by Susan Klaus
“You found me,” he related.
“We must talk. I was told you hold a spell over me.”
He reached up and gently caressed the side of her face. “Do not fear,” he said with his soft male voice. “The spell shall soon be broken. Only know, my love has always been yours.” He shivered and breathed hard. Kari saw panic and pain fill his eyes. She tried to embrace him, but the mist covered him, and he was gone.
She screamed his name, but the forest was empty. She raced through the trees, frantically searching for Shail. Detecting his pain, she was petrified, and her dream had become a nightmare. She trembled and continued calling; a terrible feeling crept into her mind that she would never see him again.
“Kari, Kari!” she heard a voice in the dream, but it wasn’t Shail’s low silky voice. It was the deep voice of her father. She opened her eyes to the bright bedroom lights, her father’s hand shaking her to awareness. “Kari, are you all right?” he asked.
She tried to catch her breath and compose herself. “It was a dream,” she said with relief, wiping the perspiration from her forehead.
“Sounded like a bad dream,” John said.
Kari rubbed her eyes, tried to focus and think. “It was bad. I’m sorry I woke you, Dad. I’m fine now.”
“Do you want to talk about it?”
“No!” She bit her lip. “No, I’m all right.”
“Okay. I’ll go back to bed.” He left her bedside.
“Dad, is old Doc still in Westend?”
“He’s still there, but somewhat retired. Why?”
“I’ll go see him tomorrow. Maybe he has something so I can sleep through the night.”
“I’m sure he can take care of that. See you in the morning,” he said, turning off the lights and shutting the door.
Kari curled up in the pillows and stared into the shadowy room. Shail had admitted there was a spell, but it soon would be broken. What did that mean? Was he releasing her or was he coming for her? He had said that his love was always hers. She smiled. The moment she saw him, she also loved him. Now she agonized over his pain and fear. Why was he so scared? It was uncharacteristic of the bold golden. In previous dreams, she had detected his devotion and passion. Why was this dream so different and horrible? “My imagination is getting the better of me,” she said. “They’re only dreams.”
* * *
The morning light spilled from the balcony and illuminated the floor. Kari slowly opened her eyes and smelled baking bread. The household was up and already at work. Throwing on a robe, she ambled down to the kitchen. Maria was slicing the bread.
“Hello, Maria,” Kari said, walking into the expansive kitchen.
“Good morning, Miss Kari. What would you like for breakfast?”
“Some juice.”
“That’s not much of a breakfast,” Maria grumbled while she poured juice into a glass. “Your father is in his den. He wants to see you when you’re finished eating.”
Kari took a sip. “I’ll see him now.” Leaving her drink, she walked to the den door and knocked.
“Come,” was the answer behind the door. Kari went in and her father looked up from behind his desk com. “Just fix it,” he ranted to the person on the com screen. He pushed the disconnect key, and the screen dissolved into the desk. “Sorry—business,” he said to Kari “Have a seat. I’m glad you’re here.” He stood up and paced the room. “Did you sleep all right?”
“Yes, I don’t remember any more dreams.”
“Old Doc can help, but be warned, he’s still cantankerous as ever,” he said with a nervous laugh. He walked to a window and stared out. “What I must tell you is very hard. It has to do with your mother. Because of her, I sent you to Earth. Do you know anything about her?”
“Not really. Grandpa said she was killed in some freak accident,” Kari said.
John pushed the hair from his forehead and sighed. “She’s been gone twenty years, and I still miss her,” he said. “You’re very much like her. When I saw you yesterday, I thought I was seeing a ghost. She was strong and beautiful and loved the jungle like you.” He put his hand to his mouth and cleared his throat. “We were very happy together. I want you to know that. And when you were born, I thought my life was complete. I had the two most beautiful girls on the planet under my roof.” He smiled. He turned away from the window and stared at Kari. “A lousy golden harpy took all that away from me.”
