The Changeling Princess

by Jackie Shirley

  “Now we knew what our mission is. We’ve got to steal the crystal and then find a way to render it useless.”

  The entertainment wasn’t over with yet. I watched as two Rens were prodded into the arena wearing chains. Directly behind them were two cages. One cage contained a wolf and the other contained a large bat.

  “What’s going on?” I asked the man sitting next to me.

  “Ren law breakers about to be punished.”

  I watched as the first Ren was placed alongside the cage containing the wolf. When Gorbra rapped the butt end of his staff on the ground, the glow from the crystal engulfed both the Ren and the wolf. I watched in amazement as the body of the Ren and the wolf were fused together. In less time than it took to take a deep breath, the Ren had been transformed into a man wolf. In my realty, they were called Werewolves.

  The second Ren was a young woman. When the young woman was fused with the bat, she turned into a life sized Vampire. Both creatures were loaded into a cart and hauled out of the arena.

  “What happens to those creatures?” I asked the man sitting next to me.

  “They are taken into forest and released. They never return.”

  “Are all of the law breakers treated this way?”

  “No, some just go away.”

  “Do these creatures ever return to Castle Town and attack anyone?”

  “Only if Tork and beast are made into one. Rens remain peaceful.”

  Wade overheard the conversation. “The crystal transformed one Ren into a Vampire and the other one into a Werewolf. It appears that the crystal cannot turn a Ren into a Demon because they are so docile.”

  “I agree, but we’ll have to find out what kind of powers the Demons possess before we can decide on a plan of action. The easy way would be for me to morph into a Demon and test its powers.”

  “Maybe so, Janis, but I have a much better idea. I’ll challenge a Demon to a fight.”

  “Spoken like a true warrior. I bet you’re pumped up after watching the fights?”

  Wade grinned. “Let’s just say that I’m tired of sitting on my rear end. Let’s head out to the pasture when the cattle are grazing. There should be a Demon out there protecting the herd against predators.”

  CHAPTER 55

  I fashioned a set of shields and then we morphed into Mists. We flew to the pasture where the cattle were grazing to look for a Demon. As Wade suspected, there were several Demons on horseback riding around the large herd. They were spread far apart, so we picked out a Demon that had dismounted from his horse and was standing under a large shade tree. I figured he was either taking a break or just goofing off.

  I watched as Wade materialized behind the Demon, waving his sword as he shouted, “I am the greatest swordsman in all of Castle Town.”

  The Demon turned and broke into a wide grin. “You are crazy little man. I will have you for dinner tonight.”

  The Demon drew his sword and walked toward Wade. He may have been a local champion, but he was no match for Wade. I couldn’t help laughing as Wade made the Demon look like a rank amateur with a sword.

  The Demon seemed dumbfounded as Wade pinned him against the tree. When Wade issued a mental command for the Demon to drop his sword, it was apparent that the Demon couldn’t hear his thoughts. Wade knocked the sword from the Demon’s hand and then forced him to his knees. The frustrated Demon snarled and his eyes took on a hideous green glow. Wade sensed what was happening and raised his shield. The blast from the Demon’s energy beam knocked Wade backward, but he kept his balance.

  When the Demon tried to rise to his feet, Wade doubled up his fist and knocked him out. Wade was smiling as he walked up to me. “This Demon is similar to the Demons we encountered when the Portal of Darkness was opened.”

  I nodded my head. “I sensed he wasn’t a heat Demon, but I’m sure we’ll eventually run into some who are.”

  “I’m a little puzzled that the Demon didn’t obey my mental command?”

  “Your power of mental control either doesn’t work in this universe, or the mind of a Demon is simply too feeble to deal with. I think we should case out the castle. I want to see how the Demons live.”

  “Okay, Janis, but let’s get something to eat first. I’m going to try the ribs this time.”

  “I’ll go along with that. I’m even looking forward to another mug of ale.”

