Authors: Rain Oxford
That was the extent of the boy’s rebellion as he ran
back to ram into Mordon’s legs. A young couple smiled at Sammy as they passed
us, but the baby hid behind Mordon. Since he didn’t speak, I assumed he didn’t
understand what we said, but Sammy definitely understood more than I had
thought.
“I bet Vivian is having a heart attack,” Mordon said.
The city was beautiful. There were several café-styled
restaurants where people sat outside enjoying a meal in the sun, overlooking
the canal. Many of the glass buildings displayed richly colored and styled
clothing. Many of the older, stone buildings sported things like travel
souvenirs, floral plants, and sweets. As we walked through the city, it became
apparent how significant the canal actually was; many of the taller buildings
had glass bridges reaching out over it. The fountains were quite active and
Sammy loved the colored lights in the water.
After an hour or so of wandering around the streets,
we stopped at a shaded courtyard, where several elegant stalls were selling
sweets to children. I was carrying Sammy, but he wasn’t interested in napping.
“Do you think an eighteen-month-old would appreciate
sweets?” Mordon asked.
I shrugged. “Sure. I think kids are born with a sweet
tooth.”
Mordon went to pick something out. Seeing others
doing it, I sat down on the stone barrier between the water and the street. The
water was low enough that I only got mild splashing. I picked Sammy up and let
him see the water, just short of touching it, which he tried desperately to do.
Mordon returned with a small, white cup of
peach-colored cream. “What is that?” I asked.
“I have no idea. It’s what most the kids wanted.” He
then handed me one of three plastic, flat sticks, which resembled white
popsicle sticks. He scooped some of the cream up and tried it, but immediately
made a face.
“What?” I asked.
“Too sweet. Like a sweet fruit with sugar added,” he
said.
I handed Sammy to him and used the second stick to
taste the cream. His description was accurate, but the fruit tasted somewhere
between passion-fruit, and grapefruit. While the texture was like yogurt, it
didn’t have the same sourness. I dipped the third stick in it, and Sammy made a
dive for the sweet cream before I could even offer it to him.
The squeal of delight was a pretty positive review. I
fed Sammy the sweet while Mordon found a trash bin for the two extra sticks.
With Sammy pacified, we continued our walk. Finally after arguing about our
next step, we stopped a group of five women to ask for assistance.
“Excuse me. We’re lost. We were at the sky city, but
the door was locked to the elevator,” I said.
Mordon nudged me. “That made no sense at all.”
One of the girls smiled indulgently. “Which sky city
are you from?”
“There is more than one? We are from the one where
the Noquodi, Shiloh lives,” I said. The Guardian had said that people here knew
who he was.
She nodded. “Casten. That is the city called Casten.
The news is that they were attacked by a magical monster, but that Shiloh
scared it off. The city will be closed until any damage can be repaired. Safety
comes first with the sky cities. I am sorry to say it will likely take days.
Repairing damage takes only a short time, but they have to test the repairs.
Shiloh will likely oversee all of the work done.”
“Is there a hotel we can stay at?” Mordan asked.
“Unfortunately, hotels must be reserved in advance
here. You can go to the water city; their hotels are available without
reservations. Come with us and we will show you how to get to the water city.”
“What do you think?”
I asked Mordon.
“I would prefer not to wait around. Besides, I
don’t want to be underwater. Fire and water are not friends, and I cannot
breathe underwater.”
“I don’t know how to travel worlds, even if I have
the ability. We could wait around here with no place to sleep or sleep there
for a few days until we can find Shiloh.”
We followed the girls to another
elevator.
“The lifts use a psychic command to transport you.”
Only one of the girls entered the elevator.
As soon as the door slid closed, it slid back open.
It looked like we stepped into a huge aquarium, except we were the exhibit. The
ceiling and most of the walls were clear, and I could see large and small fish
swimming freely in the sea above us.
The girl went back into the elevator, leaving the
three of us alone. Sammy squirmed to get down, then ran up to the walls to
watch the fish. The room we were in was a large glass dome with small white
lights illuminating the area. Despite the lights, the room had an eerie blue
color because of the sun shining through the ocean. The only way out was a
glass hallway.
