“Yes, and this is only part of it. There are underground sections too. And then there’s this.” Norrix flew lower and banked the jet to the right to give Ember a different angle of view.
“The jungle turned purple! And the ice is all red now.”
“All of Ashana can be customized. If someone from another world visits and requires a different atmosphere to breathe, it can do that. This place is amazing for what it can do, but the same thing makes it dangerous. Once you have your room keys, don’t go anywhere in Ashana it doesn’t let you, even if you’re invited by another guest. Some beings who look human are really something different. What is good for them might harm you.”
A runway appeared in the middle of the island, bisecting the landscapes. Norrix banked again and lined the plane up with the tarmac.
“You don’t have to talk to anyone about arriving or landing the plane?” Stryx asked.
“No. Ashana looks like a place, and it is, but it’s also sentient. It can sense what its visitors need and accommodate them. The runway will disappear after we use it and reappear when someone needs to land or take off. You don’t need to protect me here unless someone has requested daylight to keep vampires out.”
“Like at the mage’s auction.”
Norrix nodded and taxied the jet to the end of the runway to enter a hangar. He braced himself for what he might see. There was no way to know who would be here. A few other planes were parked inside, along with hot air balloons, a Zeppelin, an enormous mortar and pestle, a throne with empty collared chains, a few chariots, a tornado, several broomsticks, and a red sleigh adorned with bells, nine harnesses on the ground in front of it.
“Is that a UFO? Do witches really ride on brooms? Who does that throne belong to? Are we going to meet a girl with red shoes?” Ember's eyes were huge. “Wait. Does that sleigh belong to... No, he’s not real.”
“People don't think vampires or witches are real either.” Norrix enjoyed Ember’s reactions. Everything was new to her, and sometimes he wished he literally hadn’t already seen it all, that he could have experienced the world and its wonders as a spectator like everyone else rather than a recording.
“But... him?”
“I’ve met him.” Norrix grinned. “I Witnessed his trip around the world once. He’s real.”
“Perfect.” Ember huffed. “Musette is so going to gloat over this. I always told her he was make believe, but she always received one more present every Christmas, from Santa. I always thought our aunt was playing a trick on us. Is there really a reindeer with a red nose?”
“If we have time, you can visit the reindeer and the other animals that power the conveyances. They’re boarded in the stables.”
“Come, my Dragă.” Stryx stood and held out a bundle of clothes. “Norrix doesn’t require you to shield him at the moment, and it is dangerous for you to be seen glowing silver here. You must become human and dress.”
Ember huffed out a breath, but followed Stryx to the back of the jet.
NORRIX AND STRYX CARRIED their bags into a corridor lined with doors. A uniformed doorman stood at each entry. Norrix passed the first three of them, while they stood still as statues. The fourth man bowed and swept the door open.
“Where did the other doors lead?” Ember’s hooded figure asked. “They all look the same.”
“Ultimately, they all meet in the lobby. But this is the human entrance,” Norrix said. “The other ways won’t work for you. Don’t bother trying. They are for creatures and beings who want to make adjustments. Like someone who breathes underwater changing to an atmosphere of air, or maybe someone who is used to seeing in the dark needs time to adjust to light.”
A set of knee-high steps left them no choice but to climb. The stairs ended at a wide platform full of temples from various civilizations — everything from white columns and porticos to pyramids, to stone circles.
Clio, a woman with blue skin and yellow eyes, intercepted Norrix as he approached the front desk, currently in the form of an altar overflowing with offerings of flowers, candy and fruits. She wore sandals that laced up her legs to her knees, and a white, one-shouldered pleated dress that fell to mid-thigh.
“Mr. N! We haven’t seen you here in 3832.5 days.”
“Hello, Clio. I see you’ve been watching superhero movies again. I like your new look. It's kind of a Greek-Mystique thing you've got happening.”
She grinned and pointed two index fingers at him like guns. “You saw it here first!”
