by Mark Albany
I disentangled myself from her gingerly, climbing out of—well, it was more our bed now than just mine, since she seemed to be spending every night here. I slipped out of the room and quickly found my way to a small garden, this one enclosed by walls. That was best, I thought. I didn’t need to be thinking about how I’d grown a tree from a seed in a single afternoon. I still wasn’t sure how I was going to break the news to Norel.
I dropped to the ground, taking a deep breath. I’d repeated the words of the incantation Aliana had taught me so many times that they seemed to be ingrained into my muscle memory. I crossed my legs in front of me and started chanting quickly. I had no idea what the words meant, but the spell worked. Who cared what the words meant?
I felt myself slipping into the blackness of my mind, enjoying the feeling of my replenished powers rising to greet me as an old friend instead of fighting my grip like an angry rat. As I slipped deeper and deeper into the trance, there was a moment of clarity when I realized that I wasn’t alone anymore. It was an uncomfortable feeling, to not be alone inside one’s own head, but I was surprised that there wasn’t any kind of anger or fear in the moment.
In that moment of clarity, an image of a woman appeared in my head. I remembered her face. The freckles and dark hair gave her away immediately. She smiled, showing an oddly childish gap in her teeth that I hadn’t noticed the last time.
“I was so hoping to see you again, nameless man,” she said, her voice echoing in my skull again. “I had so many questions for you, and they have been plaguing my mind ever since you so rudely interrupted our last conversation.”
I tilted my head, realizing as I looked down that I had suddenly taken on a physical form as well. I wasn’t sure if that was a result of my desires, or hers. I looked back at her as she came closer.
“Who are you?” she asked. “How is it that my journeys bring me to your mind? Which of my kind do you have enslaved?”
“You’re not like the other djinn I’ve met,” I said, leaving the question of how many I’d encountered unanswered.
“Well, this isn’t my true form, not really,” she said, looking down at her generously curvaceous form which was barely hidden by sheer black silk, before looking back up to me. “No, wait. No, don’t turn this back around to me, you naughty boy. Tell me who you are, or…”
“Or what?” I asked, smiling. “What exactly is it that you can do to me here?”
“Oh…” she grinned, a lustful look entering her eyes as she moved in closer. “You are delicious. I’m sure I’ll think of something.”
She extended her hand toward me, and suddenly I could feel something wrapping around my throat with an impossible strength. My eyes bulged as I reached to wrest the grip away, but there was nothing there except air, which was sadly lacking from my lungs. I coughed, shaking my head.
“Not as powerful as I thought,” she said, the hungry look disappearing for a moment. “How disappointing.”
I reacted without thinking. The runes in my hands burned as I lashed out, scattering the grip she had on me, and turning the fury I felt burning inside me back on her.
She took a step back, quickly waving her hand to brush my attack aside. She seemed unfazed by the fact that I was suddenly fighting back. The lust returned to her eyes, however.
“That is what I was looking for,” she said, licking her lips. I found myself slipping into the combat stances Aliana had taught me. Each attack needed to come from proper grounding, I remembered her telling me. Balance was everything, whether in combat or in magic, and it was certainly important when the two were combined.
I thrust my fist forward, sending a pulse of power toward the djinn, as strong as I could muster. I couldn’t remember ever being able to summon magic like this, but questions were quickly disappearing in my mind as I powered attack after attack.
The djinn responded by avoiding most of my attacks, easily deflecting the few that reached her.
“Angry one, aren’t you?” she asked, licking her lips, moving closer. I took an instinctive step back, trying to rethink my strategy. What strategy? What did I even know about that?
“Hasn’t your teacher taught you to control your emotions when in combat?” she asked as she moved forward again. I suddenly saw a wave of black power rushing toward me. I spun on my heels, trying to dive out of the way. I was only partially successful, feeling the attack whip at my legs, sending me twirling through the air.
When I finally came to a stop, I looked up to see her casually approaching with that same lustful look in her eyes.
I pushed myself to my feet, summoning what power I had left and striking out. She didn’t even bother evading my attacks, quickly waving her hand to brush them away like they were nothing more than annoying gusts of wind. As she stepped in close enough, I started powering physical strikes, trying to punch her face and body. She blocked the first two strikes, catching my wrists sharply to stop me from attacking again. Her hands twisted with impossible strength, and in that moment, I could feel every bone popping out of place in my wrists before I heard the horrifying sound of the bones in my forearms breaking in two.
I started to scream but she quickly released my useless arms and gripped my face, clamping my mouth shut. She was smaller than me, and yet I still felt like she was picking me up off the ground like I didn’t weigh more than a feather.
“That’s all right, tasty one,” she whispered, leaning in to run her tongue over my cheek. “You don’t need to say anything, though I hope you don’t mind if I look around for the answers to my questions another way.”
I felt the familiar and terrorizing sensation of the needles digging into my brain. Despite my mouth being clamped shut, I could still hear myself screaming in agony.
My eyes shot open suddenly, realizing that my physical mouth was screaming in pain. I fell back, scrambling away, looking around for the tiny, freckled djinn as the feeling of pain suddenly disappeared. For a moment, I wondered if it had even really happened.
