by M L Sawyer
Darci’s stomach made an untimely grumble, causing her to blush slightly. Why she was hungry when she had only eaten dinner mere hours ago, she could not fathom, though once fed and rested, both of them would have time to compose themselves as well as figure out what they were going to do about the situation.
She rose from her position on the grass. Looking around, for the first time she really began to take in her surroundings. Soft shafts of sunlight pierced the giant canopy, revealing the wondrous world of flora and fauna beneath. A myriad of greens appeared to adorn every space with plants ranging from the familiar fern to the more exotic existence of unfamiliar species that could be compared to nothing from Earth – the closest being a tall plant climbing up the trunks of trees like a creeper, but it appeared to be living in harmony instead of killing its host. Her hair blew back from her shoulder as a gentle breeze passed by, bringing with it the fragrance of flowers from somewhere beyond her sight. She turned the way of the breeze to try and catch a glimpse of what caused such a sweet smell, but Taslessian had already turned around to face a small animal track she had previously not noticed. Without further conversation, he began to lead the way back into the forest to his master’s cabin.
* * *
Under every leaf and around every corner, fantastic varieties of life seemed to clear from their path. From a bug bright red in colour, scurrying out of their way, to a small bird, green with blue underwing to match its surroundings, that chased it. Sounds in every tree, shrub and burrow assailed Darci’s hearing, far greater a natural composition of sight and sound than any she had witnessed in the now seemingly plain rainforests on Earth.
A large gust of wind brought her out of her trance as she looked towards the sky. Through the cracks in the far-off canopy, flashes of scaly orange quickly flew over, making her stammer an awe inspired question to Taslessian. “W… was that a… a dragon?” It was the closest description that she could bring to mind.
“Yes,” was his simple reply. Taslessian had not even bothered to look up at the sound of the large animal.
Looking around to see if she could catch a glimpse of any other wondrous creatures, Darci nearly ran into the back of the apprentice wizard as they had reached their destination.
The cabin that now stood before them looked to be made completely of wood. It was three storeys high with a lookout poking out of its roof. For a moment, Darci thought that the lookout was pointless because it did not even reach half way up the forest of trees surrounding it. The young girl shrugged her shoulders. She was bound to come across stranger things than that.
The young wizard opened the roughly made door with a creek, motioning for Darci to enter. “Watch your step,” he said as he pointed to the stair from the ground to the wooden floor.
“What an… interesting place,” she commented, not wanting to offend her new acquaintance.
Ahead of her lay a dimly lit room cluttered with many things. Open books and pieces of paper lay strewn about the wooden table in the centre of the room. Next to it lay even more books in disorganised piles, topped with plates of half-finished food. At least with the furry growth sprouting from the lumps on the plates, that’s what she assumed it to be. All the furniture on the ground floor had obvious imperfections in the woods cut and symmetry but they appeared to be sturdy enough. Aside from the table, there were four, slightly uneven wooden chairs, a bench with various glass vials on it, and two tall stools.
“It’s not that much, but it’s home,” the wizard replied modestly, as he quickly went around, picking up dirty plates, bits of paper and the like, trying to make the place look a touch more respectable. Darci smiled as she remembered doing the same thing to her bedroom when someone dropped by unexpectedly, though her clean-up was limited to cleaner clothes and study material.
That’s strange, she thought, as she looked closer at the containers on the table. At first glance, she had thought of the bench as part of a kitchen, yet, none of the bizarre things on the bench looked edible. Noticing her glance, Taslessian actually smiled as he explained that all things in this kitchen were used for magic.
“For example,” he said, taking one of the jars from a shelf. He took the lid off and shoved it under Darci’s nose. She took a quick step back almost tripping on a stool as she recoiled from the open container. It was emitting a stench that smelt similar to a mix of dogs’ breath and her basketball shoes. “This is only the toe of a dead Afrit, of course, but, if it is mixed with a couple of the other things around here, we could turn it into a cure for warts.” To this the young girl screwed up her nose. If it was a simple cure for warts, then why did witches always seem to have them?
