The Lost Mage

by Difar, Amy

  I thought you’d be happy that I was mrrrrrrring, people usually do that googly-eyed ‘oh look how cute’ thing when I mrrrrrrr, but okay, I’ll use the blanket.

  “Thank you.”

  Nora came back and wiped the small cuts with antiseptic. “Oh, how cute, he’s kneading the blanket!”

  She continued her ministrations, oblivious to the dirty look Darakin was giving her as the cat gave him a knowing look and a smug smile.

  “So, you call that kneading?” he asked Nora.

  “Aye, some people say ‘making bread’ but it’s all the same. Why?”

  “Because when he says what he’s doing, it doesn’t translate. Just sounds like he says he’s mrrrrrrring.”

  “Interesting. According to behavioral experts, they say that the cat is reliving how it would sort of knead their mother’s belly to get milk. Supposedly makes them feel comforted.”

  Darakin turned to Mrowley. “Is that true?”

  But Mrowley said nothing. He just kept mrrrrrrring the blanket.

  “He’s not talking.”

  “I think there are some things they’d like to keep hidden about themselves. Gives them that air of mystery.”

  She smiled and Darakin was overwhelmed with desire. He took her hand and pulled her down next to him.

  “I thought you wanted to go to that New Age shop today?”

  “Mm. This won’t take long.”

  “Just what every woman wants to hear!” She laughed as he kissed her. The two became so involved with one another that Mrowley’s presence on the bed was forgotten until the movement of the bed was too much for him. He stood up and stared at the two entwined humans.

  You’re doing it wrong.

  “I assure you, little cat, I am not doing it wrong.”

  Okay, but don’t expect to make kittens like that.

  Darakin laughed. “I’m not trying to make kittens.”

  “What?” Nora choked.

  “Mrowley thinks we’re doing this wrong.”

  “The only thing wrong about it is that you’re talking to a cat while we’re doing it.”

  And you interrupted my mrrrrrrring.

  “Go in the other room then,” Darakin said, his speech muffled by the fact that his mouth was buried in Nora’s hair as he kissed her.

  My species was once worshipped as gods. Now we get sent to the other room. Mrowley leapt off the bed in a huff and went to the living room to watch TV.

  A short time later, Darakin and Nora left to go to Ravenwynd’s shop, leaving a disgruntled Mrowley home watching soap operas.

  Once they were out on the street, Nora asked, “Any chance that we can take the subway? It’s much faster than the bus.”

  Despite having ridden the train the night they chased the krekdapop, Darakin was still apprehensive about the mechanical dragon, but he didn’t want to appear cowardly to Nora. “I guess so.”

  “But listen, no jumping the turnstile this time. That will get you arrested – you just got lucky that night that nobody was around. Let me swipe my fare card, okay?”

  “Fare card?”

  “Yes, this.” She held the card up. “Remember, the very first time we went down – before you saw the train – I let us through the turnstile with it.”

  “Vaguely.” In truth, Darakin didn’t remember anything but the spitting, fire-breathing mechanical beast from that trip, but he certainly didn’t want to get arrested so he let Nora swipe her card for him.

  They waited for the train with their backs against the wall because Darakin wouldn’t go any closer to the tracks. When the train finally arrived, he followed Nora with trepidation. Since it was well past the early morning, they were able to get seats. She didn’t want to think about how he would feel on a crowded, rush hour train.

  They rode uptown in silence. Darakin was relieved when Nora stood to get off at their stop. He released his death grip on the pole and followed her. Once out in the fresh air, he paused to take some deep breaths. “It’s very hot in the dragon’s tunnel.”

  “Pfft. You should feel it in the heat of summer. It feels about 120 degrees on the hot days.”

  “That doesn’t sound pleasant.”

  “It isn’t, but look how much time we saved over taking the bus.”

  “That was faster,” Darakin conceded. He understood now why people chose to ride the dragon in the hellish dungeon over the mechanical beasts on the street.

  As the neared Pandora’s Box, Nora found herself hoping that the glow of their recent lovemaking would be apparent to Ravenwynd.

  The little bell tinkled as they entered the shop. Ravenwynd was standing with two women who were dressed in light, flowing dresses made of flimsy material. She looked up and smiled immediately. “This is the man I was telling you about,” she whispered to them. She turned toward Darakin and Nora. “I was hoping you’d come back!”

  “I’ll bet you were,” Nora said under her breath.

  Darakin either didn’t hear or ignored her. “Please, I need some more incense for the scrying spell. My cat destroyed what I had.”

  Ravenwynd chuckled. “You gotta love cats.”

  “Why? Are they sacred to you?” He recalled Mrowley’s claim that his people were once worshipped as gods.

