by K. G. Wilkie
“Well,” Darien blushed, hesitating for a split second, “Well, my job is no concern of yours! That`s right! Because I`m, uh, a messenger of the prince!”
Daerick lowered his sword, but Cillean leapt forward so that his saber left a fine pinprick of blood. “I could cut this lying tongue out for you,” he whispered. Darick was visibly disconcerted, taking a step away from his friend. It seemed as if all the good humor and boyish ways had melted in the fiery exchange.
“Which prince, and of which king? Who is your target? You speak in riddles, my friend,” he said softly, menacingly. “I can see now that you are no ally of me or mine. Speak now of the truth,or you will be granted a brief promotion as your blood turns your white robes red.” Darien shuddered. All the forest hushed, the distant sound of trickling water somehow giving hint at the sound of those gorier falls. All was still and tense for a heartbeat.
Daerick gestured wildly behind his leader`s back, desperately signaling that Darien stay silent. With a gulp to restore his bravado he ignored the command to instead squeak out, “What right does a mere foot soldier have to question me,” he weakly demanded.
“What right,” Cillean asked with cold menace. He gave the slightest flick of his wrist, and in an instant an angry line circumnavigated Darien`s neck. With a twitch of his hand a flash of light appeared and the injured man was then screaming with pain on the ground, bound in a magical torment far greater than the pain of his shallow scrape.
“You have men with great power in your citadel, wizard,” he said quietly. “But they are mortals. When they die, most of their knowledge and experience is lost forever, and as generations of these men die, gradually all of their knowledge will die with them.” He flicked his hand again, and the still shining light faded, Darien now panting on the ground even as he was still holding desperately onto his aching neck. “Your citadel was raised when I was already an old man, and in those last five hundred years that knowledge I spoke of has all but disappeared among your most ‘learned’ men.” With condescension he continued, “If I wanted to, I could have killed you just now. Or even,” he whispered, “in your sleep.” He lowered his sword, placing it back into the safekeeping of his sheath.
Daerick stopped, sniffing the air curiously. “There is paterlilly potion here.” Cillean and Daerick looked up and down the path, seeing only Darien`s presence.
The paterlilly potion, the bitter liquid that Darien had so innocently partook of earlier with the old man. Though Darien himself had had no idea of the significance of the brew, it was a symbol of friendship and fraternity among the Gold Wolves were tribe. The gold wolves, and their Alpha Degorrin, had concocted it so that it gave a special blend of healing and strengthening properties, as well as giving off a long lasting smell that other werewolves and the other creatures of magic with decent noses would be able to sniff out months after the bearer drank it.
“I think it`s our little friend here,” Cillean said in a very audible aside to Daerin. “I suppose we can forgive the naughty boy for his rude words with this,” he said. Darien frowned at the description of himself, but wisely said nothing, the memory of the painful light all too recent. He had been unaware that vampires were capable of casting any spells of their own, thinking that they relied on their speed in a fight to prevent their delicate bodies from being easily hit and broken, but this knowledge appeared to be wrong. Much of my knowledge about both worlds, in fact, seemed to be wrong or lacking, he thought grumpily.
“But what`s up with all that wolf hunter crap earlier,” Cillean was still discussing their latest captive with his friend. “He wouldn`t hunt the wolves if he had already been marked as a friend by them,” he pondered.
“A ruse,” Daerick responded with interest. They both inspected Darien more closely. He squirmed uncomfortably, the occasional drop of sweat now falling more thickly and in a faster sequence.
“Those who partake of the paterlilly potion are considered part of Degorrin`s pack. You are indeed the lowest form of coward if you would dare harm your own comrades,” Daerick spat. His eyes blazed as his sense of honor was clearly outraged.
“Hold your horses there,” his friend chipped in. “We`ve already batted him around a bit, so I don`t think he can take much more,” Cillean said, good humor restored after having vented out his anger. Darien blushed at the memory of his shameful failure as a spy. “Besides, he might have wanted to pass through without forcing the crows to pick up his mess of a corpse,” Darien blanched. “He might have thought that his lies would convince us to play nice.”
