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.