by Bryant Reil
“Leave me be, Spirit, lest you wish to join the elf in her grave!”
Aura turned more opaque, and the wind circling her whipped into a frenzy as she spoke in an airy yet thunderous tone. “I am Aura, Daughter of the Air, ninth child of Duke Ukko. My family has long borne the duty of carrying the winds and clouds, from the freezing mistrals of the north to the heavy rains of the tropical monsoons. We are wind, we are storm, we are thunder, we are rain. We are the hot winds that dry the desert sands, yet we are also the gentle breeze that soothes the farmer’s brow. We carry both life and death, for without air the living would not bear breath, yet our terrible storms bring death on their wings. Flee, dwarf, or meet my fury.”
Dunkin snorted. “Air can't harm me, spirit. You flee. I am stronger than the wind, the rain, and all your storms.”
Aura remained expressionless. “Prepare to run, Kyla.”
Kyla expected clouds to form and lightning to blast the dwarf, or a great wind to carry him off. She braced herself for Aura's strike. She had seen Aura turn the world on its axis and didn't doubt her strength.
But the winds started to settle, and no thunder came. Aura stared at Dunkin with an eerie calm, and Kyla sensed the dwarf was having second thoughts. He didn't fear strength. Strength, however, was not the weapon of Aura's choosing. The Daughter of the Air dissipated into a breeze, and though Kyla couldn't see it, she could hear the dwarf gasp and choke as he dropped the stone and rolled onto the gravel clutching his chest. Even in the dark Kyla could see it swelling to a painful size. He started pounding his breast.
“Out, Spirit!” he gasped weakly. Aura had gone in through his mouth and was inflating him from the inside.
“Go!” came Aura's airy whisper. “He is too strong for me to stop, but I can slow him down.”
Kyla paused. “What about you?”
“He can't hurt me. Go!”
Kyla ran. She feared for Aura but shamefully feared more for herself. Aura could turn invisible and fly away if she needed. There was nothing Kyla could do to help. She ran, turning every corner to lose Dunkin in case he got away. Her heart pounded. She shouted for help but didn't wait for it. She tried to find Kyle's house but couldn't remember the way back. She headed for one of the lit streets. There was a group of children dressed as monsters, which she avoided because now she wasn't sure if they were children or true monsters. She saw a small grove of trees by a pond. A trail ran through it. It was poorly lit but she felt more comfortable in the dark trees than among the human buildings. She ran into the park and climbed under a bush by the pond, curled into a ball, and cried.
Chapter Seventeen
Lost and Found
Aspen needed a moment to decide if she could stop being frightened. The fire had been terrifying, and then a noisy red vehicle had come and men in funny hats had extinguished the flames. Now these human guards – or 'officers', as they called themselves – had pushed everyone into different vehicles and taken them here. Aspen and Eunoe had nearly been separated, but Aspen had latched onto her so tightly the officers finally shoved them into the same vehicle.
Lili had put up a struggle and was currently wearing a set of manacles. She had been drenched every time she started a flame, and when she got physically violent she had been sprayed in the face with something that made her rage and scream. She was guarded by two men and shouting at Sheriff Withers, who was Kyle's father and the owner of the home Lili had ignited. Lili claimed the fire had been an accident. Aspen wasn't so sure.
“Just give me the device,” Sheriff Withers asked in a commanding tone.
“What device?” Lili shrieked.
“Whatever you're using to start those fires.”
A confused officer was examining Lili's arms. He looked at Sheriff Withers and shrugged. “She must have ditched it.”
“She started a fire in my car,” Sheriff Withers growled. “Send someone to search the route to my house. She might have tossed it out the window.”
As Lili struggled, Saul appeared relaxed and was chatting with a human man with large spiked hair. He had ropes leading from a tiny box to his ears. Aspen couldn't hear the conversation but the human smirked and put one of the ropes into Saul's ear. Saul got a stunned look on his face, which broke into a smile.
“This is the best thing I have ever heard in my life!” he grinned. Aspen was curious, but still a little frightened to move lest she draw attention to herself from one of the officers.