He returned to his office chair and slumped into it. “The harpy swooped down and grabbed your mother. I pulled out my laser gun and fired at it,” he said, breathing deeply. “I missed and the blast hit your mother. She died instantly, but my second blast killed that damn beast. It was the first time I killed a harpy. I was foolish back then, believing harpies deserved to live in peace on my land. After your mother died, I invited every hunter to come to the estate and exterminate them. When I heard the dogs barking and saw you in the arms of another golden, it was like reliving the past. I wanted to protect you, Kari, but you were so crazy about these winged devils, and too young to understand the danger. Before long that blond male would return, and you’d go to him, no matter what I said or did.”
Kari knew he was right. “Dad, I wish you had told me this earlier.”
“How could I possibly tell my young daughter that I had killed her mother?” he asked. “I planned on telling you when you were a teenager, but that mogel incident escalated things. I couldn’t protect you on Dora. I’m sorry I sent you to Earth and for the pain it caused you, but I couldn’t risk losing my daughter to another harpy. The harpies’ numbers have declined, but they’re still a danger to women.”
“I was very miserable on Earth, but it was compounded by the fact that I thought you didn’t care about me.”
“Kari, I love you very much.” He got up and wrapped his arms around her. “I don’t know if I was right or wrong, but I was only concerned about your welfare. I hope we can start fresh and you’ll give me the chance to make things up.”
She embraced him. “Dad, I’m so tired of being unhappy. I just want some peace now. Telling me about Mom has helped me understand your motives. I do want us to at least be friends.” She pulled away and looked up at him. “I know you hate the harpies, but Charlie told me you banned hunting on the estate.”
“Yes, I stopped the killing. You asked me to protect that young golden—wanted me to promise. For a year, that gnawed at me, and every time I thought about the mogel pulling you under, it scared the hell out of me. Despite what he is, I owed the golden for saving my little girl. Some of the men spotted him last year, so he’s still alive.”
“Thank you, Dad, for protecting him but I know you also did it for my sake.”
“Yes.” He nodded. “It was the least I could do after what I put you through. Well, the golden has been a mature male for some time and probably has paired with a female, so I no longer consider him the threat he once was. But enough talk of harpies. I have something for you, a coming-home present.”
Kari followed him through the house and outside. A new terrain vehicle was parked in the drive. “It’s beautiful.”
“It has everything. In the compartment is a new laser gun,” he said. “Please keep it with you when you leave the house. I need to get to the mill, but I’ll see you at dinner. Kari, this is a lot to take in. If you wish, we could discuss it further tonight.”
“That would be fine.”
He kissed her on the cheek and strolled to his small hovercraft. “I’ll be home around five,” he called, hopping in the hover. In minutes the hover was airborne and disappearing beyond the first hill.
Kari slowly walked back to the house, reflecting on her mother’s death and the golden harpy that had tried to take her. Charlie had said that she was like her mother, and Kari now knew it had nothing to do with looks. It was the correlation that goldens sought her and her mother and understood Charlie’s and her father’s fears. But could Shail be evil? He loved her in her dreams. Maybe Charlie is right, she thought.
Shail obviously hasn’t found a mate and is seducing me to leave. In real life, maybe he is dangerous. She thought about the brown harpy on the road. If Charlie hadn’t come, would the brown have taken her?
Doubts cluttered her mind as she thought about her mother’s kidnapping and death. Have I been wrong all these years? Have I lived with a false childhood illusion about harpies, and everything I believed is a lie?” she questioned. “Can all Dorians be wrong about these creatures?
Her stomach was in knots, feeling like a loved one had died. Her fondness for the harpies had been replaced with suspicion. In the foyer, she sat down on one of the stair steps.
“Are you okay, Miss Kari?” Maria asked, polishing the dining room table.
Kari looked up. “Maria, did you know my mother?”
“No. I wish I could help you, but your father hired me after her death. I never met her, but I’ve seen pictures. She was very lovely,” Maria said with melancholy.
“Yes, she was.” Wanting to take her mind off the agonizing doubts, she changed the subject. “Did you see my new vehicle?”