“I wasn`t thinking anything of the sort,” Darien grumbled the lie. “It`s my own damn choice what I say and to who, and it`s none of your business if what I say doesn`t make sense to you,” he continued with a haughty air of superiority. He had already jumped into his bluff, and it was extremely aggravating that they would have the nerve to call out his lie. Polite people would just run with it, he thought sulkily.
“Well, some beardless child like this,” Cillean chuckled, “wouldn`t understand that honesty is the best policy,” he said in a sing song voice. Daerin ribbed his friend, a slight twitch at the corner of his mouth that resembled a very restrained smile.
“What`s up with the beard,” Darien raved. “So what if I don`t have a beard? Is every damned person going to point to my face and be all, ‘he doesn`t have a beard, how childish, ha ha ha’ and chuckle like Butthead and Beavis? What`s wrong with all these people,” he ranted.
“No, of course not. They could also point to other areas of your person and call you a child. But I`m so considerate I didn`t mention it,” Cillean added with false modesty. Darien just glared at him, stomping along the road. The others just looked at him, then each other, and in silent accord they all started walking together.
“You would be wise be wise to avoid provoking strangers when you have little strength or cunning of your own,” Daerick cautioned.
His friend added, “Not all of the beings in this world are as forgiving as me, as absent minded as your scholars, nor as weak as the Mundanes I sense you now walk among.”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” Darien responded, now comfortable in his position among the party. “I know that already, okay? The old man said the same thing,” he grumbled.
“Degorrin is still the life of the party even in his ancientness,” Cillean whispered to his friend. Daerin smiled fondly in agreement.
“Anyways, I was just a little tired and hungry. It makes me get grumpy, `kay?” The other two chuckled good naturedly.
“That`s why everyone calls you beardless! You can`t read a situation and you get sulky just because you haven`t eaten in a few hours,” Cillean grinned.
“Yeah, well,” Darien responded unenthusiastically. “Anyways, I`m looking for a Nymph. She`s a dryad, auburn hair and green streaks, five foot four ish. Name of Jackie. Seen her around on this road,” he asked.
He paused to think. “There`s also another one. She`s kind of pale haired, and she has these blue streaks in her hair. Guess she`s a nyad. Don`t know how tall she is, but she`s shorter `n Jackie.” He sheepishly added, “I`m worried because they got lost. One of them`s like a sister to me. Well, I guess they`re both important anyways.”
Cillean and Daerick looked at each other, shocked. Then they looked at Darien in disbelief. “You mean you`ve been walking and talking with us for hours and you didn`t notice this freaking body?!,” Cillean asked incredulously, pointing at Jackie`s still inert form held firmly fireman style.
Darien just looked stunned. “Well, umm, we fought, and I was trying not to die, so I guess I wasn`t really paying attention to what you were wearing,” he defended himself.
“I`m not wearing anything, I`m carrying a blasted heavy weight,” Cillean exploded. Daerick just let out a suppressed chuckle.
“Why`s she passed out anyways? I`d think you`d have to hit a head that stubborn with a pound of bricks,” Darien asked.
Cillean just blushed. “I have my ways,” he said defensively.
Daerick chuckled again. “The maiden here was engaged in combat with my friend,” he said. “He didn`t like her success and used a vampire spell.”
Cillean blushed more fiercly. “You`re the one who used the spell,” he muttered.
“Speaking of,” Daerin began, “Are you yearning for that of the fair haired or the dark one,” he asked curiously. Cillean leaned in, listening with avid interest.
“Does it really matter if I want them both safely back in their homes,” Darien asked with some doubt.
“If mine is more valuable to you, that determines if I have to kill you or not,” Cillean muttered.
“Death threats come frequently to this man,” Daerick murmured happily. Whether he was happy to be around the version of his friend that lacked his earlier killer`s aura or pride in the other`s violent nature, no one could tell for certain.
