Ruby- Lost & Found

by M. D. Grimm

  "My noble King has sent me to vanquish thee and thy cruelty! I have come to release this land from your black heart and wicked ways! Fight me, O Vile One!"

  I scratched my nose as I listened to the rest of his speech. I won't bore you with the details, but he just kept spouting the same blather about good and evil, me being wicked, his king being noble, yadda yadda. I sighed heavily and took a moment to look closer at him. He was a knight and looked very young – which meant this was probably his first mission alone. He would want to prove himself. He had a truly magnificent horse, and the purple sash around his waist proclaimed him as part of the King's own family. Huh. A blood relation.

  This ought to be fun.

  "Have thee nothing to say, Villain?"

  I raised my eyebrows. "Oh, you're done? You promise? I thought my boots would grow roots before too long."

  I could see the knight's brain process what I had just said. Thinking didn't look natural on him. It took him a full minute, but he finally came to the conclusion that I was mocking him. His face reddened, and he bared his teeth, brandishing his sword above his head. Again.

  "Ye will cower before me, Villain, when I am through with thee!"

  I frowned. "Can we just get this over with? I have things to do, you know."

  The knight gave a rather impressive battle cry before he kicked his heels into the sides of his horse, and they barreled down the path towards me. I stayed where I was, looking bored and feeling bored. The stallion's hooves thundered, the knight roared, and I yawned.

  When the sword was swung down at my neck, I simply took a large step to the side, and the blade whipped past me with barely a hair's space between it and my skin. The knight nearly fell off his horse. He leaned precariously to one side and jerked the horse around, stopping to re-situate himself.

  I snorted.

  He charged at me again. This time, he barreled straight toward me, provoking me to move. I stared at horse and rider and tapped my chin, wondering what I should do to convince this idiot to go home. Coming to a decision in the next heartbeat, I lifted my hands, thought firmly of a word, and blue fire erupted from my fingers. The energy coursed through my veins, coming from inside me. I felt the heat in my own body and willed it into the flames, making them burn when they otherwise would not. My skin glowed with power.

  I pointed my fingers to the ground, and the fire shot down, creating a line in the dirt as I moved my hands to either side. The fire was blue and white, flickering with life and violence, the need to destroy but also the need to create.

  The stallion reared up, screaming in fear. The fire wouldn't actually hurt them, not unless I wanted it to. But the pair would feel the heat, and it was instinctual for any creature to avoid fire when at all possible. The knight was just as shocked as the horse, and this time he did fall off. I laughed as the horse galloped off down the trail, mercilessly leaving his rider to his fate. The horse was smart.

  I watched as the knight struggled to his feet, his armor and sword weighing him down. I gave him the time to orient himself and allowed the fire to dissolve. It flickered down to embers, and the heat in my body slowly faded to a neutral cool. Now the knight and I stood face to face, a few feet away from each other.

  "Ye will now face my wrath!" the knight bellowed.

  I pushed my index finger and thumb together and raised my arm into the air. As I brought my arm down, a sword appeared, as if I had drawn it from nothing, and hovered in the air until I took it by the handle. It was a katana, illustrating my love for the Samurai legends of Earth, and I took a stance, the sword point aimed right at the knight's heart.

  "Bring it on," I said.

  The knight let loose his war cry once more and charged. I charged as well, but silent in my attack. I felt exhilaration as our blades clashed together, and excitement bubbled up. My muscles sang as the knight pitted his strength against mine, and I realized this was what I had needed. Combat. Opposition. Something to occupy my brain and body at the same time that didn't involve magick. I loved magick, don't get me wrong, but there were only so many times you could do the same spell or the same invocation before it lost its potency. There was a risk that it might become mundane and the spell wouldn't be as powerful as if it were truly desired. For a spell to work, the desire to see it work and the desire to see the consequences must be the driving force behind it. Hesitation led to spells not working, or worse, spells backfiring on the spell caster. Take it from me, that was not a pleasant experience.

