by TR Cameron
The kemana that lay under Ely was one of the most recently constructed, about a century old, give or take. The Mist Elves had created it for their use at first, unlike many others around the country that were intended from the outset to be shared among all the Oricerans in a given region. Its architecture and design reflected that fact. It was about twice as large as the city atop it, built in an almost perfect oval except where a natural feature that broke the shape was deemed beautiful enough to maintain, like the rock formation that resembled a lion near the easternmost point of the cavern.
Kemana MountHaven was shaped a lot like the athletic stadium she’d visited for several football games while in college. The “field” area was oval like the rest of the space. In the center of it sat what looked like a modest castle, the home of the kemana’s titular leader, the “Lord” or “Lady” depending on their preference. A small street ran around it; also an oval, and spokes shot out from it to the edges of the bowl, intersected along the way by two more oval streets, these double the width of the central one.
Tiers climbed the incline above the bottom, occupied by shops at the lowest level, then homes whose size got smaller as the stairs to access them rose higher. At intervals, the terraces were slightly larger to provide for narrow single-lane ring roads that encircled the area. The landing spaces for the casinos’ shafts all exited onto the same tier, which held only the vertical tunnels and a walkway to reach the stairs. Portaling to one’s home was always an option, but Ruby figured a short walk would help clear her head before dealing with her family. Plus, a healer along the way could see to her shoulder, and much better to have that done before her siblings and parents judged her for being at that particular casino in the first place.
Purple crystals adorned the ceiling and combined with the soft white orb that hung directly over the palace to throw a warm glow over the hustle and bustle of the magical underground town. The structures were mainly of stone and wood, with metal primarily for decoration. The Mist Elves had a connection to nature on Oriceran, and brought that philosophy to their home on Earth. Ruby strode confidently toward her destination, the healer’s shop located on the lowest tier, conveniently more or less along the path from her current location to her family’s home. She could see the house in the distance, larger than the ones around it by at least half, as befit her family’s status as one of the kemana’s founders. Her parents had been among the first Mist Elves to relocate to the human planet once crossing became possible.
That was probably the reason they wanted me to appear human, their spy to collect knowledge of those who might turn out to be enemies. I guess I should consider it a compliment. Still, it seemed a heavy burden to put on a child, if one was the child in question. She reached the healer’s shop and gently knocked on the door.
It swung wide to reveal a large open reception area with a single being sitting in a tall chair. The bespectacled gnome in a formal purple robe who occupied it looked at her over the top of the book he’d been reading. He smiled upon recognizing her. “Ah, if it isn’t my favorite jewel.”
She laughed as she stepped inside. “Challen, you’re such a flatterer.” At a gesture from him, the door swung closed behind her.
He chuckled and climbed down from the chair, using the footrest set into it as a step. “I see you’re favoring your left arm. Let’s move into the back.” He led the way to his healing room, which had a cushioned table for her to lay upon surrounded by a raised platform that would permit him to walk around at the right height to examine and help her. “Okay to cut this?”
Ruby nodded. “The EMT already stretched the hell out of it. Do what you need to.”
He snatched a pair of scissors from a nearby tray and sliced a rectangular hole in her t-shirt to access the wound. He cleaned then used the same scissors to clear away the bandages the paramedic had applied and made a clucking sound. “Whoever packed this did a good job. We can do better.” He laid his palms on it and whispered under his breath, and a wave of warmth and pleasure replaced the pain that throbbed from the wounded area. Healing by laying on hands was a rare talent that cut across cultures in both planets’ history. To have a practitioner in the kemana was hugely beneficial to the community. Unlike most who lived in MountHaven, he’d been invited to relocate there and was paid a retainer to stay that allowed him to live in comfort, which was all he seemed to desire. Well, that and help with his experiments.
That was how they’d met for the first time. He’d needed someone to collect a particular plant on the surface, and her parents had suggested she should do it since she wouldn’t attract notice in her human disguise. He, of course, knew she was a Mist Elf and not a human. Few others in the underground city did. She had tokens and items to explain her uses of magic if it became necessary to do so and was known to be a member of the Achera family by most everyone she encountered. Down here, the air held so much power that she could maintain the disguise without worrying about the power cost and did so automatically.
When Challen lifted his hands, the injury was partially healed, reduced to an angry scarlet line and a lingering ache. He jumped down and told her to get up, then handed her a small flask filled with a dark red liquid. “Healing potion. Drink it tonight before bed. It will do the rest of the work once my magic wears off.”
She grinned. “What if I decided to take it now?”
He frowned. “You’d be insufferably rude.”
A laugh escaped her. “I believe I’ve heard you describe me that way on more than one occasion.”
He nodded. “Never truly. Only in jest. If you were to do it anyway, the combination of my healing magic and the healing potion would make you feel amazing, until you tried doing something with the arm that should have hurt and injured it again. Pain is a teacher. Heed its lessons.”
Ruby sighed. “All right, all right, you win. Anything you need done around here? Small tasks I can help you with?”
The gnome waved a hand. “No, no, I’m good. It’s part of my work for the kemana.” Then he gave her a shrewd look. “Ah, you’re procrastinating, aren’t you?”
