Plane of the Godless

by Peter Hartz

  A strange feeling came over him. It was almost like inhaling a little nitrous oxide at the dentist before having his teeth worked on.

  The guardsman looked at Dave critically, then turned and nodded at the queen, before stepping aside.

  The queen then spoke up. “Is your true name David?”

  “It is. I am also called Dave, which is a shorted version of David. You may call me either.”

  “Very well, David. Have you or anyone in your family engaged in any evil act that has caused you to flee from justice to my House?”

  “No, Your Majesty. Those who sought to kill my sister were the evil-doers.”

  “Are the companion animals your family travels with any danger to harm anyone needlessly?”

  “No, Your Majesty,” he said. “But I must say, they will defend themselves or their human people if someone seeks to harm them or their humans. They are extremely loyal, but have also had much in the way of social interaction and acclimation to being around people. If they are left alone or treated with kindness and respect, they will return such actions with the same. The two older ones, Sadie and Abby, are well-trained. Max, the black one, has not had much training yet. But we are working on it. They will not soil or water indoors.”

  “Is my realm in any danger from anyone on your plane by granting sanctuary to the women of your family?”

  “I don’t see how it could be, your Majesty. As far as I know, no one on my plane knows how to get here, and no one even knows that this plane exists.”

  “Certainly mages on your plane could trace the pathway to here to find them? That is no simple task, but most more-learned mages would be capable of such a thing.”

  “There is no real magic on my plane. As far as I know, there never has been. There are no mages. Only stage magicians that use sleight-of-hand and tricks to convince people that they can do magic. But no one is capable of doing anything at all like I have seen Giltreas do.”

  Her mouth opened wide at that statement. “No magic? None? Magic is the birthright of every human, elf, and dwarf everywhere! The Gods gifted the races with magic. Every human can do at least some simple spells to defend themselves, heal, cure sickness or poison, or cure blindness. Yet you say that no one where you are from has ever been able to do this?”

  “That is correct, Your Majesty.”

  Her eyes were wide with shock now. “But why? How is this even possible?” She turned to look at her advisors that stood next to her throne. Their faces betrayed their own stunned amazement. She glanced at Giltreas, who merely shrugged, conveying that he was confirming David’s statement, along with the absurdity of it all.

  Michelle, however, had been looking at the seneschal at that particular moment, and his own face showed shock, and something else. Possibly… fear? Why would he be afraid of this?

  The queen didn’t seem to notice. She turned back to David, and struggled to think of how to proceed. Humans with no knowledge of magic? But they possess weapons that could kill from a great distance? Still, she needed assurance that there was no danger to her people.

  “Is there any way you can think of that someone from your plane might be able to bring harm or strife to this plane?”

  Dave thought for a moment, and could not come up with any way for that to happen. “None, Your Majesty. I can think of no way that anyone there could even get here. I will not be able to get back here without Giltreas’ assistance once we leave and begin hunting for who is responsible.”

  The queen considered for a moment, and could not come up with any other questions she needed asked in this manner, so she waved the guardsman forward. He stepped up, and cancelled the spell.

  “I am satisfied that you are not evil-doers yourself, fleeing justice, and that your enemies would not be able to bring harm and strife to my plane and my kingdom. Therefore, I grant sanctuary to… which are your names?” She inclined her head towards the two women who were standing with the dogs.

  “I am Michelle, Your Majesty. And this is Allison.” Allison bowed to the queen when her name was spoken.

  “Very well. I grant sanctuary, protection, and the hospitality of my home to David, Michelle, Allison, and their animal companions, in the name of The Crown, and of my House.”

  Michelle spoke up then. “On behalf of Allison and David and myself, I thank you very much for your kindness and hospitality.” She inclined her head in what became a brief, respectful bow.

  “You are welcome. I would also like to meet your companions as well,” the queen said, as she smiled down on the three dogs. Allison looked down at Max, and smiled. For once, the irrepressible little dog seemed to be calm and quiet. That was subject to change without notice, however. She looked up and said, “I would be happy to introduce you to Max, your Majesty, and I am sure Michelle would be glad to do the same with Sadie and Abby as well.”

  The Queen then motioned them back, and aside. As they stepped away, David noticed that additional guards were entering the throne room, and taking up position along the walls, and in front of the dais where the throne was located.

  When the guardsman who had cast the truth-speak spell on Dave turned to the queen and nodded, she spoke up again.

  “Bring in the four brigands for questioning.”

  ◆◆◆

  Jack knew something was up when the guards approached his cell again. He couldn’t believe the construction of the prison around them. The iron bars were more than two inches thick, and were set deeply into solid rock. The door swung inward, and was locked by a huge iron bar that was secured with a thick chain and hasp. When he tried to touch the chain, he received a shock that forced him to let go of it. Somehow the chain was electrified, but he had no idea how it was done; no wires were present.

  Now one of the guards spoke to him again, and in English. “Extend your arms through the bars together. You will be restrained for the visit with Her Majesty the Queen.”

  He did as he was told, since the head jailer was watching carefully. Jack studiously tried to avoid eye contact with the huge… being. It wasn’t hard, given the differences in their height.

