The Changeling Princess (28 page)

CHAPTER 51

The kitties were lying on the foot of the bed when Wade and I entered my bedroom. Missy poked Izzy.
We’ve got company. Janis brought a guy with her.

Wade looked embarrassed.
“What do I do now?”

“
Try speaking to them with your thoughts. They can’t understand you if you speak with your human voice.”

Wade stared at the cats.
My name’s Wade. How’s it going girls?

Missy sat up.
Pretty good. You’re the guy in the picture on Janis’s dresser.

Wade stared at me in disbelief.
“I don’t believe this. I can actually hear your cat talking to me.”

Are you a Changeling?
Missy asked.

Wade looked down at Missy.
No, I’m a Witch.

Where
’s your broomstick?
Izzy asked.

I don
’t have a broomstick. Only Witches on television have broomsticks.

Izzy spoke again.
Are you Janis’s boyfriend?

Just a minute,
I said.
Who said anything about a boyfriend?

We saw you kissing Wade
’s picture
, said Izzy.

That
’s right
, said Missy.
Are we bad kitties because we thought Wade was your boyfriend?

“
I’d like to know the answer to that question,” Wade said, trying not to grin. “Are they bad kitties because they saw you kissing my picture?”

I was totally embarrassed.
Jeez, what did I get myself into?

Missy heard my thoughts.
Did we say something wrong? We don’t want to be bad kitties
.

I reached down
and picked up Missy and Izzy.
You girls couldn’t be bad kitties if you wanted to be. Both of you are great big sweethearts.

I agree, said Wade as he reached out with both hands and rubbe
d the kitties behind the ears.
You girls are really precious. No wonder Janis loves you so much.

I like you
, said Missy.
You’re real nice.

I think your real cute,
said Izzy.

I looked at Wade and grinned.
“Okay cutie pie; let’s see you get out of that one.”

* * *

We arrived at the mountain retreat right after the Sun came up. I morphed into the Changeling Princess and turned to Wade. “Me gustaría una taza de café. What did I just say, Wade?”

Wade looked puzzled.
“You said ‘I’d like a cup of coffee.’ ”

“
That correct, but I asked for the coffee in Spanish.”

“
It sounded like English to me.”

“
That’s because you now have the ability to hear foreign languages in English. Now I’m going to tell you that I’d like sugar with my coffee, but I’m going to say it in French.
J’aimerais sucre avec mon café
.”

“
Still sounded like English to me.”

“
That’s good, but sometimes what you hear is a little strange. Sometimes some of the words are left out.”

Wade looked puzzled.
“Give me an example.”

“
Okay, take the phrase; ‘I will come now because I am needed.’ What you may hear is ‘I come now, I needed.’ Another example is, ‘I am Wade, I am the leader of this tribe.’ What you may hear is ‘I Wade, I leader of tribe.’ ”

“
I see what you mean. The sentence is no longer correct English, but it still says the same thing. Do the words always come out strange?”

“
No, sometimes it’s perfect English, but don’t ask me why. Maybe it has something to do with the I.Q. of who you’re talking too.”

“
I’ll try to keep that in mind.”

“
Good, now let’s go on to something else.” I held up my hands with my fingers stretched upward. My palms were facing Wade. “Open your hands and grasp mine. I’m going to test your strength by bending your hands back and forcing you down to your knees. Let’s see how much resistance you can put up.”

Wade did as I asked and grasped my open hands with his. I continued applying pressure until Wade was down on his knees.
“That was terrific, Wade. Judging by the amount of effort I put forth, I’d say you’re at least fifty times stronger than you were. Let’s test you strength on that large bolder at the edge of the clearing.”

Wade walked up to the bolder and picked it off the ground like it was a pebble.
“Wow! This is hard to believe, Janis. I bet I could lift an automobile over my head.”

“
You probably could. Now let’s see if you can turn into a Mist.”

Wade concentrated and turned into a Mist. He floated up into the air and made a quick circle around the clearing. When Wade returned, He couldn
’t control his excitement. “Wow! That was really something.”

“
It’s important to remember that there are limitations when you’re in a Mist form. You’ll be limited to speech, invisibility, scent and reading minds. That means that you can’t use your energy bolts. You can morph back and forth between a Mist and your human form, but that’s it. One last point is flying together. It’ll be much easier to communicate through telepathy.”

