Flash Fiction # 464 -- Windbound/1

 

There were three of us on the road that morning, trudging along the dusty path toward ... somewhere else. I had spent almost an entire season in the city of Fa, a crowded, ill-kept place of no use for an upcoming artist and philosopher like me.

I had spent almost the entire time waiting for a promised invitation from Fa's Governor General. My funds dwindled.  I had to leave before I became another of the numberless beggars.

I imagined a lot of them were still waiting on that promised invitation.

Where was I going?  

I had no idea.  I had packed away my few belongings, hidden a handful of gold coins in special pockets sewn into my long sleeves, and walked out the nearest gate.

I took the first path to the right, heading in a generally northern direction, and here I found myself on a lesser-trod road in the dusty morning light.

My two companions on the road interested me more than where I might end up at the day's end. The young man ahead of me was a dichotomy of extremes.  He wore a shabby cloak and much-mended sandals. However, he walked like a noble with his head high. His long hair was carefully braided and tied with a small golden chain.  He also had a noticeable limp and held tight to a cane.

"Ho, ahead! Sheep coming through!"

The girl had a strong voice. I stepped aside and took refuge beneath a giant old willow whose long, thin branches swayed slightly in the gentle morning breeze. The young gentleman paused, glanced my way, and then took quick shelter with me. I almost thought he feared the sheep.

A scar, still new enough to show a line of red, ran from his ear to his chin.  I thought it would disappear in a few more weeks.

Sheep bumped, dodged, and scrambled along the path.  A medium-sized dog I had not noticed until now did a credible job of keeping them in line and on the move. The girl -- tall and lanky -- came to a breathless stop by them.

"Sorry, sirs," she apologized with a wave toward the sheep.  "Not sure but what get them moving so fast now."

"No trouble, shepherdess," I said, and our other companion nodded. "Good day to you."

She bowed, looked around for the sheep, and took off at a run when she found them scattered along the road again.   I heard her muttered curse and saw the young man's eyebrow lift in surprise.

"They live a rougher life beyond the city walls."

I thought he was finally about to speak, but the sheep bleated in distress, and the young woman gave a cry of surprise that sounded much like them.

I jogged toward the shepherdess whom I thought might be hurt from the way she went to her knees. The young man moved with me despite his cane.

The sheep huddled together and fell silent.  The breeze changed direction and blew harder. Dust struck my face, and I shielded my eyes. The dust and wind died down, but behind it came a burst of thunderclouds that had spread across the empty blue sky in a matter of heartbeats.

I saw movement on the road.  Although my eyes still watered, I spotted a silver-haired woman walking with the largest dog I had ever seen, one of strange colors, blending orange and black in a swirl of movement.

She had a steady step for such an old woman and showed no fear of the monstrous storm growing over her head.

Not a huge dog.

Tiger.

Not an old woman.

Goddess.

I went to my knees, shocking the young noble.

"Feng Po Po," I whispered with a glance her way.  She nodded.  "Lady of the Winds."

The young noble sounded surprised and slowly went to his knees. I realized kneeling was painful with his injured leg.

None of us said anything.  Even the goddess remained silent as she looked us over.  I expected the sheep to start speaking words before any of the rest of us did.

"You are not what I expected," the Goddess said. Her voice sounded like a distant storm, filled with wind and thunder but not threatening.  She was nature; if she struck down any, it would most likely be by the chance we all took with nature.  "But I see that you will do well."

The shepherdess looked from the goddess to us and back again.  "Does this mean I get to stop herding these damned sheep?" she asked.

"You will mostly deal with the damned humans but I trust you will find most of them more to your liking." Feng Po Po laughed. I feared she looked half insane. "What have you two to say?"

"I reserve all judgments until I hear what is going on," I said with a polite bow of my head.

She still seemed amused, so I survived.

Then she looked at the last of us.

"I am not of your people," he said, the words clear despite his accent. His face had a foreign countenance -- southern, I thought, but at least half Chinese. "I am from Paekche. I brought an ancient document, written in an archaic Chinese, that I was to give to the Emperor. His servants would not let me into his presence.  They said I stole the manuscript. I protested, and we fought.  There was one of me and ten of them.  I lost.  I dared not stay in the city."

"And now you go home," I said, and knew it was the wrong answer.  "No.  You cannot."

"I lost the gold, the manuscript, and my honor.  Perhaps I can serve you, goddess, and reclaim at least some of the last."

"Hwan." She nodded to him.  "Chang (to me) and Li. We have much work to do."

"What work?" I dared ask.

"Recovering the manuscript, of course, and before someone learns to read it and destroys the world."

Flash Fiction #645 -- Village

 

His uncle laughed when Nalfae said he would leave the village after the snow melt.

"Leave," Uncle repeated. "Who else would accept you?"

Uncle walked away.  He still laughed.

The snow melt couldn't come too soon.

By the next day, everyone at Crossing knew he planned to leave.  Uncle's reaction was not the worst.  Most of the women sketched a warding sign in his direction, including Ardia, as if they hadn't laughed at a lost goose wandering through town the day before.  

They treated him like an outsider.

They treated true outsiders much better.  He even heard the old term, half-blood. It so annoyed him that he almost stopped wearing the cap that covered his oddly colored gold and brown hair.

Three days after his announcement, Nalfae was repairing a rough spot in the main road when a band of fae rode in. Fae didn't often visit human villages and the locals looked torn between gawking or running.

Nalfae moved aside and bowed his head as they went by. He saw an array of fine cloth in gorgeous colors and glimpses of fine horses.  Unseen bells rang as they went past, and the sound called to him.

Nalfae looked up despite himself and met the startled look of a fae who seemed about his age. The fae smiled and bowed his head as though their meeting meant something.

"I found him!" the fae called out.

Mounts that had gone past stopped, and the riders looked back. He saw eyes focus on him, and looks of surprise spread through the group.  That was not the sort of look someone who fixed potholes was used to seeing from anyone, let alone fae.

"We've been looking for most of the season for you," an older fae said as he swept off his horse, multicolored cape fluttering around him.  "Will you ride with us back to the faelands?"

Nalfae stared at him for a long moment.  "Excuse me, my Lord, but what is going on?  Why do you want me?"

The fae stopped and looked embarrassed.  Then he looked toward the hills.

"Wing?  Do you mind explaining?"

"Not at all, Lord Del." The fae who had spotted him tossed the reins to another as he swept off his horse. "You are the last of the fae blood out here in this realm.  Rock Trolls are using anyone with fae blood as a link back to the faelands, and it is not a pleasant procedure."

"What if I don't want to go?"

"Then some of us will remain with you until the Rock Troll problem is settled."

That was not the answer Nalfae had expected. He would have gone just then except for an ethical problem.

"I said I would stay until after the first snow melt."

"And you will not gainsay your promise. Excellent," Wing said and sounded serious. "And I assume that means you have already prepared yourself to leave this town."

Nalfae gave one quick nod. The idea that the fae arrived here for him began sinking in.  "At the start of winter, I began to think this would be my last season here.  The longer the winter stretched, the more certain I became that it was time to leave. I don't understand why you are here, though.  I am only half fae."

"There is no such thing as half-fae," Lord Del said.  "Either you have fae blood, or you are human."

The words stunned him.  

Nalfae spent the next three days with the fae and barely noted how the weather was turning unseasonably better.  Snow and ice melted without even minor flooding.  The locals also noticed how well other things went with their visitors in town.

While the other fae wandered around, mingling with locals, Wing spent all his time with Nalfae. He mostly talked about fae lore and etiquette. Nalfae had always learned quickly and rarely needed anything repeated.

"We'll start work on your magic once we're back to the faelands," Wing announced on the way to a gathering meal.

"Magic!"

"I suspected that aspect of your new life hadn't occurred to you. Odd. That is usually the first thing the Lost ask about."

Nalfae shook his head as though to dismiss the thought entirely, but it would not go away.  He tried a different approach.

"Lost?" Nalfae said.  "Is that what I am?"

"Haven't you felt so?  Isn't that why you decided to leave?"

"I felt as if I didn't belong ... but lost? I suppose so since I didn't know where I would go."

"It is time you start being yourself.  The cap does not suit you, and it hides nothing since now everyone sees you with us."

Nalfae's hand went to the cap and paused.  However, Wing was right.  The cap hid nothing now.  It never had, in fact.  Everyone in Crossing knew him and what he was.

Half-blood. Half human, except in the eyes of the fae, he was already one of them.

