by Tenaya Jayne
Since she would be leaving Earth for a while, she decided to put the car in her storage unit and walk the rest of the way to the club. She would miss the Demon while she was gone.
The metal of her gun against her back was irritating as she walked down the sidewalk, especially once she started sweating. It would be nice to ditch firearms for a while. They made combat so impersonal, and they were strictly banned in Regia. Forest broke Regia’s laws from time to time in regard to human paraphernalia, but she never desired to try smuggling in guns. Regia had enough trouble.
It struck her that if she got a big promotion with this new mission she might have to give up smuggling all together. That sucked.
The club was in sight; the businesses along the street were either closing down or opening up. Among the people on the sidewalk, one figure moving away from her caught her utmost attention. Anger didn’t begin to cover it. Obscenities, both Regian and human thumped in her skull. Her fists balled, and she picked up her pace. “Lorcan! Stop!”
The vampire halted and turned to face her. His nostrils flared, and a hiss escaped his lips. Most could hardly tell the difference between Lorcan and his brother Leith, but Forest always knew. Lorcan didn’t budge as she strode up to him.
Forest showed no trace of fear as she bellied up to the vampire, who towered at least a foot over her. He looked at her confusedly, but his expression cleared once he looked in her eyes. Recognition dawned on his face.
“Forest.” He turned her name into a curse, rolling it in his throat like something he wanted to hock up and spit out.
“You are breaking the law. Please return to Regia immediately, or you will be subject to arrest. If you resist or flee, your life is forfeit and it is my duty to take you out.” She stated the script through her clenched teeth.
He laughed at her.
“Rather stupid of you to loiter so close to the portal, Lorcan.”
“Get bent, Forest,” he spat. “If it weren’t out of respect for my brother, I’d kill you right here.”
Her thin veneer of control peeled away, and Forest’s temper snapped like a twig as she seized one of Lorcan’s forearms in both of her hands. His face blanched, and she could see he was fighting the urge to scream like a little girl. The silver rings she wore burned his bare skin, and the pain almost crumpled him to his knees.
“Don’t you ever mention Leith to me again, Lorcan!” Forest snarled. “Now let’s take this inside.”
She towed him by his arm, and he followed like a reluctant dog on a leash, swearing continually. Forest kicked the swinging door to the club open and pulled Lorcan through it. In the dark and loud atmosphere, Lorcan pulled his arm free of her grasp and cradled it against his chest. The burning smell of his flesh reeked. She could tell he was fighting a whimper.
“Why don’t you just arrest me and get it over with?” he growled.
“I’m not on duty. So I guess this is your lucky night. You get to go back without even an official warning. But I’ll give you one off the record. I see you this side of the portal again, and I won’t even bother with the arrest crap, I’ll just shoot you.”
“I’ll not forget the disrespect you’ve showed me.” He sneered at her and whispered, “Halfling.”
Forest smiled nastily. “I’d watch my language, if I were you.” Her hand reared back, and she punched him right in the mouth, the silver rings on her fingers burning his lips. Lorcan hollered in pain as Forest grabbed him by the arm again and pulled him to the back of the club. Luckily, there was next to no one there this early in the night.
The lone woman in the ladies' room screamed as Forest pushed Lorcan through the bathroom door. She quickly grabbed her handbag off the counter and ran out.
“How dare you!” Lorcan snarled.
Forest just pointed at the last stall. It had an “out of order” sign taped to the door. “Get your ass back where it belongs.”
Lorcan stalked to the stall and punched the door open. He turned to face her. “One day, Forest. I swear I’ll kill you. ”
“Yeah, yeah. I’m sure.”
“I’m gonna talk to him,” he threatened. “The next time you see Leith, he’ll make you pay for what you’ve done to me.”
She didn’t care that he was standing on the threshold of the portal. She didn’t care who would hear. She was going to kill him right now. Lorcan’s eyes widened. He could move fast when he needed to.