“Well, I can`t stand Jackie. She obnoxious and constantly stressed about everything. And Priscilla`s the type of pathetic damsel in distress kind of gal. And I can`t really leave either behind, so I want to help both,” he said, blithely ignorant of Cillean`s blossoming feelings for ‘his’ nymph.
Cillean drooped in relief. “I thought you meant, um, you know, you don`t, that is your feelings,” he mumbled incomprehensibly. Blushing, he poked Daerick to explain things for him as he was too embarrassed to keep talking without a break to compose himself.
“The other female is being held safely at,” he glanced at Cillean, “Our ruler`s friend`s abode. We shall bring this Jacqueline there as well. Darien became excited, looking between the two with shining anticipation. Cillean simply sighed and waved at him to pick up the pace. He complied, promptly tripping over his feet.
“He really is child like,” Cillean murmered. Daerick gave a definitive nod in agreement.
“We`re almost there,” Cillean called out. Darien grinned in anticipation. “Outsiders may not travel to a safe house with their awareness,” Daerick added cryptically.
“That means it`s sleepy time for the children,” Cillean called out.
Darien whipped his head around, looking at the both of them in alarm. “Can`t we can talk about this, I won`t breathe a word to a soul, so you don`t have to go that far,” he said, skittering away. Both vampires took a step closer to him in unison. “Wait, wait, let`s not be hasty,” came as he was still backing away. He tripped over a tree root, desperately scrambling to get up again. Cillean knelt down, holding the teen`s face between both hands. He took a deep breath, ignoring the boy`s struggles, and blew out in his face. His body became still, limp in the elder vampire`s grasp.
“You just wanted to make him squirm first,” Daerin accused.
“Of course,” Cillean responded. “It wouldn`t be fun to do it quickly or sneakily to the little squirt.” Daerick just sighed in exasperation, having long since accepted some of the negative points of his friend`s nature. “Since my poor character bothers you, you get to carry the body,” he added cheerfully. Daerin looked at him darkly, then looked pointedly at the body his friend was already hauling with a quirked eyebrow. He silently hefted his burden and slinging the boy across his own shoulder. He grunted at the weight, and they both started sprinting off the road and through a nearly invisible path, their forms visible as their increased load slowed their speed down significantly.
Darien groaned and tumbled into wakefulness. “Whatever you guys used to knock me out has quite the kick,” he grumbled while he blinked his eyes. He looked around. The room was bare, holding only a basic pallet on the ground and a bespelled light globe on the wall. No vampires to be found here then.
He got up and rapped a fist on the door. “Hey guys,” he yelled. “Hello?” He shook his head and sighed in exasperation. “Typical. Today is really not my day. I thought I was getting along with the bloodsuckers and now they leave me to play damsel in distress.” He threw his fist up in the air and shook it at the sky. “Thank you for all your help,” he murmured sarcastically.
He tried to open the knob and found it was locked. He sneered at the lock and summoned a globule of gelled power in his hands. It arrived as a perfect sphere in his hands, then wiggled and stretched out a clear gel limb to the knob. It paused, shivering in place, then it launched the rest of its mass right at the hardware and wood next to it and collapsed into a liquid acid that seeped through the barrier and left a hole large enough for the wizard to walk through. “If my power can take on a form and make problem solve issues like that door I’m a damn sight more powerful than the other dweebs my age in the city; wasting their efforts to invent the next great scroll sorting spell to appeal to the elders with in their endless vying for power.” He grinned. “It’s good to be a free agent.”
A blast of sound ripped through the room and pushed him off his feet. “Funny thing to say,” Aeron said as he walked into the chamber, “Considering you are a prisoner here.” The wizard put up his hands to let loose a spell but the dragon just chuckled at him and locked away his powers with a wave of his hand. “Be serious, dragons taught the first spells ever learned by humans and helped foster the great cities of wizards and witches. My people still remember and teach their hatchlings the spells your people used at the height of your power, I can easily defeat the puny shadows of spells your kind teaches their masters now, let alone a small fry like you.” They both sneered at each other.