Nalfae removed the cap and tossed it aside into the shadows where it belonged. His brown and gold hair fell across his shoulders and down his back.  It was a little longer than Wing's golden hair.

They all looked pleased with the change when he gathered with the other fae for a noon meal.  Lord Del stood and lifted his hands toward the sky.

"And so he comes to us, and we name him Pathfinder. He already sees the other ways, and when he learns more, he will point the way, and we will follow.  Now eat.  We leave soon."

"But that's insane.  I know nothing!"

Wing looked at him, his head tilted.  "The snow has melted.  If we were not here, where would you go?"

He hardly thought about it.  "Southwest."

Lord Del nodded.  "I have a message from Lord Sky that we are all to gather near the Veil.  Our closest path to it is to head Southwest."

Easy test, Pathfinder thought.  No doubt life would get more challenging.

 

Flash Fiction #644 - Servant

 

The girl knew her name was Esta, though no one else in the castle knew or used it. Some might even think it pretentious of her to claim to be someone other than a servant.  She was almost always the first to answer if anyone yelled for a servant. This became so common that the other servants made sure she wasn't already there before any of them answered.

Esta was meticulous in her work and never complained.  The combination of the two made her all but invisible.

Very little changed for three years until the King returned and brought his three young captured wives, all of them of various royal blood.

The first queen, older than them by at least two decades, still held the place of power since she'd given the king four royal sons.  However, she did look askance at the 'girls' as she called them. The girls formed their own little group, and The Queen did not dine with them.

The servants were all run ragged for those first few months when nothing was good enough for the girls and too much wrong for the queen.

Esta did her best.

Days passed into years with hardly a notice of passing seasons.  The Queen and the girls formed an alliance that benefited them all when dealing with the king.

How many times had she scrubbed these stairs?

A pair of boots started down the steps -- she never looked higher as she grabbed rags and bucket out of the way.

"Careful, sir," she whispered.  "Wet stairs."

The man grunted in reply, slowed, and then stopped on the stair above her.

"That was not polite on my part," the man said.

Esta looked up in shock, knowing the words were directed at her.

"Thank you, sir," she stammered and grabbed her rag, crushing it in her fist. Dirty water ran down her arm.

The man looked at her for a moment longer, nodded once, and went past.  He was careful on the steps.

The encounter had shaken her.  Esta couldn't say why except that, for a moment, she had felt like she wasn't just another stone on the stairs.

She scrubbed harder.

Four days passed -- she had counted them -- until she saw the man again. He was, she realized, one of the castle guards and assigned to the South Wing, where the four women ruled. Esta had been transferred there for a few days during the summer festival.

Having worked in the castle for several years now,  Esta could easily recognize the servants.  She also could spot the one she'd never seen before.

He was well-trained to look like a servant, although he walked too well and had a furtive glance that went right over her.

She cleared a few things from a lower-level table and looked around for a guard.  She shoved the tray into the hands of a startled kitchen boy and went on past him.

Esta couldn't reach any of the guards in time.  The assassin was taking purposeful steps toward the queens.  A shout would be lost in the noise of merrymakers.

Esta charged.

She heard yells and screams but never looked away from her goal. She almost thought time had slowed down, but Esta knew that only came from extreme focus.

Someone got in the way, but she dodged that obstacle. That came from her work as a servant.  People were always getting in the way.

Screams, yells -- the assassin looked annoyed and then surprised when a servant threw herself across the table, and they both landed on the floor.

Esta was aware of blood on her arm before she realized she'd been injured.  Then it hurt, but she hardly had time to make note of it.  Someone grabbed her by the other arm and dragged her out of the way and under the table.

She had just enough sense left to realize there shouldn't be this much of a battle with only one assassin present.  Some high-ranking visitors from the east were newly allied with the king.  Or maybe not.

This was something big. It was also chaotic. Esta crawled to the edge of the table. Guards were fighting a plethora of men who were attacking with dinner blades. If there hadn't been so many of them, the guards would have had no trouble at all.

The queens had been herded to the wall with a shield of guards and the king protecting them. The guests who were not wounded were leaving.  The servants were dealing with the wounded.

The servants.

Although he had shed a wig and turned his shirt inside out, he was still among the servants. Esta recognized him as someone who still did not belong.

He inched closer to the king, who was just putting away his sword.

Esta somehow launched herself from under the table and brought him down.

Yelling and chaos spread again.  Someone kicked her in the arm, and she cried out --

"She had it right, sire," a guard said as everything grew quieter.  "I don't know how, but he was an assassin and fully armed for the job. Here are another six small daggers in his sleeves. We best get her arm tended."

The guard she had met on the stairs knelt before her as someone tied off a bandage on her arm.

"Yes," the guard said to someone else. "I met her when she was scrubbing the stairs on the south tower."

"She's a servant," Queen Guada said.  "She's been here longer than me."

"What's your name?" the guard asked.

"Esta."

She heard a whisper of words as others nearby admitted they had never known her name. The guard ignored them.

"Why did you mistrust him?" he asked.

"I didn't recognize him.  He didn't move like a servant.  He watched the guards with too much worry."

The guard nodded.  "Well done."

The next day Esta moved from the servants to the guards and trained to serve the queens in a new way.

Flash Fiction # 643 -- Wolf (Drabble)

 Having a white wolf as a familiar was uncommon enough to draw attention . That the witch was a six-year-old girl with golden hair and a perfect smile only made them more noticeable.

"Why are people so stupid?" the girl demanded of no one in particular.  "Get out of my way!"

The crowd shifted but didn't leave.

"Listen, sweetie," an older woman said as she stepped forward. "In this town, we kill and skin wolves, and I think he'd make a great rug."

"What do you think, Lain?" the girl asked.

The wolf stepped forward.  "I think I'm hungry."

Everyone left.

Flash Fiction #642 -- Chickens (Drabble)

 

Milton didn't hate chickens, but he wished his grandfather had raised something more exciting. When the older man died and left the cottage to Milton, it was with the understanding that he took care of the birds. Milton did his best.

The routine was easy.  He rose at first light to feed the birds and look for eggs which he took into town to sell to various households.  Today, he heard something troubling. Tom True's prize bull had knocked him down and stepped on his leg.

Milton decided chickens were exciting enough. He went home and gave them extra food.

Flash Fiction # 641 -- Trust

 You may not believe this, but a person can spend their entire life in the castle and in close service to the royal family and still go unnoticed.

Granted, I was only seventeen, so the 'entire life' part was limited. Even so, you would think one of them would make note of the young man who ran messages through the castle and into town. It was a position of trust.

My trust was never tested until Princess Dela began writing notes to the pirate's son. The king had Captain Vic as a guest that week.  The pirate captain had been a powerful local lord until barbarians overran his lands. So, the possibility of an alliance with the pirate, gaining the man's help in protecting our coast, and probably gaining some gold and jewels, as well. It looked promising.

We wouldn't be the first country to make such a deal.

When Dela handed me the perfumed and sealed note and told me who exactly to give it to, I knew we were in trouble.  I should have gone straight to the King.

I went to the Queen instead.

Queen Woda lives mostly in seclusion in the North Tower.  It is not punishment.  She just doesn't much care for people.

She also had more than a touch of 'sight,' which made her very powerful and dangerous when she was mad.

Queen Woda was not in the best mood when I climbed in the window, my usual way of not being seen.

"I warned him!" she shouted, shaking a dead plant at me.  I sneezed.  "Let me have it."

I didn't have to explain anything to her.  That helped.  She took the note and glared at it momentarily before handing it back to me.

"At least her grammar has improved."

Then she shook the dead plant, and I sneezed again.  I waited patiently as she made several circuits of the tower's interior.  

She shook the plant every time she passed me, and I sneezed.  I was starting to take it personally.

Then she stopped and stared at me.  "Never become a parent."

I nodded vigorously in agreement. This was the point where you agreed to anything.

"If Dela finds out I know about her affection for this boy, she'll be embarrassed and mistrusting for years.  You are going to have to deliver this note and then find a way to stop her from meeting the boy."

"How do I --"

"Out, out, out." She shoved the plant at me and then the note.  "Go do your work."

"This is not --" I began. Her gray eyes narrowed.  The plant rose over my head. "Not the window I should go out."

I scrambled out one -- I didn't care which -- and scurried down the outer wall.  The king and his guards were waiting for me.

"Note from your daughter to the pirate's son," I explained.

"Excellent. That should give his father something more to consider.  Why were you visiting my wife?"

