Chapter 9

The peasant family proved to be excellent hosts, and after a delicious meal and a little entertainment involving the musical talents of the golden haired children, Allister insisted that the three “travelers” had to be on their way. After warm goodbyes, Foster and Liona followed Allister out into the chilly night, heading towards the forest.
“They were so nice.” Liona gushed, walking beside Foster. “Charlie was really cute too, you should have seen him Allister, when you went to talk to Jack he showed us his whole marble collection.”
Foster frowned. “Why did you talk to Jack like that? That kid seemed really strange.”
Allister stopped suddenly and turned around, smiling. “Why don’t you ask him yourself?”
“What?” Foster said, also stopping and nearly causing Liona to run into him.
“Strange, eh?” A small voice from behind them said. “Been called worse, I guess.”
Liona and Foster whipped around to see the boy standing just behind them, carrying a small bag. Foster shook his head in disbelief.
“What are you doing here? What is he doing here?”
Allister put a finger to his lips. “Please be quiet, bothersome one, kidnapping doesn’t go over too well in these parts.”
“Kidnapping?” Liona said, frowning. “Allister, he’s like ten years old.”
“Eleven.” The boy corrected. “ ‘Sides it’s not kidnapping, I’m comin’ on my own will.”
Foster’s hand shot up to rub his temple. “Why?”
“I believe you remember my story about the magic humans?” Allister asked, raising his eyebrows. “We’ve happened to stumble upon our very own wizard.”
Liona turned to look at the boy once more. “You’re magic? I thought they didn’t know they were magic.”
“I didn’t, really.” The boy said, shrugging. “But I knew I wasn’t like the rest of ‘em. Mum didn’t want me to know, but I knew I wasn’t her child.”
Allister nodded. “I’m not sure how, but Jack here is nearly as powerful as the magic humans who used to exist. I could see it the moment he walked into the room. The odds are in our favor here, do you have any idea what this boy is capable of?”
Liona’s face fell into a worried frown. “Allister, he’s so young. You really want to take him away from his family like this? Did he even tell them?”
The boy shook his head. “Nah, but Mum’ll be fine. I don’t think ye understand, miss, I knew ye was comin’. I knew I was gon to leave my family eventually, but it’s not forever. I’ll see them again.”
“We don’t know that we’ll win this war thing.” Foster said, also looking worried. “I have to agree with Lilly on this one, I don’t know how I feel about a kid coming with us. It just seems kind of wrong.”
Allister frowned. “Please trust me. We need Jack more than you realize. With a magic human on our side our chances of winning are much greater. We can bring him home at any time, but you must trust me. This is meant to be.”
Foster and Liona looked at each other and shrugged.
“Fine.” Liona sighed. “Let’s get out of here.”

* * * * *

It didn’t take them long to get back to the camp Allister had set up for Adara and Kali, and when they arrived the two women were sitting by a small fire they had made with the wood left for them.
“You’re back so soon.” Adara said, smiling. “I thought you would be gone for a few days.”
“Who is the kid?” Kali asked, raising an eyebrow.
Allister motioned over to the boy and said, “This is Jack. He will be joining us now.”
“A little boy?” Adara asked, her smile fading into a confused frown. “But why?”
“That’s what all of us are wondering” Foster said sarcastically. “I guess he’s a magic child.”
Allister quickly shot a glare in Foster’s direction. “Jack, will you please show the skeptics what you can do?”
The boy looked up at the cat-creature and nodded. His eyes then darted towards the fire, and his face scrunched in concentration. Only a few seconds later, Kali and Adara screamed in unison when the fire flared up several feet higher than it had been before. The boy smiled as the two scurried away from the fire and twisting his face some more made the fire turn a bright blue color.
“It was fine before, I think.” He said, relaxing his face. The fire then slowly died down to its calm flicker in only a matter of seconds.
Foster struggled to speak. “H-how do you do that?”
The boy called Jack shrugged. “Been able to do stuff like that since I can remember. ‘S how I knew I was different.”
“And this is only the beginning.” Allister said, smiling at the shocked look on the human faces around him. “I don’t know how it happened, but Jack is amazingly powerful. Perhaps the last of his kind.”
“What else can he do?” Kali said. “Can he summon stuff from our world?”
“Can he bring us back to our world?” Foster said, suddenly lighting up.
Allister shook his head. “He’s not quite that powerful. Besides, the boy does not understand the histories, he does not understand the extent of his power. It is our job to show him.”
Liona shook her head. “Allister, we don’t know the histories. Only you do.”
“As much as I’d like to say I do, I’m afraid I really don’t.” Allister said, shaking his head. “I only know some of the future, and all of the present. But the histories? That is a much more complex issue.”
Foster rolled his eyes. “Says Mr. I was there.”
Allister shot an irritated glance at Foster. “I was there for one part of the histories, but there is much more. King James may have nearly destroyed the magic, but what we face is much deeper than King James. What we face is a battle between good and evil, a battle rooted so profoundly in history no creature existing today could possibly know the extent.”
“So basically, we don’t know anything and there’s no way to find out?” Foster said sarcastically. “This sounds a little Kamikaze to me.”
Allister sighed. “I have kept you all in the dark too long. It is time that I tell you what I know.”

