Shadows and Stars

by Becca Fanning

  I was surrounded by trees in what seemed to be a forest. Was I still sleeping? This had to be a dream. I pinched my arm and it hurt. What happened? I looked around slowly and saw Mara off to my right lying on the ground.

  “Mara,” I called softly and stumbled my way to her, my legs feeling oddly jelly-like.

  She moaned and I helped her sit up. “What happened?” she asked.

  “Open your eyes,” I ordered her.

  She did and gasped in surprise. “What…where…How…?”

  I shook my head. “I don’t know. I just woke up here.” I surveyed the area, but I didn’t see anyone else. Where was Miss Walton?

  “Could they have drugged us and this is a mass hallucination?” Mara asked.

  “I thought you said they were trustworthy?” I asked her.

  She shrugged. “You can’t trust anyone one hundred percent.”

  I snorted a laugh and said, “I don’t think so. Pinch yourself.”

  She did and grunted in response to her pain. “Great.”

  She was dressed like I was, but didn’t have a bag. “Your stuff didn’t come with you,” I commented.

  She looked at my backpack. “I didn’t have my bag on. I was actually about to get in the shower.”

  I smiled and said, “Well that would have been an interesting way to find you.”

  She rolled her eyes at me and stood up. She brushed her rump off and looked around our surroundings. “Where are we?”

  “I don’t know,” I admitted. “I’m going to climb one of the trees and see if I can see anything or anyone.”

  She nodded in understanding and I started my climb up the nearest tree which was well over ten feet tall. The bark was rough against my palms, but this was hardly the most dangerous or painful climb that I had ever made.

  I grabbed the nearest branch and pulled myself on top of it, I stood up and used it to help me climb higher. I refused to look down since that could make me lose my balance and I really didn’t feel like falling and possibly breaking an arm, especially when I had no idea where the nearest hospital was. It took me at least ten minutes to climb to the top of the tree and when I did the sight took my breath away. Miles of trees in front of me, a lake a couple miles away to my left, and behind me was a large castle that looked like it had been made of polished pearls. There was also what looked like an old billboard so faded from the sun I could not make out the advertisement not too far away next to a crumbling building covered in ivy.

  “Halt!” a male voice called below me.

  I squatted down on the branch that I was on to see who was yelling and stared in disbelief as what looked like a centaur trotted towards Mara.

  “What the…” she started to say and backed up quickly, pressing her back to a tree behind her.

  “Who are you and why are you in these woods?” he demanded with a sword in his hand.

  “I don’t…I don’t know how I got here,” she told him nervously.

  What sounded like a horn blew off to my left and the centaur turned towards the sound. “Another?” he muttered in disbelief. “Come with me, girl.”

  She shook her head, glanced up at me and then turned and ran. I wanted to shout at her or him or do something, but I was too scared. What if he was going to hurt us? Was he really a centaur? Surely, I had to be hallucinating or unable to see clearly from so high up.

  Another horn sounded off to the right and a moment later I saw the centaur with Mara draped across his back. I prayed that she was simply unconscious and not dead, but I didn’t dare try to check and share her fate. It was cruel to her, but I had learned that self-preservation was key at the orphanage and I would not stray from that path now.

  I sat on the tree branch I was standing on and folded my legs up to my chest to try to make myself as small as possible. Where were we? There was no place like this in our entire state. How could we have been transported somewhere else? Unless…we had been drugged.

  The sun set as I sat in the tree and cold descended upon the land. I stood up and looked towards the castle where I could see activity and men patrolling the wall surrounding the castle. Was this some sort of sick themed hunting trip for rich people? Were there cameras watching me? I looked around me, but there were no obvious cameras, not that I could see very well in the dark around me anyway.

  A lynx with white fur, brown spots, black tufts on its ears, and huge paws walked into the opening and stared at me as I climbed down from the tree. I paused at the base of the tree and watched it. Would it attack me?

  The lynx sat on its rump and tilted its head sideways to look at me. It seemed to be trying to figure me out.

  You and me both, buddy.

  “Search in the east!” a male voice yelled. “There are more of them out here, I can feel them.”

  My eyes widened and my heart beat erratically. I searched for a place to hide, but the trees were five feet apart at their bases and I couldn’t see very well as night descended quickly.

  The lynx huffed, ran around behind me, and bumped the back of my legs with its head. I stumbled forward and it did it again and again until I was standing next to a fallen tree, the log empty inside except for some bugs crawling around. The lynx nudged me towards it again and I climbed inside, ignoring the bugs and glad that it was dark enough not to see too many of them. The lynx climbed into the log behind me and then lay down so that if anyone walked by all they would see was the lynx in the log.

  He was protecting me! I was pretty sure that the lynx was a male, but I wasn’t about to try to lift its tail to confirm my suspicion.

  “I see tracks!” the male voice from earlier yelled.

  Pounding footsteps grew closer and the lynx stood and hissed, still blocking the view into the log.

  “Whoa, easy there,” the male voice said.

  “Anything?” another male voice asked.

  “No, it’s just an animal. He’s sure cranky,” the first male voice called back. “I’ll leave you alone, man. I didn’t see you here.”

