by Jae Vogel
Emily was somewhere else too, but she knew it didn’t make sense. She was home with both her mother and father. They were a family again after all the years her parents were separated. Her father was sitting on the back porch with his arm around her mother and all was good. The barbecue was fired up and the steaks on it were cooked to perfection. Even her grandparents, dead many years, were supposed to come over that evening.
The cheerleader nearest to Sean reached out suddenly and made contact before Dion could reach him. Then two things happened at the same time.
Sean grabbed the map from Dion, moved quickly to Emily and grabbed her, then they disappeared with the cheerleaders, leaving Dion and Lilly alone in the mall.
They stood there for a few minutes as the situation became obvious to them. The air was still but people were in motion. They continued about their way, clueless to what had occurred in front of them. Somehow, the cheerleader elementals had created a scenario where no one outside of their own enchanted bubble could notice what took place. Dion had watched several people who walked in their direction turn and move away as they approached them.
The air around them continued to grow still until the mall began to fade. It became dark and the sounds of the shoppers decreased in volume slowly but with fortitude, as they became echoes and then whispers.
Lilly looked up at Dion in fear.
It was obvious to her he didn’t know what was taking place about them. The atmosphere was dense and the sounds were dampened as if by cotton. Soon, everything about them had gone black.
Dion could feel Lilly by his side, but he had no control over what took place about him. Even with his mastery of the earth element, there was nothing he could do because the transition had taken him away from anything which appeared normal.
The light began to return and they found the atmosphere around them returning to normal. Soon, there were shapes which resembled objects they remembered: chairs, tables and even a floor. Light filled the room and they could see. However, it was most definitely not the mall where they were sent. This was somewhere different and outside the time circles that Dion understood. How had they been sent to this place and for what reason?
They were in a small room with shuttered windows. In front of them was a fireplace where a log crackled away. It was still early spring and Dion understood the reason for the heat, but most places around him didn’t need fireplaces to keep the house warm. Most had central heating which, gas, oil or coal did the job nicely. His aunt and uncle’s house was provided with a forced air oil heater, which was placed in the basement and did its best to warm up the rest of the dwelling.
They were standing on a large rug in the middle of a wooden floor. The chairs in the room were all facing the fireplace, which is why Dion assumed it was to keep the house warm.
Dion looked at the walls and noticed strange paintings of unknown creatures with three eyes and six legs. Over the fireplace was mounted the head of a tiger with its teeth posed to strike.
The walls were lined with bookshelves. Lilly could read the titles from where she stood and saw them to be printed in gold with authors such as “Cornelius Agrippa” and “Simon” displayed all over the shelves. She couldn’t tell the subject matter, but guessed it had to do with their sudden translation to his point in time. She also noted all the books were of the same construction. She could even smell the leather from where she stood.
In between the chairs was a silver tea service. A few scones where on a tray next to it and the steam continued to rise from the teapot. The service was polished to a reflective shine, which showed their images in it. She noticed an owl motif on the tray and the small creamer pitchers next to the empty cups. There was a plate with piles of sugar cubes.
“You have any idea where we are?” Lilly asked Dion.
“Not the slightest. I’m guessing it has to do with those cheerleaders who took Sean and Emily. I hope the person or persons who sent us here are on our side because I don’t think any of my abilities work in this place.”
“Why? Is there some kind of lock on what you can accomplish?”
“No, but I don’t think it works here. We’re not in our world any longer. I don’t know how we got here or who sent us, but I suspect we’ll find out pretty soon.”
Dion went over to the bookshelf and looked at the titles up close. Some of the authors he recognized. There were ones by Kenneth Grant and C. S. Lewis. As Lilly had noted, the binding was the same on each of them: fine vellum with the author’s name stamped in gold letters. The titles seemed to be of less importance than the author. Most were of the same thickness, although it appeared they were all special editions. The name of the publishing house was not listed anywhere.
Lilly focused on the wall paintings. She couldn’t recognize the artist, but was sure it was someone whose work she’d seen in the past. The colors used on each oil painting were brilliant and bright. The scenarios varied, but the colors used made them appear to be jungle landscapes. Whoever did these paintings had some real talent, but she didn’t recognize the initials at the bottom of each one. All were framed and illuminated by a candle beneath them. Someone had wanted to give each one respect and dignity. She was reminded of the paintings in a Russian Orthodox Church she’d seen a long time ago and the way they were mounted with care and decorated with silver. However, these paintings didn’t appear to be devotional, but the result of a trip to another planet.
The voice cried out to Dion as he reached out to pick a book off the shelf.
“I wouldn’t do that,” a familiar voice said behind them. “Most of those books have leather which was post cured by smearing dog feces on them. I don’t touch any of those books unless I’m wearing gloves.”
They turned around to face Edward again. This time he was wearing a smoking jacket with a fez on top of his baldhead. He wore a pair of pajama bottoms and his feet were encased in Turkish style slippers with the toes curled up. He held no cigar, but did have a glass of something in one hand. As he sipped the glass, Edward closed the door behind him and entered the room.