"Because no one let me in on the plan." I dusted my hands and held out the paper. "Do I deliver this or not?"

"What does she want?" He asked with a kick at the tower.

"As far as I can tell, a good marriage for her daughter and pirate loot."

"Amazing. For the first time in our entire marriage we actually agree. What do you think of the pirate's son?"

I had not expected that question but I had a quick answer. "He seems quiet and polite, but I get the feeling there's more of his father in him than he shows."

"Good."

"It might help if we knew his name," I suggested.

"Yes, get right on that one."

He went away.  I took the note to the young man, who handed it back without opening it.

"Don't make this any harder." I shoved the note back into his hand.  "Open it, read it, and agree because that is exactly what I am going to tell the King, Queen, and Princess you did.  Then, when you don't show up, they'll all think you are a coward."

"I should care?"

"Why do you think your father brought you along?"

He snarled, but I had made my point.

"What am I supposed to do now?" he demanded.

"Answer the note.  Have a nice walk in the garden tonight, but keep in mind that there is a guard behind every tree trunk, and the queen will be watching from her tower. What is your name?"

"Wintonweorth."

"What is your nickname?"

"Dan."

"Okay, Dan.  This is how it is going to work."


At least I had a plan to share.

I spent hours sitting by my window but not looking into the garden.  I heard movement and quiet words.  Some laughter. Movement, talk, laughter: repeated again and again until I thought I would go mad.  It was not what I expected to hear.

I fell asleep in my chair and didn't wake up until dawn. Nothing sounded out of place.  I grabbed something to eat and headed into the garden.

I found Dan and Dela on my favorite bench with the snake in a basket between them.  I watched as they took turns offering it delicate morsels of food.

So, they bonded over the snake, just not in the way I had imagined.

"What did you expect?" Dela demanded as she looked at me. "That I would faint into his arms?"

"Actually, I had hoped for the opposite. No matter. It worked, right?"

"Mother was already here discussing wedding plans.  I do wish she would stop jumping ahead in the timeline."

It turned out that Dan collected flora and fauna from everywhere he went.  His father was more than happy to settle him and his collection on land.

And now all I had to worry about was Princess Nina and finding her the right husband. I just had to wait for the right message.

Flash Fiction #640 -- Spirit Animal

 Becoming the spirit animal for a human was supposed to be a reward, not a new trial to overcome. Yes, I made some mistakes off the start, but it wasn't my fault.  

According to my assignment info, which included a picture, Aren was a Captain in the King's Guard, a war hero at barely twenty years old, and a scholar.  That sounded like an exciting pairing and I accepted.

For a Spirit Animal manifestation to work, there are a couple steps to follow.  First, the aura of someone worthy of our help, touches upon our realm.  Extensive study is made of past deeds and potential actions.  

The fae get more spirit animals than humans.  They're easier to read and predict actions.  Humans have too many mental options and gray areas.  It isn't unusual for there to be only one in a million with a spirit animal to help them along.

Aren looked almost as pure as a fae.  After an eon of desk work, I jumped at the chance to go back into the field.  I wondered what his subconscious would make of me.  Lion?  Bear?  Dared I hope for a dragon?

If someone had told me that there were twins involved, I would not have bonded with the wrong one.

Maybe I was too anxious.

He took note of me, a vague shape at the edge of a plot of flowers.  I could already sense his thoughts, although they seemed odd ...

What is that? Oh, it must be a bunny!

Goddess, no! Don't let me --

I was a bunny. An enraged bunny, in fact. I gave a battle cry of power (I'll leave you to imagine that one) and charged straight at Aren.

Someone scoped me up and I found myself staring into ... Aren's face. Only Aren still sat on the bench with his book in hand.

"Is this yours, Aten?" he said with a slight sneer and held me by the back of my neck.  I was not impressed.  I also had the feeling I was in danger.

Aren, Aten.  Two of them and I had bonded with the wrong one.  Or maybe I had gotten lucky.  Aren tossed me at his brother who leaped to his feet and caught me before I landed in the thorny rose bushes.  He cradled me in his arm and patted my head.

"You are useless," Aren declared, spun on his heel, and headed back the way he had arrived.  I had the distinct impression that he couldn't remember why he was heading this way.

"That was a close one," Aten mumbled.  He gathered up the book he'd been reading.  I noted it was very old and worked with magical signs.   Well.  That might change things.

We headed into the castle via the kitchen garden and door.  Several workers looked up, nodded, and went back to work.  I had the feeling Aren wouldn't have won such a good reaction.

"He's rude to everyone," Aten said aloud.  "The only time he's happy is when he's at war or making someone's life miserable."

You can hear me.

"Mother's fault," he mumbled and fell silent as they started up a staircase. Once he was certain no one was around, he continued.  "Mother knows enough magic to be dangerous.  She wanted a super powered prince.  She didn't realize there were two of us."

Seems to be a lot of that going around.

"Aren got decisive warrior prince.  I got sensitive magical prince.  I think she read too many fairy tales growing up."

He fell silent as we made our way down a busy hallway. Harried servants nodded and smiled at Aten as we passed.  Of course, we ended up in the castle's archive and library. Aten closed the door with a sigh of relief.

Life went about the same for the next twenty days.  I transitioned from spirit animal to familiar, meaning I had a far closer relationship to Aten and could tap is magic.  I could even run a few errands, like checking up on Aren.

It didn't take long to realize that he was planning to start a war.

"Of course, he is," I said and nibbled on a carrot top that Cook Mysen had saved for me. "His only purpose in life is to win battles and rule people."

"Mother is holding him back from the second.  How do we stop a war?" Aten asked.

"I think I have a plan."

The set up took seventeen days.  Aden had to get used to seeing me out in the cage set up in the garden.  More than once he made mention of dinner and rabbit stew.  If I had been a real rabbit, I wouldn't have understood a word he said. What pleasure did he get out of it?

Aren's Raiders -- the ones no one was supposed to know were his -- kicked up enough trouble at the border to be one step from a war.  So, as he was going down the stairs for breakfast, I used a quick spell to teleport myself behind him, braced my legs and leaped, hitting him mid-back with all the force I could manage.

He screamed before he fell and broke his arm and leg.  For months he claimed his brother's rabbit had tried to kill him.  Aren didn't care that his mother said she'd been in the garden with me at the time of the accident.

His obsession with murderous bunnies lost him the support of the army. I probably didn't help by waking him in the middle of the night for conversations, and disappearing before anyone could come at his yells.

It would take some time to rebuild that trust.  They would be less likely to follow him on some odd quest, too.

Even better, in his long convalescence, Aren learned that if you are nice to servants, they'll be nice to you.  He came out of it a much better person.

Aten and I spent our time in the archives planning on how to take over the world...

Flash Fiction #639 -- True Sight

 

If I hadn't happened to be sitting on the bench that late at night, trying to sort out my runes, I wouldn't have been able to change history.

It happened this way:

Princess Santia sent to the temple for me.  It was already past sunset, but that happened sometimes. Whenever she felt uneasy in the world, she sent for her favorite diviner.

It helped that I had a true gift.

I knew her betrothed would arrive tomorrow and they would marry on the anniversary of her father's army defeating his father's troops in battle.  

I had tried to hint that it was an inauspicious choice of date for the wedding celebration. For King Telthe, Santia's father, it was a day of jubilation.  For King Cosin -- well, he had no say, having lost the battle. He didn't have to be happy about it.

The joining of the two families and the promise of joint rule of both countries was the best future any of  us could hope to see.

A shame the reading for that night didn't promise anything good.

As a member of the Sisterhood of True Seers, I dared not even whisper how bad the event would go. No one wanted to listen to me.  However, in tonight's reading, I had seen nobles on both sides taking affront at references to the battle.

Weapons drawn. Blood spilled.

The war would restart.  I saw devastation everywhere, and Santia's prince never returning to her.

By the Rules of the Temple, any of us with true powers were forbidden from giving more than hints about what we read in the runes.  The more serious the reading, the less we could say. I understood.  We could change the world by urging people into actions to counter a bad reading. That often didn't mean a better future.

I left the palace in a hurry when Santia was called away by servants.  I shoved the rune stones into their silk bag and gathered my shawl.  I didn't stop until I sat on the bench outside the temple gate.

I needed to wrap each of the runes in their own small cloth and pack them away properly. Taking unprotected runes into the temple could be dangerous.  I paused, though. It was a warm night with a slight breeze, a haze of high clouds, and a full moon.  Such an atmosphere would help clear the runes of troubling energy that had built up tonight, both from the reading and from my hasty retreat. I laid them out on the bench beside me, troubled when a couple slid into different spots.

