Science Fiction and Fantasy Box Set 1: The Squishies Series

by Claire Chilton

  “You killed Chancellor Norris!” Parklon cried.

  “No, you daft sod.” Bob rolled his eyes. “I was selling some goods,” he said with a wink at the word ‘goods’, implying they were illegal products. “To a mate of mine, and some git steals me car! So the other day, yesterday when I brought Carla ‘ere …”

  He paused as Parklon gritted his teeth in anger.

  Bob coughed. “I mean, followed her here.” He pulled an innocent expression before continuing. “On the way here, I see this orange car parked on the road. I run over to it, to see if it’s mine. ‘Cause let’s face it, there can’t be two of ‘em here in Greenobmi. But some guy is in it, and he starts to drive away. So I ran after him, but he got away. But I tell you something,” Bob said with a scowl. “Purple doesn’t half stand out against an orange, leather interior. I didn’t see him up close, but I know a Rhecknaw when I see one.”

  Bob sighed. “I loved that car too.” He paused in a moment of silence for the lost vehicle before he continued.

  “Anyway, then I started to worry. A Rhecknaw in Derobmi, and a male one at that. My little purple friend’s in some deep trouble now, I think. So I think about what I know about Rhecknaws. I looked into ‘em way back when I first met Carla, using some reliable sources. I got me some contacts all over Dumfollab, and they did me proud. The information they sent me was just what I wanted.”

  “So here’s what I know about it all. Derobmi and Rhecknaw are more connected than anyone thinks. Did you know the first king of Rhecknaw had an affair with a Derobmi lady? The two colonies used to have annual gatherings for over a hundred years until Derobmi got its first female monarch. Then the colonies had some differences on the whole Blooming thing.”

  Parklon frowned. “But then Carla could be a full Derobmi, or any boy here could be a half Rhecknaw. How is it all connected?” he asked.

  Bob nodded and twirled a coin between his fingers. “Well, you’d have to read every family history to get the answer to that one. The point of it all is that we’ve got more than one Rhecknaw in Derobmi. They’ve just been watered down to green is all. The purple’s been bred out of ‘em. Take Lord Foamy. He’s a direct descendant of the first king of Rhecknaw.”

  Parklon felt a bit lost on the full history, but then Bob was into the finer details and Parklon was, well, more of a Zoolaf.

  “So what that means,” Bob said. “Is that Lord Foamy’s son, Krellin, is also a direct descendant of Rhecknaw royalty, and I’ll just bet those two know how to invoke the rites of Karin.”

  “That’s why Carla’s in trouble. She’s currently staying in the royal house of Rhecknaw, which got watered down to green way back when.”

  Parklon tried to make sense of it all. “But we don’t know how much they are watered down. I mean, you’re assuming they’re as bad as that demon, but for all we know, Krellin and Lord Foamy are as dangerous as fluffy bunnies,” he said.

  “And we don’t know what Carla’s special powers are, or even if she has any. And what about Chancellor Norris, and this sudden disease?” Parklon frowned again. “Who’s the purple person who stole your car?”

  Parklon thought about everything. It was a lot of information to uncover in one day.

  “Well, we’ve got a murderer, an unstoppable disease and some interesting history books like this one.” Bob held up the Annex and dropped it on the floor. “They’re all coming from the same place, Rhecknaw. I think our girl’s at the center of all this, and I don’t reckon she knows it yet.”

  “So what we need to do is trace who she is. What do we know about her parents?” Parklon asked.

  Bob sighed. “That mate, is the missing link, and the part that’s worrying me the most. Because if Carla’s got special powers worth killing for, what are they? I’ve known her for years now, waiting for a spark of something, and there’s zilch. If she’s got any powers, she’s keeping ‘em secret better than most.” Bob shook his head. “I swear, unless outright chaos is her secret power, I haven’t seen anything happen. But it’s looking like Krellin’s seen something special in her,” he added.

  “What do you mean?” Parklon asked.

  “Well, her majesty’s having the purple stones polished,” Bob said, nodding his head toward the tunnel that led to Lady Foamy’s room.

