by A. Q. Owen
“Your reaction is not unexpected, my dear.” His voice remained calm, which made me feel guilty for about two seconds. “Allow me to explain a few things to you.” He glanced at the door and gave a nod. “Please.”
I sighed and rolled my eyes. “Fine. Talk fast. I have crops to manage.”
“Yes, I know. You have chores.” I slammed the door shut and crossed my arms to see what he had to say.
“Have you ever experienced something you couldn’t explain, something so extraordinary you could only call it…miraculous?”
It didn’t take me long to answer. “No.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah, Darius. I’m sure. I’ve never seen anything I’d call a miracle. I used to pray all the time. I guess I got that from my parents.”
“Your parents were a unique couple,” he said. “It’s rare to find a scientist and a believer together in marriage.”
My eyes narrowed. “How do you know so much about them?”
He turned away and paced toward the window again. “Your parents share an understanding that very few people on this planet can even begin to contemplate. Unfortunately, they never got to share that knowledge with you.”
“What knowledge? What are you talking about?”
He spun around and folded his hands behind his back. He tilted his head to the side and grinned. “How much do you know about quantum mechanics?”
I frowned. “Quantum what?”
“That’s right,” he said, raising a finger as if to make the point stronger. “I forgot. You never got the chance to attend college.”
“What’s that got to do with anything?”
“I suppose it’s neither here nor there. I certainly didn’t learn about quantum in college, not even in the most advanced physics course they offered.”
This guy was talking crazy, and I was almost over it. If he didn’t get to the point soon, I was going to have to kick him out.
Apparently, he could see the lack of patience in my eyes.
“The universe is divided into two parts, Eve. One part of it is run by the laws of classical physics. That half is everything we can see and touch. The other half is comprised of the tiny subatomic particles we can’t see.”
“Thanks for the science lesson. Where are you going with this?”
“For thousands of years, people said the miracles of the great masters were simply fairy tales about mythical men who wielded magic-like powers. The truth is those masters possessed a greater understanding of the universe than anyone else. They knew that all the tiny things in quantum make up the big things in classical physics. Most importantly, they understood how to alter their reality.”
“Alter reality?”
Darius nodded. “Yes, just like with the blue orb I showed you a minute ago.”
Okay, I’ll bite. “Right. What was that?”
“Everything exists in a multidimensional space-time continuum. One of the things I focused on in my learning was the ability to open tears in the fabric of space-time and see into other places or, in this case, see people I want to see.”
And he lost me.
He could see that I wasn’t following, so he continued. “The believers were ostracized because the zealots accused us of using magic, something that was banned long ago. The scientists were exiled because of their lack of faith. The truth is both groups hold a piece of the truth. Your parents helped show them how the two aren’t mutually exclusive, that spirituality and science can work in tandem. All it takes is the belief, and the skill, to bind the two together.”
Darius was getting into some deep stuff, deeper than I was willing to go. “Look,” I said. “I appreciate you coming by and trying to instill some sort of ancient wisdom in me, but I have work to do. I don’t know how you did that trick with my parents, but that’s pretty messed up. My parents are dead, Darius, if that’s really your name. And there’s nothing I can do to bring them back.”
He drew a long breath through his nostrils. “Tell me, Eve, have you ever heard of the double-slit experiment?”
I frowned. “No, not that I know of.”
“Many years ago, two scientists ran an experiment with subatomic particles. They fired these particles at a metal plate with a slit in it. Particles that made it through the slit hit the wall behind it and formed a line. Then the researchers fired waves at it. You see, the universe is made up of particles and energy. They wanted to see how the two behaved.”
“Behaved?”
“Yes. The energy waves went through and formed a ripple pattern on the board behind the slit. They replaced the first plate with another. The second plate had two slits in it. They fired the waves again and got a similar result, but when they fired the particles, something strange happened.”
I had to admit, I was curious. “What?”
“The particles transformed into waves and produced the same pattern on the board behind it as when waves were fired.”
My frown deepened. “I don’t understand. How is that possible?”
“It gets stranger. The scientists put an observation device next to the plate to see when the transformation occurred. But when they tried again, the particles didn’t behave the same way. Some went through the right slit. Some went through the left. Some went through both. Some went through neither. And on the back wall, two lines formed just as would be expected.”
It was a fascinating tale, but I still didn’t see what that had to do with anything. “Thanks for sharing that, Darius. What’s the point?”
“The point is this: The mere act of observation by a human eye changed the outcome at a subatomic level. This demonstrates the universe exists in a perpetual state of potential.” He pointed to a chair in the corner. “That means that your chair is both in that corner and in the opposite corner. It’s also on the porch or in the kitchen. Your belief is what orders your reality.”
“Yeah, so I’m gonna go now,” I said and swung the door open again. “Thanks for sharing that little kooky piece of science with me.” This guy was clearly crazy. The sooner I got away from him, the better.
