Looming Shadow: Journey to Chaos book 2

by Brian Wilkerson

  “Then die!”

  Without a breath, it blew a gust of death over Eric and all the landscape. Eric shielded himself, but the landscape could not survive. All of it melted before his eyes. Mustering his will, he pushed off the ground and flew against the deadly gale. The dragon breathed harder, but Eric didn’t slow down in the least. He flew right into the dragon’s mouth, down its throat, into its stomach.

  “I am a student of Dengel.” Compressed energy shined and he released it in a mighty explosion. “I am an enlightened mage.” The dragon disintegrated into ambient energy. “I am Eric Watley.”

  Eric Watley's eyes opened and then closed again as water rushed in. He opened them a second time and, although his vision was blurry, he could see walls of glass inside stainless steel frames. He was in a water tank, completely submerged. Five shackles were chained to the four corners of the tank with the fifth in the center. Squiggly lines were drawn all over the stone floor but none in the glass.

  Someone stood beyond the water and glass. They waved and he waved back. The person jumped a foot above the ground and ran around squeeing. Eric cocked his head in confusion at the creature’s behavior. Then he heard machinery groan and water swirl into a drain; he also saw it happen, but that took a second longer to process. In about a minute, he stood dripping wet in cold air, and yet he didn’t shiver.

  A ladder was lowered into the tank and Eric stared at it for a while. In a flash of realization, he remembered how to use it. He grabbed a rung, climbed to the top, and then back down on the other side. The person that waved to him was waiting for him there with a towel. It was a green-haired person wearing a white coat and possessing certain characteristics that registered as “female.”

  “Welcome back,” Kallen said. “How do you feel?”

  “Funky.”

  She offered him the towel and he accepted it. Then he stuffed it in his mouth and chewed it. A mixture of emotions crossed Kallen’s face, but she settled on hope.

  Taking his hand, she led him to a table in the center of the room. It was a simple white one made in the shape of theoretical wormholes. There she placed him in one of the two chairs and took a seat in the other. Then she checked that a listening crystal was active and said, “Please describe what you feel in more detail.”

  “...like....I just crammed for a history final that was governed by meticulous detail to trivial events. My fingers and toes are all pruny. I'm hungry and thirsty. My body feels like play dough that's been vigorously torn apart and reshaped several times. My right arm feels light and soft and delicate. How can my legs support my body? My back is itchy. I'm...”

  He yawned.

  “Is that all?”

  Eric waved his hand before his face; turning it around and over. He poked at the thing on it, pinched, pulled, and rubbed it. “What's this stuff?”

  Kallen sighed. “It's called 'skin.'”

  “Oh yeah, the proper name is 'epidermis' and it's the body's largest organ. The visible layer is made of dead cells so it can protect the body's vital systems from outside pathogens.”

  Immediately, Kallen’s mood brightened and she asked, “Can you tell me your name?”

  “My name is Eric Watley, a.k.a. Squad Three Novice of the Dragon's Lair, Student of Basilard Bladi and Dengel Tymh, Second Crystal Bearer, Tasio's Plaything, Dengel's Former Landlord, Kasile's Mind Companion, Annala's Admirer, Lesser Mage, One-Who-Found-A-Big-Stick, School Translator, Otherworlder, Complicated-with-Orcs, Dimwit, and Darkness Beyond the Twilight.”

  “Can you tell me anything about yourself...Eric?”

  “My life story...?”

  Kallen nodded. Eric took a deep breath and was about to start with his earliest memory, when his eyes widened.

  “Wait a minute! I already told you my life story – you made me tell you!”

  “Where did I do that?”

  “At the auditorium in the Castle of Roalt Ataidar. It was during the 2000 AA New Scepter Competition. After browbeating me into telling you, you ran to Annala's restaurant!”

  “Who is Annala?”

  “Annala Enaz a.k.a. Most Beautiful Girl in the World...”

  Eric trailed off and imagined. Kallen resisted the urge to giggle. He looked cute with that look on his face. At the same time, she felt a prickle of jealousy, but suppressed it.