He grinned back and bowed. “Witnessed.” Straightening, he made the introductions. “These are my friends, Miss E. and Mr. S. Miss E. and Mr. S., this is Clio, once known as Muse of History. She manages the hotel side of Ashana for human-ish guests and remembers every time anyone has checked in under her watch.”
“Hi, Clio. It’s nice to meet you.” Ember offered her hand.
Clio brushed the offer of a handshake aside and hugged Ember instead. “Don’t be silly. Any friend of Mr. N.’s is an accomplice, buddy, crony, dearie, enyi, felagi, gwadenya, highbinder, intimate, jocosite, kaibigan, luag, mate, namana, ore, pal, quintessential, rafiki, sidekick, teman, umngani, vriend, worthy, xenophile, yoldas, zanmi of mine.” She stopped for breath and glared at Norrix. “Why didn’t you interrupt me?”
“I like your lists. You even stayed in one alphabet that time.”
“But not one language!” She aimed a single finger gun at him. “You know it frustrates me when my lists don’t match.”
“I apologize. I won’t let you finish another list.”
“Thank you. Now, what brings you to Ashana? Auctions, bordellos, conferences, dining rooms —” Her eyes glared at Norrix as her lips went on with her list. “— entertainments, fights, gambling —”
As tempting as it was to watch Clio finish another list, Norrix stopped her. “Auctions.”
“Only?”
“Yes.”
“The preview of items up for bidding starts at eight tomorrow morning. Auctions take place on the morning of the 12th, starting at nine. The order each lot will be up for bids is listed on the display. Do you wish to store your assets, bankroll, capital, dough, exchanges, funds, grubstake —”
“Yes.” Norrix stopped her list by holding up his bag and gesturing for Stryx to do the same.
“Follow me to the vault.” Clio turned, led the way to a plain, unlabeled wooden door behind the front desk, and held it open as they filed into a small empty room. When she closed the door, the lights went out, plunging them into darkness. “I apologize for this. It’s easier on humans if they don’t see the way we get here.”
“That doesn’t sound ominous,” Stryx muttered.
The floor shuddered under their feet as they changed dimensions.
Ember groaned. “I usually love roller coasters in the dark.”
The lights came back on.
“Don’t panic or make any sudden movements,” Norrix murmured. “You’ll frighten him.”
“Frighten who?” Stryx narrowed his eyes at Norrix and stepped closer to Ember.
“I can protect myself.” Ember frowned, but she interlaced her fingers with his.
Definitely progress.
“The guardian of the vault.” Clio opened the door and waved an arm at an endless array of locked doors. Some were small, like safe deposit or post office boxes, while others ranged up to ornate double doors a giant could walk through without ducking. “He protects all this.”
A four-legged creature with a long neck that ended in a horned head joined them. His golden, scaly body had a wing on each side, his hind legs ended in eagle talons, and his front legs were lion-like. His whole body quivered as he bounded towards Norrix.
“Hello, my friend.” Norrix patted the beast’s head. “This is Mushkhushshu. You can call him Mush. We’ve been friends for a long time. He used to take me places to Witness things, now he works here.”
Mush leaned into his touch, rubbing his gigantic head against Norrix’s body. When he reached N
orrix’s boots, the dragon snorted and reared away. He eyed Norrix balefully.
“Sorry about that, my friend. We had an ahuizotl show up at the house this morning. I was showing him around and he chewed on my shoes.”
The dragon turned his big head towards Ember. Stryx stiffened as Mush extended his nose, snuffling at one of Ember’s pockets.
She laughed and Mush’s eyes riveted on the orange package she pulled out. “When I saw Musette in my Dragă space, she said peanut butter cups were a valid currency and made me promise to bring some because ice cream would melt. I did because what if I can trade them for a cure?” Her voice cracked. “After ice cream, she thinks peanut butter cups fix everything and I want her to be right.”
Stryx wrapped an arm around her and murmured into her ear. She rested her head against him for a moment, then wiped her eyes. “Is chocolate bad for dragons?”
Ember and Mush looked to Norrix for the answer — Ember in concern she might kill a dragon with chocolate, the beast daring Norrix to say he couldn’t have the snack. Norrix shook his head. He’d seen the beast feed itself on just about everything edible and swallow entire treasures. “I'm not going to be the one who says he can't have it.”