“The word on the street is that you are a spy,” the prince continued.
“Where’d you hear that,” the prisoner asked.
“Cillean and his Right Hand are some of my most trusted people. The vampires have always gotten along with the dragons, and Cillean was the first king to support my father taking over the power of all creatures magical even though that office had long been held by the elves and their kind. I trust him absolutely. You, however, have the most suspicious back story of meeting my Alyss according to what Jackie has heard, and I naturally can’t trust someone who just happens to appear at exactly the right time to worm into her life. Obviously I’ve doubted you from the beginning. Is there any reason why I shouldn’t?” He stood with his shoulder resting against the doorway, arms loosely crossed as a cocky grin lit his face looking down at the boy still sprawled on the floor.
Darien rolled his eyes. He took a knee and struggled to stand further, turning his face away to hide his embarrassment as he carefully dusted off his knees and backside until he was satisfied all traces of being knocked over had been cleared away. He finally did a deliberate dusting of his hands and stood straight to look the guy in the eyes. “You are so far behind. I don’t know how my being on The Great Road North somehow made your vamp think I was a spy for my kind, but you are completely wrong. I was running away from my kind after they had betrayed me and I was going North to make contact with the Alchemists who have also rebelled against the elders of my people. I’m working against the wizards, not for them,” he added.
“Uh huh. And you’ve never been an agent working for the domed city at any point?”
Darien grinned. “That’s a good question. I was a spy for them, yes. I stayed with Alyss and I tattled on every insignificant thing about her life- what was the harm? She’s the most mundane human I’ve ever met.” His face softened at the thought of her. Then he shrugged. “When I refused to support them in their rebellion plans which would doubtlessly end either in genocide of the other magical races or perhaps in mass enslavement of the mundane humans, they decided to throw me under the bus and use my previous work for them to pin the whole affair on me as a scapegoat.”
Aeron waited, and then flapped his wrist at the guy. “Okay, I’m listening, feel free to go on explaining these rebellion plans to me.”
The wizard gave a cheeky smirk. “I’ll certainly be glad to. If you asked your blood suckers you would have learned that I was planning to come to you after getting a few allies in my court to spill the beans anyways. Of course I may be so stressed by my change in circumstances that I’ve become forgetful, but I feel confident that if I were granted pardon
for my previous work and the prince’s seal for safe passage through the lands then I think that would soothe my worries and help keep my memory clear.”
The prince frowned. “I don’t generally respond well to blackmail.”
The human just shrugged. “I’ve lost the only protection I had in this world and I was stopped by your goons before I could reach the only other people I feel sure would help me at all. Now all I have left now is what I know, so I’m definitely not going to give that away for free,” Darien responded. “Besides, for you to be here interrogating me you must somehow be involved in the whole locking me up thing. That helped persuade me to be a little difficult to you.”
Aeron growled, the sound stretching and morphing to the animalistic roar his other form was capable of. The wizard boy just looked him dead on with a bland face, determined to show no reaction. The two looked at each other, sizing up the other, and then stuck out their hands for a handshake.
“They’re planning to force the Ghostworld and Earth to be combined as one place again, and use the chaos and the mundane’s fear to destroy the most powerful of the other races- especially the dragon clans and your father- and enslave the mundane humans,” he said.
The prince frowned at him. “Who is ‘they’?”
The teen grinned again. “Isn’t it obvious who hates you the most? The wizards of course.”
Aeron shook his head. “That doesn’t make any sense. There are very few wizards, maybe just two hundred. They wouldn’t survive such a war. I know the elders have gotten weak, mentally and magically and even in their strength, but I didn’t think they had become fully stupid yet. Even if they teamed up with the witches they would have a mere five hundred. I have a whole kingdom I could easily crush them with. There has to be something else you didn’t say.”
Darien bared his teeth and gave a hyena cackle. “I thought it was obvious. The wizards are working with their main ally- your brother. At this point every mundane human on the original Earth and every weird creature in this realm are doomed.”