I kept up the battle with the runes for several heartbeats until I realized they were creating a reading, and I wondered if it was meant for me.

I drew my hands back, and the runes kept moving, and I had the impression that I must ask a favor.  I had no idea of what favor I needed or whom I needed to ask.

And then Lapril walked up to the bench.

I had neither seen nor heard him nearby. That's not unusual. His work as the King's Assassin required a level of stealth that touched on magic. I had no idea what he was doing outside the temple this late at night.

"You called me?" he asked, his voice soft.

"No, I didn't," I protested. Then I looked down at the runes that still jumped and slid across the bench.  "Or maybe I did."

"They seem more active than usual."

I suppressed a hysterical laugh. "It is not a good sign. I am sorry they called --"

Ask for a favor.

"They want me to do a favor?" he said, surprising me.

"You can read the runes?"

"I can hear them."

I found that fascinating.  I wanted to ask more, but he shifted slightly, and I realized that the two of us might draw unwanted attention.  That's when I realized the favor I needed.

"Because I belong to the Temple, I abide by their rules.  I cannot tell you why I want this done. I can only ask that you trust me.  I would not do this for a minor reason."

Lapril looked at me and then at the runes I was trying to catch and put away.

"I trust you."

"First, I do not want you to kill anyone."

Lapril gave a sigh of relief.  I told him the basics of what I needed and let him work out the details.  There wasn't much time.

By evening the next day, I knew Lapril had succeeded.

King Cosin and his party had stopped for the night at the last caravansary before the city.  They would have arrived midday, but instead, a messenger delivered the tale of a goat on the roof and the area over the king's table collapsing onto his group.

There were no serious injuries.  Even the goat survived, although there was still some question of how it got up there.

King Cosin broke his leg and couldn't travel for at least ten days and probably more.  King Telthe sent supplies and gifts, and made certain they wanted for nothing.  He even went to visit.  
 
By the time they arrived,  the kings were fast friends.  The wedding took place ten days later with as much pomp and festivities as could be managed. I even danced with Lapril, much to the delight of Santia and her mother.  Lapril seemed to enjoy it as well.

At the end of the dance, I quietly thanked him for his help.  Lapril had a nice smile.

At midnight, I gave Santia a reading and could promise her everything bright and beautiful I had hoped to see in the previous reading.  This time there was no doubt.

Well, there was the problem with their future children, but I had time enough to figure that one out.  I trusted it would not require an assassin this time.

Flash Fiction #638 Neko's Trip Home/18

 

Maybe we should have discussed it before Colin opened a portal and dragged us through it.  Not that I wanted to stay, but a lot of the trouble had been connected with us.  It was not exactly our fault, but it was present because we had shown up.

So maybe the trouble would disappear along with us.  I was aware that Colin had also brought Dorian, Luna, and Shosha into the portal. A good thing.  I would have insisted we return and get them, although I suspect Dorian could have managed to follow without our help.

Colin had found the nearest portal and used a fascinating and dangerous spell to yank us straight to it and into the vortex. I thought Avesa made a sound of surprise, and I am sure I heard Dorian make a sound of protest.  That did not improve my state of mind.  

This portal was filled with whispers and faces that came and went with powerful eddies of colorful magic. I saw scenes from our recent adventures.  Giant Shosha was the worst.  However, I also saw places, people, and things I'd never seen in my life.

I realized that meant the adventures were far from over.  I don't know why that made me happy.  I guess I am not as sane as I thought. And maybe I hadn't lost my cat attitude.

Then everything went dark and still.  Colin held tight to me, and I feared we were lost.

"Ah. There." Colin turned a little bit.

The darkness gave way to gold and blue. A warm breeze blew across my face, and I could smell the sea. I landed in the sand with Colin beside me.  Dorian, Luna, and Shosha dropped out of the portal just behind us.

For a few heartbeats, I worried about everyone we had left behind, especially those children.  Maude might still be around there.

However, they did have Avesa.

And I was at Malibu!

"Getting us here was a neat trick," Dorian admitted.  "I didn't even feel you building up power, let alone opening a portal."

"As soon as I found the portals on that world, I tied myself to one and keyed it for here," Colin explained.  He waved his hand and they were all better clothed for the beach rather than rain and snow.  "I just waited for the right time to duck out. I have complete faith that Avesa can handle any more trouble.  If not, I will know."

"I do like this better," Luna admitted.  "But should we have left them? They might need our help faster than you can get us there, Colin."

"It is more likely we'll need theirs," Dorian replied. He shook a blanket out over the sand and sat down. "Let's take advantage of the peace and the better weather while we can."

Dorian had not been holding the blanket a heartbeat before. It was great to have things back to normal.

"I suspect Maude will come after us," Colin added.

"Tomorrow, I will head back to the Faelands," Dorian said.  He looked exhausted. I thought he deserved more than a single night's rest.  All of us did.

We staked out our spot in the sun.  None of us were talkative, and I spent some time watching the surfers. It looked like fun until someone spotted a shark, and they all headed for the shore and waited for the all-clear. No, I wasn't interested in swimming with the sharks.

The beach remained busy but no one did more than nod in our direction and we returned the friendly greeting. We had pizza for lunch, and then we all napped in the warm sun.

I couldn't remember the last time we had such calm.

It continued to stay calm, too.  That part I did not trust.  We couldn't have simply walked away from the trouble with nothing following us. We had been magnets for trouble from our first meeting.

I'd had trouble before that, though.

I was almost ready to tell Colin to send me back to the bookstore and leave me there, away from all this madness. As much as I hated being trapped in the building, I really missed the calm.

Then I looked over at Shosha and realized she might never have been saved without me. I hadn't merely tagged along. I had helped.

While the others taught Shosha about the various types of pizza, I took a walk down the beach to annoy some gulls.

Instead, I ran into a penguin.

Really, ran into him.  A huge emperor penguin who had just suddenly appeared in front of me.

This could not be good.

"Oh, there you are," the penguin said, leaning over me. I took a half dozen steps back. He ambled forward. "I have been looking all over for you. I was told you were on the beach.  Do you have any  idea how much beach there is?"

"A lot," I offered.

He nodded vigorously.  No one else noticed him, which made it apparent that he must be a being of magic. My friends would take notice soon, right? This wasn't normal.

Well, not typical for most of the world.  

"Why are you looking for me?" I dared to ask and prepared to run. Going for the ocean wasn't a good plan. Penguins can swim well.  Better than me. Besides, there were still the sharks.

"Why am I here?" he asked and looked startled.  "I thought it was obvious."

"Not so I noticed."

He stood up straighter and then had to lean far over to look me in the face.

"I am your spirit animal!"

The End ... for now.

Flash Fiction #637 -- Neko's Trip Home/17

 

Avesa was not human. She wasn't fae, either. I only now realized she was a manifestation of nature.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                Avesa was a nature Goddess. I couldn't imagine how Maude got hold of her, but it was plain Dorian was having trouble just trying to help her. Everything went bright and loud. The birds screamed and would soon attack.

She still had hold of me. There was only one thing I could do. I had warned her.

I twisted, turned, clawed my way free of her arms, and scrambled up high enough to bite her on the nose.

I had warned her.

The bite startled her and shorted out the surge of magic growing in her. It dissipated, and Dorian stumbled away into Luna's hold.

I wanted to be there, too, but Avesa had too tight of a hold on me. I had stopped her surge of rage, but the despair grew stronger. Children wept. Ogres howled. Both fae went to their knees.

Luna cursed and ran straight at us.

I was not the only one surprised. Colin tried to say something, but it was gibberish. Or maybe a hamster. Avesa squeaked.

I don't know what Luna thought she could do --

She grabbed me out of Avesa's hold.

"How dare you hurt Neko after all he's done to help you and the others! Now stop it. You are upsetting the children!"

I looked to see the children huddled together and still weeping. A glance around showed no sign of Maude in any form. Her slaver partner had slipped away and now the ogres took off running. The hawks had taken refuge in a nearby building and didn't look inclined to come back down.

A couple owls landed on a building opposite the hawks. They didn't make me feel any safer from the hawks.

It was the lack of Maude that bothered me most, though. I wanted to --

What? Stop her? If we did, what happened elsewhere?

"We can't stop her," I said aloud, my voice steadier than expected. "Not in any permanent way. We can't know what we might change. We can free the others she has trapped, but she's jumping around her own timeline. What if we disrupt it?"