  “Well, they have been to some cultures in history. Personally, I just like them. And you have to love them or you’d be really mad at them all the time.”

  “But I am mad at him quite often, even though I do love him.”

  “Yep. That’s life with a cat. These are my coven mates, Sparrow and Goldenwing.”

  Nora could barely contain her chuckle. “Is that wing with an ‘i’ or a ‘y’?”

  Ravenwynd, aware that Nora was trying to bait her, smiled sweetly at Darakin, while answering. “It’s with an ‘i’.”

  Darakin gave the ladies a hasty bow. “I am Darakin.”

  “Pleasure to meet you, Darakin.” The looks they gave him left no doubt that they’d like to know him better.

  Nora watched the women ogle her man and burned with jealousy. She was going to have to talk to Darakin about his effect on women and teach him how to avoid leading them on because this was getting on her nerves.

  Ravenwynd spoke up. “Let me get you that incense.” She walked down an aisle and pulled some sticks out of a bin. “Anyway,” she called from down the aisle, “the reason I’m glad you came back is that I think I have a lead on who summoned you here.”

  “A lead? What does she think she is – some kind of detective?” Nora said to herself.

  “What?” Darakin asked.

  “Nothing,” Nora murmured.

  “I said, I think I have a lead on who summoned you here,” Ravenwynd said as she returned with the incense.

  “You do? How?”

  “Well, a bunch of young men came in looking for all sorts of supplies for a dark summoning. You know, black candles, aloes, wormwood, that sort of thing.”

  “Who were these men?”

  She laughed. “Just a bunch of amateurs that happened upon some black magic books, I suspect. But I don’t know for certain.”

  Nora interjected, “Did you sell them the stuff?”

  “Of course. I am running a business, you know. I have to make a living.”

  “Do you know anything about them or where they’ll be?”

  “I overheard them talking, and it seems they’ll be performing another summoning the day after tomorrow. They didn’t say where, though. Perhaps in the same place where they summoned you? There aren’t that many spots in this city where you can do something like that.”

  “Many thanks to you, Ravenwynd. Maybe I can find these men and make them send me home.”

  “Good luck to you, even though I’d hate to see you go. These are on the house.” She handed Darakin a bag containing the incense.

  “On the house? I thought they were in the bag.”

  Ravenwynd laughed and looked at her friends. “Isn’t he charming?” She looked back at Darakin. “No, sweet
ie, that means they’re free.”

  “Ah. Many thanks once again.”

  Nora and Darakin left the shop and headed back to her apartment. Nora was silent for the entire trip back downtown. They got off the subway at their stop and headed to the street.

  “Is something wrong?” Darakin asked.

  “No,” she said in a sarcastic voice. “What could be wrong?”

  “I’m pretty sure I’ve done something wrong again, haven’t I?”

  “Well, since you seem too daft to figure it out, I’ll tell you. You’ll make the men who summoned you send you home? Do I have a say in this? You tell me you love me and then you jump through the first passageway home?”

  “Portal.”

  “What?” Nora asked with fury in her eyes.

  “It’s called a portal, not a passageway. It allows you to pass through, but it’s called a portal.”

  “If you correct me about magic one more time, I’m going to show you firsthand how the stun gun works.” She turned and headed home, leaving him to follow behind.

  A bewildered Darakin walked a few steps behind Nora. Tall though he was, he was having a hard time keeping up with her agitated pace.

  She entered the apartment building and let the door slam closed on him. He pulled it open and ran a few steps to catch up.

  “Nora, wait.”

  “I’m going upstairs to get ready for work. You can come or not, it matters little to me.”

  Darakin went with her and waited until they were inside her apartment with the door shut to grab her arm. “Nora. Let’s talk for a minute.”

  “What’s to talk about? You’re going back to your home planet …” she waited to see if he would correct her and say ‘realm’ or ‘dimension’, thus giving her the opportunity to shock him with the stun gun, but he didn’t.

  “You say you love me and yet you keep looking for a way to leave. That’s beyond despicable. Don’t look to me for absolution.”

  Mrowley, awoken from his nap by the sound of raised voices, blinked and said, Wait, dude? You’re leaving? I thought I was, I mean –

  Darakin stood there shell-shocked as Mrowley and Nora continued. “And after all I’ve done for you! I took you in –”

  I showed you how to get a box and a job –

  “I taught you about money, I fed you –”

  I kept the place free of flies and mice –

  “I’ve gone looking for a demon with you for Christ’s sake –”

  I explained about the magic sticks that make fire –

  “I’ve watched women ogle you while you don’t do anything to discourage them –”

  Nora and Mrowley both paused to take a deep breath before simultaneously asking, “What about me?” What about me?