  So I fought. Blade to blade, locked in combat with a loyal knight. Something I had not experienced in too many years to count. You might wonder how I could keep up with such a powerful knight trained in swordplay? Well, it wasn't always about strength, but agility, and I did have many years practicing several different fighting methods under my belt, while he would only be trained in one, maybe two techniques.

  And I was older than him. The youth was blatant in his eyes.

  I danced around him, making him work to have his blade connect with mine. I had energy, stamina, and I was also having fun. I could see by the sweat trickling down his face that he was becoming exhausted. That armor must have added a good fifty pounds or more to the knight's own natural weight, and that broadsword was not a toothpick. In contrast, my katana was light and strong, giving me the advantage.

  I began to laugh and slice into my opponent, one limb at a time. Not too deep, but just enough to sting and bleed. He became angrier as I continued and started to charge, not like a well-trained knight, but like a pissed-off bull, never thinking beyond the moment.

  "Ye will not defeat me, O Wicked One! Good always triumphs." He said it while gasping for breath.

  "Does he now? I think if Good wishes to triumph, he should lay off the sweets." I poked the knight's breastplate with the tip of my blade, nearly unbalancing him. He hadn't expected that.

  "And get lighter armor. You're heavy on your feet, my friend." I slapped him in the ass with the flat of my blade.

  He spun around and sputtered in indignation. I laughed in his face. I was playing with him, and it was cruel, but they didn't call me a villain for nothing. I was making him question his competence, his worth as a knight, and it made me feel giddy. He should have known better than to come into my home and challenge me. I didn't take those challenges lightly. He was lucky I was in a good mood and didn't feel like summoning my minions after him. The wichtln would tear him to shreds, or the truls would bash his head into a rock and eat him for supper. No, I didn't want that for him. I wanted him to send a message for me.

  I continued to play with him, wearing him down, causing him to lose breath and stagger with exhaustion. Finally, I was able to make him lose his grip on his sword, and I tripped him. He fell to the ground on his back, gasping for air and trembling with little strength left. Barely winded, I stood over him, my sword point resting just above his throat.

  He snarled at me. "Go ahead, Villain. Do your worst. It is an honor to die for my noble King."

  I believed him. And I pitied him. Brainwashed idiots should be pitied.

  "First off," I said softly, "my name is Lord Morgorth, not Villain. Secondly, your King is the one you should really be fighting. Thirdly, the citizens of Happy Valley are happy and need no help from you or your deluded King. Fourthly, this i s my home, my territory. Go back to your King and tell him to send more than some overgrown boy playing soldier to get rid of me. Or better yet, tell your King to stay away from what is mine. Or I will come and take what is his."

  I was a good bluffer. I had the poker face down, and I knew the knight believed me. I didn't want a kingdom at all, but in the knight's mind, a villain always wanted more, always wanted power over the creatures of Karishian. So, for him, he already thought I wanted his King's kingdom. By the Mother, the King probably told the knight that to give him more fuel to fight.

  "Get up, and get out." My voice was deep and just slightly growly. I saw the naked fear in the knight's eyes and allowed myself a feral smile. I can
do the "evil" look so well that I've made vicious truls cry for their mommies.

  I stood back and watched the knight get to his feet. Then I flicked my wrist and thought a word. The knight stumbled away as I gave a warning to all the creatures who made Vorgoroth home to stay away from the knight, to let him leave unharmed. I wanted that damn King to squirm on his throne when the knight delivered my message. He might just be idiotic enough to send an army unit after me, in which case I would have to send all the soldiers' heads back as a warning. That should earn the jackass some points with his citizens.

  Chuckling darkly, I lifted the sword into the air, and it vanished, going back to the armory I kept in Geheimnis. It was impossible to pull anything out of thin air, but there were ways to teleport things and make it look like you did. Presentation was half the fun.

  "That was some fine foot work, my lord."

  I smiled and turned around, swiping a hand across my brow. "You think so, Grekel? I thought I was a little stiff."

