by JD Cole
“But the people here in the castle…?”
“No, no. The sprites and mystics are sophisticated enough not to believe such things. I am not revealing anything they do not already know. Apart from our individual interests, all Paladins are expertly trained in the disciplines of science, war, language, and healing. Further, we are all encouraged from childhood to choose a life-long specialization, for example, my particular expertise is history. And we are all required to master the basic tenets of elemental magic. Each of our citizens, from the youngest boy to the oldest woman, has duties they are expected to fulfill whenever the need might arise.
“Still, while sprites know full well that our technomancy is not to be taken lightly, they are not afraid of Paladins. At least no more than we are of them. Let’s just say there is a mutual respect for each other’s power, and the only thing both sides want is to be left in peace. Now, as for Matari, it is indeed a vile place. I would not object to my government, the Dominion, authorizing a strike to free the slaves and wipe the entire place from existence. But that would only serve to involve us in faery matters, and where we are presently considered neutral, the Goblin King would decide that he might have no choice but to declare eternal war on us, just as he has the sprites. For now, he has been content to leave us alone.”
“Are you afraid of him?”
“Me, personally? No. Every historical analysis I’m familiar with suggests the Goblin King is as terrified of us as the common faeries are. According to our records, necromancy has no affect on humans-”
“So, he can’t hurt me, either. That’s good to know.”
“I would not test that, Highness. Necromancy is magic, and feeds on the magic in a creature’s blood. Humans are not magically attuned like faeries. Even we Paladins, having been altered by the energy of the Faery Realm, do not carry enough magic within us to matter. But you are overflowing with magic, despite your human heritage. You should assume necromancy can kill you as surely as it would a native faery, and learn to protect yourself accordingly.” Lumina watched a beautiful white and gold bird fly past the balcony. “The Goblin King actually fought alongside the sprites against us during the Sen’giza war, and paid dearly for it, which is why he has not come looking for a fight with us since. But if we provoked him now, gave him a reason to feel threatened by Tirapan, he would stop at nothing to find a way to subdue us, and we are not invulnerable.”
“You could make an alliance with the sprites.”
“The Dominion is considering that, now that you are Queen. No doubt your sprite family and Royal Counselor are wary of this. But our segregated societies, human and faery, have functioned to everyone’s satisfaction for thousands of years. I would not suggest trying to change things so drastically without a good reason. I hope I have not painted my people as heartless. We do not wish ill for the faeries, especially in Matari. But this is just the way things are. We are not welcome in their affairs, and they are not welcome in ours.”
“Is Matari as bad as Dufangen and the elves make it sound?”
“I’m afraid it is. Perhaps even worse.”
“They breed slaves?”
“They capture elves and dwarves all the time, but yes, the captives are forced to bear children to add to the work force.”
“Just elves and dwarves?”
“Primarily. There are no dwarves who willingly serve the Goblin King, and it is rare to find vyzen who are loyal to anyone but Jiya and the sprites. But wolves, vampyres, dulumin… all have tribes among the Goblin King’s forces who might show compassion toward slaves of their own kind. The King simply makes it easier for his guards to hate the prisoners by limiting them to elves and dwarves.”
“It’s unbelievable,” Kelli whispered.
“Truly horrible,” Lumina agreed.
“You think I should let Graon and the others go, Dufangen thinks I should keep them here.”
“Not an easy choice to make. Neither outcome can make the case for being completely right or wrong.”
“I know. If it was me in the rangers’ place, I’d feel the same as them. I’d want to help my friends, no matter how dangerous it was. But Dufangen has a valid point, too. I’m honestly not trying to sound selfish, but it would seem stupid for me to get here after everything that’s happened, and then somehow the secret gets exposed and jeopardizes things. I mean, if I can read minds on accident, I’m sure there are evil faeries who could read the rangers’ minds.”
Lumina did not immediately reply, and Kelli decided not to press him. There really wasn’t much more he could say without seeming to try and influence her, and she knew he did not want to risk appearing that way in the sprites’ own castle. Then he changed topic. “Your Highness, if I might offer a bit of humble counsel?”
“What? Sure, of course.”
“I know that the elves interpreted your gesture the way you meant it… but culturally, elves find it offensive when the taller races take a knee to address them.”
“Really?” Kelli’s eyes widened. “Crap, I didn’t mean to offend them!”
“I don’t believe you did, they know your sincerity. I actually knelt the first time I met those three.”
“You did?”
“Yes, but they were trespassing in my home and I made it clear I did not appreciate their being sneaky about it.” He chuckled at the memory. “It is something to keep in mind for your future diplomatic dealings. The dulumin and pashryk do not particularly care, but vyzen will respond poorly.”
“Definitely, thank you for telling me!” Kelli drank in the sight of her kingdom from atop the amazing structure carved into the Windham mountain range. Without really addressing Lumina, she spoke her thoughts aloud. “This place is so beautiful. But something tells me being the Queen of it all is just going to be one heavy decision after another.”
