Transformation!

by Martin, Deborah

  Fudge just looked at him. “Please tell him I will do nothing to upset their balance. In those exact words.”

  Bewildered, I repeated what Fudge had said. Nelion nodded and motioned for us to follow.

  “What was that about?” I asked my cat.

  “It has to do with our…disagreement. If Waldo deems it appropriate, I will share the story with you at some point. In essence, it means I will not interfere with their magic.”

  Huh. “You can do that?”

  “To a certain extent, yes.”

  “I’m looking forward to hearing that story. This is a side of you, and your compatriots, I didn’t know existed.”

  We entered the structure Nelion and his people had come out of. It was much larger than it appeared from the outside and was set up like a conference room. All the furnishings were carved from wood, the table still in the irregular shape of a tree. The backs of the chairs were bas-reliefs of trees, plants, and woodland animals. The chair cushions appeared to be hand-embroidered in the same motif. It was gorgeous.

  “Refreshments are on their way. Please, take a seat,” Nelion said.

  Alberon cleared his throat once we’d all sat. “I will address the reason for your presence, Mr. Tremaine. I believe I have found a way to bring your employer back to himself without waiting for the spell to wear off.

  “It involves an arcane method for extracting the failsafe before unwinding the spell. However, your beacon spell, as you call it, interferes with what I need to do. I need you to temporarily remove it. It can be replaced immediately upon his restoration.”

  One of the guards I’d seen trailing after Nelion entered the room with a silver tray laden with a couple of carafes, cups, and a bowl of fruit. After placing it in the middle of the table, he retreated only as far as the wall next to the door.

  “Coffee, Miss McCollum?” The female elf reached for the carafe and one of the cups.

  “Yes, thank you,” I replied, wondering who she was.

  Once everyone had a cup of coffee or tea, Gregory answered Alberon. “I didn’t look closely at the bat when I had him. Is the tattoo still completely intact?”

  Alberon nodded. “Yes. It’s there in its entirety, just sized for a bat rather than an ogre. We looked at it through a magnifying glass to be sure.”

  “Then I can do it. I was concerned because I didn’t spell Ev; I spelled the ink in his tattoo. That’s what I have to remove the spell from.”

  Curiosity got the better of me. “You know, I never saw his tattoo. Thank goodness. What is it?”

  Alberon snickered, the first evidence of a sense of humor I’d seen from him. “A heart with the initials E and A within.”

  My jaw dropped. His own initials inside a heart? I looked at Gregory, my mouth still wide enough to collect flies.

  He shrugged. “I told him he had to get a tattoo. He didn’t like anything the artist had in his book, so chose that. You can’t fault the man for loving himself.”

  Well, no, but…

  “Ahem,” Alberon said, a smile still trying to move a few muscles around his mouth. “Back to the matter at hand. I need a waning moon and tonight is the third night after it was full. It will work. I suggest we break until moonrise. Nolari will escort you to a place where you may rest.”

  I gulped down the rest of my coffee and stood with the rest of them. “This way, please.” The female elf motioned us out the door.

  We followed her around the curve of trees surrounding the clearing and to a similar door in another ground-floor building set among tree roots. I privately wondered where all the other elves were because I saw no one about.

  “These are our guest quarters,” she said. “Mr. Tremaine, I know you have been here before, so nothing should come as a surprise. We would be pleased to have you join us for dinner. Our guard will come to escort you.”

  We stepped inside and once again, it was larger than it looked from the outside. Similar to a hotel room, it had a bed, a sofa, and a small table with chairs. Like the conference room, the furnishings appeared to be handmade – and exquisitely so. Light came through a small window in the outside wall, as well as wall sconces and several hurricane lamps. Our bags were on the floor next to the sofa. The door clicked behind us.

  “Don’t bother trying to open it,” Gregory said. “It’s locked. Presumably so we don’t go snooping around.

  “The ‘no surprise’ part is the bath. The toilet doesn’t flush because it’s a composting toilet. If you need to shower, pull the chain once to start the water flow and pull it again to stop it. The temperature is preset but it’s comfortable.”