“
That makes sense. Flying side by side is going to be a new experience for both of us.”

“
Now I want you to return to your human form to see if you’ve acquired telekinesis. I want you to concentrate on the space in front of you and try to harden the air. Concentrate on an area about four foot square and one inch thick.”

It only took a split second for Wade to construct a force field. He walked over to the transparent piece of air and examined it.
“This is really cool, but I can’t budge it. How do I pick it up?”

“
You do it with your mind by commanding it to be loose.”

Wade started at the force field and then picked it up with his hands.
“How do I get rid of it?”

“
By using your mind. You simply command it to dissolve.”

Wade stared at the force field and it disappeared. “Believe it or not, Janis, but I’m speechless.”

“
Just remember that you can’t use telekinesis in Mist form.”

“
I’ll remember that. No energy bolts or telekinesis in Mist form.”

“
Okay, now let’s see if you can grow your height. Your strength will grow in direct proportion to your height, so concentrate on being taller and let’s see what happens.”

Wade took a deep breath and began growing. I estimated his height to be about eighteen feet, three times his normal height.
“Okay, I want you to pick up the bolder again.”

Wade did as he was told and began laughing.
“It’s so easy it’s embarrassing. Do you wanna do the hand pushing thing again? I bet I could beat you this time.”

“
Maybe, but I don’t want to take the chance. It might destroy your confidence.”

“
Ah ha, the words of a chicken.”

‘
Okay, so I’m a chicken. Are you ready to test your flying skills?”

“
Do we have to?”

“
Now who’s the chicken?”

Wade returned to his normal height. With just a small amount of concentration he felt himself being lifted off the ground. As he floated higher into the sky, I flew beside him to help him retain his confidence.

We’d only been in the air for five ten minutes and Wade was flying like he’d been born in the sky. He’d completely lost his fear of height and was actually challenging me to a game of tag. He even increased his height to give himself more speed. I was really proud of Wade.

“
We have one more test,” I said as I reached out and pinched Wade on the arm.

“
Ouch, that hurts. Why did you do that?”

“
I wanted to see if you were invincible. Apparently you’re not because you can still feel pain.”

“
Well, Janis, I can’t have everything, but I’m thrilled with what I’ve got. I just hope I’m prepared for what’s expected of me.”

“
You and me both, Wade. You and me both.”

CHAPTER 52

Our lives were at a standstill and the only thing that mattered was perfecting our skills. We had been partners for the last two years, but now that term took on a whole new meaning. When we combined our powers, there wasn’t a force on Earth that could stand up to us.

Several days later, I picked Wade up at eight in the morning and we drove to the mountain retreat. We had been practicing for about an hour when we became aware of the Supreme Entity.

The time has come for you to enter the parallel universe.

We were holding our swords and shields as a small portal formed directly in front of us. I looked at Wade.
“We’d better make ourselves invisible. I don’t know where we’re going and we don’t want to make a dramatic entrance.”

“
I’m not wearing my black robe,” Wade said before we stepped into the portal.

“
I can always make you another one.”

We turned invisible and stepped through the portal. I had a feeling we were going to have the experience of a lifetime.

* * *

We found ourselves standing in a field about fifty feet from what appeared to be a dirt road. On the other side of the dirt road was a large wooded area. Far off in the distance I could see a large castle. The scene reminded me of the middle ages with a village surrounding the castle walls. I also picked up a scent that was new to me. I was positive the scent belonged to the crystal we
’d been sent to find.

The temperature was in the mid-seventies and the Sun was shining brightly. I guess I expected it be dark, just like all the creature movies I
’d seen on television. I looked up into the sky and saw three dragons flying overhead.

“
Do you see what I see?” asked Wade.

“
I sure do. We’re definitely not in North Carolina anymore.”

We walked toward the road and saw a horse drawn cart coming our way. The horses looked like Clydesdales except they were much larger. Driving the cart was a large stocky man. Sitting directly behind him were four smaller men that looked like helpers.

I could tell by the large man’s scent that he was a Demon. He was exceptionally large and his features were extremely crude. His mouth was filled with razor sharp teeth and he smelled of death. I couldn’t figure out how evolution could have produced such a vile creature.