“Fish!” Sammy cried with delight.
What he was referring to did not look like a fish to
me; it looked very much like a giant Octopus, but it had more than eight legs.
It was also paying close attention to Sammy; with its large eyes against the
glass, it reached out to hug the glass like it was trying to grab Sammy. The baby
wasn’t afraid, more excited than anything else.
A man and woman entered through the tunnel. They were
quietly speaking to each other, but stopped when they saw us. Mordon picked
Sammy up.
“Hello,” the woman said.
She was a tall woman who looked to be in her thirties
with long, dirty-blond hair. She wore a dress much like a Greek costume, which
went to the floor and revealed a lot of skin above her waist. The man wore a
more conservative tunic and pants. Every strip of clothes the man and woman
wore was immaculate white, but the blue of the ocean cast an eerie glow on
them. If they went out in the sun, people would be snow-blinded.
“Welcome to our city. I am Kela, and this is Jos. We
were not expecting guests, but how can we help you?” the woman asked.
“Hi. My name is Dylan, this is Mordon, and Samhail.
We were visiting someone in Casten, but the city was attacked. We were hoping
that you have a hotel room available.”
Jos smiled. “Of course. Please remove your boots and
follow me.”
Mordon and I understood the tradition; there were
plenty of places on Duran where shoes were taken off before entering a business
or home as a remnant of the old religion. We pulled off our boots and followed
after. The white floor was plastic, but cushioned. We followed him through the
tunnel while Kela stayed behind. The long tunnel branched off to several more
tunnels on the way.
“That is the shopping district, in case you want
souvenirs or need anything,” he said, indicating one hallway. “This is the
technical business district. Over there is the industrial business district; I
would avoid it if I were you, as it can be dangerous if you cannot read the
signs. This is our childcare district. There is a playground, a music center,
schools, academic activities for all ages, and daycare.”
“We will have to take Sammy to the playground,” I
told Mordon. “I think he needs more exercise.”
“He gets carried around too much,” Mordon agreed.
Jos laughed and led us through to another hallway.
“This is our residential district. We have an apartment available with child
accommodations.”
“That would be great if we can afford it. We have no
idea what the currency system is or how much we were given,” I said.
“I can scan your identification band to check your
account. If you are low on money, I will still let you use the room.”
When we both stared at him, he laughed and pulled a
black metal band, resembling a watch, off of his white belt. The length of his
tunic had hidden the tools he had on his belt.
“You run a business, yet you would offer your
services for free?” Mordon asked.
“Not normally, but this is during a holiday of peace,
and it would be wrong of me to turn down travelers in need to let a room go to
waste. Especially a Noquodi, his companion, and a baby.”
“How did you know?” I asked.
“I can feel your magic. No wizard could be so
powerful. The way energy reacts to you is like it is seeking you out… I also
felt you earlier, when you healed this world from its wounds. I travel, too,
and so my name is in Shiloh’s book; therefore, I felt your magic when you dug
into the magic of this world.”
“Wow. Learn something new every hour.”
“After the aid you provided to our world, how could I
turn you away when all you need is a room?” He waved the little screen over my
band. “Shiloh should have left you with enough…” He stopped talking as he
looked at the screen. “Oh. Shiloh made sure to provide you with enough funding
to live like kings for months. If you would prefer, we have lavish rooms far
superior to this one.”
Mordon and I shook our heads in unison. “The less
lavish apartment with the child accommodations would do great, as long as it is
clean.”
He laughed hard at this. “Clean!” he declared. “This
must be your first time to the water cities. Nothing in this city is unclean.
Every room, every hallway, every scrap of clothes or food is always clean. Now,
I do not want to worry you, as I know your own culture is important, but if you
would allow us to clean your clothes, you would be much better received by the
residents. If you wish to go to the playground, I suggest you dress your child
in an outfit we provide. Clothes other than white is considered unclean and
other children would not want to play with him if he is wearing something
colorful.”
