Authors: Rain Oxford
“He was really young; too young to be a king. His
name was Nila.”
Nila was the High King of Dios, the one who presided
over all the city kings. She said he was her boyfriend’s nephew. The only uncle
Nila had was Nano. But there was no way this woman was the Guardian’s
companion. As I studied her, it occurred to me that she was exactly Nano’s
type. She was Dylan’s too. I never went for the tall, thin women myself. Her
relationship with Nano explained why she was on Dios.
“Your boyfriend is Nano?”
“You know him?!”
“And this baby of yours?”
“How do you know Nano?” she asked instead.
It was like pulling teeth to get any answers out of
her. I realized at that point that the troll king had lost interest and was no
longer in the room. “I am a friend of his. What is your name?”
“Vivian. What world is this?”
Why did Vivian sound so familiar? “We are on Kahún,
but I am from Duran.”
“Small universe. My friend lives on Duran. I mean,
he’s human, but he’s been living there for three years.”
“Oh, Hell. You’re Vivian.” I groaned, for I
remembered why the name was so familiar. I had heard more than I ever wanted
about the red-headed woman.
She frowned. “Yes, I told you that.”
“You’re Dylan’s ex-girlfriend.”
Her eyes widened. “You know Dylan?”
I really didn’t know what to say, because I didn’t
know what she knew. Did she know about the Guardians? That her boyfriend and
Dylan are Guardians? Did she know that Dylan was learning magic? Nano may have
told her everything or nothing.
“When was the last time you saw Dylan?”
“He disappeared yesterday.”
“And you know that he has…”
She rolled her eyes. “I know he has magic, yeah. My
boyfriend is a Guardian.”
“You shouldn’t talk about that to strangers. You
can’t be sure that I wouldn’t hunt Nano down and kill him for being a
Guardian.” Apparently he had not explained things well enough. On the other
hand, things worked differently on Dios and everyone there knew he was the
Guardian. “I know Dylan because I was the one who taught him magic.”
Her jaw dropped. “You’re the Guardian of Duran,
right? That’s how you have been to Earth and know Dylan?”
Dylan told me she was very smart, but I had less than
a complete picture yet. She did not wait for me to answer.
“You are one of the Guardians.” She dropped to her knees.
“Please take me to Dios. I need to be with Nano.”
“I can’t,” I sighed. It was hard for me to explain to
her she was now as trapped here as me.
“Why not?” she demanded.
“My book is missing.”
* * *
The troll king and his wife turned out to be very polite
royals, who invited us to eat with their people. While sitting at the table,
spread wide with meats, bread, fruit, vegetables, and drinks, the young man
sitting to the right of me tried to retain my sole attention. He asked numerous
questions about magic. I could feel that he was a naturally powerful wizard and
felt sorrow that he spent his entire life unable to use the skill that he was
born with. Most likely, he felt like there was something very wrong with him
but never knew what it was.
Meanwhile, the queen tried to steer attention away
from me and Vivian. I could understand that she wanted us gone. Vivian wanted
to leave as well, and seemed very troubled that she couldn’t understand the
language.
“What do we do now?” Vivian asked me.
I set down the small berry that I had in my hand.
“While I would like to help you get home, there is nothing I can do for the
time being. I cannot travel with my book gone. Wizards and Guardians can travel
to a world without its book as long as their name is in it. Guardians do not
need their book on their person to travel, however; our magic is bonded with
our book. My book is not just away from me, there is something blocking my
connection with it. With that connection broken, I cannot travel anywhere.”
“That has to be horrible for you,” she said quietly.
“It is, but at least I can use magic again. However,
I think it is also the only thing keeping me safe,” I said.
“Your magic is?”
“My book missing is.”
“How is your being trapped and missing a book keeping
you safe?” she asked.
I lowered my voice, even though none of the others
could understand English. “Because with my book missing I am essentially not a
Guardian, which makes it much easier to hide from those looking for a
Guardian.”
