“Do you prefer that I wash, Felix?” Flick asked as I exited the washroom.
“Would you allow me to look at your wounds?” I asked. “But please shift to male form first. It will make me more comfortable with your shirt off.”
She shifted and removed the tattered and stained leather top. Dark blood had crusted around the arrow wounds, both back and front. I retrieved a wash cloth from the counter and gently dabbed at the skin. “Does this hurt?” I asked.
“It is not bad,” he said.
The skin was pulled together but still puckered and oozed a dark green fluid. I continued cleaning the rest of his back and chest. The extent of Tig’s healing was considerable, but we’d need to watch for further infection.
“King Tigerious requested I deliver these dressings, Wizard Felix Slade,” a small voice said from behind me.
I turned to find Katinwal standing with a platter atop which sat numerous medical supplies.
“Your timing is impeccable,” I said. “Thank you.” I dried Flick’s skin and covered his wounds.
“I have taken the liberty of providing a shirt for the darkling,” she said. “Wizard Samuel has asked that we extend hospitality to your companion.”
“That is most generous, Katinwal,” I answered.
She smiled and curtseyed. “Please, call me Kat.”
“Only if you call me Felix,” I said, smiling back.
“Jobie, do not be shy and bring the darkling’s tunic,” she called.
Another gnome appeared briefly and laid a folded, dark-green tunic on the ground before disappearing through a small opening in the wall.
“I apologize, but we have lived all of our lives in fear of demons. It is not easy to overcome,” she said. “Wizard Samuel invites you to breakfast in the dining hall. All you need do is exit the guest residence and ask the tower to take you there.”
I gave her a smile. “Thank you, Kat.”
Flick pulled on the tunic and tied the yellow cord around his waist. “My blade is missing,” he said simply.
“As is my jewelry,” I said. “The elves took them when we were captured.”
“It is a fouled blade,” he said. “They should be careful.”
“I believe they have experience with demon weapons.” I pushed the solid wooden door of the residence open.
An ornately inscribed circle sat in the center of the hallway. The night before, Sam explained we could exit the tower here by simply requesting it. I deduced it was also where we would request access to the dining hall.
I picked up Flick’s hand. “Dining hall, please.”
The effect was instantaneous and unnoticeable. One moment we were standing outside the guest residence and the next we were looking into a dining hall where a table had been set with five places. I stepped forward and before we made it through the doorway, I heard the scrape of a shoe behind me.
Sam Elendahl walked toward us, grinning broadly. “Sleep well?” he asked. He carried a book with his index finger sandwiched inside as a place holder.
“Quite,” I said.
“Sam,” Amber’s stern voice caught us from behind. “You were given instructions.”
“Sorry, sister, but it’s not every day I get to talk with a visiting wizard,” he said.
She placed herself between her brother and Flick. “It is also not every day a demon is loose in our midst.”
“He’s just a kid,” Sam argued. “I am a wizard.”
“We will cause no trouble, Amber,” I said.
“I accept you at your word, Felix,” she said, her face grim with determination. “It does not change my responsibility.”
“I’ve been thinking about your situation, Felix,” Sam said, setting his book on the table, opening it to where his finger rested before picking up a plate. A buffet had been set against a wall and sported eggs, potatoes, gravy, pancakes and different types of fruits. “Join me.”
I filled my own plate. It felt like I hadn’t eaten in what seemed like forever. “Flick, you need to eat,” I added when I noticed he wasn’t joining us. To his credit, he didn’t argue.
“Which situation?” I asked. “The one where I’m trapped in the wrong place while one of my friends is in jail and about to be murdered? Or the other, where Missy has been abducted by a dragon?
“Did you tell your mother you were looking for Missy?” he asked.
“Yes. Right before she sent us here.”
“It was efficient on her part,” he said. “Her boss – Adajania is one of the five big power players in the three realms. It is rumored she is a powerful, ancient demon. It was no doubt up to your mother to stop you from pursuing this Missy. So she sent you here - not exactly a safe place for demons.”
“How could she know Flick would come with me to Gaeland? Flick was teleported because he was trying to protect me.”
“Sam, tread carefully. He doesn’t know,” Tig said. He looked tired as he joined us and sat heavily in the chair beside Amber.
The gnome, Jobie, appeared on the buffet table, entering from a tiny, previously closed doorway. Two more gnomes followed behind and slid out a small extension from within the wall, creating a bridge between the buffet and dining tables. I watched in fascination as Jobie poured a cup of steaming tea and transported it to Tig with a tiny handcart.
“Know what?” I asked. I felt Flick’s small hand on my arm.
“No gentle way to say this, Felix,” Tig said. “You’re part demon.”
I stopped breathing. “That’s ridiculous.” I placed my fork on the plate and looked intently at him. He wasn’t lying.
“Flick was trying to sacrifice himself, Felix,” Tig said. “He knew exactly what your mother threw at you and he tried to keep you from being teleported.”
I looked back to Flick, bewildered. “You knew?”
“You speak our language, Felix. You used the magic of Kaelstan to defeat a dragon and five demons,” Flick said. “No human wizard could do this.”