“Of course not.”
He laughed, the sound like a chime in the small room. “Off to see your family, then?”
“Gotta go. Been nice seeing you.” She opened the door and headed out.
He called behind her, “Have fun, Ruby! Be sure to convey my greetings to your parents.” He was still laughing as she closed the door, perhaps more loudly than strictly necessary.
Everyone’s a comedian, she grouched as she stomped toward her home. It was one of the few located at the cavern’s bottom since only the founding families were permitted to live among the more extravagant shops that filled the base layer. A high stone wall surrounded it, warded and protected against intrusion by any uninvited guests. The magic at the gate recognized her and allowed her entrance. The defenses snapped back into place the moment she passed through. No doubt they announced my arrival to everyone and anyone who happens to be inside.
That assumption was confirmed as the large double doors that served as the main entrance to the house opened, revealing a tall, thin Mist Elf in a formal robe in her family’s silver and blue colors. A grin spread across his visage, showing brilliantly white teeth. He could have come from central casting with his perfectly upswept ears that ended in delicate points, the long hair that came down over his shoulders, and the perfect face structure. Not for the first time, she wondered if Peter Jackson had met with a Mist Elf before working on The Lord of the Rings. He hadn’t captured the elegance, but he’d gotten a lot of the rest of it right where her people were concerned.
“Welcome home, Miss Ruby.”
She walked up to him and wrapped her arms around him, pressing her cheek to his chest as he returned the hug. “It’s good to see you again, Matthias.”
He laughed. “And you. It’s only been months, though.”
She disengaged and smiled up at him. He was several inches taller than her, and she’d always suspect
ed he wore lifts in his shoes to give him at least one of those inches. Despite investigating, she’d never been able to confirm it. “Yeah, but now I’m back for real, not for a visit.”
He nodded. “We will be glad to have you back, believe me.”
Ruby lifted an eyebrow. “The others being annoying?”
Matthias leaned in as if sharing a closely held secret. “No more than usual.”
She snorted and followed it up with laughter. “So, everyone hopes that I’ll calm things down, is that it?”
“Perhaps, Miss. Perhaps. Also, you’re just in time.”
She frowned, having totally lost track of the hours. “For what?”
“Dinner.”
Ruby groaned, and the older man grinned. “Maybe you should change clothes, though. Those are a little…dusty.”
She looked down at herself, covered in debris from the explosions, plus a few telltale drops of blood on her jeans from being shot in the shoulder. She acquiesced with a sigh. “I suppose you’re correct, as always.”
Matthias smiled wider. “Right this way, Miss Ruby. I’ll ensure you remain unseen until you’re ready to be seen.”
She shook her head and followed him, wondering if the most painful part of her day was over or whether it lay in her immediate future. No one knows how to push your buttons like family.
Chapter Five
Her bedroom at the family house still had all the trappings of her childhood. Stuffed animals sat across the pillows on her large canopy bed, the middlemost a three-foot-high brown bear that had been taller than her on the day it had been gifted. Her furniture was all off-white wood with silver fastenings and handles, a wardrobe, a dresser, and a vanity with a mirror. She’d spent many hours combing out her hair in front of it, both in her human disguise and in her true form, and dreaming of what the future might hold. The memory brought a smile to her lips, and she pulled out the drawer and saw that the wide brush she used was right there waiting, like always.
The family had five full-time employees: two cooks, someone who specialized in cleaning and taking care of the house, a jack-of-all-trades, and overseeing them all, Matthias. Of them, only the last knew her humanity was an illusion, so she had to maintain appearances even at home. It wasn’t a burden per se, merely something to keep track of. Fortunately, I don’t have to live here full-time anymore. Only visit. A lot. Her parents would doubtless have been fine with her returning. Her siblings, far less so. While she loved them all and had missed them terribly while she was away, being able to get some distance when she needed to was always a good thing.
She shrugged out of her clothes and threw them in a backpack she found in the wardrobe, then removed a pair of jeans and a thigh-length tunic from the dresser. The top was dark blue with a wide patterned stripe down each side set with silver studs. She pulled her hair back into a ponytail and tied it with an elastic recovered from her vanity. To the woman in the mirror, she said, “You got this. It’s only family. Can’t be worse than fighting off a bunch of bad guys and getting blown up, right?” She laughed at her dramatics.
The other Ruby didn’t look convinced. Ha. What do you know? It’ll be fine. She left the room, walked down the long hallway that connected the house’s wing to the central structure, and took the switchback staircase down to the first floor. Matthias waited at the bottom and nodded in approval. “That color looks lovely on you, Miss Ruby.”
She laughed. “You’d say that regardless of what I wore.”
He shrugged his elegant shoulders. Not a strong man, her instincts told her, but he’d be fast. She’d be shocked if he wasn’t a trained fighter. While it had never come up, her parents would be foolish not to have their employees be able to act in defense of their home, and if there was one thing her mother and father weren’t, it was foolish. “That doesn’t change the truth of it.”
“Well, thank you, Matthias.”
