There was a loud whistle and everyone stepped away
from the tracks. The baby woke and started crying so the mother let the girls
go to coddle her infant. The dozing woman woke and she and the man stood at
sleepy attention. I moved closer to the track cautiously and looked down both
sides.
“Genoshi nai,” Divina said. I didn’t know what she
said but I got the idea and returned to her side.
“Now, this is nothing to
worry about, so try to relax. It’s called the zig. Think of it as a fast
rollercoaster.”
Divina tried to assure me, but it just made me apprehensive.
I liked rollercoasters, it just worried me that she felt the need to encourage
me.
Finally, it came into view. It looked like a very
thin plane without wings. The zig was long, solid white, and small. There was
an audible release of pressure as the top half snapped open, revealing a single
row of about thirty seats, much like those in a plane. At the rear end, there
was a large open space to place bags. The tracks were low enough that people
had to step down into the zig. People started getting on and after most settled
in, Divina chose a seat and I sat behind her. I held my tongue even though I
was burning with questions.
My seat was comfortable, but it bothered me that
there were no seatbelts. After a few minutes, there was another whistle and the
top half slowly closed in, bathing us in darkness. I reached for the little
window shutter and opened it a little to peek out. We started moving and picked
up speed very quickly. Darkness came again when we entered the tunnel.
There was very little talking on the trip and most of
the sound was shut out. I could tell we were going very fast, but it was a
smooth ride. It took probably about two hours, in which I daydreamed for most
of it. While there had been stuff to see through most of the trip, it was more of
the same. We finally began to slow and when we were stationary, the top opened
to reveal a station exactly like the last.
Everyone hurried out except Divina, who took her
time. I stretched my legs for a few minutes before she started for the stairs
and I had to follow quickly to keep up. There were fewer people here than at
the other station.
We made it outside within a few minutes and I
recognized the street markets of Shogo. The sun wasn’t up, but there was
activity as people set up their shops for the day. Just like the previous
station, this one was just a huge white building from the outside.
“Are you alright?” Divina asked.
“Yeah. How fast did that thing go?”
“About three hundred fifty kilometers per Earth
hour.”
That was about two hundred seventeen miles an hour.
“Where do you keep your clothes?” I asked. She frowned at me, waiting for an
explanation. “You keep changing your outfit, but you only carry that little
bag.”
“I can fit a lot in my bag.”
How can everything fit inside that little bag?
Maybe it’s bigger on the inside.
No, I couldn’t imagine that she was that
beautiful, powerful, and
cool
, as to have a bag created with
transdimensional engineering. The history of science fiction suggests that
women like that exist, but reality was usually a letdown.
We walked for an hour before taking a break at a
little stall where a man was cooking kabobs. Divina ordered six of them and
handed me three. Each stick held four little pastries. Instead of flaky and
sweet like they appeared, the bread was actually very doughy with a rich butter
flavor. Inside was a piece of hot and tender steak.
The sky was getting light and the moons were low by
the time we got to the shallow river. The beautiful flowers in the graveyard
were eerie in the moonlight. Then we got to the foggy river and the fog glowed
in the moonlight, as little as there was. Divina didn’t even slow down; she
took my hand and led me into the cold fog. I felt something move behind me and
dropped the sticks from the kabobs. Without thinking, I let go of Divina’s hand
to pick them up.
She yelled something in Sudo that was drowned out by
a horrifying shriek of some huge creature. The ray monster swooped down at me
and I barely had enough time to drop to the ground and roll. Sharp spikes
embedded deep into the wood where my head had been a second before. I thought
its tail was stuck, but with a few tugs, the spikes came free and the beast was
attacking again.
Suddenly there was fire in the air. It shrieked and,
after a few dangerous attempts at sticking me with its spiked tail, retreated.
Divina grabbed my arm and helped me up, and we hurried out of the fog.
“We might have trouble with your bad luck after all.”
There was nothing I could say to that.
The houses were just as deserted as before and we
didn’t linger. After just a few minutes, I felt like we were being followed. I
hesitated and started to turn, but Divina grabbed my hand and pulled me along.
When we arrived at the wall, Divina paused and I
followed her gaze to a group of children. They were all dressed in black robes
and had dark expressions. I didn’t see what Divina did, but from my peripheral
vision, it looked like she shoved against the wall. Like before, it opened into
a doorway. We went through into the desert and I never felt so much relief to
see a wall close behind us.