* * * * *

Allister had them all sit around the fire as he stood in front of them, pacing back and forth. The group sat patiently, waiting for the Bastet to speak. Soon, however, Foster grew impatient.
“Seriously, could you be more dramatic?”
Allister held up a hand. “Quiet, please.”
Shaking his head, Foster tipped his head back against the tree he was leaning on. Allister continued to pace back and forth for several minutes before he finally settled and stood before them.
“As I said, I do not know much. However, I am aware that I know little. I am aware enough to know that there is much more to this story that I am about to tell you. Yet here it is.
“Before I was born, before King James, before all of this, there was a war so great it consumed the world. It was a battle between the two creators, Bakanua and Marion, the father and the mother of this world. Marion created good throughout the world; humans, magic, forests, and all of it. Everything that dominates the world at this time is because of Marion. Bakanua, on the other hand, is responsible for all of the bad things on this earth, including the dark ones of our kind.
“Marion did not like that Bakanua created such dark things, and it didn’t take long for them to wage war. At first it was fought at the center of the earth, creating much turmoil from the ground below that we still feel the effects of today. Yet soon it was creature against creature, and a grand war began.
“The problem is, the knowledge of the histories stop here. All we know is that Marion won, and the dark ones were banished to the center of the earth. Hundreds of years later, Marion struck a truce with Bakanua, agreeing to let some of his creatures free so long as they did not harm the good. There was then a balance between good and evil. Marion decided the world was safe, and has since evaporated into the stars to rest forever. Bakanua and his dark creatures respected this truce for a long time, but they have now decided to break it. They plan to take over the world, destroying the good that Marion created and ruling a world of darkness.”
“I don’t understand, what changed their mind?” Liona said, frowning. “When James banished them were they really banished? Did he break the truce?”
Allister shook his head. “No, James did not cause this. James’s actions were counter productive to Marion’s vision, but when Bakanua and his dark creatures were banished by James they were not breaking the truce because the dark creatures were not sent to the center of the earth, only to the desert itself. They were allowed to roam in the desert as they wished.”
“So we just have to find out what made them change their minds?” Adara asked, clearly intrigued. “We have to make a truce again?”
Allister only shook his head. “That I do not know. The course of action is fairly undeterminable, and very much a maze. I do not know why Bakanua has broken the truce, I do not know why the humans from another universe are here, and I do not know how to fight the dark ones. All I know is we must find out as soon as possible.”
“Well,” Foster said, rolling his eyes. “As a practicing Catholic I’m not sure I agree with that version of the creation of the world.”
“Shut up.” Kali and Liona said in unison.
“Believe what you wish, bothersome one, but this is our destiny. We must find out to win this war, and to do so we will have quite a journey ahead of us.”
Liona smiled. “This is way better than anything I’ve ever read.”
“Word.” Kali said, her eyes glowing. “Where do we start?”
Allister raised an eyebrow at the humans, but only shrugged. “We must go to the wisest of our kind. We must seek the guidance of the tree folk.”