We all gathered around -- but not too near -- Avesa. She contemplated the situation as she looked at the children. I wondered what would happen to them.

"The despair is gone," Avesa said, and I could sense that truth, even if I couldn't figure much else out. She looked around again and gave a decisive nod. "I have questions still. Where is Maude? How did she get control of me?"

"How did she get hold of so many of us?" I dared to ask. "Even without Avesa, it showed an amount of power she'd never had when I was her familiar. Maude was good at casting curses but not very good with powerful spells."

"I suspect everyone trapped was more cursed than under a spell," Colin replied. "Even you, Neko."

"I'm not going argue about that one," I told Colin. "And besides, we still have the remnants of despair and rage. Maude must have an ally, and I don't mean that blob of a man who came with her here. I don't like the idea of her teamed with something powerful. Something that must have its own reasons for what it helps Maude do."

The two fae nodded and then so did Avesa.

I wanted to say that it was time to go home. I'd had enough adventure for all nine lives and then some. But there were still too many loose ends, the most obvious ones sitting on the other side of the fountain looking scared.

"I am going to settle in this fascinating city," Avesa announced with a wave toward the buildings. "If all of you agree, I will take in the children and find them homes and futures."

I wanted to jump up and down shouting yes. I kept quiet. The humans and such had to work this out. There are times when even cats need to know when to stay silent.

They soon clarified the details and included the older children in the conversation. The fox who had led us into this mess -- oh yes, I had kept an eye on him -- still looked shocked and maybe dismayed at what had happened. He might still believe the entire world would soon fall apart because we had stepped in to save the children.

I would have been unsettled if I believed what he did, but the fox was a bit over the top. When a breeze stirred up a few leaves, he jumped like a kitten on his first trip outside. I glanced at the leaves and back -- and the fox was gone.

My reaction was probably much like his at the blowing leaves. My ears went back, my eyes narrowed, and I stared where he had been -- which happened to be straight into the wind.

Cold wind.

I was the first to see the snow, although the others noted the cold and tried to decide what to do with the children.

"I have had it!" I yowled with enough force that everyone looked at me in shock. "Snow! "Why can't we hold this meeting at a nice warm beach where I can chase seagulls? Why does there have to be snow?"

"Too much magic," Dorian explained. I started to say something rude. "I am serious. Most magic disrupts nature. Even if we all moved this discussion to Malibu, chances are that it would snow there, as well."

"I am doomed," I whispered. I batted at a large snowflake.

"But here is the good news," Colin added. "We are done talking."

"And now?" I dared to ask, ignoring the snowflake on my nose.

"Now we go back to our vacation," he replied. He picked me up. "And we wait for Maude."

Flash Fiction #636 -- Neko's Trip Home/16

 

 

 Hawks.

Five Hawks flew into our area. Four red-tailed hawks took positions at the cardinal points while the majestic white hawk landed on the fountain's edge.

Hawks belong to a realm where stubbornness is a virtue, and these birds have reached alpha status there. Once they have decided, getting them to change their decision is impossible. For instance why it would be a bad idea to try to eat you. Holding off a hawk while you attempt to get the window closed is no fun.

I tried to tunnel under the street again.

One of the hawks moved a step closer to me. I decided to become a rock.

"Fae," the hawk said in a tone that showed he was not happy. "Colin and Dorian."

"Kind of you to remember," Dorian said with a bow of his head. "And we remember you, of course, Lord Whitefeather."

"There. We have proved that our memories are all still good. So, I assume you two also remember the treaty."

"Word for word," Dorian replied.

"No doubt," the hawk said with a hint of snarkiness. "And you are still here interfering in my realm."

"You know the fae fight slavery everywhere."

"There are no slaves here."

"So, we should allow them to become slaves and then hope to rescue them," Colin replied. "Don't be pedantic with me."

The white hawk spread his wings and threw back his head in a show of dramatic aggression. From what I could tell, he hadn't impressed Colin.

I was fine until the other four hawks mimicked their leader's move. My legs twitched as I prepared to run. This was blind and instinctive fear. I saw nothing but predators around me.

But while I was blind, I was not deaf.

"Oh, do stop being so pretentious, Whitefeather," a familiar voice said. Avesa joined us from the alley to the right.

All of the hawks looked surprised and maybe embarrassed as they folded down their wings and bowed their heads to the lady.

Avesa surprised me by picking me up out of the hole. I wanted to protest, but suddenly, the hawks didn't seem so much like predators.

"Lady Avesa," Whitefeather said with a bit of a smirk despite his reaction to seeing her. "You haven't been around for quite a while."

"And you know why."

I was glad she handed me to Dorian. I didn't want to be too close to this disagreement. Even Colin backed away.

Not that it mattered since the two were not quiet. I was glad to see Luna had the children sitting down and silent.

Dorian had taken the guards and slavers in hand, but they looked restless.

"Dorian needs help," I whispered.

He looked back at the group, but I focused on Maude. She leaned against a wall and looked far too calm. She wasn't as powerful as she would be later, but the potential was there. So was the hatred and disdain for everyone else.

I was sure Avesa had not seen her. I didn't know if I wanted her to spot our mutual enemy. She was handling the hawks just now, and I didn't want them to go wild on us. They would and through no fault of their own. There was so much magic in the air -- and from different sources -- that it might short-circuit thought patterns. Some of us could be thrown back to our animal forms.

Let Avesa keep things under control.

I kept watch on Maude and her people. She was not in charge, but I knew she was the most dangerous of the group. In fact, I didn't like how quiet she'd been.

In all the time I had known Maude, she had never been quiet. Now, she stood by the ogre guards, looking no more interested than they were.

Looking at Maude, I was struck by how much she mimicked the ogres.

Like one of them in human skin.

Oh hell.

I admit that I panicked. "Where is Maude!"

"She's right there," Colin said. "Oh hell."

Before long, even the hawks were looking for our missing witch. She could look like anything, and by the time we found her, it turned out to be another fake. I studied everyone who came in sight, but before too long, I felt a wave of desperation, knowing Maude would get away and all we did here would gain us nothing.

I wanted to go home. I wanted to go to the beach, the mountains, the desert. I was beginning to feel trapped in this never-ending quest --

Trapped.

At first, I couldn't find Avesa. I had to fight my limbs to move so that I turned -- and found her sitting by the well, her head bowed into her hands and her breath coming in ragged gasps.   She was the perfect vision of despair.

I forced myself closer, each step like fighting through a storm. What could I do? Even the fae and ogres were affected by this woman's emotions. We had not broken her spell. She had brought it with her.

"Stop!" I gasped. In all my years of captivity, I had never felt such despair. It is an attack, I reminded myself. An attack.

I had no weapon to fight it. I didn't have enough magic.

But I did have very sharp teeth.

I bit her on the ankle.

Avesa's despair changed to rage, and she caught me by the front right leg and left me dangling as she stood. She was about to throw me when she suddenly swept me up, holding me tight. I could feel desperation coming back --

"Either you fight for control, or I'll bite you on the nose," I warned.

For a heartbeat, despair fought for control, even when the fae added his power to help destroy the spell.

"This despair is not you," Dorian said as he touched her forehead.

That was a mistake.

Flash Fiction #635 -- Neko's Trip Home/15

 

The fox came with us when we headed for the crossroads. He seemed overly enthusiastic about our agreement to take a look.

So he led us to a minor road, a bridge over a stream, and what seemed to be an alley crossing over the area.

"This was an important spot a few hundred years ago," Fox said. "There were fewer buildings, a lovely fountain, and statues of heroes."

I realized he'd been here and most likely knew more about the Forgotten than he had told us. I wanted to demand answers, but I worried that with so much magic about, such a demand might take on a different life than I had intended. This was not a night to take chances.

Have you ever walked down a street at night and thought someone followed you? Then, looking back, you see no one?

It was like that, but knowing something really was there.

Colin handed me to Luna, indicating the trouble was about to start. He and Darian slowed until they were behind Luna and me. Fox ran around us, kicking up almost visible traces of natural magic.

Shosha slept in Luna's pocket.

We were near the spot where the old fountain had been. It was easy to make out the circular pattern of old brick and the metal shield that now blocked off the system that had brought water to the surface.

And this was when something odd happened ... as if this midnight journey had been anything normal before now.

I heard children laughing. This wasn't anything I had expected. They were coming down the main road, swirling shapes that divided into individuals with discernible faces. Happy children. How could they be Forgotten?