“What did those kids want?” I left out the words,
“creepy as hell,” and, “made my skin crawl,” so three points for me.
“They wanted to play with us,” she answered.
I got a chill.
By now the sky was much lighter. After a few minutes
of trudging through sand, I looked back to see the wall had disappeared. Then
the forest came into view a few minutes before the ocean and Edward did.
Edward waited patiently until we joined him. I knew
by his hard stare that he was aware of my injury, and I started thinking of an
excuse.
“Where were you injured?” Surprisingly, he didn’t
look worried, only annoyed. He must have known that Divina had helped me.
“His ankle and arm. He’s fine,” Divina said.
I really could have used her healing powers when I
was a kid.
Edward nodded. “It was actually with great timing
that you took him because I suddenly had something to do. Some young wizard was
about to release an ancient monster that would destroy the world.”
“What monster?” Divina asked.
“Abbadon.”
“How?” Divina asked, suddenly very interested.
Kiro
Allowing my new apprentice to run off with Divina was absolutely a bad
idea. Divina would get him into trouble. Dylan looked at me with a pleading,
hopeful expression I had seen millions of times in my life, but regardless of
the lust he had for Divina, I gave in. Perhaps it was because he had so little
in his childhood, but his expressions were raw and passionate. Despite the fact
that he was an adult, he was young and had a need for adventure. On the other
hand, notwithstanding the fact that he was young and danger-prone, he had a
latent sense of great wisdom he was bound to unleash.
“Don’t worry; I’ll be careful with him. He needs to
have some fun and get a taste of real culture. He’s going to live with you for
years, let him have a little time away. The last thing you want is for him to
associate you with all work and no play. Give him a little air,” Divina pleaded
in Sudo.
No doubt he would turn down her argument if he
understood her and sacrifice his enjoyment to spare my pride. I knew very well
that he would enjoy exploring with her more than me, and I wasn’t particularly
bothered by it.
I looked at him again but couldn’t bring myself to
say anything, for it felt like I was sending my child apprentice off with a
demon in a world of blood and fire and had no words for such foolishness. With
heavy legs I turned and walked away.
I tried to get far enough to lose temptation to watch
over him, though I knew I could find him instantly if it was necessary. My mind
was split between grief and relief about Divina accompanying him. At the very
least, she could protect him from the ominous people of Shogo.
A stall displaying charms attracted my interest. Row
after row of charms of diverse sizes, colors, and intentions were laid out. I
singled out a scarlet one with the name of an ancient deity of protection
written in gold.
“What is this made of?” I asked the man managing the
stall in Vido.
“Daa sokra and female kelic blood. It is most effective
at night. Are you looking for a gift?” he asked.
“Yes; for someone who has quite horrible luck.” I
browsed several others, including a dark blue one with the objective of
healing. “What is this made of?”
“Burnt sunho and fitgum prepared over goakwin. The
fitgum was very fresh,” he insisted. “Both are a menso each.”
That was expensive for a charm lacking assurance that
it was truly prepared correctly, but money meant little to me. I bought and
bagged them and scarcely departed before my awareness collapsed.
Great timing.
I was in darkness; there was no
ground and nothing solid to touch. All of my senses were blinded.
He
was
frustrated. “What is your command, Great Erono?” I asked in Enochian, trying to
be respectful. There was little reason, though, for he knew my insolence.
“How very audacious of you, to speak to your god
in such a manner, when your very existence is to obey my command.”
His
words were in my head, so unnatural they lacked a voice.
“Your Enochian is
insufficient. You will go to Setchna Caves and defeat Abbadon.”
I was surprised; Abbadon was a powerful beast
imprisoned long before my birth. I filtered emotion from my voice. “How do
I---” I was interrupted as my senses returned to me abruptly and I was back in
the markets of Shogo.
Changing route, I headed for the zig station. I hated
the crowded environment, but the mode of transportation was undeniably
efficient. I found the appropriate platform and waited briefly for the zig,
then found a seat quickly once it arrived. The chatting women behind my seat
frustrated me while the crying child in front of me upset me terribly. I could
smell his sickness. The crown closed before I could relocate and began moving
slowly. As the zig gained speed, the child quieted.