  The footsteps faded and after a bit the lynx crawled out of the log and then dipped his head down, yes it was a male, to look at me.

  “Can I get out now?” I asked and crawled forward slowly.

  The lynx backed up to give me room and I crawled out into the chilly night.

  “Thanks,” I whispered even though the lynx didn’t understand me.

  He looked at me with a tilted head again and I brushed off my body in case of bugs that had tried to hitch a ride. The lynx started to head off in a different direction and turned back to look at me over his shoulder.

  It seemed like he was waiting for me.

  I didn’t have any better options, so I followed him into the forest. “Where are we going?” I asked the lynx.

  No response, like I had assumed, but I continued to follow. Why did I follow a wild animal in the middle of a strange forest while strange beasts were trying to round us up and take us to a castle?

  No idea.

  It just seemed right. Pounding footsteps sounded nearby and the lynx yowled at me to get my attention. He stood on his hind legs and put his front paws onto the tree in front of him. Did he want me to climb up the tree?

  The lynx dug his claws in and climbed up the tree, using branches to propel himself higher and once he was on a branch relatively high off the ground, he turned and waited for me.

  I followed his lead, nothing else to do, and sat on the branch next to him. I would never be able to explain it to anyone else, but I felt like the lynx wouldn’t hurt me and I was safe with him. That could end in me being eaten by him, but I really didn’t think he would hurt me.

  Two male centaurs trotted through the clearing and then a large wolf walked through. He put his nose to the ground, sniffed loudly around our tree and then continued on his way.

  I exhaled a breath that I hadn’t realized I was holding and looked at the lynx. “You’re a lifesaver.”

  He purred in response and then jumped from the branch we were on
to the ground. I gasped, expecting him to hurt himself, but he landed lightly with bent knees and looked up at me and growled. Did he want me to stay here or follow him? Before I could decide, he ran off into the night.

  “I guess I stay here,” I whispered to myself.

  A strange flapping noise approached me and I gasped before I could stop myself when I saw men with wings flying overhead. One of the flying men heard me and I scrambled down the tree in search of cover. He hovered above the tree, his eyes searching for the source of the sound. I held still where I cowered on a branch three below the one I had been on. He scanned the tree line below him and then his eyes caught mine and he smiled.

  “Found one!” the winged man called out to the others.

  I swung down from branch to branch in my best imitation of a monkey and dropped the last few feet to the ground. My ankles and shins hurt from the impact, but I ignored them and began running. I looked back, expecting to find the winged man following me, but ended up running into something fleshy and warm.

  I stumbled back a step, but a strong hand grabbed my wrist, trapping me in its hold. “Easy, girl. I’ll not harm you,” the winged man said with a smile. He was gorgeous with alabaster skin and silver eyes, but I thought I saw a hint of a fang in his smile.

  “Let me go,” I begged him softly. “Please. I don’t know how I got here. I just want to leave and—”

  “Stop scaring her,” a new voice growled behind me.

  I turned and the man behind me stole my breath. He was the very definition of masculinity, with no shirt on so I could see how incredibly muscular he was. He had a beard that was trimmed, thick black hair that he had tied back with a leather strap, and a strong looking jaw. He walked; no walking wasn’t what he was doing. He was a predator, I could tell somehow, and his gait was a stalking gait, one I could see him using to follow prey. His eyes were golden and visible in the night despite it being pitch black and I felt a mix of emotions, part of me wanting to run to him for safety, part of me wanting to run away from him from fear, and another part of me wanting to follow him like a lost puppy.

  “I wasn’t scaring her. She was already scared,” the winged man said.

  “Let her go. They’re not to be harmed if possible,” macho man said.

  “She’ll run away if I let her go,” winged man replied. “I would hate for you to lose your control and chase her down.”

  “My control is none of your concern,” macho man growled at him.

  “Please, just let me go,” I begged them. “I didn’t do anything. I didn’t mean to trespass and I didn’t break anything or kill anything or…”

  “We know,” macho man replied.

  I stared at him in uncertainty. “Then why are you taking me…”

  “We’re rounding up everyone who was transferred here and the Queen will speak with you all regarding what happened once you’re there,” winged man replied.

  “So, you’re not going to kill me?” I asked.

  Winged man laughed, but macho man looked worried.

  “No, we aren’t going to kill you,” winged man told me.

  “Oh.”

  “So, if you’ll follow Brutus here…”

  “That’s not my name,” macho man growled.

  Winged man smiled with satisfaction, clearly only trying to get a rise from him. “If you’ll follow Treyce, he will lead you to the castle.”

  I nodded and winged man leapt up into the sky and disappeared.

  “Did he hurt you?” Treyce asked.

  I shook my head.

  “You’re bleeding.”

  I frowned because I didn’t remember getting hurt, but then turned my hands palms up and winced. “I scraped my hands on the branches when I was climbing down, I guess,” I told him.

  “We’ll get your wounds cleaned and bandaged once we get inside,” he said. He started to walk away and then turned back to me. “Please don’t try to run away. I don’t want to hurt you accidentally when tackling you.”

