Shifter

by John Sharp

  Chapter 22 – The End Of The World As You Know It

  For a long moment I just look at the picture. It was all for nothing. My desperate escape from Inti just to fail before I even got to try. The unfairness of it all makes me want to cry.

  “Brother, we are too late,” Sarrow says, looking down at the picture. Behind us everyone is glued to the television, their faces white in horror as they watch Melephos destroy my home. My home… Sarah and Whisper! They would be out there right now!

  “Where’s a phone?” I yell to no one in particular. The bartender doesn’t even bother to respond or ask if it’s a local call. Without taking his eyes off the television he points to the far end of the counter. With five quick strides I am at the counter, pushing buttons with a trembling finger. They must be all right. They must be. I can’t comprehend a world where they are already dead. Dialing the number I had memorized long ago I wait, my teeth grinding as the phone rings. Four long rings then a distracted voice answers.

  “Clifford,” Sarah says over the cacophony of vehicles and voices blaring announcements over a speaker. Relief floods me so much so I can’t find any words. “Clifford!” Sarah now shouts over another announcement bellowing in the background.

  “All personel, please report to staging area five Beta. All personal please report to staging area five Beta.”

  “Sarah, it’s me!” I yell into the receiver as Sarrow looks on in amusement. Do doubt she is wondering why I am talking to an inanimate object. I’ll explain the concept of phones later.

  “Who?” She asks distracted. Her voice suddenly goes distant, “No, go see Commander Terrence for that.”

  “It’s me, Jerry,” I say. Sarrow moves behind the bar counter, studying everything with great interest as my shadow points out various items to her.

  A long pause then Sarah says in a weak, hopeful voice, “Jerry? Is that you?”

  “Yup, I escaped Inti and I’m in England right now. Turns out Stonehenge is where the tower is or what’s left of it.”

  “Oh, thank god!” I hear a soft sob from the other line. “Everything has gone crazy. Vision hit the street in record amounts. Hell, they were giving it away. Then reports came in of people dying and seeing weird shit all over the city. I tried to warn everyone about the other worlds. Palentor joined me in a meeting with top military officials. It impressed them a lot. But before we knew what was happening a giant monster appeared, killing everyone. Have you seen it?”

  “Yeah, I’m looking at a picture of it right now. It’s Melephos, Sarah,” I say.

  “That’s what Palentor told us before he vanished. He said he’s going to confer with the Five. That was over four days ago,” Sarah says, exhausted.

  “Isn’t Palentor going to fight him?” I ask, incredulous.

  “He wants too,” Sarah says. “But he made it quite clear he was no match alone for the devourer. Since then we’ve been doing all we can to slow him down and the hordes of creatures flooding the streets. Melephos is consuming everything in the area from trees to those still in the city. We have all of Chicago quarantined and for the most part that’s keeping the little ones contained but once Melephos moves on there is nothing we can do to stop him. How is this even possible, Jerry? Palentor said that the worlds were designed to block the Five from moving beyond their own. Even an army of shifters couldn’t bring Melephos here.”

  “Its vision, Sarah,” I say. “I finally figured it out. Vision changes humans into beings that disrupt reality itself. When enough of them are in a small area the boundary between worlds merge. Melephos’ world is the closest to ours so Solarkar shifted Melephos where reality was the weakest.”

  “Damn it!” Sarah shouts. “That’s the other thing Solarkar made a rather public appearance, claiming dominion over all the Earth. Those who wish to be spared the worst fates should submit to him and accept Melephos as their god.”

  “That son of a bitch!” I curse. The patrons of the bar don’t even bother to respond to my outburst, they’re too focused on the television. Nor do they notice Sarrow getting into the liquor at the encouragement of my shadow perching over her left shoulder. Her eyes go wide at the first sip. Being isolated in her prison all her life, she might know a lot from books about the history of the five worlds, but in everything else she is clueless. I wonder what she will make of rap music.

  “Hang on, Jerry,” Sarah says again, her voice going distant. “Get Commander Terrence and my brother, this is important. The person I told them about is on the other line.” I briefly recall that her brother was high up in the military.

  “Jerry, I’ll have someone fetch you. Where are you now? We need you here.”

