by Oxford, Rain
If the gods tried to take Divina from me, I will use my magic like I never have before and put up one Hell of a fight.
* * *
This time I woke up to Mordon throwing my clothes at me. I rolled over and grumbled as he nagged about me sleeping in. “Breakfast in bed works, too,” I complained, sitting up.
“I’m not your girlfriend. Tell Divina to wake you with up like that.”
“Actually, when Divina wakes me up, it’s usually an hour before I get breakfast,” I bragged. He threw one of Sammy’s shoes at my face, but I caught it in time.
“Shut up. I don’t have a girlfriend to wake me up so just shut up.”
“If you did have one, you wouldn’t be so crabby in the morning,” I suggested.
Mordon stomped out of the room and I was a little worried I had actually upset him. Soon he returned, though, carrying two bowls of noodles. He set them on the breakfast bar as I pulled on my regular clothes, since he was wearing his. We let Sammy feed himself noodles while we ate ours, then I cleaned up his mess.
As Mordon washed the dishes, he stared off into empty space. Normally, I would respect his right to be lost in his own head, but I was worried about him beating himself up over leaving his father. I knew my friend was driven by honor, and his loyalties were now split between protecting his abusive father and helping me.
“What are you thinking about?” I asked. His blush surprised me.
“Nothing.”
“Are you worried about your father?”
“What? No.”
“Then what are you thinking so hard about?”
“Nothing important… You know Divina is more powerful than you, right? I know you keep her secrets, but she doesn’t tell you everything. Do you really trust her?”
“Absolutely. You can smell that she has secrets and even I know she lies to me, but have you ever scented a bad intention from her?”
He thought about it before shaking her head. “No. I think she loves you and would never hurt you. Not of purpose, anyway.” He thought for a moment, then turned back to me. “How do you two even… do that?”
“How do we do… Oh, god.” I sighed. “I’m… I’ve never had to explain it… Just hold your questions until the end. When a man and woman are very drunk, or in love, they meet each other in a bar. See, a woman has a hole that men don’t. It’s located in the same place that---”
“God, Dylan, no! I understand how sex works! I mean that Divina is so dominating and you’re not. I’m asking how your relationship works.”
“Oh. That is easier to explain. Divina is all about power and control, and I’m usually happy to go with whatever she wants, because I know she wouldn’t hurt me or my friends. But in the bedroom, I take control. She enjoys that time when she doesn’t have to make decisions or fight for her control. We don’t really have defined boundaries or expectations for each other. It sucks when one of use feels like we can’t talk to the other about something, but eventually we argue about it, and everything gets worked out.”
“I used to argue with Jedes.”
“Do you miss her?”
He shrugged. “She was my childhood friend. I never wanted a deeper, or different relationship with her. Maybe she was too young.”
“And that woman yesterday?” I prompted.
He sighed. “I think she was using magic.” I didn’t say anything for a minute, so he went on. “She had a really strong herbal scent that I really didn’t like, but that I wanted to keep smelling. I didn’t find her attractive, but my body did. In fact, I could smell that she was a manipulative witch, but I kept talking to her. The more she talked, the more I wanted to go back to her room, but I don’t remember what she said.”
“Sounds like magic to me. I would stay away from her if I were you.”
“Yeah, that might be difficult,” he said, looking worried. “When I was coming back from getting breakfast, I felt someone staring at me. I turned to see her just a few doors down, grinning at me in a real creepy way.”
We talked about going to the playground again, but we didn’t want to risk running into the woman. Instead, we decided to go to the shopping district and see if we could find Sammy a toy octopus-like creature. As we gathered our stuff, we were discussing ways to contact Shiloh when there was an urgent tugging on my left leg. We looked down at Sammy, who was clearly panicking.
“What’s wrong, honey?” I asked.
He stuttered out some letters and then paused for a second. “Hide,” he said.
I looked up at Mordon and we both understood what he was saying, so we put on a burst of speed. If the demon was attacking us again, we couldn’t be in this underwater city. If the demon attacked here, everyone could drown.
We were out in the hall, heading for the entrance as fast as we could move. “What if it attacks here after we get up there?” I panted.
“It’s after Sammy! We have to risk it.” When we got to the elevator, it was sealed. Mordon pounded on the door. “I can’t fight down here. I need my fire,” he said.
As soon as he said it, there was a creaking in the structure around us. Sammy hid his head in my neck. “It’s psychic. Think at it,” I said.
“Open!” Mordon shouted at the door. I knew his fear of freezing water had to do with his unnatural power over fire.
The clear dome around us started to cover with ice and the sudden gust of air was the only warning before water began to pour out of thin air like rain. With magic, I pulled that water into the tunnel and froze it solid. Nothing was getting through that five-foot thick wall of ice without melting it. Hopefully, it would prevent any damage to the structure beyond that point. The water finally settled, but the energy in the room began to crackle. Out of the corner of my eyes, I saw Mordon’s claws shift and eyes turn black.
“It’s trying to take Sammy!” Mordon warned.
