by Scott Marcy
Strands of hair and leathery black flesh still clung to the skull, and its jaw still opened wide in a silent scream. The corpse wore a purple silk gown with elaborate gold embroidery, and handmade shoes shod its feet. “Her hands and feet are bound,” Alex said. “They murdered her.”
“They sacrificed her,” Lyra corrected her. “Channels carried her blood into here.” She directed her light through the hole. A room the size of a coffin, having spikes that lined the interior, lay on the other side. “Someone wanted to make sure the man inside it stayed put.”
“Not a man, a drathva,” Kaylin said as she read the wall, “and a greater drathva, an immortal being of infinite hate. His name is here, but I dare not speak it. In the common tongue, it translates as Mortemis.”
“So this is what happened to her,” Jack said. When he noted their questioning eyes, he said, “This is Reginald’s wife, Queen Roselyn. She fought for the rights of the weak and helpless, and her reward was to end up here.” He sighed and shook his head. “The king sacrificed the great love of his life and for what, a living death?”
Sterling raised her light and studied the script. “They mistranslated this text. This wall promises eternal life to the ones who freed Mortemis.” He directed his light to the opposite wall. “However, the other wall qualifies that promise. I suppose you could say it is the fine print. ‘Shadow demons will torture the soul of the ones who give Mortemis liberty.’”
“I guess literacy rates are falling in Razûl,” Lyra said.
“She’s wearing some sort of pendant.” Alex released the clasp of a silver necklace and raised the pendant into the light. It was made of sterling silver: a dragon coiled around a blue diamond, and its four feet gripped the gem, holding it place.
“I don’t think this is the time to admire her jewelry,” Jack said.
“It’s more than just Jewelry.” Sterling took the pendant from Alex and examined it. “There’s writing around the outside of the pendant. It says, ‘First in peace, first in war.’ With the proper incantation, the pendant will transport us away from here.”
“Why didn’t she use it?” Lyra asked. “It’s got to be better than having your throat cut.”
“I don’t know,” Sterling said.
“Maybe she didn’t know the proper incantation,” Kaylin said.
“Maybe,” Sterling said,
Jack said, “We need to go to Earth. I was on my way to a peace summit. When Air Force One went missing, my government might construe it as an act of war.”
“Let’s get out of here,” Lyra said. “The drathva that killed the people of Razûl might be on its way.”
Sterling grasped the pendant in the palm of her hand. “Everyone place a hand on my shoulder. I’m not sure of the exact wording, but I will do the best I can. We want to go to Earth at a time when you were president?” Jack nodded. When they laid their hands on her, she closed her eyes and chanted.
Brilliant blue light exploded from Sterling’s hand and engulfed them. They floated in a sea of light, out of body, out of time-space, and free from care. Time evaporated, and eternity embraced them. The pain of life and the toil of survival faded. Galaxies wheeled across a midnight sky, and ages passed with a blink of the eye.
Alex flew out of the light and struck a metal cabinet. Pain radiated through her right side, and the cares of life crowded into her mind. She searched for the light, longing to return, but it extinguished, leaving behind the tortured memory of lost bliss.
“What is this place?” asked Kaylin.
Chapter 13
Groans interrupted Alex’s ebbing sadness. She struggled to her feet, bracing herself on a computer equipment stack. A corridor of vibrant blue lights, more brilliant than a Christmas tree, lay in parallel rows, and few green lights blinked. Twin rows of servers extended in parallel rows before her. She touched the cables and cases to make sure it was real.
“Where are we?” asked Kaylin.
“It’s a server farm,” Alex replied. She skipped backward, turned, and then sprinted past her friends. After charging up a flight of stairs, she threw open a gray door. Past the concrete patio, the green lawn, and grove of maple trees, the sunlight reflected off windshields and metal automobiles. The roar of city traffic was music to her ears, and the brown haze above the city delighted her eyes. “I’m back. We’re on Earth.”
The others piled up in the doorway behind her. “Earth,” said Kaylin. “That’s impossible. My father told me Earth was lost to us long ago. No one can get there.” She squeezed past Alex and wandered onto the patio. She touched the brown, pole lamps and then a concrete planter. “What is this place?”
“It’s a patio.” Alex wandered out and used her hand as a visor. A gray glass and steel rose up two stories before her. “This is some sort of internet, server facility. It’s human technology. We are on Earth: no rhunite and no monsters, just one moon, and cities choked with traffic. It’s perfect.”
“It’s stinky,” Kaylin said and screwed up her face. Alex spun in circles and turned her face toward the sky. Kaylin failed to understand Alex’s rapture. The concrete captured the sunlight and radiated heat; the automobiles fouled the air, and a stench made her nose burn.
Lyra and Sterling wandered onto the patio. “We can’t be on Earth. The Great Gate disappeared from this world: we’re cut off from home.” She removed her helmet and combed her fingers through her hair. “This is a disaster.”
