by Oxford, Rain
My outfit, which had been laid out on the sink counter, smelled clean and felt softer when I put it on, but the boots were still uncomfortably big.
The second I walked out into the hall, Divina was ushering me out the front door; a heavy, swinging door. “What about breakfast?” I begged.
She shut the door and continued to push me forward. “On the way. We’re late, very late.”
A spy-for-hire who overslept?
We were in a long, narrow hallway, decorated floor to ceiling with amazingly rich patterns of color and design. Divina didn’t direct me so I turned left and she went with it. We passed many doors and several open rooms with a cleared floor and weapons decorating the walls. It must have been a training room. All the doors and rooms were on the left. When we came to a door on the right, Divina slid it open and pushed me out.
It was dark outside with a heavy morning chill. Before us was a gorgeous garden, which looked eerie in the light of the two moons, and the entire place was surrounded by stone wall. There was a long stream, perfectly cut grass, neatly shaped trees, interesting flowers, and a small rock walkway. As we started down the path towards the stream, I glanced back at the hotel. It looked like a small Japanese castle.
When we reached the middle of the wooden bridge, I paused to observe the stream bellow, expecting to see fish.
“Sorry, sweetie, we don’t have time,” Divina said, gently touching my arm.
“I just want to see. I bet Shomodii would have different kinds of fish.”
“Shomodii, Mijji, and Tumordii have very few fish around them; amphibians and giant marine animals are the majority.” She reached into her backpack, pulled out a small, black, plastic bag, and handed it to me. Inside was something like bacon bits. She indicated that I pour it into the water, so I emptied it into my hand and tossed some over the guardrail.
What looked like giant salamanders with sharp fangs erupted from the darkness and fought over the bits of dried meat. I pitched the rest over and they devoured it like a voracious piranha. “They’re awesome. So the hotel has a moat protected by carnivorous salamanders?” I asked.
“Actually, all amphibians are carnivorous here… Just something you should know.” She took my arm and pulled me along.
We passed through the wooden gate. Outside the wall were small buildings of wood and stone. Dirt roads divided them into blocks, but the roads were narrow. Divina took the lead and I followed silently through the neighborhoods. There was no sound of people or animals and it felt like it was two or three in the morning. We walked for about half an hour before we came to a huge white building.
“How did you get me here while I was unconscious?” I asked Divina.
“I had help,” she answered ambiguously.
Yes, that cleared it right up.
When I opened the door, I stumbled to a stop and gaped, for I hadn’t expected to see a subway station on Duran.
“What’s wrong?” Divina asked, pushing me out to the doorway.
“Nothing,” I said.
There where were people waiting in groups and lines at the service desks, but Divina appeared to know exactly where we were going when she led us to a flight of stairs. On the lower deck it looked like a subway with a diminutive track, as if the train was very small. Divina studied a large black plaque with multiple colored lines that met at points with words, making a complicated web. We followed the track, each section divided by a double column and marked with a sign that displayed smaller portion of the map.
Divina stopped at one, where there were already two dozen people waiting, standing around tiredly. One man was sitting against the column on the right with a sleeping woman in his arms. A tired looking mother held a sleeping baby in one arm and the collars of two fussy twin girls in the other. Most of them had travel bags, some like tote bags, some not unlike suitcases.
There was a loud whistle and everyone stepped away from the tracks. The baby woke and started crying so the mother let the girls go to coddle her infant. The dozing woman woke and she and the man stood at sleepy attention. I moved closer to the track cautiously and looked down both sides.
“Genoshi nai,” Divina said. I didn’t know what she said but I got the idea and returned to her side. “Now, this is nothing to worry about, so try to relax. It’s called the zig. Think of it as a fast rollercoaster.” Divina tried to assure me, but it just made me apprehensive. I liked rollercoasters, it just worried me that she felt the need to encourage me.