“Who’s looking for you?”
“Do you have a place in mind to sleep tonight?” the
king asked. The rest of the table fell silent. “You helped to defend my wife
and child against those winged beasts, the least I can do is offer a place to
sleep.”
“You are very kind, but I was thinking of hunting
down those creatures instead of sleep. That is the job of the Noquodi, and
yours is unavailable. However, if the man I came here with returns, he will
likely need a rest.”
“I still do not understand how a man could disappear
and a woman could appear in his place. Was it magic done by those creatures?”
“No. While they are magical creatures, they cannot
perform magic. The displacement of my friend was actually a much darker
circumstance. I can tell you that once people learn to use the magic now
available here, they will be much better prepared. Until then, I feel it is my
responsibility to hunt down the beasts that were displaced here.”
“Especially since he caused us to break tradition,”
the wife glared.
“Mother, it was justified,” their daughter interjected
gently.
“I warn you to be careful about using magic here.”
The queen didn’t acknowledge her daughter. “Word travels slowly in these lands
and people will be confused as to why they can suddenly use magic again.
Children born since magic was banished will not know how to control it.”
“I understand this world has its own traditions, and
I don’t know the reasons you saw fit to block magic, but most worlds rely on
magic and live in peace with it. I will not advise you to continue allowing
magic to be, but I will ask that consider it. Give the people a few months to
figure it out and see what happens. Besides, you rule the trolls. Do you have
the right to decide for the entire world whether or not they can use magic?”
“We are not the ones who started this,” the king
said.
“Magic has been outlawed by the consensus of all
ruling families generations ago. People feared magic and those who used it.
However, outlawing it did not stop people from using it; only caused more
people to die because of it. Between suspicions, accusations, and false
witnesses, more innocent people have been killed in the war against magic than
anything else. We made a bargain with the demons to keep magic from being
usable to anyone but those Azenoth deemed worthy. This included our Noquodi and
my daughter.”
“In that case, I respect your decision. But people
change. They grow up. If people are not being killed for their inborn
abilities, maybe they will not fear it. For some, magic is not a choice. Let
them use it or take it away, it is still a part of who they are.”
“I assume you refer to your nephew again?” the queen
asked. I paused. Of course, I hadn’t realized it, but she was right.
“My nephew was born with more magic than he could
handle. For that reason, he grew up alone and many wanted him dead. He used it
his entire life without understanding what it was or that he was even doing it.
Despite that, he learned to use magic as a tool to help people instead of an
obstacle to overcome. Some people would use magic as a weapon, but at least as
many people would use it to help others.”
“We will consider your advice after you defeat the
winged beast. And you will take this very young woman with you on this
dangerous trip?” the king asked.
“She just wants to get home. Honestly, I would not
want to be standing between her and her mate when he hunts her down. The
Noquodi of Dios will be looking for her very soon and I doubt anything can stop
him from finding her. He knows me and would make fewer assumptions if he finds
her safe with me than hidden away somewhere.”
“You’re talking about me,” Vivian interrupted.
“How did you know that?” I asked.
“I’m a woman; we know when someone is talking about
us.”
I thought back over a couple of conversations with
Divina and gave up on my argument. “Fair enough. If I asked you to stay here,
safe in the castle while I went out to fight mythological monsters, would you?”
“Dylan never said you were stupid,” she answered. I
stared at her until she rolled her eyes. “Not a chance in Hell.”
“Nano is probably looking for you, and he can track
you better if you stay in one place. Besides, do you want him to find you
dead?”
She made a rude and disbelieving sound that I hoped
Dylan never learned to do. “Nano would eat your entrails if you let anything
happen to me under your watch. Besides, Dylan told me about you. You wouldn’t
let me be injured. You are probably the most powerful person on this planet,
how could I be safer than being glued to your side?”
“I really do not expect to make it off this planet
unscathed if at all.”