  “Wait, what’s the army doing to stop Melephos? Can you isolate the vision users? If you can do that Melephos will have to return to his world,” I say.

  “That was the first thing Melephos did is eat all the vision users and a lot of others. Apparently there was some huge gathering of them at the time. Jerry they’re already dead. A lot of people are.”

  “They’re not dead, Sarah,” I say sadly. “They probably wish they were dead right now. Sarrow said if Melephos fused the vision users into his body he could stay indefinitely even outside the disturbed reality zone.”

  “Who?” Sarah asks.

  “I’ll tell you everything later,” I say. “Can the army stop Melephos?”

  “We’ve tried everything short of nuclear weapons and nothing hurts him. Palentor made it clear that the Five can withstand even the inferno of the stars. We are still trying but mostly we are knocking down buildings to give us time to evacuate everyone. I hope Palentor can come up with something, otherwise we are so screwed.”

  There has to be something I can do. Thinking furiously I ignore Sarrow who is now rather tipsy on her feet. Seeing her, I think about all I learned about the history of the Five and a wild idea occurs to me. It’s so crazy it might just work… or kill me.

  “Sarah, I have an idea,” I say.

  “Really? Good, because we are all out of them,” Sarah says.

  “I don’t know if it will work but I have to try,” I say.

  “What is it already?” Sarah says.

  “There’s no time, I have to check on a few things. Get someone near Stonehenge to pick me and one other person up in a few hours,” I say.

  “Someone’s with you?” Sarah asks.

  “Yeah, she helped me escape,” I say. “I’ll call you once I know more. Just have that ride here soon.”

  “Ok Jerry, but where do you need to go?” Sarah says.

  “Home,” I answer.

  “Whatever you’re doing, be careful,” Sarah says, then pauses a moment before adding. “I love you.”

  I feel my chest swell with warmth. “I love you too,” then hang up.

  “Brother! By the Five, this nectar is wondrous!” Sarrow says, wobbling over to me.

  “That’s scotch,” I reply.

  “Scotch,” Sarrow slurs. “What a marvelous invention. The wisdom Palentor gave his creations has been put to great use.”

  I can’t help but laugh. “I suppose it has,” I say. Steadying her I take the bottle away. “You can have more later, after I explain what it is. Now, I need to see the Five.” That sobers her up.

  “The F,F,Five?” She asks, uncertain.

  “Yes. Do you know where their meeting chamber is?” I ask.

  “No, brother. I was there once as a much younger child. It shouldn’t be far from the tower.”

  I sigh. Have to do this the hard way then. “Let’s go back to the tower and start from there. You’ll have to guide me as I look for it.”

  “You can see all the way to Inti?” Sarrow asks, swaying again.

  Great, this is going to be the drunk leading the blind. I should have taken away the bottle earlier. “With the key I can. Come on, let’s go.”

  “Very well, brother,” S
arrow says, wobbling as we head to the door. “The gravity on your world seems in flux. No doubt you have learned to compensate for such.”

  “He sure has,” my shadow chuckles. I can see that Sarrow has a rather large learning curve ahead of her.

  Two hours later and we are nearly there. Fortunately Sarrow sobers up, stumbling less often as I focus my sight on Inti. She leads me around much as Sarah had when I was trying to find the hive entrance.

  “Right here,” I say, looking down a familiar corridor.

  “Brother, wait, there is something here. We might be in peril,” Sarrow says. Bringing my sight back to our world I see we are in a pasture filled with cows. Sarrow watches the animals warily.

  “Sarrow,” I say patiently. “There is little danger here in Fomoria compared to Inti. Those are cows, very passive farm animals we raise for food. They won’t hurt you. The only danger is stepping in their droppings.” Poor girl doesn’t know anything besides what she’s read in books. Most tell of the history of the five worlds along with the dangerous beasts living in their lands.

  “We should probably kill it just to be safe,” my shadow says mockingly, his silhouette leaning against a fence.

  “I’m sorry, brother,” she says, obviously embarrassed.

  “No need,” I say patting her on the shoulder. “You’ve been trapped in a castle your entire life. Never seeing a living thing besides your guards and whatever book Morith could smuggle to you. After this is done I’ll show you around and teach you everything.”

