The Prince of Manhattan

by Alexei Iskander

  Then the monster flipped its head back and howled in agony. Miranda was stabbing into its back repeatedly, Leofric’s sword in her hands. The monster let go of Leofric and whipped around to face Miranda, it was wounded but it was by no means dead. The creature raised itself to full height and Miranda was like a child compared to its bulk, it would pulverise her like an elephant trampling a mouse. Leofric leapt to his feet and sunk his dagger into the creature’s neck. The monster screamed in pain and Miranda stabbed with the sword into its gut, lodging it deeply. The monster held its ground for a few seconds more before it fell to its knees. “You should have known better than to face me alone” Leofric stated as he took his sword from Miranda. “Northumbrian men are made of sterner stuff”. He swung the sword and decapitated the monster in a single swipe, its body falling backwards, blood spouting from its neck stump like a fountain.

  Leofric took hold of Miranda who was shuddering, tears coming down her face. “You saved my life” he said, “maybe we’ll make a Northumbrian of you yet”. Miranda shivered and then pointed out the window. Leofric followed her gesture and saw that sitting on the balcony was a crow, its eyes glowing orange. The bird squawked and ruffled its feathers but Leofric was quick. He pulled his dagger out of the monster’s neck stump and threw it at towards the bird. The dagger embedded itself square in the crow’s body, sending its body sprawling with a shriek. Leofric ran over to the deceased bird and pulled his dagger out, up close he could see that the birds feathers were etched with spell markings. “The crow is how they found us” Leofric declared, sheathing his dagger and returning to the main room.

  “What’s going on?” Miranda said through tears.

  “My uncle has sent his minions to hunt me down” Leofric answered, wrapping his sword in foam and putting into his backpack.

  “What are those things?” Miranda questioned. “Why didn’t you tell me about this?”.

  Leofric took her shoulders in his hands and looked into her eyes. “I don’t know what they are and how many of them there are but I’m willing to wager that more are coming for us” he stated.

  Miranda let out a soft moan of fear.

  “We need to go” Leofric said. “We need to make as much distance as we can and keep a look out for anymore crows. As we speak more of those monsters are likely converging on this location”.

  “Did you know this would happen?” Miranda asked.

  “If I had known I would have never brought you into this” Leofric replied honestly.

  “I’m scared” Miranda whimpered.

  “I’m scared too” Leofric responded, “but right now we need to get moving. I promise upon my honour that I will do everything in my power to protect you”.

  “You were right” Miranda stated.

  “I was?” Leofric asked.

  “I thought you were just insane or making things up but you were right” Miranda admitted. “You really are a deposed prince, aren’t you? It’s not a joke or the symptoms of some illness, you’re really real. This whole thing is real”.

  “I never implied otherwise” Leofric responded.

  “So where do we go now then?” Miranda asked.

  “We need to exit this building through the back” Leofric stated. “Preferably in disguises, then tomorrow I can make my way back to the harbour and charter a vessel. As for you, you can either accompany me or return to your parents in Albany. You must be careful though, now that the crows have you seen you with me it’s likely that the monsters associate you with me”.

  “I know a place where we can stay” Miranda said.

  “Well let’s get going then” Leofric replied. “Just make sure to grab some food and coin, we may well need it”.

  “And what about the body?” Miranda inquired, looking at the horrific mess on her floor.

  “Unless you have some slaves to clean that up for you then I suggest we leave it to the flies” Leofric answered. “We don’t have time to worry about that”.

  7.

  Miranda had managed to stop shivering when they left the apartment. She wore a hoodie over her t shirt to hide her face from any prying eyes. Leofric came behind her, a hoodie concealing his face too. They were headed for the only safe place that Miranda could think of, the Jefferson Archival Library at NYU. She had pulled many an all nighter studying there, the library had a policy of allowing students to stay the night provided they had student ID. The building itself was large and had many entrances and exits which suited Miranda just fine, she didn’t want to be in a situation in which she could be easily cornered again. They exited through the back of the apartment, through the fire escape and made their way down the streets. Miranda kept her eyes low but she made furtive glances at passerby’s, paranoid that any one of them could be a monster in disguise. Meanwhile her mind ran over the events of the last few hours relentlessly.