“It is you the elves want destroyed, Felix,” Tig said. “It grieves me to say that I believe your mother wanted the same thing.”
“No,” I said. I felt hot tears running down my face.
“You are right. It is not up to me to assess her intent,” Tig said.
I sat back in my chair, no longer hungry. It made sense: my dark side, the power I feared within me, and my ability to harness the magic of Kaelstan. How could I be demon and not know it?
“You have no control of your birth, Felix,” Amber said. “It is what you make of yourself after that which really matters. The three of us were born without knowledge of our elvish heritage and yet here we sit. What matters is what is in your heart.”
“But my mother tried to kill me.”
“That’s one way to look at it,” Sam said. “Tell me, why you think Adajania has taken Missy.”
“She has the ability to activate an artifact,” I said. “It creates a temporary portal to Kaelstan.”
Sam slid his book over to me. “Is this your artifact?”
On the page was a drawing of the Key. “How could you know?”
“Not that hard. There aren’t that many things that will bridge the worlds,” he said. “When you told us how you got to Kaelstan, I had a faint memory of it. Read the description.”
“I can’t,” I said and slid it back to him.
“Oh, right,” he said. “I never know.”
“How’s that?”
“Sam can read any written language,” Amber said. I sensed a certain amount of pride. “It all looks like English to him.”
“Even pictorial stuff?” I asked.
“Sort of,” he said. “Most of the pictographs and more ancient scripts have so many meanings, I really have to study it. You must have demon blood to activate the artifact and it works in both directions. You and Missy Fitzhugh have this in common. I think your mother made the best choice she had.”
“What do you mean?” Tig asked.
“For the same reasons Adajania wants Mis
sy, she’d want you, Felix - probably more so. You should not go to Arlcliff Palace. Adajania will then have both you and Missy,” Sam said.
“To what end?” I asked.
“The demigod Adajania has enemies. Why else would she take up residence in Kaelstan? The Key and those who can activate it would provide her enemies access. Tell me, did your mother hide your existence when you were growing up?””
The question cut me to the core as pieces began to fall into place. “No,” I said, unable to look up from the table. “She abandoned me and wiped my memory of her.”
“What do you know of your father?”
“Just a name, really,” I said. “Where are you going with this?”
“If your mother is a follower of Adajania, how is it that you have demon blood? Is she part demon?”
“I don’t know,” I said, but it was a lie. I did know. My mother had no demon blood within her. I struggled as the new information warred with my sense of self. The only explanation I could come up with was my mother had lain with a demon.
“Not to be cruel, Felix,” Sam continued. “But the hybrid of a powerful sorceress and a demon could be what Adajania always had in mind. It would explain why she didn’t kill you in the warehouse.”
“I dodged her blade,” I said, weakly.
“You don’t believe that,” Sam said. “If an entity as powerful as Shahbanu Adajania wanted to kill you, she’d have followed you through the portal and finished the job.”
“What about the girl, Missy?” Tig asked. “Do you think she’s like Felix?”
“It’s possible,” Sam said.
“Missy’s dad was no sorcerer,” I said.
“How do you know?” Tig asked.
“I guess I don’t. It doesn’t matter, though. I had a vision last night. Missy is being tortured,” I said. “I’m going to find her.”
“You’ll be playing into Adajania’s hands,” Sam said. “She’s using Missy to draw you back.”
“No choice.”
“Arlcliff Palace is well defended,” Flick said. “You’d need an army to break in.”
“Or a crazy good distraction,” I said.
“You play a dangerous game, Felix Slade,” Amber said.
“I remember when we did the same,” Tig said, laying his hand on Amber’s forearm.
The grim-faced Amber brightened with excitement and I saw a glimpse of a young woman beneath the warrior’s mantle she wore. “Simpler days,” she said, patting Tig’s hand with her own. Yup, there was something there and even with my own problems, I was intensely curious as to whether they would ever work things out.
“You know when I said there was no way back to Kaelstan?” Sam asked.
“I can’t think of anything else,” I said.
“You didn’t ask the more important question.”
“Which is?”
“If we can get you back home. Fact is, we can,” he said.
“You’d do that?”
“I’ll have you back in Virginia before lunch,” he said.
I nodded. “Thank you all. We wouldn’t have survived without your help.”
“You are most welcome,” Tig said. “We were once in your position and if it had not been for the courage of complete strangers, our own quest would have failed. It brings comfort to us to make payment on this debt by our actions.”
“When can we go?” I asked.
“I was pretty sure you’d ask that. We can leave right now if you’d like,” Sam said, standing.
Tig stood as Amber pushed back from the table. “I’m glad to see you, Amber.”
Wordlessly, Amber pulled Tig into a hug and kissed his cheek. I winced inwardly for him. Getting the ‘we’re just friends’ kiss was hard when you had it as bad as he did.
Without further ceremony, Sam took on his ghostly form, gathered us up and whisked us from the dining hall. We sped down through the center of the tower, up an interior staircase and right over the edge of the castle’s high wall. Initially, I was concerned we might go splat, but the worry was without cause as we floated to the ground.
