“So, you think that they were Fren when they disappeared? But why, then, would Greyden send us the note?”
“The note?” she asked blankly.
“The note Greyden, the Weltie woman, sent to the mermaid for us,” he reminded her. “Saying that they were all being Forgotten, including her.”
That stumped her. “I don’t know. Maybe she was the last to be converted.”
That sounds plausible, Heat thought. But if that is the case, then the Fren would eventually disappear entirely, and that would be no better than having Kafka full of Fren. Earth would surely be destroyed.
The group looked solemn. Mich tried to help. He knew if his friends lost hope, the battle would be lost. He couldn’t let that happen now, not when they were so close to a solution.
“Well, now we can get on with Kafka’s salvation. Let’s find the dragons—if they still exist.”
I don’t believe that would be possible tonight, Spirit cut in. The night is growing short and our moon has ceased to glow. Perhaps tomorrow.
“Now wait a minute,” Nola said, looking thoughtful. “From what we’ve discussed, it seems to me that there may be a way to save the Fren instead of just having the dragons chomp them to bits—”
“Save the Fren!” Tina cried, shocked. “Are you out of your Creative skull? What good would that do?”
Nola stifled her ire at being interrupted. Tina tended to be annoying at times, but she was a good person. Nola tried not to smart-mouth her, but couldn’t cut it off entirely.
“I will be able to tell you as soon as you stop interrupting me!” she said, biting her lip so as not to yell. “Now, if you will let me continue, I was going to say that we can save what the Fren once were and even, possibly, revert them to their original form with a nonphysical method.”
“Oh, you mean like reinforce them and make them ‘uncrushed,’ so to speak. Like, with your mind, right?”
“Yes!” Nola agreed. She was relieved that someone finally had it straight.
“Oh, that’s easy, then!”
Nola shook her head. “We’ll see.”
“Say, I’m hungry. Snort!” Mich called, looking around. The little basilisk came slithering into view from the nearby brush. “Let’s go see if we can get some food while the girls set up camp. In the morning, we ‘ll go in search of the Fren and put Nola’s theory to the test.”
“Wait!” Tina said. “Why not test it now? Maybe you should give it a try. Nola, you turned that stone into a bed spell; why not see if you can think up some Chinese take-out for us?”
“I can give it a try,” Nola said. She wasn’t very hopeful, but she was anxious to test her newfound power. She had learned the hard way not to take too much on faith, and not to count unhatched chickens. The sooner she tested herself, the sooner she would know, one way or the other.
She stood amid her friends and closed her eyes. She took her cross in hand and tried to think of Chinese food. She thought of a white paper carton with a red dragon printed on it and the little metal handle on top. She imagined herself opening it and a cloud of steam coming from it along with the smell of pork fried rice.
She was jolted from her concentration by Snort’s surprised honk. She opened her eyes and saw a huge Chinese take-out box sitting on Snort’s tail. She walked over to it and found it open and steaming hot. It was filled to capacity with pork fried rice. There was enough for all of them.
“Let me try!” Tina said. Tina closed her eyes. In a moment, three cans of soda appeared next to the food. “Wowee!” Tina said when she opened her eyes.
Nola was filled with excitement. Could this be the answer they had been searching for? She wanted to test it again. “We need some place to sleep tonight too!”
This time she thought of a fine, large house with huge windows and many rooms. When she opened her eyes, she was disappointed.
Next to the river was a much smaller house than she was thinking of. It wasn’t even a house, really, it was more like a shack with a thatched roof. It had no windows and only two rooms. It looked as if it had been through a hurricane.
Spirit approached it and looked at it with distaste. Apparently there are limits, he said. You must practice. Your power will grow.
“I hope so,” Mich said, inspecting the inside. “This has no magic shower.”
Nola laughed. It certainly hadn’t taken him long to get used to the comforts of Earth culture! “Put in a magic-number call to Lori,” she suggested. “Maybe she can send you a shower.”
He shook his head. “No. There’s no magic box either.”
“I hate being inadequate,” Nola said, cheered. “When my power grows, I’ll be sure to install a phone system.”
“For now I will settle for some clothing,” he said.
“Oh. Of course.” She conjured him a halfway-decent princely outfit. As an afterthought she conjured herself some clothing to substitute for her nightshirt, including a comfortable halter. Tina made herself a shirt and slacks. After some tinkering, they were all reasonably garbed, and far more comfortable.
The group dived into the carton of rice, stuffing the food in their mouths by the fistful. Snort really seemed to like the new treat. He almost fell into the carton, at one point, in order to reach the fast-disappearing rice. Nola practiced, conjuring up some luberry bushes for the two unisi to graze upon. She knew the bushes wouldn’t last through the next day, with no water or soil to sustain them. Everything was delicious and welcome in their growling stomachs.
“At least we don’t have to worry about finding food in this burned-out place,” Mich commented when they were finished. “Let’s go in.”
They settled in for the night. Nola and Tina took one room of the shack while Mich took the other. Snort rested in the doorway as “watchdog” and the two unisi rested in a copse of burned trees.
