by Phil Stern
From below, Tiffany heard more men force open the front door, along with the distinct rasp of drawing blades. Yet now the sorceress sensed her target a short distance away. Striding along the second-floor hall, she quickly slipped through a doorway at the far end.
Four girls were sitting up in separate beds. The three older girls were clearly terrified, calling and crying out. The fourth, a tall child with hair a touch lighter than Tiffany’s, stared thoughtfully at the Coven witch.
“Jenla.” Instantly, Tiffany knew the girl for whom she was. “Pull on some clothes and shoes. We’re leaving.”
The girl only hesitated a moment. “All right.” Sweeping aside her sheet, Jenla hopped to the floor.
“You’re a witch!” One of the other girls yelled, fearfully cramming herself against the wall. “Get out!”
Shouting and heavy footfalls could now be clearly heard in the outer hallway. Tiffany slammed the door fully closed, then effortlessly shoved a heavy clothing chest across to block it, her earth stone briefly glowing. Another of the girls screamed, while the third tried to hide underneath the bed.
Jenla, however, was entirely calm. By now having put on simple pants, shirt, and shoes, she was ready to go. “Who are you, exactly?” she asked, looking at Tiffany more closely.
“A friend.” Stepping closer, Tiffany’s earth stone pulsed once more. “Jenla, this is a lot to accept right now, and I’ll explain more later. But just know that you’re different. You’re like us.”
Now a man began banging on the bedroom door, shouting threats. The other girls cried anew.
“Really?” Jenla was clearly intrigued. “I’ve always felt different, somehow.”
“You are. But right now we need to leave.” Looking around, Tiffany noticed a heavy, floor-length curtain at the far end of the room. Pushing past Jenla, she swept it aside, revealing a glass and wooden door. “What’s out here?”
“A veranda,” Jenla replied. “But we’re two stories up, and there’s no stairway down.”
Now there was a huge crash, the heavy dresser jumping an inch into the room. Clearly, the Prefect’s guards were using something heavy to batter down the door.
“Come on.” Grabbing Jenla’s hand, Tiffany pushed open the outer door, rushing out onto a small wooden platform with a stout railing.
Obviously the veranda was intended for the girls to get a little air now and then, but with no chance of escaping the house entirely. First looking out at the beautiful Tethren night sky, with streaks of blue and gold seemingly connecting the three bright moons, Tiffany then glanced down at the large back yard. Two men, with torches and swords, uneasily stared up at them. A third man held the reins of two horses.
“Jenla, you must trust me.” Turning to the girl beside her, Tiffany looked right into her eyes. “We’re going to jump down to the ground, get on those horses, and head for the beach.”
“Jump down?” she repeated, peering anxiously over the wooden railing. “We’ll be killed! And what about those men?”
From back inside the room, amid the continued shrieks of the girls, the outer door and dresser now burst apart. In a moment the Prefect’s guards would be out on the veranda with them.
“No time to explain.” Firmly grabbing Jenla’s hand, Tiffany now laid her other palm against her earth stone. “Just jump. Now!”
Green magic flowed between them, Tiffany’s own energy effortlessly embracing the young Tethren. Instinctively recognizing the power for what it was, Jenla followed Tiffany’s lead, leaping high over the railing and out into the clear night air.
Flying high over the yard, Jenla felt a surge of pure exhilaration. For perhaps the first time in her young life, she actually felt in control of events, her body and mind in perfect synch with the world around them. Yes, Jenla thought, she was different! Disdainful of the guards below gaping upward in amazement, she knew her life would never again be the same.
Arching gracefully down towards the ground, they landed right by the horses. The man holding the reins started to draw a sword, but Tiffany’s precise kick to the ribs sent him tumbling to the ground. Effortlessly throwing Jenla up on one horse, Tiffany then vaulted up onto the second.
“Can you ride?” Tiffany asked.
“Sure.” Jenla picked up the reins. “I love horses!”
By now the two other men closer to the house were rushing at them with drawn swords. Two additional guards, armed with crossbows, also jogged into the back yard.
“Then lets go!” Kicking her horse into motion, Tiffany raced for the fence bordering the grounds, Jenla right behind her.