CHAPTER TEN

They walked in silence for a long time early the next morning as they began hiking. The humans trailed behind as usual and Allister led, walking steadily and without waiver several feet in front of them.
“He’s just as hot from the back.” Kali mumbled, having walked right next to Liona.
Liona only shook her head. “Kali, you’re so weird.”
“Whatever, you know you like it. Besides I think he likes you, he always smiles whenever you say something.”
Liona could feel her face grow warm, and she silently hoped it wasn’t showing. “Don’t be ridiculous.”
“I mean I know the age difference would be pretty intense. But really, what’s six hundred years?” Kali said, grinning. “He ages well, anyway.”
At this Liona couldn’t help but giggle. Kali gave her a quick wink before falling back to walk next to Adara. Liona had noticed that since their Elf encounter they had become very close. Glancing back she saw that Foster and Jack had begun to walk side by side. Liona smiled to herself, falling back to walk with them.
“For someone who complains about their siblings so much you two seem to get along.”
Foster made a face. “Jack here is nothing like my siblings. He can manipulate fire with his eyes. If Delaney could do that, I’d be worried for my own safety.”
Liona smiled, looking down at the boy. “How are you doing, Jack? Are you sure this is for you?”
The boy nodded. “All of ye might be strange ones, but I know this is where I’m to be.”
“How are you so sure?” Liona asked, her smile fading. “You’re so young, but you really don’t act your age.”
The boy nodded. “I wish I could explain to ye, but I can’t give ye more of an answer then I just know. I’ve always known. I knew ye was comin’, and I knew I had to come.”
“You know another cool trick Jack can do?” Foster asked, smiling. “Do it, Jack.”
The boy smiled back, and before Liona could blink the boy held out his hand to reveal a small glowing fire. Liona couldn’t help but gasp.
“You can hold fire?”
The boy shrugged, closing his hand. “I think I can mess with anythin’ of the earth. Back home I could make the lake water rise and splash Charlie without even movin’. I can make the ground move too.”
“What else can you do?” Liona asked, deeply curious.
The boy thought for a moment. “Sometimes I can see what’s comin’. One time a horse almost ran down Sally, and I saw it. I can also hear what people think when I want to. That’s how I knew my Mum wasn’t my Mum. She found me when I was just a babe, at the edge of the forest.”
“Read thoughts?” Liona said, suddenly struck by an idea. “What-?”
“Nineteen.” The boy said. “Told Sally about it and she did the same thing.”
Liona’s jaw dropped. “Did you know he could do that?”
Foster shook his head. “This kid seriously gets cooler by the minute.”
For the next several hours the humans crowded around Jack to test his mind reading skills. They were beyond intrigued and soon came up with complex guessing games, trying to stump the boy. Jack seemed to like the attention, matching their interest and grinning each time he won the games, which was every time. Yet soon, Liona could feel her stomach begin to protest to the lack of food, and she could tell the rest of her friends had the same thought.
“Will we stop to eat, Allister?” Adara called to him.
The Bastet turned around, and slowly nodded. “Yes, I suppose it is time to eat. Come, there’s a lake close by. Follow me there and I will catch some fish.”
“Yes!” Foster exclaimed. “Normal food!”