I looked down at my arms, seeing them completely unbroken, healthy and whole as they had been before. I gulped down a dry spot in my throat as I lay back down on the ground, staring up at the sky. It was still dark, but the stars were starting to disappear with a light hint of pink appearing at the edge of my view.
Time had once again passed impossibly fast. I felt mildly rested, but still exhausted from my ordeal as I pushed myself back up to my feet, brushing the dirt from my clothes as I made my way back inside. As I moved out of the garden, I couldn’t shake the chills I’d felt. Memories of the last time someone had tried to access my mind the way that she had were making my hands shake.
I gripped them together tightly, trying to push the thought away from my mind as I found myself in a dining hall. They were all similar, and yet each one had minute differences that made them unique. During my time here, I couldn’t think of a single repeat. This house had to be magical, I thought as I dropped into a seat. There would be no food ready yet, I mused. That was fine. I wasn’t feeling that hungry anyway.
As I sat, something moved in the darkness. It made my mouth go dry for a second before I realized it was too small to be the dark djinn.
It was in fact, the cat, who had fallen asleep on the table near the fireplace where a few embers were still letting off a pleasant amount of heat. The feline pushed up from its prone position and stretched, yawning loudly before walking over to me at a leisurely pace. She hopped down from the table onto my lap, trusting that I wouldn’t be moving out of the way.
“No ordinary cat,” I said aloud with a small smile. The cat called Frarris looked up at me, tilting her head in confusion before meowing loudly and stepping over my thighs a few times before settling down and curling up on my lap. Her eyes closed and I could feel her purring loudly and contentedly as I threaded my fingers through her orange fur, scratching gently at the base of her skull. She showed no reaction, clearly having fallen asleep where she lay.
After what I’d been through, e
ven if it was mental rather than physical, it was comforting to have another living thing close by, enjoying my company. I was sure that Aliana would be more than happy to help out, but in the end, I wasn’t sure if I was ready to share that sort of experience with anyone until I’d brought myself into a state of acceptance about it. Aliana would want to talk about what happened, trying to get me to process it emotionally. While I was sure it would be the right thing to do, I still needed a moment to understand what I was supposed to processing.
A foreign entity had breached my mind, and not for the first time. The first instance had been an exchange of words that a simple action on my part had ended, and thus felt less disturbing than this time around. This time around I found myself powerless while inside the confines of my consciousness. She had invaded and made me helpless.
I took a deep breath. Well, now that I thought about it, it didn’t seem quite as complex as I was making it out to be.
I looked up as I heard a door opening. Time had slipped away as I sat here with my thoughts and Frarris. I could see that the sun was already starting to rise, although the darkness outside was still prevalent.
Norel entered, dressed simply in a long black robe. I smiled when I saw that she was still in her original form. There was still something about her elvish features that felt off, but that was my issue, not hers.
She saw me, seeming almost as surprised as I was to see her.
“You’re up before the sun. Bad dreams?”
“Of a sort,” I replied evasively, looking back down to run my fingers through Frarris’ fur. She hadn’t stirred from my lap and was still purring softly.
“She trusts you,” Norel said with a small smile, taking a seat next to me. “That’s rather rare in its own right. Even if Ali hadn’t vouched for you, seeing Frarris this comfortable with you means I can trust you as well.”
I smiled, still not looking up from the tabby. There was an argument to be made that a cat’s intuition in regard to people didn’t necessarily boil down to trusting that person, but at the same time, what I’d been told reared its head in my mind once more: Frarris was no ordinary cat.
Finally, I looked up at Norel, who had what smelled like a warm herbal tisane in a clay mug in her hands.
“Before we start plotting out where your sister is,” I said, keeping my voice low, “I think it’s time you told me the secret about Frarris, don’t you?”
Norel smiled, standing and putting her mug on the table before leaning close. Close enough that I could smell the lavender and mint that made up her natural scent, as well as the warmth radiating from her skin. Not as hot as Aliana’s but still hotter than mine, for instance.
“Open your eyes, Grant,” Norel whispered, running a finger idly through my thick hair. “More than you ever have before.”
Her voice felt like a caress of my senses. I could feel something falling away, rather like a silken veil being pulled off as I felt something shift and slither across my lap. I looked down to see what it was as Norel returned to her seat, and nearly jumped out of my chair.
“What…” I started to say but stopped. The creature on my lap was undoubtedly still Frarris, but not the cat I’d been seeing before. Scales replaced fur, and while the general body size and weight was more or less the same, there was only one way to really describe what Frarris looked like now.
“So… this cat that’s not an ordinary cat,” I said, my voice sounding breathier than usual. “Frarris is a dragon?”
Norel nodded. “My dragon, yes. Shrunken and hidden for her safety and mine. I discussed the concept with her at length and she was agreeable. I will admit that things have somewhat spiraled since the decision, but I stand by it.”
On top of everything else, it appeared that Frarris could talk. As I scratched the still-purring tiny dragon’s neck, I wondered why that, of all things, was what I was having trouble with.