  “Something big is going on tonight, and I’ll just bet our little purple pal is gonna be the sacrifice at the feast.” Bob looked worried.

  Parklon stood up. “Well then, let’s go get her— damn it—before they can do anything to her.”

  “Right, and how exactly do you plan to get her away from Krellin?” Bob asked, not moving an inch.

  “I’ll tell her she’s in danger,” Parklon said.

  “Mate, have you ever seen a Rhecknaw girl on Zoremones before?” Bob asked.

  Parklon peered at his feet, slightly ashamed of himself. “Er, yes, I have.”

  Bob studied him with narrowed eyes for a moment before replying. “Well then, you know she won’t listen, and with his Lord and Ladyship having security all over the place, we won’t get very far kidnapping her. Also, Carla’s a bit of a fighter, headstrong, resourceful. I’d hate to be there if her special powers kicked in at that moment.”

  Parklon frowned, worrying about Carla. She was tough, but he was far too aware of how helpless she became around Rhecknaw Zoremones. “So what do we do?”

  “I reckon we go anyway and see what feast the Foamys have cooked up, and then gatecrash it at the right moment. Who knows, we might even win.” Bob said with a wink.

  “Lead the way.” Parklon smiled wryly. “I assume you know it.”

  “No idea, mate,” Bob replied. “But I tend to find my way in dark places.” He chuckled and turned left into the nearest tunnel.

  Emily Mainston stared at the purple stranger. She couldn’t believe he was here right now. It felt unreal. She couldn’t decide if it was a dream or a nightmare.

  She turned in the front seat of the orange car she was sitting in and glanced at Joe, who was sitting in the backseat behind her. He was staring silently out of the back window, completely oblivious to everything around him.

  She faced the windshield again and stared at the empty road ahead. She didn’t know where they were going or what was happening, but she couldn’t leave Joe behind.

  Her eyes traveled back over the purple face that had haunted her dreams for years.

  “What’s your name?” she asked the man.

  He pulled the car over and parked at the side of a quiet road. He turned in his seat, intently staring at her. “My name is Cole, Cole Denoir,” he said.

  She looked at him. So, he finally had a name. The mystery man of her dreams and sometimes nightmares was called Cole.

  “What is this all about, Cole?” she asked.

  He looked sad for a moment. “I haven’t gone by my real name in such a long time.” His voice was a whisper. “It’s nice to hear someone use it again”

  “But …” She began, but trailed off when she looked at his face. She felt a moment of longing before snapping herself out of it.

  She needed to get a grip and find out why he was here after all these years. What if he wanted Carla? What if her child was at risk?

  “Who are you? What do you want from me?”

  “Look, it’s okay,” he said as he placed his hand on her arm. “I’ll explain. Well, I’ll try to.” He took a deep breath, and she glanced back at Joe to check he was okay. He was watching the road and making ‘broom broom’ noises, completely ignoring the conversation around him.

  She turned back to Cole, whose eyes shone with memories of the past while he looked ahead at the empty road.

  “It began with my sister. We were living in Rhecknaw, and she was younger than I was—just Carla’s age. She was young and naïve. The authorities had booked her in for a Blooming.”

  “What’s a Blooming?” Emily interrupted.

  “A Rhecknaw ceremony, where the female has her life-force sucked out of her. She is left
half-dead from it in most cases. Millie, my sister, was thought to have special powers. She was going to lose her life for it.” He looked disgusted.

  “Our family and friends were calling it a celebration and Millie was not told what was going to happen to her. I had to get her out of it.”

  “So I took her away to a band of freedom fighters. She chose to stay with the rebels, and she is their leader now. We both became outlaws because we ran away. We were so young then, and I couldn’t stay with rebel group because I am a male. It was dangerous for me to be near them. Do you understand?”

  Emily nodded solemnly. There was so much loss in his eyes, and now she knew why.