“The whole town saw it.” Maria smiled. “It was unloaded from a harbor barge a month ago. It’s very lavish and such a rich red color. Are you going to take it for a drive?”
“Yes. When I get dressed, I’m going to Westend. See if the place has changed.”
Maria laughed. “It’s the same, a few more stores and houses, but it still a quiet little town that will bore you to tears.”
“I’m ready for some boredom.” Kari walked upstairs and dressed. She came back down to the awaiting terrain vehicle. With the push of the starter button, the shiny vehicle rose a foot off the ground and began to hover. Her schooling on Earth had taught her to operate all types of transportation equipment as well as learn intricate technology. She was taught about everything from weapons to communicators and was capable of using or fixing any of them. It had seemed like a waste of time and education because she intended to spend her life on Dora, a planet with limited technology.
She maneuvered the vehicle down the drive and stared at the vast green meadows dotted with a bright array of flowers. The grass seeds of the meadows had been imported from Earth because Dora had no grasses before man inhabited it. Along with the grass came the cattle and other domestic animals from Earth. Even the Irish wolfhounds resting on the large front porch were originally imported. She reflected on that first dog. She was very young, but still remembered the long trip to Terrance to get her new puppy. She smiled now, recalling the disappointment of a frozen fetus in a bag. “In a few months, you’ll have your puppy,” her father had explained. “If they sent a puppy on the spaceship, it would arrive as a big dog.”
Glancing at the meadow, she thought about the devoted dog, and a tear coursed down her cheek. He had died the same year she was sent to Earth. In the night a male red dragon had jumped the high electric fence and was attacking the cattle. The wolfhound sounded the alarm and fearlessly charged the elephant-size reptile. Her beloved pet was killed defending the herd. Her father broke down and wept as he carried the dog’s large body from the pasture. It was the only time she saw her father cry.
While she traveled through the estate, her mind was flooded with childhood memories. The meadows ended, as did the last view of the house. She turned onto the dirt highway surrounded by the jungle trees and drove east. After ten miles, she came to the weathered sign and road to Westend. Small wooden homes appeared before she arrived on Main Street. A modest grocery store and other meager shops stood in the heart of town. Maria was right. The little town hadn’t changed much over the years. She came to a yellow cottage and stopped. Moss-filled trees lined the front yard, and at their base were beds of flowers. A decrepit sign reading DR. WHITE hung between the peeled-paint posts. She got out of the vehicle and went to the front door on a well-shaded porch, and rang the old-fashioned bell. A grizzly silver-headed man appeared. “Hello, Doc,” she said when he opened the door.
“Who are you?” he asked gruffly.
“Kari Turner.”
He rubbed his beard. “Any relation to John?”
“I’m his daughter.”
“Thought you looked familiar,” he said. “I delivered you. That was a hell of a night. Well, what do you want? If you’re selling, I ain’t buying.”
“I’m not selling anything. I need your help.”
“Well, come in.” He scowled. “I got better things to do than stand in a doorway all day.” He walked in the modest living room, and Kari followed. “I’m fixing fresh lemonade. Want some? Can’t stand that crap that comes out of those confounded machines.” He ambled toward the kitchen in the back of the cottage.
“No, thank you.”
“Kari Turner,” he mumbled. “Now I remember. Never were sick much, but didn’t a mogel get hold of you?”
“Yes,” she said. “A golden harpy saved me and brought me home.”
He raised an eyebrow. “That harpy did more than save you from the eel. That little winged guy put licing moss on your wound. Drew the poison out. Without the moss, you’d be as good as dead by the time I got to your dad’s. That was quite a discovery in the field of medicine. I did a medical research paper on the properties of licing moss. I imagine that harpy has saved scores of lives over the years.”
“My father never told me about the moss,” she said.
“I’m not surprised.” Doc chuckled. “John don’t care for those critters, and he ain’t about to give one credit for anything.”