“I will find a way to bring her back to her former glories,” Norel said, although I wasn’t sure if she was trying to appease me or Frarris. “Once she is restored, the dark djinn will tremble in fear.”
I nodded, smiling at how through all of this, Norel seemed to be keeping her voice even and calm, the same voice she’d maintained when I knew her as a human.
“Well, now you know,” she said with a smile. “And now we can find our third, and then we can stop the world from ending. Does that sound agreeable?”
“Perfectly,” I said with a grin as Aliana slipped into the room to join us. She looked at me oddly, silently asking why I was gone from the bed before she woke up. When she saw Frarris on my lap she smiled, either not bothering to ask the questions or putting them off for another time as she took her place beside me, lightly kissing my lips before settling into her seat. A couple of servants came in, setting out a variety of breakfast dishes for us to enjoy before leaving. They hadn’t made any mention about Aliana’s appearance, so maybe it wasn’t that interesting and they didn’t notice how Norel looked different.
We ate in silence for the most part. It was only once I leaned back from my plate, feeling better about not having had much sleep, when Aliana broke the silence.
“I still have the orb I took from Kruger’s men. It may yield interesting results since I have been trying to get it to work properly again. I think I’m ready to give it another try.”
I nodded. “It’s how we found Norel, right?”
“It is worth the attempt, at least,” Norel agreed. “If it bears no viable results, I know of a powerful mage who is currently being held in the Lancers’ dungeons that might be of some help. He is one of the most powerful human mages I’ve ever met. The Emperor had him imprisoned for a divination he made that the Emperor didn’t approve of.”
“Shocking,” I muttered, toying with a cluster of grapes as old memories resurfaced.
“Well, there was some conflict over the divination,” Norel continued. “And in the end, the Emperor decided he wouldn’t abide someone contesting his rule and locked the man up before any further difficulties arose. He’s been down there ever since.”
“How do you know he’s is still with us?” Aliana asked. “You know, alive?”
“I make it my business to know about the most powerful mages in the city and where they are,” Norel said with a small smile. “He’s alive, believe me.”
I took a deep breath, wanting to ask just how she was able to keep herself abreast of those precise details, but then suddenly decided I didn’t want to know.
“We should also talk to our little circle,” Norel said, sipping her tisane. “They will want to know what we are doing, and might have some new information we can put to good use.”
Norel didn’t sound like she actually wanted to talk to them. Honestly, I shared the sentiment. There was the fact that there were all sorts of rules and regulations that went into the simple act of conversing to be dealt with. Another point against them was the fact that they would make problems if they ever caught wind of Aliana’s existence, and that was enough to make me dislike them on its own.
“I hate politics,” Aliana said, apparently agreeing with our dislike of the situation. “It just gets in the way of what needs to be done.”
“Agreed,” Norel said. “However, I do believe the time for pussy-footing about is at an end. I will not change back into my human form. I think it high time for our friends to know about my true likeness, and that of my sister as well.”
Aliana beamed, looking rather happy about not having to sneak about for these meetings. For my part, I ground my jaw, wondering at the reaction this kind of revelation would draw out. If nothing else, it would make these dull meetings a lot more interesting from this point forward.
7
Unrest seemed to be at an all-time high, I realized as the three of us wound our way through the streets of the city. There was smoke rising in the distance, and every open square was thronged. Some even men standing on boxes to openly incite the crowd over their frustrations. I knew this wasn’t t
oo far from what most emperors would consider to be a revolution.
I imagined the Lancers were busier than ever, locking the dissenters up alongside this powerful mage. It was a wonder people were being allowed to congregate this much, all things considered.
Aliana was wearing a cloak, but Norel seemed content to flaunt her changed appearance to all who could see. There weren’t that many, I mused, since Aliana was still using her field of perception to keep all eyes away from us, but I liked this side of Norel I was now seeing. Proud of her origins, instead of hiding them. She’d always been a confident person but now it was less a matter of defense and more about freedom.
We entered the house of one of the nobles involved in our little group. Once the field was dropped, either through Aliana’s intention or the wards that surely surrounded the house, the reaction was almost instant. I couldn’t blame any of the servants for their shock, or the guards who reached for their weapons at the sight of a djinn and an elf stepping into the mansion.
The reaction from the men and women assembled in the council chamber was considerably more gratifying. People who were used to being in control of the situations around themselves now had that control taken away by the sight of the two very different, very odd creatures before them who’d managed to cross their safeguards. One of the servants dropped a jug of what looked like wine, sending shards and red liquid flowing everywhere. No one seemed to notice.
Aliana pulled her hood up and away, revealing both horns and wings. Norel took her seat, elven features on prominent display in the suddenly-silent room. The nobles seemed to be keeping their composure rather well all things considered. They prided themselves on treating anything from nuisances to ground-breaking revelations with ease and aloofness, but I could see this revelation starting to strain even their sensibilities.
“Well, then?” Norel asked, acting like there was nothing out of the ordinary. “Has anything of note occurred since we last met?”