  * * *

  After we ate, we turned into Mists and flew back to the castle. We flew over the arena and spotted a squad of Demons working on their fighting skills. We ignored them and headed for the castle entrance.

  Once inside the castle, I realized the Demons were not capable of picking up our scent. This was a good thing because we could explore undetected. I knew it wasn’t going to be so easy when we got close to Gorbra. I expected him to be an extremely powerful ruler because he controlled the power of the crystal.

  We floated down the hallway and entered the first open doorway. There were about sixty Demons seated on long benches, and at the far end of the room was a large barbecue pit. A steer was being roasted over an open fire and many young Ren girls were busy filling platters with the cooked beef. The young girls rushed around the room, continually placing food on the tables. In additional to the beef, the Demons were eating vegetables, fruit and baked bread.

  We were floating around the room when the Demons began chanting, “Tork, Tork, Tork.”

  I spotted a dead female Tork being carried toward the barbecue pit. She had been split open and gutted like an animal being prepared for a roast. I gasped as the body was laid on an open table and the head was severed from the body. The head belonged to Alga, the woman warrior who had been slain in the competition.

  The Demons eat Torks, Wade said in disgust.

  Sickening isn’t it? That Demon wasn’t kidding when he told you he was going to have you for dinner.

  We watched as Alga’s lifeless body was lowered over the open flame. I think I’ve seen enough,” I said. I’m feeling sick to my stomach.”

  You and me both. Let’s move on.

  We covered several floors of the castle until we eventually arrived at Gorbra’s private quarters. Four large Demons were standing outside the door and the stench was overbearing.

  The door to Gorbra’s quarters opened and a young Tork girl showed up carrying a large platter of food. I spotted a large slab of meat on the platter and my senses told me it was Alga. I wasn’t sick to my stomach anymore, I was angry.

  Let’s get out of here,” I said.

  We flew out of the castle and landed on the ground, just outside of the castle gate. Two young Ren girls had just left the castle, so I assumed they had just gotten off work and were heading for home. We waited until they had walked about a block before we appeared in our human form and approached them.

  “Friend,” we said as we held up our left hands and smiled.

  “Friend,” they replied as they held up their hands.

  “Do you girls work at the castle?” I asked.

  “Yes,” the taller of the two girls replied. “Families are poor, must work to help out at home.”

  “Isn’t it dangerous to work around Demons?” Wade asked.

  “Very dangerous,” the shorter girl replied. “One girl throw plate of food at Demon. They roast her alive, then eat her.”

  “That’s disgusting,” I said. “How long do Demons live?”

  The girls looked at each other before the taller girl spoke up. “Five to ten years. Depends on how good they accept power from green stone.”

  “How often do the Demons bath in the glow from the green stone?” I asked.

  The girl held up two fingers. “Every two months.”

  I reached into my pouch and counted out ten ohms. The girl’s eyes opened wide as I placed five gold coins in each of their hands. “This is more we make in month working at castle,” said the taller girl.

  I watched at the two girls hurried down the street, laughing out loud as they rushed home. I felt pre
tty good because I had brought a little joy into their lives.”

  “I’ll give you ten to one odds those girls give the money to their parents,” Wade said.

  “I wouldn’t bet against you on that one.”

  “If you’ll recall, Janis, you said that the Demons might have to be energized by the crystal at regular intervals.”

  “I guess I was right. It’s a good thing to know.”

  “I assume we’re going back to the castle and destroy the Demons?”

  “That’s the plan.”

  “When do we start?”

  “No time like the present, Wade.”

  “I think we should start with the Demons in the arena. If we kill them off, Gorbra will send the Demons from the castle to attack us. We could clean them all out.”

  The look on Wade’s face told me he was spoiling for a fight.

  CHAPTER 56

  I morphed into the Changeling Princess and donned my sword and shield. We flew up into the air and landed right in the middle of the sparing Demons. They had no idea what was going on as we launched a mass assault with our energy bolts. Any Demon that got close to us was cut to pieces with our swords. If Wade had his way, we would have attacked the entire Demon army with nothing but our swords. He was a born warrior who loved the physical contact of fighting.

