by Jamie Hawke
Cursing as I tumbled, a rock nearly hitting my head, but I managed to catch hold of shrubbery three quarters of the way down and catch myself. The Shade had come to a stop a few paces ahead of me, at a crouch and was about to attack. My sword had fallen loose at its feet, but I used my Tempest ability to change the mists, have them swirl around him. Only a distraction, but it worked. He turned as if expecting the lion, instead only getting me charging from below, fist in his gut. Then I lunged for the sword, had it as he recovered, and sliced at his thigh. Contact. The shade collapsed to one leg, hissed, and then his neck gave way to my steel. My head spun, eyes scouring the mists for the others. Had they rolled down? Found footing above me, waiting to attack?
I cautiously made my way back up, only seeing sky through the mist above, nothing ahead. Pushing out with my powers, the mist gave way before me to reveal the answer to my question about the shades. Only, there were more than a few—there were at least twenty there, turning to me, black eyes boring into me.
They charged, catching me off guard. I refused to fall again, but at the detriment to my defense. Two got strikes in, others catching me, nearly taking me to the ground. For the first time in those mists, I started to worry as more piled on.
A flash of wings. The lion overhead.
It didn’t attack, but seeing it inspired something in me. I managed to wiggle out, to strike with my group attack, to absorb energy and push it back out, attacking those in the vicinity and creating room for myself to fight more sturdily.
Another sweep over by the lion, this time clear as day, its roar emitting a golden blast. I cringed, ready for it to hit me, even throwing up my shield. Only to my surprise, when the light hit me my chest surged with pride and confidence, my vigor and moral replenished.
In a matter of minutes, I’d taken out the last of the Shades, but saw no more sign of the lion. The mist was gone from this section of the fields by then, so that I was able to take in the green grass, a stream running into a larger lake. I wanted to catch my breath, to think over the attack and what I’d done wrong. Kneeling on the bank, I scooped up water to drink, and pulled out some of the crackers and dried meat Arthur had given me.
“Jack be nimble, Jack be quick,” a voice said, “Jack jump over here with your little dick.”
“Little?” I said, focusing on the wrong details, as I stood up, looking for the voice’s source.
Laughter. A bright glimmer on the water, and then she was there, dancing across the surface—only this time she was like a spirit of light, appearing as a nude woman prancing across the lake, eyeing me, growing larger as she approached.
“You’ve found yourself a spirit animal, I see.”
At first I frowned, then noticed a shadow, a gush of wings, and turned to see the lion there, approaching. Mane of gold, fur a lighter gold, almost white. Wings folding back.
Is that’s what is happening here?” I kept my eyes on the winged lion.
“Of course, you have to earn its loyalty, don’t you?” The fairy danced over into my line of sight. “But for some reason, it hasn’t outright abandoned you yet.”
“I see that.”
She smiled at me seductively. “Must have a strong reason, must see something in you, something special. I wonder what that could be?” Her long eyelashes batted my way, but then she turned, smile fading. “Ooh, chat later. You’ve got company.”
More fucking Shades. Only, this time when I swung my sword and took out two, I turned to see the lion mauling three more before flying up and dashing at another. Holy hell, fighting with a spirit animal was going to be fun. We tore through the rest of them in no time.
Basking in the glory of my kill, I watched the glowing runes float up from my sword, checked over my stats, and assigned them. Or I started to, but when I applied the first to strength, I noticed a line I hadn’t seen before, connecting me to the lion. One that faded slightly. I applied another point, and the line faded more.
Odd. This time, instead of using the points I focused on that line, focused on redirecting the points there, and then seeing the green start to flow, I concentrated all of my unused prana on that connection and the lion.
With a roar, the lion stood tall, shook its mane, and then charged me. I almost had a heart attack, but instead of attacking, it pounded up next to me, rubbing its face against mine. That big, bushy main was there, rubbing against me, and I felt stronger and more awake.
Had I just formed some sort of bond with it? Some sort of spirit animal connection, I imagined. My guess was that I could now use any future prana to upgrade my stats, or strengthen this bond, maybe even bond more, if needed.
Either way, this was amazing. It purred, turned, and then circled me before glowing blue and fading into me. That was a trip, but when it was gone, I looked down at my chest to see a tattoo that was in an outline shape of a winged lion.
He’d just become one with me, formed with my Tempest abilities so that I could call on him when the time was right.
Holding my hand to that spot, I closed my eyes and saw him there, looking at me, waiting to see if I needed him.
“Not yet,” I said, and gave him a nod like a bow. He returned it, and then I lowered my hand. This was intense.
“See, your spirit animal,” the fairy said, appearing again, seemingly materializing from the mists right next to us, growing larger until she was the queen of fairies again.
“You…”
She gave me a regal bow, then to the lion. “Keep him close, and you can’t go wrong.”
She faded again, leaving me to say, “What the fuck? Why’s she keep doing that?”
The lion just looked at me.
“Come on then,” I said, and started walking, glad to see the lion following. After a bit though, we paused as something caught my eye. Looking up, it was at first a shift in the mists, nothing more. Swirling white, a bit of gray. Then more gray, and there was a shadow. Only, of what? It seemed to rise over fifty feet into the air, humanoid, lumbering past me at a distance.