I stepped out onto the porch and noticed something out of the corner of my eye. “What the—”
Sitting against the wall to my left was the chair from inside. My eyebrows pinched together, and I leaned back through the doorway. The chair that was in the corner was gone.
“How the—”
I stood up straight and looked back at where the chair was on the porch, but now it was gone. I spun around to see what had happened to it, and was shocked to see it sitting on the shed roof eighty feet away.
“That’s…that’s impossible.”
“Actually,” Darius said, “everything is possible. That was the message of some of the greatest masters who ever walked this planet. All things are possible. One must only believe.”
I turned around and looked into Darius’s eyes. They were full of kindness, patience, and wisdom, all things I lacked in spades. “I…I still don’t understand.”
“You will. When you do, you’ll be able to undo the evil that has ravaged this world and help humanity return to greatness.”
I spun around and looked back out at the shed. The chair was gone again, nowhere in sight. I sighed. “Look, Darius, you seem like a nice guy. I appreciate you sharing all this philosophical stuff with me, but I’m just a girl trying to survive out here on my own. I don’t know anything about this magical quantum stuff you’re talking about, and I am for sure no leader. There’s nothing special about me, and honestly, I’m good right here on my farm. No one bothers me—usually—and it’s safe. So, if it’s all the same to you, I think I’ll stick around here.”
“You are safe for now, Eve, but a darkness is coming. It’s already encroaching on your doorstep. Evil has filled the hearts of mankind. People are killing each other in the streets. Others are starving. Wicked men and women run the realms, doing anything their whims desire. Someone must stop them. You are that someone.”
A gentle
breeze rolled across the meadow. The tall blades of golden grass waved back and forth. A few strands of my brown hair fluttered by my ears. Somewhere in the woods, a crow cawed.
“I’m sorry. I think you have the wrong person. I’m nothing special. There’s nothing I can do to help you.”
“I understand,” he said.
I stared out at the field, the greenhouse, the forest beyond. “I’m truly sorry. It’s just that….” I turned around again to face my unusual guest, but he was gone.
My head twitched one way and then the other. There was no sign of Darius anywhere. “Darius?” I twisted around in a circle. “Hello?”
4
I dropped the last corn husk from the row into my basket and rubbed a hand towel across my forehead. The waning days of summer would soon give way to fall. I had to have all the crops harvested before it started getting cold. The storage building my parents built could hold enough grain and other food to last through the winter, although I’d have to venture out and kill a deer or two when the colder months kicked in.
I’d learned how to hunt from an early age. I never killed for sport, though, only out of necessity.
But the fruits and vegetables were in short supply in the winter save for a few things like broccoli, various roots, and a couple of varieties of gourds. Taking down a deer would give me enough meat to last half a season, maybe more if it was bigger. While the natural cold of the mountains might have been enough to keep the meat good, I had an old deep freezer that ran off the small amount of electricity I produced every day.
I reached down and picked up the basket of corn, and started trudging back to the storage building. The sun was dipping beyond the horizon in the west, and soon night would return.
Darius had put me behind schedule, which meant I spent most of the day working faster than usual to get caught up. I reached the storage building and opened the door. The structure was nothing more than a 20x20 shed with fifteen-foot ceilings. It wasn’t anything fancy, but it kept my crops fresh.
I set the basket inside and locked the door.
Purple, pink, and fiery orange smeared the sky as the sun disappeared below the horizon. It was lonely up on the mountain, but the sunsets were some of the best in the world.
With my day of work done, I set off to make something to eat and get settled in for the night as I’d done so many times before.
While the days of toil in the summer were strenuous, I sometimes preferred the hard work to the boredom of winter. There wasn’t nearly as much to do when the farming was done and the cold weather set in.
Halfway back to the cabin, I heard something stir in the woods to my left. My right hand instantly shot back to the hilt of my sword, and I froze in place. My eyes narrowed as I peered into the shadows of the forest. I didn’t see anything unusual. It must have just been a squirrel or something scurrying around in the trees.
I resumed walking and only made it another five steps before I heard the noise again. This time, it was louder. That’s no squirrel, I thought. Whatever was making the sound was much bigger than a rodent.
Instinctively, I pulled the sword from its sheath and held it out, ready to defend myself against an attack.
I picked up the pace, moving faster toward the house at a brisk walk. The sound grew louder. Trees shook. Limbs snapped. Leaves were kicked and rustled along the ground.
I was only forty feet from the front steps. For whatever reason, Darius’s words resonated in my head, something about a blessing on that piece of land where the cabin was built.
The noise swelled as I neared the porch. Only twenty feet away. I was almost there.
Suddenly, the noise stopped. The meadow filled with an eerie silence. The wind itself stopped. I looked around in the twilight, searching the area for any sign of trouble.
“I’ve been watching you,” a masculine voice said.
I spun around, and that’s when I saw him. He was tall, at least six feet. His body was slender with pale skin, sharp facial features, and black, slicked back hair. He looked almost like a bird in human form with the aquiline nose perched above his mouth.
“What? Who…who are you?”