  Darakin, overwhelmed at being double-teamed by Nora and Mrowley, shouted, “Enough!”

  The two stared back at him in stunned silence. This was the first time either of them had ever heard him raise his voice, except to complain about Mrowley jumping on the counter.

  “How could either of you think that I wouldn’t talk to you about this? I intend to take you both with me. Mrowley, I promised you that when we first met and Nora, I love you. I can’t imagine life without you. I would love you to see me in my realm. This might surprise you but I’m a very strong, capable man there. I’m a pretty good elemental mage, and I can take care of myself against thieves and wild animals. I’m also well-respected.”

  We’re going to your home? Do they have lots of lizards there? I haven’t eaten in days.

  “What makes you think I want to leave everything I know and go to some medieval kingdom where magic rules? Someplace where I don’t know how to survive?”

  “But you would have me do exactly that by staying here.” Darakin said in a soft voice.

  “Well, I guess I can’t help but think things are better in this realm.”

  “Not for an elemental mage who has little power here they’re not.”

  “At least we have a place to live here. You’re a traveling mage so you just wander around there, right?”

  “Nora, I’ve given it a lot of thought. I don’t have the gold to buy a home now, but if I sign on for merchant ship voyages, sometimes they’ll actually pay gold for a mage’s services. We could do that for a few years and save up the money to buy a cottage. Then you’d have a place to stay while I went out working.”

  “Live on a merchant ship for a few years? How would we have a life that way? How many years would it take? What about rats? Those old boats are crawling with disease and rodents.”

  Mrowley’s ears pricked up. Rats? I like rats.

  She continued. “Plus, I don’t like the water.”

  Ooh. Me, neither, Darakin. I don’t like the water. Do I have to go in the water to get the rats? Are they amphibious rats?

  “Nora, it’s very hard –” Darakin shook his head for a second and looked at the cat. “How do you know a word like amphibious?”

  At the cat’s shrug he turned his attention back to Nora. “It’s very hard for me to feel worthy of you when I feel so useless. Don’t men in this realm have similar ideals – that they should provide for their families’ welfare and safety?”

  “Yes, they do. And women, too, for that matter.” She sighed and sat. “I suppose I didn’t think of it from your perspective. But you’re not useless here. Didn’t you defend me just fine against that thief the other night?”

  There was a thief? Where was I?

  “You were here, Mrowley.”

  Oh, yeah.

  “Nora, that thief is one of the reasons that I don’t want you to stay here without me. This realm isn’t safe.”

  “This realm isn’t safe?” she repeated incredulously. “At least we don’t have rain and wind trying to kill us. Or lizard demons that are trying to kill all the squirrels – well, not usually anyway. And I’ve never been afraid to leave something shiny outside because it might attract a dragon!”

  “But those are all things I can protect us against. Well, not the dragon, but we’d never leave anything shiny outside –”

  “You’re the one who told me it’s dangerous for traveling mages there.”

  “It is, but that’s why I’m trained to fight, Nora. I can keep us safe.”

  “And I can take care of us here,” she interrupted.

  “Really? Like the other night?”

  “Darakin, if you’d not have been with me, I’d have had my pepper spray at the ready. And in the worst case, he’d have taken my money.”

  “You don’t know that.” He stepped toward her and took her in his arms. She tried to pull her away, but he held her tight. “Nora, I can’t bear to think of you getting hurt and I dream of showing you how strong and brave I am in my own realm.”

  “And I dream of having a life with you.”

  “So come with me.”

  “I … I can’t. I left everything and everyone I knew once. I don’t think I could do it again, especially not for a place like your homeland. I’m sorry.”

  “As am I. I really was hoping you’d consent to come with me, but I’ll understand if you can’t.”

  Am I staying here or going with you? I’m confused. Or maybe I’m going back out to the street? The cat crouched low in rejection. In his experience, when people changed their living situation, he got left behind.

  “Mrowley, you’ll be taken care of, not to worry,” Darakin reassured him.

  “Yes, I’ll keep Mrowley with me. Your realm doesn’t sound safe for a small cat like him.”

  Mrowley stood, arched his back and said, Hey! Who is she calling small?

  “I think he’d do fine with me. He’d just have to stay close.” He looked at the cat. “But there will be times when we’d have to go on boats.”

  No, I told you I don’t like the water. I had a bath once, it was like being drowned. I don’t want to go in the water.

  At the cat’s negative reaction to the idea of sailing, he said with a sad smile, “Perhaps he is
better off here.”

  I don’t want to lose another person. I just broke you in … I mean, I just got used to you and your smells.

  “Like I said, we’ll do just fine.” Nora crossed her arms. She was desperate to hold back the tears that threatened to spill. She didn’t want him to see her cry.