by Jen Pretty
"Alright, let's get moving," Armond said. He chuckled at the scowl I shot him. "I'm sure we will have a few days rest once we get back to the elder's castle. The sooner we get there, the sooner we can relax."
I sighed and bent down to give Daisy a pat to wake him up. He quacked and then stood up and started waddling toward the trail that went back into the woods.
We all followed behind until Daisy got tired and flew back up to sleep on the top of my pack. He was very good at balancing up there, and soon enough he was snoring away. It had become comforting to hear him so close to my ear. As if nothing bad could happen as long as Daisy was napping. He might be a ferocious dragon in his other form, but the sound of him sleeping as a duck helped calm my soul and heal old wounds. I was sure my old therapists would say I felt that way because I finally had enough control of my life that I could nurture another being.
A smile flicked across my face, and Roman noticed, giving me a quizzical look.
"It's nothing," I whispered so as not to wake Daisy "I'm just happy."
Roman took my hand and squeezed it smiling back at me.
Being back on earth, with Roman and Armond as well as Puck and Daisy felt like heaven. It felt so right.
The rest of our hike flew by and just as the sun was setting we caught a glimpse of the car we had abandoned on the old mining road right where we left it. It was dusty, but exactly where we left it.
Roman started rooting through his backpack and pulled out a set of keys. He pushed the button to unlock the doors, and as soon as the car beeped and unlocked the doors all, hell broke loose.
Suddenly there was a 2-ton dragon standing over me and a bloodthirsty unicorn flanking him.
"It's not a danger!" Roman yelled as he managed to get between Daisy and the vehicle before Daisy fried our ride. "It's just a car. It will get us to the elders faster. It's ok."
"Holy shit," I exclaimed as the dragon stepped gingerly to the side, so he didn't step on me.
Daisy tipped his giant head down to look at me. His head was as big as I was and bright red nostrils flared. Then he dropped back into a Duck so quickly my head spun. He waddled over and plopped down beside me. I had explained our world to both Puck and Daisy as we walked but hearing stories and seeing the real thing were different. I stroked his feathers and muttered soothing words to him. Once my heart rate was back to normal I told Roman to go start the car and let Daisy and Puck hear it so they could get used to the sound and smell of it.
Daisy jumped when the car started and his feathers ruffled, but he didn't become a dragon again. Puck snorted and stomped a hoof. He hasn't gone back to his human form yet, but he seemed less tense now that I had explained it was normal.
After several more minutes we all finally moved towards the car. Daisy seemed fine now. Relaxed and calm but Puck was still tense and threatening towards the vehicle. I reached out to stroke his neck, and he pressed into my hand.
"You can't ride in there as a unicorn," I told him. Puck was definitely more feral than daisy. He preferred the earth beneath with him and sky above him if given a choice, but it would take days for him to run all the way to the elders and none of us wanted to wait that long.
After a few more tense minutes, Puck turned back into a man, but he no longer had the air of superiority he always maintained.
"I'm starting to have my doubts about your world Lex. This machine is monstrous." He whispered beside me.
"It's ok. This is how we get around here. I promise it's quite safe."
He gave me an unconvinced look but moved towards the car. I reached out and opened the back door. Roman and Armond had already climbed in the front. I picked up Daisy and scooted in the door and slid across to the far seat. Leaving space for Puck to sit beside me. He looked in cautiously but after a moment, sat tensely on the seat.
"Now close the door," I said to him. He reached out and shut the door and immediately looked like a trapped animal.
"Turn the crank on the door, it will open the window." Once the fresh air was blowing in, he started to calm again.
It was a very windy drive with all the windows down, but after the first couple hours, Puck was almost relaxed. By the time we pulled into the castle, he and Roman were discussing automobile repair and maintenance.