  “Scholarly Classmate, Elf Girl, Maid of Distress, Reason-to-Jump-Across-the-Void-between-Worlds, Lost Chaotic Sheep, and Speaker-of-Long-Sentences.”

  “What does Annala mean to you?”

  “She's my –” Eric blinked once and then again. “... mate? No, we haven’t, but…What else could she be? There’s food and family and enemies and…why doesn’t she fit any of those categories?”

  “Who am I?”

  “Kallen Selios, a.k.a. Tasio's Favorite Follower, First Crystal Bearer, Impromptu Kisser, Second Most Beautiful Girl in the World, Magical Powerhouse, Mana Mutation Field Agent, Girl-I-Feel-Good-Around, Twister-of-Sentences, Elf-Hair-Streaks, and Brilliance Beyond the Dawn.”

  Red in the face, Kallen continued, “Why do we have so many names?”

  “It’s about identity. ‘Eric Watley’ is indicative of nothing. It is an identifier. Were my name to be ‘John Smith,’ it would be no different than calling me ‘Rose Byanyothername’ because I would smell the same. Other names must be used to provide meaning.”

  He blinked three more times and shook his head. Bewildered, he looked around. It was a small room and lit by five lights in the ceiling. It was chiefly occupied by the tank he was in and the machines taking measurements and recordings. The floor was blank tile and so were the ceiling and walls. Everything was reinforced with runed metal plates and beams. A security camera hung from the other end of the room and another was behind him. A safe vault was the only exit. With its large metal bulk and security devices, it could be mistaken for nothing else.

  “What am I doing here? Where's my team?...What are you doing?”

  “Oh, nothing,” Kallen said, eyes on the listening crystal. “Just the groundbreaking recording of the first monster to reclaim sapience in a controlled environment. I'm gonna be famous and, this time, it will be for curing mana mutation instead of being a victim of it!”

  An hour ago, Eric's eyes were wild and savage. A minute ago, they were dazed and off-kilter. Now they were focused; sharp and acute.

  “Kallen...What. Is. Going. On?”

  Kallen shivered pleasantly. “Seven days ago, you were caught in a mana explosion and mutated into a Grendel. You’ve spent the last five days here in treatment.”

  “A....a Grendel?!”

  “You do know what those are, right? What they look like and all?”

  “Yeah…sort of...but...I...Grendel?”

  “I know, it's impressive. They're B+ class monsters, nothing embarrassing like a Mac or a Flecknoe. Your mentor was impressed.” She raised an eyebrow. “You know who that is, right?”

  Eric rolled his eyes. “Basilard Bladi; he's a Squad Five Senior in the Dragon's Lair.”

  Kallen applauded. “Good, now let's go find him.” She stood up and walked to the door. “However, you might want to put some clothes on first.”

  “What are clothes? Are they something to eat?”

  “Hmmm…Do you recall the word ‘modesty’?”

  Eric shook his head.

  “How about ‘armor’?”

  Eric shook his head.

  “‘Danger’?”

  Eric shook his head.

  “Let’s try this: what do you remember doing in the mornings?”

  “Breakfast.”

  “Anything else?”

  “Brush my teeth.”

  “Anything else?”

  “Grab an energy shot.”

  “Are you one of those people that slept in their clothes?”

  “‘Slept in clothes.’ Does that mean clothes are like skin?”

  “Sort of. They’re outer body coverings that assist with survival.”

  “Oh…where a
re these outer body coverings?”

  Kallen pointed to a cubby.

  Inside was a tunic, pants a size too big, a pair of socks, and shoes. All of them felt soft, light, and delicate. How could these assist in survival? He remembered something heavy and formidable and another thing was missing. He firmly remembered holding something in his hand. An important something made of wood and – Staff Soiléir!

  He frantically searched the room, but it wasn't there. Heart racing, he ran out the door and smack into a thick mattress. He rebounded off it, stumbled backwards, lost his balance, and fell on his butt.

  “I told you the mattress would come in handy,” Kallen remarked to an older person.

  “Ah...uh...” Eric looked around in helpless confusion.