It was a stout wooden structure, about six feet high, but a bit of magical assistance allowed their horses to clear it easily. Landing on the other side, both mounts now raced through town, in the opposite direction from which Tiffany had entered. By now many residents fearfully stared out from windows and doors, awakened by the bedlam at the Prefect’s house. Jenla, Tiffany noticed, just kept her head down, staying right behind her.
On the far outskirts of the village they thundered past another guard shack. Tiffany established a shield around them both, deflecting several crossbow bolts. Soon out of range, they now easily cantered down a lane between fields, robust crops nearly glowing in the strong moonlight to either side.
After a few minutes Tiffany pulled up. “Are you all right?” she asked as Jenla stopped beside her. “Have you been injured at all?”
“No, I’m fine.” she replied, stroking the neck of her winded horse. “This is Sunrise, one of my favorites.”
The tall Tethren girl was so much like herself at a similar age, Tiffany thought, loving horses and all things natural, yet feeling so at odds with the people around her. Sighing, she touched her arm. “I’m sorry, Jenla. But Sunrise can’t come with us to Haven.”
“That’s okay, I guess.” Looking down, Jenla shrugged. “But where’s Haven? I’ve never heard of it.”
“It’s…far away from here.” Tiffany paused. “Actually, Haven is another world entirely.”
“Another world?” The girl’s soft voice carried easily on the night air. “You mean, some place completely different from Tethra?”
“Yes. And Haven is only one of many worlds.”
The faint sounds of galloping horses now reached them. Clearly, the Prefect’s men were on their trail.
“Come on, I have friends down on the beach who’ll help us.” Without waiting for a response, Tiffany urged her mount onward, Jenla following.
A few minutes later, having navigated a trail down a gentle, grassy incline, they found themselves walking out onto the beach. Now reflected off the water, the bright moonlight cast an almost dusk-like illumination over the whole area.
With relief, Tiffany saw her Coven-mates waiting for them on the smooth sand. Anxiously holding the reins of their three horses, Caylee visibly relaxed upon Tiffany’s appearance.
For her part, Keri simply stood a few feet off, arms crossed, a gleaming sword hanging from her belt. “Looks like you ran into a bit of trouble,” she sourly remarked, nodding vaguely up the gentle hillside behind them, the sounds of pursuit now growing obvious.
“Indeed.” Leaping down to the beach, Tiffany gave her horse a resounding slap on the rear. It cantered off by itself to the south, soon disappearing into the night.
“What should I do?” Caylee asked.
“Mount up!” When the neophyte sorceress hesitated, Tiffany gave her a small shove. “Now!”
Stunned into action, Caylee gracefully leapt into an empty saddle. Without waiting to be told, Jenla guided Sunrise next to her.
“Take the other horses and wait for us down the beach,” Tiffany ordered. “Keri and I will be with you in a minute.”
By now, individual male voices and clanking weapons could be heard from the Prefect’s force. Obviously, they’d be on them in a moment.
“But Tiffany,” Caylee haltingly began. “Shouldn’t I help…”
“No! Just go!” Pulling a sword from a sca
bbard on an unoccupied horse, Tiffany touched her earth stone. Assisted by the mild enchantment, all four equines, with Caylee and Jenla still mounted, trotted purposefully up the beach.
First corralling her long, strawberry blonde hair into a ponytail, Keri now drew her own sword. “I guess you and I are a team here, huh?”
“I guess we are.” Readying her own blade, the two witches stood ten feet apart, waiting for the Prefect’s men to arrive.
The first horse tumbled down the grassy incline onto the sand, soon followed by another. Seeing Tiffany and Keri just standing there, with seemingly no means of escape, a mounted soldier called out in triumph.
Keri nonchalantly touched her earth stone. Earth fire flared outward, her outfit changing from standard-sorceress jeans, boots, and white shirt, to the same sleek, all black outfit Tiffany now wore.
“It would just be scandalous if we didn’t match,” Keri drawled, glancing at her Coven-mate. “Don’t you think?”
By now six horses and riders were on the beach, the first two racing at them. “Of course,” Tiffany tersely replied, swinging to the attack.