The Elder's house was the first giant building we had come across. We travelled through small towns and had stopped three times on the four hour drive, so Daisy and Puck had a chance to get used to lights and electronics, including gas pumps and cash registers. I plugged my phone in once we got back to the car and started texting with Luke shortly after we started driving, but I turned the sound off as that seemed to upset both Puck and Daisy and I didn't need the car destroyed by a giant dragon or rampaging unicorn.
We stopped in front of the castle and all filed out of the car. We were met by the same butler who had led us to see the elders when Armond and I were here weeks ago. He silently nodded and indicated with his arm for us to follow him while the other staff members gathered our bags from the trunk.
The butler led us through the building until we arrived at a much larger set of rooms, I assumed because we were now a much larger group. Roman and Armond walked ahead to the bedrooms to help the house staff with our bags.
"The elders won't be able to see you until tomorrow, please settle in and make yourself at home," the butler said, then he looked down at Daisy and cleared his throat. "Should I send someone to the feed store for pellets for the duck?"
Daisy huffed and waddled off to the bedroom. I smiled at the older man and whispered "he's quite sentient. He prefers toast but if you could send up no more than 2 slices per meal and include some cooked vegetables that would be great. No butter, he’s on a bit of a diet.”
Daisy's indignant quack from the other room let me know he could hear me but didn't sound too angry. How could he when I had ordered him baked goods?
"There is a magic box on the wall," Puck murmured from behind me. He was terrified when we stopped at a rest stop, and there had been a TV playing local news in Italian. Restraining him from destroying it had been difficult.
"It's a TV, remember. It's not actually magic. It's technology." I replied. He just nodded and kept an eye on it from a safe distance.
The weight of the world dropped off my shoulders as the door closed behind the butler. I walked over and collapsed on the couch. Finally, back to civilization, I wished I was home, but I'd take this. I was on earth at least.
"Um, Lex, before you get too comfortable there, we should probably get some food. I don't know about you, but I haven't eaten much the last few weeks." Armond scratched his bearded face. His beard had grown quite a bit during his time with the witch and he was contemplating keeping it now that it was so well started.
"You're right." I had barely eaten in days and what I had eaten was campfire food on our trek to save Armond. Not the most balanced diet.
When Roman returned from organizing our clothes in our room, I took everyone's order and called down to get some food. I was struggling to keep my eyes open so decided to have a quick shower. When I walked back out all I could smell was coffee. The glorious black liquid sat in a carafe on a tray beside a full meal of lasagna and crisp Caesar salads. Armond was on the phone, and the rest of the guys were all eating so I stumbled over to my tray and dug in. It felt so much like home a tear sprung to my eye.
"Are you ok?" Roman asked while rubbing my back.
"I'm just glad to be home or back here anyway. It seems like we were gone for years," I replied quietly.
His look of concern morphed into relief at my words. "I hope we get to stay for a while, but I feel like this is just a stopover. We might have to enjoy it while it lasts."
I sighed "I know. The elders won't like that the witch got away. She could easily follow us back here with all these open portals."
Armond put his phone in his pocket and cleared his throat. "Some of the hunters have gone rogue, killing vampires for no reason, I'm going to have to he
ad back and get them figured out, will you guys be ok here? I’m not sure I’ll make it back in time to go with you, if you leave."
I shook my head "We will be fine. We can handle this. You go take care of your guys.”
“I’ll be quick.” Armond scooped me up gave me a crushing hug. He spoke softly in my ear thanking me again for rescuing him from the witch, then he grabbed his pack, stepped over Puck who had parked himself back in front of the door with his food and he was gone. I pulled a bit of magic as I felt him move farther away. I was strong enough without him now. It was bitter sweet.
"Puck, you could sit on the couch, it's unlikely we will be attacked here," I said, turning back to my plate and shoveling more lasagna in my mouth.
He coughed, "saying something like that invites trouble. Better safe than sorry."
I rolled my eyes but let him have his way. Who was I to discourage a unicorn from impaling first and asking questions later?
