Elmora: Realm Walker Series Book One

by Anna LaVerne

  “That night I ripped those guys off of you. I wanted to kill them. I was going to kill them. Then I heard my name slur from your lips. I ran to your side but you couldn't see me. It was the alcohol. It numbed you to the point you were blind to me. I know your soul knew I was there, otherwise how did you know to say my name? I lifted you and placed you in your shower. I watched as you came to a little bit of sense and stood by you as you cried and cried. You then took yourself to bed, never realizing I was right there willing you to see me. I visited almost nightly then. You were so skittish. I knew you were having a hard time blocking and accepting what was going on, but I couldn't get through. You were taking shots of schnapps before your classes. Finally one night you were sober. It had been months since I found you. That is the night we went for a joy ride. That is the night I willed you to remember me. I begged you to stay sober and to learn to protect yourself. I had no idea how well you would be able to hide.

  I went home to seek permission to bring a human to our realm. The Elven Council was furious they reminded me that a human hadn't stepped over in centuries. It was my Mother who saw my desperation and decided to appeal to the High Councilman directly. Long story short it hwas approved. When I returned you were gone. It had been months. I went to your Mom's farm and she had moved. I went to your Dad's farm and you were not there. I visited that place frequently praying you would return, but you didn't. Ten years later I have found you. It wasn't by looking for your magic either. I had to hire a human private investigator to find you.”

  “What do you want from me?” I asked. I knew I should have had something more to say, but I didn't. No one has ever shown interest in me, yet here is an Elf-man that did and has for years. It has probably been only a blink in his eye timewise. I mean I think elves are kind of immortal. I will have to ask him more about that later.

  Garrik steps close to me. I can feel the electric energy thrumming along my body. I wanted to feel more of it. To be closer to him. My body involuntarily pushed against him. He leaned over and brushed his hand along my cheek and said, “I want you to come with me to my realm, please. I don't want to lose you again.”

  Not knowing if I was being propelled by the magic of his need but without realizing it I nodded yes. He grabbed my hand and lead me out of the little hole that was still open in my ward, then poof my apartment was gone. My entire world changed. What had I done?

  Chapter Three

  I felt a string pull on my navel and lift me up off of the ground. The entire world swirled in color as my vision blurred. When my feet touched the ground again I was no longer in my apartment. I was standing in the middle of a field. There was only one tree in the distance. The sky was bright blue with large fluffy floating clouds drifting slowly overhead. It reminded me of the farm. If Garrik is to be believed, I have entered another realm, one that the Elf-Man lives in. I see no other signs of life other than the single tall elm tree in the distance and a bird flying over head. A vulture maybe? I mean it looked like a vulture, big black body and naked red head, but it was alone. Didn't vultures fly together? Maybe? Honestly, I don't even know. My mind is reeling and I can't focus on any one thing. Everything from the dirt to the breeze is capturing my attention. I am standing on Earth. Nothing about this place looks any different than any wide open pasture on Earth. The wind caresses my midriff which causes me to look down. Here I am in another realm on the same world and I am still wearing my running gear. I blush as I look up at Garrik, once again he read my thoughts.

  “I will get you some new clothing once we get home, we shouldn't run into to many people on our way.”

  I should say something, but once again words fail to reach my lips. I had nothing for me back at my apartment, so why not go with some Elf-man that has followed me through my life? What did I have to lose? The moment I nodded I knew there was no going back. I have known for years that my life had been missing some big pieces.

  My family thought I was a witch. One side of my family being Southern Baptist and the other side being committed Catholics,they all looked down their nose at me. I don't do well with rules or structure, although my life is dull my nature is still very chaotic. It is why at thirty I still live in a small studio apartment. I had never held any one job for more than a year. I also moved apartments frequently. It is why the only possessions I have are my favorite books. It is also why I have never owned a couch, chair, kitchen table, and coffee table. It would have all been too much to move. So, yeah, leaving everything behind and disappearing to another realm was an easy choice. I would have made that same choice at fourteen or even nineteen as well. Garrik had already started walking through the tall grass in the open field. I picked up my pace to follow silently as my mind went over the day's events.