  Fudge padded around the room, into and out of the bathroom, continually sniffing. “The wizard is the only non-elf to be here in a long time. The only other spoor is full elf.”

  “And this surprises you why?” I asked. “They obviously don’t allow outsiders in very often.”

  To Gregory I said aloud, “Who is that lady? She acts like royalty or something.”

  He smiled. “In a way, she is. She is Nelion’s spouse and also a member of the council. From what I can gather, they share the responsibility for running this enclave. Perhaps a little more on her side since he also has to deal with the rest of the country. But she is not as aloof as some of the others you will see.”

  “I can use the human toilet if you leave the cover up and they have put down a bowl of water, but I could use some food. There is no tuna in the bowl next to it.”

  Oh. I’d forgotten. “Gregory, can you get Fudge’s food, please? Cat food doesn’t seem to be on their menu.”

  “Of course. My apologies for the delay, Sir Fudge.”

  I grimaced. “Please. Don’t encourage him.”

  The container of cat food materialized on the floor next to our bags. I dutifully filled the extra bowl, lifted the toilet lid, then plopped onto the sofa. Gregory had already stretched out on the bed, cell phone in hand.

  “I would love to learn more about this place. There’s no electric lighting, no electrical sockets, yet some have mobile phones. Those have to be charged. And there’s a full signal, too.”

  I looked at mine. “If we’re here more than a few hours, we’ll have to find out how to charge our phones. I’m down to seventy percent battery and amusing myself with it while we wait will drain it even further.”

  “We will find out at dinner.” He turned back to whatever he was doing. I pulled up my Mahjong app and started playing. Fudge finished his nosh and curled up next to me.

  Countless games later, there was a quick rap on the door, then it opened. The now-familiar guard stuck his head in and said, “Dinner will be in about ten minutes. I have been asked to escort you.”

  “My cat?” I asked.

  The guard sighed, looked at Fudge, then said, “He is invited, as well.”

  We followed the guard out, back around the circle of trees, and around the base of one of the largest ones. There, the bottom hidden from the clearing, was a staircase that wound around the tree, and up into the branches. It appeared to be partially carved into the tree and partially attached to it by some invisible means. This, too, was exquisitely carved and painted with vines and leaves, made to look as if the tree had somehow formed the staircase on its own.

  We followed the guard up, and up, and up. The men were simply walking. Fudge and I, with our shorter legs, were climbing. I was nearly breathless by the time we reached a landing high up in the tree’s branches.

  To our right was an open door. This led into a large house, once again seeming to be a part of the tree, yet not. The main trunk of the tree rose through the center of the house, and I could see hallways leading out and away from it to various rooms.

  “Welcome to our home,” Nolari greeted us in the entranceway. “The dining room is this way.” She led us around the tree trunk, down a hallway, and into what, in any human house, would be a banquet room. The table could easily seat twenty, but elaborate settings for six were at the closest end. Something niggled at
my brain. It took me a moment, but I realized it was set for a formal dinner, exactly as the etiquette books taught.

  “Please, take a seat. Nelion and the others will be here momentarily. Would you care for a glass of wine?”

  Although I had always assumed one should never take food or gifts from elves (perhaps from my reading of fairy tales as a youngster), Gregory thanked her and took a glass. Mentally shrugging my shoulders, I did the same.

  My first sip turned into a second, then a third. Like everything else I’d experienced while in the enclave, it was good. A pinot noir, if my tastebuds didn’t deceive me. Nelion, Alberon, and another woman entered the room and were handed a glass of the same wine by Nolari.

  “Thank you for joining us,” Nelion said. “Alberon you already know. May I introduce Laendra, his spouse?”

  I fought the urge to hold out my hand. Gregory and I both inclined our heads. I think I was getting the hang of elven social graces.

  “Greetings,” she intoned but the expression on her face indicated she wasn’t really pleased to meet us at all. She was older, almost as white-haired as Alberon, but not a single wrinkle creased her face.