The bullet blew a hole through the stall door as Lorcan closed it. One millisecond faster, and she’d have hit her mark, but he was gone.
Forest looked around the bathroom. Gun smoke hung heavy in the air and mingled with the commercial air freshener. Good thing this hadn’t happened during peak business hours. She didn’t really care about being inconspicuous to humans, however, her present antics would have landed her a bit more than a slap on the wrist if Kindel ever found out. Maybe she needed a break. Maybe this new mission would be just the thing.
She waited a minute before going through the stall door, not wanting to bump into Lorcan on the other side.
Going through the portal was like floating in a river with a strong current. Once you stepped in, you were powerless against the pull. Humans couldn't use it. The new regulation stipulated that portals didn't recognize humans as a race and were closed to them. It was just as well. More than a few vampires had tried to bring humans across. Every human died within minutes. Regia couldn't support human life. Yet that didn't stop human blood from being smuggled in.
As soon as Forest’s feet landed in Regia, she felt healthier. Living on Earth full time had a physical price. Everything inside her buzzed, and she felt stronger as she breathed the fragrant air of home. The Portal had dumped her in the gardens next to the Fortress castle.
Time kept a different pace in Regia. It was still midday, Forest judged, looking at Regia’s sun. Her eyes stung as they readjusted to the change. Regia’s sun was larger than Earth’s, but it gave less warmth, and a different kind of light, paler and iridescent.
Regardless of how far you traveled and what wonderful sights you encountered, home was home.
She looked up at the castle. It was much the same as castles on Earth. To a human, Regia would have seemed positively medieval, Arthurian, or the landscape of a fairy tale. Most of Earth’s fairy tales were a product of Regians passing through the portals.
Forest’s eyes swept over the sprawling capital city of Paradigm that fanned out around Fortress Castle. It was exactly the same as the last time she’d seen it. Regians of every race buzzed around in the late afternoon light, preparing for the coming evening. An involuntary sneer curled Forest’s lips as she watched. Paradigm, what a joke. It was the only place in Regia where your race or status didn’t shut you out. All were welcome and equal, supposedly. A place for everyone, and everyone in their place. Excepting her and any other Halflings. Experience taught Forest that a place with vast cultural diversity had more racial trouble than anywhere else. She never voiced such politically incorrect opinions aloud, but she gave herself an unchecked license to be jaded. Being a Halfling made her a minority’s minority.
She walked toward the castle at a brisk pace. She was supposed to meet Kindel in the courtyard, and she was overdue. He would be annoyed.
A tall rock wall surrounded the courtyard, and the whole place was protected by enchantment. She wouldn’t have been able to enter if she wasn’t recognized by the magic. It was a necessary protection in a world full of shape shifters and elves that could become invisible at will.
As soon as she crossed through the stone archway, she spotted Kindel at the far end, pacing back and forth. She could tell he was tired, and agitation pulsed in the air around him. Once he spotted her, he quit pacing and crossed his arms over his chest. “You’re late,” he scolded. “I told you to hurry.”
“Sorry, Kindel, I ran into Lorcan on the other side of the portal. I had to deal with it. And you really need to get the construction crew to move that portal.”
“
Why? It’s in a women’s restroom, is it not?” Kindel raised one thin eyebrow. “Are not all the women in there asleep?”
Forest laughed. “No! In the human world a restroom is where they relieve themselves.”
“Oh? Relieve. . . oh.” Kindel’s high cheekbones turned slightly pink. “I’ll get the ogres to fix that.”
“Thanks. Now tell me what is going on.”
“Hand it over first.”
Forest placed her pistol in Kindel’s outstretched hand. It hovered an inch over his skin before disappearing. He would keep it safe, and she was happy to be rid of it for a while.
"Check your phone," he ordered.
Forest pulled her cell phone out of her pocket. "It's working fine."
"Good. Switch to channel three and punch in your security code."
"Why am I doing this?" she asked as she tapped in the numbers.