While my senses were overwhelmed by the energy, I trusted Mordon’s. I felt inside for the same energy I use to heal. This time I needed it to protect. I imagined the energy flowing into Sammy, filling him, and then pulsing out until it formed a barrier. No other energy or entity could pass through this barrier and I knew that because this newfound magic in me was far stronger than any demon.
As this energy, so similar and different than nominal energy swirled inside me, I felt the confidence that I could defeat any enemy. This was like concentrated nominal and physical exploding together inside me. Pure, unparalleled power poured through me until my body burned and my thoughts clouded. This power would obey my emotions and instincts when I could not think.
About the time the crack of light appeared, I realized that I really was filled with clashing nominal and physical energy. As my body started to burn, I knew what was happening; when nominal and physical energy conflicted, it created lightning.
I tried aiming my energy towards the expanding crack, but my nominal and physical energy were unstable. My body burned, my head pounded, and my new energy wanted to kill something to stop the pain. A small object shot out of the light like a spark, but fell short of reaching either of us.
I saw the face in the bright white light at the same time I felt Mordon push me from behind. It was like an epiphany when his fire burst through me. My swirling, unstable, and dangerous magic took the lead it was given; without my conscious thought, lightning burst from me. It was a blinding mix of eerie green, cold blue, and fiery yellow. The power attacked the crack and the creature inside and closed the threat with a snap. The leftover energy flashed through the room and out the clear walls, which then started to crack.
I knew if I didn’t stop the energy, it would cause the room to collapse, so I pulled the energy into myself, careful not to hurt Sammy. It still burned. It burned so badly, but as I forced myself to think of calming thoughts and slow my breathing, the energy slowly settled down. I looked up to see Mordon holding Sammy, both watching me worriedly. I couldn’t gather enough strength to speak.
Chapter 9
Edward
&
nbsp; I started towards the door, but the little girl still held my hand. The crack grew until the light was nearly blinding. This time, the child advanced with me and the light reached out wrapped around us.
“Janus.” The little girl’s voice was laced with power. What started as a wisp of smoke slowly grew thicker and darker until it formed a blinding fog around us. The girl let go of my hand and the darkness became black.
I stood in the dark, but not alone. I could feel the demon, like a thick, cold, wet pressure. Gently it wrapped around me, threatening, but more curious than anything else. The demon tried to press in on my mind. As weakened as I had become in days without magic, I could still prevent the creature from getting inside me. I knew what I would see if he did get inside my mind.
“Janus,” I whispered. There was something dangerous about shouting in the dark.
The presence ceased his intended possession. The area around me grew lighter until I found myself in a forest. It was not a cheery forest, of course; with snow on the ground and a cold bite in the air, the bareness of the trees was to be expected, but not the twisted mangled limbs. The trees looked dead and mutated.
“I could say it is nice to see you again, Kiro, but I would be lying.” As he spoke in a scratchy, whispery voice, the smoke formed a man. Portrayed in human mythology to be a wise and kindly god, the demon Janus was hardly someone I enjoyed meeting. All demons used scare tactics, as they fed on fear. Janus was in fact, not a full-blooded demon, but something of a mystery. He was plenty powerful for what I needed of him, though.
Janus appeared as he did the last time I met him. He was no taller than me with dark brown hair and matching eyes. Despite being known as the god of time and transition, he chose to appear rough and dark instead of old and wise. While he was no god, he was the demon who controlled the passing though the Land of the Dead and the void. People, demons, and the dead all had to be protected from the void. While some people were born on every world with the power to guard any passage to the void, Janus guarded from this side.
“I am glad you would never lie to me.”
“For no other reason than that your brother would complain. He does like to talk too much.”
“He likes the sound of his own voice. He did make it to the spirit world, I take it?” I had to ask. Even though Divina said she would not try to bring him back again, I worried he would never rest in peace.
“He has found a pleasant, if unorthodox resting place.” The demon rolled his eyes and examined one of the most gnarled trees. “His hobbies include bothering my demons and influencing the living. If I cannot get him under control, we will soon have Noquodi-demon hybrid babies running around the void.”
He turned to me as if I would help him control my dead brother. I couldn’t stop the man from trying to overpopulate Earth, how would I stop him from doing so to the Land of the Dead? Then it occurred to me.
“He is trying to take over the realm.”
The demon sighed. “I know. He ranted something about ruling Hell or Heaven when I told him he could not lay with my daughter.” He rubbed his thin hand upwards on the charred bark of the tree. The bark gained some healthy brown color and the branches slowly untwisted to look less menacing. “I hate this forest. I am tired of this realm. I want to be involved with the living again.”
“You want the gates reopened,” I surmised.
There was hope in his eyes, but I knew Janus was a tricky one. “I would control the demons this time, lay down rules and consequences. My demons would be more vulnerable to the gods and Noquodi.”
“But they would also kill the living.”
“Rules,” he said simply. “I suppose you are here for information again. The realm of the abyss gets stronger as the membranes on the other side of the void whither.”