  “Better yet, I’ll teach her and her shadow what she needs to know,” my shadow offers.

  “You would just mess with her,” I say.

  “So?” My shadow counters.

  Smiling she gives my hand an affectionate squeeze, ignoring my shadow. “Thank you, brother. But why do you want the Five? They cannot help defeat Melephos for they are confined to their own worlds. Do you think to ask for the aid of the dragons against Melephos? Even a dozen first creations are no match for an ancient one.”

  “I have an idea,” I say. “I don’t know if it will work but I must see them.”

  “Very well, brother. I trust your judgment. Be quick to depart if the meeting goes astray,” Sarrow says as we go further on.

  A minute later and we are there. I can see the chamber doors with two guards outside and Tarith and Yawrith waiting impatiently. They look concerned, no doubt waiting to give news of mine and Sarrow’s escape. Wearing red ceremonial armor with no sigils they stand at attention for the whim of their god. The sight pisses me off. Experimentally, I try shifting a small pebble there but instantly feel the repulsion that signifies sigils that prevent shifting. I nod, gripping the key sword.

  “Sarrow, wait here,” I say. “I’m going to quickly shift in and see if I can get an audience. If not we will do it the hard way.”

  “Should I come along?” my shadow offers.

  I hesitate, “No, stay with Sarrow. I won’t be long.” Drawing on the power of the key still under my robes I shift despite the sigil. It’s easy. Suddenly I am before Tarith and Yawrith, their mouths open in shock.

  “You!” Yawrith says, dropping into a combat stance as the door guards lower their spears at me. Tarith says nothing at all.

  “Yup, it’s me,” I say, grinning. “What no warm welcome this time Yawrith? How about you Tarith, no hug and kiss?”

  “I can if you’d like but I’d prefer not,” Tarith says with as much dignity as he can manage. “How are you here? This entire city is protected against shifting.”

  “Oh, those little sigils,” I say dismissively. “Perhaps they stop you lesser shifters but they are only a inconvenience for me.”

  “It is not a little sigil. It was created at the base of the city itself and the field it creates stretches all across the land,” Tarith says, looking hard at me.

  “It’s cute how you Kiraten think you can do anything,” I say. Yawrith hisses in anger, performing a rather complex summersault that would have landed her in perfect striking position at me if I hadn’t shifted away. She lands looking dumbfounded, only to have me reappear sweeping her leg out from under her. She lands hard with a loud smack as the guards come forward. Revealing the key sword I shift yet again, reappearing next to them and shearing through their spear tips with a single slash.

  “I’m rather busy right now,” I say as if I am bored. “I want to see the Five. Are going to cooperate or not?”

  “By Valerdon’s will I shall destroy you, Bastard of Primehouse Ageroth!” Yawrith snarles, getting to her feet.

  “Fine,” I say, shifting back to Fomoria.

  “How did it go?” Sarrow asks.

  “About what I expected,” I say. “Time for plan B.” Striding forward to where the chamber of the Five is I send my sight forth. They are there talking animatedly all except for Melephos who is immobile in his chair, only a statue right now. Freeing the key sword from my robe I feel its power as I reach through reality to the chamber. Taking a deep breathe I shift the whole thing to Earth. They all stop, frozen just like the statues they are, looking around at the blue sky and the green pastures with cows chewing away undisturbed.

  “What is the meaning of this?” Valerdon roars, his polished steel statue bright in the sun.

  “I did knock,” I say. “But your Kiraten wouldn’t let me pass.” Sarrow comes up next to me, looking rather frightened at Valerdon.

  “Both of the offensive spawn of the abomination in the same place! I shall end your miserable existences now!” Twirling his spear he takes a single step before the statue of Belaroth grabs his arm.

  “Do not act rashly, Valerdon,” Belaroth says calmly. “I wish to know much. This is most unexpected.”

  The tall statue of Shalarom chuckles, its quartz suit shimmering in the light while the obsidian grows darker in contrast. “Do you not realize what this means, Valerdon? They have escaped your world in just a mere cycle. Oh look, the boy’s shadow is free as well, how joyous!” The tall statue beams at me in a rather disturbing way.

