by Mac Flynn
I sniffled, but managed a shaky smile. “I’d. . .I’d like that very much.”
He stood and bowed his head. “Then I will see that she brings something up to you. Have a pleasant sleep, if you can, and feel free to call me whenever you wish.” He turned and strode toward the door.
The prospect of being alone frightened me as my eyes flickered nervously over to the corner. “What about that shadow thing? Is it going to come back?”
Lord Tristan paused in front of the door and half-turned to me. “Gwill is the protector of this home, but I will tell him to remain outside your room unless you call for him.”
“Gwill? The shadow has a name?” I asked him.
He nodded. “Yes, though he has no manners. Fortunately, he will obey my orders completely, so I can assure you he won’t enter here again unless you wish it.”
I furrowed my brow as I recalled the strange shadow thing. “That. . .that Gwill thing said you were waiting for me,” I reminded him as I looked up at my host. “What was he talking about?”
“That is a conversation better finished after a good meal and some rest,” he replied.
I smelled a feint and frowned. “Why not right now?” I grasped the sheets in my hands and studied him with a hard gaze. “What’s all of this about? Why am I here? How’d I get here?”
The lord turned his face away and when he spoke his voice was hardly above a whisper. “You traveled through a portal between our worlds, one created many, many years ago in order that I might find a suitable bride.”
I froze and my eyes widened. A lump arose in my throat that I squashed down with a swallow. I flapped my lips a couple of times before words came out. “Your. . .your bride?”
He gave a nod. “Yes. I have rather. . .unique requirements for my bride, and was unable to find such a person in my world. I set the statue in yours to find one and bring her to me.” A soft smile slipped onto his lips as he studied me. “I must admit, you exceed my expectations.”
Flattery would get him nowhere as my eyebrows crashed down. “So you’re the one who dragged me out of my world?”
The lord stiffened. “You’re angry with me.”
I slammed my balled hands against the covers. “Of course I’m mad! You kidnapped me!”
He shook his head. “No. My spell was created only to work on one who would willingly come to me.”
I flushed at the memory of those tendrils that had so enticed me back to the statue. Still, my anger wasn’t abated. “How could I know I was going to be brought here?” I countered. “I didn’t know what I was getting into!”
Lord Tristan sighed. “I see that I have upset you, and that’s the last thing I wished to do. Tomorrow we will discuss this further, along with your future. Goodnight.”
He stepped out into the hall and closed the door behind him, leaving me to fume.
8
But I wasn’t just going to sit there and do nothing. I needed to get away and back to that courtyard. That portal was my only chance at getting home. If my presence had activated it on one side then maybe it could do it on this side.
I swung my legs over the bed and tested my injured ankle. The bandages limited the movement of my bones and made it possible to walk without a scream every time I put weight on that foot. I tiptoed across the room to the door and paused for a moment. There was only silence. A rattle on the knob told me it was unlocked, so I peeked my head out into the hall. The center part of the floor was carpeted, but was otherwise wood. A railing stood opposite my door and looked out over a small foyer. The stairs were against the wall twenty feet to my left, and there was also a door in the wall at the top of the steps. Identical wood doors on either side of me led to other rooms, and the hall ended fifty feet on my right.
I eased into the hall, but froze as I heard dishes clatter to the floor. Voices echoed into the foyer from beneath me. “I’m so sorry, Lord Cernunnos!”
“It’s Tristan, Chloe,” Tristan’s gentle voice replied. “Be sure to give her whatever she needs.”
What I needed was a better escape plan. I grasped the railing and leaned over. The front doors were below and on the wall in front of me. If I could just make it down the steps without being seen and heard than maybe I’d be in luck.
I held onto the railing with my right hand and inched my way toward the stairs. The wall against which the steps ran was covered in portraits of people who didn’t look anything like Tristan. For one thing there were no horns, and for another they didn’t have his brilliant eyes.
I reached the top step and stretched out my foot to start my descent. That was when a shadow floated out of the corner beside me and formed itself into the mischievous figure of Gwill. I clapped both hands over my mouth to stifle my scream and stumbled back into the banister on the first step.
Gwill looked me up and down with those bright white eyes. “And where do you think you’re going?”
I lowered my hands and took a deep breath before I managed a shaky smile. “J-just outside for some fresh air.”
He snorted. “You’re a worse liar than you look, though I admit you don’t look half bad.” He floated closer for a better examination.
Too close. My personal-space instinct commanded my hand to fly up and smack him across the cheek. There was a satisfying ‘smack’ as flesh connected with whatever constituted his body.
Gwill floated back with a shocked look on his face and cupped his wounded cheek. “You. . .you hit me!” he whined.
“Sorry!” I apologized before I turned and flew down the stairs. I reached the doors and grabbed the handles.
“Christine!” It was Tristan. I looked over my shoulder at him. He stood in a doorway near the left-hand wall beneath the balcony. His eyes were full of a mix of expressions, but the one that struck my heart like an arrow was fear.
My heart sank and I shook my head. “I’m sorry. I can’t stay here.”