Lili was hauled through a door on the opposite side of the room, though Saul was too preoccupied with the rope in his ear to notice. Aspen sighed. What a horrible relationship those two had.
Eunoe squirmed. “I haven't seen Kyla. Or Aura.”
Aspen hadn't either. “Aura probably left. Maybe Kyla's still in the house?”
“I doubt it. The guys with the helmets searched the place during the fire.”
“I don't think she'd have left without us. We need to look for her.”
“They aren't going to just let us go.”
Sheriff Withers returned from the back room, followed by screams from Lili. He looked in turn at Saul, Eunoe, and Aspen. “Who's next?”
Eunoe stood. “Excuse me, Sir? Sheriff Withers? May I go next?”
He looked annoyed that Saul wasn't paying attention. “Sure!” he finally said. “Why wouldn't you want to go next? Have a seat.”
Eunoe approached his desk and sat down.
“Just her!” Sheriff Withers shouted at Aspen, who apologized and returned to her seat.
“Name?” Sheriff Withers demanded.
“Eunoe.”
“Last name?”
Eunoe paused. Aspen worried. Nymphs didn't have last names, but it seemed expected of humans. “Mnemosyne,” Eunoe finally said.
Sheriff Withers sighed and looked up. “How do you spell that?”
Aspen watched as the Sheriff's expression relaxed. Eunoe had captured his gaze.
“The fire was an accident,” she said. “My friend – er, acquaintance – is rather ill and careless. We will be happy to pay for any damages she has caused.”
“I have insurance,” Sheriff Withers grumbled, though his eyes were still locked and his tone much more amicable. “And the fire didn't do too much damage. Mostly just the carpet and couch. We're more concerned about her violent temper than the fire”
“Of course. What will you do with her?”
“Psychiatric evaluation. Does she have any mental health issues that you're aware of? Is she using any drugs?”
“I think she might be evil.”
“Why were you together tonight? Who did you know at the party?”
“Kyle and I have a mutual friend. I came with her.”
“Right. Kyla, was it? Do you know where she went?”
Eunoe had a hint of worry on her face. “No.”
Another officer walked in the room, dragging a young man covered in blood and dressed as a corpse. Eunoe turned to look but this broke her gaze with the Sheriff, who was now looking back down at his sheet and writing. He looked gruff again.
“Now what was your last name again?” he asked. “Do you have any ID on you?”
“Mnemosyne. And no.”
Aspen didn't know what he meant by ID, and doubted Eunoe knew either. This interrogation was going to be dreadful, but Aspen was sure Eunoe could manage. She always did.
Aspen's attention was drawn away as a female officer walked by. She wore a belt filled with interesting gadgets. Aspen reached out to touch one, but this just earned her a slap on the hand and a reprimand. She clasped her hands in her lap.
One of the desks had a small statue of a person with a very large head. As the desk jostled, the head would bob and shake. This kept Aspen's attention for some time, until she caught a flashing light in the background. There was a small box with a window in the next room. One of the officers put something in the box. There were some beeps, and a short wait, and the officer removed the item and ate it. The food looked the same before and after
it went into the box, so Aspen couldn't guess what the box was doing. Perhaps it was some sort of ritual.
Aspen's attention went back to Eunoe. The interview was taking a long time. Sheriff Withers kept asking personal information and she was struggling to come up with answers. When she did come up with something he couldn't proceed without writing it down, which he couldn't do unless Eunoe broke her gaze, which in turn made her lose control of him. So what should have been a few simple personal questions turned into an hour of Sheriff Withers trying to glean her identity and Eunoe trying to figure out how to give him one without drawing suspicion.
In the end, Eunoe was named Eunoe Mnemosyne, she was forty-five years old (a believable number to humans, it turned out, though this surprised the Sheriff), lived at 36 Forestry Road in Arkwood, and had no other family.
