by T J Trapp
“Today you saw one of their weapons. The beast terrorizing those poor people on the hologram,” Erin said.
“What?!?” Daniel exclaimed. “You know where that beast came from?”
Erin nodded. “The elves brought it here. In English, it is called a ‘hydra.’ It is a tool of the elves. A weapon.”
“How do you know …” began Daniel, then trailed off.
“How can one beast cause that much of a problem?” asked Zalla. “Won’t they just kill it? Shoot it or something?”
“They were shooting at it,” Daniel mused, “but it wasn’t dying.”
“But there’s just one of it, and a whole army fighting against it,” said Zalla.
Celeste tossed her last rib bone onto the platter. “Not just one. There will be over two hundred of them,” she said quietly.
Everyone stared at her.
“How do you know that?” Daniel asked.
Celeste blushed, then answered boldly, “My Uncle Al. He has been warning me about the elves for over a year. In his message, he said there would be two hundred of them.” She looked at Erin for support.
“We heard the message, and, yes, that is what he said,” Erin agreed.
“How did he know all of that?” asked Zalla.
“I don’t know,” Celeste answered. “I remember Uncle Al seemed frustrated one time when he came to visit me. He told me he wished he could take people and show them the destruction and pain that the elves would cause. He said it was hard for people to seriously prepare to resist something they couldn’t see.” She glanced at Zalla.
“I asked him if it wouldn’t be better to stop it before it happened. You know, like in those old movies where someone was always going to destroy the Earth before noon and the guardians didn’t want to concern the people about it. He laughed at me and told me that he wished it was that simple.”
Daniel looked at Alec. “Next you are going to tell me that the ‘elves’ are from your homeland!”
Zalla gave Daniel a strange look, and cleared her throat loudly as she kicked him under the table. She cast a sideways glance at Celeste. “Daniel,” she hissed, “she is an outsider, you aren’t supposed to say things when outsiders are around.”
Daniel stuttered, “But … but I thought that you said she was family.”
“She is family and one of us,” said Erin. “You may talk freely in front of her.”
“My apologies,” Zalla said to Celeste, “I didn’t know you were family.” She stopped for a second and then continued. “All of the guards know we are training to go on a quest – to somewhere different than here – and that the Princess is not from here, but we don’t broadcast it in public.”
“I know when I first met you, in Professor Smidt’s office, you said where you were from, but I don’t remember where you said,” Celeste said to Erin. “Wasn’t it someplace in Africa or Asia?”
“Nevia,” Erin answered.
Celeste looked at her, startled. “Nevia! I’ve heard of …”
Just then, Daniel’s cell started buzzing angrily. He looked down at it for a second. “Boss, this is what I started to talk to you about over dinner. The concentrator is oscillating. It has been trying to go unstable all day and I can’t make it stay stable. The high-level alarm I put on the concentrator just sent a warning to my cell.”
Alec rose from the table. “Forgive us for a while. Daniel and I need to go and fix the concentrator. If it overloads, that would be a real problem.”
Zalla also rose. “Thank you for dinner. I will leave now, too, if you don’t mind. I need to prepare for our training exercise tomorrow.”
41 – By the Fire
“It is getting chilly now that the sun has gone down. Let’s go inside and sit by the fire and have a glass of wine.”
Celeste replied, “I am not actually old enough to drink, but I would love to join you.”
“‘Old enough?’ There are age limits on drinking wine here? I never knew. At home on Nevia, the riders sometimes gave me whifney when I was just a little pup. Mother was furious with them when she found out. She can sense the truth, just like you and I. No one can hide the truth from us! Come, I will pour you a glass.”
Erin and Celeste sat down in front of the fire and sipped on a glass of wine. They watched the fire glow and flicker. Erin expertly stoked the fire and added another log. The fire burned with a peace that they did not sense. They watched the fire, quietly sipping their wine.