“Who I am doesn’t matter.” He took a step toward me, but it seemed almost like he was floating.
“Stay…stay back, whoever you are. I know how to use this.”
A sickly grin parted his lips. “I know you do, Eve. Unfortunately for you, your human weapons are useless against me. You really don’t know what I am, do you?”
I took another step backward, unconsciously retreating from the strange man.
“I don’t care who you are. You’re on my property. Get out of here before I—”
“Before you what? Are you going to cut me?” His eyes flashed toward the steel blade in my hand. “That’s an elegant weapon. Where’d you get it?”
My eyes turned to slits. “My father made it for me.”
The creature acted surprised. “Your father? You mean the one who abandoned you and ran off, leaving you here to fend for yourself?”
What? What was he talking about?
“Yes,” he went on. “I can see it on your face.” Then his expression changed to one of puzzlement. “Or…ah yes. You didn’t know he left you. You must have thought your parents went out for…what was it, supplies of some kind? You poor thing. All this time you’ve been living under the assumption that they were taken from you, when the truth is they left you here to die.”
“Shut up, whatever you are. That’s enough!”
He cocked his head to the side. “Not to worry, my dear. I’m sure they’re dead by now, which is good since I’m about to reunite you.”
His words seemed to flip a switch inside my head. Suddenly, I was done backing off from this guy. He was standing between me and my home. He’d said horrible things about my family. I didn’t know where he came from or what he wanted, but if I had to cut my way through him, I would.
With two hands on the katana, I held it out in front of my face with my body twisted to the side. “You’re going to wish you never said those things.”
The man howled something like a rage-filled battle cry and rushed toward me. I sidestepped, twisted the blade in my hands, and ran the tip into his gut as he ran by. I did like I’d practiced so many times—a quick stab and then retract the blade while spinning to the side. This technique opened the wound and made it more difficult to mend, while at the same time keeping the weapon in my hands.
The intruder screamed in pain and dropped to his knees. Inaudible words howled from his lips as he clutched the wound with both hands. His back was to me as he bent over, kneeling on the ground and examining what was surely a mortal blow.
“You…you killed me!” he said. “I can’t believe a little girl like you killed me.”
There was something odd about the way he said it.
A sickly laugh escaped his lips, and he twisted his head to look back at me with black, vapid eyes.
He stood and spun around slowly. That’s when I saw them for the first time. Two fangs hung down over his lower teeth, matching two more that protruded from the bottom row. I swallowed hard, not believing what my eyes beheld.
“Maybe you haven’t heard,” he said in a voice that sounded like thunder. “Eliri are immortal.”
He charged again, this time faster than any human. One second he was several strides away; the next he was on me, clutching my throat with his claw-like hand. His long fingernails dug into my neck like miniature daggers. He held me in the air with one hand like I was made of cardboard.
His eyes gazed into mine. I gasped for air as his hand closed my throat shut. The distinct feeling I got—other than desperate horror as I faced death—was that he was enjoying it.
“Kaio!” Another voice boomed across the meadow.
The vampire twisted to his left and looked into the forest. His eyes were suddenly full of fear. They were no longer black orbs but had returned to an icy blue.
A quick shift of weight,
and the vampire tossed me into the tall grass next to the path. I rolled onto my knees and clutched my neck, making sure the cuts weren’t life threatening. Then I rubbed my throat to soothe the soreness.
“What do you want, Darius? Come to protect this little human, have you?” The vampire’s voice was taunting, borderline cocky. “What is she to you, Darius?”
“That is none of your concern, Kaio. I’ll give you one chance to go back to your own kind. If you don’t, I will kill you where you stand.”
I managed to pull myself up from the grass and looked out across the property. There was no sign of Darius. I couldn’t even pinpoint his location in the woods from the sound of his voice.
The vampire, apparently named Kaio, tilted his head back and roared with laughter. “Darius, you are a foolish old man. Your kind is almost extinct. When my people return in full strength to the realm, we will make certain of your obliteration.”
“Final warning, Kaio. Leave now and do not return. This girl is under my protection.”
“Your protection? You’re lucky I didn’t kill you last night, old man. Your magic has weakened with time. Do yourself a favor, and get out of here before I have two dinners.”
Out of nowhere, a blinding light flashed from the dark forest. I shielded my eyes for a moment with my forearm. The sudden burst only lasted a second, and when I put my arm back down my eyes took a moment to adjust to the darkness once more.
The vampire was still standing there, but now he turned one way and then the other, desperately searching the perimeter for Darius.
“That’s a good trick, old man,” he taunted. “But you’ll have to do better than a flash spell to get rid of—”
His sentence was cut short as a figure from the shadows leaped from the grass right behind him. A flash of shiny steel whipped through the air, and the blade sliced easily through the vampire’s neck.
The head tilted, the mouth gurgled, and two seconds later the entire skull toppled backward onto the ground. Blackish blood soaked the dirt as the headless body wavered another moment. Then it collapsed forward, into the bushes.