  A hand reached down to Eric. He stared at it, then at the gentle smile on the body that the hand was attached to. It was a man big and broad enough to be a linebacker. He was covered in tiger fur from head to toe, a red lion mane covered his neck and upper chest, two panther ears on his head, and a tail trailed out of his coat. Hesitantly, Eric took the hand and it pulled him up.

  “Eric Watley right?” the man asked. “I'm Percy Tota. Pleased to meet you.”

  “Yeah...” Eric said, not grasping the last part.

  “I'm a researcher here at the ICDMM, or International Community Dedicated to Mana Mutation. This building is our Ataidar branch, located outside Roalt. You follow?”

  “Do you mean follow you somewhere or understand what you just said?”

  Percy grinned. “The second one.”

  “Yeah, Kallen said something about the ICDMM when we meet in Mambi, and a presentation in Roalt was the only reason she gave me a ride home.”

  Percy gave Kallen a disappointed look.

  “I had work to do. You should know because you assigned it to me.”

  “Seven days ago?!”

  Kallen jotted down “delayed reaction” while Percy explained.

  “Yes, seven days. I'm thrilled beyond words with your quick turnaround.”

  “You don't sound thrilled. You sound bored.”

  “He sounds like this all the time,” Kallen said. “He's a wild thing after he drinks too much.”

  She ducked a head smack and giggled when he tickled her with the other hand. Inside joke?

  “This section here is the Containment Wing where victims of mana mutation, such as yourself, are kept for treatment,” Percy continued. “Some of our patients have been here for years and yet they're as feral as the day they arrived, so your quick turnaround is inspiring.”

  “Um...you’re…happy that I turn quickly?” Eric said.

  Kallen jotted that down, both upset and hopeful. Percy’s reaction was impossible to determine.

  “Since then, you been observed and treated by us. Do you have any questions?”

  “Where's my mentor, Basilard Bladi?”

  “Basilard Bladi?” Percy pulled a crystal from his pocket and an ethereal screen appeared above it. He touched a keypad and moved several objects on the screen. “He's currently visiting Tiza Sprial Aranid in room 53. I can –”

  Eric was already running.

  The hallways were an extension of his holding room: blank tile, runed support beams, white ceiling lights, and cameras. The cameras tracked his every move and they puzzled him. It took him a minute or so to remember that they were machines instead of creatures. He wondered how they tasted and then if they were a threat. After another minute of consideration, he decided they weren’t either one and continued on his way to room 53.

  It was a safe vault with “53” emblazoned on its center in big black letters. He knocked, as he remembered to do, then he looked over the bulky door for a science gizmo. He found a square pad housing a button and a speaker. After a little thought, he recognized it as an intercom. He pressed the button and hesitantly spoke into it.

  The door could not open fast enough. Eric was crushed in a bear hug by a big figure wearing light plate mail; not unlike what he himself wore in his vision. Threat? Sniff. No. Family. Seconds later, he was grabbed from the other side by someone shorter and lacking plate mail. Then a third person hugged him; this one lacked masculine features and possessed longer hair. Soon his new tunic and the top of his head were wet with tears. He pulled away to breathe and looked up.

  “Day...Daylra?”

  Basilard tried to say something, but couldn't, and just held Eric tighter. The four of them remained in their embrace until Basilard was ready to speak.

  “I'm so proud of you,” he said at last.

  Eric smiled as a warm feeling filled his chest and belly. He set his head back against Basilard's tunic and it was soon as wet as his own. However, something felt off. He looked at the third person hugging him and saw long red hair and red eyes.

  “You’re not Tiza. You’re….um….”

  “Mana gate lecture,” the girl said.

  “Zettai! I’m glad to see you survived, but where’s Tiza? Is she here? Oh, I bet she left as soon as I woke up so she could say she wasn’t worried about me. Am I right? No! I’m not! This is her room!

  Eric's warm feeling was replaced by something cold, twisting, and sticky.

  “Is she a monster too? Is she still in the white mist void fighting aspects of her personality?”

  “Eric.”

  “GDL might be in there and taking over!”

  “Eric!”

  “Yes, Daylra?”

  “Tiza is fine. Come and see for yourself.”