  Standing easily all of eight feet tall and then some, with massive shoulders, hugely muscular arms, and looking like he could break Jack in half with a single one of his incredible fists, the Minotaur was… words failed Jack. He was bare-footed, with only a loin cloth around his waist, and he was holding the biggest two-headed hammer Jack had ever seen like it was a twig leaning over one shoulder. The expression on the bull-shaped face was heavily laced with equal parts contempt and an eagerness that chilled him to his core. It was almost like the being near a fighter who just waited for the opening bell to tear into his opponent. The sight of the incredible being really drove home the situation he was in. He wanted to curse and swear, but was terrified of even opening his mouth near the impossible creature.

  When they had first been brought down through the guard room and down the stairs, someone had cast the same learn-language spell on the Minotaur, and Jack had flinched when that massive hand had reached for him. But all he wanted was contact with Jack’s hand, and then a moment later, he spoke to all four of them as they were herded into the main room below ground where the cells were located.

  “I am Karonashkk. I keep Her Majesty’s jails. Do nothing to make me angry. You wouldn’t enjoy that as much as I would.”

  The specialist had swallowed and mumbled a prayer in his own language. Bill had just stood there in terror. Jack had swallowed in fear, and tried to keep from losing control of either his stomach or his bladder.

  Aaron had spat on him and mouthed a curse. Karonashkk had merely lifted Aaron with his free hand, walked towards the cell door which suddenly seemed to open on its own as he approached, and thrown the much smaller human form through the air and against the back wall with a thud. Aaron lay on the floor wheezing and trying to catch his breath from the impact, shrugging the now painful shoulder that had hit the wall first and shaking his head to try to clear the fog that had sud
denly appeared.

  The guards laughed at Aaron. He glared back when he could. The Minotaur had walked over to the man crumpled against the back wall of the enclosure, and spoke again.

  “I will be glad to teach you humility, and respect for your betters, worm, should you need the lesson. If you think of escaping, I will hunt you down. If you hurt one of the guards, or anyone else, I will beat you senseless. If you wish to test yourself against me, ask nicely. I will be glad to show you that you are wrong. I am the keeper because no one can stand against me.”

  “I would listen to him if I were you, human,” Giltreas added then. “He has been studying and learning the warrior ways for nearly four hundred turnings of the seasons. Before that he was a gladiator by choice in the far eastern reaches. No one has ever bested him, nor even come close.”

  Dave cut the zip-ties that bound the other three after Jack had been unbound. The rope had been removed by the guards when they reached the jail hallway.

  Jack turned his focus to the guard who finished securing him, then told him to step back to the back wall. He complied meekly, wondering where this sniveling coward he suddenly became had come from. Had it been there all the time? Was he simply an opportunistic bully who finally realized that he was no longer a threat?

  Bill and the specialist were secured just as easily. Aaron fought his jailers until Karonashkk had set down his war hammer, enter the cell, and pinned his face against the wall, wrenched his arms behind him, and held him there easily until the bonds were set on him. Then the Minotaur had dragged him along by his wrists as he lead the procession to just outside what seemed, from the small glimpse he got through the archway ahead on the right, like a huge room.

  Then Jack heard a woman’s voice speaking in the same tongue as the… elves? He had no idea what it said, but something about it seemed to make him want to hide. Then the guards ushered them through the archway.

  ◆◆◆

  He sat back after ordering, and looked happily at his wife. She noticed his look, and smiled back at him.

  “You are really in a good mood tonight, honey. What has you feeling this good?”

  “You make me happy.”

  She made an “aww” sound at him, and smiled wider. “I hope you still feel that way after you see the credit card bills from my shopping trip yesterday.”

  He winced theatrically, and mopped his forehead in faux worry. “Am I going to have to get a job washing dishes here to cover it?”

  “Maybe. We’ll see.”

  “You are such a troublemaker. Why do I ever put up with you?”

  “I thought you loved me?” She pouted at him.

  “That must be it.”

  ◆◆◆

  “One of our team leaders never checked in.”

  “Which one?”

  “Special operations lead 317, sir.”

  That produced a disgusted grimace. “That one is the most unreliable S.O.B. out of them all. Not sure why he is still an asset.” He thought for a moment.

  “Uhm, sir, what do you want me to do? Follow the procedure and notify Op Central?”

  He thought for a moment more, then said “Screw him. I am tired of his games and problems. File the report. He can deal with the fall-out. He better not be in a bar somewhere drunk this time. I am certainly not covering his ass anymore. While you’re at it, contact Tech Ops and ask them to pull his cell’s location. If the info is not back by the time you file the report, note that the request has been made and will be appended to the report later.”

  “Yes sir.” He nodded internally. He was glad to be finally throwing that glorified thug under whatever bus was coming to run him down with this latest stunt. He liked his world orderly, and was happy when everything more or less was in place. 317 had never shown any interest in his requests to behave and fall in line, he thought to himself as he called up the secure email program, then the proper form to send the request to Tech Ops, and filled it in before sending it. He then opened the appropriate report, and worked his way through filling it out in his browser.