Mich lay there for a while in his room, staring at the ceiling. He felt rejected. Why had Nola chosen to bed with Tina instead of him? He was a man of honor and respect. She knew that he wouldn’t try to touch her, or even kiss her. Did she still distrust him so much that she could not even be alone in the same room with him? Maybe he should face the fact that she might never trust him. He had believed that since she had Created him, her dream man, that she would fall instantly in love when they met. He loved her, of that much he was certain. Maybe she would forget about him when this was all over. As much as he hated to think of it, the possibility remained. Anyway, what was the purpose of being a dream when she did not love him the way he loved her? Maybe it would be better to be Forgotten. For the first time, he cried.
In the other room, Nola sat quietly against the wall. Tina, beside her, was resting peacefully, her eyes shut. Nola felt uneasy. She was happy about finding the answer that for so long had eluded her, but she wasn’t sure what she would do once Kafka had been restored, if she could restore it.
She stood up and crept to the door. Snort was ever alert and stared at her with bright, yellow eyes. She reached down and gave him a loving pat. “Stay here and look after them. I’ll be back.” Snort snorted affirmation. She stepped over him gingerly and went out under the night sky. She wandered silently around the shack, looking at the stars blinking behind a mist of clouds.
Night was her favorite time. The air was clear and cool and the silence was comforting. Mich kept entering her mind and she kept refusing to think about him. She did not know why. She let the clear breeze brush her face.
She was startled by a nudge from behind. It was Spirit.
what troubles you?
Nola laid her hand on Spirit’s flank. “It’s stupid,” she mumbled.
I see. You are troubled about Prince Michael.
“Yes.” She sighed. There was no pretending with Spirit around. She could feel the tears starting.
There is no need for sadness, my friend, he said.
He raised his head and put his nose to the wind, his velvety nostrils flaring. His mane floated gently in the night breeze. His forelock was
swept about his ridged horn as it caught the starlight and sparkled. Nola found it difficult to distinguish him from the night. His hide was so black that only its starlit sheen could be seen, outlining him, and his green eyes glowed like a cat’s. His wings were slightly more visible, neatly folded and protruding well beyond his tail.
Nola caught her breath at his beauty. She turned her eyes to the stars once again. “He is all I could want and more,” she said, stroking Spirit’s neck. “Why am I so afraid of him?”
Maybe it is not him you are afraid of. Maybe it is reality.
“What do you mean?” But on some level, she already knew.
I can feel your heart, Nola. I see there that if you accept him, you will be giving up all you ’ve ever known to be the truth, and you are confused. He breathed heavily the sweet breeze. There are many truths in this place and time. You needn‘t be tied to just one.
Nola wiped a damp eye with her dirty hand and sniffed. “Yes, but I accept you; why can’t I accept him?”
I have always been with you and you knew that one day you would meet me, even if it be in death, but you were untrusting about him. The men you’ve been with let you down. They abused you physically and mentally. I’ve often felt your pain when one would strike you. I hated them for that. Now, I hate your reality even more. Reality made you not trust men, but you must realize that yours is not the only reality. And not the only truth.
“I suppose that’s right,” she said, sitting down and putting her arm around his foreleg, “but I’m still having trouble. I want to trust him. He deserves that. But I also want to—to get physical with him, even though I’m afraid that after that he’ll turn possessive and violent and ruin everything. And he keeps ignoring me that way. So I just don’t know.”
You have spent twenty years in one reality. I know it is hard for you to trust a new one in only a few weeks. It will take time. Spirit folded his forelegs, being careful about her arm, and lay down beside her. His size still awed her.
“I’m so glad that you understand,” she sobbed. She reached up to hug the massive neck and kissed him on the cheek as he lowered his head. “I love you so. Will you always be here for me?” she asked, even knowing the answer was yes.
Forever, he thought to her.
“Yes!”
Then she turned back to the house. She toyed with the notion of going into Mich’s room instead of Tina’s. But he was probably already “asleep,” and might resent being disturbed. She owed it to him to leave him alone, at least to that extent. So, with mixed, possibly scrambled feelings, she went to the proper room.
In the morning, Nola summoned some bacon and hotcakes and they all ate their fill. Mich accidentally let a burp slip and blushed from embarrassment. Nola giggled. She was glad he liked the food she produced.
He reached into his pocket and pulled out the crescent-shaped object that was the Kahh. “What should I do with this?” he asked.
I believe it should be stored for safe keeping until this war is over, Heat thought.
“But where? No place is safe from the Fren.”
“Oh, yes, it is!” Nola said, taking the Kahh. She stuffed it downher halter top between her breasts. This time, Mich was the one to laugh.
Heat’s equine lips twitched and he looked as if he was trying not to grin. That may not be sufficient. We must find a place that will be unknown, yet well guarded.
“Where can we find a place like that?” Nola asked.
Perhaps Castle Edward would suffice, Heat thought helpfully. The Kahh would be well hidden in the catacombs.
Mich was uncertain. “But who would guard it? The castle is probably deserted.”
