by T.M. Nielsen
***
“Where’d your little wifey go?” the lead Qualsax asked as he blocked an attack from Alric. “She disappeared into thin air with one of my warriors, and I want him back!”
Alric smiled. “Don’t be stupid. You can’t disappear into thin air.”
“Well she did! Right in front of us. She grabbed that snot-nosed brat and disappeared.”
With that, Alric slashed at the Qualsax and sent his head flying. It landed with a dull thud beside one of the frozen Qualsax. He turned to fight another but found only dead Qualsax along with those frozen by Kyrin, and almost all of the Valharan knights.
Finn came up to him, out of breath and covered in blood. “I can send scouts out to find her.”
“No, from what this Qualsax said, she shifted with the missing toddler.”
Finn cringed. “Really?”
“Yes. I can only assume she was outnumbered and did it to save their lives.”
“I’m surprised she didn’t leave the kid.”
Alric sighed. “Yeah, me too.”
“Sir, what do we do with the ones that aren’t moving?” one of the knights asked as he looked down at a frozen Qualsax.
Finn and Alric walked over to look at them.
“Well, let me think,” Alric said, pushing one of the Qualsax with his boot. “They’re harmless and unarmed, but they know Kyrin’s secret, and we can’t allow that.”
“Can we vote?” Finn asked, grinning down at one of them. The Qualsax was able to move his eyes up to see the captain but wasn’t able to move his body yet.
“We don’t have a choice. Kill them and then I’ll go see if Sithias can help us find Kyrin.”
It took only seconds for the knights to kill the unmoving Qualsax. Once all were dead, they headed back to command to let them know that Kyrin had the boy.
The missing toddler’s parents ran up to the knights when they returned. The mother was sobbing hysterically, and the dad held her, not sure what to do.
Alric slid off of his horse and smiled. “He’s okay.”
“You found him?!” the mother sobbed.
“Sort of. Kyrin found him with a group of Qualsax.”
“What?!” the dad roared.
“It’s okay. Kyrin was able to handle most of the Qualsax, and then… she… well then she disappeared when it got too much for her to handle.”
“What do you mean disappeared?”
“Kyrin can leave our world and travel to others,” Alric said softly. “She took him with her.”
“I don’t understand.”
“Kyrin isn’t from our world. There are thousands of other worlds, and she’s able to shift between them. That’s how she managed to disappear for two years when we searched for her. She wasn’t even in our world.”
“Are you sure she has him?”
Alric smiled. “Yes, Kyrin has him.”
The mom sobbed harder and the dad scowled. “She hates children! She’s an evil.”
“She won’t hurt him,” Alric said, though he wondered to himself if Kyrin had already sold off the boy.
“How can we get him back?”
“I’ll talk to Sithias, but he has a hard time following Kyrin.”
“She follows a demon! He’ll be a sacrifice.”
“She won’t do that! We have to trust her.”
“Trust her? Trust an evil that you let into our world?!” the dad yelled.
“Watch it!” Finn yelled at him. “That’s the king you’re talking to.”
“It’s okay,” Alric told him. “I know that Kyrin’s hatred of children is well-known, and yes, she’s an evil.”
“She’s not a full evil,” Trox interrupted. “I’ve met evils, and she has some traits, but I see glimmers of good in her.”
“My baby!” the woman sobbed.
Alric took her hand. “I have knights posted where Kyrin comes into this dimension. I know she said it can take a while to get here though, so we have to be patient and trust that she’ll return him.”
“Did they… did the Qualsax hurt him?” the mom managed to ask.
“I don’t know. All we know is that one of the Qualsax saw her grab him and disappear. There’s a possibility that she used magic to disappear, but my guess is that she shifted out of our dimension.”
“Then he’s dead already,” the dad said angrily.
“Not necessarily. If she wanted him dead, she would have shifted without him. She took him with, and Kyrin knows those dimensions. You also know she’s an experienced fighter. She can hold her own.”
“I’ve heard she reappears injured! How can we trust her?”
“We have to,” Alric said, and then turned to Finn. “Double the knights at Boriana ruins. I need to go talk to Sithias.”
Finn nodded and watched Alric mount his horse and kick off for Valhara. He slipped off of the stallion at the temple and tied him to a hitching post out front. The priests watched as he walked quickly into the back room, where he dropped his sword.
Alric lowered his head and knelt down on the cross painted on the temple floor. “My Lord.”
A shimmer started in the air before him, and Sithias appeared. “Troubles, my Holy Knight?”
“Yes. We had a child missing.”
“I heard. Has he been found?”
Alric smiled slightly. “Sort of. Kyrin found him amidst Qualsax. She shifted with him.”
“Kyrin shifted with one of my followers?!” Sithias asked, starting to get angry.
“I suspect it’s how she was protecting the boy. She froze a number of Qualsax but more came at her.”
Sithias nodded. “A true test of how evil she is.”
“That’s what I’m afraid of.”
“You do not trust your wife?” Sithias asked, curious.
“I do… mostly. I mean, I would trust her with my life. However, with the life of a child, I’m not so sure.”
“I can ask Daemionis if he will tell me where she is. I don’t think he will though. He will find this amusing.”
“Can you not find her at all?”
“Not so long as she is one of his followers. I can try to see if I can find the child though.”
“He’s your follower.”
“It gets complicated with children. At his age, they follow the faith of their parents. It isn’t until he’s of age and has chosen me that he’s a true follower.”
“But you will try?”
“Yes,” Sithias said, and then disappeared.
When Alric arrived back at the castle, he heard shouting coming from just inside the doors.
“You will not talk about the king like that, or I’ll put you in jail for treason!” Finn shouted.
“He brought that evil into this kingdom, and now that evil kidnapped my son.”
“She didn’t kidnap your son. She saved your son.”
“No, she didn’t!”
“She saved my life, and I’d trust her with my children.”
Alric sighed, calmed his breathing, and then walked in.
The mother and father of the missing child both looked up at him with red, teary eyes. Finn was facing them, obviously furious.
“Sithias is going to see if he can find them,” Alric told them. “Why don’t you stay here in the castle until we hear back? That way, you’ll get word as soon as I do.”
“Get word of what? How she left our son in the hands of some demon?”
Alric’s patience was wearing thin. “I’ve about had enough of you speaking of my wife like that. Now I suggest you do as I say and move into the castle until he returns.”
When the dad started to argue, the mom of the toddler took his hand. “Let’s do as the king asks.”
Finn had several knights escort the parents out, and he turned to Alric, still outwardly incensed. “How dare they?! She’s saved this kingdom and deserves a little respect.”
Alric nodded. “I agree. However, I have some of the same conce
rns.”
“She’ll bring him back safe.”
“I do believe that. I just hope he’s taken care of. She doesn’t know anything about taking care of a child.”
“If she’s been telling us the truth, he’ll be hungry and thirsty.”
“I have no doubt that she was telling the truth,” Alric said. “I just hope Sithias can either get to her, or she can get back here quickly.”