The real hang-up was the phone number. Eunoe told him it was 6. He didn't take well to this. It turned out phone numbers consisted of a set amount of digits, and Eunoe was unable to ascertain how many were required. Sheriff Withers did not suspect her of lying; rather, this information was so common among humans he couldn't believe she wouldn't know anything about phone numbers. Therefore, he started to think she was toying with him, and this unraveled Eunoe's entire story, including her 'ridiculous name'. In the end, to avoid getting manacled and hauled back to wherever they were keeping Lili, Eunoe had to lock his gaze for half an hour, engage in idle chit-chat, and gesture to Aspen for help. All Aspen could think to do was hope for a miracle.
The miracle came in the form of a tall, scaly-skinned and amusingly draconic man in a long coat and hat. It took Aspen a moment to realize it was Denzig in disguise. Eunoe didn't see him until he stepped up beside her.
“Sheriff Withers?” Denzig extended his hand in greeting.
“Oh, Denny!” The Sheriff stood and shook Denzig's hand. Eunoe looked relieved. “I'm sorry, Denny, I've been locked up all evening with these hooligans. How can I help you?”
“My niece – a friend of these hooligans – has gone missing. I thought she might be here, as they were at the party together.”
“Oh, I'm sorry, Denny, I didn't realize these were friends of your niece! There were two girls with them that were never located. We believe they may have stepped out before the fire. Should we send someone to look for them? Which one is your niece, anyway?”
“Fire?” Denzig paused. “Kyla. And no. They may have headed to my place. I'll check there before raising any alarms.”
“I hate to say it but your niece's friends here are giving me an ulcer. The one who started the fire assaulted an officer and gave us no end of trouble. She's in a holding cell now. And this one's been lying to me about her personal information all evening.”
“Ah! The whole lot of them are—what would you say—transient. Oh, I've tried to clean them up and find them some friends, but they've been having trouble integrating. I'm sorry for all the trouble, Sheriff. I shall pay for any damages and take them all off your hands. Trust me, I will see to it they cause no more problems.”
The Sheriff looked uneasy. “I don't think I can just let them go. The one in holding is violent. She needs help.”
Denzig nodded. “Yes. I've booked a room for her at Triple Pines Rehab. This'll be her third stint, I'm afraid. I've also set up a psychiatric evaluation in the morning. I hope that isn't stepping on your toes. You can call them, if you'd like.”
Sheriff Withers looked at Eunoe, Aspen, and Saul in turn and sighed. “That won't be necessary, Denny. Take her. She needs a psychiatrist more than she needs a cell, and maybe a proper bed will do her some good.”
“Quite true. I shall take care of it, Sheriff. I know the best psychiatrist in the country, and you have a lot more important things to worry about than a bunch of reckless teenagers. I apologize for any trouble they've caused. If you need anything from me, just let me know.”
“Thanks, Denny. They're all yours. Robertson, let the wolf out of the cage.”
***
Kyla awoke to a hand on her shoulder. She let out a yelp and sat up to see a middle-aged elf down on one knee and looking at her with a grin. Kyla looked around. She was in a small park, and she could see by the surrounding buildings that she was still in Whitehall. It was early morning and there were very few vehicles patrolling the roads, and the only human in sight was a woman jogging by the park who didn't spare the two elves more than a glance.
“You alright?” the elf said with a soft voice. He peered at Kyla’s neck and caressed it with a finger. She grimaced at the pain and he quickly withdrew his hand. She didn't recognize him but seeing another elf was somehow comforting. He was finely dressed in well-made traveler's ware and made no effort to cover his ears. She looked down. She was still in her costume, though now it was dirty and torn. The events of last night came flooding back and her eyes darted nervously in search of the dwarf.
“It's okay. No one's going to hurt you. Where are you from? I can tell you certainly don't belong here,” the elf soothed her. “Someone's done quite a number on you. It wasn't one of the humans, was it? Perhaps I can take you home.”
Kyla stared at him. She was relieved to be safe but still too afraid to trust someone she didn't know.
“I can see you're frightened. My name's Marik.” He extended his hand, and Kyla clasped his wrist as a greeting but as she grabbed it he pulled her to her feet. The sudden move caused her to jerk back and step away, her rear foot landing in the shallow mud at the edge of a pond. Marik quickly held up his empty hands in a non-threatening pose.