The lion was there at my side, growling at the shadow.
Darting forward, very much aware that maybe this would be a creature I stood no chance against, I had to get a better look. Arthur would’ve told me if things like this existed in the mists. He’d told me about the Shades, and as explained, they weren’t these massive colossus beasts, or titans, or whatever this was.
The lion took up a defensive position. But as soon as it noticed the tall being, it was gone.
One minute it was there and then darkness and swirling mists, and the large, lumbering form had disappeared again. All gone.
Something here didn’t fit, and I was pretty sure it warranted me telling the others. With that in mind, I turned, sword out, and started making my way back. My spirit lion seemed to understand and in a flash, the line formed between us again and it absorbed into my tattoo, gone from sight.
56
My return to camp in the middle of the day seemed to have caught the others off guard. For one, nobody was gathered around waiting for me, which made sense but was confusing. I spotted Red and Pucky sparring, throwing some wicked punches and kicks, and heard moaning coming from one of the tents. Waiting for it to finish, I found it was what I assumed when Arthur stuck his head out and grimaced.
“Oh… Oh.” He shrugged. “Sorry.”
“Can you… I mean, as a spirit, or?” I asked.
Arthur chuckled, glancing back at Nivian. She was stepping around him, emerging from the tent as she dressed, not bashful in the slightest. “Not that it’s any of your business, but he can please me on a spiritual level that he never could when only a man.”
“Meaning no,” Arthur said. “Not in the same ways.”
“Oh, sorry.” I’d only been joking around, not thinking it was really an issue.
“Well,” another voice from behind said, and I spun around to see the queen of fairies materializing behind me, “when we get you your true body back, you’ll be able to cock-please her as l
ong as you’d like.”
“Queen Mab,” Arthur exclaimed, exiting the tent and staring from me to her. “Is this… this is why you returned early?”
“Actually, no,” I admitted, and willed the lion out. It formed nearby, eying the queen of fairies, or Queen Mab apparently, with a look of suspicion. “This.”
His eyes went wide at that, and Sharon, appeared groggily from another tent, apparently having been napping. The others were making their way over.
“Queen Mab, what’s the meaning of all this?” Nivian asked.
“I figured, since someone’s stealing my fairies away from me, I might as well come see what I can do about it.” She held out her arms, as if we were to worship her then and there, and offered a smile. “So, you all… What can I do about it?”
We shared a look of confusion; Arthur’s expression having darkened at her arrival. There was clearly history here, and I couldn’t wait to find out what it was.
“Wait. Taking your fairies?” Arthur asked.
Elisa had arrived by that point, just in time to hear what he said. “Actually, I was wondering about the lack of their presence since we arrived.” At my look of confusion, she added, “Usually I can sense them, almost feel their power like I do the spirits of my brothers—but it’s greatly weakened.”
Queen Mab nodded. “She’s correct. And I want to know why.”
“We don’t have the answer to that,” Arthur said.
“Well, neither do we,” Elisa cut in, holding up a hand. She turned to her older brother, waiting.
He cleared his throat, nodded to Queen Mab in deference. “We’ve received word from Sekhmet She and Bastet believe they’ve found something.”
“How do we find her?” Queen Mab asked, her eyes narrowed. Another pre-existing set of drama?
“Nivian, do you know where we can find Sekhmet? Can you take us there?” Arthur asked.
“We’ll go at once,” Nivian replied. “And from there, get back to this war,” her eyes darted to the fairy queen. “Not you, of course.”
“For now,” Elisa cut in.
“Your brothers found something?” Arthur asked, eyes full of hope.
“Actually, Sekhmet again. A different way, in theory. If Shades are using the portals, you might be able to as well.”
“Dark portals,” Arthur pointed out. “I’d go through… full shadow.”
“Maybe.”
This lingered on everyone’s minds for a moment, and then he nodded. “Everyone pack up, it’s time to …
As we walked, the brother said, “Unless you—us too… unless we went through as gods.”
“Jack,” Sharon whispered, stepping up shyly.
I took her in my arms, kissed her on the forehead, and laughed. “What’s with the hesitation?”
She blushed. “You’re different.”
“No I’m not. I mean, yes, leveled up and all, but,” her hand went to the spot where my lion tattoo was, the lion having retreated back into it, “this is a game changer.”
“Is it?”
She nodded, then turned to see Nivian walking on the other side of me.
“A spirit animal, of this kind.” Nivian shook her head. “Hasn’t happened since Ra.”
“Ra was… here?” I asked. “Like this?”
“Ra wasn’t always a god,” Nivian explained. “Well, this Ra, I mean.”
“This Ra?”
“The one who holds the name of Ra,” she glanced over to Red.
Red sighed. “We told him about how the myth names can be taken over. I’m guessing he’s just not processing all this related to the gods, yet.”
“Oh, so it’s the same?” I grinned. “Why didn’t you just say so?”
“Right.” Nivian looked irritated, but Arthur gave her a nod to continue. “Are you sure? Maybe you should tell it.”