  Valerdon freezes, turning to me then to Sarrow then to my shadow who gives a rude gesture in return. “Free? I think not! I shall rend the flesh from their bones and send them to…”

  “Enough, Valerdon!” Palentor snaps, his wizened beard swaying as he speaks, stamping down his gnarled staff for emphasis. “We are here to discuss Melephos’ invasion of my world, not the escape of your captives.”

  “Yes,” Shalarom says in a bored voice. “We have discussed it at length already to no avail. I’d rather discuss the boy and how he managed to escape. The only way is… oh, he did it that way then.” Shalarom gestures to the sword I hold in my hand. “He freed the Worldkey how marvelous! The tower then is once more linked between the worlds.” That gets their attention. Each one looks down to the sword, then to me.

  “How surprising,” mutters Palentor, looking hard at me. “Using the Worldkey’s power, he even managed to shift our entire chamber all the way to Fomoria despite the protection of the Kiraten and my world’s natural resistance to shifting. Remarkable.”

  “Unprecedented,” Belaroth adds.

  “Unacceptable!” Valerdon roars, again pulling away from Belaroth and pointing his spear at me. “Give me the Worldkey, spawn of the Abomination along with my shame and I won’t destroy you.” At the word ‘shame’ Sarrow flushes, looking down.

  Giving him a sneer worthy of my shadow I say, “I brought her here and I won’t hand her over to some oiled up statue. Now, shut up.”

  A shocked look crosses all their faces. Except Shalarom who is laughing his ass off, clapping excitedly like a child. Valerdon’s steel face is very expressive in its disbelief at my words and then darkens with murderous intent. I don’t wait. Reaching forth, I shift him back to Inti along with a small chunk of the chamber.

  “Now that the asshole is out of way, can we have a reasonable discuss
ion?” I say. Shalarom’s booming laugher echoes all around, matched by my shadow’s.

  “You will pay for that if you ever return to Inti,” Belaroth says. “Valerdon the vindicator never forgets.”

  “That’s not important,” I say. “What are you guys doing about Melephos?”

  “I was trying to convince all here to lend the strength of their people to push Melephos into retreating,” Palentor says.

  “A waste of time,” Shalarom says. “I don’t care about your world Palentor let the devourer do as he wishes. Or, go stop him yourself.” He gives Palentor a very sly smile.

  “That would mean his destruction, Shalarom, as you well know,” Belaroth says. “I purpose the dragons are still the best chance to restore balance and force Melephos to return to his world.”

  “They might, if all gather united,” Palentor agrees. “But moving them to my world would take time and the aid of Valerdon’s Kiraten. He has already flatly refused all assistance in reprisal for refusing to hand over the boy.”

  “What about you, oh great Shalarom,” Sarrow says in a weak voice, still looking down. “You were once Melephos’ ally in the war of the dragons, will he not withdraw if you ask it of him?”

  “Perhaps, or perhaps not,” Shalarom says. “I have no interest in Melephos except when he entertains me. This is the most exciting thing to happen in many millenniums.”

  I swallow, turning to Belaroth, “Will you help?”

  “I do not see how,” Belaroth says. “My creations, while powerful and numerous, would only die before the devourer.”

  “No, I mean will you help,” I say. They all pause, regarding me curiously.

  “Me?” Belaroth says. “I would gladly. Such disruption to the sanctity of the worlds should not be tolerated. But I cannot go to Fomoria.”

  “If you go to the disturbed zone where Melephos crossed over I will shift you here,” I say. They all gasp. “Together you and Palentor can drive back Melephos.”

  “Brother, no!” Sarrow exclaims.

  “She is right,” Palentor says. “All of Solarkar’s supporters died, save for himself in bringing Melephos to Fomoria. To bring Belaroth here would require an even greater effort since Elysium is farther away. You would not survive the attempt or even succeed. Solarkar is the most powerful in the last three centuries and he barely survived.”

  I smile. “Yeah, I met him twice before. He’s no match for me in shifting. If I use this Worldkey with my full strength in the zone of disturbed reality I can bring Belaroth here.” I’m sure I can. Will I survive the attempt… that I don’t know.

  “If you insist on doing this then I will help you, brother,” Sarrow says defiantly.

