Dimension Shifter

by T. M. Nielsen

  “It grew into a bit of a fight, until Lukas said he wanted a second round with her to prove he would win. She was still in her room, following your orders, but she opened the door when he knocked. He was furious by then and stormed into her room, demanding a rematch.”

  “Why would he do that?”

  “Pride, plain and simple. He was screaming at her that she cheated and attacked before the signal to begin. She started to get mad and when she readied her flail, he hit her.”

  Alric turned, shocked, “He hit her?”

  “Yes, and she just… well… she went off on him. He was cowering in the corner as she pummeled him with that flail. By the time they hauled her away from him, he was a bloody heap on the floor.”

  “Sounds to me like he deserved it. Why is she in a prison cell?” Alric asked.

  “She wouldn’t calm down. She attacked anyone who got near her. To protect her and the Knights, I had her locked up.”

  He nodded, “I’ll go and talk to her.”

  “Lukas is still healing. He could use some help, Sir.”

  “I think he can heal on his own. What he did was beneath him, and I’m furious that he stooped to that level.”

  “Yes, Sir,” Finn said, following Alric down into the dungeon. They stopped at the cell holding Kyrin, and looked inside. She was sitting, facing the wall with her legs crossed in front of her. She was barely breathing and not moving.

  Alric dug out his keys and opened the cell, then stepped inside, “Can we talk?”

  “Am I to finish out my time in here?” she whispered.

  “No, I will take you back to your room.”

  She turned to look at him, “What is my punishment?”

  “I’m not going to punish you.”

  “But you will,” she said to Finn.

  “No, I will not.”

  “Then I will punish myself,” she said, turning back to the wall.

  “Come to your room, please,” Alric said, standing up. “I want to talk to you about what happened.”

  “I wish to remain here.”

  “No, come with me,” he said sternly. He wasn’t going to have her punished when she was attacked in her room while she waited out his orders.

  Nodding, she stood up and turned to him. He frowned when he saw a gash along her arm.

  “I didn’t know you were injured.”

  “It’s nothing,” she said, covering it with her sleeve.

  “I can heal it.”

  “I’d rather you not.”

  “Very well,” he said, and then walked up the stairs with Kyrin and Finn following. They all sat down in her room at the small table by the window.

  Finn stayed just in case she lost her temper around the King. He saw her single-handedly take out 3 of his top Knights and didn’t want to risk her alone with Alric.

  “I wanted to apologize,” Alric said to her. She frowned slightly and he continued, “He had no right to come in here and treat you like that.”

  “Is he dead?”

  “No,” Finn said. “However, he is severely injured.”

  “I will be punished. It's ok.”

  “You didn’t listen to me,” Alric told her. “You don’t deserve to be punished. He attacked you, and you defended yourself.”

  “Can you tell me where you learned to fight? It’s most impressive,” Finn said.

  “Where I come from, if you don’t fight, you don’t live.”

  “Were you formally trained?”

  She nodded.

  “By this Mika?”

  “Yes”

  “What were his methods?”

  She looked up at him, “His training methods?”

  “Yes”

  “He put me in the arena with members of the Apprehension Team.”

  “Adults?”

  “Yes”

  “How old were you?”

  “I was 7 when I started learning to fight.”

  Alric sat back and let the Captain get out of her what he could, “So you learned by fighting grown men.”

  “That was Mika’s way.”

  “Is that how you got so many scars?”

  “Some”

  “Did you ever kill one of them?”

  “Yes, it was death or get punished.”

  “Wait,” Alric said, shocked. “At 7 years old you were in a battle to the death with adult warriors?”

  “Yes”

  “I’m surprised they didn’t kill you when you lacked experience,” Finn said.

  “They weren’t allowed to kill me. Once I was unconscious, they were to stop.”

  He frowned, “How often were these trainings?”

  “It depended. If I didn’t kill the ones I fought, then I was punished, sometimes for a full week.”

  “As a child…”

  “Childhood is not an excuse to be inept.”

  “Children should be nurtured and cared for.”

  She smiled, “Here maybe.”

  “How did you come to be with Mika?” Alric asked. He had been curious from the moment she mentioned her time with him.

  “I was indentured to him.”

  “Indentured?” Finn asked him.

  Alric watched her, “It’s a barbaric practice where fines are paid by giving a slave. That slave works to pay off the fines.”

  “So your parents owed this Mika…”

  “No, I had no parents.”

  “Who had you then?”

  She stiffened, “They had no choice but to give me to Mika or risk all of them dying at the hands of his Apprehension Crews.”

  “I understand that and I don’t blame them. I just wonder who they are, how you came to be with them.”

  “I was left on their doorstep as an infant.”

  “These Apprehension Crews you keep speaking of, was Mika training you to join them?”

  “He never told me of his plans.”

  “How did you get away?” Alric asked, leaning forward.

  Kyrin shifted nervously, “I…”

  “It’s ok. We just want to know.”

  When she tensed and looked toward the window, Alric stood.

  “I think that’s enough for now. You don’t have to worry about being attacked by my Knights again,” Alric told her.