  “We should come to a road shortly, then we need to follow it about a mile on foot to the river. I came to you in the Human Realm from the river. I guess it would have been quicker to move to where we needed to there on a bus or even walking the sidewalks. I only wanted to get you here. I didn't want you have a chance to change your mind.”

  “Garrik, I wouldn't have changed my mind. I had nothing for me there. I was nothing, I have been nothing for a very long time. A boring shell of a woman that no one was interested in and that wasn't interested in anyone else either. My entire life focused on stopping the spirits, the voices, and grounding myself to reality. I have known for years that if I didn't get control over it I was going to end up being tossed in the loony bin. I had been there before, you know. Three weeks in at a place called Three Trails. My Mom admitted me when I started pulling out my hair, shortly after I saw you for the last time.”

  We walk in silence for a moment as he took in my words.

  “I am sorry Vera, I feel like I had failed you. I was following our rules and laws. There is so much more I have to tell you, but I think it will be better to wait until we get to my home and get you settled in.” Pointing a long arm up ahead, “There is the road!” Garrik said as he picked up the pace.

  Garrik is well over 6ft tall and I was finding myself jogging through the grass trying to keep pace. It is a good thing that I have taken to running. If this was my nineteen year old body I would have fallen behind more so than I am now. I finally hollered out,“Garrik, you have got to slow down. I can't keep up!”

  Jogging through grass that came up to my waist was hard. In fact I am surprised I hadn't fallen on my face which is a habit of mine. I saw Garrik stop ahead and wait for me to catch up. Once I got within arm distance he reached out and grabbed me swooping me into his arms.

  “What the hell?!” I ask as electricity jolts through my entire body. The throbbing I feel is more akin to a heartbeat. Garrik's heartbeat.

  “You are out of breath and tired. I will carry you to the road, It is no big deal.” He said as he brought his lips down onto my forehead.

  Breathe Vera, just breathe. You will survive this. You are a survivor. Stop being such a schoolgirl! I shouted at myself in my head.

  There was a rumbling of a chuckle in Garrik's very hard solid chest, “I heard that, and trust me nothing about you is like a schoolgirl anymore.” He adjusted me and tossed me over his shoulder, sack of potato style and then smacked me on my very ample ass.

  “Yeah, sorry I grew up and put on a few more pounds. That is kind of how life works as a human. I obviously don't have the ability to stay young and perfect for ever like some Elf-man I know.” I shot back at him.

  “I am not complaining.”

  I really don't know what to think about Garrik at this point. I am currently flung over his shoulder. He flirts with me, and it’s quite clear I already have it bad for him. At the same time he has followed me for years and I wouldn't be surprised if he sees me as nothing more than a little sister. I could totally get used to traveling like this though. I don't care how I am being carried as long as I am being carried by a tall, teal eyed, and very fit gorgeous Elf-man.

  Distance is hard to judge on a prairie because it was at least anot
her five minutes before Garrik set me down. I was expecting an actual road, or maybe something with bricks like in Wizard of Oz. Nope, it was a dirt path. More like a trail or something more suited to horses for travel. The road was only wide enough for one wagon, maybe.

  “Do your kind not travel through here often?”

  “The main road runs along what is considered the Missouri-Kansas state lines. Not many of my kind dwell in this area of the prairie. Most only come here if we are traveling to the city and then we usually enter near the river.”

  ` “Are all elves able to travel to the Human Realm with a thought like you? Are there not gates? You say, 'Take me to the Human Realm', and your will is done? I guess it seems so simple. Too simple.”

  Garrik chuckles, “It is my gift to travel smoothly through the realms. I am a realm walker. It is most likely the reason I was able to see you in my garden so well. I can only travel the area that overlaps where I am standing in the other realm. It is a gift that is unique to you and I. There is a gate at all major human cities along the waterways. You will see soon enough.”

