by Oxford, Rain
Her hair and eyes were red like blood. She wore white robes that were only a few shades paler than her skin. This was once a little girl, but now it was something entirely unnatural. More of an evil entity than a living person, but I wondered if there was anything left of a soul in that body. “Want to play cards?” I asked, pulling out my deck.
She sneered. “I am going to kill you and you want to stop and play cards?”
“There’s always time for a game. Besides, we couldn’t play a game after you killed me. Do you know any games?”
“Snapdragon.”
Chapter 12
“Oops,” Nano said.
With that one word of doom I thought as my blood ran cold, don’t open your eyes. So I opened my eyes. The only reason I didn’t scream, was because I forgot to. In all fairness, it was probably for the best.
Standing in front of me, maybe three feet or so, was the biggest damn cat I ever saw, standing just about as tall as me. The cat had a sleek black coat that set off the shiny white saber fangs sticking out of his mouth. Glowing green eyes regarded me with intelligence, curiosity, surprise, and most definitely delight. Someone didn’t get their baby horse for dinner. Then his great black wings reared up and an unearthly screech erupted.
“My bad.”
Then the cat was gone. I felt pressure all around me and my eyes were forced closed. When the pressure released, I decided not to open my eyes. If something wanted to eat me, I damn sure didn’t want to watch it do so.
“You can open your eyes now.”
“No.” I felt tiny claws attach to my thighs and scamper up until they reached my shoulders. I opened my eyes as Shinobu wrapped around my neck and rubbed her cheek against mine. “Hi there, sweetheart. Were you a good girl while I was gone?” We were back by the lake, exactly where we were before we left.
She let out a loud purr in answer.
“Let’s try to find Divina or Edward now,” Nano said, and walked off.
“Which, for some reason, reminds me, Nila said something about you two punishing each other?”
“I gave Nila his name. When my wife’s sister asked me what I would name her son, I was in a grouchy mood. I said Nila, which means nephew. Nila was sometimes teased about it, so he decided to put poisonous insects in my bed. I rearranged his menu with the kitchen so that he wouldn’t get anything he likes and would instead be given stuff he hated.”
“He said he was punishing you back by kidnapping me.”
“I told you to watch over him, so that doesn’t count. And before you worry about it, I know he took you through his secret passage to steal food out of the kitchen.”
“So Nila isn’t actually related to you? He’s your wife’s sister’s son?”
“Well, I’m not married anymore, but no, we’re not biologically related. After his father’s death, his mother became unstable and I took care of him.”
“He said his father was murdered.”
“They are brothers by their father’s blood, but Adre is a bastard and refused to acknowledge he was the king’s son until Nila took the throne. We both suspect Adre murdered him, because he left Adre’s mother to marry Nila’s mother. When Nila was discovered to be a void, Adre fought his way to Nila’s side. He wants to kill Nila and take over the throne.”
“And you’re leaving Nila with him because?”
“Nila can take care of himself. Any magical attack directly on him will not work. Any magical attack indirectly on him will be countered by the goblins. They are very powerful, and they will defend their king because they love their easy jobs.”
“Is Adre a wizard?”
“Yes. He, unfortunately, is related to me. He is my great, great, great grandson.”
“But not every single wizard on a world is a descendant of the world’s Guardian?”
“No. Every few hundred years, the Guardians are encouraged to go to other worlds and… mate. That’s one of the reason we all have the same body type.”
“So not all humans are human?”
“Ronez wasn’t human. We really consider the person is whatever the world they born on. I could consider about half of the wizards on a world descendants of that world’s Guardian. That includes those who are descendants of more than one Guardian. Now we need to find Edward and Divina. Sit down,” he said, nodding to a bench.
“Huh?”
“Sit down.” We both sat. “Now, kind of let your mind wander, but revolve your thoughts around your book.”
So I daydreamed.
About twenty minutes later, my mind was on my book. I was always a paranoid person, but there was something stronger about my worry for my book. It was like being in a dark mansion or mist full of monsters, except that it was my book that was in the dark mansion or mist, which was even worse. I could feel my book like a comforting warmth. And then I realized that I not only could feel it; I could feel where it was.
* * *
This was a sensory overload. Most of the stalls sold things I couldn’t even imagine. There were fish and tentacles, whole sea creatures, big and small, harmless-looking and downright scary. Whole fish, sliced fished, chopped and diced fish, big, small, tiny, bags of tiny dried fish, live fish, dried fish, cooked fish, fish in buckets, fish in spices, fish eyes, fish bones, skinned fish, fish skin… my god, I had never seen so many versions, preparations, and presentations of fish! There were fish everywhere, and not only fish, but tentacles, claws, and feet. There were sea creatures on sticks and in bags, cooked and raw, spiced and plain. There were stands of spices of all different textures, colors, and smells, of sweets with bright colors, and booths that only sold drinks. Vegetables, fruits, berries, nuts, spices, and meats, fully prepared meals in clear boxes… the variety was astounding. It looked like everything was caught, made, or grown by the booth owners, like a giant farmer’s and fisher’s market. The smells of fresh, dead meat, raw and cooked meat, and spices threatened to start choking me. Whether any of it smelled good or not, I couldn’t tell because the combined scent was repulsive.