  Finn scowled, “They will not bother you again.”

  “Are you still going to punish yourself?”

  “Yes, you don’t have to worry about that,” she said to him.

  “I’m more worried about you actually torturing yourself.”

  “I have to.”

  “How will you do it?”

  “I haven’t decided.”

  “Please wait until tomorrow and let’s talk again. For now, your dinner has arrived, and I must go and speak to Lukas.”

  She turned to the window, so the others left.

  ***

  “Again?” Alric said when the servant picked up the tray of food from in front of Kyrin’s door.

  “Yes, my Lord.”

  “Did she eat this morning?”

  “No, Sir. It’s been five days since I’ve seen her eat.”

  Alric walked up and knocked, “Kyrin, I want to come in.”

  Finn appeared from around the corner and leaned up against the wall beside her door, “Still nothing?”

  “No and I don’t like how quiet it is.”

  “It may be time just to go in.”

  “That’s kind of what I’m thinking.” Alric knocked again, “Kyrin, let me in, or I’ll have to force my way in.”

  “We don’t have a choice.”

  Alric pulled out his keys and slid the key into the door, but it wouldn’t turn.

  “Is that the right key?” Finn asked, taking the keys.

  “It’s the skeleton key to the castle.”

  Finn looked over at him, “Care if I break it?”

  “Be my guest.”

  Finn took a step back and then kicked the door, shattering the frame, and it swung in. They both stepped into the dark
room and instinctually looked at the bed, which was empty. When Finn lit the lantern, they both ran for her. She was lying unconscious on the cold hard floor, and her body was covered in burns.

  “Is she alive?” Finn asked, looking her over.

  “Barely,” Alric said, but then began chanting softly as his hands glowed. He ran them over the burns across her face and neck, and watched as they slowly healed. She was breathing in short gasps, and he was afraid he might be too late.

  Two priests came in when Finn called for them, and they immediately knelt down and began working on the deep black burns. It took hours to repair the damage, and when she was resting peacefully on the bed, Alric sat down, exhausted.

  “Where did the burns come from?” Finn asked, sitting beside him.

  “The lantern is the only fire in here.”

  “That would take a lot of willpower to burn yourself that badly with a small lantern.”

  “I shouldn’t have let her be alone when I knew she felt she needed punished.”

  “It makes you wonder if she punishes herself because it’s less than what others will give.”

  Alric nodded, “We can only imagine what her life has been like.”

  “Well we can’t leave her alone now. We can’t trust her.”

  “We can’t take away her privacy either. She’s a young woman who needs time to herself.”

  “To mutilate herself!”

  “She told us she was going to though. I guess I didn’t believe her.”

  Finn looked over at her, “Never again will I underestimate her.”

  “Not for one second.”

  “We need to find something for her to do.”

  “She keeps trying to clean.”

  “I’ve heard. I’d rather have her on my unit.”

  “As a Knight?” Alric asked, looking over at him.

  “She’s bested my most seasoned Knights. Seems fitting to put her out there protecting the city.”

  “Except she’s impulsive and irrational. Can she be trusted to keep us safe?”

  “True. Then let her clean.”

  “I don’t feel right having a non-paid servant on my staff,” Alric told him. “Doing so would mean meeting her expectations of how others treat people.”

  “Well she can’t sit around here in her room all day.”

  “That’s what I hate. She would if I ordered her to.”

  “Then let her be your personal assistant.”

  Alric looked at Finn, “Do what?”

  “She can follow you around and take notes, record upcoming appointments, that type of thing. You’ve always hated how after meeting with the townspeople on the full moon that you often forget things you’ve told them.”

  “That’s not a bad idea.”

  “Are you going to talk to her about this punishment business?”

  “Not this time. If she threatens again though I will intervene.”

  Chapter 4

  Kyrin felt herself coming out of the dream. In it, she was speaking to Daemionis and walking along one of the dark plateaus that filled the Valley of the Dead in Paramide. Creteloc was there in the dream, and Kyrin missed her. She was the closest thing Kyrin had to a friend, and had introduced her into Daemionis’ followers in lieu of killing her as a sacrifice.

  “Kyrin?” Alric asked when she started to stir.

  She remembered she was in the middle of a punishment, but could no longer feel the cleansing of pain. If she was prematurely out of pain, then she couldn’t be fully absolved of trying to kill a member of her master’s elite guard.

  “Come on, Kyrin. Open your eyes.”

  Once she was able to pull free of the deep sleep, she looked over at him to see if he was mad.

  Alric smiled, “Welcome back.”

  The soft bed at her back was uncomfortable and unfamiliar, so she sat up slowly and looked around the room.

  “Are you hungry?” he asked.

  “No”

  “I should rephrase that… you need to eat.” Alric stood up and then walked over to the table, “I took the liberty of bringing you some breakfast.”

  Kyrin looked down at her arms where the burns should have been.

  “I healed you.”

  “Why?”

  “I don’t punish.”

  “That is why I did it.”

  “Sit, eat.”