“Where on Earth are we?” asked Sterling.
“That sign says this is the ‘Gleason, Kansas Nexus Facility.' We must be in Gleason, Kansas. That’s in the United States: my home. I was on my way here when I was caught up and transported to Eden.” When she smelled cooking meat, she grinned. “We should eat. You have to try a hamburger and fries.”
“I’m not hungry,” Kaylin said, her eyes welling with tears, her right hand on her hip. “I want to go home.”
Alex noticed something peculiar, something she should have noticed earlier. “Sterling, you have a necklace.” The face of her choker necklace now bore the Dragon Crest. “Your necklace is sealed. So are Kaylin and Sterling’s necklaces.”
“What?” Sterling said, and her hands shot up to her neck. “I’m not wearing a necklace. It’s impossible.” She rushed over to the black glass outer wall and examined her reflection. “No. It can’t be. It’s not fair.”
“It’s going to be okay,” Alex said.
“No. It’s not. Breaking the magic for an unbound necklace is difficult, and one that’s sealed is impossible.” When she saw the blank look in Alex’s eyes, she said, “If I can’t remove my necklace, I can’t change back. I’m stuck like this — forever.” She sat on the edge of a concrete planter and spread her thighs. “I’m a girl.”
“You’ve been a girl for months.” Lyra crossed her arms and tightened her face. “Most of the men figured that out.” When Kaylin cocked her head and scratched her head, Lyra said in a quiet voice, “She was having sex with them, for money.”
Kaylin’s eyes lit up, and then she snarled. “How can you do that? They were so dirty and stinky.”
Sterling offered no reply but stared through vacant eyes. A thought spurred her to action, and she searched her person. “I can’t believe this.”
Kaylin stared at Alex’s necklace and said, “You’ve been sealed. When did you do that?” A black dragon, the top two sets of claws bared, wings in flight, lay in the center of the necklace’s oval. One of the bottom sets of claws clutched an olive branch in one, and the other clutched arrows. Peculiar writing, unlike any they had ever seen, circled it. “It’s ancient Elvish.” Sterling studied the elaborate script. “It reads, ‘First in war, first in peace.' It’s similar to the pendant.”
Alex’s hands shot up to her necklace and felt the stud beneath her chin. Her fingertip explored the embossed surface. “What the hell? How did that happen?” Vacuous expressions and shrugs came from the others.
“When did you pledge a guild?” Kaylin screwed up her fac
e and tilted her head. “I thought you were unpledged like us.”
“Don’t panic, you can … um. I’ve got nothing,” Lyra said. “Once pledged, there is no way to break the magic that binds the necklace to the wearer. If you were to destroy it or throw it away, it would reappear right back on your neck. Go ahead and panic.”
“How could this happen?” Alex said, tears welling in her eyes. “It isn’t fair. You can’t just claim someone. I’m not a slave.”
“No. It has to be voluntary.” Lyra rubbed the back of her neck and searched the recesses of her mind. “I’m sure. You have to agree to it.”
“But I haven’t. It has to be a mistake.” Alex raised her chin and moved her throat toward them. “Are you sure I’m sealed?”
“Yes, you’re sealed,” Lyra replied.
“I can’t believe this,” Sterling mumbled. “It was only supposed to be temporary. I wanted the extra pay, you know … if I was a girl, so I made a potion that helped me adjust. But my supply is back at the caravan.”
“Oh, is that how you did it.” Alex understood Sam’s reply. “You used drugs.”
“Don’t judge me,” Sterling snapped. “I needed the extra pay to buy a house with a private lab. I bought the plans on my Oracle Scroll.” She covered her face with her hands. “I had sex with all those men — so disgusting. How could I do that?” Her hands began to tremble, but tears refused to flow from her glassy eyes.
Lyra sat down next to her and said, “It’s not that —“
“Don’t. Just don’t.” Sterling jumped up and spun around. A moment later, vomit spewed from her mouth. Lyra held her forehead, and Alex stood close by. When Sterling collapsed, they helped her sit. “I need water and teramon root.”
“You need what?” Alex asked. Sterling pointed to a dandelion. Alex hurried to the front door and entered the lobby. A high arched ceiling of steel and glass stretched out before her, and brown tile covered the floor. The aroma of brewed coffee wafted out a café on the left side of the atrium. She jogged across the lobby and entered the shop.
A woman sipping her coffee looked up from her iPad. She moved her head backward and looked upon Alex with wide eyes. The barista cocked her head and asked, “Is there some kind of costume party?”
Only then did Alex remember her attire. She faltered a moment and then said, “Yes. My friends and I are going to a renaissance fair, but one of my friends is sick. I need a glass of hot water.”
“Okay,” the woman said. She filled a Styrofoam cup with steaming hot water, and after putting a lid on it, she gave her another cup of cold water. The women shook their heads and smirked as Alex rushed back to her friends.