Store owners thrust samples of stuff at me and Nano as we passed. Then Nano and I turned onto a completely deserted road. There were no booths or people, just sides of buildings and backdoors.
“We can talk now; I will shield us from any few listening ears. So, how are you enjoying Duran?” Nano asked me.
“I love it. I never got to travel on Earth, due to money and school. It hasn’t sunk into me yet that I threw away all the money and time I put into the university, but I’m not regretting it. It seems like I’m still discovering something at every corner on this world. I keep expecting to see a car go by or see a church or Starbucks. I like the philosophy of the people, and how close they are to nature. I don’t like the outhouse, though.”
“Those are the norm on Shomodii, but not here.” After a few minutes of walking, he slowed down. “I wish I could take you to Malta.”
“Is it far away?”
“Well, yes, the planet Malta is very far away. Unfortunately, you would need to sign Emrys’s book to go there and that is not an option right now. This is the golden week, where the sun is closest and the three moons are perfectly aligned. Malta is a little like Shomodii before the Reformation. The people worship the elements and their god has not bothered them in a very long time. Most of the people have the ability to control land, air, water, or fire. There are a few that can see through time, into the future or past. Some have magic for healing. People live in tribes according to the kind of magic they use. The priests are the teachers, and they live in temples all over the world. Every child of a tribe must be schooled in a temple until they are properly trained. This is because too many parents were stopping their children from reaching their potential out of fear or jealousy. They have an unusual amount of empaths, which are people who can feel the emotions and feelings of those around them, so these people are trained as children to be gentle pacifists and to love openly. They are peace keepers.”
“Wouldn’t being around the
pain of others make them hateful over time?”
“No, because along with that horrible curse, they have the power to heal physical and emotional pain with just a touch. The person being healed has to relive their pain, but the empath goes through it with them, and when it is over, the person is much better. Healing is a dangerous skill to have.”
“So the worlds don’t all have plain old wizards?”
“Most do, but Madus, the god of Malta, does not like following the template. He set it up so his people would leave him alone. There are people to control the weather, so no one can beg him for rain or a good harvest, there are people to heal the sick, or heal the heart. They understand about the twelve gods, the guardians, and the Land of the Dead, so they cannot ask him why. One thing he did give them was the golden week. All chaos is gone, all powers are multiplied to the point where there is no sickness. No one leaves.”
“What do they feel about people from other worlds?” I asked.
“About the same as Dios. Most worlds couldn’t care less about people of other worlds. There are not usually tourists, so they are not targeted.”
“Then why does Duran have a problem with it?”
“Duran is a self-reliant world. They could build spaceships and be friendly neighbors, but Erono had instilled a suspicion in them. They are fairly fearful of what you would call spirits. Not just dead beings, but supernatural ones. To them, nature has a spirit. They also know about the gods and Guardians, but not the books. As far as they know, the only people who can travel between worlds are the Guardians.”
“Why not tell them the truth.”
“Because no one knows who the Guardian of Duran is, and Kiro does not want them to. If they found out that others can come to Duran, they would figure out a way to track them back to Kiro… Edward. They would come to him relentlessly to complain and beg. ‘Guardian, please make it rain.’ ‘Guardian, please heal my daughter.’ ‘Guardian, please make the bullies at my son’s school bleed from their eyes.’ ‘Guardian, here is fifteen percent of the profit from my crops. Please give most of it to Erono to thank him for my harvest.’ ‘Guardian, should I sell my house and move in with my sister?’ ‘Guardian, please take me to a world where all the people are as smart as me.’ ‘Guardian, can I bear your children?’”
“Please stop! I get it! I don’t want to be a Guardian anymore!” I yelled. He laughed at my outburst. “Why do your people know you are the Guardian?”
“I travel around all the time, so they cannot ambush me. Also, they have a king to annoy. And third, I say no in the most offensive, degrading way I can, so everyone has already heard how prickly and selfish I am.”
“I’m sure you make a great jerk.”
“A lot of it is about religion, though. Most sago would put their hands up and back away when confronted with any sort of supernatural. The majority of people here want nothing to do with the gods or books. Ask Edward to explain the dejava to you. It’s hilarious.”
“Are there aquariums here?”
“Yep, and zoos, too.”
“Can we go to one?” I asked, excited at the prospect, but also trying really hard not to sound like a kid.
“You’ll have get Edward to take you. As much as I enjoy them, I don’t know were any are in Anoshii, and I know Edward is worried sick about you.”
“I don’t think that he will; I’m kind of a danger magnet. I’m hoping that with magic, that’ll go away.”
“It should. I wouldn’t expect you to have anymore---”
I didn’t hear the rest of what he said, because I tripped over something at that moment and fell to the hard ground. It wasn’t until I tried moving that what had tripped me started to move. I had just enough time to roll onto my back to see the huge, black snake recoil to take a strike at my face. As it opened its mouth wider than my head and hissed, I could see sparks behind its fangs. Venom and electrical shock… great.