Quickly pumping magical energy into her sword, Tiffany stepped out of the charging horse’s direct path, aiming a forceful, two-handed blow at the rider. He parried the attack, but the green explosion where the blades met shattered his weapon and sent him tumbling to the sand. A slap on the side of the head, from the flat of Tiffany’s blade, rendered him unconscious.
Ducking underneath a second rider’s sword strike, Tiffany then turned and leapt onto the back of the galloping horse, right behind the Prefect’s man. Shoving him from the saddle, she snagged the reins with one hand, turning to see how Keri was faring.
The younger sorceress, however, was doing just fine. In fact, Keri was simply standing by the water, her earth stone pulsing a gentle green aura out at her three would-be attackers. Caught within her power, all three horses were simply standing in place, immune to the angry commands of their riders.
Laughing, a magical lasso now shot out from the tip of Keri’s sword, encircling one rider and pulling him to the ground. With a mere flick of her wrists, the other two were also unhorsed.
By now, Tiffany’s third potential assailant was hanging back, staring in wonder at his five dismounted brethren. As Keri’s lasso snaked out in his direction, the man suddenly wheeled about and thundered off. Hesitating only a moment, the four men now on the ground ran after him. The last soldier, the one that Tiffany had first battled, still lay unconscious on the sand. In almost surrealistic fashion, the threat was suddenly over.
“Well, that’s that,” Keri announced, discontinuing her green aura. The magic withdrawn, all the horses now looked around in confusion. Effortlessly leaping onto one, Keri rode over to the senior enchantress. “So I take it this new girl can ride pretty well? That will help with her training.”
“Jenla.” Turning her own captured mount up the beach, Tiffany ambled northward. “That’s her name.”
“Excuse me. Jenla, then.” Exasperated, Keri nudged her horse into step beside Tiffany’s. “I guess things didn’t go so smoothly up there?”
“They went.” Tiffany glanced out at the bright, moonlit water. “But there was a lot more security than we expected.”
“Which is why,” the junior operative gently chided, “we both should have gone.”
“Perhaps you’re right.” Tiffany did her best to sound pleasant. “You did a good job, there, by the way.”
“Thanks.”
“How was Caylee?”
“Fine.” Keri paused a moment. “She was a bit nervous, though. It kind of got annoying.”
“Well, it was her first time.”
“It was her first mission,” Keri gently corrected. “But the girl’s eighteen, Tiffany! I’m sure she’s already had a first time!” Laughing, she affectionately slapped her horse’s neck. “And second, and third, for that matter.”
Putting a hand to her forehead, Tiffany sighed. Her bawdy Coven-mates often gave her a headache.
A minute later they saw Caylee and Jenla up ahead. The body language was all wrong, though. The two girls were standing on the sand, the four horses having wandered off a bit in different directions. Caylee was very still, facing inland, a sword in her hand. Jenla hovered hesitantly behind her.
“Come on!” Spurring her mount into a canter, Tiffany raced ahead, Keri following close behind.
Leaping from the saddle as she neared, Tiffany ran up to Caylee, placing a hand on her shoulder. “What is it?” she demanded, glancing around.
But it was Jenla who answered. “That man. She killed him.”
Now looking more closely, Tiffany spied a human shape on the ground, just before a small dune leading back into the grass. Carefully approaching, she saw it was a soldier. Obviously dead, the front of the man’s shirt still glowed a faint green over his blackened, burned chest.
“He must have tracked us up the beach, then came through the dunes,” Caylee mumbled, a tear running down one cheek. “We were on the horses, waiting like you said. But then he came at us. I just…just reacted…”
“What is it?” By now Keri had leapt down and approached on foot, irritably pushing hair from her face. “Caylee! By the stone, girl…oh.” Seeing the dead man, Keri paused. “You got one. Good job.”
“I killed him,” Caylee whispered. “He was rushing us with a knife, and I just pumped a blast of earth fire into him. It was…I mean, it was so quick…”
“Yes, and you did the right thing.” Taking Caylee’s sword from her hand, Tiffany tossed it aside. “I think we’re done here. Let’s mount up and go home.”
“Will I be able to do things like that?” Staring at the dead man, Jenla’s eyes were wide with wonder. “Shoot green magic and kill people?”