"What happened here?" Colin asked.

"They were part of a refugee group," Fox said. "They were told to wait by the fountain."


The children's memory of the fountain, mixed with the wild magic in the air, made it real again. It did the same for the children.

"What happened here?" Darion asked, his voice as soft as a breeze.

"Slavers," the fox said with a snarl. "The children were traded for supplies to feed refugees on their way across the land. The slavers will arrive soon. They'll kill the youngest and the weakest of the group."

"No," Luna said. "We need to find a way to stop them!"

"No," Fox replied with a violent shake of his head. "We come here to ensure all goes as it did that night. Some have tried to change it, but it did not go well."

"No," Luna repeated. There was no arguing with her.

And I found I agreed with her anyway. The children were almost real already and I heard the sound of another group coming to the fountain.

They laughed.

I think the laughter upset the fae to a point beyond reason. I jumped from Colin's hold and almost landed in the water. Instead, I caught the sleeve of a young girl's shirt.

"Go!" I told her. "Gather them all and run!"

I hadn't considered the effect of a talking cat.

She screamed. I yowled. Luna came running to help, and beyond her, I could see the two slavers and their men arriving. The male slaver looked fat, scowling, and angry.

The woman was Maude.

The others might not have recognized her since she was so young. They didn't understand why I growled, leaped across the fountain, and charged toward her. Colin tried to use magic to hold me back, but my power surged through it.

I saw when she recognized me. I didn't expect her to scream in fear and shock.

"You can't be Neko! He's trapped!"

Colin, Dorian, and perhaps even Luna understood now. Shosha cried out and hid. I kept going because I had her at a disadvantage for once.

I never considered that her companions might also have magic. The stout leader spun on me with a curse and fire in his hands. I swerved in time, although I hated giving up my attack on Maude.

That's when I realized the guards all but glowed with magic. And despite how they looked, they were not human. They would be no help for me, and finding myself at their feet was a bad position.

Dart one way, slip the other, swipe at a reaching hand while avoiding the knife in the other. Magic didn't seem to give them extra speed or strength. It just made them human.

Outwitting humans was never that difficult. The guards were too close together, too. So I confused them, dancing around their legs and then down into a crevice at the edge of the street.

I had lost them, and it was even a few heartbeats before Maude began to yell.

"Where is he? Where did the cat go!"

"Damn the cat," the man snarled. "Get the children! If the guard comes along, we can't talk our way out of this!"

"That's why we have powers!"

"And if we use any more, we'll draw the watchers down on us. Grab the children."

"No," Dorian said. It was a simple word with a lot of power. "You will not take them."

"Fae," the man mumbled, and I could hear a hint of worry in his voice this time. "Maude --"

"I want the cat. Neko, come to me."

She had the power to call me. I had to put all my little strength into not moving so that I became almost as still as stone. Maude and her companions had limited time, and Maude wouldn't risk getting caught even to catch me. She was already siphoning off some of her magic to rope in the frightened children. Did they expect the fae to do nothing? The sudden surge of magic brightened the world. Maude yelled --

And then the watchers arrived with their own magic. I tried to tunnel my way into the ground. This was not good.

Flash Fiction #634 -- Neko's Trip Home/14

 

I was starting to get angry at Colin's disinterest in my observation. He used to take me seriously. If I'd had any energy, I would have stood and bit him on the nose.

However, I just couldn't care enough, especially since Colin, Darion, and even Luna all looked the same --

All four of us? The same?

I turned slightly and bit Colin's thumb.

"Neko! Ow! What -- oh. Good work."

Colin slowly stood and shook his head as though to dislodge some unwanted thought. I did much the same but couldn't stay on my feet.

"Darion, Luna -- wake up," Colin ordered. He lifted his hand, and a spray of small pastel lights spread across the area.

I watched the lights, entranced by the pretty patterns they made. I slowly became aware of a change in my thoughts. With each breath, I became more awake and aware of how powerful a spell had dropped on us.

On the entire city, in fact. All the sounds of celebration we had heard a few minutes earlier were gone. Even with my little magic, I could sense the strands of magic reaching everywhere.

They were not Maude's work, though.

"What is going on?" Luna asked. She still sounded dazed.

"Strong magic," Colin replied. "Not Fae work."

"Not Maude, either," I added.

"Odd," Darion said. He pulled aside the dark blue cloth that served as a door to the tent.

Something moved there -- many things. One of them crossed to the edge of the light from the opening. I saw a furry head turn our way, and the eyes glittered with green light.

I also felt powerful magic, although I didn't understand this type of power. A couple more joined the first, mostly defined only by their green eyes. I thought I caught a hint of fur around the face. I also noted a familiar scent on the air, one so overlain with nature magic that I couldn't name it.

"You might as well join us and explain what is going on," Dorian said.

"Fae," one of them said, his voice showing surprise. He whispered to the others, and they moved off. I had the feeling of guards going back to their rounds.

The last one hurried toward us. I didn't see him clearly until he came inside.

Fox.

Foxes are tricky creatures. Yeah, and tricksters of the ancient type, as well. Most of my knowledge about them came from books, but a couple had wandered through town in the days before cars. We would talk late at night, me sitting in a window and them on the ground below. They had helped me get a bee hive removed.

We got along well, but I don't know if I trusted them.

This one was a young male with a bright red coat. He seemed a bit antsy as he danced from one foot to another. He glanced at the doorway as the cloth fell back into place. I couldn't tell if he liked it covered or not.

"Fae," he said with a fatalistic tone. "You gave us quite a scare when we realized the sleep spell hadn't taken here."

"It almost did," Colin said. "Neko just caught on in time to startle me back awake."

"Neko? The cat?"

"Yes, the cat," I replied with a bit of a snarl.

"Oh. Sorry. Didn't realize you talked, too. Okay." He danced a bit more, ready to charge out. Darion blocked the way. The fox sighed and sat down. "What do you want from me?"

"Telling us what is going on would be a good beginning," Colin replied.

The fox looked at him, startled. Then he glanced at Darion, Luna, Shosha (still asleep), and back to me.

"You aren't another fae group sent by your Queen to help, are you?" Fox asked.

"Sometimes it is hard to know," Colin admitted. "We turn up places, and we help fix things. But even if we weren't officially sent, that doesn't mean we won't try to help once we know what is going on."

That was a typical fae answer, and the fox nodded without question.

"Someone has opened the way for a band of the Forgotten. My fox clan guards the city on nights of the new moon when they find their way here. So far, we've held them off, but it is getting more difficult."

"What are the Forgotten?" Luna dared to ask.

"You are not Fae, but you have powers. What do you see?" Fox asked.

Luna started to say something, but instead, she looked at the cloth door as a breeze rippled through it. Then she blinked and continued to stare, her eyes narrowing and her face turning grim. Even Shosha woke up now and looked worried.

"I see crossroads and a long line of faceless people, none of them known, all of them lost. They never belonged here, but something happened. Something powerful that draws them back, and someone has tapped into that strength to make them self powerful. Go to your work friend fox. This is a night when all could fail."

"Not as optimistic as I had hoped," the fox replied, then turned and darted out of the tent.

"If there were people awake, the Forgotten would insinuate themselves into their thoughts and take them over." Colin picked me up. I could feel his worry. "And now here we are, ready for the taking."

"Maybe we should go back to sleep," Luna suggested. "Oh, but that would just postpone it until the next month, and I doubt we'd have a better plan."

"A better plan?" I said. "I didn't think we had any plan at all."

"Luna is still looking ahead," Colin said. "I have some thoughts on a plan, but I think Luna should --"

"Not sleep," Luna said with more conviction than usual. "You are going to need me."

"We are a team," I added. "So, share the plan."

Flash Fiction #633 -- Neko's Trip Home/13

 

Colin let me play in the water while he dealt with Teeth. The creature was starting to make odd noises, and while his arms and head still moved, he was increasingly still as the water rose over his knees and to his waist. It remained no more than four inches high where I waited.

"There are two sides to fear. What we consider first is what scares us. But some take pleasure in creating fear. This creature is no more than sand and fear. Something else directs it."

I would have figured that out if I hadn't been so afraid.

"Does that mean it is close by?" I asked with a quick twitch of my head.

"Very likely."

"Oh." I went back to playing in the water. Who knew when I might get another chance to have fun? It also allowed me to twist, turn, and watch in other directions while Colin worked with the sand-turned-to-stone man. I think I presented a reasonable vision of a brainless cat.

