. And I do have a deal with La Fi.” I got a small, brief smile from him, before he turned back to Aurelia.
“As pleased as I am to see you, I wish it were under different circumstances. This 'visit' of yours is going to change this world forever. Even if every single entity returned home, the cat is well and truly out of the bag. There will be no going back.
“I do not think your leaving would be the answer, though. In fact, it would cause even more problems. Humans now know the other worlds exist. They will not willingly give up contact with the gifted, magical and supernatural. They would probably destroy themselves in their search to get it back. I can see them blowing themselves up, trying to discover how to open portals.”
There were nods all around. Even after one day, the thought of never again seeing a unicorn or people like those in the room was disturbing.
“It's not the magic. Or not just the magic. It's because we know we're not alone, now.” The attention shifted to me as I thought about it. “We have proof we're not alone – you folks, you're the proof – and we aren't likely to give that up easily. No matter what else happens. No matter how bad it gets, that single thought will always be with us now and underneath everything else. I know I don't want you to leave.”
Thulu put his arm around me. “She's right. I bet if you ask people, the majority won't want to give up contact. We love the exotic, the different. And you're enough like us that we can communicate, but different enough to be seductive. Where other alien races might raise fears, we grew up with stories of magic and elves and fairies. You're in our comfort zone, for the most part. But, as Jones said, no matter what, our world has changed forever.” Thulu was missing one element though, but the thought was brief and gone too fast for me to catch.
Thulu looked around. “I doubt many people realize it yet, but we reached the end of an era last night. Today is a new world.”
“So where do we go from here, in this new world of yours?” asked Romeo.
“We find the rest of the relics,” Thulu said. “We help Jones with whatever he needs. As surely as we want you here, we don't want the – Light Ones.” He looked at us. “And I think calling them that is bet
ter than saying 'angels.' That will just lead to confusion and panic with the 'end of the world' groups. I strongly recommend everyone use 'Light Ones' to avoid problems.”
“Gabriel will call himself an 'angel' when he chooses to appear,” Jones pointed out.
“But he's made a tactical error,” said Kareem. We looked at the genie. “He allowed us in first. Had he appeared and then opened the portals, it would be different. He'd be in control, a possible savior. As it is, the Light Ones will be just one more race, just like the rest of us. He gave up his advantage when he chose to shock this world with beings previously thought to be myth. A small advantage, but an advantage nonetheless.”
Reo chimed in, “Maybe not so small. I heard a report on the radio on the way over that some religious leaders were calling the portals instruments of the devil.” I rolled my eyes. Of course they were.
“If Gabriel takes credit for that now, some of the people he's counting on to follow him will be wary. But the majority of people calling in were excited and happy,” he added.
Jones said, “I think Thulu and Reo are right. Most people will love the idea of magical beings. Once the ground rules are set, the economies re-stabilized and the initial novelty wears off, I think this world will settle into new patterns of what is normal.”
Oh yeah, just those small things, I thought. I resisted the urge to roll my eyes again.
Jones continued, “I do not think Gabriel sees this. This is new and different and, yes, the world has changed, but we do not have world-wide panic.” He nodded toward Aurelia.
“The appearance of the elves has stabilized what could have been sheer chaos. Plus, most of the off-world races have empaths that have been quietly brought in to keep things calm. I spoke with some of the other daemons last night. We are doing what we can behind the scenes to help, as well. So, while things are uneasy, they could have been much, much worse.”
“Aren't the daemons loving the turmoil, though?” asked Reo.
“Some turmoil is fine, yes, but too much and we overdose, basically. For instance, we do not like war. Since we only need small amounts of negative energy to sustain ourselves, that much chaos can make us ill. We block out a lot of it.”