“Yes, you will.” Giving Jenla a measured look, Keri leapt up on a horse. “But not tonight.”
First removing the saddle and tack from the spare horses and letting them go free, the four magical young women rode northward in silence. Five miles later the beach curled inland, leading into a stand of woods. Dismounting, they now unburdened their own mounts, urging them back the way they’d come. Surely the horses would make it up to the rich grassland above the beach, where they could live on their own.
A ten-minute walk into the woods brought them to an open glen. Caylee touched her earth stone, the deep, golden mist of the Boundary quickly forming before them.
Tiffany, however, took a step backwards. “You guys go on to Haven. I have to make a detour.”
Jenla, so resolute up until then, suddenly looked frightened. “You’re not going with us?”
“Oh, I’ll be there soon, don’t worry.” Smiling, Tiffany stroked the girl’s hair. “The Boundary is a little scary the first time, but just stay close to Keri and Caylee, and you’ll be all right.”
For her part, the newest Coven sorceress could only stare off into the light woods, biting her lip. Frowning, Keri punched her lightly on the shoulder. “Hey, Caylee. You all right?”
“I’m fine.” Angrily striding into the mist, Caylee disappeared.
“Go on, now,” Tiffany urged, pushing Jenla after her. Soon, the Tethren girl was swallowed up as well.
“Have fun on Earth.” With a small wave, Keri also slipped into the inter-dimensional gateway, leaving Tiffany alone.
Deliberately, the Coven operative let the Boundary portal evaporate and close. It would be best to wait a bit, as the Boundary’s hummingbird guides might become confused if Tiffany immediately requested a different dimensional destination from the rest of the group. Plus, she had a few things to think about. Soft evening breezes soothingly caressing her face, the enchantress sat down on a convenient log, immediately lounging back against a comfortable tree right behind it.
How was it that she had reflexively resorted to brute force on the beach, while Keri had merely immobilized their opponents with expert spell craft? And once her power had been amply demonstrated, the younger witch had m
erely pulled the Prefect’s men to the sand, frightening them into flight. Neat, quick, and simple.
Sure, Tiffany had just engaged in a tough extraction and running battle, so perhaps her violent instincts could be excused. Still, it hadn’t been her best moment.
Which brought on another point. Why hadn’t she objected when the Coven Council had ordered her to kill the Prefect? Tiffany had meekly accepted the directive, even organizing and dividing her force so the hit could be accomplished in secret. What did that say about her, or the Coven in general?
Before Lord Gensrow had so abused her sisters and even killed a sorceress sent to rescue them, such an execution would have been unthinkable. Perhaps the Coven Council, reflecting on that experience, was now implementing an updated ethical paradigm? Actually, this mission almost seemed like a deliberate expression of new operational guidelines. Or worse yet, a trial run of some kind, with Tiffany herself as the test subject.
Which made her what? The Coven Council’s hit woman? That didn’t really make much sense. There were at least two dozen other powerful girls in their 20's, seasoned witches fervently devoted to the promiscuous, hardened Haven lifestyle, who were much better suited for the role.
But maybe that was the idea. Perhaps the Council, irked by her stubborn independence, wanted to somehow force Tiffany into sharing her sisters’ emotional detachment? Well, it wouldn’t work. And for that matter, some other girl could wipe out the Council’s next target. Not that she would mourn the Prefect, even for a second. But still…
The sharp crack of a stick brought Tiffany bolting forward, hand on her earth stone. In response, a large Tethren bear growled in the darkness. Now standing, Tiffany deliberately let the stone glow brightly, casting sharp beams of light into the surrounding darkness. Eyes sparkling in the unwelcome light, the bear roared and loped off.
And that, thought the tall brunette, was her cue to leave. In a moment she’d drawn the mist to her once more, stepping out of Tethra entirely and into the Boundary.
Always a soft twilight, the Boundary was cool and dry, the terrain itself shifting almost continually. Without obvious borders or any constant landmarks, it was impossible to maintain a personal sense of direction. One felt as if the very land itself was alive, twisting and shaping, moving and connecting. Of course, it was this total absence of permanent form that made the Boundary a perfect underground conduit for inter-dimensional travel.