Finally, it came into view. It looked like a very thin plane without wings. The zig was long, solid white, and small. There was an audible release of pressure as the top half snapped open, revealing a single row of about thirty seats, much like those in a plane. At the rear end, there was a large open space to place bags. The tracks were low enough that people had to step down into the zig. People started getting on and after most settled in, Divina chose a seat and I sat behind her. I held my tongue even though I was burning with questions.
My seat was comfortable, but it bothered me that there were no seatbelts. After a few minutes, there was another whistle and the top half slowly closed in, bathing us in darkness. I reached for the little window shutter and opened it a little to peek out. We started moving and picked up speed very quickly. Darkness came again when we entered the tunnel.
There was very little talking on the trip and most of the sound was shut out. I could tell we were going very fast, but it was a smooth ride. It took probably about two hours, in which I daydreamed for most of it. While there had been stuff to see through most of the trip, it was more of the same. We finally began to slow and when we were stationary, the top opened to reveal a station exactly like the last.
Everyone hurried out except Divina, who took her time. I stretched my legs for a few minutes before she started for the stairs and I had to follow quickly to keep up. There were fewer people here than at the other station.
We made it outside within a few minutes and I recognized the street markets of Shogo. The sun wasn’t up, but there was activity as people set up their shops for the day. Just like the previous station, this one was just a huge white building from the outside.
“Are you alright?” Divina asked.
“Yeah. How fast did that thing go?”
“About three hundred fifty kilometers per Earth hour.”
That was about two hundred seventeen miles an hour. “Where do you keep your clothes?” I asked. She frowned at me, waiting for an explanation. “You keep changing your outfit, but you only carry that little bag.”
“I can fit a lot in my bag.”
How can everything fit inside that little bag? Maybe it’s bigger on the inside. No, I couldn’t imagine that she was that beautiful, powerful, and cool, as to have a bag created with transdimensional engineering. The history of science fiction suggests that women like that exist, but reality was usually a letdown.
We walked for an hour before taking a break at a little stall where a man was cooking kabobs. Divina ordered six of them and handed me three. Each stick held four little pastries. Instead of flaky and sweet like they appeared, the bread was actually very doughy with a rich butter flavor. Inside was a piece of hot and tender steak.
The sky was getting light and the moons were low by the time we got to the shallow river. The beautiful flowers in the graveyard were eerie in the moonlight. Then we got to the foggy river and the fog glowed in the moonlight, as little as there was. Divina didn’t even slow down; she took my hand and led me into the cold fog. I felt something move behind me and dropped the sticks from the kabobs. Without thinking, I let go of Divina’s hand to pick them up.
She yelled something in Sudo that was drowned out by a horrifying shriek of some huge creature. The ray monster swooped down at me and I barely had enough time to drop to the ground and roll. Sharp spikes embedded deep into the wood where my head had been a second before. I thought its tail was stuck, but with a few tugs, the spikes came free and the beast was attacking again.
Suddenly there wa
s fire in the air. It shrieked and, after a few dangerous attempts at sticking me with its spiked tail, retreated. Divina grabbed my arm and helped me up, and we hurried out of the fog.
“We might have trouble with your bad luck after all.”
There was nothing I could say to that.
The houses were just as deserted as before and we didn’t linger. After just a few minutes, I felt like we were being followed. I hesitated and started to turn, but Divina grabbed my hand and pulled me along.
When we arrived at the wall, Divina paused and I followed her gaze to a group of children. They were all dressed in black robes and had dark expressions. I didn’t see what Divina did, but from my peripheral vision, it looked like she shoved against the wall. Like before, it opened into a doorway. We went through into the desert and I never felt so much relief to see a wall close behind us.
“What did those kids want?” I left out the words, “creepy as hell,” and, “made my skin crawl,” so three points for me.
“They wanted to play with us,” she answered.
I got a chill.
By now the sky was much lighter. After a few minutes of trudging through sand, I looked back to see the wall had disappeared. Then the forest came into view a few minutes before the ocean and Edward did.