“You have many responsibilities on your shoulders,” Lumina agreed, standing to his full height as he sensed the conversation was winding down to its conclusion. “But those decisions will include, I suspect, which beautiful garments to wear each day, which exotic dishes you want to enjoy for your meals, and even such heartbreaking dilemmas as how fast you want to fly on tours of your kingdom.” The Paladin smiled knowingly as Kelli looked at him. “Every human wishes he or she could fly,” he winked.
“I know, I know, I’m complaining too much again. Thankfully I’m surrounded by people who won’t let me get away with it.” Kelli took a deep breath, summoning a significant burst of magic to open an ethergate into Lumina’s guest room, more than three stories above them. Kelli was going to need to lie down for awhile after weaving this spell. “Thank you for answering my questions. There’s so much to learn.”
“My pleasure, Highness.” Lumina moved to the gate, and he did not miss a step as the Sprite Queen whispered to him in his mind.
“Why don’t the sprites want me to be with Bennett?”
“I… do not know, Highness.”
Her question had surprised him. If there was an answer, he did not have it at the top of his mind. “Never mind,” she told him. “I’ll figure it out.”
“I will think on it,” he assured her.
Kelli hoped that brief telepathic exchange had gone unnoticed, but she could not know for sure. The ethergate closed behind Lumina, and Kelli felt Dufangen and Brevha cease their eavesdropping. A moment later, Kelli heard a familiar calling in her mind, and she welcomed it, turning to see the ghostly image of her parents in the garden.
« CHAPTER 5 »
Intelligent Magic
“Mom! Dad!”
The Ingrams had used the enchanted pendant given to them by their son in law. When they used it to call out to Kelli, she could choose to allow the pendant to establish a link between them. She normally answered their call when she was in the privacy of her room, but Kelli was anxious to assure her family that she was recovering well. Kelli’s parents looked like apparitions to her now, standing before her.
“Kelli!” Tom Ingram’s ghost rush
ed over to hug his daughter. The magic was powerful; though thousands of miles apart, they could feel each other’s touch through this link. “You’re up and about! How are you feeling?” He pulled back to look at her.
“I’m a lot better, dad. As you can see, I’m walking around now. I’m sorry I couldn’t talk sooner. I was in that recovery room for almost a week.”
“You should have just let us be there with you, Kelli.” Vanessa Ingram moved to collect a hug from her. “We saw you hurting, and that vague explanation you gave us had us worried.”
“I know, I’m sorry, mom. But I couldn’t think straight, and I didn’t want to make any kind of decisions while I was in that condition.” She looked around anxiously, then. “Hold on a sec, guys.” Kelli closed her eyes, opening another ethergate into her bedroom. She stepped through, then plopped down on her bed, rubbing her knees and blowing out her cheeks. Her parents were still there, as she suspected they’d be. The pendant kept them tied to her, so long as she willed it.
“What happened?” Tom asked. He and Vanessa looked like they were pulling furniture closer to her bed, but Kelli couldn’t see what they were moving. When they sat, it looked to her like they were sitting on air.
“Has there been anything in the news about Boston, Massachusetts?” Kelli asked.
Tom grunted. “Uh, yeah, you could say that. Terrorist attack leveled half the city. How did you know about that?”
“It wasn’t terrorists. I was there.” And then she recounted the battle for her parents, explaining that the alien who had kidnapped her in the first place, called a Chek’than, was behind it all. A formless telepathic creature by nature, it had learned how to possess a human host, and its goal all along had been to steal Kelli’s body and, therefore, her magic.
“But it’s dead now?” Vanessa asked.
“Yes, we beat it. The danger’s passed, for now. But Ben’s out looking for a way to stop them from trying that again.”
“That’s why he left?”
Kelli nodded sadly. “Protecting me. Well, protecting all of us, but I know I’m the one he’s most concerned about.”
“And that blue dragon we saw on the news is Devon?”
“Yeah.” Kelli managed a laugh. “Hard to believe, isn’t it? He’s a shapeshifter. He can look like whatever he wants. I watched him transform into a sports car a couple weeks ago.”
Vanessa looked at Tom. “But Erica just called us awhile ago and told us Devon was at her place. They’re going to come over for dinner-”
“What?” Kelli’s face contorted with a look of hurt and disbelief. “That butthead! He went home and didn’t bring me?”
“How’d he get here?” Tom asked.
Kelli calmed herself. “It takes a lot of magic to open a gateway between worlds. I still haven’t learned how to do it myself. But my Royal Counselor promised that we’d be opening one soon to invite you guys to come here and spend some time with me!”
Tom’s eyes widened. “Really?”
Vanessa looked like she was ready to jump up and down like a cheerleader. “So they’re going to let us come to you?”