“It’s true, you know,” he told them as he tossed the glass back and sat it near a clock on a table. “Most of the time the books were done that way to counter the action of the tannic acid use to treat the leather in the covers. There used to be a profession called ‘Pure Finder’ where people went out and looked for the best doggie doo to use and sold it to the tanneries. Imagine that, having to earn your living chasing after pooches all day long. I suppose we all have to make money, but I’ve never been able to figure out a way to do it. Not much call for a mystic, I’m afraid.”
He walked over to the teapot and poured two cups out. When finished, he placed each in a dish and looked up at Dion and Lilly. “Do either of you take sugar in your tea?”
They shook their heads.
“Good. I could never understand why someone would flavor their sugar with tea; it seemed to defeat the purpose to me. However, I have never been able to understand why you Americans like your tea served cold. Seems beside the point as well. Scones?”
Again, their heads shook.
“Also good, I’ll eat them myself. These days I don’t have to worry about my weight. Unbelievably I used to be the epitome of good health. I even went mountain climbing in the Himalayas. Had to give it up when my money ran out.”
He stood up, took the teacups in the saucers to them, and handed each one a cup. This he followed with a towel.
“Sorry, I don’t waste good money on paper. I feel you should clean up the mess with a towel. Saves money and is less wasteful. But what do I understand about things? I spent my youth waited on by servants. I’ve had to learn to do many things on my own.”
Lilly and Dion took their cups and starred at him. Both had expected the transformation might have something to do with Edward; he tended to pop up at moments where he was needed, so it only made sense.
“Please, sit down,” he said motioning to the chairs on the right. There were three of
them and they faced the fireplace. “We need to talk and figure out what to do next.”
Chapter 9
Lilly sat down between Dion and Edward. The chair was leather and upholstered with a fine layer of fabric. She felt the stuffing in it, but the chair wasn’t hard. She could feel the springs in the bottom as she sat down in it.
“In case you wanted to know,” Edward told them, “I had you brought here instead of going to see you. I managed to put in a request for your transportation when I saw those air elementals were about to do you some harm. I didn’t have enough time to make the trip to where you were and I’m running low on my time allotment. So I sent word to the right people of quality and you were pulled out of that nasty situation and sent to me. Sorry, I didn’t have time to explain it, but my time was short and I needed to get the both of you out of there.”
“Why didn’t you pull Emily and Sean out of there too?” Lilly asked him. How could Edward have saved them and left their friends to the elementals?
“I could only save two of you and they were lost already.” His glass was refilled and appeared on the table between him and Dion. Edward picked it up and took a big sip before placing it back on the table. “They had built a trap in their minds and took them away before I could do anything. It’s how you lost your map again, dear boy. They knew which one was the weakest link in the chain and they fixated on him. Emily was only a bit less weak, so they concentrated their power on her next. They would have had you, my dear girl, if your friend hadn’t pulled your eyes away from them. They knew, so long as Dion was focused on saving his friends, he would be vulnerable. All they had to do was show your friend Sean a mirror of his innermost desires and they had him. They did the same to Emily, but on a smaller scale. Had you looked in their eyes too, Lilly, they would have trapped your soul as well. But Dion held you away from them which allowed you to escape.”
“So how are we supposed to get them back?” Dion asked. “I have lost the map again and I can’t use it to find wherever they took them to. I suspect they’re inside the tower, but I have no way to find the entrance to it without the map.”
“They won’t be in the tower. That would be too obvious. I’m sure, given time, you could find a way into the tower on your own. They will take them somewhere else where you can’t reach. They know you need to get to them or you’ll never be able to achieve your abilities.”
“Can you send us to where they are now?” Lilly asked.
“I can have it done, yes. But you need to listen to me. The elementals who took your friends have trapped their minds in a cage of their own construction. It won’t do me much good to send you there to rescue them unless you have the key. Sean’s ego has been battered down since the day he was born. His mother had constantly told him he was worthless every time he did something that displeased her. The combined effects are not physical, but mental. A person can only take so much abuse and then they start to shatter every time a rock is thrown at their fragile shell. I don’t see a good future for him unless he gets away from the dominance of his mother. In some cases, the boy’s father could have stood up to her, but he’s become weakened too. I say this not as something you need to know, but as something, you have to do if you are truly going to help him.
And what happened to Emily is what happens when the child feels she is the cause of her parent’s breakup. She has built a cage of her own inner torment and she must be freed from it. It is again a cage of her own construction, but it’s as real as any made from steel. The elementals figured it out early on and realized there was a way to use them against you. They would have found some way to get at Lilly too, but she latched onto you. You were able to keep her from looking into their eyes and she was able to resist their power. I can’t say what might’ve happened had I not been able to pull you out in time. I fear they might’ve returned and taken her as well. They can’t touch you, but they don’t have to so long as they can strike at those around you.