  I nodded and followed behind him as he led me through the forest, towards the castle. I looked around for the lynx, but he wasn’t anywhere I could see. “What was he?” I asked Treyce.

  He stopped and whispered, “Something your kind long thought only a fantasy.”

  “Fantasy?”

  “Come, all of your questions will be answered by Queen Pella.”

  Pella? What kind of name was that?

  “You don’t like that winged man, do you?” I asked.

  His back tensed and he said, “We don’t see eye to eye on many things.”

  “Why did he try to say you had a different name than you do?”

  “You ask a lot of questions,” he muttered angrily.

  “You don’t like to answer them apparently,” I grumbled.

  He stopped and looked over his shoulder at me. “I will deny it if you tell anyone I told you this,” he began.

  I nodded in understanding.

  “Never trust the winged people. They’re more dangerous than any of the other beings here. If you’re ever trapped alone with one, the best thing you can do is pray for someone else to come.”

  With those terrifying words he resumed walking and I lost all interest in asking him questions. The castle walls came into view and he led me around its side to a draw bridge, which seemed out of place since there wasn’t a moat. There were other people, who looked as scared as I felt, being led by the winged people, centaurs, and things I couldn’t figure out into the castle.

  I thought about turning and running back into the forest, but before I had even turned Treyce grabbed my arm gently and tugged me forward. “There are some here who would take any excuse they can get to hurt you,” he whispered to me. “Please do not give them a reason or chance.”

  I didn’t fight him and let him lead me into the castle and hopefully not to my slaughter.

  Inside the walls was a large courtyard where at least four hundred people stood together looking terrified and nervous. I didn’t want to join them, but Treyce nudged me forward until I was standing next to a man who was wearing a bathrobe and moccasins. He looked over at me and asked, “How can this be real?”

  I shook my head. “I don’t know.”

  “Greetings!” a woman’s voice echoed across the courtyard. All of the beings around us turned towards the speaker and bowed, including Treyce.

  A couple of the people near me bowed, but most of us stood in nervous uncertainty and stared up at the woman in a silver dress that hugged very voluptuous curves and left very little to the imagination. She smiled, but it did nothing to reassure me.

  “I am Queen Pella, ruler of this realm. I’m certain that you have many questions and I hope to answer them all with this brief explanation. Many of you won’t believe what I’m about to say, but you will have no doubts soon enough.”

  I glanced at Treyce who had stood up, but he was staring at the Queen as she spoke.

  “Many of you were likely asleep or doing any of your usual daily activities when a sudden and strange storm covered your city and then you found yourself in this strange place. Somehow you were sent across dimensions to this way, Milna, and unfortunately there is no way to return.”

  Many people gasped and started shouting at her statement, but she raised her arms and we all quieted.

  Across dimensions? No way to return? How was that even possible?

  “Two hundred years ago this happened only in reverse, three hundred of Milna’s inhabitants were Transferred across dimensions to yours and never returned. We don’t know what causes it or why, but it seems that the universe is trying to correct itself by sending you to us.”

  “What a load of crap,” the man next to me yelled. “This is some stupid reality show, isn’t it? Well, I’m not falling for it! Bring out your hidden cameras! Tell your actors to stop. I want to go home. I didn’t sign up for this and I sure as heck won’t stay here!”

  The beings near us didn’t look happy and this time when I looked at Treyce, he w
aved his hand by his side towards his left. I took a few steps in that direction as the man continued to rant and scream at the people around us. The man turned and tried to run, but the man who had been next to Treyce, a large man with a hairy chest and what looked like tusks coming out of his mouth, grabbed the guy who had started yelling.

  The man pulled a gun from his bathrobe and I gasped in fear. I turned to run, but Treyce was there and he shielded my body with his right before the gun shot sounded. Women screamed in fear and I heard someone sobbing in the center of our group.

  I smelled the gun powder and then the scent of blood. I patted myself, but I was in one piece. I looked up at Treyce and he exhaled. “You okay?” he whispered.

  I nodded and he stood, but wouldn’t let me see past him. What had happened to the man? He wasn’t yelling anymore.

  “People!” Queen Pella called. “Please calm down. We are not going to hurt you unless you try to hurt others.”

  Treyce backed up until he had returned to the spot he had been standing at before, and I returned my attention to the Queen.

  Queen Pella resumed speaking. “Since some of our people lived in your dimension, it is possible that some of you are of their lineage. We will determine this and if you are from one of their lines, we will send you to their clan for reintegration to this society.”

  What if we weren’t from any of their clans? How do they determine what we are? Were there scientists ready to take our blood? I didn’t really want to let them draw my blood, but I was curious if I belonged to any of their clans. What clans exactly did they have? What if we were from multiple clans?

  I glanced at Treyce and wondered if I might be from his clan. He met my eyes and then turned away, almost as though he were embarrassed.

  “Form two lines!” a man in the front bellowed.

  Slowly the group shuffled apart, making two lines, although not straight or single file. People murmured softly to each other and I began looking around to see if I recognized anyone.

  “Alyssa!” Mara yelled happily and ran from halfway up the line to the right to hug me.