“A beautiful image, thank you. Actually, I want something from you,” I said. There was a greedy glint in his eyes, for I paid well. “I want help from you to protect my nephew. He will give you the demon that escaped to the other side.”
The demon snarled. “He is a wild beast, far more rabid than me. All of the Ancients are.”
“I know. And you cannot get him back here yourself because you aren’t allowed through the void. But your demons are.”
“You want me to send a demon to protect your nephew, and in exchange he will send the Ancient back here.”
“Something like that.”
“There was something else, yes? Something you need to know?” he asked. I reached into my bag and pulled the card out that I had set aside from the others.
“I need to know what this means.”
He took the card and studied it, then leaned forward to smell it. “Not yours. Who is this card for? Whose scent is this?”
“Dylan’s. That’s my nephew’s card. What does it mean?”
He looked at me with pity. A demon’s pity. “It means that I need to prepare for one more Guardian in the Land of the Dead.”
I took the card back and put it in my bag without looking at it. “Just follow my plan and Dylan will be fine.”
He stared at me suspiciously. “And my insurance plan?”
“The same as last time; myself.” With that deal in place, we discussed the details.
* * *
The void closed behind me, returning me to the troll king’s castle.
“Are the demons coming?” Cylo asked me.
I shook my head. “Magic is slowly flooding the land; you have enough to deal with without demons invading.” While I said this, I soaked up the energy around me like air. It was like having a limb back after having to live life without it. Maybe I was too dependent on it, but it was all I had other than Dylan. And it wasn’t like Dylan needed me anymore anyway.
“You have forced us to break a ban on magic that had been in place for years,” the queen said, holding her daughter tightly in her arms. “I hope your nephew is worthy of your faith.”
“My nephew has more potential than any Guardian ever born. If you cannot believe that, you should meet his mate.”
“His mate?” she asked.
Instead of answering, I gave a small bow. “I have done what I can to help him. Thank you for your assistance, but I must leave now.”
“What about what was taken from me?” Cylo asked. “I have not found what was taken from me.” He looked from me to the royal family in despair.
“What was taken from you?” the queen asked.
“I cannot remember, but it is so important.” He looked like he was going to cry. “It is the most important thing in the whole world and it was taken and I need it back.”
I reached out with my energy to see what I could about him, but my magic recoiled. It was normal for me to scan someone before trusting them, but I couldn’t when I first met Cylo, and I wouldn’t be able to when he was having a mental breakdown. Every person in the entire universe was capable of breakdowns, but I always felt awkward around them.
Normally when someone was about to breakdown, I reacted in the best way I could think of to stop it; I pushed my energy inside him. Adapting the magic I used to read someone’s mind, I started searching through his memories. I dug in about the time he was a young adult and started flipping through nearly every day of his life from that point on. I was able to pull myself mostly out of his mind. While he was remembering every day of his adult life, it would drive me insane to see that much of someone. Still, I knew he would see a few of my memories because it was my magic. I hated to do this, but he needed his memories back.
The man dropped to his knees in a daze. He made a few unintelligible noises, but most were happy sounds. The royal family watched in apparent fascination until I felt the man’s mind return to the present. I became worried as I pulled away my magic and he continued to stare into space.
“Cylo.” He looked up at me. “Are you okay?” I asked.
“They took my---” The rest of his sentence was drowned out by a horrible screech.
I was becoming too familiar wit
h screeches lately. The solid wooden doors burst open and two huge griffins surged in. I had never been attacked by an extinct beast before, but it was a day for firsts. In fact, getting attacked by a water monster that did not exist yet had also been a new experience.
The queen snatched her daughter up and ran from the room while the king shielded them. One griffin tried to distract him while the other went after the fleeing mother and child. Griffins were created to be the powerful companions and guardians of wizards. They were nearly impervious to all magic, as strong as an elephant, as smart as a dolphin, and as temperamental as a bull shark. Their wings, though covered in feathers, could not be pierced by any metal.
Trying to head off the one going after the queen and child, I passed a metal pole holding a decorative vase. I doubled back to grab it, not even considering my luck that it was not attached to the floor. There was a small crash as the vase hit the floor. I did manage to get in front of the beasts, but only because the troll king was large enough to occupy them both. He was wielding a sword like a warrior, which every king should be able to do, but still, the weapon did no more than irritate the creatures.
I smashed the metal pole into the face of my shrieking opponent, aiming for the eyes. In an instant, it had the pole firmly in its beak. Besides in magic, Guardians were also physically stronger than regular people; I broke the pole in half. Now I had to get closer to the beast, but I had two weapons and better control over them. When I stabbed it in the left eye with the free pole, it let go of the other one. The pole was bent from the strength in the griffin’s beak.
Hobble, missing so far, came barreling clumsily into the room, straight for the griffin attacking me.
Meanwhile, Cylo had found a decorative sword and went after the other griffin. I yelled for him to get back, but he didn’t listen. He ran to stab the griffin in the back of the neck, but the creature swatted at Cylo with his massive paw. The instant the beast’s talons touched Cylo, both the griffin and Cylo disappeared.