Kelli smiled. “Yes! It’ll be like a vacation or something, right? Make sure everybody knows you guys will be gone, then you can just come up here for a few weeks so we can figure out if you guys want to live here, or if we can just make it so you can visit whenever you like.” She tapped her lips with her finger. “I wonder if I would be pushing it to ask for one more visitor. I hope Derek’s okay.”
“Who’s Derek?” her father asked.
~ ~ ~ ~
Rain.
The sound of it was pleasant. Calming. The tiny slaps of water were hypnotic and sleep-inducing in their irregular dance on the glass wall... glass wall?
Derek forced his eyes open. The wall was indeed glass, and though he had never been inside the Hanson building, he recognized where he was simply by looking outside. The large office was dark, lit by the dim illumination from the windows. He knew every street and alley of his city, every finger of Boston’s skyline from every possible angle, and he was high up in the Hanson building, somewhere on or near the twentieth floor. Several of the wall windows were shattered, battle damage that had not been tended to yet, instead bandaged with plastic sheets and plywood. Lightning lit the cloudy sky, and Derek saw the Hood reflected back at him in the window… along with a figure in white standing well behind him. He slowly turned to her, where she stood illuminated by a single, dim light fixture.
The Lady of the Lake had shed her liquid sprite appearance, taking on the form of a human. Her choice of appearance made Derek more than wary; the elemental now looked like a girl his age, but more beautiful than even Kelli. Undine seemed to have taken —and accentuated— traits from many different ethnicities. European, Asian, African… all were perfectly blended together in a package of feminine perfection that no model or movie star could match. Her face was gorgeous, angular yet softly curved all at once: a long, slim nose that gave her a look of regality; calm eyes that were Japanese in shape, but supernatural in their sapphire hue, and more noteworthy was that they no longer hinted at seduction, instead playing to Derek’s protective nature; her soft candy lips were drawn in a way that suggested she never spoke without purpose; and finally, her long, orange hair, which looked like an ocean reflecting the rays of a dying sunset. The elemental’s supernatural hair slithered across the flawless, chocolaty-satin skin of her cheeks. She was dressed in a virgin-white outfit, form-fitted to reveal her impressively curved figure. Derek blinked as he realized it was almost a twin of the Hood uniform he was wearing, though her hood was pulled back and she was not wearing a mask. There was obviously no body armor underneath, either.
The elemental was blatantly playing hardball, trying to distract his mind with a face and body that commanded his desire. Was he a genius who could see right through the ploy? Yes. Was he a sixteen year old boy who could still fall for it? Oh heck, yes. “You’ve been busy,” he told her.
“And you’ve been ornery,” she countered, but with a darling smile that took the bite from her voice. “I don’t know how you managed to wake yourself from my spell yesterday. You are full of surprises, master.”
Derek had awoken, for nearly a whole day, much to Undine’s annoyance. He had not sensed her presence in his body, but neither was he able to control his physical actions. Like some kind of puppeteer, she had steered and controlled him, guiding him through the motions of his daily life, speaking with his voice, interacting with his family and friends in an effort to learn more about her host.
“I’ve used up more of my strength than I had planned to,” she continued. “I had no choice but to let you go now. It took nearly everything I had left to put you back to sleep this afternoon so I could finish up.”
“And exactly what did you finish?”
“Harvesting your memories. I wanted to know you better, master, so I that I can serve you. I am not a sprite; reading minds is considerably more difficult for me… easier if the subject is not awake to fight me.”
“So I can fight you. That’s good to know.”
“Fight is perhaps the wrong idea. Think in terms of surgery. Your modern physicians do not cut people open without administering anesthesia. Awake, your mind… you could say ‘squirms’, making it difficult for me read.”
“Yeah, because just talking to me is so much harder than raping my mind.” She actually looked remorseful when he said that. “And the body-snatching? Running around pretending you were me?” Derek’s eyes dipped slightly to take in her form again. That was inside me?
“People would become suspicious if you merely went to sleep for a week.”
Derek thought back to Boston. “You opened that hole in the wall for me, when the tower was collapsing.”
“Yes.”
“And you somehow got me and my car back home without anyone noticing?”
“I did.”
“How?”
“By exhausting every bit of my power.”
Derek crossed his arms, waiting for more. After a few moments of silence, he said, “That wasn’t an answer.”
“I... transformed you and your car into water. Together, we simply streamed from the city to your hideout. But such a feat is dangerous... and requires almost more magic than I can summon.”
“You turned me into... water?”
She nodded.
Derek pressed his fingers against his helmet, exasperated. “Why are you doing all this to me?”
She walked over to him, her eyes almost apologetic. “I am the best thing that ever happened to you.” He started to back away, wondering if she was going to take over his body again. But she stopped, sensing his mood, and after a moment slowly leaned forward. Her head laid against his shoulder, and he did not move as her dainty, gloved hands reached up to his arms. She felt so soft leaning into him. That had to be his imagination; he was wearing full riot armor. Or was she in his mind again?
“You keep calling me master.”
“Yes.”
“You have to do what I say?”
“I choose to do what you say.”