There was no slow motion, or my life flashing before my eyes, or even spells I could do to stop the snake. The only thing that passed through my mind was that it would be neat if the aquariums had a gift shop that also sold fish-like pets.
I heard the shriek as the snake reared back in pain. Shinobu struck like a mongoose, her claws buried deep into its head as she tried to bite out its eyes. The snake managed to shake her off just in time to be blasted with red lighting from Nano. Finding us to be too much work for a small meal, the snake slithered off at a scary-fast rate. Now it was Nano who stood over me. He held out his hand and I took it.
“Thank you,” I said as he helped me up. Both my knees were scraped, but it was far better than being eaten whole by a snake.
“You’re too accustomed to danger. More than that, you’re too accustomed to taking it. Were you abused as a child?”
“Not really. I guess I had some aggressive characters in my life.” A lot of aggressive characters. I picked up Shinobu, whose fur was standing on end. She was not happy, but she settled down and wrapped her tail around my neck when I started petting her.
“And did they teach you to fight?”
“I only fight when I have to. I really don’t like fighting.”
“That snake was going to kill you. You didn’t think to do something about it?”
“I really didn’t think about it. I thought about the aquarium and---”
“That’s what I’m talking about! You need to fight your fate. You are so used to danger that you tell yourself it’s inevitable and let go.”
“Not normally. I’m a good runner.”
“You’re not a good Guardian. React with your magic or your sword. Never let go.” With that, he turned and walked away.
Not a good Guardian… I am failing Edward, Ronez, Tiamat… everyone on Earth. Maybe I should have let Edward take the book and train someone else.
“What are you doing back on the ground?” Nano asked.
When I realized I had slumped to the ground, I stood, glaring at him. I went from slumping and self-deprecating to angry before I knew what I was doing.
“One week! I haven’t even known about magic for an entire week! I pick up some book on my lawn one day. Three weeks later some guy shows up, telling me everyone who came near me is going to die if I don’t go with him, oh, and also that I’m a damn wizard. I end up fighting spiky cats from Hell and get hit by lightning. I died! I say goodbye to the girl I thought I loved over the phone and the next thing I know, I’m waking up in a world full of dangerous creatures and, guess what, there’s a god who wants to kill me and destroy the world I’m suddenly responsible for! I get chased by toxic, giant wolves, and raptors, and end up with some super rare infection from a plant that almost sliced my foot off and poisoned me. I get lesson after lesson in magic while trying to learn a new language and adapt to the ridiculous gravity. And then I get lost in this new world, picked up by another Guardian, told that I’m not just a wizard but a super-Guardian, and brought to a new world with water goblins and giant spiders! Forgive me for not reacting correctly when a giant snake tries to eat my face!”
I was huffing and puffing by the time I was done. By his stunned expression, I assumed that he wasn’t about to speak, so I went on. Shinobu seemed to be stunned still, too.
“Go home, I’ll find Divina and Edward on my own.”
“I can’t leave you on your own.”
“You babysat me all day, I’m sure I can find my way.”
He sighed, and this seemed to be the one time he wasn’t going to turn and walk away. “We know you’re not a child. All of us do. And it’s not that you act like one. But you’re what, twenty-one? Are you even legally of age on your world? I’m fifteen-hundred-sixty-two years old. Edward is more than two-thousand-years-old. Even Divina is so much older than you it’s ridiculous. To us, you’re a child. To the Guardians, everyone is a child, and though you are one of us now, you’re still a baby compared to us. You’re going to become more powerful than all of us, but right now, we’re all responsible for you. And there is n
o point for us to protect you, and train you, and guide you, if you’re not going to be able to do it yourself. I know this is your first week. You are learning fantastically, but you need to get it through your head that you are powerful. You may rely on everyone else right now, and I know that frustrates you, but eventually, everyone will rely on you. You have to know your strengths to use them. You have to know what you are.”
With that, he turned and walked away.
* * *
I sat for about an hour, processing everything that happened to me since I opened the door to Edward. After an hour I came to one profound conclusion; no matter how dangerous this life was, or how much trouble I got in, or how lost I got, this life was better than my life on Earth.
Once again focusing on my book, I stood. Shinobu opened her eyes and glared at me.
“Sorry. I didn’t mean to wake you.”
She accepted the apology and closed her eyes again. I started off into the street, continuing the way Nano and I were going. I traveled for a few minutes before I slowed to a hesitant stop. I knew I wasn’t going the right way, so I backtracked and made a left turn in an intersection I had passed without thought.
This street was almost deserted and even the sunlight seemed to avoid it. I walked slower. The shops that weren’t clearly abandoned looked sinister. There was a group of three very large men off to the left and, thanks to my luck, they all noticed me in time to intercept my path.
The man in front I assumed was the leader. He had short, black, spiked hair while his two accomplices had shoulder length black hair. He wore a dark red, button up shirt with black pants and a black robe, while his friends wore black tunics with black pants. They were all about a foot taller than me and were thin.
“Dano ni takonate antao,” the leader said.
I didn’t recognize any word except “takonate,” which was money. Of course they wanted money; I was being mugged. I was only mugged four times on Earth.