  This room was different from Eric's, but only slightly. The concrete and steel was the same and many machines lined the walls, but this room had a bed instead of a water tank. Sathel and Retina sat next to it. When the door opened, they briefly glanced in its direction and then returned to their vigil. Tiza was tucked under the sheets, eyes closed. Eric looked to his mentor and asked a silent question.

  “She's all right. The healers say she's all right; exhausted. She's sleeping, that's all.”

  Tiza looked gentle lying there. The wires connected to her arms and forehead, the place she was in; they reminded him that she wasn't a ball of endless energy. He reached out and she rolled away.

  “Don't bother,” said a voice in the doorway. “She only lets Nolien do that.”

  “Kallen!” Nolien hissed.

  “What?” Kallen asked innocently. “You don't want anyone else touching her, right?”

  “Right! I-I mean, I don't want anyone to take advantage of her, given her condition.”

  “That's not love?”

  “You can ask a thousand times, but I'm not going to admit romantic feelings.”

  A wicked smirk formed on Eric's face. “On Threa, we have a certain traditional means of awakening sleeping maidens.”

  “We have a similar tradition.” Kallen stood at Eric's side and matched his expression. “However, our prince was too afraid of the blind dragon to attempt it.”

  “As well he should be,” Retina muttered.

  “Dear…”

  “Yes, I know, honor of Heleti and all that.”

  Nolien didn’t like where this conversation was headed, so he shook Tiza's shoulder and said, “Tiza, wake up. Eric’s back.”

  “Dimwit?” Tiza said sleepily. “He's sapient?”

  “Yes, Tiza. I'm here.”

  Tiza threw off her covers, ripped off wires, and leaped out of bed. Instead of her rugged clothes, she was in a white medical gown. The strange attire distracted Eric long enough for Tiza to slug him. He fell like a rock. Threat? No. Family.

  “That was for the stupid suggestion!” She kicked his side. “That was for making me worry! And...hey! Put me down!”

  Retina carried her back to the bed and tucked her in. Sathel reattached the wires and, once finished, she moved a strand of hair behind Tiza's ear. The girl herself crossed her arms and glowered.

  “This is stupid! I’ve been in bed for seven freakin’ days. At this rate, I’ll be as weak and delicate as a tent. You might as well give me a needle
so I can knit.”

  Tasio appeared out of nowhere and said, “You already do that.”

  Tiza smacked him just as he disappeared. “He’s lying!”

  Kallen nudged Eric. “She’s recovering from monsanity, spiritual fatigue, and mana poisoning. For a while, she was just as feral as you were, but Nolien snapped her out of it. While not unheard of we wanted to monitor her just in case. She's been here ever since.”

  “I... I...think her heard voice...” Eric said. “It helped me remember who I am.”

  “Really!?” Kallen pulled out a listening crystal. “You didn't say that earlier.”

  Eric told her, as best as he could remember, what he saw after he obliterated Mr.15. A smile bloomed across her face with every word he said. Not the mad-scientist grin he saw so often or the trickster-like smirk, but a true smile. She looked beautiful.

  “We all took turns reminiscing,” Basilard said. “The Emotional Memory hypothesis states that sapients lose their memories but retain the emotions connected to those memories. By reminding a monster of their memories, they could work backwards and rediscover their life.”

  “Monsters can't retain memories,” Kallen continued, “so once you remembered, you would be capable of holding memories again and thus no longer be a monster.”

  “I was hoping that time as a monster would make you less of a wuss,” Tiza said. “But not even a Grendel can save a hopeless case like you.”

  “I love you too, Tiza. Seriously, why was I submerged in water?”

  “Classical philosophy associates water with identity formation,” Kallen explained. “You know – liquid, gas, solid? Salicrates stated that each represented segments of the human mind such as transitory feelings, perspective of what is 'day-to-day life' and core values/cardinal traits. Since monsanity is a case of lost identity, it's a standard treatment. Most Grendels are found in frigid swamps, so they're good at maintaining body heat.”

  “Then why am I human instead of a sapient Grendel?”

  “You tell us,” Kallen said. “We were expecting you to wake up as a Grendel, but you turned human immediately before that.”