Edward waited patiently until we joined him. I knew by his hard stare that he was aware of my injury, and I started thinking of an excuse.
“Where were you injured?” Surprisingly, he didn’t look worried, only annoyed. He must have known that Divina had helped me.
“His ankle and arm. He’s fine,” Divina said.
I really could have used her healing powers when I was a kid.
Edward nodded. “It was actually with great timing that you took him because I suddenly had something to do. Some young wizard was about to release an ancient monster that would destroy the world.”
“What monster?” Divina asked.
“Abbadon.”
“How?” Divina asked, suddenly very interested.
Chapter 7
Kiro
Allowing my new apprentice to run off with Divina was absolutely a bad idea. Divina would get him into trouble. Dylan looked at me with a pleading, hopeful expression I had seen millions of times in my life, but regardless of the lust he had for Divina, I gave in. Perhaps it was because he had so little in his childhood, but his expressions were raw and passionate. Despite the fact that he was an adult, he was young and had a need for adventure. On the other hand, notwithstanding the fact that he was young and danger-prone, he had a latent sense of great wisdom he was bound to unleash.
“Don’t worry; I’ll be careful with him. He needs to have some fun and get a taste of real culture. He’s going to live with you for years, let him have a little time away. The last thing you want is for him to associate you with all work and no play. Give him a little air,” Divina pleaded in Sudo.
No doubt he would turn down her argument if he understood her and sacrifice his enjoyment to spare my pride. I knew very well that he would enjoy exploring with her more than me, and I wasn’t particularly bothered by it.
I looked at him again but couldn’t bring myself to say anything, for it felt like I was sending my child apprentice off with a demon in a world of blood and fire and had no words for such foolishness. With heavy legs I turned and walked away.
I tried to get far enough to lose temptation to watch over him, though I knew I could find him instantly if it was necessary. My mind was split between grief and relief about Divina accompanying him. At the very least, she could protect him from the ominous people of Shogo.
A stall displaying charms attracted my interest. Row after row of charms of diverse sizes, colors, and intentions were laid out. I singled out a scarlet one with the name of an ancient deity of protection written in gold.
“What is this made of?” I asked the man managing the stall in Vido.
“Daa sokra and female kelic blood. It is most effective at night. Are you looking for a gift?” he asked.
“Yes; for someone who has quite horrible luck.” I browsed several others, including a dark blue one with the objective of healing. “What is this made of?”
“Burnt sunho and fitgum prepared over goakwin. The fitgum was very fresh,” he insisted. “Both are a menso each.”
That was expensive for a charm lacking assurance that it was truly prepared correctly, but money meant little to me. I bought and bagged them and scarcely departed before my awareness collapsed.
Great timing. I was in darkness; there was no ground and nothing solid to touch. All of my senses were blinded. He was frustrated. “What is your command, Great Erono?” I asked in Enochian, trying to be respectful. There was little reason, though, for he knew my insolence.
“How very audacious of you, to speak to your god in such a manner, when your very existence is to obey my command.” His words were in my head, so unnatural they lacked a voice. “Your Enochian is insufficient. You will go to Setchna Caves and defeat Abbadon.”
I was surprised; Abbadon was a powerful beast imprisoned long before my birth. I filtered emotion from my voice. “How do I---” I was interrupted as my senses returned to me abruptly and I was back in the markets of Shogo.
Changing route, I headed for the zig station. I hated the crowded environment, but the mode of transportation was undeniably efficient. I found the appropriate platform and waited briefly for the zig, then found a seat quickly once it arrived. The chatting women behind my seat frustrated me while the crying child in front of me upset me terribly. I could smell his sickness. The crown closed before I could relocate and began moving slowly. As the zig gained speed, the child quieted.
During the entire voyage I couldn’t desist from thinking of my last child who died of sickness. It was so hard to become attached to a child you know will die. Sometimes, magic wasn’t enough.
