by Zari Reede
I slashed at the one nearest meself and dealt it a painful blow. In agony, it flailed and caught its injured sibling within its pincers, dealing it a killing bite. Entwined, they both shuddered and were still. The third was cagey. It darted in toward Sammy who had run out of stones. She raised her hand, palm facing the spider, and shouted, “No!”
The spider was slung so hard that it sped pass the queen into the net. A force yanked the remaining threads free and the spiders screamed as they fell to their deaths into a darkened well beyond the door.
The three of us stared at Little Miss. “If you could do this, why did you not do it earlier?” the queen asked.
Sammy examined her hands perplexed. “I didn’t know I could.”
We looked for the wee one’s father, but he seemed to have vanished. I ken we had nae time to keep searching. I nodded to the queen and spoke to the child. “Little Miss, the spiders are gone and your father will find us, but we can nae stay.”
Little Miss’s lip quivered, but she held back tears. “Are you sure, Winni?”
“I’m sure. There are many tunnels that lead to safety down here. He will probably be waiting for us at the end.” I hoped with all my Brownie spirit that I was right.
“We must reach the borders and find my people. Come!” The queen rushed forward but stopped. “Nstrl....you fought well and have earned your blades. You will be trained, my warrior child.”
I offered the wee Cyclops her blades back but she took only one and gestured that I should keep the other. She was so proud that she nearly pranced after her mum.
We took the left fork around the deep well beyond the great spider arch. As we ran, Little Miss asked, “Winni, how did you find me?”
“Little Miss, I think from now on, I will ken your whereabouts always.”
Chapter 44
Jim
Ever feel like you are in a movie, and you are moving in exactly the right direction they want you too, but you know deep down that it isn’t going to end well? If so, that was exactly where I was. Okay, probably not ever happened to you. Me either, except for right now. Considering all the crapwiches I’ve been fed on this journey, I am sure I won’t be finding Tinkerbell at the end of the tunnel. I started out creeping then thought, oh what the hell, and stomped down the passage like I was king of the mountain. If you can’t dazzle them with brilliance, baffle ’em with bullshit.
I turned a corner and shook my head. Dozens of dark humanoids gathered chatting, but six focused on me. I looked closely at their gleaming violet skin. It was the darkest violet I have ever seen. A horn adorned the center of their foreheads and initially, I thought they had only one eye like the Cyclops, though as they approached, I saw they had two tiny ones set close together. They were naked so it was obvious capturing me was exciting. Needless to say, I was not comfy with that. They barred my way and the only other option was retreat. Not being fool enough to fight the Purple People Eaters who outnumbered me, I nixed retreat and battle and went with talk. Dammit! Is life always a cliché? Lions and Tigers and Bears, oh my! I plastered my face with a smile and hoped for the best.
“Hi. Jim Nichols here.” I put my hand out, but had no takers. That was cool, because I really didn’t want to touch naked dudes’ hands. “So, I kinda fell into your house. You need a better door.” They grunted and trilled to each other. I waited till they stopped and hoped that the discussion didn’t end in, “kill the clothed white guy.” Then a smaller one spoke. I hadn’t noticed because I was so busy trying not to pee myself. Seriously, is there no un-pee-my-pants-worthy place here for Christ’s sake? A high, musical voice said, “You are not of Ortharos.”
“No.”
Another voice said, “Kill it.”
“Nooo--Wait! I have friends who are Ortharians, Ortharies, Orthareids, whatever!”
“You do? Would you speak for us?” the calmer purple guy inquired, tilting his head in question.
“Hell, yeah!” I’m not a total idiot.
“Our young are captured by the beings above and used as messengers. We are not opposed to aiding in communications, but some agreement should exist. If our young travel too often, or go too far when teleporting, they die. Our adult form cannot travel above ground. Our race dwindles. Fewer and fewer spin their larvae into cocoons and transform to adulthood.”
“First off, I’m not from here and would never steal babies and make them work to death,” I reasoned.
The adults blew up three times their size and moaned, vibrating so low that my bones shook.