  “No,” I reply sharply. “You’ve only just gained your freedom and if I die, then I need you to stop Solarkar.” I see tears welling up in her eyes. “I can do this.”

  “Bold,” Shalarom says thoughtfully. “It would be rather amusing to see Belaroth here in this world. What a glorious battle that would make.”

  “The demonstration of your strength is already proven by shifting us here,” Belaroth says, her foxy face regarding me closely. “Yes, it might work. With my aid we shall drive back the devourer and make him regret violating our ancient pact. I will depart now to the disruption zone. Make haste there. I know you can alter reality when you shift but such will not affect me so my time will be limited. I belong always to my world, that is the way of things.”

  “Truly?” Shalarom says looking genuinely surprised. “My boy what a marvel you are! Not only do you have the strongest corruption I’ve seen and possess unrivaled shifting strength, you can alter reality the way we can. Do not die in this venture. I can surely make great plans for one such as you.” I shudder, this guy is even creepier than my own shadow who said something similar long ago.

  “Shalarom…” Palentor begins.

  “No need to fret, old one,” Shalarom waves dismissively. “I have no such intentions as of yet. Do not let the boy die if you can. It has been a long time since one has interested me so.” Turning around, the statues of Shalarom and Belaroth sit back down on their thrones.

  “Be sure to return this chamber back to the Kiraten,” Belaroth says. “I do prefer the fresh air but I don’t like bird shit.” With that the two become plain statues once more.

  “I thank you, Jerry Price,” Palentor says, bowing to me. “Long I have looked over this world, keeping it safe from outside intrusions to the best of my ability. Yet compared to the might of the other Five I have always been lacking.”

  “I don’t think so,” I say. “You have given us the greatest gift of all. Freedom and the wisdom to use it. Melephos eats his creations. Belaroth treats all equally, which isn’t bad. Shalarom toys with his. Valerdon gives the Kiraten everything but a choice. I would choose no other.”

  “I am humbled by your words,” Palentor says, turning to Sarrow. “You girl are not from this world but I give you leave to stay indefinitely. No doubt Valerdon would destroy you upon your return. You already belong to this world thanks to Jerry’s power, you need never leave.”

  “Thank you, wise one,” Sarrow says, bowing.

  “Now that all the touchy-feely crap is out of the way, can we get some action?” My shadow asks in a bored tone.

  “Indeed,” Palentor agrees. “I shall make arrangements to carry you home.”

  “No need,” I say. “I called Sarah already. Someone should be waiting for me at Stonehedge.” That reminds me about the stairs. “Oh, about the tower…”

  “Do not concern yourself,” Palentor says. “I’d rather it remain sealed but with those that dwell in the void I doubt it will get much use. Besides with Melephos’ arrival everything has changed. No longer can the glorious residents of this world be content with merely their own affairs. Life must change. That is the way of things. Oh, and one last thing. During your entire imprisonment, never once had Sarah or Whisper given up on you. I thought you would like to know that.” Emotions tight in my throat, I watch Palentor sit down on this throne becoming a statue once more.

  Gripping my arm Sarrow pulls me into a hug. “Brother, are you sure about this course of action? I do not wish to lose you.”

  I give her a tight squeeze then bend down, returning the chamber back to Inti with a still pissed Valerdon stomping around yelling at the inanimate statues. It would have been funny except for the absolute rage in his face.

  “You won’t. With the Worldkey I feel like I can shift anything,” I say.

  “Just in case, I will help you,” my shadow says, and I turn to him surprised.

  “Since when are you so willing to help?” I ask.

  “Don’t be absurd,” my shadow scoffs. “I’m not helping you! I’m merely looking out for my own existence. If you die then I am no more and I can’t deny the world my glory. Besides, I want to see these so called gods fight and bleed. It shall be most entertaining.”

  “I doubt that not,” Sarrow agrees smiling at my shadow for the first time. “Perhaps there is more to you than I originally surmised.”

  “No way!” My shadow and I say in unison. We all share a laugh, even my shadow who for once doesn’t sound evil at all.

  “No matter what happens, brother, remember this. You have attracted the attention of the corruptor, such is never without peril,” Sarrow says and with that happy thought in my head we go back to Stonehenge.