Tearing open the package, Ember removed the treats, peeled the paper off, and extended them on her upturned palm. Between blinks, Mush inhaled, and the chocolate disappeared. Ember scratched the dragon’s ears. “When my sister is better, I’ll bring her here. I think your sweet tooth might be bigger than hers.”
“I’m pretty sure all his teeth are bigger than hers,” Stryx said, earning a smile from his Dragă.
Stryx’s transformation since he’d bonded with Ember amazed Norrix. It had only been a few days, but for the first time in a thousand years, Stryx seemed happy. He even had jokes, as Idris would say.
A pang of jealousy speared through Norrix. He didn’t begrudge Stryx his happiness, but maybe Drake had the right idea. With Dragăs and strygoi coming back into the world, perhaps it was time to leave the compound. He’d watched for seven millennia as vampire after vampire found his match, and in the last thousand years, it hadn’t been possible. He wasn’t sure he could stand being among those unlucky enough not find a Dragă again.
Clio cleared her throat and led the way across the room to a long table. “Please place what you would like to store in the vault on the table.”
Norrix removed a backpack from his bag and upended it on the table. Rubies, diamonds, emeralds, and sapphires spilled out, along with six right shoes, shoelaces, crayons, pairs of sunglasses, and dental floss.
Mush stretched his long neck over Norrix’s shoulder and nosed through the piles on the table. He snorted and nudged Norrix. The dragon had watched over Marduk’s treasury before he lost all his followers and power as a god. While not as powerful, Marduk’s son Nabu had taken over Mush’s care. Nabu, uninterested in anything other than stories and history, hadn’t done well by Mush.
Norrix, tired of watching the dragon languish, had stolen Mush and brought him to Ashana, where he flourished.
“It’s not all about silver and gold, Mush,” Norrix said.
Mush sneezed at that idea, and turned to Stryx, eyeing the suitcases he carried.
“I brought silver and gold, among other things.” Stryx set the larger of the two cases on the table and unzipped it. He stacked gold and silver bars alongside gemstones, salt, duct tape, a black flower that unfurled to stand three feet high, a collection of soaps, some framed photographs of landscapes, and plastic, colorful, bendable straws.
Clio reached out to snatch up the straws. “I know who thinks these are like gold. I’ll get them to Echo.”
Stryx inclined his head. “Thanks, Clio. Jael wanted to make sure she received them.”
Mush perused the stacks, sniffing the gold and silver. A contented purring sound rumbled from his chest and two doors opened in the wall of doors behind him.
Norrix and Stryx repacked everything and stowed the bags in the cubbyholes.
Clio handed them a variety of colored tokens in different sizes and a list of the worth of each one. “You can use these as payment against any debts if the other party is amenable to the kind of currency they represent. When you pay with a token, the item it represents is removed from your vault.”
She gazed at Ember and Stryx. “Before we return to the lobby, do you wish to register any enemies?”
“Um, no?” Ember shrugged. Stryx shook his head.
“Very well.” She turned back to Norrix. “Would you like to update your list of enemies?”
He shook his head.
Nodding, Clio stared off into space for a few moments. Her eyes flicked to the right and left, then up and down in rapid sequence. “Mr. N, the Deathless is here. Ashana is a neutral territory. We do not allow aggression, bloodshed, combat, discord, enmity, feuds, grievances, hostility —”
Norrix put a hand on her shoulder. “I understand. I wondered if he would be here when I saw his transportation in the hangar. He has a problem with me, not the other way around. I won’t cause trouble.”
“Good. I’d hate to see the defenses activated because of you.” She blinked and switched gears. Crossing to the door, she ushered them all into the small room again, and the lights went off. The floor shook as they relocated to the room behind the front desk. “Any new rooms?”
“One new room. Miss E and Mr. S will be staying together.”