  “I could not go home either,” he said. “I had nowhere to go, so I ran. After reaching Derobmi, I sent word to my sister that I was safe. I planned to stay here and build a new life for myself, but fate is not so kind, eh?” He smiled at Emily, and her heart melted.

  “My sister had looked up Derobmi and found records of alliances between the two colonies over the centuries, and she sent me word that I was not safe here.”

  He smiled wryly at Emily. “The world is a small place, no?”

  His accent was charming her still after all this time. She smiled sadly at him as he continued.

  “Millie’s message was intercepted, and I was on the run again, this time from the Derobmi wardens and bounty hunters. I had several lucky escapes and close calls. They nearly caught me so many times.”

  “The first day I met you was a day I found it easy to hide, at the festival with the costumes. I was free for one day, and I suppose it went to my head. I fell in love in one day.”

  “What better way to spend your freedom?” he said, smiling wistfully at her.

  “Then, a few years later, I was back here again and on the run. This time the wardens nearly caught me and fate threw us together again. You remember that day?” His eyes grew warmer as he stared at her.

  She nodded as tears pricked her eyelashes. His life was so painful, and she wanted to make it better, even now after all this time.

  He held her gaze, and the car fell silent. All Emily could hear was her heart beating.

  “Broom!” Joe yelled loudly from the back seat, breaking their connection.

  Cole cleared his throat and continued his story.

  “Afterwards, when you left me and went back to your husband.” He averted his eyes and glanced sadly out of the side window. “I ran to the outskirts of Derobmi and hid away until the chase for me had calmed down.”

  “I came to find you a month later, ready to take some chances and have a life with you on the run, but …” He glanced down, lowering his tone along with his eyes. “You were with your husband and your child.”

  She felt tears roll silently down her cheeks, and she tightly gripped his hand.

  “I knew we would not be able to run with a child. Your son was too young. I couldn’t stay anywhere for very long. I knew that...” He paused and slowly exhaled. “…that whatever I had thought must be put aside.” His voice sounded raw, but his jaw locked with determination.

  He glanced up, his eyes exploring her face with longing as if there was a question he had waited decades to ask, but still he didn’t ask it.

  “So I traveled back to Rhecknaw that day.” His voice seemed harder now, colder. “I found my sister and asked her about Derobmi. She told me the group of freedom fighters had raided the government offices, and amongst their findings were a list of Derobmis who were mixed with Rhecknaws or descendants of Rhecknaws. I was unwell when I read the files, endless days of constant running and traveling had given me a fever. But I scoured the files to find you, and you weren’t there.”

  She gasped. “What do you mean?”

  “I mean that you are pure Derobmi with no Rhecknaw in your genetic heritage.” He paused. “But many people here are mixed race.”

  “I knew I had to come back and tell you, or to at least talk to you about it all. So I risked another journey to Derobmi, to warn you about Rhecknaw.”

  “But when I came back, you were pregnant. I just couldn’t do it. How could I drag you into my messy world when you looked so happy?” He brushed a tear off her cheek before continuing.

  “So I stayed and watched from a distance. I never left you, you know,” he said, smiling sadly at her.

  “I never forgot you,” she whispered.

  “I know.” His voice cracked as he turned to stare out of the side window.

  “Then you gave birth to a beautiful little girl, a purple one, and I knew she was mine.” He paused. “I watched her grow up from the sidelines of her life, and I knew that she was special.” He nodded.

  “But still, I didn’t approach you. My life was dangerous, and you were all safe where you were. I couldn’t take that away from you. Carla’s special. I knew it just from watching her. She has all the power of a Rhecknaw and all the control of a Derobmi,” he said.

  “She grew up into an amazing person.”

  “She’s safe here, isn’t she?” Emily asked.

  “No, there are more Rhecknaws here. I tried to save Carla from her legacy.” He frowned and glanced at Joe.

  “I tried to take away the emotion that caused it,” he said, his voice faltering. “To make her not care …”

  Emily stared at Joe with wide eyes as realization filtered through her mind. She narrowed her eyes as anger burned through her veins, turning back to Cole. “You did this to my son!”