After a long period, Celeste started talking. “When I turned eighteen last year, my uncle told me about the project that my mother and father were working on when they were killed. It involved some weird stuff, like going to a place called ‘Nevia.’ I have never heard anyone ever talk about Nevia until you said that this evening. I don’t know where it is. I searched the wiki but I can’t find anything about it. I thought that maybe the name had changed or something.” She scratched her head.
“I was pretty young when my parents died – about five. Then I lived with my grandparents. Grandma talked a lot about my mom, but never about my dad. I don’t think she liked him very much. I remember my mother very clearly, but I don’t remember too much about my father. I barely remember what he looked like – he wore glasses, I remember, those little round wire-rimmed ones, and he had a big beard, and didn’t smile very often. I don’t remember him being around that much. And he was a professor there at NAI, Professor Alder, and the Alder Institute was named for him, so he must have been important.”
“It sounds as though he must have been,” Erin agreed.
“I always heard that my folks were killed in an explosion there at NAI, and that was why they shut down the dark energy lab, but then last year Uncle Al told me that was not exactly correct. I guess only my dad, Dr. Alder, and maybe one other researcher, died in the explosion. He said that Mom died on another world, called ‘Nevia,’. He told me my parents were working on a ‘very important project,’ something secret I guess, and that it would help ‘save the world for humankind.’ Now I guess he meant ‘save it from the elves.’ I didn’t think the elves could possibly be real, but everything today was certainly real – and very scary.” She rubbed her eyes. “I am frightened. I don’t know what I am going to do.”
“You will stay with us, of course,” Erin said. “You are safe with us. We will do everything that we can to protect you from the elves. My consort and I are very good at protecting people and outwitting the elves.” Erin poured each of them another glass of wine.
“Thanks for calling me ‘family’ this evening,” Celeste said, very softly. “You feel like family to me. Like a family that I never had. But – I can sense that there is more between us than you have told me.” She sipped her wine, then looked at Erin. “Where is Nevia anyway?”
“Not here,” Erin answered. “Not on this Earth. I think it is called ‘another world.’ My consort says that it is in another universe, but I do not really know what that means.”
“‘Another world?” Celeste said in amazement. “You mean ‘some other planet’ – like, one of those planets up there?” Celeste pointed at the ceiling. “How can you be sure it isn’t just somewhere else on this world?”
“Because my world, Nevia, has five moons and this world has only one moon.”
“So Nevia is a land with five moons? That’s crazy.” Celeste was silent for a while. “I can sense that everything you are telling me is true – but how could it possibly be true?”
Erin thought for a minute before she answered. “I grew up in my own land, riding the trogus, and watching the five moons chase each other every night. I knew nothing of other worlds. I knew of elves and dragons, because they live on my world. Only when my consort arrived to teach me did I slowly learn of all the things that are possible. Like you, I can sense when others tell me the truth, but I do not understand all that they say about ‘multiverses’ and ‘different worlds’ and all of the wonders – and terrors – that are in each of the worlds.”
They fel
l silent, staring at the flickering fire. Occasionally a burst of sparks flew off and spiraled up the chimney, searching for the night sky.
“I like the idea of having a family,” Celeste said pensively. “I always wanted a sister, or a brother. I asked Grandma once if I could have a sister someplace, and she said ‘no.’ And then I asked Uncle Al once if Mom could have had another child when she was at – the place with all the moons …”
“Nevia,” said Erin. The wine is taking its toll, she thought to herself.
“That’s right, that is what he called it. Anyways, he said it was unlikely that Mom had a child on the other world because she wasn’t there very long. But now I wonder. Sometimes I feel like I should have a brother or sister someplace. And I feel like I am related somehow to your husband. But he’s older than me, I can tell, so if he were my brother, my mother would have had to have him first. But maybe he’s a cousin? Or maybe my father had another child and he is my half-brother on that side. I’ve heard about that kind of thing happening, where a long-lost sibling shows up.”