Taslessian then led Darci to the next floor, which, when they got there, looked like a hurricane had hit it. Definitely the bedroom, Darci thought as she noticed the clothes strewn all over the floor. The young wizard explained that he usually kept this room clean but since his mentor, Belderon, was away visiting a friend, he had not bothered to tidy it up recently, but it was on his list of things to do.
“What’s up on the next floor?” Darci asked, giving way to her curiosity. Wizards and apprentices, surely there would be more interesting places than a teenager’s room.
“Ah, that’s the best place of all. When my master is home, he often goes up to the lookout.” The young man paused, looking up to the roof as if he could see right through it.
“To see what, the birds in the trees?” she asked. Thinking about it, this was not such a bizarre thing, as Darci’s dad often enjoyed bird watching as a hobby.
“Oh!” He smiled. “It goes much higher than the canopy. Though I have to admit that I have not yet mastered the skill, but the tower is magic. It simply takes a bit of spell conjuring to elevate the tower to the height required. Though he hasn’t been home in a while…” Taslessian paused for a moment longer before returning to his cleaning task. It was obvious that despite the formality, he missed his master.
Darci knew how he felt. A sinking feeling began to form in the pit of her stomach. At home she kept her bedroom in a state like this when her mother was away. Home… Unless she was dreaming, she was in some strange guy’s bedroom far away from there.
“Pinch me,” Darci told Taslessian.
The young man shoved a pile of clothes behind the door turning around to look at her blankly.
“Pinch me, now.” She held out her bare arm in front of him. Not sure what strange thing his new acquaintance was up to, Taslessian lightly squeezed her skin between his fingers causing her to pull her arm away.
“Crap,” she said as she absently looked for somewhere to sit down. This was not a dream as there was no way she could have slept through that. Darci was out of luck because there were no stools in sight, unless they had been devoured by one of the piles of clothes. Eventually she slumped down on Taslessian’s bed.
“What is… crap?” Taslessian paused mid clean up to look at the young girl, but Darci did not even hear his question. She was too busy trying to get her head around the fact that she had been brought into a completely different world and so far, her only hope of getting home was an apprentice wizard who did not even know how he had brought her here in the first place. She bit her lower lip as her eyes began to fill with water. She took a shuddering deep breath as she tried to hold her tears at bay.
Taslessian dumped his latest pile of clothes on the floor where he then kicked them under the bed so that he could sit down next to Darci. He felt confused because he did not know what he should do. Since the age of ten, when he had been chosen to become an apprentice, he had not seen any members of the opposite sex, as he did not include the old crones who visited his master. How does one comfort another who is of different sex and from a different world? he wondered to himself.
After a few moments of indecision, the young wizard decided to try to do something he could remember his mother doing to him as a child when he was frightened. Tentatively, he placed his arm around Darci’s shoulders. To his slight sati
sfaction, she let herself melt into his arms.
“Don’t worry,” Taslesian told her. “I may not be able to send you back home, but my master will be back soon, and I’m sure that he will be able to.”
As if on cue, a door slammed shut on the ground floor, followed by thunderous, angry steps on the wooden stairs that seemed to shake the entire building. The door to the bedroom burst open, bouncing back slightly as it hit the pile of clothes behind it.
In the doorway stood a red-faced, grey-bearded little man. He wore a pointy hat of faded green that sat just above his thick, bushy eyebrows. Underneath, his eyes looked as if they were on fire. Darci thought she could almost see green electricity, seeping out the corners of his eyes, rising up to the sky before disappearing into the atmosphere. The expensive-looking, intricately designed cloaks that he wore were alive, green and then red, flowing around his feet, despite the absence of wind, giving him the presence of a powerful entity despite his diminutive size.