“It’s too close to home,” Arthur replied.
“Very well.” She turned back to me. “This one was known as… but he learned Ra’s secret name, used it to tame the spirit animal of Ra’s and therefore, much as you saw Riak become Morgana, he became Ra.”
“But I don’t understand,” I said to Arthur. “Why’s that… too close to home?”
Nivian started to explain, but Arthur held up a hand.
“It’s okay,” he said. “You see, Ra was here with me at the time. The two of us were like brothers… and he was a big part of what got me through each day.”
“What… happened?” I asked.
“A man who claimed to fight evil, after having realized being a real ‘boy’ hadn’t been enough. A man named Pinocchio.” Arthur sighed. “He claimed he came in search of me, to find a cure, to help me return. Sought me out and trained with me, befriended me… and then betrayed me for power.”
57
Mists and green, rolling hills gave way to a walkway atop a mountain ridge, stopping for breaks and watching as a herd of hippogriffs flew by. My lion rode out to meet them, playfully circling while we watched and laughed. Apparently, the lion maintained its own will, coming and going as it wanted in addition to when I called upon it.
When the lion returned to my newest tattoo, we packed up, and were on our way again. More lakes, some with strange, curved boats that reminded me of slivers of the moon, and trees of bright purple. When their leaves flew off like cherry blossom petals, they would circle up and take on a life of their own, flittering about, moving to surround us, then disperse into the sunset sky.
“It’s all so magical,” I said, watching and partly wishing we could stay forever to be part of this, or at least a bit longer to see the many other wonders.
Pucky gave me a pleasant smile, horns glowing for a moment before fading again.
“What?” I asked.
“You did it.” She shrugged. “I’m… proud of you.”
“Okay, Mom.”
She frowned. “Huh?”
“That… came out wrong. I meant… shit. I meant because my mom was always the type to say stuff like that.”
“Oh.” She stood a bit taller. “I think I’ll like your mom.”
Actually, the topic reminded me why it was important to return, why, as great as lingering here seemed on the surface, this wasn’t my place.
“Will we get to see her? And my dad?” I asked.
Arthur glanced back. “First, make sure they’re safe by defeating Ra, but then? Yes, I’d say it’s about time.”
The idea of walking back into my old place and seeing their beaming faces filled me with joy. A different type of magic.
“When it’s over, I’m getting a chimichanga,” Sharon said with a silly grin.
“A what?” Queen Mab asked.
“Oooh, you’ve never had one? Best thing in the world—take a burrito and fry it. Boom! Chimichanga.”
“Burrito…?”
Sharon stared at her in disbelief.
“You’re in for a good time,” I said to the queen, chuckling at Sharon’s obsession with chimichangas. They were amazing, sure, but I looked forward to a bacon cheeseburger more than anything, really.
The queen’s eyes went from me to Sharon, then Pucky, and she smiled knowingly. “We’ll see.”
“I didn’t mean…”
Pucky put a hand on my arm. “Just let it go. Pretend it never happened.”
I nodded, staring forward.
Before long we were entering one of those purple forests, and I was pleased to see Sekhmet walking toward us. What I didn’t expect, though, was the way her eyes lit up at seeing me, or how she ran pounced, and tackled me to the ground. At first I started to struggle, but then realized she was sniffing my chest, the spot where my new tattoo was.
She looked up at me with her lioness eyes, and I got it. “Oh, yeah. We have a new friend.”
Releasing the lion in a burst of light, I grinned at the way Sekhmet pulled back, crouching, and Bastet the cat curled up around her leg, both staring at my lion in awe.
“Does he… have a name?” Sekhmet asked.
He appeared amused, but merely roared.
“There you go,” I said, chuckling. “Sekhmet, Bastet, I’d like you to meet Roar.”
“That’s not… funny,” Sekhmet said. “But I kinda like it.”
The lion approached her, let her run her hands through his mane, along his wings, and then turned back to nuzzle me.
“Are the Swan Brothers back from their mission? Have you seen them yet?” Arthur asked.
Sekhmet, almost unable to take her eyes off the lion, finally smiled and nodded. “They’re just over there, waiting at the portal.”
We all turned to see the direction she indicated, only now realizing there was indeed a spot among the trees darker than the rest. The purple forest provided plenty of shade, but this was more like what I’d seen before, like the ones I’d seen in the mists.
“Why couldn’t we use the ones in the mists?” I asked, already guessing at the answer.
“Too dangerous,” one of the swan brothers said, approaching and having heard my question. “Likely already connected to key output points.”
“And this?”
“We think the other side is calling their forces, but doing so randomly. If there were any on their side nearby, this might be where they’d go through, but we’ve been watching it and haven’t seen anyone yet.”
Sekhmet nodded. “I’ve been here, too, and haven’t seen any Shades or other creatures going through.”
“But it’s possible all portals lead to the same spot on the other side?” Pucky asked.
“Your guess is as good as ours.”
“And there’s more,” Sekhmet said, turning to Arthur. “I’ve been trying to figure this out, to remember my past. It’s… coming back to me.”
