The late afternoon sun baked Forest’s red curtains. The light filtering through washed the walls in pink. She slept as though drugged in the heat of her condo. The ceiling fan over her bed was off balance, the chain pulls clinking cheerfully, as it buffeted her with hot air.
The vibrating sound of her phone as it knocked repeatedly into her bedside lamp, disturbed her sleep. She rolled over and grabbed the offensive little thing, reading the email from Kindel with blurry eyes. Some of the message registered in her sleepy brain, and she forced herself to sit up. She grabbed the tumbler of lukewarm water by her lamp and drank it down. It tasted stale and dead, and she hated it. Earth’s water was one of the few things Forest didn’t like about the place. It failed to regenerate her the way Regia’s water did, didn’t taste as good, and wasn’t as pretty. She hissed in pain from what she’d done to herself hours before.
Unable to focus on the email, she headed for the shower, turned it on, and stepped in. The water washed off the dried blood on her arm and swirled pink around her feet. She ran her fingers gingerly along the ridges of her scars. The pads of her fingers knew every line. The cuts she had made hadn’t changed her scars in the slightest; they still felt exactly the same. Her shifter abilities allowed her to hide them from the eyes of others, but she couldn’t hide them from herself. Those scars were the cruelest things in existence, because they ensured that she could never forget the night she received them.
The water worked wonders in waking her up, and she was able to fully comprehend Kindel’s email when she read it again. She read it and re-read it, excitement blasting through her. This was important and unexpected, and she needed to hurry. The email was vague, but she knew that whatever this mission was, it was her chance. A "big break", as the humans called it. She had to push back her urge to rush about, in order to get to Regia quickly. Arriving in Regia, sweaty and out of breath wouldn’t look very professional. So, instead of flying around, she made herself an iced mocha and stepped out onto her terrace to catch a few minutes of the sunset.
Forest loved Austin. It was a beautiful city, with its hills, and trees, and river. She loved Earth’s sun too, so warm, so different from Regia’s. She had been all over the earth, but she preferred America, and Texans emulated the kick-ass attitude she herself worked to perfect. She breathed deeply and sipped her coffee, letting all the angst of last night slip away. This might be the last time she saw her beloved Austin for a very long time, and she would miss it.
Once the sun dipped behind the treetops, Forest felt it was time to hustle. She tossed the glass from the bathroom sink into the trash and rinsed the blood away, then looked at herself in the large mirror for a moment, calculating. She looked a bit like Wonder Woman. Too sexy for an important meeting in Regia, she decided. There were magazine pictures of different models and actresses taped to the wall around the edges of the mirror that Forest used as inspiration. She filed the Wonder Woman look into her memory before shrinking the long, curly black hair into a sleek red bob. The curvy figure shrank as well into an almost boyish shape, and for a finishing touch she spattered some freckles across her nose. Her eyes remained the same green they always were, no matter what her shape. She did a quick check to make sure that her ears were not pointing at the top. For some odd reason she always had a hard time controlling them. If she didn’t pay attention, they would shift back to their natural shape of their own volition.
There was nothing Forest could find in her closet that would be appropriate attire once she crossed the portal. She slipped on Flip-flops, short cutoffs, and a tie-dyed Keep Austin Weird T-shirt. It made her smile when she thought of the disapproving look Kindel would give her.
Lastly, she half-emptied her jewelry box, putting a silver ring on each finger, silver hoops and studs in her ears, and half a dozen silver chains around her neck. Oh, if only she’d been so decked out last night.
Forest quickly cleaned up the peaches and glass before grabbing her keys, MP3 player, and tucking her .45 in her waistband. She set the alarm on the security system and stepped out into the heat. The baking-hot concrete almost melted off the bottoms of Forest’s flip-flops as she strode to her car. She felt powerful just looking at the black and red 1971 Dodge Demon 340. Not only was it rare, if she’d had the time, Forest would have taken it to car shows. It glistened in the sunset like an oil slick. She slid sinuously behind the wheel; the leather of the seat scorched the backs of her bare legs. The engine roared to life, literally, a feral demon indeed. She plugged her MP3 player in and turned it to something to heighten her mood.
The Demon terrorized the streets of Austin, rattling every window with the engine’s growl and some good old-fashioned Beasty Boys, Brass Monkey.
Since she would be leaving Earth for a while, she decided to put the car in her storage unit and walk the rest of the way to the club. She would miss the Demon while she was gone.