  If it wasn’t for Leo that monster would have eaten me. But then if I had never met Leo than that monster wouldn’t have hunted me down. But then if I hadn’t met Leo I would have been violated by those two thugs in the alleyway. Why does life have to be so complicated? She shivered at the recollection of her captivity in the hands of the beast. It’s deformed face, wide snout, leering eyes and inhuman growls would haunt her dreams. Leo told me he killed one in a gas station bathroom and that’s how he realised that I too was in trouble. And he then made the choice to come all the way back to make sure I was safe. Miranda shivered at this memory too, but not out of fear or horror. It was because a warm tingle ran down her spine, one that suggested safety and comfort. Watching Leofric grapple with the beast and slay it had inspired intensely powerful emotions in her. Like how she imagined medieval damsels felt when they saw their knight in shining armour slay the dragon for them. After the monster had been slain it had taken all of her will power to not throw herself at him and bury herself deep within his soothing embrace. She’d been taken aback by how strong the feelings were, she’d never felt that way before and had never imagined one could feel that way. She had convinced herself that the feelings were just a result of the rush of the moment but it was a halfhearted explanation. The fact that Leofric had come back for her would have made her beam if she wasn’t so shaken up.

  “See that man by the street vendor” Leofric uttered. Miranda surreptitiously glanced at the individual in question. “Is he one of them?” Miranda asked.

  “I don’t know” Leofric replied. “But keep an eye out”. They passed the man buying food from a street vendor and continued on their way. Miranda wished that she could cling to Leofric’s frame, to hold onto his lean torso and never let go. I need to get a grip, I feel like a school girl around her popular crush. I’ve only known this man for two days and until just recently I thought he was insane and he’s already giving me butterflies in my stomach. He is handsome I have to admit and he’s very brave but thanks to him I’ve nearly been eaten. And now I’m on the run with him to a library so we can hide out and avoid flesh eating monsters while a body rots in my apartment. When this is all said and done I’ll have to go back to living with my parents in Albany and look over my shoulder for the rest of my life in case a ghoul is creeping up on me.

  They reached the university campus and they crossed over it towards the library. What if Leo is from some parallel dimension and he can’t get back? There’s no kingdom of Northumbria as far as I know and monsters aren’t a usual fixture of New York City. At least not those kinds of monsters. I mean how else can you explain any of this? They reached the library and Miranda used her student ID card to open the door. Inside was a massive complex, with at least three floors, the bottom one being filled with rows of bookshelves, the second filled with alcoves with desktop computers for research and the top level having nothing but benches and tables for studying or relaxing. The top two floors took the form of rings, empty space in their centre, allowing for a view of the bottom floor. The library was almost empty which didn’t surprise Miranda considering it was a Friday night. They made their way to the ba
ck of the library where the stairs were and they ascended to the third floor. They chose to sit down at a table on the right balcony, most of the walls of the library were glass on the second and third floor so they chose an area that had an opaque wall section.

  Miranda pulled out her laptop from her backpack, she’d taken it with her as a precaution. “This is one of those moving screens” Leofric mentioned as it booted up. “Is this one of the ones you can or can’t interact with?”.

  “This is the former” Miranda answered. Leofric’s grasp on modern technology was still rather shaky but he’d managed to digest at least the basics. Leofric took his hoodie off and put it down behind him and Miranda did the same, only she tied it around her waist. Let’s see if there’s anything about Northumbria online, it’s worth a shot. Miranda opened up Google and started typing in Northumbria while Leofric watched on. “Do you remember how I told you about the internet?” Miranda asked.