“What have you done?” he boomed at Taslessian. His voice made the very walls shake as he glared at his apprentice. “Your little trick could be heard from miles around. You know that any competent mystic can feel magic!” Belderon glared down at the ashen-faced teen. All the colour had drained from his face. Seated, he could look Belderon directly in the eye, yet in his master’s presence, he seemed half the size.
“I am sorry…” Taslessian tried to explain, but he was abruptly cut off.
“Can’t you feel them watching? Anything from another world is greatly sought after. Everyone who is anyone will be on their way here to take a look at or simply take whatever you brought here!”
Darci felt a slight rush of fear run up her spine. Was this wizard guy talking about her? What kind of world was this?
Belderon was now calling Taslessian every name he could think of. Most of the insults Darci could not even understand because they were in foreign languages of some sort. Waving her hand slightly, she tried to get their attention, but to no avail. Taslessian had begun to tidy his room again, head bowed as the livid man continued to rant at him, punctuating his sentences with a flick of his hand that sent small blue shocks from his very fingertips to Taslessian’s behind.
“Hello…” she said quietly, yet Belderon continued his tongue-lashing. She tried once more without success until she could take no more. “HEY!” Darci shouted.
Both of them turned their attention to her, the enraged wizard’s expression changing momentarily from anger to shock, looking at her as if he had never seen a human girl before. “I know how to solve this problem; why don’t you just send me home?”
Belderon placed his hands on his hips as he looked at this new addition to his apprentice’s room, taking a moment’s pause to consider the outspoken girl.
“You look like a bar girl from one of the Chinta whorehouses,” he said finally. His gaze continued to regard her, but the shade of his face began to change from angered crimson back to a normal human colour.
Darci’s face began to burn, but as her eyes narrowed, her reply to his insult was cool. “I am in my pyja… the clothes I sleep in. When brought here, I am afraid I had no time to dress in my Sunday best.” She looked the wizard in the eye as she awaited a response.
“Go and find some suitable cloths for her,” the wizard ordered. Taslessian instantly began to sort through all the clothes on the floor, his shoulders hunching as he shrank into himself, hoping to remain unnoticed, not wishing to incur any more of his master’s wrath.
Switching his attention back to Darci, Belderon’s face began to lose some of its harshness. “How old are you?” he asked. The lines on his face held no humour, and though his eyes had lost their anger, sadness remained; or was it pity?
“Sixteen,” she answered quietly. She was unable to answer the look in Belderon’s eyes, the confidence she had felt was already slipping away, the trepidation of her situation beginning to return.
“I apologise for Taslessian’s actions. If I had not told him to practice while I was gone I am sure that he would not have brought you here.” The wizard’s eyes drifted to Taslessian but the young man was still busying himself looking for some clothes.
Darci nodded her head to acknowledge the apology. “It’s okay I guess. I mean, you can send me home and all will be forgotten.” Belderon’s face softened to something that remotely resembled compassion, which caused Darci to swallow audibly. The sinking feeling in her stomach had returned as she guessed her situation.
“The problem is,” Belderon said, “I can’t send you back home. I do not know how, and even if I did, I doubt that I would have enough power. I even find it hard to believe that you’re actually here…” He sighed in frustration, stroking his beard.
“To get you home, we must travel to a wizard greater than I. Now, if I can get you safely to one of the great, wise dragons, I am sure that they will be able to send you back to where you came from.” Belderon’s final statement did not sound totally confident, leaving Darci with an uneasy feeling in her stomach. The old wizard had begun to pack things in a small bag. The conversation was over.
Taslessian came up from scrounging around on the floor, handing, Darci some of the clothes that he had found. He apologised for the size but they were the smallest clothes that he could find that were not threadbare. He then pulled a screen out so that she could dress without being observed.
Darci’s brain was numb. I am in another world… I am in… another world… another world, she thought. No matter how many times she repeated it to herself, she simply could not make herself believe. She had read fantasy books since she could remember, even retraced some of the stories in her mind with her as the main character, but never had she actually thought she would be a part of one.