The metal of her gun against her back was irritating as she walked down the sidewalk, especially once she started sweating. It would be nice to ditch firearms for a while. They made combat so impersonal, and they were strictly banned in Regia. Forest broke Regia’s laws from time to time in regard to human paraphernalia, but she never desired to try smuggling in guns. Regia had enough trouble.
It struck her that if she got a big promotion with this new mission she might have to give up smuggling all together. That sucked.
The club was in sight; the businesses along the street were either closing down or opening up. Among the people on the sidewalk, one figure moving away from her caught her utmost attention. Anger didn’t begin to cover it. Obscenities, both Regian and human thumped in her skull. Her fists balled, and she picked up her pace. “Lorcan! Stop!”
The vampire halted and turned to face her. His nostrils flared, and a hiss escaped his lips. Most could hardly tell the difference between Lorcan and his brother Leith, but Forest always knew. Lorcan didn’t budge as she strode up to him.
Forest showed no trace of fear as she bellied up to the vampire, who towered at least a foot over her. He looked at her confusedly, but his expression cleared once he looked in her eyes. Recognition dawned on his face.
“Forest.” He turned her name into a curse, rolling it in his throat like something he wanted to hock up and spit out.
“You are breaking the law. Please return to Regia immediately, or you will be subject to arrest. If you resist or flee, your life is forfeit and it is my duty to take you out.” She stated the script through her clenched teeth.
He laughed at her.
“Rather stupid of you to loiter so close to the portal, Lorcan.”
“Get bent, Forest,” he spat. “If it weren’t out of respect for my brother, I’d kill you right here.”
Her thin veneer of control peeled away, and Forest’s temper snapped like a twig as she seized one of Lorcan’s forearms in both of her hands. His face blanched, and she could see he was fighting the urge to scream like a little girl. The silver rings she wore burned his bare skin, and the pain almost crumpled him to his knees.
“Don’t you ever mention Leith to me again, Lorcan!” Forest snarled. “Now let’s take this inside.”
She towed him by his arm, and he followed like a reluctant dog on a leash, swearing continually. Forest kicked the swinging door to the club open and pulled Lorcan through it. In the dark and loud atmosphere, Lorcan pulled his arm free of her grasp and cradled it against his chest. The burning smell of his flesh reeked. She could tell he was fighting a whimper.
“Why don’t you just arrest me and get it over with?” he growled.
“I’m not on duty. So I guess this is your lucky night. You get to go back without even an official warning. But I’ll give you one off the record. I see you this side of the portal again, and I won’t even bother with the arrest crap, I’ll just shoot you.”
“I’ll not forget the disrespect you’ve showed me.” He sneered at her and whispered, “Halfling.”
Forest smiled nastily. “I’d watch my language, if I we
re you.” Her hand reared back, and she punched him right in the mouth, the silver rings on her fingers burning his lips. Lorcan hollered in pain as Forest grabbed him by the arm again and pulled him to the back of the club. Luckily, there was next to no one there this early in the night.
The lone woman in the ladies' room screamed as Forest pushed Lorcan through the bathroom door. She quickly grabbed her handbag off the counter and ran out.
“How dare you!” Lorcan snarled.
Forest just pointed at the last stall. It had an “out of order” sign taped to the door. “Get your ass back where it belongs.”
Lorcan stalked to the stall and punched the door open. He turned to face her. “One day, Forest. I swear I’ll kill you. ”
“Yeah, yeah. I’m sure.”
“I’m gonna talk to him,” he threatened. “The next time you see Leith, he’ll make you pay for what you’ve done to me.”
She didn’t care that he was standing on the threshold of the portal. She didn’t care who would hear. She was going to kill him right now. Lorcan’s eyes widened. He could move fast when he needed to.
The bullet blew a hole through the stall door as Lorcan closed it. One millisecond faster, and she’d have hit her mark, but he was gone.
Forest looked around the bathroom. Gun smoke hung heavy in the air and mingled with the commercial air freshener. Good thing this hadn’t happened during peak business hours. She didn’t really care about being inconspicuous to humans, however, her present antics would have landed her a bit more than a slap on the wrist if Kindel ever found out. Maybe she needed a break. Maybe this new mission would be just the thing.
She waited a minute before going through the stall door, not wanting to bump into Lorcan on the other side.