“He blames a harpy for my mother’s death.”
“Yes, that was a real tragedy. Losing his wife made John plenty bitter,” he said, pouring a glass of lemonade. “And your mom was a real looker, prettiest thing I’d ever seen. Say, you look a lot like her. So what’s your deal? Don’t look sick or hurt.”
“I’m having trouble sleeping.”
“Walking the floors, huh? You’re too young to have problems.”
“No, I fall asleep fine,” she said. “I just have vivid dreams, and they wake me up.”
Doc stared at her. “Can’t help you.”
“You must have something to help me sleep through the night.”
“I do, but I’m not giving a heavy sedative to a young, healthy woman. That’s what it’d take to stop a dream. You don’t need or want that kind of drug. Everyone has bad dreams occasionally. They’ll pass. Wish I could dream more often,” he said, walking toward the back door. “Let yourself out. I gotta get back to my garden. The rainy season will be here before you know it.”
Kari watched him stroll to the backyard. She walked through the small cottage, noticing a small bedroom converted into a hospital room. Old medical equipment surrounded a single bed. On the porch, she glanced up and down the street, her mind on the unsolved problem. What if Dad discovers the nature of my dreams? He would kill Shail. When she approached her vehicle, she saw a skinny young woman hurrying toward her.
“Kari!” the woman called. “I saw your vehicle at Doc’s and was waiting for you to come out. How are you, and how was Earth?”
Kari recognized her old schoolmate. “Hello, Carol. It’s nice to see you,” she fibbed. She remembered how Carol chattered endlessly about nothing and bored Kari to tears.
“Now, you must tell me everything about Earth,” Carol began, fluffing her bobbed hair. “I’m so jealous. I wish my parents had the credits to send me. They could have at least sent me to school in Hampton, but they want me to help them with a new store—clothing, of course. I was sick of the grocery store. You have to come in, and I’ll show you what we have in stock. What am I talking about? You just came from Earth. I bet your closets are full of the latest fashions. Oh, you must let me come over, so I can see them. It will help me with my orders, and…”
Kari listened politely, fighting the desire to flee, and Carol rambled on and on, asking questions, but not waiting for the answers. Kari realized the people of Westend had also remained the same. Carol paused slightly to catch her breath, allow
ing Kari to break in. “We must discuss all this sometime,” Kari said, “but I have to go.”
“You’re not sick, are you?” Carol asked. “I hope you’re not using Doc. He’s not altogether there, if you know what I mean, and so rude. I wouldn’t go to him if I were dying. You should go to Terrance. That’s where we all go. They have a great hospital. Paul went—”
Kari cut in. “I really have to go, Carol.”
“Let’s get together tomorrow night,” Carol said excitedly. “We’re having a cookout on the beach. Some of the other girls from school will be there. You could tell us all about Earth. I want you to meet my boyfriend, Jake. He and his buddies went hunting and fishing on the islands. They usually cook what they bring back. It’s so much fun. And I have just the guy for you. He’s single and real cute. Please say you’ll come.”
Kari sighed with the thought of an evening with Carol, but maybe the others would be fun. “It sounds great. What time?”
“Around six,” Carol said. “It’s the last dock after the harbor, right by the old shack. You remember the shack?”
“Yes, I know where it is,” Kari said, slinking into her vehicle. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
She waved to Carol and drove down the main street. What in the world was I thinking? The quiet of the vehicle consoled her. She wondered if any of her old schoolmates also had harpy encounters. They were her age. Perhaps she could learn from those girls. If not, she would enjoy seeing the west coast again.
Kari left the town and drove west toward the estate. She brought the vehicle to a stop in front of an overgrown trail. It was the old logging road that ran parallel to the back of her home and passed the small lake. The hover vehicle idled as she stared with indecision. Of all the places on Dora, the lake held her most cherished memory and now her worst fears. She closed her eyes and envisioned the golden male’s deep blue eyes and cascading blond locks. “I have to go and confront this spell he has over me.”