My eyelids were getting heavy as I finished my dinner. Roman noticed and moved my tray then scooped me up and plopped me down beside Daisy in the big comfy bed. There were bread crumbs in the covers; obviously Daisy enjoyed his dinner in bed, but I just smiled and snuggled into the thick, soft pillows and let sleep wash over me.
Waking up this time was easy. I could smell the coffee and bacon. It was like the whole episode in the other land never happened. My sigh apparently alerted roman to my wakefulness, and he popped his head back into the bedroom.
"Are you going to get up? We should go for a run after breakfast and maybe do some sparring," he said, sounding terribly chipper.
I threw a pillow at him, but it barely made it past the end of the bed. I could hear him chuckle all the way back to the living room area where, the TV droning on with what sounded like news in Italian. I guess Puck had gotten over his fear of the magic box.
I made my way to the washroom and had another shower. As much fun as the hot springs below the King’s castle had been, I had missed running water. I thanked God for whoever invented the water heater and made my way out to the main room. Puck was slouched on the couch like a proper American football fan, but he was, indeed, watching Italian news.
"That's not English," I felt the need to point out.
"La sua una bella lingua," he replied in perfect Italian.
I sputtered for a moment. "Did you just learn Italian this morning?" I asked incredulously.
He squinted at me like I was the weirdo, "no, I learned it last night while you were sleeping." Then he flashed his usual cocky smile before turning back to his news.
I stood staring at the back of his head for a long moment. "Ooh – Kay," I muttered and stumbled to the cart that had the bacon and coffee. It was too early for my brain to handle Pucks weirdness.
A few minutes later, while licking the bacon grease off my fingers, I glanced over to realize that Puck, Roman and Daisy were all watching me.
"What?" I asked, narrowing my eyes at them. They all turned back to their Italian news. You'd think they had never seen a woman eat a pound of bacon by herself.
Once breakfast was cleared away, and we all got changed into workout clothes, I found myself following along behind the guys and duck towards the sparring space the butler had left directions too.
When we walked through the door the sounds of steel hitting steel filled the air. Men in uniform were everywhere, and it reminded me of living with the hunters. These were obviously hunters, but I didn't recognize them. The smell of sweaty men was everywhere. I had brought my short sword with me, and my adrenaline cranked up a few notches in anticipation of sparring again. The long hike home and the exhaustion hadn't left me much interest in doing anything, but after a full nights rest and some proper strong coffee, I was ready to go. A smile crossed my face, erasing the last trace of the strain I had been under since leaving the elder's weeks ago.
"Let's go, boys," I said softly before marching to the center of the room. The room grew quiet until every hunter in there had their eyes on me. Recognition flashed on most of their faces.
I turned to Roman, "You ready?" I pulled my short sword and swung it in a circle to loosen my wrist. The last time we had sparred, I had started working on timing my magic to my fighting so I could fight longer without exhausting myself by holding my magic for so long. I could only just slow Roman if I used all my magic and like a muscle, I need to keep working my magic to keep it strong.
Roman flashed toward me, and I slammed my magic down hard to slow him enough to evade him. His fingers brushed my arm as I spun away, still beyond his grasp. I was facing him in an instant, and he had changed course charging for me again. I swung my blade and roman paused his forward momentum long enough for my knife to pass then dove for me. I pushed my magic out and flipped out of his reach, letting go of my magic seamlessly. Every time we sparred like this my magic flowed more freely.
The hunters were cheering at this point, and my heart was pounding with the fire of magic. Roman and I flowed around the space both trying our hardest to best the other. It was seamless like a dance. The bright red of roman eyes confirmed he wasn't holding back, and the lopsided grin told me he was enjoying it as much as I was.
An abrupt clap and a flash of power had us freezing in place. This was new. I'd never felt my own power before, but I somehow knew this was my kind of magic. This was a timekeeper.
I pushed against the magic, and it slowly let up until I was moving, but everyone else remained frozen except for a woman standing at the door. Even Roman was utterly still.