Going through the portal was like floating in a river with a strong current. Once you stepped in, you were powerless against the pull. Humans couldn't use it. The new regulation stipulated that portals didn't recognize humans as a race and were closed to them. It was just as well. More than a few vampires had tried to bring humans across. Every human died within minutes. Regia couldn't support human life. Yet that didn't stop human blood from being smuggled in.
As soon as Forest’s feet landed in Regia, she felt healthier. Living on Earth full time had a physical price. Everything inside her buzzed, and she felt stronger as she breathed the fragrant air of home. The Portal had dumped her in the gardens next to the Fortress castle.
Time kept a different pace in Regia. It was still midday, Forest judged, looking at Regia’s sun. Her eyes stung as they readjusted to the change. Regia’s sun was larger than Earth’s, but it gave less warmth, and a different kind of light, paler and iridescent.
Regardless of how far you traveled and what wonderful sights you encountered, home was home.
She looked up at the castle. It was much the same as castles on Earth. To a human, Regia would have seemed positively medieval, Arthurian, or the landscape of a fairy tale. Most of Earth’s fairy tales were a product of Regians passing through the portals.
Forest’s eyes swept over the sprawling capital city of Paradigm that fanned out around Fortress Castle. It was exactly the same as the last time she’d seen it. Regians of every race buzzed around in the late afternoon light, preparing for the coming evening. An involuntary sneer curled Forest’s lips as she watched. Paradigm, what a joke. It was the only place in Regia where your race or status didn’t shut you out. All were welcome and equal, supposedly. A place for everyone, and everyone in their place. Excepting her and any other Halflings. Experience taught Forest that a place with vast cultural diversity had more racial trouble than anywhere else. She never voiced such politically incorrect opinions aloud, but she gave herself an unchecked license to be jaded. Being a Halfling made her a minority’s minority.
She walked toward the castle at a brisk pace. She was supposed to meet Kindel in the courtyard, and she was overdue. He would be annoyed.
A tall rock wall surrounded the courtyard, and the whole place was protected by enchantment. She wouldn’t have been able to enter if she wasn’t recognized by the magic. It was a necessary protection in a world full of shape shifters and elves that could become invisible at will.
As soon as she crossed through the stone archway, she spotted Kindel at the far end, pacing back and forth. She could tell he was tired, and agitation pulsed in the air around him. Once he spotted her, he quit pacing and crossed his arms over his chest. “You’re late,” he scolded. “I told you to hurry.”
“Sorry, Kindel, I ran into Lorcan on the other side of the portal. I had to deal with it. And you really need to get the construction crew to move that portal.”
“Why? It’s in a women’s restroom, is it not?” Kindel raised one thin eyebrow. “Are not all the women in there asleep?”
Forest laughed. “No! In the human world a restroom is where they relieve themselves.”
“Oh? Relieve… oh.” Kindel’s high cheekbones turned slightly pink. “I’ll get the ogres to fix that.”
“Thanks. Now tell me what is going on.”
“Hand it over first.”
Forest placed her pistol in Kindel’s outstretched hand. It hovered an inch over his skin before disappearing. He would keep it safe, and she was happy to be rid of it for a while.
"Check your phone," he ordered.
Forest pulled her cell phone out of her pocket. "It's working fine."
"Good. Switch to channel three and punch in your security code."
"Why am I doing this?" she asked as she tapped in the numbers.
"Devonte created a new secure line for Fortress. I swear, enchanting the phones is the only useful work that wizard does."
Kindel took her smart phone and scrolled through the menu. "Yours is nicer than mine." He complained.
"Latest model. Came out last week."
Kindel smirked and handed her phone back. "It was originally your idea for Fortress to embrace the technology Earth provided, wasn't it?"
"Yeah, like five years ago. Not that I got any credit for it."
"I'm not sure you'd want credit now. Cell phones have flooded our black market ever since."
"So? They don't work. The unfortunate buyer gets to play Angry Birds until the battery runs out. Now tell me what's going on."
“What the devil are you wearing?” he asked, surveying her multicolored tie-dyed shirt.
She smiled. “I don’t keep proper Regian attire in my Austin closet, Kindel. I didn’t wear this to piss you off, at least not specifically. I just didn’t have what I needed.”
He waved her excuse away, haughtily, with his long spindly hand. “It doesn’t really matter at the moment. You won’t be going before the council anyway.”
