Flash Ficton #686 -- Neko heads home again/2

 

Home!

Someone stepped on his tail.  Neko hissed out of shock, but Dorian was already moving on. Neko could feel a sense of relief all around him as he bounded up on the counter where he belonged. A few pixies arrived in a flutter of light and color. They gave tiny screams of delight and rushed back toward their attic, leaving a glowing rainbow in their wake. 

Neko found very little had changed, although there were a few signs that others had been working here. Dorian was already sending out word to their fae friends not to come in -- in fact, to stay clear.

Yes, there would be trouble not far behind them. Neko felt one surge of anger, but it died away a moment later.

"This is nice!" Shosha exclaimed with a wave at the bookstore walls. "I never realized there could be so many books in one place!"

Luna and Shosha were so much a part of the group that Neko had forgotten they had never been here. A glance at Merlin showed he didn't look displeased. He even nodded as he scanned some titles -- the ones that most people never noticed because of their protective spells. 

"Made it," Colin mumbled as he put the last seal on the door.  He slumped into a chair.  "I think if anything comes pounding on the door, we should ignore it. We all need rest."

Shosha apparently agreed. She left Luna's arms and curled up on the counter like she lived there. Good thing she was so cute.  Neko decided it looked like a good idea. Sleep called to him.

He should have known it was a trap.

"You will let me in," a voice said. This was not Maude, and it was more than the deep bass that told him so. "There is no use in fighting it."

Neko suspected they had reached the next level above Maude.  Great.

He was still asleep. He could almost see the bookstore through a gauze of white clouds. They spread out farther than the building, and something lurked at the outer edge in a band of gray. It moved, clouds shifting around it.

This one oozed power and self-confidence.  It also betrayed a disrespect for the two small creatures who had fallen so easily into his trap. Neko admitted it had been a stupid mistake.   That didn't mean he and Shoha were always stupid.

Shosha appeared to still be in her kitten phase, which meant she had not loosed her rage, though Neko thought he could see a pulse of red in her fur.  He had no time to waste on games.  If he didn't, Neko knew he would have to deal with his friend and their enemy.

Then he heard a distant voice and knew Colin was looking for them.  Their fae friend gave Neko far better hope than his ability to take on Shosha in a bad mood.

They had been home.  For a few brief minutes, he had felt safe.  How had someone got past the shields?  How had it gone unnoticed?

Impossible.  The enemy had already been inside. That was the only answer. They had left fae to protect the place.  Did that mean they couldn't trust the fae?

Or was that what something wanted?

No one else --

Pixies were easy to trick. If someone -- or something -- was patient enough to put up with the constant giggles and pranks, they might find a flaw in the spells the fae wove --

Colin was still yelling, but he sounded more distant. He sensed Reggie closer, but silent.  Which one was the diversion?  It didn't matter because Shosha was about to explode with rage. Neko had no time to figure out what the others were doing.  He gathered all the power he could and launched himself at the white fur ball.

And he hugged her.

Neko couldn't remember ever seeing anyone so shocked. For a half dozen heartbeats, he feared she would explode and take him with her. Then she sighed and snuggled closer.

"Nice," she whispered.

He would have held on if the enemy hadn't launched itself at them. Larger than he had expected.  By the time it cleared the gray area, it was already too large to make any sense of it. He concentrated on the long snout and dagger teeth while he pushed Shosha behind him.

He wanted her to run to Colin, but knew that she would not.  Instead, she growled and raised a paw with claws unsheathed. The creature -- a dragon, Neko realized -- countered by opening his mouth wider.

"Neko! Shosha!" Colin shouted.

The dragon's mouth snapped shut without any cats inside. He backed up while making strange gasping noises. He paid no attention at all to Colin and Reggie when they arrived.

Instead, he bowed with his head to his paws.

"Oh," Reggie said in a tone hinting that he knew what was going on.

"I am unworthy," the dragon proclaimed.  "I beg your forgiveness, honorable parents."

Flash Fiction #685 -- Neko heads home again/1

 

 

"It was the damned sword's fault," Merlin said with a snarl.

"Merlin," Dorian warned, and winced when the mage looked his way. 

Merlin buried his own glare and shrugged.  "I still have issues.  I spent too many lifetimes building up to Arthur's reign to have a pretentious slab of metal and jewels get jealous because Arthur spent time with his wife rather than in battle."

Neko glanced at Colin, who sat on the sofa beside him.  Neko liked the hotel and thought they were going to have a nice rest for a few days.  Then Merlin and Dorian showed up at their door.

Neko and his companions thought they had left the worst of their problems -- including Maude -- behind in Merlin's magical realm.  But here was Merlin, and he plainly wanted something. Neko wanted to remind everyone that he and his companions were heading back to the bookshop.  They'd had enough adventures of their own lately, and they did not need to take on legends and myths.