"Who are you?" I asked, my voice echoing off the high ceilings.
A small smile crossed the woman's face. "My name is Helena. I am a timekeeper, like you."
I had already gathered that part but "I thought I was the last one." I replied softly.
Her crimson hair moved about her head and shoulders slowly like she was under water. The effect was mesmerizing, and apparently, her own magic was causing it. Her control and power were amazing. I had never tried to single someone out before.
Her gentle smile eased my tension before she spoke again. "I have been alive much longer than any other, but I cannot get involved in these wars. A pact was made long ago and to break that pact would unleash an evil too powerful for this world. There must always be a balance. I can tell you, though, that you have more power than you are using. I can't help you find that power but you must if you are to defeat the evil you face."
Awesome. So not looking forward to that.
"But how will I find this power, if you can’t help me?" I asked glancing around at the still frozen hunters and Roman.
Her gentle smile turned a bit mischievous, "I will leave someone who can help you." She turned her head, and I followed her gaze to a puppy, no, not a puppy, a fox. No larger than Daisy. But when the fox turned its head towards me, I could see the intelligence and sentience shining back from its dark eyes. Obviously another shifter. Like I don't have enough of those.
"Ok. Well, thank you." I say a bit tense about having a fox and a duck in the same room. The wolves didn't eat Daisy, so it was probably okay. Hopefully.
"Goodbye, Alexandra!" Helena said as she disappeared. Time snapped back, and Roman pulled his punch realizing I was no longer where I had been standing but 15 feet away.
"What was that?" Roman asked looking about at all the hunters who didn't seem to notice a thing happened before his eyes settle on the small red fox sitting quietly by the door. The cheering stopped, and the hunters stood to watch us.
"Nothing. We should head back to the rooms maybe," I said raising my eyebrows to hopefully convey my message to Roman that this should be discussed in private.
"Alright. Let's go," he flung his arm over my shoulder and led me towards the door where the fox sat waiting. Puck started growling as he neared the doorway and Daisy tucked in close beside me. I knew this was going to be a problem. Puck and Daisy were not exactly getting along yet, and now we had to deal with a new shifter.
"Uh, the fox is with
us guys." I mumbled before anyone got too wound up. I wasn't even sure why either of them was upset just because the fox was sitting there.
"It has strange magic," Puck murmured beside me. "I don't know what it is."
Puck stepped in front of me as we arrived at the door. I was completely boxed in between Roman, Puck, and Daisy. Except on one side there was only a duck, so I leaned over the ‘guard duck' and peeked around Puck to look at the small fox.
"Hi," I said waving a bit. "Um you want to come with us to our rooms so we can talk?"
Its mouth split open with a slight grin displaying its small sharp white teeth in perfect little rows. That seemed like a yes so I unsuccessfully tried to push Puck towards the door.
The little fox turned and started walking. We all followed because apparently the little fox knew its way around the elder’s home better than any of the rest of us. The guys kept me boxed in like I was some kind of weakling but as we neared the rooms I started to get claustrophobic, and I'd had enough of their foolishness. I pushed Puck out of the way and strode past him, following the fox to the door where I opened it, and the little cutie bounced through the door and up onto the back of the couch in the middle of the room.
"Calm down, you guys," I said when I heard Puck growl like a dog. He was a Unicorn, not a dog, for crying out loud.
Puck and Roman started to advance on the little fluff butt, but I wasn't having any of that. I took out my knife and pointed it at them. They smartly stopped their advance. I was not kidding around. The fox was mine like Daisy was mine. Mine to care for and mine to protect.
Daisy had waddled off to the bedroom, probably to have a nap. He didn’t seem worried about having a fox in the room. I had to remind myself that Daisy turned in to a dragon.
"A really old and powerful timekeeper stopped time and told me the fox would help me. She was even strong enough to freeze Roman so surely, whatever the fox will do, she is crucial. If we have to go back and find that evil witch, I want all the help I can get.