Erin looked at the fire for a long time. “What relationship you are with my consort must be a conversation between you and him. We need to wait until he is here. But I will say that it is very possible that you have a half-brother, perhaps on Nevia.”
“I can sense the truth in what you say. But I can sense also that the truth is not as simple as I think.” Celeste yawned and motioned for another glass of wine. “You told me before that you have two children, right?”
“Yes, we have a boy and a girl,” Erin said, pouring the wine. “When we left home, our little girl was almost one year old and our son almost five. I am anxious to return home to them – we’ve been gone so long, they are older now.”
Celeste looked at the fire and watched it spit and crackle. Neither said anything. Finally Celeste spoke. “When I was little, I dreamed of my parents returning from the dead. It was a child’s dream, of course, and I knew it could not be. After Uncle Al told me about my mother, I dreamt of her still living in that other place – Nevia – but she looked different. More like you than like how my mom really looked.” She looked at Erin. “But I can sense that is not possible.”
Erin nodded. “You are sensing through the ring that my consort gave you. That is good. The ring allows you to open your senses to the world around you.”
“What kind of ring is it? I know I feel differently when I am wearing it.”
Erin smiled, and held up her hand, the fire glinting off her own ring. “Some call them ‘elf rings.’ Most elves wear them, but they are really only a tool that the elves use. A few of us who are not elves also have the ability to sense through the rings.”
Celeste held up her hand too, watching the firelight reflect from the ring’s surface. “That’s what Uncle Al called his ring – an ‘elf ring,’” she mused.
“Try it,” Erin urged. “You can use the ring to sense your surroundings. The ring opens far more capability than just a vague sense of truth. Try to sense with the ring. Focus your mind around the ring and you will sense the world in a different way.”
Celeste had no idea what to do, and at first, nothing happened. But after a few minutes, the combined effect of Erin’s guidance and the wine allowed her mind to relax and flow. She stared at the ring and started to feel herself become tangled in the ring. Her mind started playing tricks on her, and she could almost see luminous lines stretching around everyone. She sensed, more than saw, the lines as her senses seemed to roam. She could feel concentrations of lines around her, although how many and exactly where were very difficult to tell. “There are things like ‘lines’ around me – invisible lines – that I can see or feel or sense or something,” she said finally, looking at Erin.
From the other side of the fireplace, Erin looked at the girl, meeting her gaze. “Then you can sense the lines.” That means that she is a cross-breed, like Alec, Erin thought to herself. “I do not know your heritage, but you have … special capabilities … if you can use the ring to sense others around you. Can you feel that what I say is the truth?”
Celeste nodded her head. “I can see the lines twisting when you talk. I don’t know what you mean about ‘special capabilities,’ but I can tell that what you said is true. But I can also tell that part of what you said – the part about you ‘not knowing my heritage’ – is only partly true.”
“You are correct. I have a suspicion about part of your heritage – the part about your relationship to my consort – but I am not sure. The rest of your heritage I have no idea about,” replied Erin truthfully.
“I can tell that is the truth by watching the lines around you. How they jump and flow.”
Erin could sense Celeste was overwhelmed with the wine, the events of the day, and the information they had just shared, and was exhausted. She looked at Celeste with care and concern in her eyes. “Today has been more than anyone should have to absorb. We can talk more tomorrow. I am going to put you to bed. This is too much for one night. I am going to help you sleep, so don’t be surprised when you feel my mind.”
Celeste yawned and let Erin help her from the chair. “Thank you,” she said. “And you are right. It’s time for bed.”
42 – The Message
The next morning Celeste woke up feeling disoriented. Slowly, she realized she was lying in a bed under fluffy covers, warm sunlight streaming through the window. Her shoes were beside the bed, but she was still wearing her clothes from the day before. She walked out into the hall and looked around. Someone was bustling about in the kitchen.
The cook heard Celeste and yelled, “They told me you would be sleeping late, so I didn’t get breakfast for you yet. Do you want eggs?”