"This realm, the largest and most powerful of the human lands, is not doing well," Merlin said. He stood and crossed to the window, pulling open the curtains to the dark night. Neko's ears went back -- they had been on the run and hiding for too long.

"Is it magic causing the trouble here?" Colin asked.

"More from the loss of what little magic it had. There are spots like Maude, but nothing unified.  Fae  rarely come this way, and now darker powers and chaos are slipping in."

Neko wanted to protest.  He stood and then sat back down.

"You have something to say, cat?"

"Neko," he corrected with a hardly concealed snarl.  "And this is Sosha."

Neko had expected dismissal, not surprise and embarrassment. Merlin went back to his chair and nodded.  "I apologize.  I know none of you are simple familiars. I fear I have trapped myself in some old prejudices, simply because they were easier. That also applies to you, Dorian."

Did he imply Dorian was also a Familiar? Neko looked his way to find Dorian red-faced and choking ... on laughter. Merlin looked confused, and that would surely give way to anger --

Luna explained it to him. Merlin started with denial, but soon gave way to laughter.

"A night's rest," Merlin suggested.

No one argued. Even though Neko still had an unresolved question, he decided that curling up with Luna and Sosha was far better than chancing another bout of giggles.  Others in the hotel were bound to hear them. It was not the kind of attention they wanted.

He would have slept for a few more hours, but an insect kept buzzing in his ear and then bit him.  Neko cursed and sat up from the moss--

Moss?

Trees covered in vines dripped water onto the spongy ground.

A pair of large, multicolored birds flew past, making some sound of protest.

This was not where he had gone to sleep.

"Colin! Luna! Shosha! Dorian!" 

No answers. No touch of magic in the air.

"Merlin!" he shouted in desperation.

The sounds went wild throughout the jungle. Birds screamed while other animals howled.  Neko started to run and then tumbled to a stop. Which way?  He found nothing but madness on all sides.  That sound drove him toward a madness of his own, and he howled as well.

Neko ran both faster and farther than he ever had in his life. Part of him decided that if he ran fast enough, nothing could catch him. But traps were lying in wait. He leaped over snapping snakes only to become entangled by weeds and vines.

Something grabbed him, rough hands tight around his body.  Neko yowled with fear and indignation, all his claws flailing --

"Neko!" The hands shook him.  "You called for me!"

"Merlin?" Neko gasped and tried to grasp what he had fought away a moment before.

Trusting in his calmness, Merlin pulled him closer.  "We have to go. Hold on -- to the tunic and not the skin.

Neko started to apologize, but they were already moving by magic, the scary jungle blurring around them.  That did not make the place any less terrifying.  Neko dug his claws into Merlin's jacket, possibly reaching the skin again, but Merlin did not comment. They just moved, and Neko almost dared to close his eyes.  All he wanted was to get back to Colin and the others.

There.

"Good work!" Merlin praised aloud.  They slightly shifted direction, as though they were in a boat, and the sails found the breeze.

Neko could finally feel them getting closer and could help direct them, which Merlin apparently approved. They arrived with a puff of steam that kicked them out onto a huge, empty butte without a sign of a jungle anywhere near them.


However, the others were there.

Merlin carefully put Neko into Colin's hands, and the cat practically rooted himself on the fae's shoulder.  Colin winced once before Neko pulled his claws in.

"Everyone here?" Merlin asked as he looked around.  "Good. We need a destination, and one with a solid magic base.  I do not suggest the fae lands. It is likely our enemies would be more powerful there --"

"The bookstore," Neko said.  "It is time to get home and prepare for trouble rather than chase after it."

There was a pause of silence, but no one disagreed.  Colin, Neko, and Dorian made the link so quickly that Neko barely had time to take a tighter hold again.

For one moment, Neko saw the jungle -- but they passed that before he could blink, let alone complain. Afterward, there were only colors, and no sense of time.

Neko could feel he was getting closer to home, and he knew it wasn't safe. 

Flash Fiction #684 -- Drabble

 

The last speaker at the conference was not human.  This took me by surprise since aliens rarely show any interest in the languages of Antiqua Terra.

When John Smith took the podium, the auditorium fell silent. I wasn't the only one who hadn't expected a pseudonym. The tall alien towered over the podium.

"To the point," the Ractor said.  Chairs trembled at the sound of the bass-filled voice. "That is the core, the very gem of Earth's forgotten art form, the drabble. The subject is mobile, as is the language. Only one rule applies: 100 words exactly and no more."

Flash Fiction #683 -- Bully

 

 

The dog always waited for me on the path home.  Bully wasn't a brave dog, but he hated squirrels, and I'd lost part of my tail to him.  No one liked him. Even the stray cats sometimes chased him off.

On this rainy day, everything changed. I had the path mapped in my brain: down the alley, through the broken fence, and the longest leap of my life.

Bully followed. He didn't see the hole.  

He landed three feet down and with mud up to his chin. A pathetic howl drew humans to save him. He never chased me again.