"Devonte created a new secure line for Fortress. I swear, enchanting the phones is the only useful work that wizard does."
Kindel took her smart phone and scrolled through the menu. "Yours is nicer than mine." He complained.
"Latest model. Came out last week."
Kindel smirked and handed her phone back. "It was originally your idea for Fortress to embrace the technology Earth provided, wasn't it?"
"Yeah, like five years ago. Not that I got any credit for it."
"I'm not sure you'd want credit now. Cell phones have flooded our black market ever since."
"So? They don't work. The unfortunate buyer gets to play Angry Birds until the battery runs out. Now tell me what's going on."
“What the devil are you wearing?” he asked, surveying her multicolored tie-dyed shirt.
She smiled. “I don’t keep proper Regian attire in my Austin closet, Kindel. I didn’t wear this to piss you off, at least not specifically. I just didn’t have what I needed.”
He waved her excuse away, haughtily, with his long spindly hand. “It doesn’t really matter at the moment. You won’t be going before the council anyway.”
Her heart sank. Did that mean that she didn’t have the job after all?
“They agreed that time is too short and have placed enough trust in me to do the briefing, seeing as my ass is on the line here as well. Let’s sit down.”
They sat on a stone bench, and for a moment, all Kindel did was look at her. Forest forced herself to hold his gaze and not show the awkwardness she felt. For all intents and purposes, he was her boss, and it was unfortunate that Regia had no sexual harassment laws. He had no idea that she knew how he felt, but it was obvious when he looked in her eyes. He was not the first, nor would he be the last, to be beguiled by her eyes.
Kindel sighed and turned his gaze to the ground in front of him. “Civil war will commence within days.”
“Not again,” Forest whined.
“The Ogres have sided with the Vampires, naturally. Likewise, the Shape-Shifters will join the Werewolves.”
“And the Elves?” Forest asked.
“Neutral…for now.”
Forest snorted. The Elves were on no side but their own, and they never made alliances unless they were the ones who benefitted.
“What about the Wizards? Where do they stand?”
“Officially, they don’t stand anywhere on the matter. Devonte supports the vampires, but he has about as much care for this war as he does for the lint in his navel. The council has yet to hear an official response from them. I don’t know if they will respond at all. As their numbers continue to diminish, so does their taste for involvement in anything outside of their own survival.”
“I suppose it’s better that way,” she said. “Evens the playing field. Just one wizard taking a side can change the outcome of war. How many do you think are left?”
“Maybe nine or ten.”
“So, what does the council want with a lowly, level six operative like me?” False modesty rang thick in her voice.
Kindel snorted. “By rights you should be a level eight, at least. Successful completion of this mission would secure your promotion…uh…among other…things.”
Forest began to feel uneasy. She didn’t like the way Kindel was speaking. He was looking uncomfortable too.
“What does the council want?”
Kindel shifted in his seat and grimaced. “Please don’t take offense. I’ll tell you now that the council does not want to offer you this mission. It is because of time and desperation that they do so. They have agreed, but they say it is against their better judgment.”
Forest was used to this kind of crap. She didn’t have the energy to be bothered. “Because of my parentage?”
“Yes, however, more because of your own prejudice. They are unsure if you can be trusted to fulfill your duty when it goes against personal loyalty. I have assured them of you. I vouched.”
Forest’s eyes narrowed. Kindel vouching for her? Suspicious indeed. “If they don’t trust me, why are they offering me the mission? Why can’t they find someone else?”
“Because you are the only operative Fortress has who can execute it. Because you have the needed stealth of being a shifter, coupled with your elfin gift of invisibility, and because of your shady connections with the Werewolves. But lastly, because no one knows the Wolf’s Wood the way you do, and that is the path you must take while protecting a, ah, most…important person.”
Forest just stared at him for a moment. “Oh, no way. How could you do this to me, Kindel?” she demanded.
He said nothing, looking shamefaced.
Forest stood up abruptly, outrage bursting in her head. “You want me to transport a vampire through werewolf territory in a time of war, don't you?”