During the entire voyage I couldn’t desist from
thinking of my last child who died of sickness. It was so hard to become
attached to a child you know will die. Sometimes, magic wasn’t enough.
Finally the zig stopped and everyone got out. The
child with white hair and dark gray eyes moved slowly, though, and stood by the
buttress. No one paid him any attention, so I went to him. Although he was very
young, only about four, he didn’t seem nervous to be approached by a stranger.
“Where are your parents?” I asked.
“I am waiting for my mother. Who are you waiting
for?” he asked. There was a very subtle rasp in his breath. He had such a
carefree expression, despite his fever.
“No one, child. Would you like me to keep you company
until your mother gets here?” I asked.
He nodded and smiled brightly. “Are you a wizard?” he
asked me.
“Yes. How did you know that?”
“Energy around you is pulsing the way it does when a
wizard is mad. I am not a wizard. I can feel energy, but I cannot control it,”
he said, unhappily.
“You are so young, perhaps you will become a great
wizard someday.”
Or perhaps he will never get the chance.
“Can I see?” I
asked, holding out my hand. He laid his hand on mine and I let my energy seep
into him. His bones were thin and there was slight organ deterioration. The
illness was in his blood. I was no doctor, but it looked like he had too little
muscle as well, as if he had this disease his whole life.
Injuries, like broken bones, were easy for me, but he
needed a heeler. I had the experience I needed to run blood tests, prescribe
medications, and operate medical machinery, but with magic alone, healing
illnesses such as this was impossible.
I was startled when I felt energy brush up against
mine. He was wrong; he could do magic. I let go of his hand and released my
energy. To be able to control energy at such a young age told me he could have
been a spectacular wizard if he lived long enough.
He quickly ran to a woman who was coming down the
stairs. His mother greeted him and held him in her arms, and he waved at me as
they left. I slowly made my way out of the station.
Northern Mijii was considerably less populated than
the rest of Mijii, which meant it was harder to go unnoticed. The markets were
more cluttered than in the west and east. Disintegrating buildings pressed against
each other, threatening terrible disarray if a natural disaster struck. Shops
were cluttered and unsanitary, and the air was thick with the smell of animals,
dust, and exotic spices.
I approached the nearest shop, which was selling
pottery. The woman in charge smiled at me, expecting an interested customer.
“Welcome. Can I help you?” she asked in Vido.
“Perhaps, but not by way of a purchase. Can you tell
me where to find the marine port?” I asked her. She frowned; aware she would
not make a sale for now.
“If you go up that road, you will come upon a river.
Across it is a fishing community called Mink. Go to the restaurant called Felle
and ask for Suki. Her father runs the marine port and can get you anywhere you
need to go.”
“Thank you,” I said with a small bow. She bowed
slightly and started to turn away before I placed a coin on the counter, which
she smiled at brightly.
“Thank you,” she said.
I left and trekked down the street until I reached
the river. It was deep, slender, and rapid with a heavy wooden bridge, curving
upward. As I crossed, I peered into the water and could see the dark shapes of
amphibious creatures.
The town was far different than the majority of
Mijii. White buildings made with treated and painted wood stood tall instead of
the street markets. I passed schools, hotels, restaurants, and clothing stores,
but saw no restaurant entitled Felle. Though the streets were far from
deserted, the chaos of the street markets had not made it this far north.
My path was intercepted by three young girls pursuing
a ball. They wore loose, short-sleeved, scarlet shirts, dark blue, pleated
skirts, and black leather boots; they were school children. “Excuse me,” I
said. They looked up at me. “Can you tell me where Felle restaurant is?” I
asked. They all silently pointed down one of the side roads. “Thank you.”
I left them to their playing. Shortly after, I came
upon a small, white building with a sign saying “Felle” in Vido. Beside the
glass sliding door was a huge window, consuming most of the wall. I entered and
was faced with an uncomfortable atmosphere. It was bright in the restaurant
with white plastered walls that reflected the light. Square tables that seated
four were placed randomly around the area, creating a lively, unorganized
impression. On the far side of the room was a large wooden bar, behind which
was a wooden swinging door and waitresses going about their work.
“Have a seat and we will be right with you,” one of
the waitresses said.
“No need. I am looking for Suki.” As I said that, I
was very glad Dylan wasn’t there, for he would have snickered.
A woman drying dishes entered the room. “Who is
looking for me?” she asked.