  “Is it the one that tempts you to splurge money?” Leofric bluntly replied. He learns fast. “Essentially” Miranda answered. “But it’s more than that, it’s a massive database that can be accessed by anyone. Anyone in the world can contribute to it and you can see their content with just a click from my mouse here”.

  “So when I want to hear the opinions of randoms I go to a tavern” Leofric surmised. “But you go to this internet?”.

  “Pretty much” Miranda summed up.

  “So if anyone can contribute to it then what’s to stop lies from proliferating?” Leofric queried.

  “Nothing” Miranda admitted.

  “Fair enough” Leofric responded.

  “I’m going to search for Northumbria” Miranda asserted. “I’m going to see what comes up. Before I do that though I have to warn you that you may be disappointed. I know that you really are the prince of Northumbria now and that you aren’t lying, there’s a body in my apartment to prove it. But I don’t think that this kingdom exists in this world, in my world. I think it may be in some other realm, inaccessible to our own. I hope that I’m wrong and we can find your home but I’m just warning you”.

  Leofric was silent for a moment, Miranda watched him consider her words and she felt sadness for him. She almost asked him out loud if there was anything he could do for him before she stopped herself. Leofric sighed, “go ahead then. I would rather the stark truth than honeyed lies”. Miranda finished typing in ‘Northumbria’ and then pressed the search button on google, her heart quickening in nervous anticipation. The page loaded and she blinked in shock. Northumbria is a real place? What… The first result was the Wikipedia page for the kingdom of Northumbria. Miranda clicked on it and absorbed the resulting information like a sponge. It was real, the kingdom of Northumbria existed, or to put it more precisely it had existed. From 653-954 the kingdom of Northumbria existed in Northern England. It was founded by Anglo Saxon settlers and was eventually taken over by the English Kingdom centuries later. Oh my God, Leo isn’t from another world, he’s from another time. Miranda turned to Leofric and saw that his face was drawn and pale. “Can you read this?” she asked of him. Leofric nodded slowly, his eyes filled with cold realisation. “You’re didn’t just travel in space” Miranda said. “You travelled in time, you’re a time traveller Leo”.

  Leofric simply gripped a pendant around his neck and muttered something under his breath. “This kingdom existed over a thousand years ago” Miranda continued. “Your uncle sent you to the future”.

  “It’s too late” Leofric uttered despondently.

  “What?” Miranda asked. “No, it’s not to late. If you came all this way then there must be a way you can get back”.

  “It’s too late” Leofric repeated. “It’s a thousand years too late”.

  “Don’t say that” Miranda insisted, her voice straining a little from sadness. She hated to see Leofric in so much misery.

  “My uncle stole it all from me” Leofric said. “He took my throne and he exiled me here, never to return”.

  “Wait” Miranda insisted, scrolling down the page of the kingdom. “There’s a list of kings here”.

  “My uncle no doubt graces that list with his foul presence” Leofric muttered.

  “What was your father’s name?” Miranda asked.

  “Cedric” Leofric answered. “Cedric the good they called him, it was a fear of mine that I would fail to live up to his legacy once I inherited the throne”.

  “It says that he reigned here” Miranda said. “There’s a record here, in the middle period of the kingdom”.

  “What does it say?” Leofric asserted. “Who wrote it?”.

  “It says that he was a weak king who let foreigners raid his lands and spent most of his time feasting” Miranda described.

  “Lies” Leofric grunted belligerently. “A whole pack of lies”.

  “And as for the next entry” Miranda stated. “Huh...”.

  “What does it say?” Leofric questioned bitterly. “Did my uncle have his chroniclers write odes to his greatness and munificence?”.

  “No” Miranda replied. “There isn’t anything written about the reign of Aethelred from Northumbria itself. The next surviving records come from the king who reigned after him and little mention is made of his predecessor. The only contemporary records are those from the neighbouring kingdom of Mercia which record that Northumbria was devastated by its tyrannical king and that thousands fled to Mercia for safety. They say that almost everyone in the kingdom of Northumbria lost someone due to the cruelty of its king. It also mentions that so many died or were driven into exile that Northumbria didn’t recover for generations”.