  Demons came pouring out of the castle like ants. Several of them fired their energy beams, but they were destroyed in their tracks. In a matter of fifteen minutes, we succeeded in killing two hundred Demons. Our next step was to enter the castle.

  We were walking toward the castle entrance when Zadum, the bear killer blocked the doorway. “This guy is mine,” Wade said as he dropped his shield and sword.

  I sensed that Zadum was puzzled. He couldn’t believe such a puny little person could be challenging him. “Leave now or death will be painful,” Zadum shouted.

  “It is you who are about to die,” Wade shouted back as he morphed to twelve feet tall, matching Zadum’s height. Zadum wasn’t impressed because he still outweighed Wade by a good five hundred pounds.

  Zadum gritted his teeth and slowly walked toward Wade. When he reached out, Wade hit him in the chest and knocked him off his feet. Zadum shook his head and growled. His massive sharp teeth were grinding back and forth as he rose to his feet. When he lunged forward, Wade picked him up over his head and threw him against the stadium wall.

  Zadum was hunched over, growling like a wild animal. His eyes were glowing, indicating that he was building up a charge. Wade countered by throwing up a force field. The shield absorbed the force of Zadum’s energy bolts, rendering them useless.

  Wade held his arms over his head, daring Zadum to attack him. “You are not strong enough to hurt me, Zadum. I will prove that to you before I destroy you.”

  Zadum rushed forward, wrapping his massive arms around Wade’s chest. He arched his back, picking Wade up off his feet and squeezing as hard as he could. Wade was smiling as he opened his hands and smacked Zadum over his ears with open palms.

  Zadum grabbed his ears as Wade extended his arms around his waist. Zadum cried out in pain as Wade slowly increased the pressure of his grip. You could hear the sound of bones cracking as Zadum screamed out in pain. Zadum had killed many wild animals with his bear hug and now it was being used on him.

  Wade released his grip and Zadum fell to his knees. Wade placed his right hand behind Zadum’s head and his left hand on Zadum’s massive jaw. In one swift motion, Wade twisted his head sideways, snapping his neck. Zadum was dead before his body hit the ground. I was surprised at Wade’s brutal savagery.

  “You could have killed Zadum with a single energy bolt,” I said as Wade morphed to his normal height and walked toward me. “Did you have some kind of a score to settle? You look troubled.”

  Wade spoke very slowly. “I become enraged when I come across someone who mistreats animals. When I was very young, there were two older boys in my neighborhood who tortured animals. When my cat, Sammy was missing, I traced his scent to a ravine and found that the two boys had buried him in the ground with only his head exposed. They were throwing rocks at him and he was bleeding badly. I became enraged and fixed it so those two boys would never harm another animal as long as they lived.”

  “You used magic on them?”

  “Yes, I used a spell that made them terrified of any animal they came in contact with. A small puppy or kitten was enough to send them running out of a room, screaming at the top of their lungs. My mother discovered what I had done several years later and made me dissolve the spell. To this day those two boys still won’t go near any kind of an animal. And I’m not sorry for what I did.”

  I put my arms around Wade and hugged him. “You have the heart of a warrior and the soul of an angel. You’re very special to me, Wade.”

  Wade looked at me tenderly. “Does that mean you’re in love with me?”

  “Please, Wade, we don’t have time to think about ourselves. We’re on a mission and the whole world is depending on us. Let’s go inside the castle because we have a lot of work to do.”

  “Of course, Janis, we’ve got to destroy Gorbra and seize the crystal.”

  * * *

  We entered the castle and headed straight for Gorbra’s chambers. The guards in front of Gorbra’s door stood their ground. We destroyed them with our energy bolts and then blew the large wooden doors off their hinges. Gorbra was standing in the middle of the room, holding the staff in his hand, grinning from ear-to-ear as he covered us with a flash of green energy.