As they got closer, I saw that the cart was piled with dead bodies. When the cart came to a stop, the helpers jumped to the rear of the cart and began throwing the dead bodies onto the side of the road. When they were finished, the Demon held a strange shaped horn to him mouth and blew several high pitched notes. The Demon paused, turned the cart around and headed back toward the castle.

Wade looked puzzled. “I wonder what that strange horn was for.”

I pointed up in the air.
“I think those creatures will answer your question.”

Flying toward the dead bodies was a flock of small dragons. They ascended on the dead bodies and began tearing the flesh from the corpses.
“Apparently these dragons are the equivalent to the vultures on Earth,” I said.

“
Yuk,” said Wade. “I think I’m going to be sick.”

“
Poor little Wade. First it was exploding Warlocks, now it dragons eating dead bodies.”

“
Okay, so I’ve got a weak stomach. What do we do now?”

“
I think we should alter our appearance to blend in with the natives. Let’s start with a look that resembles the helpers on the cart. It’s time to turn visible and get to work.”

We changed the color of our skin to a light grey. Then we made our ears and necks a little longer.
“Not bad, not bad,” Wade said as he looked me over. “I wonder if they have any beauty contests on this planet.”

“
Only you would come up with something like that. Did your senses tell you the three smaller men were not Demons?”

“
Yes. That tells us this planet in not composed entirely of Demons.”

“
None of the creatures were human, but there are a lot of similarities. Maybe we all came from the same family tree.”

Wade laughed.
“I guess you could say the family tree is a little wacky on this planet.”

“
Wacky to us, but not to the folks who live here.”

Wade turned serious.
“I have a suggestion.”

“
I’m listening.”

“
I think we should fashion a belt and a sheath for our swords. If we approach anyone holding our swords, they’ll assume we’re threatening them.

“
Jeez, Wade, I never thought of that. Do you think you can manufacture a belt and sheath for your sword?”

“
I don’t think so. I still need a lot of practice making things.

“
No problem, I’ll get right to work on that myself.”

It took me ten minutes to shape a pair of belts and sheaths. I figured we
’d have to buy some clothes. It was unlikely we’d run into anyone on this planet who wore jeans and tennis shoes.

We decided to walk to the castle because we needed time to learn about our new environment. We were newcomers here and we had a lot to learn.

I spotted what looked like a farmhouse with a drinking well in the front yard. We didn’t see anyone around, so we walked up the small road to the well and helped ourselves to the water. I was having a second cup of water when a couple approached us from the rear of the farmhouse.

“
Friend,” they both said as they raised their left hand in the air. “My name Drog and this is mate, Zanza.”

I decided this was their way of greeting us. I raised my left hand and said
“Friend, my name is Janis.”

Wade raised his left hand.
“Friend, my name is Wade.”

Drog and Zanza were both about six feet tall and looked unusually strong. I assumed they were farmers who worked in the fields all day. I sensed immediately they had a gentle nature.

“I see shields and swords. You here for games?” Drog asked.

“
Yes we are,” I replied. “We are from the land of Charlotte and we are strangers in this area.”

“
Then you eat with us,” Zanza said.

Wade raised an eyebrow and looked at me. We were both hungry, but we didn
’t have the slightest idea what kind of food these people ate. It was going to be an interesting experience.

Drog led Wade and I around to the back of the farm house while Zanza prepared the meal. I was impressed with the large bundles of vegetables that had been stacked up in the back yard. I estimated there was enough food to fill twenty of those horse drawn carts we had seen earlier.

“Today pickup day,” Drog explained. “We are paid, then food go to Castle Town. This is way of life for thousands of years.”

Drog used the term
“thousands,” but I had no way of knowing how they measured time.

We followed Drog out into the nearby field. I didn
’t know much about farming, but looking over the area, it appeared they grew several different crops. It was then that I noticed the cracks in the ground. That told me the weather had been extremely dry.

“
It appears it hasn’t rained much lately,” I said. Drog looked puzzled until I pointed to the cracks in the ground.

“
We need sprinkles for crops. We are waiting.”

I nodded my head.
“I hope sprinkles come soon.”

“
Eats are ready,” Zanza yelled out the back door. Wade looked at me and grinned. I was looking forward to my first meal in a parallel universe.