* * * * *

When they arrived at the lake Allister decided that they would call it a day and set up camp, even though there were several hours left until sunset. With a wizard on their side, Allister didn’t have to do nearly as much work as he had to before. Jack was able to quickly gather material without even moving, and when Allister went to fish Jack quickly stepped in, parting the edge of the water and making Allister’s job much more simple.
Jack also made the fire much easier, quickly sparking a flame, and soon the group sat happily eating their dinner.
“Where exactly are the tree folk?” Foster asked, picking at his fish with a whittled stick that Allister made in place of a fork.
Allister only shrugged, watching the humans eat. “I am not entirely sure. I know they are very deep in the forest, and we will likely have to travel several days. As to exactly where they are, I have never actually traveled there myself.”
“How will we know that we have found them?” Adara asked.
“That will be the easiest part.” Allister said, looking at her. “The tree folk are not easy to miss. You will see.”
Foster made a face. “So what, they’re tree people or something?”
Allister sighed. “I wonder if Jack can take his voice away.”
“You two are worse than my brothers.” Kali said, shaking her head. “And I have a lot of those.”
Liona smiled. “Let’s just try to have one peaceful night, okay? I’m assuming we’re getting up at the crack of dawn again, so we might as well take advantage of the relaxation time.”
“Yeah, before our drill sergeant here decides we don’t even need to eat.” Foster said, rolling his eyes.
The group fell into a silence as they finished their food, and soon Foster, Kali and Adara turned their attention to Jack, who wandered over to a spot close to camp where he showed them how he could move the ground. Smiling at them, Liona looked over at the lake, admiring the sunset. It was beautiful, with liquid-like pastels in shades of purple and red resting just above the horizon. Slowly, she got up to walk towards the lake, sitting by a deep edge where she could dangle her feet into the chilly water.
“Mind if I join?” Allister asked, sitting beside her, though keeping his distance from the water.
“Of course.” She said, smiling at him. Her smile faded fairly quickly as he smiled back and Liona silently cursed Kali for being right; he was very handsome.
Six hundred and twenty three. She reminded herself. Talk about cradle robbing.
“I think Jack is enjoying the interest.” Allister observed, glancing over at the group who were taking turns standing in a spot that Jack made move.
Liona laughed at the sight of Adara shaking uncontrollably from the ground beneath her and collapsing, giggling hysterically. “I’m glad he’s having some fun. He really is young.”
“He is.” Allister agreed, looking back over at her. “But at least you see how we need him. He really is very important for us, and not just to make fire.”
Liona’s smile faded, and she nodded. “Yes, I think I can see how he would be. What’s the matter, are you enough of a cat you don’t like water?”
He smiled, and she inwardly cringed. “I suppose I prefer to stay dry, yes. Do my cat qualities bother you?”
Liona shook her head. “Why would they? Just being here is the most incredible thing for me, I think there’s very little that could bother me.”
“I wouldn’t speak too soon.” Allister said, his face falling. “So far you have only experienced very little of what this world is capable of. Now that the dark ones are loose, much worse things lie ahead. At times I worry if I am putting all of you in too much danger.”
“Allister,” She asked, looking at him. “I believe you when you say we were meant to be here. Why else would Tweak, Kali and I have come? There has to be a reason.”
He nodded slowly, holding her gaze. “I’m not sure that your friends were meant to come. We did not see them, we only saw you.”
She frowned. “Only me?”
“Only you.” He repeated.
He continued to hold her gaze for a few moments before she turned away to look at the sunset again, trying desperately not to notice how attractive he looked in the fading light. Suddenly without any warning, Liona felt her body being pulled into the water. It took less than a few seconds for her whole body to be submerged, and she fought very hard to get to the surface, but to no avail. She tried not to breath in, remembering that if a human breathed in water they would drown. The water churned around her, and she realized she was being pulled very fast. Opening her eyes, all she could see was darkness, and silver dots began invading the corners of her eyes. Before she could stop it, unconsciousness consumed her.