“Hey! Not the bad guy!” I yelled over the sound.
“You will go above and speak to the sky dwellers. Tell them this. We are restricted to the great underneath, but we hold great power here. We will undermine the foundations of their cities. Their infrastructures will collapse if they do not desist in overstretching our youth. The travel is good training for the young. It makes them strong, but safeguards need to be set. Too many die, too often.”
Fodjes said there were monsters that lived here, but these purple, horned people didn’t seem overly violent. They were concerned parents who wanted representation. It wasn’t exactly on my agenda, but since they must know the way out of this joint, I had already made my decision to help.
“All right, I’m in! How do I get to the surface? I should also disclose that the Queen of Cyclops is somewhere within this tunnel system and is with my own daughter and hers. If you should meet with them, treat them with great care and protect them. The castle is under attack by a necromancer and things seem really dangerous right now.” As I said the words, I wondered about my own sanity. I might have told them too much and endangered the lives of the queen and the girls, plus my ticket out. Their expressions grew concerned and I feared what came next.
“No! Must find Yon Yon, my daughter!” the leader cried out in anguish wrinkling his brow. “You must find Yon Yon.” He poked a finger in my chest and stared forlornly into my eyes.
“Okay, okay. I’ll do my best. What does Yon Yon look like and where might I find her?”
My valued status continued to be intact, and I hoped to get directions out of here soon. They pointed to a cave drawing of a small stick being with a monkey-like tail. I nodded in acknowledgement. Apparently, this was Yon Yon.
“Don’t worry, Purple Man, I’m a father myself and there isn’t anything I wouldn’t do to save my kid.” I gave him a light pat on the shoulder and then remembered I was petting a naked man. I envisioned many years of therapy after my return to Earth. He nodded and embraced me in a very awkward hug. I hate to admit I squealed. No amount of liberalism could cover my horror of a naked-purple-guy group hug. At least no one was excited any more.
I was shown a piece of furniture that looked like a large armoire. I opened the door and stepped inside hesitantly. They slammed the door and I heard what sounded like a board clacking into place. Panicking, I pushed the door to get out, but to no avail. It was locked solid. I tamped down my fear and thought of all the things I had overcome since arriving on Ortharos. Being locked in an armoire couldn’t be the worst.
I felt around then stepped up in what seemed to be a stairwell. How had The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe ended? I couldn’t remember the tale exactly, but the title rang in my head, as I opened the door at the top of the stairs. My eyes had adjusted to the dark, so when I stepped out into the blackness of night, I saw creepy skeletons and someone wearing a gray cloak on a grand steed. I tried to reenter the earthen door, but it wouldn’t open. Without a word, a zombie hoisted me onto his horse. “Liotte will want you,” the creature rasped. I was clueless why I wasn’t immediately destroyed, but apparently Liotte saw something in keeping an Earthly trophy. I bounced like a sack of potatoes as they trotted away from the Cyclops fortress.
Chapter 46
Mindy
The phone and electricity lines were down, and we gathered in the living room with a few lit candles, eating the bare bones scavenged from Harry’s pantry and fridge. Pickle jars, sardi
ne cans, and chocolate wrappers littered the coffee table. Sir Reggie had been moved to a fainting couch in the hall. A storm came in with electrifying lightning and great waves of rain. The generator worked for a while, but ran out of gas, leaving us to oil lamps and candles. At least the plumbing still worked. I thanked the stars for that modern convenience. My most favorite ORB moment to date, involved a class instruction on how to use the toilet.
Rapunzel stood looking at the ceiling with disinterest and the prince dumped the mostly noshed bag of M&Ms into the swirling bowl of water, exclaiming as they disappeared. I then caught Rapunzel, no longer looking incensed by the talk of bodily excrement, watching with great curiosity. Her eyes ignited with the wonders of modern technology.
We decided to congregate in the living room, so that we could relax and discuss all that Rapunzel knew about Ortharos and other ORBs. It would be best to enter a meeting with ISMAT council leaders with as much information as possible.