So I was the one to see it first: a black dot bouncing toward us. Bounce, bounce, bounce.

"Colin, we have company."

Colin looked where I pointed. "Well, there is something you don't see every day."

I looked at the sandman, worried since Colin appeared to have lost all interest. It did seem to be stone now. However, I glanced that way now and then.

Bounce, Bounce, swish.

The bouncing ball had changed.

"A guy in a mouse suit? Is this supposed to scare me?"

The mouse leaned closer. It was no costume, and mice have impressive teeth, too.

"How about I chase you for a while, cat. Time to play!'

A giant paw struck me with enough force that I lifted off the ground and flew for a few yards. At least the dusty sand made a soft landing, and I was smart enough to tuck and roll.

Then, the mouse landed beside me, with a cloud of dust rising around us. He was not wearing a mouse suit. This was a giant, fat mouse with shiny black eyes and a tongue that flicked in my direction like a snake darting out of a cave.

It was hideous. And scary.

"Neko! Don't run!"

I was ready to sprint -- but that was prey behavior.   No matter how big and scary Mousie looked, he was still just a rodent. I spun and attacked.

Yes, it was crazy. Wouldn't you be by this point? I wanted food, rest, and time with my friends. These creatures were annoying me beyond reason. I heard Colin yell at me, but I had gone to my predator side, and I barely heard --

Mousie grabbed me by the neck. He began shaking me, but even that didn't stop me from trying to claw his face. Nothing could stop me --

Except her laughter.

Maude.

Mousie changed, the form going slimmer, the head human. Oh yes, it was her, and I cried out in despair this time.

Part of my brain held on to some logic. This was not Maude. I could even sense that truth. This was made to frighten me, and I hated that feeling.

I would not let something else rule over me.

"Begone, whatever you are!" I said and hissed, trying to swipe at the hand that held me. She blinked in a moment of surprise. "You will not have control over me or over my mind. I was tired of your stupid, cruel games long before we parted. In fact, trapping me in that building was the kindest thing you ever did for me."

This might not have been the true Maude, but she had enough of the witch's personality not to take that insult well.

Good.

When Maude got mad, she also got stupid. In this case, she began viciously shaking me -- and forgot Colin. I think the real Maude might not have been that stupid, but this worked for me. Colin grabbed me out of her hand and then shouted some fae words, while she screamed in anger --

And disappeared.

"We need to go now," Colin warned. He waved his arm in a circular motion, though the movement looked shaky. A portal opened, though. Darion stared at us --

"Pull us back," Colin said. "Fast."

Colin started to fall. I put what power I could into him, leaving me with spots in front of my eyes and Maude's laughter.

I nearly panicked, but I knew Darion had hold of us. I closed my eyes. I drifted away from the world that I knew. We were back at the festival. I could sense it all in waves of good and bad emotion. I could sense happiness and excitement all through the city, but I also found dark things moving along the edges of the light. Their emotions were more complex, and I lingered near one group, wondering if they were guards or enemies about to attack.

Then I heard Colin talking.

"Every time we defeat one of the minions, the base magic grows stronger and learns more of what we can do." He sounded weary and I realized I rested in his lap.

The others sat on the floor with us. Shosha slept somewhere nearby.

The dark things were nearby, too. I could hear music and laughter and felt them glide closer to our tent. I did not want them here.

Time to awaken and tell the others of this new danger.

Awaken.

Only I couldn't. I tried to open my eyes, but I saw something dark staring at me. Human, I thought. A lot of them, hidden in shadows.

"One sees us," a voice whispered in that darkness. "It will warn -- no. We're safe. It is just a cat.

Just a cat?

I woke with a soft growl. Colin looked down at me, surprised.

"Darkness outside," I whispered.

"It is night," he replied.

"Look in the shadows. Look now, or we are lost."

Flash Fiction #632 -- Neko's Trip Home/12

 

A true fanatic is something beyond wild. No matter what the species, they are beyond reason. The polite, tired man I faced changed in a heartbeat into a raving lunatic.

His face paled, and his eyes grew large. He lifted his hands, the fingers thin as claws as he swiped at me, but I had already moved out of the way. What had been a normal face elongated and opened, showing row upon row of dagger teeth.

I ran.

I knew I couldn't go far. My mouth had filled with white dust, and my legs began to cramp. I had only a small reserve of magic and felt no link back to my friends.

It would have had me if it hadn't laughed.

The sound brought me up short, and I tripped over my own legs. I hate when an enemy laughs at me. In a moment of Shosha-like rage, I spun to go after him.

The monster tripped over me.

"Nooooooo!"

It hit the ground in slow motion and dissolved into white dust.

He didn't reform. I stared for a long time, fighting the urge to laugh. That would hardly be appropriate considering my reaction to his laughter.

Besides, except for his disappearance, nothing had changed. White dust hung in the still air where not even a slight breeze gave respite from the sun and heat. The most I could hear was my own breathing.

Colin would be looking for me. So would Dorian, and even Luna in her own way. I only had to wait. And survive.

No, not wait. Sitting still was the best way to make myself a target. Other things might lurk not far away, white and invisible in this overwhelming light. If I sat still, I might hear them. When I tried that, all I could hear was My own breathing, which sounded like a roaring wind. I got up and started walking again, following my own footsteps back to where we began. I hoped it would be easier for Colin to find me if I was near where I'd been dropped in the first place. That started me wondering why he had not shown up yet. After all, he was getting a lot of practice at this work.

I found the end of the footsteps and saw nothing but my own prints. There was no sign of the creature with all the teeth. I tried to make myself believe that it wasn't real.

"Colin?"

Something moved, but it wasn't my fae friend. I saw something about the size of my hand stand up from the sand. It was a miniature of Mr. Teeth. When it came closer, I slapped it hard enough that it disintegrated back into the sand. That pleased me, so I did the same when a couple more appeared. Then, a few more seemed to join together and make a bigger version.

I wasn't quite so pleased now, but I could still get them hard enough to send them back into their sand base. Fortunately, there were not many of them, but some were getting large. Despite that I'd still had no relief from the heat and white dust, I managed to get to my feet and dash -- no, stager -- into them. It helped that they were coming at me, so I didn't have to move much. They annoyed me. None of them was the size that would scare me, so I took advantage of this stage as I danced around the little area, slapping, kicking, and biting. I didn't do that one again since it got me a mouthful of dust. Slap. That one didn't work, and it showed me they were getting stronger as they got larger. A distant part of my mind still hoped for rescue, but I had turned my own status to survival.

Plop.

Colin arrived. "What the hell?" he demanded and scrambled to his feet. "Ow!"

He shook one of the creatures free of his hand, and it disintegrated as it hit the ground.

"Well, that's better. The thing bit me. How many teeth does it have?"

"Welcome to my nightmare."  I coughed, my voice ragged. "You don't want ... want to meet the full version. Get me out of here."

"If we leave now, we'll have to come back and deal with this later." Colin grabbed up one by the arm and shook some sand from it. "You are a frightful little monster, aren't you? More of an annoyance than a danger, though."

"You haven't met the larger version."

Colin finally picked me up. I could feel his magic, which made me feel better -- until I saw the sand men joining into a form larger than the one that had faced me.

I expected Colin to take us away. Instead, he stared at the creature stomping its way to us.  

"Can we go now, Colin?"

"We need information. If you were made of sand, what would you fear?"

"Wind," I replied. "But that doesn't bother him. He just reforms. I might try rain."

"Water," Colin said with a nod. He knelt and put me down. "Don't panic. This won't take long."

Fae, being as old as the world and immortal, have an odd idea of time. Sometimes, I err in that way, too. This was not the time with my enemy only a few steps away. Could I bury myself in the sand?

I made one sad little hissing sound as the thing reached toward me --

Then, it pulled away in shock. My eyes blurred as I scrambled backward, but my legs didn't want to work. The ground pulled at me. I shivered --

Not fear. I was suddenly cool and unexpectedly found myself splashing in water.

Mister Teeth had begun splashing as well, but not with the joy I felt. The water was up to his knees, and he was not disintegrating. In fact, he looked more solid.

This was supposed to help?

Flash Fiction #631-- Neko's Trip Home/11

 

I wasn't the only one who started to ask what Luna meant. We didn't need anything that sounded like a bad omen.

Luna only stared at the tent's doorway as though she expected someone to step in. When Colin moved and started to speak, Shosha hissed, and he fell silent.