Sammy looked from me to Jos, then did something he
never did before; stuck his thumb into his mouth. I went to remove Sammy’s hand
when Jos shuddered, but the baby had already reached out to touch the man with
his wet hand. Jos jumped back, uttering a frightened whimper.
“Sammy!” Mordon yelled.
The baby giggled, then gazed up at me innocently.
I gave Sammy a glare. “I am so sorry!” I told Jos,
who had composed himself. “He’s never done anything like that; I think he was
just teasing you. He might be high on sugar. Sammy, say you’re sorry.”
The baby pouted like he was going to cry, but I just
glared harder. He looked at Jos. “Sorry.” He at least sounded sincere, and Jos
gave him a small smile.
“It is okay. I know how children like to play. I
think you have a prankster in your future.”
“Well, that will be his mother’s problem,” I
answered.
“Mama!” Sammy screamed, reaching out for Mordon with
delight.
It really was difficult to stay on my feet with how
hard I was laughing. I couldn’t even breathe because I was laughing so hard.
“You laugh now, but Vivian will be furious,” Mordon
warned.
Once I finally calmed down, Jos showed us to our
room. Every room door was bright white and had no doorknob. He put his palm on
a black panel and the door slid open.
I couldn’t imagine what the lavish suite looked like
if it was nicer than this. The spacious room was about twenty-four by
thirty-six feet, but looked larger on account of the transparent ceiling. Fur
rugs placed sporadically around the wooden floor seemed more like an
afterthought and replacement for carpet. The wall opposite of the door was
crystal-clear and curved into the see-through ceiling, divided only by a small
bar with spotlights, while the other three walls were white and smooth like
plastic. The bed against this wall was huge and covered high with white
blankets and pillows.
To the left of the door was the kitchen. A black
stone breakfast bar divided the main room and kitchen. This kitchen had
high-end technology, but most of it I had no idea how to operate. “We do not
have a food generator, so you can either buy food to prepare yourself at the
shopping district, or you can use the vending machines placed conveniently
around residential district. The machines placed outside the playground contain
healthy snacks for children.”
He went to another door in the kitchen, which slid
open as he approached and revealed an amazing bathroom. Except for the bathtub,
which was huge, round, and had a metal shower feature above it, the rest of the
bathroom equipment was normal, though it was all sparkling white and stone.
Shining from the small spotlights placed randomly about the room, the walls
were pure white. As in the previous rooms, the ceiling was transparent. Jos
showed us how to control the shower and bath, which both worked by verbal
commands.
Next, we went back into the main room and Jos showed
us to the door on the other side of the entrance. This was obviously the
child’s room; it had a soft carpet covering the floor and to the far side of
the room was a rocking chair and a crib. A small bookshelf was stacked with
what I assumed were children’s stories, and there was one more shelf full of
toys. Sammy tried to get down, but I didn’t let him go. Jos said Sammy’s
clothes were considered dirty, and they might have been since he wore them all
day.
“Dragon!” Sammy cried in frustration.
I frowned in confusion, but Mordon went to the box of
toys. When he pulled out a stuffed toy that looked like a winged T-Rex, Sammy
stopped squirming and held out his hands patiently. Mordon tossed it to the
baby, who hugged it so fiercely that I thought the stuffing would pop out.
Kela entered the room holding a thin, white folder.
“How long will you be staying?” she asked.
Mordon and I looked at each other. “We’re not sure.
It may only be a day, or it could be several days,” Mordon said.
“Well, how about we do this by day, then?” she asked.
She shuffled through the folder and then showed us a page. Of course, the
writing looked like intricate circles, not words. “I know electronic documents
are more modern, but we prefer this method because it is more private. This is
an agreement document. This declares that you will not damage property on
purpose,” she said, pointing to a section of circles. She pointed to another
section. “This declares that there will be no sex in the room, due to it being
unsanitary. This part declares that you will not practice magic that can damage
the facility. Safety is important to us, and the pressure due to the depth of
the city makes it vital that we use caution. No fire, no water bending, and no
magic that is meant to infuriate the sea animals. This section declares that if
you are injured, you will seek assistance no matter what.”