“’Punzel, your twin assists your parents, the queen and king, in ruling Rhineguard and because of your natural born powers, Liotte received custody of you, correct?” I repeated what I had learned from our discussion. My legs folded beneath me sank lower in the bean bag as I shifted. ’Punzel sat in the recliner with her legs splayed high, in front of the roaring fire. Rubbing my arms at an unexpected chill, I fretted over the out-of-season, hurricane-like weather and bitter cold that did not typically occur during a Louisiana February.
“It’s what I already said. Are you daft, Mindy? Did your mums drop you on your head when you were a child?” she snipped.
I wondered if she was being her usual bitchy, fire-princess self, or if something was bothering her that she didn’t want to share.
“Yeeps!” I squeaked at another roar of thunder. Jagged lines of lightning zig-zagged across the entire sky. “What’s up with this storm?” I said to no one in particular, standing up and looking out the window.
“It’s the results of the imbalance of energy between our worlds.” ’Punzel sniffed and looked over her shoulder at Reggie’s feet, visible in the large entryway. “Liotte is a necromancer. His magic is power over the dead. He used my powers to channel energy from Earth to Ortharos. The energy I channeled was primarily used to retrieve demons. These demons were imprisoned in the corpses which Liotte raised. The necromancer’s goal is to create an undead army large enough to take over Ortharos. The energy continues to Blink and I’m not there to stabilize it. If nothing is done, everything here and on Ortharos will eventually expire,” she said as she shrugged her shoulders then studied her nails.
“What?” I whipped around and stared at her lounging form under the mint green, chenille throw.
“Wait a minute.” Harry snapped his fingers. “That’s it! That’s what is happening!” He smiled as the light bulb went off in his head and he ran over to a small, antique secretary, pulling out a note pad and pen. Harry pointed his pen at Rapunzel, who looked momentarily puzzled. “When did this energy drain start?”
“It’s not a drain, but an exchange. We can’t pull energy unless we give something back from our world. As I pull from your world using the portal fashioned by Liotte, I channel energy back from ours. The exchange is what makes the siphon possible.” ’Punzel sat forward, engaging in the conversation with great interest. She hadn’t totally understood the Blink and it irked her, though she wouldn’t admit it. “We began the exchange five double moons from my arrival at Nastere. Before Winnalea came to spy on me, steal me away, and destroy my mentor, we pulled far more energy than we knew was even possible. This is all that meddling brownie’s fault!” ’Punzel’s voice turned black and ugly with her memory of what I was sure was Winni’s attempt to help.
“So, you started pulling greater energy and building an army of zombies, so to speak.” Harry wound his hands as if twining an invisible ball of yarn. “Then Winnalea came to rescue you and it interfered with your progression. You were Blinked and the energy exchange left unmanaged.” He waved the pen in ’Punzel’s direction then suddenly pointed it at me. “Mindy, you suddenly start seeing normal behavior from ORBs and an increase in their numbers. Then you develop a power to glow and transport when your cause is pure.” Harry recapped as he started drawing on the notepad and calculating equations.
Mom knelt down behind him with her hand on his shoulder, as he scribbled furiously on the paper. “Harry, what are you thinking?”
“It’s like this, Mary Kate. Some ORBs, like Rapunzel, are born with innate powers and some ORBS are able to manipulate this power or energy, let’s call it magic, from the environment. Magic not only exists on Ortharos, it is also necessary for the ORBs’ welfare. On Earth, while I won’t assert there is no magic, there is certainly very little evidence it exists in any abundance. As Rapunzel and Liotte drained Earth of energy, this energy was exchanged with magic from Ortharos. ORBs Blinked prior to Liotte’s experiment arrived in a deranged state because they couldn’t survive without magic. It can be likened to oxygen. Without it, we would panic and appear insane. We might even think the beings we appeared before were responsible. Eventually, we would die. As magic has increased here, ORBs arriving behave more as they normally would on Ortharos. We also see Mindy and Sam gained powers that they never initially had. I suspect others are finding themselves gifted as well,” Harry added as Mom nodded in agreement.