Luna leaned forward. Her fingertips glowed, and I had never seen that happen before. Shosha glared in my direction, but I wouldn't draw her wrath.

Luna finally blinked and looked around at us as though she had just woken up.

"I need time to see if I can sort any of it out. I only know that our current journey will not be as long as we might fear."

"Is it safe to remain here for the night?" Colin asked.

"I saw nothing happening here. That doesn't mean it is safe, but I think it might be safer than moving on to our next problem without rest and preparation."

Colin didn't argue. I went to sleep and realized Shosha curled up with me. I almost complained, but she was soft and warm.

She had the cutest little kitten snore.

I woke to Dorian's voice.

"Rage, desperation, fear. I would have expected desperation to be more difficult. How is Neko --"

"I am fine," I answered as I sat up. Shosha sat up as well, yawned once, and fell over again. "I may be wrong, but it seems to me that we don't want to spend too much time here, resting. I am starting to feel itchy like something keeps touching me."

Colin and Dorian both nodded. "We've felt something sniffing around the tent, but it feels local, not part of the larger --"

"And yet we were pulled here, too," I said. "Perhaps Shosha wasn't the first. We just moved too quickly."

I had only just considered that idea, but it suddenly felt right. This was not a safe place, despite all the festivities. Even now, barely dawn, I could hear distant music and laughter. It didn't sound inviting this morning. Instead, I had the suspicion that it covered other things.

Lurking things that still lingered around the shadowed edges of our tent. A misshapen figure poked at the far corner and the spot glowed red, but Dorian was already heading outside. I heard a soft whistle, and all of them disappeared.

That didn't make it safe.

Colin came to the pile of pillows and sat beside me. Shosha made a sound of protest until he put her in his lap. Spoiled little thing ...

No. She was learning to reconnect with the world. Good. It seemed that even her saved rage was smaller.

"Dorian and I have been unable to discern anything about the being that keeps investigating us. I can't tell if it is really searching for us -- for you -- or if it is --"

"Lost," I said as I felt it again. This gave me a clearer view of it.

And that lost feeling overwhelmed me. I no longer sat with my friends in the tent. Instead, I crossed a dry white desert, the light so blinding that I could barely see a dark shape moving ahead of me.

"Hey," I said, but my voice was a harsh, dry croak. "Wait."

I thought it looked back at me, confirming it was not my shadow. Black shimmered against blinding white. I was starting to detest white.

"Don't get lost," a deep, haunting voice came from the shadow. "There are worse than me in this wasteland. Worst to fear than faceless shadows. This is a place where the almost dead wait."

And that confirmed my other worry. This was another of Maude's creatures, the one I had barely touched in Avesa's world.

Lost and afraid went well together. I had to pause to get control. The stone and sand burnt my paws. I extended my claws and walked on them as best I could. It hurt, but so did the blisters already appearing on my feet.

And now the worst news.

It had reached into that tent and yanked me away from two very powerful fae. I could find no hint of them with my dwindling magic. All I could do was follow --

I blinked in shock when I saw that the shadow had far outdistanced me so that I saw hardly more than a black line on the horizon. I gave a slight croak of despair, pulled in my claws, and ran.

I ran until I fell gasping. When I looked, nothing had changed.

Illusion.

A person could get lost in an illusion just as easily as in reality, even if they knew it wasn't real. The brain doesn't always agree.

But I had to fight the tendency to stand up and race after that line of black. Distant laughter didn't help. I feared moving and not moving. This was a game, and I didn't know the rules.

But wasn't the goal to frighten me?

Why?

Because it would have given Maude power -- my power. Fear was easy for others to manipulate and then control the one affected. I had read that in an ancient text. I knew the trick.

I didn't know if Maude still had an existence that could interact with me, but her other trapped minions could still act according to her orders.

Great. I understood how it worked. That didn't give me any idea of how to get free of it. But at least I felt better for not running.

"You think too much."

I looked up to find the shadow almost within reach. I could see a face now: tanned skin, gray eyes, a hint of a beard. I found nothing frightening here.

"You are not going to get what you want from me," I said. "I have helped free two others from Maude's old spells. You could leave this place."

"You are trying to trick me into giving up my quest!"

And then it got scary.

Flash Fiction #630 -- Neko's Trip Home/10

 

The power caught me as I started to fall from Colin's arms. Colin gave a cry of despair, but it was Bird Woman who grabbed me out of the air and held me tight.

"You shall not have him back!"

But in answer, I heard the familiar laughter that I had dreaded so much in an earlier life. The sound sent a shiver through me, but Bird Woman Wrapped me in her arms and then pulled the feathered cloak around me as well. I felt magic in the feathers and I thought it made me safe. From the sounds of things around me, I thought the other magic must have faded away. It seemed I could breathe easier again, and I even dared peek out between the layers of cloak to see what was happening.

"We should go now," Colin said and sounded anxious. "And not straight to our enemy. I think I might need more help."

None of us argued. I was even relieved when, a moment later, everything went misty around us. Bird Woman looked intrigued as we took that journey. Colin noticeably relaxed the farther we got away from the last spot. I thought he might be taking us to the Fae lands, so I was surprised when we dropped back into the festival. Our arrival startled several people and a dozen or so chickens that ran for cover. We had kicked up a bit of dust so that I couldn't see very clearly around us. However, I could hear.

"You are back!" Luna cried out. She grabbed me out of Bird Woman's arms without seeing the odd stranger who carried me. She held tightly as she dashed on toward Colin.

In a moment, I found myself being smashed between the two of them. It was a wonderful feeling and chased away all the fear I'd had a moment before. Rage and desperation disappeared as well. I felt as though I could think clearly for the first time since we last seen Luna.

"I feared you would forget me," Luna admitted. She sniffed. "I am so glad to see you again."

"Let me out! I can't breathe!" Shosha shouted though it sounded more like a squeal.

Luna leaped backward in haste and then smiled with delight when Shosha scrambled out of Colin's pocket and up to his shoulder. I started to snarl since that was my place.

"May I hold her?" Luna asked one of those rare humans who didn't just grab.

"Is it safe?" Shosha asked, looking timid for the first time.

"Perfectly safe," Colin replied. He pulled her down and handed the fur ball to Luna.

I had never seen two beings bond so quickly. Colin and I sighed with relief, but Luna and Shosha never noticed. They were busily introducing themselves as they headed for our tent. Colin picked me up and settled me on his shoulder as soon as they were inside.

"That went better than I hoped," he admitted softly. "I think it is a good pairing, as long as you don't mind sharing Luna."

"That doesn't bother me," I admitted. "But what if it did?"

"I would find somewhere else for Shosha."  He stopped and looked at Bird Woman. "Do we need to find a place for you?"

She had a lovely laugh with none of the despair and distance I had felt in that other realm.   As she looked around, her smile grew.

"I may have found my place."

She was right. Bird Woman fit in with the festival crowd far better than Luna, Colin, and I did. A group of acrobats passed, and she watched them intently.

"From what I learned, the groups travel together from place to place and have a winter encampment," Colin said. "They are always open to new additions, as long as they can house and cloth themselves. They do have communal meals."

"None of this is a problem for me," she replied. I had not considered her own magic until now. You will know where to find me if needed. I will call myself Avesa, Lady of the Birds. You won't have trouble finding me if you need to. And this will always be a place of rest for you."

Avesa started past -- but then she stopped and touched Colin's arm. "Thank you. Take care."

She walked away. I watched as birds of several types landed on her shoulders and head.

"Oh yes," Colin said with a bright smile. "She'll do well here."

I suddenly felt as if this was not a disaster, but rather a rescue mission. We had gotten Shosha and Avesa out of their traps. We would get others free.

And then I would go back and see the ocean again.   I was certain Colin wouldn't mind returning to the Pacific and heading to the Atlantic before we all returned to the bookstore.

We didn't have to hunt for our places. We belonged together and at the shop. I even thought the fur ball might be one of us, or she might find another spot along the way.

I could barely pick out Avesa in the crowd.

"I think our next battle will be with fear," Colin said as he headed toward the tent. "That was the feeling I got."

"Me, too."

"Knowing what we will face this time will help us prepare for it. I am also calling in Dorian. We have no idea how many more we might face, and I doubt we can talk past most of them."

"We've gotten lucky," I agreed. Then we passed into the tent. I immediately felt better. "You have a shield on this place."

"I have made this our focal point for now," Colin explained as he placed me on some pillows by Luna and Shosha. "It gives me a small, strong power point for fast escapes."

"And we will need it," Luna added.