  “So his reign turned out exactly as I imagined it” Leofric surmised. “He massacred his subjects and drove the kingdom into ruin”.

  “Wait there’s more” Miranda added. “It says that the king eventually put his queen to death who cursed him before she was executed. The king then perished a few months later, he died of gout supposedly”.

  Leofric let out a bitter, cold laugh. “So he ended up turning on his bitch of witch then. Not much of a surprise, a single kingdom isn’t big enough to fit two power hungry vipers”.

  “There’s nothing else listed unfortunately” Miranda said, “that’s all the records say”.

  “Well it’s good to know” Leofric stated. “I’m thankful that you did this for me, though any hopes I had of returning home have been dashed. There is nothing left for me but to perish against the beasts and hope I take some of them with me to the great beyond”.

  Miranda wished that she could reassure him but she couldn’t think of anything to say. He was right, there was no conceivable way for him to return home. “Of course I could always try and find a witch to send me back” Leofric casually added. “Though I doubt that witches even exist anymore, they barely even existed in my time. And most of them were just old grannies who were good at card tricks, all of them that is except for Siana. I would have never believed that such magic even existed if I hadn’t seen her perform it”. An idea struck Miranda’s head like a rocket hitting the moon. “What was the name of that witch?” she asked.

  “Siana” Leofric replied. “Why? She’s long dead by now and she was one of kind. I wouldn’t be surprised if the feats that she was capable of were never replicated”.

  “They weren’t” Miranda said, typing into Google frantically. “As far as I’m aware that is. Sending someone through time is not something that I’ve ever heard of being done ever. Whoever this Siana was, she was definitely one of a kind but her methods may have been preserved”.

  “And how would you find those?” Leofric quizzed.

  “Where you find all of the answers to life’s questions” Miranda noted. “Through the internet”. She pressed search and in moments she had hundreds of responses for “Siana, witch”. Most of them were to do with television shows or fan fiction relating to those same shows but a few results looked promising. She clicked on those links and scoured them but found nothing useful or relevant. That w
as until she clicked on a link to a website that dealt with Anglo Saxon magic. She read through the page’s blurb and nearly cried out in joy. There it was written on the page clearly, ‘Guide to spells from Siana of Northumbria to Pelegus of Padua’. “What is it?” Leofric asked.

  “There’s a book” Miranda said. “That has spells used by Siana in it”.

  “Well where is it then?” Leofric inquired.

  “Hold on” Miranda answered. She scrolled down the book’s blurb and clicked on some of the web pages links to learn more.

  “So there’s controversy about whether or not the spells in the book are actually from the figures they present” Miranda said. “It says that historians are mostly divided on whether figures such as Siana even existed and that if she did she certainly wasn’t the queen of Northumbria”.

  “Oh she was real alright” Leofric asserted.

  “So the book claims to have Siana’s spells along with many others from the past” Miranda concluded.

  “And the chroniclers of your time disagree?” Leofric inferred.

  “The historians believe that the book is mostly made up” Miranda answered.

  “Well they say that but I know Siana was a real person for a fact” Leofric announced.

  “So should we get it?” Miranda asked. “If we get the book we can see if it has a time travel spell”.

  Leofric’s face clouded over as he thought deeply. “It’s worth a shot” he admitted finally.

  Miranda smiled, “alright I just need to see where it’s available”.

  She did some more clicking but was unable to find any pirated copies of the book. Evidently it was too obscure to have been uploaded by anyone. She instead looked up a list of libraries that carried it. “This book is really rare” Miranda intoned. “Not many libraries have copies of it”.

  “Well when you have to copy things down by hand it’s hard to make a lot of copies” Leofric replied.

  “Wait here it is” Miranda said. “There’s one copy in all of Manhattan and probably New York. It’s at Gallagher’s Emporium, a small obscure bookstore in the Upper East Side”.