She seemed stunned silent. Unfortunately, that only
lasted a moment. “You are nothing how Dylan described you. He was going on and
on about how brave and strong and smart you are, the things you’ve taught him,
especially that there is always a way. A way to win, a way to save the world,
and a way to stay alive… He talks about you like you’re Doctor Who. He’s so
worried that you’re missing and he can’t do anything, and here you are like you
don’t even care if you die!” The last few sentences got louder as she ranted.
She stood quickly, knocking over her chair. “Well he cares!”
She stomped out of the room, forcing people to dive
out of her way to avoid getting run over. I got up and picked up the chair. “It
was nice meeting you,” I said to the royal family. I found Vivian standing on
the beach, looking out over the ocean, and was reminded why I rarely took
females as my apprentices.
“When Dylan disappeared three years ago, I didn’t
know what to think. I thought he would never leave me. Then I met Nano and he
explained that the universe was bigger than I ever knew. But he left me, too.
He said that he couldn’t be around when Sammy was born for safety reasons.
Sammy was all I had until I answered the door one day to see Dylan standing
there. Dylan used to be like me; disappointed in everyone. He never knew his
father, his mother was neglectful, and the people that were supposed to love
and protect him were abusive. We had a bond over that loneliness.
“The Dylan at my door was not the same one who left.
He has friends and loved ones now that mean something to him. You are family to
him. I can see it and hear it when he talks about you. Then you act like you
dying is inevitable and unimportant.” She then did something I was not prepared
for; she turned around and punched me in the face. “Your life is important to
him and you have no right to throw it away!”
She tried to punch me again but I caught her fist. As
small as her hands were, I was going to have a bruised eye. “I get it. I
understand. It’s not like I don’t want to live, I do,” I explained. “I will
fight to live, but there are more important lives at stake, particularly
Dylan’s.”
“You taught him to survive.”
“I taught him something, I hope. Anyway, we should
not be at sea after dark.” I turned my attention to Hobble, who had followed me
outside like a faithful puppy. “Hey, little guy.” I pet both heads. “Can you
find the griffin that you injured? Can you hunt it down?” I asked. At first I
thought he didn’t understand, but then he started flapping his wings and lifted
a little ways off the ground. I easily found the boat we had left abandoned and
once we were in the water, Hobble flew a little ahead, leading the way.
* * *
It was hours before we came to a populated city. By
then, the sun was getting very low in the sky, which made the gloomy place look
even more desolate. Built in the water, this city was shaped like the first
one; it was colorful with tall buildings and a distinct lack of a walkway.
Unlike the other city, however, this one was in ruins. Upon seeing the damaged
buildings, downed bridges, and confused people, I concluded that they had
recently been attacked.
“Looks like Italy after a tsunami,” Vivian said. “Is
this water damage?”
“In a city built in the ocean, I would think that
they were better prepared for water damage. I think this is the result of the
griffin that got away. Griffins were protectors and guards of magical and
powerful people, but a griffin without a master was often irrational. This one
lost its mate; it’s probably feral.”
“But they attacked you. How can it be angry that you
defended yourself?”
“I’m not sure attacking me was their intention. They
actually ignored me and the troll king and went after the queen and the little
girl. Perhaps they do have a master, who sent them after those the king cared
about. I am not sure of the politics on this world.”
“That sounds too far-fetched for me.”
“We’re talking about creatures that are extinct on
Earth and never even existed on this world. The thing I wonder is, if there was
no nominal energy to use, which I can attest to, how could there be a wizard
with a mated pair of griffins?”
“Could he have been a wizard with no magic?”
“Yes, but griffins are only loyal to the most
powerful.”
After Hobble led us to a working dock, I told him to
fly off and hide in case the people were not friendly to the little gargoyle.
While the damage was extensive and wide-spread, there was a definite path of
destruction. People were milling about in their buildings, some trying to call
for help over crumbled bridges and blocked pathways. Alarms blared, warning of
fire or other destruction. The crying of children was the worse sound.