She made a slight move in the direction of the front door, and he interposed himself with a grin. “The dining room is the other way, Miss Ruby. Perhaps you’ve forgotten?”
Ruby scowled. “Traitor.” She braced herself, lifted her chin, and marched toward the battlefield that was the family meal.
Her brother’s voice carried down the hallway as he argued over something. At first, it was unintelligible, and she didn’t care enough to amplify it magically. As she neared her destination, his words became clear. His tone was arrogant, almost demanding, which wasn’t one she’d use on her parents without an excellent reason. “It’s a simple concept. Marijuana is legal in the state. We can push the legislature to extend that to drugs that have a similar influence on magicals, then use the casinos to distribute. It’s foolproof.”
She lingered outside the door to listen as her sister Morrigan replied, “Dralen, you’re an idiot. It has the potential to bring in the kind of clientele we don’t want in there.” Their responses perfectly fit their ages. Her brother was twenty-two and working on his MBA, which meant that he was always thinking of business ideas but not quite ever turning them into business plans. It’ll be good when my parents are ready to step down, though. She had no interest in being in charge of the casino, although she’d help where she could. Morrigan, at eighteen, was done with high school and taking a gap year. She wasn’t sure what she wanted, but it apparently included continuing to block Dralen where she could. Ruby approved.
She stepped around the corner as her mother said, “No business at dinner, you know that.” They were gathered at a rectangular table that could seat six with her father on the end, Dralen on his left, and his wife and daughter on the right. The dining room was typical of the house itself with light stone walls made of big blocks, wood furniture in either white or natural brown, and accents of color in fabrics and ornaments. The table was a wood so dark it was almost black, with a runner of blue and silver down the center and placemats in the same shades at each chair.
She slipped into the seat next to Dralen in silence and looked up at her father. “What?”
The recipient of her question, Rayar Achera, was entering the latter part of his adult life, and his brown hair was now liberally sprinkled with grey. That didn’t take away from the animated energy in his eyes or the twitching grin he bestowed upon her. He put a hand on his heart as if in shock. “Prodigal daughter. You’ve returned.”
The others at the table laughed. Her mother, who like part of many long-term couples was growing to resemble her partner, scowled. Sinnia’s hair echoed her husband’s, long, straight, and shot with grey. Her face was a little wider where his was noticeably narrow, and her frown had an edge of sincerity. “Ruby. We thought you’d join us earlier.”
She shrugged as she reached for one of the serving dishes in the center of the table, then put off her answer until she’d scooped some of the rice-cheese-and-vegetable entrée onto her plate. “I was unavoidably delayed.”
Dralen nodded. “By Jennifer, right? How is your old friend?” He made air quotes around the word friend. The pair had dated for a while and now fell solidly into enemy camps.
“Yeah. Meeting her was dumb. She hasn’t changed.”
Morrigan asked, “Did she call you Casper?” Ruby had shared all her important stories about life with her little sister, including how vicious alleged friends could be.
“No. She did manage to work Ghost in there a couple of times.”
“What a witch.”
Ruby laughed. “Or something that rhymes with that, yes. At least that obligation is taken care of for the near term.”
Her father asked, “Will there be a long term?”
She chewed and swallowed. “Answer unclear. Check back in a year or so.” That drew a laugh, and she continued, “So what’s happening here, other than another terrible business idea from Dralen?”
Her brother sputtered, and her father came to his rescue. “It takes a lot of misses before you hit a home run. At least he’s in there swinging.” He flipped his fork like a bat to illustrate his point.
Ruby met Morrigan’s gaze, and they rolled their eyes together, laughing. Her sister replied, “Don’t worry, big brother. One day you’ll make contact with one of those pitches.” She paused with perfect timing, then added, “Sure, it’ll be a pop fly right back to the pitcher, but you know, at least you’ll have hit something.”
Her mother changed the subject. “Did you get all your stuff back to town okay?”
She nodded. “There isn’t that much of it. The U-Haul is over at the house. If I’m lucky, my roomies have unpacked it for me already.”
“I don’t know why you want to live up there instead of with us, anyway.”
Ruby laughed. “Mother, I’m twenty-five. It’s time for me to not live with my family. Besides, you know, we humans love the sunlight.” Referencing that secret never failed to end an argument. Sure enough, her father changed the subject.
“What are your plans? Still the same?”
She shrugged. “I have some contacts from school in the area. I’ll see if they have any freelance work for the near future. Eventually, I’d like to open a place, making and selling magic items.”
Rayar nodded in approval. “Ambitious. I like it. You’ll continue to help your mother and me, and your brother and sister, with the casino, of course.”
“Naturally. Can’t be an Achera and not have a hand in Spirit.”
“Good, good. Perhaps you and your brother will come up with some fantastical new way to use magic for gambling. That would be truly useful. Imagine the franchise opportunities.” He wandered off on a tangent about the cost of slot machines with popular brands, and she tuned out and thought about her future in a way she hadn’t before returning home. It was all real now. She was out of school, ready to make her way. Unlike many, she had one hell of a safety net in her family, but if all went well, she’d be able to do what she loved and put her spare time to use volunteering to help others in Ely, as she had those in her college town.