Finally the zig stopped and everyone got out. The child with white hair and dark gray eyes moved slowly, though, and stood by the buttress. No one paid him any attention, so I went to him. Although he was very young, only about four, he didn’t seem nervous to be approached by a stranger. “Where are your parents?” I asked.
“I am waiting for my mother. Who are you waiting for?” he asked. There was a very subtle rasp in his breath. He had such a carefree expression, despite his fever.
“No one, child. Would you like me to keep you company until your mother gets here?” I asked.
He nodded and smiled brightly. “Are you a wizard?” he asked me.
“Yes. How did you know that?”
“Energy around you is pulsing the way it does when a wizard is mad. I am not a wizard. I can feel energy, but I cannot control it,” he said, unhappily.
“You are so young, perhaps you will become a great wizard someday.” Or perhaps he will never get the chance. “Can I see?” I asked, holding out my hand. He laid his hand on mine and I let my energy seep into him. His bones were thin and there was slight organ deterioration. The illness was in his blood. I was no doctor, but it looked like he had too little muscle as well, as if he had this disease his whole life.
Injuries, like broken bones, were easy for me, but he needed a heeler. I had the experience I needed to run blood tests, prescribe medications, and operate medical machinery, but with magic alone, healing illnesses such as this was impossible.
I was startled when I felt energy brush up against mine. He was wrong; he could do magic. I let go of his hand and released my energy. To be able to control energy at such a young age told me he could have been a spectacular wizard if he lived long enough.
He quickly ran to a woman who was coming down the stairs. His mother greeted him and held him in her arms, and he waved at me as they left. I slowly made my way out of the station.
Northern Mijii was considerably less populated than the rest of Mijii, which meant it was harder to go unnoticed. The markets were more cluttered than in the west and east. Disintegrating buildings pressed against each othe
r, threatening terrible disarray if a natural disaster struck. Shops were cluttered and unsanitary, and the air was thick with the smell of animals, dust, and exotic spices.
I approached the nearest shop, which was selling pottery. The woman in charge smiled at me, expecting an interested customer. “Welcome. Can I help you?” she asked in Vido.
“Perhaps, but not by way of a purchase. Can you tell me where to find the marine port?” I asked her. She frowned; aware she would not make a sale for now.
“If you go up that road, you will come upon a river. Across it is a fishing community called Mink. Go to the restaurant called Felle and ask for Suki. Her father runs the marine port and can get you anywhere you need to go.”
“Thank you,” I said with a small bow. She bowed slightly and started to turn away before I placed a coin on the counter, which she smiled at brightly.
“Thank you,” she said.
I left and trekked down the street until I reached the river. It was deep, slender, and rapid with a heavy wooden bridge, curving upward. As I crossed, I peered into the water and could see the dark shapes of amphibious creatures.
The town was far different than the majority of Mijii. White buildings made with treated and painted wood stood tall instead of the street markets. I passed schools, hotels, restaurants, and clothing stores, but saw no restaurant entitled Felle. Though the streets were far from deserted, the chaos of the street markets had not made it this far north.
My path was intercepted by three young girls pursuing a ball. They wore loose, short-sleeved, scarlet shirts, dark blue, pleated skirts, and black leather boots; they were school children. “Excuse me,” I said. They looked up at me. “Can you tell me where Felle restaurant is?” I asked. They all silently pointed down one of the side roads. “Thank you.”
I left them to their playing. Shortly after, I came upon a small, white building with a sign saying “Felle” in Vido. Beside the glass sliding door was a huge window, consuming most of the wall. I entered and was faced with an uncomfortable atmosphere. It was bright in the restaurant with white plastered walls that reflected the light. Square tables that seated four were placed randomly around the area, creating a lively, unorganized impression. On the far side of the room was a large wooden bar, behind which was a wooden swinging door and waitresses going about their work.