  Kyrin finally sat down and Alric watched as she picked up the food with her hands and ate it.

  “Remind me to introduce you to a spoon,” he said, amused.

  She licked the butter from her fingers and kept eating.

  “While you eat, I want to tell you about a task I have for you.”

  He waited to see if she would respond, but she continued to eat, “I need an assistant. Someone who follows me on day-to-day tasks and keeps track of things I need to remember.”

  She frowned slightly, “You have a lot of faith in my memory.”

  “You can write it down.”

  Kyrin stopped eating and smiled crookedly, “You think I can write?”

  “Oh, I hadn’t considered that you can’t write.”

  “Why would I be able to write?”

  “Why not?”

  “Fighters don’t need to waste time learning to read and write.”

  He smiled, “I know how.”

  “May I ask you a question?”

  “Yes”

  “You said magic is dead.”

  “Yes, it has been for a century.”

  “If it’s dead, how do you heal someone?” she asked, and then sat back in the chair.

  “Sithias has given me the ability.” He reached out and handed her a napkin when he saw butter dripping from her chin.

  Kyrin took it and then frowned, “But it is magic.”

  “No, it is a blessing from Sithias.”

  She shrugged, “So now that I can’t write your notes, what will I do to pay you back?”

  “I still want you with me.”

  “As protection?”

  He fought back a grin, “No, not as protection. I do rather well at protecting myself.”

  Kyrin finally remembered to wipe her face, “So you want me to just follow you around all day?”

  “Yes, after you put on clean clothes.”

  “Do you realize you all care too much about appearances?”

  “I don’t believe so.”

  “I wore the same clothes for three years and didn’t seem to suffer.”

  “Just do as I ask,” he said, and then smiled and left as he shook his head.

  Several minutes later, she came out dressed in clean clothing, and was tying her hair into a braid.

  “Ready?” he asked.

  “I am.”

  He smiled and then started out toward the castle’s foyer. Kyrin turned around when three Knights fell in behind them. She narrowed her eyes and then placed herself between the Knights and Alric.

  They all stopped at a line of magnificent white horses and Kyrin watched when Alric mounted and looked down at her, “Are you coming?”

  She stepped back away from the nearest horse, “On that thing?”

  “That thing, is a horse.”

  “I don’t care what it’s called. It could feed an outpost.”

  “We use them for transportation.”

  “A waste.”

  “Just get on, from the left.”

  “I’ll walk,” she told him, and crossed her arms.

  “You can’t keep up with a horse.”

  Kyrin wanted to just cast a spell to make herself faster, but knew doing so would get her killed. She walked up to the large beast and watched as one of the Knights mounted. Mimicking his movement, she pulled herself onto the horse and then swayed and hung onto the saddle when she almost fell off.

  “There are no horses where you come from?” one of the Knights asked.

  “If there were, we ate them,” she said, irritated.

  Alric chuckled and clicked his tongue. Soon, the rest caught up with h
im as they headed into Valhara. Kyrin started to get the hang of riding a horse, though she didn’t like it and felt awkward on it.

  “When is she supposed to arrive?” one of the Knights asked.

  “She should be arriving within a few minutes,” Alric answered. Kyrin knew better than to ask where they were going or who she was, but she was curious.

  People from Valhara came out of their houses to watch them pass. Most waved and smiled, but some looked at her questioningly, and she couldn’t help but check to make sure her flail was still on her hip.

  A coach was arriving when they rode up, and Kyrin stopped her horse a ways from it. Alric got off of his horse and moved quickly to the door. When he opened it, a woman appeared and Alric pulled her into his arms and kissed her softly.

  Kyrin frowned. She’d not seen a kiss, and it seemed a disgusting and odd practice. Alric let the woman go, and then she stepped back and watched as the coachman unloaded her bag. The woman wasn’t very pretty, but was in a long pink and gold dress that was embellished with sparkling gems. Her hair was blonde and piled high on her head.

  Alric handed her bag up to one of the Knights and then easily lifted the woman onto his horse, though she had both legs off to one side, which Kyrin wondered how she was going to stay on. Alric mounted behind her, and they kissed again before starting back for the castle.

  Alric and the woman spoke quietly, and Kyrin fell back with the Knights, as it seemed that was what she was supposed to do.

  As Kyrin watched them, she started to understand that Alric had just purchased the woman and would probably force her to marry him soon. The entire thought made her stomach tighten, and she wondered if the woman already had a mercy plan in place, or if she should offer her services.

  More armored Knights met them out in front of the castle, and Alric lowered the woman into the hands of Finn, who was in full armor and looked ready for a fight.

  “It’s good to see you, my Lady,” Finn said, setting her down. Two servants came out of the castle that Kyrin hadn’t seen yet, one young man and one young woman. The man went and took her bags, then disappeared into the castle, while the servant girl went and stood behind the woman beside Alric.

  Alric kissed the woman again and then walked up to Kyrin as she tied her horse up just as the Knights were doing.

  “Kyrin, I wanted to introduce you to Genessa,” Alric said, motioning to the woman.