When she exited the building, the other girls had already collected dandelion roots. Lyra washed them in the cold water, chopped them with her knife, and then dumped them in hot water. Alex stirred the pungent brew and handed it to Sterling.
Sterling clasped the cup with two trembling hands. She chanted and a faint glow appeared in the tea water. Then she drank a large gulp of the pungent brew. She wretched but managed to drink the remainder. “This is a blood tonic to remove toxins. I should feel better in a few minutes.” Her eyes went wide. “I have to use the toilet.”
“Inside to the right, there is a public restroom,” Alex said. Lyra and Kaylin each held an arm and helped Sterling into the building. Alex followed them into the building and into the ladies restroom.
Their necklaces grew hot, and they grimaced in pain. The same crest appeared on Lyra and Kaylin’s necklaces. However, all of them now had wings that began at the stud and stretched across their necklaces, the same as Alex’s choker necklace. However, Alex’s wings also included a pair of near the oval, indicating that she was highest in rank. Lyra said, “Who do they think they are? They can’t just claim us like lost luggage. I’m no slave. They have no right.”
“Sterling, how are you?” Alex asked, but only moans answered her. “We need to get her some medicine.”
“Is that an order?” Lyra put her hands on her hips, tightened her lips, and furrowed her brow. At the opposite end of the hall, sunlight shone through the tinted glass and illuminated the dark floor with oblong squares. Without saying a word, she clenched her fists and marched toward the exit.
“Where are you going?” Alex asked and chased after Lyra. Lyra threw open the restroom door and strode through the lobby. “We need to get Sterling to a hospital.”
The bathroom door opened, and Sterling exited the restroom. “All of a sudden, I feel fine. The withdrawals just stopped. It’s impossible.” She dried her face with a paper towel, and her stomach rumbled. “Where’s Lyra?”
“Can somebody get me down from here?” When they looked up, they saw the president lying on a steel I-beam above them, his arms and legs draped on either side. “Hell of a way to travel,” he said. When the janitor saw Jack, he rushed to get a ladder. Meanwhile, the girls chased after Lyra.
Their necklaces grew hot, and they grimaced in pain. The same crest appeared on Lyra and Kaylin’s necklaces. However, all of them now had wings that began at the stud and stretched across their necklaces, the same as Alex’s choker necklace. However, Alex’s wings also included a pair of near the oval, indicating that she was highest in rank. Lyra said, “Who do they think they are? They can’t just claim us like lost luggage. I’m no slave. They have no right.”
Alex tried to comfort her, but Lyra said, “Nothing’s okay. I am sealed, and owned. I’m nothing better than a slave. And your planet smells bad.”
At hearing the last part, a chuckle slipped from Alex’s mouth. She tried to repress a laugh, but it burst out of her. “It does smell bad.” She roared with laughter. “I never knew how much.” The other girls began to laugh, even Lyra. “There’s garbage everywhere; the water is filthy, and the air smells like a chemical fire.”
When the laughter faded, Alex put her arm around Lyra’s shoulder and rubbed. “If they expect me to command like they do in the army, they made a huge mistake. You are my family, my sisters.”
Sterling pouted and said, “But I want to be a boy.”
Alex put her right arm around Sterling’s waist and pulled her close. Kaylin joined in and leaned against them. “I don’t know what the future holds; I’m living one day at a time. I spent so much time agonizing over what I lost that I never realized what I had. Lovers come and go, but sisters are forever.”
“Can I be a sister with a penis?” Sterling asked with hopeful eyes.
“After what you did with those men, I’m going to say no,” Alex said. “I don’t think there’s any coming back from that one.”
Sterling pouted, and she pressed her hands together between her thighs. “What is making that pond behind us stink so badly?”
“It’s a storm drain.” Alex patted their knees and rose to her feet. “We need to get going. Where is the president?”
“Right here,” Jack said strolling up to them. “I called the White House, twice, but they hung up on me. So, I called for a rental van; they will deliver it here.”
Chapter 14
Have you ever heard the joke about four Valkyries and the American president in a minivan? Neither did they, but life seemed to be a joke without a punch line. After ejecting from Air Force One, escaping a ramping horde of daemia phantoms, escaping a cursed kingdom, the president needed rest, and after he had removed his armor, he slept in the back.
While Alex drove through Gleason, Kansas, the other girls viewed Earth in a state of awe. Large signs advertising restaurants, restaurants more than they could count, strip malls selling goods beyond number, automobiles in a perpetual race through the city streets, teenage girls talking on their phones, homes without bars or gates, aircraft soaring through sooty skies, the chemical odor of modern living, life on Earth shocked them. However, the greatest marvel by far was human innocence: business people, pedestrians, shoppers, and homeowners going about their business without a thought to the creatures that lurk in the darkness.