I flung open the doors and rushed outside. The night was calm and the stars twinkled above me as I turned left and followed a stone path in front of the house. The path guided me to the side of the home where the hedge rose up like overgrown grass. I raced through the archway and through the short maze to the small courtyard. The fountain gave off its gentle gurgling in greeting to me, but there was no statue, no portal. Not even the gross monster that had attacked me.
I stumbled over to the pool and looked into the glistening water. My own haggard reflection stared back at me. A few tears pooled in my eyes.
“Damn it. . .” I murmured.
I dropped my butt onto the edge of the pool and cupped my face in my hands. Sobs wracked my body as the full realization of my situation hit me like a brick.
I was stuck here. Nothing was going to get me back.
Footsteps on the stones made me whip my head up. Tristan stood over me. His golden eyes held a look of such sorrow that most of my anger at him melted. Still, I was stubborn. I turned my face away.
He gestured to the empty spot beside me. “Do you mind if I sit?”
I hung my head and shut my eyes. Tears pushed out and down my cheeks. “I can’t exactly stop you.”
“Then I will remain standing.”
I could see he was trying to be nice, but ‘nice’ wasn’t going to get me back home. I cupped one side of my face in my hand and bit my trembling lower lip. “Why is this happening to me?”
“Because my spell thought you worthy,” he reminded me.
I raised my eyes to his gentle face and pressed my hand against my chest. “But why me?”
He pursed his lips. “I wish I could explain the intricacies of the spell, but I must admit even I don’t understand all that is involved in its decisions.”
I blinked at him. “You. . .you performed a spell that you didn’t understand?”
A smile slipped onto his lips. “Understood, yes, but magic is like a wild beast that has been tamed. Though it does your bidding, the creature is still a natural force and works as it pleases to guarantee the outcome th
e caster desires.”
I wiped my arm across my wet cheeks. “So there’s really magic here?”
He held out his hand with the palm facing up. A small purple flame arose from his hand and hovered over his palm. Its single flame flickered and danced, forming itself into shapes like a horse and a bird. The flame became a dragon that flew up out of the fire. Its long tail left a trail of sparkling embers as it glided around the lord before it swooped around me. I turned my head to watch its dazzling flight before the creature returned to the flame. The lord shut his hand and the flame was extinguished.
I couldn’t hide my child-like excitement at seeing fantasy become reality. “That was so cool!”
He chuckled. “I’m glad you like it.”
“What else can you do?” I asked him.
The lord paused and studied me. “A great deal more, but wouldn’t you like to try it yourself?”
I started back. “M-me?” I held up my hands in front of myself and shook my head. “I can’t do magic. I couldn’t even get a card trick to work.”
“On the contrary, you showed some ability in the house,” he argued.
I blinked at him. “I did?”
He nodded. “Yes. Not anyone can touch Gwill, a creature of darkness and magic. Only those with the gift of magic could harm him as you did.”
I blushed. “I didn’t mean to.”
“There is no need for an apology. Gwill is rather forgetful of mortal customs, and needs a reminder every now and again.” A soft smile fell on his lips. “Now would you like me to show you how to perform magic?”
“I-I don’t know about that,” I admitted as he took the seat beside me.
He turned at an angle to face me and held out his upraised hands. “Set your hands on mine with the palms upraised.”
My eyes flickered from his hands to his kind face. I gathered my courage and set my hands atop his palms.
“Your hands are shaking,” he noted.
I snorted. “I’m a little nervous right now.”
“This won’t hurt,” he assured me. “Now close your eyes and focus on the air around you.”
I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. The air was still chilly, but there was a strange movement around us that tickled my senses. It was like a playful child teasing me with the soft end of a blade of wild grass.
“Do you feel the chill?” he asked me.
I nodded. “Yeah.”
“Focus that cold into your right hand,” he instructed me.
I scrunched up my face and focused all my thoughts on my hand. My trembling stopped as I felt the chill be drawn from the air and into my palm.
“Open your eyes, Christine.”
I opened my eyes and gasped. There, clutched in my palm, was a round ball of water. The liquid slowly swirled inside of itself and reflected the light from the twinkling stars above us. The lord drew his hand out from beneath mine and the water dropped onto mine, splashing me with its cold body. I raised my hand to my face and looked with disappointment at the remains of the ball.
“My apologies,” he pleaded as he grasped my hand in his own. He used his own robe to wipe the water away. “I thought perhaps you might be able to hold the magic yourself.”
His hand, though gloved, had a warm touch against mine. A strange shiver ran down my spine, one that made me blush. I drew my hand out of his gentle hold and clutched it against my chest as I looked down at the ground. “Maybe I’m not magical, after all,” I guessed.
“If you weren’t then you wouldn’t have been able to hold the magic at all,” he told me. “You would, in the words of my world, be a syk.”
I raised my eyes and blinked at him. “A what?”
“A syk, or rather, one who is without magic,” he told me. “The exact translation would be ‘dry.’”
“Are there a lot of them here?” I asked him.