I too was completely engaged in his theory.
“Now the interesting thing is that Rapunzel’s powers have diminished, but she is still a lovely young lady indeed,” he tossed in to sooth her rumpled feathers. ’Punzel preened. She really was a victim of middle-child syndrome, without the third sibling. “I think that she needs the magic of Ortharos to fuel her own innate core. As the imbalance becomes greater here, she will become powerful again, however, all of Ortharos will become more insane and disabled until they perish from lack of their own energy source. No telling how that will affect the Earth. We know we can live in their world without many issues, but once our energy source is depleted entirely, there has to be some repercussions. Disastrous ones, I would think.” He looked up at all of us, dazed.
“So, if we don’t find a way to get ’Punzel back to manage the energy-magic exchange, we are all screwed?” I said in a quick summary, flopping back down on the beanbag chair.
Chapter 47
The Witch
We unhitched the wagon and scurried to camouflage it. The dead, we left nearby. The scavengers would take care of them. With the influx of creatures, I hoped to discourage other bandits who might pillage the wagon. Max and I made good time. A competent rider, he easily traversed the land. The necromancer’s domain lay on the opposite side of the island from our Winter Palace. Because we were close to the Cyclops fortress, in just one sleep we should arrive.
***
The terrain became rockier and steep until it was not safe for the horses. We set them free and continued on foot.
Max touched my side. “You are aware we are running low on water? I don’t suppose you have a fountain spell in your pocket?”
As he moved his hand along the material of my pouch, electricity shot down my legs. I shook my head to clear my thoughts. “Don’t talk, you will just get thirstier.” I cast my eyes round and snatched four pebbles up. “Suck on these.”
He examined my hand. “Rocks? Okay things are very different here, but you can’t convince me I can get water from a rock.”
“It will encourage saliva to flow.”
He leered. “I’ve got a better way to do that.”
“Just suck on the rocks.”
Silence for a blessed time too short, then he asked, “I wonder if we shall ever be put into a song or tales?”
“What?” I asked, perplexed.
“Two people on a quest, crappy terrain--reminded me of a book I read.”
“Well, perhaps someday you can tell me of it.” I am familiar with Datters Isle. Rhineguard encompasses the lower fourth plane, the Cyclops, the right-hand eighth, Corrinth occ
upies the lower eighth. The rest is no man’s land as is a narrow strip between the borders. I examined the flora and sighed with relief. “An aquaplante!”
“Huh?”
“Where is your knife?” Max handed it to me. I scored halfway down the yellow leaf of the plant and held my fingers over the gashes. “Here, suck on this.”
Max gave me such a look to make me blush so that my face burned. “It’s water,” I advised him with a tart tone.
I demonstrated placing my mouth over the gashes and drinking. Thankfully, numerous plants of this type grew in clumps, so we were able to staunch our thirsts, but we were taking more time than I wished. After the third plant, he took the knife from me.
“Princess, I am all about feminism, but let me help.”
Befuddled, I resisted releasing the knife for a moment then hesitantly relinquished. My blistered hands did hurt. Max was a puzzle to me and I found myself longing to know all the facets of his personality and the world in which he came. He continued to slash the plants until we were both sated and my stomach swelled taut with water. I worried about the way my hair looked. Silly woman, I chided myself. We’ve sufficient water to reach the necromancer’s abode, and that is where my focus should be. I fought the wish to linger and remain so close to Max. I took a deep breath and continued walking.
We crested the last hill to Nestere as the sun stretched its rays over the lush green ground cover, bringing light to the massive white stone structure. It predated our own palaces. Nestere was deceptive in its bright, opulent exterior. The ancestral home of the necromancer was a fine example of stonemasonry. Diamond cut stones lined the ramparts and magnificent gargoyles peeked through at every turn. Statues graced the overgrown courtyards, crabgrass replaced the once beautiful roses, and vines hid what once was a fairytale garden.