  He was most of the way through some fifteen minutes later when he got an email back from Tech Ops. Opening it up, he read that the cell phone in question was not on the grid. The response included a short list of reasons why: destroyed, battery removed, under water for more than an hour. He added the Tech Ops response to the report with a link to the file should the recipient wish to read it themselves, and sent it off to his leader for approval and forwarding.

  Chapter 12

  Allison watched as the four men who had attacked Michelle were lead into the throne room, and wasn’t sure if she wanted, or would need, her gun in the next few minutes. The second guard station they had gone through to get to the throne room had requested that all weapons be left in their care. She and Dave had both unloaded and deposited their firearms in the basket placed in front of them, with Michelle putting a small folding knife in with her pistol; then Dave had asked them not to touch them. He added his Gerber multi-tool next to the guns. The basket had then been carried gingerly back to behind a wall, and set on a shelf up and out of the way, as Dave had watched. He then nodded, and led the way back to the guard station, ignoring the indecipherable looks the guard was giving him. Allison had merely waited patiently.

  Now she wished she still had it, but wasn’t too worried. She was trained and capable of handling herself. And that huge Minotaur with the massive sledge hammer looked capable, too. Wait, what? Minotaur? She did a double-take. Yep. She was well and truly down the rabbit hole for sure now. A laugh threatened to break free from her control, and she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Her memories of learning to be iron-willed in Marine boot camp, and all the years of study before that, came back to her, and she found her inner balance. She opened her eyes and watched as one of the four, the one that had threatened Dave earlier at the city gates, struggled to get free from the Minotaur, and almost succeeded. She saw Dave out of the corner of her eye as he leaned forward onto the balls of his feet, ready for action, and realized that she had also focused herself, standing loose with her hands at her sides, but ready. Oddly, Michelle didn’t move, but seemed to be the most poised of the three. The sense Allison read from Michelle was… a sword held at the ready. She blinked as the thought made her lose focus for a moment, and as her eyes narrowed at Michelle in thought, it happened.

  Aaron laughed inside as he suddenly twisted sideways and kicked around and up behind him, connecting with the huge animal that held him and breaking free of his grip at last. His hands were behind him, but that was not an issue. Rolling backwards onto his back, then his shoulders, he passed his wrists behind him and around his legs, and he rolled back upright, gained his balance, and Started Something.

  Guards standing by the other prisoners reached out and dragged them back, forcing them to their knees as Aaron moved forward to make his play. Sadie suddenly stood and barked once, her hackles fully up, her head low as the sound escaped her, the usually gentle dog suddenly reminding Allison of the wolves of her distant ancestry with shocking clarity.

  Jack wondered what good it would do Aaron if he did get free. There was no way to get back to their world. The thought depressed him further, and he almost looked down, but couldn’t pry himself away, like a front row seat to a train wreck in slow motion.

  Dave watched in surprise as the one broke free, wincing as a flying foot connected with Karonashkk’s elbow and it bent at an impossible angle, obviously injured. The huge being was shocked at the sudden impact, and was a moment too slow to get moving and try to slow down or stop the crazed human in front of him. He saw off ahead that the guards had closed up in front of the throne with amazing speed; now some twenty spears pointed out in a defensive position protecting the queen, but the guards didn’t advance. Their role was to defend the Queen. It was the job of the other guards spread throughout the room to end the threat. The other guards began to close in, but before they could, Allison was in the middle of the room standing between
Aaron and the queen.

  Max and Abby stumbled over themselves and each other as they tried to hide from the sudden tumult behind their humans, tangling the leashes attached to their collars around the human legs they were now behind. Oddly enough, Sadie had to be restrained from advancing on Aaron. She had never shown that sort of protectiveness before, and Michelle looked down in astonishment as she heard the words “hurter” and “protect” come from her oldest canine companion.

  Aaron looked at the smaller woman in front of him, and he smiled. It was not a nice smile, filled with hate and rage. But it faltered for a slight moment when he realized that she had no expression on her face whatsoever. It was like she was totally… empty of emotion. That should have been a warning, but he was not quite sane anymore. The way he died, then was brought back to life, but with only one functioning eye, had severed what little connection to reality he’d had left. Seeing all the elves, the strange place they had been brought to, and the huge Minotaur, and having said monster toss him around as if he was a balled-up piece of paper, had broken something deep in his mind, and the control his training in the Army Special Forces instilled in him had mostly left for some far-away locale. His conscious mind had stepped back from control, and the Berserker Rage consumed him, waiting for the right opening. He bared his teeth at the woman – after he beat her down, he would take her right here, as was the right of every conqueror.

  Dave started to step forward, but Allison, who was turned most of the way away from him and most likely couldn’t even see him, waved him back. She then flicked a look to him even as she moved into Aaron’s path, and what he saw made him frightened for her. He’d seen that look before, after she had come back from the convoy mission that had been ambushed. She had locked out all emotion, as she had been trained. He finished his step forward, ready to engage, but then he stopped. He fervently hoped that she wouldn’t do something she would regret later.