“You can't just sit around here all day. I need to get you to safety. If some human finds you in your condition you're likely to be taken to a hospital and that will cause all sorts of confusion. Damage Control will have to be called in, and it will turn in to a real mess. Where is your home? I can see you safely there.”
She looked the man up and down. He had a thin sword at his side. The hilt was finely carved into the shape of an elf woman. Kyla was no warrior but that didn't look comfortable to hold in a fight. She doubted he could hold off Dunkin regardless. Still, traveling with him would be better than traveling alone.
“I need to get to Denzig's cave.” Her voice was weak and broken, and her throat still swollen and sore.
“Good to hear you can speak! I'm afraid I don't know any Denzig.”
“He's a dragon. He lives in that volcano.” Kyla pointed the way. Marik twitched at the mention of a dragon. “He's a friendly dragon,” she assured him.
Marik looked unconvinced but nodded and forced a smile. “Well, let's get going, shall we? How did you end up in a human town, of all places?”
It took several minutes for Kyla to open up, but after some gentle prodding she told him about her visit to the star station, and Denzig, and the Halloween party, and the dwarf, and how scared she was and how relieved she felt that Marik had found her, and thank you so much for taking her back to Denzig's cave. All this she said between sobs and tears.
It never occurred to her to ask Marik what he was doing here.
***
“This is quite disturbing. Quite.” Denzig peered over the wall in the church yard, thinking maybe she had found her way to the edge of town. “Has she said or done anything that might indicate why this dwarf might be chasing her?”
Aura remained invisible and soared overhead to get a better vantage. “She never mentioned anything to me.”
“There was a dwarf at the dance,” Aspen piped in. “I mean we saw her talk to a dwarf on the way to the dance. I didn't like him.”
Eunoe looked perturbed. “We shouldn't have sent Saul back with Lili.”
After last night's scandal Lili had demanded to go back to Equinox, and Saul had chosen to go with her to calm her down. Denzig vented a small stream of flame out of his mouth. “I'm just happy to be done with the demoness. We need to find Kyla. The dwarf could still be after her. I hate to say it but you should have killed him, Aura.”
Aura floated to the ground and increased
her opacity. “I couldn't. His lungs are weak and vulnerable but his chest and diaphragm are strong. He managed to push me back out. I have never seen that much strength in a meat creature his size. And then a dark power enveloped him and whisked him away.”
“Dark power. Yes. This is important. Terribly important. I'd report it to my boss if he weren't such a dimwitted numbskull. But I'll get the message to someone. I'd like to find Kyla first, however. There are too many smells in town to track her by scent. I could search from the air but I can't turn invisible. In fact, I will draw a lot of attention. I think I can serve better as Denny and ask questions around town. Aura, you stick to the air. Aspen and Eunoe, take the west and the east.
“We can't split up!” Aspen blurted.
“We can't get too far apart,” Eunoe explained, “or she'll die.”
“Fine. Find your way to the Withers. Don't let them see you. Search though the back alleys and look for signs. We need to hurry.”
It was a fruitless and disorganized search. Aspen and Eunoe found some broken fences near the Withers' home, and Aura returned to the spot where she had encountered the Kyla with the dwarf. They were unable to track Kyla's steps any further. Denzig did run into Susan Montgomery at the coffee shop, and she claimed to have seen a girl of Kyla's description in the park that morning with a strange man.
“Let's get back to the cave,” Denzig said as he met back up with Eunoe, Aura, and Aspen. “Susan's description of the man in the park didn't sound like any dwarf, but you never know. She's not the most reliable source. If Kyla's safe, she'll go back to my cave. If not—well, I may need to call in some favors.”
When they arrived Denzig found two people waiting at his dinner table. One was a tall elf male Denzig had never seen, and the other was Kyla, who was shaking. Her neck was badly bruised and her clothing torn. Eunoe and Aspen ran up first, looking her over and soothing her and completely ignoring the man beside her. Denzig, once he was satisfied Kyla was safe, approached the man, who smiled.
“Where did you find her?” Denzig asked. He rarely forgot to open with pleasantries, but seldom had he been this concerned.