  “Laendra is as talented as Alberon,” Nelion continued. “We are fortunate to have two such mages in our enclave.”

  The older woman said something in what I presumed was Elvish. “Human English, if you please,” Nelion said. “We should not exclude our guests from conversation.”

  “She wanted to know why they had to dine with humans.”

  She was probably one of the ones Gregory said didn’t want to hear what he had to say at the hearing. “Probably why she said it in their language instead of English, huh?”

  Just at that moment, Leandra spied Fudge. “A familiar? What are you playing at, Nelion?”

  Nelion frowned. “The cat and Miss McCollum are as one. They are guests and will be treated as such.”

  Fudge narrowed his eyes. “I do not like you either, lady. But we are stuck with each other for the time being.”

  “Hey. She didn’t hear that, did she? Chill pill. You don’t have to curl up in her lap. Just sit near me and stay calm.” That was all I needed – my familiar picking a fight with an elf on their ground.

  “I will not ‘pick a fight’ as you say. And no, she cannot hear me unless I allow her to. But if she should start something, I will finish it.”

  “She won’t start anything. Nelion won’t allow it. Whatever animosity is between you and elves is in a time out, okay?”

  I had tried to keep a bland expression on my face while conversing with Fudge but apparently had failed.

  “Is anything wrong?” Nelion asked me.

  “No, everything’s fine.” I said as we all sat at the table, Laendra ensuring she was on the other side from me. Fudge curled at my feet, still huffing a little.

  To my surprise, Nolari and the ever-present guard brought in trays of food. Apparently, they didn’t have servants. One tray was piled high with fruit, another with what appeared to be sautéed vegetables. Yet another had a large bowl of mixed white and wild rice.

  “There is no meat.”

  “They know you are here and know cats are carnivorous. They’ll bring you something, I’m sure.”

  The trays and bowl were passed around and everyone helped themselves. It was like an old-fashioned family-style dinner.

  Nolari gasped. “My apologies. I forgot one plate in the kitchen. I will return.” She stood and hurried out the door. A moment later, she returned with a small silver dish. Heaped on it was what appeared to be flaked white fish. She put it on the floor next to my chair.

  “We very rarely eat flesh. This is fish from the stream that borders the enclave. I hope it is satisfactory,” she said to Fudge.

  It must have been because he dug in immediately. “Please thank her.”

  I relayed his thanks and the humanoids went back to eating. When we were finished, Nolari and the guard cleared the table, then returned with two carafes and a plate of small cakes.

  “Nelion, I have a question,” Gregory said after coffee, tea, and cakes had been served. “The enclave obviously does not have electricity but some of you, including yourself, have mobile telephones. How do you keep them charged?”

  “My abject apologies,” Nelion said. “I’d forgotten humans were so dependent on them.

  “Yes, the enclave is far from the modern world. However, as you have noticed, we have been forced to adopt some modern-day conveniences not only to conduct our business, but also to blend in when out in the wider world. Therefore, just outside the enclave proper we have a… farm, I believe is the term, with electricity, motor vehicles, and the like.

  “If you will allow Arl to take your phones, he will have them charged. They should be returned to you before the moon reaches its zenith.”

  The same guard came to stand by our chairs with his hand out. I had a name for him now! I wasn’t thrilled about giving someone else my phone but since I had nowhere to plug in the charger, I had no choice. Gregory and I both powered them down.

  “How do you maintain such a strong signal?” Gregory asked as we both handed our phones over. “I would think your magic would disrupt it.”

  “On a normal basis, it would and did. However, one of our younger women who has studied human science has modified the signal coming from the tower at the farm so it can pass through many magical fields. Unfortunately, that modification does not work for telephones outside the enclave. Once outside our influence, the signal goes dead for about a mile until you can pick up the next nearest tower. She tried explaining it to me, but it has to do with human science, which I do not understand. Suffice to say, I am glad it does as it allows me to more easily communicate with the humans who run our outside businesses.”