  Garrik is walking slow Vera pace as we talk. I have so many more questions, but I don't want to annoy him. If Garrik speaks the truth about our past conversations then it is likely I had already asked these questions before. It could be the sixth or seventh time he is answering them. The only consolation I have is I know I haven't asked him any questions in over ten years.

  “Really, Vera, don't be afraid to ask me anything. I missed your voice and your presence.”

  “I am not sure I am comfortable with you knowing what I am thinking constantly.”

  “I don't know everything, only bits and pieces. Sometimes I am going off of your facial expressions. Like you, I am good at reading people.”

  As we walk the fields are starting to change. Weeds are popping up sporadically in the tall grass with yellow and purple flowers on them.

  “How many other mythological people live in this realm with the elves? Or is it just elves?”

  “Mostly elvish. There are a few dwarfs, and goblins. Like with fairies we have the Dark Elves and the Light Elves. Like with humans we have many kingdoms. Light Elves and Dark often intermingle, but they can not reproduce. Each kingdom is usually one or the other. The Elven Council makes sure that each kingdom is following the basic rules of all. They police the royal families.”

  “Fascinating. So, no democracies in the Elven Realm? King with almost absolute control? I find that terrifying.”

  Garrik rolls his eyes, “We call our realm, Elmora. We live long lives, and we get bored. We try very hard to be our best. Even the Dark Elves are as fair and balanced as possible. There are still one or two bad apples. We are mostly immortal, but we also do not reproduce at a high rate. It benefits our kind to not abuse our power and have lasting peace. Wars can easily decimate the elven kind." He pauses for a minute as we walked, “I don't know how long you want to stay here, but royalty does not have ultimate power. The Elven Council does. They are the ones I had to petition to bring you here,” Garrik stops and looks at me with his eyes pleading. I know he is about to say something I am not going to like. I place my hands on my hips and wait as my stomach fills with dread.

  “Please please understand, this is the safest place for you, but the council may want to explore your gifts to see if you are useful to them. They wouldn't have authorized you being here without having a purpose.”

  I could feel my eyes flashing in anger as I take a deep breath and yell, “ I don't even understand my gifts! AND even if I did I don't want to use them. Hiding out for ten years should be testimony enough to that! I am basically an over powered medium or something, what good is a human NON witch medium good for to a bunch elves with super powers?”

  Garrik stares at me for a long moment. “Take me home now. I didn't sign up to be some Elven Council's super human. I would rather continue my safe life than be used.”

  Garrik nods. There was no fight in his beautiful teal eyes as he stepped towards me. I assume he is going to transport me home. It was obvious the first time that we had to hold hands and stand close together. So, when he pulled me close to him there was absolutely no fight. I snuggled up to the smell of fresh rain and the tingly feeling of little electric sparks. I felt I was going home, maybe I was delusional because Garrik felt so much like home to me. He bent down his head down and whispered “I will you to remember.” His lips gently brushed my forehead and the world swirled. Instead of feeling the gentle tug at my navel signifying the journey back home, everything went black.

  Chapter Four

  My eyes were heavy, and my head ached. I could feel that I was in the softest of beds. The room was spinning. Oh no, lift my arm to my head and began to panic. What made me drink? I hadn't been so inebriated to feel like this in years. I began to cry. Why, why why would I relapse like this? I feel like absolute hell. To make it worse I knew this didn't feel like my bed. The sheets were of a high quality and the mattress seemed to hug my body in all the right places. The smell was of rich earth and fresh spring rain. Something was so comforting about it. I need to open my eyes, but they felt so heavy. To make matters worse it felt like the bed was rocking slightly making my stomach growl. I am going to get sick. My eyes fly open, the world is still a blur as I stand trying to make it to my bathroom. My feet hit the cold wood floor. Wood floor? I don't have a wood floor. Someone tall moves in to steady me.