Snort slithered up and jetted a small flame. He aimed his snout at a bush and jetted a larger flame that engulfed it and left it a pile of ash. It was obvious that Snort wanted to guard it.
“Do you really think you can do it?” Mich asked. “What if the Fren come?”
Heat broke in. All he has to do is snap up the Kahh and lose them in the catacombs.
“That is true,” Mich agreed. “No one has ever been able to find his way out of the catacombs, unless he was a resident of the castle. That’s because it requires the use of secret doors.”
“Good,” Nola said. “Now that that’s settled, I’m still not sure that we can do this. I can summon food and shelter by using my imagination, but transforming evil back into good is another story.”
Tina had a thought. “Mich, Heat, Esprit, do you know of anyone who might be able to help us out? “
Mich shook his head. “Madrid might have been able to help us, but she’s gone. What about you, pal?” he asked Heat.
There may be one. However—
“Who?” they asked together.
Spirit caught on. The Volant, the goddess of the sky. But her price for information is steep. You do not want her help.
“Who is the Volant? And how could she demand payment? This is a worldwide emergency!”
Figuratively, she is our mother. She is the one who released us from rainbow service when she discovered that our colors were not true. She governs the sky, the air, the sun and the moons, Spirit thought. She is the goddess in charge of the other minor Volants and she governs the skies of many worlds. She has always demanded a price.
“What kind of price would she ask? I can give her anything she wants,” Nola said as she conjured a credit card. But she winced internally as she thought of the charges she had piled up on Earth; the trolls there would be after her for sure, when the time for settlement came. At least they wouldn’t be as bad as the thug Charlie. She hoped she wasn’t incurring some similar magical debt in Kafka.
There is a story that long ago, a wyvern captured a child. The child’s mother went to the Volant to ask how she might save her child from being eaten. The Volant told her to drive the wyvern from its nest with a smoke fern. When the woman had saved her child the Volant demanded payment, but the woman had nothing to give. The Volant took her child.
“Ouch,” Tina mumbled. “That’s a steep price, all right.”
“That’s okay, maybe she will deal with me,” Nola said.
We must test your ability first; you are strong, but if you fail, Tina will do no better. Then we will have to seek the Volant.
Tina stifled her ire at that comment, but knew it was true. “Well, then, let’s get goin’ and find the Fren before we lose what’s left of Kafka.”
They turned to go, and found themselves face-to-face with a group of expressionless Fren. The group contained about five creatures; each one looked uglier than the next.
“Well,” Tina said with a sour face. “That didn’t take much time.”
Spirit’s quick mind spoke silently to Nola. It was time for the test. She nodded her head. She closed her eyes and tried to think of something that the Fren could not escape. She thrust her hands forward as if throwing something.
Her friends watched as a metal mesh net appeared just above the Fren, and settled over them, clamping down with barbed spikes into the blackened ground. The Fren spit and hissed at one another as they were drawn close to the ground. They tried to saw through the net with their metallic lightning jags, but Nola had imagined a magic net that could not be cut with anything, no matter how sharp.
She had worried that it wouldn’t work, thinking that she had to do something special to create something magical. Instead, she simply believed in what she was doing. She had faith in herself and her abilities. She was happy it worked.
“Now what?” she asked.
Go on with the experiment, he thought.
Nola remained nervous about this. The Fren frightened her. What if she just made them angrier than they were? As it was, they were so angry that they were eliminating on one another and chewing viciously at the net, and each other, while uttering strange sounds.
“Oh, crap! I’ll do it first!” Tina said. She closed her eyes.
“Wait!” Mich said. “What if you change one back and the others attack and kill
it?”
“That’s right!” Tina said. “We’ll have to let one out.”
“I’ve got an idea,” Nola said. A single Fren was released. She closed her eyes and made another throwing motion, and it was netted. “Now try.”
Tina concentrated on it. She tried to imagine what kind of creature it must be. She concentrated harder and she began to see an outline. It was some kind of dragon, but she could not make out the details. She opened one eye. The Fren stood there, unchanged.
“Looks like I goofed. I thought it might’ve been a dragon or something.”
Nola gathered her strength. “Let me try.”
She looked hard at the Fren, then shut her eyes. The image of a large reptile was firm in her mind. “It looks like a dragon, but I don’t think it is. It’s too fat.”
She tuned in and intensified what she could see. The fuzziness went away and she saw the rear of a huge dragon. She imagined it turning to face her. She was shocked. It had three golden horns on its head and small dark eyes. For a moment, she locked mind’s eyes with—a triceratops, with red spots.
The image wavered. There was a flash behind her lids and it was gone. “Damn! I lost it!” she said as she opened her eyes.
There, before her, stood the dinosaur, horribly cramped. It was covered by the net. The Fren had been transformed!
Nola waved her hand and the net was gone. The dinosaur trotted over to her and nodded its armored head in a gesture of thanks. Nola nodded back and it galloped away into the burned wilderness.
Dream a Little Dream: A Tale of Myth and Moonshine Page 17