* * * * *

It was peaceful, the surrender. She was floating in darkness and she had never felt so serene. She could see beautiful colors floating past her like clouds, and she reached for them. She could not reach them, however, and she began to get frustrated. Why couldn’t she touch the colors? They seemed to tease her, floating by just out of her reach.
Soon, she could hear a dull ringing noise all around her. She couldn’t tell where the sound was coming from, but it was getting louder and louder. As the volume increased, the intensity of the sound also increased, and she could feel the sound invade her head.
Abruptly, her eyes flew open. Her sight was blurry, but everything that had happened came back to her in a monsoon of horror.
“Lilly?” She heard someone scream. “Lilly say something!”
She gasped for air, realizing her lungs burned fiercely. Her body was hungry for air, and despite the pain she breathed heavily, taking in every bit of oxygen she could.
“Please, let her breathe for a moment.” A calm voice said. “We cannot push her.”
She blinked several times, trying very hard to clear the blurriness from her eyes. All she could see were dark shapes surrounding her, and she realized she was on the ground. She was also very wet.
“Wh-what happened?” She managed to gasp.
“You almost died!” Adara shrieked “Something pulled you into the water, you almost drowned!”
Slowly her vision cleared and she could see that Allister held her head as the rest of the group crouched beside her with panicked looks on their faces.
“It was a water horse.” Allister said, shaking his head. “Liona, I am so sorry, they’re so fast I almost didn’t catch you before it took you all the way under.”
Foster shook his head. “What was that?”
“They’re a lake creature that will pull beautiful women into the water to drown them.” Allister said. “I can’t believe I was so stupid as to let you put your feet in the water, I knew that the dark ones had been set free I just had no idea they’ve been put into their places again. I didn’t know any would be in the forest.”
Liona squinted at him. “He thought I was a beautiful woman?”
Allister made a face. “Don’t be silly, Liona, of course you are.”
“So anyway.” Foster said, a little forcefully. “No more going in the water, right?”
Allister looked up at Foster. “Well unless you consider yourself a beautiful woman, I’d suggest that Liona, Kali and Adara please stay away from the lake while we’re here.”
“How’d you get me?” Liona asked, trying to sit up.
Allister moved his hands from the side of her face to her shoulders. “Don’t get up just yet, I want you to rest a bit more and then we’ll get you by the fire.”
“But how’d you do it?” She asked, looking up at him. “It was pulling me so fast.”
He paused, looking slightly embarrassed, but Jack answered for him.
“He turned into a giant tiger. Never seen nothin’ like that in my life.”
“I promise I didn’t hurt you.” Allister said quickly. “I only stayed a tiger long enough to get it away from you, and then I changed back.”
Liona looked at him in awe. “You can turn into a tiger? This world only gets better!”
Allister frowned. “Somehow that wasn’t the reaction I was looking for.”
“Okay, children, I think Addie and I can take it from here.” Kali said, reaching for Liona’s hands. “You boys go take a walk while we dry her off.”
“Allister is wet too.” Liona pointed out, letting Kali pull her up.
Kali winked at her. “Trust me, I know that.”
“Don’t worry about me, Liona. My kind doesn’t get hypothermia.” Allister said, smiling at her. “It would be best for us to collect some roots to store for the journey tomorrow anyhow.”
Allister, Foster and Jack soon took off into the forest, and Kali led Liona to the fire.
“I believe we have a cloth from the time you went into the village.” Adara said, walking towards the shelter. “We shall wrap you in that and let your dress dry by the fire.”
Kali nodded. “That’s why I wanted the boys gone.”
Adara and Kali helped Liona take her dress off, which stuck stubbornly to her body. She hadn’t realized just how cold she was until they wrapped her in the cloth like a towel and set her in front of the fire. The warmth pierced her body like pins and needles and she could feel a strange wave of dull pain as it penetrated her body.
“So I’m not going to say I wanted to go through what you did, but I can’t say I’m not a little jealous cat man came to your rescue.” Kali said, grinning at her as she sat beside her.
Liona shook her head, trying to hide a smile. “It wasn’t so bad. I mean I guess it would have been if he hadn’t saved me, but I passed out pretty fast.”
“It was so scary.” Adara said, sitting on her other side. “I saw it happen, one minute you were sitting on the edge, and the very next second you were gone.”
She nodded. “It came so quick I don’t think I would have known what happened.”
“Allister said something, though.” Adara said, frowning a little. “He said the dark ones had been put back into their places. Does that mean there is more out there?”
Liona frowned also. “I don’t know. I mean, I guess so. But Allister seems to know what he’s talking about, I’m sure he’ll keep us safe.”
Adara sighed. “I don’t like not knowing. You two have an excuse; you’re from another world, but me? I grew up here.”
“It’s not your fault.” Kali said, shrugging. “You can’t expect to know something someone didn’t teach you.”
“I suppose.” Adara said.
“Hey, you guys kept my old clothes, right?” Liona asked, looking up from the fire. “Think I could ditch the dress and wear jeans?”
Kali shrugged. “Don’t see why not. I’ll go get them.”