Kindel sighed. “Yes.”
“You've cracked your cabbage. Shifters always side with the Wolves, you know that. This, this person and I are enemies in a pending war. This is a suicide mission! I’ll lose my temper; I’ll make a mess of it. I can’t do it! I’ll kill them or they’ll kill me. Let the suckers take care of their own!”
“This is your job,” he said flatly.
“I hate all vampires on principle! The council is right not to trust me. I can’t do it!”
“Your success would promote you to level eight, give you the respect of the council, and grant you a royal favor. How can you decline?” he demanded.
Forest paused, rolling his words around in her head until they clicked. “Royal favor? Who am I supposed to be protecting anyway?”
Kindel looked apologetic as he handed her a black leather bound file. "This is level ten classified."
Her eyebrows shot up, and she blinked a few times before flipping it open. A slur of obscenities came tumbling out of her mouth. Kindel didn't react to her rage of almost incoherent swearing. She quieted abruptly, eyeing Kindel with a small sneer. "I've never known you to pull pranks, Kindel. Good one. You had me there for a moment."
"Forest, it's not a joke."
"Really?" she mocked. "Prince Syrus?”
“That’s right.”
“Heir to the throne?”
“Yep,” he said.
“I’ve been on Earth too long and out of Regia’s current events, but I did just happen to remember that he’s dead!”
Kindel gave her a severe, piercing look and shook his head. ”It is not a joke.”
Forest paced angrily in front of Kindel. “I thought he was dead. All of Regia believes he’s dead, since that attack five years ago.”
“The fact that most believe him to be dead is in your favor. The attack five years ago crippled him.”
“Oh this just keeps getting better and better. What do you mean by crippled?”
“He’s blind.”
Chapter 4
Deep in Fortress Castle, prince Syrus was sitting in a dimly lit room, listening to Redge, his personal guard, read aloud from Forest’s file. The longer he listened, the more confused he became. The information about her was compiled in a choppy way, and Syrus was having a hard time forming a clear idea a
bout who she was. He was becoming increasingly uncomfortable with the position Fortress had put him in and the solution the council had devised. His father believed it to be the time for him to come out of hiding and take his place as commander of the Vampire army. Syrus couldn’t do that until his sight was restored, so this secret little excursion through the Wolf’s Wood to the rouge wizard, Maxcarion, became necessary.
“Her regular occupation is as a traffic controller in the human world, and she has the highest arrest and kill record in that department. Her average last year alone was...”
Syrus held up his hand for Redge to stop reading. “What does that mean? Traffic controller?”
“Well, it means that she acts as a custodian to one of the portals. Regulating the going and coming. The new amendment of Regia’s law only allows Shape-shifters to cross the portals to Earth. No one else is supposed to go there, especially our kind. Those caught on the other side are subject to arrest. Those who resist are killed on sight. From her file, it looks like your new guardian is quite fond of killing vampires.”
“Why is she allowed to keep her job?” Syrus asked.
“Fortress is not overly concerned with those she kills. Vampires who cross over tend to run amok on the other side, due to the addictive nature of human blood. Some lose themselves completely. Some just can't handle… ”
“I know.” Syrus hissed.
“Forgive me,” Redge said, “Of course you do. Shall I continue reading?”
“No. Tell me what you know of Forest—word of mouth, gossip.”
“I’ve yet to see her, but I hear she is a creature of astounding beauty.”
Syrus snorted. “She’s a shifter. Does anyone know what she really looks like?”
“Is it really true a shifter can only show their true form to their destined life mate and no one else?” Redge asked.
“Yes, that’s true. Has she found her life mate yet?”
“No, my lord. They say every form she takes is beautiful and that she cannot help it. Her eyes are the only thing she cannot change about her appearance. I asked around court about her. Apparently, your cousin Leith knows her. He said that looking in her eyes is like getting lost, that you can see an entire forest in her eyes.”