  As soon as Arl exited the room, Alberon began talking.

  “Tonight will be difficult,” he began. “It is a spell that hasn’t been worked in about a thousand of your years. It will also involve the blending of two types of magic, human and elf, which, to my knowledge, has never been done. Mr. Tremaine, I appreciate your willingness to assist us.”

  Gregory nodded. “It is my employer – and my friend – we are trying to retrieve. Of course I am willing.”

  “Then, shall we repair to the healers?”

  “Healers?” I asked.

  “They have been taking care of the bat. Our healers combine the skills of human physicians and veterinarians. They know better than any other what a bat needs.”

  I shrugged my shoulders. Whatever.

  Instead of tripping back down the stairs, we exited the house and from the landing, took one of those swinging bridges to a landing in the neighboring tree. While I’m sure it was safe, I was extremely uncomfortable walking across it and vowed to never repeat the experience if I could help it. Thankfully, there was no wind to speak of, but it wasn’t called a swinging bridge for nothing!

  Once we got to the happily-solid landing, we took another set of stairs down one flight, and entered a room that looked very much like an infirmary, with beds and cages, small and large, lining the walls. It was open to the elements and I wondered what happened when it rained. Without a roof, it seemed to me anyone in that room would get soaked. Unlike a human infirmary, there was no medicinal smell.

  “Evalon, we are here,” Nelion called.

  A man who could be Perchaladon’s twin emerged from another room. “I am at your service,” he said with a slight incline of his head.

  “We will need a small table,” Alberon told him.

  “Everything has been prepared. Please, follow me.” Evalon turned and went back the way he’d come in. We duly followed him into a room almost as large as the first, with a table similar to a vet’s examination table in the center. In the middle of the table lay a small brown bat. It appeared to be asleep.

  “I will leave you now. Please call if I can be of further assistance.” Evalon left. The six of us crowded around the table and observed the bat.

&nb
sp; Alberon looked up through the branches. I looked up as well, couldn’t see anything but tree, but he said, “It is time.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  The bat stirred as we all stared down at it. Alberon put his hands gently on its back and rubbed, similar to the way you’d rub a crying baby’s back to calm it. But the movements weren’t random. They were counterclockwise, then clockwise, all in a set pattern.

  “Mr. Tremaine, when I say ‘now,’ please remove your spell,” he quietly said, continuing his caressing motion. “Now.”

  Gregory moved his left hand to the bat’s shoulder and made a pulling motion with his fingers. I saw carmine red energy flow up to his fingers and there was no longer a tingle of magic.

  Alberon ceased his stroking and with a furrow in his brow, started to trace something, as if following a maze with his finger. All of a sudden, there was a loud rustling noise, a squeak, a squawk, and a hiss. All except for Alberon looked around.

  “What was that?” he asked. “I cannot stop to look.”

  On the floor behind me, Fudge had a hawk pinned, his claws partially extended into its back. “This one is an elf. What shall I do with it?”

  “A red-tailed hawk,” Nelion said. “An elf. Who transforms to such a bird?”

  Alberon continued his tracing and without breaking his pattern replied, “Rimadur.”

  “One of our rebellious younglings,” Nelion said for our benefit.

  “Fudge wants to know what he should do with the bird,” I interjected.

  “Rimadur,” Nelion addressed the bird, “this cat will hold you until Alberon has completed his work. Should you struggle, he has my permission to do whatever is necessary to continue his hold on you, up to and including death. Therefore, I suggest you remain as still as possible because I am certain control of his natural instincts is most difficult.

  “Familiar, my thanks. I understand this is challenging for you but Alberon will take charge as soon as he is able.”

  Fudge audibly growled. “This is not easy. Tell the mage to make it quick.”

  Alberon finally stopped following a maze and lifted his finger into the air. A chill permeated the room. He moved his hand as if his finger was a whip and there was concussive ‘boom’ with an attendant wind, blowing everyone’s hair back. The bat shuddered a little but remained quiescent.