She was a pretty young woman about Dylan’s age.
Light burgundy, shoulder-length hair framed her soft features and the pale skin
of her face. Her light violet eyes glittered in the light as she met my gaze.
She smiled, set her dish and towel down, and approached me. She wore a tight,
dark blue shirt with long sleeves bunched up above her elbow, tight black
pants, and high-heeled black boots. Her frame was small but certainly not
delicate or skinny.
“Are you Suki?” I asked.
“That depends. Why do you ask?”
“I need assistance with something. I was told that
you were the one to contact about a marine ship.”
“You were told right. Where do you need to go?”
“That is where it becomes complicated. I need to get
to the Setchna Caves, and I may or may not need a ride back.”
“Are you making a summer home? Or maybe getting away
from your wife?” she asked.
I laughed. “More like I need to pick up someone who
should not be there.”
“My father’s port is the only one on Mijii that can
get someone there, and he has never done so. It will be expensive,” she warned.
“That is understandable.”
“Then I will send for my father. Would you like a
drink while you wait? My shift is over soon. I could keep you company, if you
would like.”
“That is very tempting, but I am still working. Maybe
if I came by Mijii again.”
“I am only here temporarily to assist my sisters. I
live on Shomodii.”
“So do I; I am on my way to Anoshii. If you give me
your coordinates, I will try to stop by sometime.” Honestly, it would have been
more appropriate to give her mine, but for fear of her arriving and hearing
Dylan and I speak English, I couldn’t risk the unexpected guest.
She wasn’t fazed, though, and pulled out a notepad,
wrote her coordinates, and handed it to me with a teasing smile.
Just then the door opened and a man entered. His
copper eyes perfectly matched his copper hair. He had the dark tan and muscle
structure of a man who worked hard in the sun, most likely in farming. The
loose, white sand uniform looked out of place on Mijii. Sand moccasins wouldn’t
survive the solid ground that was customary indoors, but they were the only
shoes that would hold up in the deserts.
“Hello, Father,” Suki said as he joined us. He hardly
resembled her; her aura suggested that she was talented in magic and his was of
a man who would unlikely manage childish tricks. While he was tall and rough,
she was small but sturdy. “Perfect timing; I was just about to send for you.
This man wants to go to the Setchna Cave.”
The man now turned his attention to me. “Well, now, I
have not had a request like this before that was not a suicide trip. May I ask
why?”
“I need to prevent someone from doing something
there. I can pay you in advance and I would, of course, expect you to save
yourself and leave me if necessary.”
“It sounds like you are suicidal.”
I couldn’t help the smirk. “No, sir, I am simply very
difficult to kill.”
He nodded and looked at his daughter. “What do you
think?” he asked her.
She gave me a promising grin. “I think you should
bring him home to have dinner with us after you get back.”
As flattering as her invitation was, I had no
intention of joining her and her father for dinner when Dylan was left alone
with Divina. Furthermore, I had a strict time slot to fill. However, knowing
that I would be interrupted and likely not return with her father, I felt no
need to tell her so.
“I will be ready to leave at shoka. Straight down the
road is the marine port. The price is two jue. Is that acceptable?” he asked
me. It was an obscenely rich price, but the probability of his ship receiving
damage was certain.
Shoka was when the sun was directly above, high noon,
as Dylan would call it, which would leave me adequate time before sunrise the
next morning to arrive at the forest. “Entirely. I will then see you at shoka,”
I answered. With a nod, he left. I turned back to Suki. “Any chance I could get
something to eat before I leave?”
She smiled brightly. “Of course.”
* * *
I arrived at the port on time. By then, I was
thoroughly interested in meeting up with Suki after Dylan and I got home.
Unfortunately, graver obligations took priority and I faced her father instead.
I paid the fare with a substantial bonus in case of damage dealt to his ship.
The sea ship was a horrible shade of yellow that gave
it an artificial appearance; fortunately, the beasts would be equally repelled
by its paint. It was shaped like an arrowhead with a collapsed back end, giving
it two sharp points on the rear. Across the nose was a transparent shield,
while two defense cannons rested beneath it.
A small rectangle on the side opened upwards and
another man stepped out, who deeply resembled Suki, though was visibly several
years older. “This is Yahn, my son and co-pilot. If you are ready,” the captain
said, using an inviting gesture towards the doorway.