  "Perhaps some play with us will loosen you up," Grekel said. I felt eyes on us and knew the other pack members were watching, keeping their distance out of respect. I didn't converse with the rest of the pack as much as I did with Grekel.

  "Maybe, but not now. I have to go and look in on Geheimnis. Make sure the knight makes it out in one piece, okay?"

  The wichtln growled, and I knew he was irritated that I didn't let him eat the knight, but he would do as I asked. He swaggered away, and the eyes around me disappeared. I smiled and continued on my way, feeling loose and happy and ready for more.

  Chapter Two

  I stood in front of my castle, gazing up at the dark towers, the dark windows, the intricate stonework, and just soaked in the sight. Her towers soared into the sky, seeming to bridge the gap between the land and the heavens. She looked to be a natural addition to the top of the mountain, as if the rock had given birth to her, challenging anyone with the balls to call her home. Geheimnis would cause others to quake and tremble, but she gave me a warm, fuzzy feeling inside. My castle was opening her arms to me, welcoming me home.

  Geheimnis was perched atop a jagged mountain, where climbing was nearly impossible. Sheer sides, slick walls covered with ice, and enchantments up the wazoo. Courtesy of me. I had poisonous and vicious thorny vines that wrapped around her walls. Any invader who came within five feet of my walls would get wrapped and punctured, and if the poison didn't kill them in a day or so, the blood loss would. But that wasn't all; I had gargoyle statues on every one of my towers, enchanted to attack an invader who thought they could bypass the mountain and the vines by flying. My gargoyles didn't mess around; they each had four eyes, all around their heads to eliminate a blind spot, with jagged teeth, and serrated claws, and large wings that turned day into night. They had a superb sense of smell and they could hear for kirons.

  I created them myself, and I must say I did a damn good job. I filled with pride every time I looked at them.

  But, if somehow, the invader got past all these outer defenses, they had to contend with what lay inside my castle. And that was certainly not a walk in the park. Every room had its own enchantments, ready and willing to mess with the intruder's mind. Each room had either illusions, suits of armors ready to come alive, or statues of animals ready to spring to attack without the least bit of provocation. There was no way an invader would be able to come out of Geheimnis alive, or sane.

  My castle was a death trap for anyone, with the exception of my handful of boygle minions and myself. It had taken a very long time for me to get each enchantment right. I had scars from the times that my own enchantments had snapped back at me. I had been much younger when I decided Geheimnis would be my home, with a lot still to learn. Pain was an excellent motivator.

  "Hello, baby," I murmured as I walked toward the large double doors with their marble payshthaheaded brass knockers. The vines around the stone stirred and crept along the ground. I snapped out an order, and they subsided, trembling because their master was home. I gave a particularly thick vine a friendly stroke before gazing up at my gargoyle guardians. To the casual observer, they were only statues, albeit very vicious and nightmarishlooking statues. But even frozen like that, their eyes were constantly observing. They stared down at me, and I smiled back, saluting them, before I walked inside my castle.

  Ever been inside a castle? A mansion? If not, well, the word "grand" comes to mind. Grand staircase, grand chandelier, grand carpets, and portraits on the walls. And don't forget the tapestries. I loved tapestries. I had all that and more. Candelabras graced the walls every few feet down the hallways and rooms, since electricity was nowhere to be found in Karishian. It wasn't that we weren’t smart enough to use it, it was just that electricity, i.e. technology, and magick didn't play well together. Every time I used magick on Earth near a computer or TV, I would short circuit the thing. That really sucked when I watched payper-view porn.

  The candelabras, however, added a subtle elegance to the place that light bulbs could never accomplish. The flickering flames created shadows along the floors and in dark corners, making the scenes on the tapestries fluctuate and come alive. I dragged my fingertips over one of them, relishing the soft material.

  There were comfy sofas, chairs, and pillows, as well as large fireplaces with carved mantles. The colors were rich and varied, blending together as I walked from one room to the other. I had a particular fondness for dark blue, and much of the furniture was evidence of that. I liked luxuries.