Mechanically, she began to dress herself in the clothes that she had been given. Keeping her pyjamas on for underwear, she lifted one foot, then the other. Once finished, she looked at herself in a small mirror sitting on a bedside stool. She was wearing a dark green shirt that looked as if it had been made for a monkey, the way the sleeves almost reached her knees. The pants were so long that she had trouble finding her feet, and to do that, she had to pull the pants up until they were around the middle of her ribs.
Despite the much more modest looks that Taslessian’s clothes offered, Darci still felt uncomfortable. This problem was easily fixed, however, as she tied a knot in her pyjama top, offering support for her uneasiness. It was the best she could do, considering.
She walked out from behind the screen, trying her best not to trip on the pants. Belderon took one look at her and then suddenly, all the clothes seemed to fit comfortably. He gave her a wink and then her pyjama top also seemed to change. Taking an indignant look down her shirt, Darci did not see her pyjama top like she expected, but a black sports bra, similar to those she wore during basketball training. She was about to ask the Master how he knew, but he had already started to go about his business. Taslessian handed her some boots. As she put them on they also shrank to fit. This time she looked up to see Taslessian smiling, but the moment passed in an instant, and he had already returned to packing.
“Why are we in such a hurry?” Darci asked him. “I mean, sure, I want to get home quick – Mum will be pitching a fit.” Pangs of anxiety began to assail her already emotion filled senses as she thought of her mother arriving home to find her gone; the police would be called and the entire neighbourhood woken; how would she explain this?
“My master thinks… the sooner we get there the better.” Despite only knowing him for an hour, Darci detected a hint of nervousness in his voice.
The young girl was becoming more and more confused. She had no idea who these people were, yet they were going on a journey together?
Belderon shoved his small, sack like bag into Darci’s hand, motioning for her to follow him as he headed downstairs towards the door, where they left without pause.
They had not taken more than five steps outside before Belderon stopped
suddenly. Curious, Darci took a step to the side, thinking to go around, when Taslessian placed a firm hand on her shoulder. A few steps ahead of them, floating above the small path just before the entrance of the forest, a mysterious dark shadow had appeared, an anomaly in the plain, day-lit courtyard. Its dark presence defied the bright rays of sunshine. Like a drop of mud on a glass window it appeared to be floating ahead of them, disembodied in the air.
“What do you want, Domati?” asked Belderon in a threatening tone. The cautious wizard’s knuckles had whitened as he tightened his grip on his staff.
The shadow answered, pulsing with a voice that was not quite human. “I wish to… speak with the human from another world.”
Darci’s eyes began to droop, her hand coming to her mouth, automatically stifling a yawn, as she tried to take another step forward. She did not think. All she wanted to do was take a few more steps. The pressure on her shoulder increased. It was the only thing preventing her from continuing onwards.
“You cannot have this child, Domati. I will not allow her knowledge to fall into the wrong hands and I will not allow you to abuse anything she can bring into this world.” Belderon widened his stance, holding his ground.
Darci’s head began to clear. She blinked a couple of times before she realised that she was looking straight into Taslessian’s dark green eyes. As if straining to hear someone else calling from far off in the distance, she began to hear what he was trying to say to her. But his lips were not moving. Taslessian was inside her mind.
“Darci… Darci… listen to me. He’s trying to get you to go to him; he is trying to control you. You have to resist, otherwise he will learn things about you that we do not want him to know.” Taslessian squeezed her shoulder a little harder than he needed to, but his firm grip brought her back to reality.
Now that she thought about it, there was something happening to her mind. There was something strange and foreign there. It was like a mental block that she could not quite see, as if in her peripheral vision. Concentrating, she pushed and it began to give. So, mentally, she began to push harder at the thing that was trying to look into her thoughts and control her.