Clio pulled two keys from a panel behind her and held out her hand. Norrix placed his key in her palm. The three keys glowed gold, and she handed his back. “Your rooms will be on floor Thirteen-A. For your safety, do not attempt to go to another floor. Do you require amenities? Atmosphere, bedding, cold, darkness, elements, fauna, gravity —”
Squeezing her shoulder, Norrix said, “A room for humans.” He turned to Ember and Stryx. “Ashana is a reverse Hotel California. You can leave anytime you like, but you can never check out. Think of your room as another home. It’s always yours, configured for you, unless you destroy your key. If you have any special requests and tell Clio now, your room will always be the same way whenever you return.”
“I require nothing special.” Stryx lifted their joined hands and kissed Ember’s fingers.
“Me either,” Ember said. “If we never check out, when do we pay?”
“Rooms are free of charge in Ashana once you have your key.”
Clio handed one key each to Ember and Stryx. “For safety and anonymity, nothing will show your room numbers, not even your thoughts. If you wish someone other than yourself to enter your room, you must accompany them or request an additional key. Your key will grow warmer the closer you get to your door, cooler the farther away from it you are. Final thing — do you have any technology to register?”
“What does that mean?” Ember pulled out her cell phone.
“You don’t have to do it, but if you register your tech, you’ll have access to the Ashana network and the one on your world so you can stay in contact.”
Clio nodded. “Just place it on the counter and your device will be registered with the communications center.”
Ember put her phone on the counter next to Clio. The screen lit up and several beeps played a jaunty tune.
“You’re all set. Just dial zero for an operator if you need anything during your stay.”
CHAPTER ELEVEN
MYTH
MYTH STARED AT THE gateway in front of her, dread mounting and constricting her heart. Where was Iqiohr sending her? Ashana was a new place, but she’d thought it would be close and they’d go by a car, not travel far away through a magic portal. She hesitated, suddenly unsure she could do this and leave Fable behind.
Nantli, I don’t like this boy.
Fable was here! He’d brought her to make sure Myth did as he ordered. Be brave, little one. I’ll be back as soon as I can.
Take me with you. I was good. I didn’t fight.
If Myth could bring Fable with her to Ashana, they’d never need to r
eturn to Aztlan. I—
“You’re taking too long.” A hard shove to her back sent Myth stumbling into the portal, and the link allowing communication with her daughter vanished.
Myth fell to her knees on the shore of a lake in Ashana, loss tearing at her soul. The hardest thing she’d ever done was leave her little girl in the hands of Iqiohr, who was Iqiohr less and less lately, and the boy he was grooming to take his place as Scorpion Mage. She spun around and craned her neck to look through the portal, desperate to see Fable again, but Apan and Gajo stood frozen inside the circle of light, blocking her view.
A flash of white drew her attention to her arm. A glyph lit up — the same kind of symbols that covered Iqiohr’s skin. Had he put them on her too? When? What did they do? How many were there?
She glanced up. The men were still stuck.
The mark on her arm grew hot and, with a sharp crack, burst into white dust. A spot on her stomach heated and popped, one on the top of her head, then a cascade of six more down her spine. With each removal, a part of her she never knew existed came to life.
A tiny whirlwind swept around her, collected the dust, and blew away.
She blinked, stunned by a newfound freedom... and betrayal. It shouldn’t shock her that Iqiohr had used mage magic on her. All his men wore it, but for some reason, it did. Or maybe it had been not-Iqiohr.
Why? She’d always done what he said. Perhaps the magic had forced her to obey or not resent him. Pressing a hand to her belly, she shuddered. Was one of them for fertility? He must have known he’d have enough magic that morning.
The thought sent warm tears sliding down her cheeks into the sand under her knees. Sand. Ashana. The portal.
Myth quelled her tears and darted a gaze up. There would be time for crying later.
The men moved, coming closer, and exited. The gateway closed behind them.
Gajo reached down and seized her arm, pulling her to her feet. He was one of the worst and enjoyed inflicting pain on witches, even when he wasn’t draining them. His eyes weren’t all white like Iqiohr’s yet, but they were just as dead.
Myth's Legend: Norrix Page 6