  “Vera, you are okay you need to lay back down.” He, it's a he, a tall he with the most pleasing voice. A voice that flows over my body in a gentle wave caressing my aching head and back. Yes, that is right I am going to lay down and I am going to be okay. I had little fight in me as I felt so awful. I feel myself falling back into a soft bed again, but this time I am propped up on some pillows. My eyes are still fighting to open to no avail.

  The voice returns, “Vera, here drink this everything will become clear again. Then you must eat. You haven't ate all day and it is nearing dark.”

  A small cup is pressed to my lips that reminds me of the little tiny tea cups they use in Japan. I sip the sweet warm liquid. It slides down my throat thick like honey. I can feel it settling into my empty stomach. A shiver passes through my body as I lean back into the pillows. The bed is still rocking. I feel a slight breeze caressing my skin. Oh Lord. I am starting to remember. I push myself up rapidly causing a new wave of dizzy to assault my head.

  “GARRIK! WHAT DID YOU DO TO ME?” I yelled, it may even have been more of a bit of a shrill scream. My eyes began to focus. I was still outside.

  There was a roof of brilliant magenta colored fabric overhead that poured into walls of fabric on either side. It was beautiful. All of my anger begins to seep out and away from me when I saw Garrik standing there in the open at the front of the boat. The sun was setting behind me and in front of him. Garrik stood there bathed in a wondrous golden red light. He was no longer wearing his human clothing. The jeans were gone as was the hoody he was wearing early that morning. Instead I saw a tall lean Elf-man dressed in leathers. Tan leather pants with a deep blue tunic over the top that accented his broad shoulders and the narrowing of his waist in the most perfect way. Around the tunic was a dark leather belt with a scabbard attached. Within the scabbard was a gold and silver jeweled hilt of a sword. Garrik looked the Elf-man that dreams are made of. Authentic elf. Real elf like. All of that was paired with his popular human styled faux hawk of sandy blond hair. I felt myself quiver as heat radiated throughout my body. I want to be angry I want to be so angry, but how could I be angry when I get to look at perfection?

  Garrik appeared to be to scared to say anything to me. I could tell he was walking on eggshells. I mean anyone in their right mind would have continued to seethe in anger. He should be expecting that, alas every ounce of my anger washed away. What he did was wrong that is true enough. Yet, because of what he did, I am on a beautiful boat in a mystical land, with the most handsome man I have ever seen. They do not make human men like Garrik. Not
even the best male models could compare.

  “I need to eat something, I still feel sick and my stomach is completely empty.”

  “Yes, of course!” He strides towards me and sits down in a chair. There he bent over and pulled a basket out from under my bed. In the basket was a bottle of wine, shelled sunflower seeds, crackers, cheese, and golden apples. I mean they were really golden. It is the only thing thus far other than Garrik that set this realm apart from the human one. I looked at the wine and scrunched my nose.

  “You know I don't drink any more, Garrik”.

  “This is elf wine. You won't be able to get inebriated from it. It actually tastes more like a naturally sweet grape juice.” He pulled out a metal cup and poured me some and set it on the table. He kept the rest of the food in the basket sitting it on my lap on the bed for me to help myself.

  Feeling unsure about the wine I started with the crackers. They tasted similar to an herb cracker you can purchase at any grocery store. Same with the cheese it tasted the same as any human cheese. I downed an entire handful of sunflower seeds which made my mouth dry. I reached for the elf wine. Skepticism made me pause as Garrik reassured me with a nod to give it a try. There was no ice anywhere, and yet when I picked up the metal cup of wine it was cold to the touch. I sniffed it, yes it smelled like fresh grapes with maybe a hint of cranberry. Feeling reassured by the smell I took a sip. Elf wine is cold, refreshing, and sweet, not like the fake sugar kind of sweet, more like a honey crisp apple kind of sweet. I looked up and flashed Garrik a big smile.