I was stunned when I saw the large assortment of food that Zanza had prepared. There was a large platter of ribs, a plate containing what appeared to be four huge roasted chicken breasts, and two dishes of mashed potatoes. Aside from the baked bread, I also spotted strawberries and blueberries.

It was obvious that Drog and Zanza were big eaters, so Wade and I felt right at home. The grin on Wade
’s face reminded me of a little boy who discovered his first toy under the Christmas tree.

Zanza passed the ribs to Wade.
“Ribs?” she asked.

Wade took a large slab and passed the plate to me. I had no idea what the sauce was made from, but the ribs were delicious.

“Taters,” Zanza said as she passed the bowl to Wade. Wade smiled and dished a large portion onto his plate before passing the bowl to me.

“
Butter,” Zanza said as she passed the bowl to Wade. Wade smiled again as he took a large helping of butter.

“
Do you make your own butter,” I asked.

“
We have butter bees,” said Drog. “They make better butter than animals.”

“
That is good,” I said.

The last item of meat was the roasted chicken. I had to admit that my taste buds came to life when I tasted the chicken.
“

“
How you like dragon breast?” Zanza asked, looking pleased that I was enjoying her cooking.

I cleared my throat and smiled.
“It’s delicious, absolutely delicious.”

Wade looked startled as he dropped the dragon breast onto his plate.

“Is dragon breast not fresh enough for you, Wade? We killed dragons just yesterday.”

“
Are these the dragons that eat the dead bodies?” he asked.

“
No, no, no,” said Zanza. “The dragons I cook only eat berries. The dragons you speak of are flesh eaters. Flesh eaters covered with white spots. No good to eat, no, no.”

Wade smiled and picked up his dragon breast.
“I agree with Janis. These dragon breasts are delicious and you are a wonderful cook.”

When we finished with the main meal, the blueberries and red berries were passed around the table. The red berries were strawberries and they were the best I had ever tasted.

Zanza was cheerful as she spoke. “I cannot believe how much you eat, Janis. You are such small woman. What you do in this place called Charlotte?”

“
I make clothes.”

“
You make clothes you wear? They strange to me.”

“
Yes I did. I made Wade’s clothes, too. We will buy new clothes when we reach Castle Town.”

“
No need buy clothes. We have many.”

Zanza jumped up from the table and left the room. When she returned, she was carrying two robes, similar to the one she and Drog were wearing.
“This fit you, Janis. It belonged to my Zelda when she was little.”

I tried on the robe and it fit perfectly. It even had a hood to protect me from the afternoon Sun. Wade
’s robe fit perfectly too.

“
We cannot pay you,” I said.

“
No pay,” said Drog. “We are friends.”

“
In Charlotte, we are called ‘citizens.’ What are you called?”

“
We are Rens,” Zanza answered.

“
What about Castle Town?”

“
Most Rens live in Castle Town, along with Torks and Demons.”

“
What are Torks?”

“
Torks are darker and taller. We have Tork friends, but not many.”

“
What about the Demons?”

“
Demons bigger and meaner than Torks. Demons rule Castle Town. Demons run everything.”

“
I’m curious how you measure time,” I said. “What kind of numbers do you use?”

“
Is simple. Sun rises, moves across sky, then goes down. When Sun rises again, that is one go-around.”

“
What you call a go-around, we call a day. Please go on.”

“
Ten go-around is one week. Ten weeks is one month and ten months is one year.”

What I just heard was like the European metric system where everything is divisible by ten. Using Zanza
’s method of counting, a week is ten days, a month is a hundred days and a year is a thousand days. A year on this world is equal to two and three-quarter years on Earth. A thousand years in this universe is close to three thousand years on Earth.  

I picked up the sound of horse drawn carts moving toward the farm house.
“Picker uppers are here,” said Drog. “We get paid.”

Wade and I stayed in the back ground as the Demon leading the carts got down off his horse.
“Good crop. Gorbra will be pleased,” the Demon said as he walked up to Drog and Zanza.

“
More crops when sprinkles come,” said Drog.

It only took an hour for the crops to be loaded because there were so many helpers. I assumed the helpers were Torks. They were about six and a half feet tall, very muscular and they had darker skin. I wondered if there were any small people on this planet. At five-foot five, I felt like a midget.