It was impossible for me to tell if Sam was taking us back along the same path we’d Wind Walked to get here until we reached the great river. We sailed for an hour and a half before Sam finally let go and dropped us from the spell.
“Don’t suppose you could teach me that one,” I said.
“Probably wouldn’t work for you,” he said. “It’s Faerie magic.”
“Didn’t think it would hurt to ask.”
“These are your belongings,” Amber said, handing me a leather pouch. I opened it up to find my necklace and rings, along with Flick’s dagger. “I would appreciate you leaving them in the bag until you’re through the portal.”
Her mistrust hurt more than I expected, but I didn’t fault her and nodded my agreement. “Thank you, Amber. These are precious to me.”
“They looked like they might be. Take care of him, Flick,” she said. “He will question himself and you will need to remind him of his value.”
“I will.” Flick clasped his hands in front of himself and bowed.
“Tig has written instructions on this parchment,” Sam said, handing me a scroll. “Give it to the guard you encounter on the other side.
“You’re not coming with us?” I asked.
“No. Faerie does not always allow those who exit to come back,” he said. “We do not tempt fate.”
“I don’t see a portal,” I said.
Sam placed a hand on my forehead and suddenly a platform with a large oval mirror jumped into view. Instead of reflecting our image, however, the mirror showed a night scene of a nearly identical platform. Differences soon became obvious as I noticed people walking toward the mirror from the other side that didn’t exist on our side.
“It’s night there,” I said.
“Time flows differently between the worlds,” he said. “I don’t know how that works with your trip to Kaelstan. Don’t be surprised if only a small amount of time has elapsed since you left home, though.”
I couldn’t help myself as we stepped toward the mirror. “Amber. You know he loves you, right?”
Pain filtered across her face. “He might have once,” she replied.
“Don’t be naive,” I said. “He’s waiting on you.”
Having caused an appropriate amount of chaos, I tugged Flick through the portal with me.
“On your knees!” a man’s voice commanded as a squad of heavily armed men surrounded us.
Chapter 19
Chicks Dig Bad Boys
"It's a demon." The speaker was a ruddy faced, slight man wearing tactical gear and a stocking cap. It didn't take much for me to guess he was an elf - an observation that would have escaped me only a few days back.
I knelt, pulling Flick's arm so that he knelt next to me.
"I have a note!" I said, not sure how to communicate better.
"The Wizard Elendahl watches," said one of the other five who surrounded us with assault rifles. If she hadn't spoken, I wouldn't have recognized her as female, as all the figures were similarly small.
"Hand me the communication." It was the first speaker who'd ordered us to our knees.
"It's in my bag," I said. "Don't shoot."
"Slowly. Naminee, please read the instructions," he said. I heard the jostling of weaponry as the group tensed their grips. Their response indicated they had some idea of the potential mayhem a demon could cause, although running would have seemed a more rational response.
I gingerly pulled the flap of the leather bag open and extracted the rolled sheet Sam had provided. After handing it to the woman who'd approached, I dared a glance back at the portal we'd come through. On the other side, Sam and Amber watched patiently.
"Tensel, per order of King Tigerious, we are to provide transportation, communication equipment and cash so that Felix Slade and his companion are able to return to Leotown. We are to treat the request with urgency,” Naminee said.
“We cannot allow a demon into this plane,” an unnamed elf said.
“Would you like to explain that to Wizard Elendahl?” Tensel asked. “We have our orders. Naminee, you will accompany our guests wherever they require and return once they have been delivered.”
I dared a glance back to the portal where Sam stood, holding a chalk board on which he’d scrawled the same list: transportation, cellphone, money, urgent, thank you.
“With me,” Naminee said, offering her hand to help me stand.
Gaeland’s light spilled onto the platform and I waved to Sam and Amber as I helped Flick stand.
Even with my ability to withstand extreme temperature, I had trouble with the cold December night in Virginia. I was wearing only the thin linen shirt and jeans provided by Katinwal. If my attire concerned Naminee, she didn’t let on as she jogged down the wide stone steps to a row of parked Land Rovers. Behind us, I heard further complaints and discussions related to letting a demon continue unhindered. Naminee, however, was unconcerned, opening the back of the vehicle and stowing her weapon into a hard case.
“Prepaid.” She handed me a flip phone and closed the back of the truck. “I would have you drive and your companion sit in the front seat.”
“Flick, you’re on the other side,” I said. He’d followed me to the driver’s side of the vehicle.
“Yes, Felix,” he said and looked at me expectantly. I realized he probably had no idea how to get into a non-steam powered vehicle. I opened the door and allowed him to climb up and over to the other seat.
I slid into the driver's seat and pressed the ignition, suspecting they'd left the key-fob somewhere in the console. It turned out to be a good guess as the vehicle started easily. With the car running, the navigation system displayed on the console and I punched in my home address. We were over a thousand miles away.
“Pull forward and to your left. There is a gravel track ahead,” Naminee explained, having slid in behind me.
I flipped open the phone and took note of the time. It was one in the morning, which made it midnight in Leotown. When I dialed Gabriella’s number, it rang only once before being picked up.
“Hello?” Gabriella answered.
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