“Sure,” Celeste replied, and the cook scurried around fixing food.
“You can eat here in the kitchen,” the cook said. “Eggs are always best when they come straight off one of my old iron skillets.” As Celeste ate, the cook continued to chat away. “I heard that you came without any spare clothes. I found a few items that might fit you. I laid them on the chair outside your bedroom door. And there’s clean towels in the bathroom – I figured you might ought to freshen up a bit before you see the boss-lady.”
After breakfast, a warm shower, and a clean set of clothes, Celeste felt ready to face the world again. It seemed that no one was in the ranch house except her and the cook, so she walked outside. She heard ringing sounds and voices coming from the area behind the barn and headed towards the noise.
In a large fenced area behind the barn, she found about a dozen people sparring with swords and spears. Alec was fighting against an opponent with a sword and appeared to be winning, but not by a lot. A few yards away, Erin was a practice in grace and beauty. She was fighting against three opponents and flowed around them with an elegance that Celeste had never envisioned could exist. Her opponents were hard-pressed to keep from being overwhelmed by her attack. A bell rang, and the groups stopped.
Erin looked at Alec. “One more round for the day?”
Alec nodded and picked up a staff, but Erin launched an attack before he had a chance to prepare. Erin’s sword gleamed and glowed in the morning sun and moved so fast that Celeste couldn’t follow it. Alec was able to counter every blow with a speed that matched Erin’s. Celeste noticed that the others had all stopped and were watching the match between the two. Finally, Alec pulled up, and the contest stopped.
“Good move, you would have gotten me with that counter,” Alec said, wiping the sweat from his brow. Erin smiled at him, pleased that she was regaining her abilities.
Then Erin noticed Celeste watching them. “Did you sleep well? I sensed you had breakfast.”
“Yes, very well, and I did eat.”
Erin gestured to the men and women in the arena, who were stretching, walking out their stiff muscles, and generally acting like a bunch of people who had just completed an intensive exercise session. “These are some of my guards. We think it is important for them to be able to defend
themselves, and we have training exercises most days. Zalla, whom you met last night, is my lead guard.”
Zalla gave Celeste a wave and a grin, and turned back towards the bunkhouse, shoulder muscles glistening with sweat.
“And here’s Daniel. He’s helping my Great Wizard with the transporter that they are building but is outside this morning for some fresh air and some training.”
Daniel nodded politely and smiled pleasantly.
“You aren’t all sweaty like Zalla and the others,” Celeste observed. “Didn’t you practice as hard as she did?”
Daniel chuckled. “Not me! I am no good with those weapons, and fighting hand-to-hand combat is not where my skills lie. But – the boss makes Zalla and me work on our dark energy skills. They can be as useful in a fight as these others’ skills.”
“Oh, I see,” said Celeste, knowing full well that she really didn’t.
“Gotta go,” Daniel said politely, and walked off.
Erin turned to Celeste. “Give Alec and me a few minutes to clean up, and we will meet you in the study and continue our talk from yesterday.”
✽✽✽
“Would you like some coffee? I am addicted to coffee! It is one of the real advantages of this world,” said Erin as she poured herself a cup.
Celeste nodded her head, and Erin poured another cup and handed it to the girl.
“I have never seen anything like what you were practicing,” Celeste said. “Was it some new kind of martial art? Like kung-fu or something? It was beautiful, but isn’t fighting with swords and stuff out of date? I mean, against guns? You wouldn’t stand a chance.”
“Practice is never out of date, and no, it is not,” responded Erin. “Death rods – guns – are not as useful as people believe. Don’t put your faith in an inanimate object. Hone your own abilities, and trust in your abilities and those of your comrades to carry the day.”
Alec arrived in a dry set of clothes. Erin nodded towards the coffee pot. “I’ve already had enough coffee, thanks,” Alec said. He drew up a chair and the three of them sat around the table in the study.