  She lost all sympathy for Cole and repeatedly struck him.

  “Make him well!” she cried, hitting out at Cole.

  Cole didn’t react at all. He just took the punches and looked saddened.

  “I thought he’d be safe. Something went wrong. Only Carla was supposed to get it. I can’t take it back now.” He frowned at her. “I wish I could!”

  “I went through hell to save you all, and now my daughter is up at that mansion, and Millie tells me it’s owned by a descendant of Rhecknaw royalty. You’ve got to help me. Don’t lose two children this night!” For the first time, she saw him. He was still a scared child, running from his problems rather than facing them, but Joe was lost too, and Emily was starting to lose it.

  She wasn’t going to let anything bad happen to Carla or to any of them! There had to be a way to fix this mess.

  She forced herself to calm down. “You will cure my son, Cole, or I will show you a side of Derobmi that they don’t put in the history books,” she snapped.

  “Broom!” Joe said loudly in the back seat.

  “Now, get this awful contraption working and take me to my daughter! Where is she?” She found her feet as a mother and focused all her energy on saving her children.

  “Foamy Mansion,” Cole said. “And, sorry about the car. A nice man was selling it cheap, and I needed transport.”

  “Right,” she said. “Well, it’s awful. Now let’s go and get my daughter, and don’t look at me like that. For once in your life, take responsibility for your actions!” She was fuming.

  “Just drive, and try to figure out what it was exactly that you did to my son.” She had a power of her own. The force of her will could make anyone whimper.

  “Joe, put your seat belt on. Cole, get this car moving, now!”

  “The daisies are nice,” Joe said.

  “Yes, dear,” she replied. “Let’s go get your sister.”

  Carla twirled in a white chiffon dress, watching it float around her knees. She spun around in front of Krellin. “Do I look pretty?” she asked, glancing up at him.

  He lounged against the door frame, watching her. “You look perfect.” He smiled, and then turned on his heel and walked out of the room.

  She followed him, feeling a little bit like a sheep as she caught hold of his arm. She looked up at him, puzzled. “Is everything okay?”

  He rolled his eyes. “Of course, dear, I’m just feeling a bit funny. Come on, let’s get on with it.” He seemed colder, almost arctic in comparison to an hour ago.

 
She didn’t understand what she had done in an hour to annoy him so much, but the warm memories of earlier filled her with happy thoughts.

  Perhaps he’s just nervous.

  She followed him down the polished steps to a doorway marked ‘Private’.

  He opened the door for her. “And the ceremony begins,” he said, smiling.

  She peered through the doorway and was surprised to see caves. She smiled back, trying not to frown as they entered the labyrinth of tunnels.

  “Guards!” a woman’s voice shouted.

  Bob and Parklon ducked against the slimy walls of the caves under the mansion, trying to hide in the dark tunnels, but it was too late. They’d been spotted.

  Four heavy-set guards ran toward them, and Parklon tried to outrun them. He glanced back when he realized that one of the guards had grabbed Bob and pinned him to a wall.

  He didn’t think twice. He launched himself at the three remaining guards with a roar. He effortlessly knocked one to the ground with a well-placed punch, and then ran at the second one, hunched over and intending to use his shoulders to slam the guard into the cavern wall.

  The third guard hit him from the side in a similar move, sending Parklon crashing into the wall instead. Two guards restrained him, and he growled with animalistic rage.

  Parklon turned his head and glanced at Bob, who was being restrained by a guard holding him by the throat. Bob shot him a sideways glance and sighed, shaking his head.

  Lady Foamy walked toward them with her husband, and she briefly looked them over.

  “Bind them, gag them and bring them along. I’ll sort it out with the police later,” she said haughtily, pausing as her mobile intercom bleeped. She held the small electronic device to her ear and listened before sighing dramatically.

  “The main gate just said that Miss Mainston’s parents and brother have arrived. Have one of the staff take their coats and show them down to the ceremony.”

  She sighed again. “Introductions will have to be afterwards, people are always late!” She complained as she took her husband’s arm.