  I had grown up poor. I promised myself I would never live that way again. The most impressive thing, to my mind, was that none of it was an illusion. Everything, from the stone, to the pillows, to the trinkets on the mantle pieces, was real. I had collected and commissioned everything that was in my home, and that made me prouder.

  I walked toward the large, curved staircase when I heard the shuffle of many feet. I paused and glanced over my shoulder to see a dozen boygles staring at me with obvious delight in their black eyes. They were all around four feet tall with dark brown skin and tiny noses. They were my house minions. They kept everything clean and tidy and did house duties that I never paid much attention to.

  The leader, an old female boygle named Grendela, bowed deeply and spoke in a highpitched, raspy voice. "We are so happy you have returned, Master."

  The rest of the boygles bowed and said the same words. I inclined my head to them and turned to continue my ascent of the stairs when Grendela spoke again.

  "A mage came here, Master." She said. I turned back. "So I've heard. How far did he make it?"

  "He got as far as the front door, Master. But the gargoyles attacked and drove him off."

  That was far too close for comfort. "Good." I walked up the stairs. I didn't thank them for the report, and they didn't expect me to. I was their master; they followed my orders, end of story.

  Boygles were not the nicest creatures in this world. In fact, they were vicious, bloodthirsty, nightmare-inducing monsters who used the blood of any creature they could get their hands on to dye their clothes red.

  Yikes, right?

  Well, they also had a tendency to give their loyalty to the biggest and baddest creature they came across. In their case, that would be me. They had lived in Vorgoroth before I came along, and they were greatly...displeased with my decision to claim this place as my territory. I actually went to war with them, destroying half of their tribe. The other half pledged their undying loyalty to me because I had shown them I was the most powerful. I was the alpha. Not the happiest moment of my life, but damn, they sure were good with the housework. And they were an extra security measure if anyone breached my outer defenses.

  Everything was spotless as I walked down a long hallway. The paintings on the walls were ones I had done, mostly from memory. Most depicted landscape scenes from some of my favorite places on Earth, as well as on Karishian. Yes, I paint. A guy's got to have a hobby.

  I passed rooms on my way to one in particular. Hallways appeared on
every side; staircases led up and down to hidden locations. While the outside might look elegantly simple, the inside of my home was a labyrinth of passageways, hidden doors, and double-backs. As if I didn't have enough ways to discourage an intruder. I could be blind and still find my way around without getting lost once.

  I turned down another hallway and shifted my brain toward the issue at hand. A mage tried to break into my home, and the gargoyles chased him away. I was surprised he'd made it out alive. I commanded them to kill any uninvited guest.

  I reached a seemingly dead end. In front of me was what looked like a wall, undecorated and unimportant. I reached out and murmured a word. A doorknob appeared, and I turned it, opening the door and revealing a narrow staircase that ascended steeply up to one of the towers. The door shut behind me as I jogged up the steps, my boots echoing louder in the narrow confines.

  Another door blocked my way, and this one had no doorknob or lock; it was only a piece of pure, unmarked stone. I took a breath, focused my energy and mind, and pressed the palm of my right hand against the stone. I said a word in my head, and blue ribbons of energy spiraled down my arm and broke off when they hit my hand. The blue energy slid over the stone, turning the gray slab into a glowing blue gem. The stone became transparent, and a room became visible on the other side. I laid the palm of my other hand on the blue stone, and red energy spiraled down my arm and mixed with the blue. The blue and red became purple, and the stone steadily faded before vanishing completely.

  The room was small, intimate, and windowless, and only had one thing inside it. A short pedestal stood in the center of the room, and upon that pedestal lay five colorful gems under a brightly glowing purple dome. The dome acted as the last defense against a thief. If touched, the dome would blow up, and the thief along with it. The stones would be transported to safe locations around Karishian, where they would stay hidden until I collected them. And in the unlikely case that I was already dead, the stones would hopefully stay hidden until the end of the world.