I have a way to distract them, but if I give it to you, you must be ready to use it. And you must get your friends away as fast as you can. These elementals are dangerous and they will use all their power to trap them and you. They realize grabbing your parents was only a distraction.”
Lilly stood up and walked around the room while holding her cup. The tea was very good. She’d remembered to add a little milk to it to kill the effect of the leaves, but it was worth the effort. Lilly walked around and looked again at the paintings. Once more she thought the style seemed familiar and she seemed to recognize the artist. The colors on the painting seemed to leap out and trapped her eyes in a swirl of emotions. They seemed surrealist, but those were much older than anything she’d ever seen before.
“Do you like them?” Edward asked her.
“Very much. I don’t recognize the artist. They all seemed to be painted by the same person.”
“Yes, they were, and I know the artist very well. You might say he was a close personal friend.”
“What’s his name?”
“Edward. I’m the artist.”
“Really? You did all these? I’m impressed.”
“Unfortunately the critics were not,” Edward sighed. “I spent a year in Austria trying to be successful as a landscape painter, but no one took me seriously. Then I came back to England and tried to apply myself to literary ambitions. The literary critics were impressed even less. I was only able to do this because I inherited a large fortune from my family and I could afford to travel around the world. But I did learn one thing.” He paused.
“So what did you learn?” Lilly asked.
“I learned there was a reason in this world why we have rich people. Because without the great wealth I inherited to spend on trivial pursuits, none of this would have been possible.”
“You seemed to have a charmed life,” Dion said. “Did the silver spoon taste bad in your mouth?”
“My family was very religious,” Edward continued, “so I have some empathy for your friend Sean. I understand the horror of having your mother use higher forces as punishment. My mother passed on while I was still young and only in my later years was I able to get away from her dominion. I lived a life of debauchery and paid for it later on. When my literary and artistic pursuits failed to bring me solace, I went after baser desires. And now I am here to help you because of the mess I caused.”
Lilly looked around the dark room, the candles and the portraits on the walls. “Are we dead?” she asked. It was the only thing that made sense.
“No, I am afraid you are very much alive. You are in between worlds, which is why this place seems so familiar. I can’t keep you here much longer; there are always rules to be followed. And please don’t ask me about the meaning of existence or the purpose of life. I’m not allowed to answer those kinds of questions even if I did know the answers. Just bear with me long enough and I’ll take you to where the elementals have trapped your friends. Just remember, they have them in a mental cage. You will have to get them out, but they can only come out by their own free will.”
“And how will we free their bodies?” Dion asked him.
“With this one little object which will mesmerize the elementals to the point of stupidity,” Edward told him as he held up a ring. Attached to the ring was a series of keys, and an emblem dangled from it.
“Car keys?” Dion asked. “I can lure them away with car keys?”
“Note the logo on the car keys,” Edward said.
Dion took them from Edward and held the keys up to the light. The emblem attached to the keys was that of a 1953 Eldorado Cadillac Seville. It had a special emblem he’d never seen before on any car keys set.
“The 1953 Eldorado Cadillac,” Edward told him. “Considered to be the best model they ever created. The only people who would possess that key set are those who can drive one. The manufacturer was quite specific about which ones were allowed on the market. Show them the keys and all their power will evaporate. Just don’t let them make physical contact wit
h the keys, and they will try to touch them, of that I can guarantee you. Once they see these keys, you must not let them out of their sight or it will ruin the effect. You must also take your friends away from the mall and let them rest until they have recovered from the mental trap where they have been imprisoned. Since you cannot leave the mall, I suggest finding a particular furniture store and letting them sleep off the effects of the mesmerization in the back room on a waterbed they keep there. You will find a place called Watermatts that sells those waterbed atrocities and I think they have one or two in the back for special customers. Tell them I sent you and they can sleep off the effects of the elementals. Then you can return to your quest.”
Edward gave them the name of the store manager and told them to memorize it.
“I’d like to spend some more time in this place,” Lilly said. She never knew Edward was so talented. “Perhaps when Dion has finished his quest, we can return?”
“When he finishes, I will be able to visit one more time. Perhaps longer, but the important thing is for him to rescue your friends. I don’t think it wise to send you to the same location he will be sent, but there is no arguing in this case. Both of you were taken from the last world, both of you must be returned to it as well and in the same general location. No, you will not be sent back to the mall, but very close to it. Dion, you know what you have to do. Lilly, you are not an elemental worker, I recommend staying close to Dion and learning from him, it might come in handy later. Also, do not look any of those women in the eyes or they will have control over you.”
“Alright,” Edward concluded. “Time for all of us to go. Dion, go join Lilly.”
Dion stood up and walked over to her, clasping Lilly by the hand. She looked up at him with her brown eyes and focused on his strong face. She was grateful to be sent back with him, but a little bit scared at the same time.