  I could feel the power of the crystal, forcing itself into my subconscious mind. My thoughts were filled with hatred, but I refused to let myself be overpowered. Wade threw up a force field to block the crystal’s power and my hate filled thoughts disappeared in a flash.

  “That is impossible,” shouted Gorbra. “I’ve controlled this crystal for over three hundred years and no one has been able to resist its power. What kind of creatures are you?”

  Wade spoke up. “We are from another universe and we are all powerful.”

  Gorbra was in the process of lifting his staff again when I hit him with an energy bolt, blowing him into a hundred pieces.

  “This is a messy business,” joked Wade.”

  “At least you’re not sick to your stomach this time. Let’s get down to business and see what we can do to neutralize his crystal.”

  I focused my energy beam, but I couldn’t see inside. “This crystal is exceptionally strong,” I said. “I’ll have to increase my height to increase my strength.”

  I stepped back and increased my height to twelve feet tall, doubling my strength. When I focused my energy beam again, I detected an energy source within the crystal. I narrowed my energy beam to a thin red laser and began boring into the crystal. The crystal began glowing as my laser beam bored deeper and deeper. Two minutes later, the power of my laser had made its way into a small pocket of space that contained the power of the crystal.

  “You did it,” Wade shouted.

  Like a thin soda straw, I began drawing the power from the crystal. When the task was complete, the brightly colored crystal turned to a dull green. The crystal had been reduced to a piece of fancy colored glass.

  “How do you feel?” asked Wade.

  “I feel light headed, but I think it’ll pass. I’m not really sure what kind of power I’ve inherited from the crystal. Time will tell.”

  “Maybe you can combine the power of the crystal with your energy beam. Maybe it’s possible to reverse the process and turn a Demon back to a normal person?”

  I smiled. “That’d be a good thing.”

  Gorbra’s chamber was extremely fancy, holding all the luxuries his power could buy. What interested me was a door with a large padlock. This was obviously some kind of a safe. I melted the padlock and opened the door.

  “It appears that Gorbra liked jewelry,” Wade said. “These necklaces and rings he collected must be worth a fortune.”

  “I wasn’t ev
en aware anyone on this planet was into things like that.” I opened a large chest at the back of the room and discovered that it was full of gold ohms. “There must be at least ten thousand gold pieces in this chest,” I remarked.

  “At least ten thousand,” Wade replied. Wade picked up a handful of gold pieces and filled his pouch.

  “What are you doing?”

  “We’re going to need money, so why not help ourselves. We won’t make a dent in the amount of coins in this chest.”

  I thought carefully before answering. “I guess you’re right because our search has just begun. The Supreme Being wouldn’t have sent us to this parallel universe to defuse a crystal this small. There has to be a larger and much more powerful crystal somewhere on this planet. ”

  “So what’s our next step?”

  “First things first. Let’s check the rest of the castle out and see what we can find. It wouldn’t surprise me if the dungeon is full of prisoners.”

  “Yeah, if they haven’t eaten them all.”

  We searched the castle, but everyone had cleared out. When we searched the dungeon area, we found three Torks and three Rens locked together in one cell. “Why have you been imprisoned here?” I asked.

  A Ren stepped forward. “We council members. We represent businesses in Castle Town. We ask Gorbra for smaller tax on businesses. He throw us in jail.”

  “Gorbra is dead,” I said.

  “That good. That real good. What about Demons?”

  “Most of the Demons are dead. The few that are still alive won’t be a problem. Their powers will fade because we destroyed the crystal that gives them their power.”

  “Is time to celebrate,” said one of the Torks. “No more Gorbra mean no more bad taxes.”

  “I think the whole town should celebrate,” Wade said.

  “One last thing,” I said. “There is a large chest in Gorbra’s room that’s full of gold ohms. The coins should be distributed to the townspeople of Castle Town. As council members, can you handle this responsibility?”