* * * * *

The next day seemed to take centuries as the group once again followed Allister’s lead through the forest. The trees seemed to become thicker and thicker, and the more they traveled the darker their surroundings became. Liona couldn’t help but notice that her body was slowly growing more and more tense as they went, and her storybook senses told her something wasn’t quite right.
A few hours before sundown, Allister and Jack went to work on setting up camp. Foster and Kali went in search of a good spot to set up while Liona and Adara sat down to go through their supplies.
“Is it just me, or do things feel different?” Liona asked, silently counting how many water roots they had left.
Adara nodded. “It does seem to have become much darker and quieter. There is something eerie about a quiet forest.”
Suddenly they heard a loud scream, and looked over to see Kali had fallen to the ground and was pointing at something. Springing up, Adara and Liona ran over to her and it didn’t take long for them to see what had startled her. A tall, dark haired man stood in front of them. His facial features were extremely well proportioned and quite attractive, but his piercing light blue eyes seemed almost demonic in the little light that surrounded them.
“Liona?” The man said, his eyes focusing on her. Suddenly his pupils, which Liona realized had been like slivers before, returned to a human-like shape.
“Zander?” Liona heard Allister say from behind them. “Brother, what brings you here?”
The man looked up at him and smiled. “I am sorry for my sudden entrance. I think I startled your humans.”
“Startled? No, I was just…surprised.” Kali said, pulling herself to her feet. “So, um, who is this, Allister?”
Allister walked up to the man and gave him a friendly hug. “This is my brother, Zander. He is of my kind.”
“Are all your kind this sexy?” Kali mumbled, eyeing the extremely handsome man in front of her.
Liona rolled her eyes. “Seriously.”
“What’s going on?” Foster said, walking up behind them. “I thought I heard someone scream. Who is this?”
“Allister’s brother, his name is Zander.” Adara said, looking over at him.
Foster sighed. “Oh God, not another one. Isn’t one cat man enough?”
“Do not worry, I’m not here to stay.” Zander said, looking back over at Allister. “Varia sent me to warn you that the dark ones are slowly entering the forest. They will soon be just as they were before the Great War. You must watch the humans very carefully.”
Allister nodded, his face falling. “Yes, we ran into a water horse the other day. I nearly lost Liona.”
Zander nodded. “Do you need help, brother? Varia only sent me to warn you, but you do seem to have more humans than you expected. I could stay.”
Allister only smiled. “Just wait until you see who we’ve found on our journey so far. Please, stay the night with us, but come morning we will be able to finish on our own.”
Zander smiled. “I trust you, brother.”
Later that night as they all sat around the fire, Zander told them about the signs around the forest that had alerted them to the dark ones entering.
“We found a poltergeist by the southern orchard.” Zander said, watching with Allister as the humans ate.
“A poltergeist? In the forest?” Allister asked, frowning.
Zander nodded. “Yes, we were surprised also.”
“Poltergeists usually haunt people, right?” Liona asked. “Attach themselves to one person for awhile and then move on?”
Zander smiled. “Yes, that’s right. That’s why finding one in the forest was so surprising. The main dark creatures that roamed in the forest before the Great War were banshee’s, the mountain beasts and occasionally a land basilisk.”
“I had wondered about that.” Allister said, his face strained with concentration. “Kelpies usually live in streams, and don’t usually hide this far out in the forest. I thought that it was strange there was one in that lake.”
Zander nodded in agreement. “You’re more likely to find Sprites in a lake than a water horse.”
“I haven’t seen any Sprites.” Allister said, his face tense with realization. “Or Nymphs. Zander, how did we not see the speed in which they’re taking over?”
But Zander only shook his head. “We cannot see everything, brother. That is why it is important for you to seek the tree elder’s as quickly as possible. You’re only one more day’s hike away, you will be able to find your answers then.”
“What, are we on some sort of soap opera? This eminent doom can’t be as bad as you seem to think.” Foster said, rolling his eyes.
Allister shot an irritated glance at the human boy. “Would you like to try this on your own then, see if you can do better?”
Foster sighed. “No, that’s not what I meant. I meant let’s just not get all doom and gloom here, we’re going to get through this, right?”
Allister and Zander exchanged a weary glance, and Zander shook his head. “I’m afraid we cannot be entirely certain of that. In the mean time, take care of yourselves.”