He nodded. “The vast majority of the populace are syk, and thus the job of athrylis-that is, one who is able to use magic-is a lucrative field.”
“So what can athrylisis do?” I wondered.
He chuckled. “Far too much for me to list, though I have several books in my library that contain a great deal of knowledge on them.” He stood and offered me his hand. “Would you like to see them?”
I looked from his outstretched hand to his face. His expression was impassive, but his eyes were full of hope and longing. I smiled and took his hand, and he drew me to my feet so we stood chest to head. “I’d love to.” Tristan opened his mouth, but something gave him pause and he looked up at the sky above the fountain. “Is something wrong?” I asked him.
He looked down at me and smiled. “It’s nothing. Let’s go.”
My heart was uneasy as Tristan led me away, and I cast one last look over my shoulder at the fountain. There was nothing but darkness and shadows, and a feeling of frustrating helplessness inside me.
9
Tristan led me back to the house where we found the front doors opened and Chloe standing in the doorway. The light from the foyer cast her front in shadow, but her stiff stance told me she was worried.
“Lord Tristan!” she shouted as we rounded the corner. She hurried over to us and looked from him to me. “Are you both all right?”
Tristan nodded. “Yes. Christine merely needed some time to think.”
Chloe looked to me and smiled. “Thank goodness. I thought you would leave us.”
“You’re too nice,” a teasing voice spoke up, and Gwill appeared in the doorway. He didn’t cross the threshold, but he floated above it as his white eyes studied me. “And she was most definitely going to leave us if she could.”
Chloe’s face fell as she studied mine. “I see. . .though I can’t blame you. You must have a great many friends at your home.”
“We will see to it that she is kept safe and comfortable until she can return to them,” Tristan instructed her.
Chloe smiled and curtsied. “Of course, Lord Tristan. Were you still wanting food, Miss Bradfern?”
“Please call me Chris,” I requested.
Chloe’s smile widened and she nodded. “I’d be delighted to!”
“Christine and I will be in the library,” Tristan told her. “You may bring a platter of meat and cheeses there.”
Chloe bowed to him. “Right away!” She spun around and hurried back inside, running through Gwill in her eagerness to obey.
The house spirit whipped his head around at her retreating back. “I told you not to do that!” He looked back to us as we approached the door and frowned at me. “Don’t think I’ve forgotten about that slap you gave me.”
I glared back at him. “You shouldn’t have frightened me!”
“I am surprised you were taken so unawares, Gwill,” Tristan teased.
Gwill folded his arms and floated backward into the foyer. “It was just a lucky shot.”
Tristan gestured to a pair of doors on the right-hand side of the foyer. “My library is this way.”
Gwill balled his hands into fists as we proceeded to the doors. “Don’t ignore me! I know where you sleep!”
Tristan opened one of the doors and half-turned to Gwill. “Shouldn’t you be making your nightly rounds?”
Gwill arched an eyebrow, or at least what few facial items moved in that way. “Anywhere in particular?”
“The fountain, if you would,” Tristan requested as he smiled down at me. He gestured to the room beyond the doors. “Welcome to my library.”
I cast a suspicious look at him before I slipped inside. My eyes widened as I beheld a large room that occupied the entire eastern wing of the house from the bottom floor to the roof. Every wall except where the windows stood were covered in bookshelves that were broken only by a metal balcony that was accessed via a spiral staircase. More bookcases covered the walls on the second floor and a few small tables with busts of heads added to the intellectual decor. The lower floor had soft leather chairs with accompanying end tables, and a large fireplace stood in the center of
the room on the wall opposite the doors.
Tristan lit some candles that hung from candelabras attached to the walls, and their soft light illuminated the room. “The library is at your disposal whenever you wish.”
I stepped into the room and gawked at the countless books both new and ancient that covered the bookshelves. One of the shelving units on the balcony caught my attention. Though it was wood like the others, there was a thick glass doors on its front that slid to give access to the contents. I nodded at the strange case. “What’s in that?”
He didn’t follow my gaze, but rather studied me. “That is where I hold the oldest and most dangerous books in my collection. You must never open them. Do you understand?” The gravity in his voice made me nod. He relaxed and smiled. “Good. Now where would you like to start? The books on athrylisis?”
I pursed my lips as I swept my eyes over the selection. “Which book helped you create the portal?”
He sighed. “I see. I suppose I can’t blame you for wanting to read that book, but I would advise against it. The portals are rather peculiar to both our worlds and involve a great deal of athrylis knowledge to create.”
“Well, what about the spell you used to go to my world without a portal?” I asked him. “Can you do that one again?”
“I did, but the trip was rather more violent then the slight toss you experienced,” he revealed. “The effort nearly destroyed even one such as I, as the spell involves a great deal of magic to execute properly without being thrown to the far reaches of space and time.”
I looked him over from the top of his horns down to his well-heeled boots. “What exactly are you?”
He smiled down at me. “I must appear rather peculiar to you with these.” He brushed one hand against a horn. “This world calls me a dierth. I believe yours would call me a dragon.”
“What’s dierth mean?” I wondered.