Her heart sank. Did that mean that she didn’t have the job after all?
“They agreed that time is too short and have placed enough trust in me to do the briefing, seeing as my ass is on the line here as well. Let’s sit down.”
They sat on a stone bench, and for a moment, all Kindel did was look at her. Forest forced herself to hold his gaze and not show the awkwardness she felt. For all intents and purposes, he was her boss, and it was unfortunate that Regia had no sexual harassment laws. He had no idea that she knew how he felt, but it was obvious when he looked in her eyes. He was not the first, nor would he be the last, to be beguiled by her eyes.
Kindel sighed and turned his gaze to the ground in front of him. “Civil war will commence within days.”
“Not again,” Forest whined.
“The Ogres have sided with the Vampires, naturally. Likewise, the Shape-Shifters will join the Werewolves.”
“And the Elves?” Forest asked.
“Neutral…for now.”
Forest snorted. The Elves were on no side but their own, and they never made alliances unless they were the ones who benefitted.
“What about the Wizards? Where do they stand?”
“Officially, they don’t stand anywhere on the matter. Devonte
supports the vampires, but he has about as much care for this war as he does for the lint in his navel. The council has yet to hear an official response from them. I don’t know if they will respond at all. As their numbers continue to diminish, so does their taste for involvement in anything outside of their own survival.”
“I suppose it’s better that way,” she said. “Evens the playing field. Just one wizard taking a side can change the outcome of war. How many do you think are left?”
“Maybe nine or ten.”
“So, what does the council want with a lowly, level six operative like me?” False modesty rang thick in her voice.
Kindel snorted. “By rights you should be a level eight, at least. Successful completion of this mission would secure your promotion…uh…among other…things.”
Forest began to feel uneasy. She didn’t like the way Kindel was speaking. He was looking uncomfortable too.
“What does the council want?”
Kindel shifted in his seat and grimaced. “Please don’t take offense. I’ll tell you now that the council does not want to offer you this mission. It is because of time and desperation that they do so. They have agreed, but they say it is against their better judgment.”
Forest was used to this kind of crap. She didn’t have the energy to be bothered. “Because of my parentage?”
“Yes, however, more because of your own prejudice. They are unsure if you can be trusted to fulfill your duty when it goes against personal loyalty. I have assured them of you. I vouched.”
Forest’s eyes narrowed. Kindel vouching for her? Suspicious indeed. “If they don’t trust me, why are they offering me the mission? Why can’t they find someone else?”
“Because you are the only operative Fortress has who can execute it. Because you have the needed stealth of being a shifter, coupled with your elfin gift of invisibility, and because of your shady connections with the Werewolves. But lastly, because no one knows the Wolf’s Wood the way you do, and that is the path you must take while protecting a, ah, most…important person.”
Forest just stared at him for a moment. “Oh, no way. How could you do this to me, Kindel?” she demanded.
He said nothing, looking shamefaced.
Forest stood up abruptly, outrage bursting in her head. “You want me to transport a vampire through werewolf territory in a time of war, don't you?”
Kindel sighed. “Yes.”
“You've cracked your cabbage. Shifters always side with the Wolves, you know that. This, this person and I are enemies in a pending war. This is a suicide mission! I’ll lose my temper; I’ll make a mess of it. I can’t do it! I’ll kill them or they’ll kill me. Let the suckers take care of their own!”
“This is your job,” he said flatly.
“I hate all vampires on principle! The council is right not to trust me. I can’t do it!”
“Your success would promote you to level eight, give you the respect of the council, and grant you a royal favor. How can you decline?” he demanded.
Forest paused, rolling his words around in her head until they clicked. “Royal favor? Who am I supposed to be protecting anyway?”
Kindel looked apologetic as he handed her a black leather bound file. "This is level ten classified."
Her eyebrows shot up, and she blinked a few times before flipping it open. A slur of obscenities came tumbling out of her mouth. Kindel didn't react to her rage of almost incoherent swearing. She quieted abruptly, eyeing Kindel with a small sneer. "I've never known you to pull pranks, Kindel. Good one. You had me there for a moment."
"Forest, it's not a joke."
"Really?" she mocked. "Prince Syrus?”
“That’s right.”
“Heir to the throne?”
“Yep,” he said.
“I’ve been on Earth too long and out of Regia’s current events, but I did just happen to remember that he’s dead!”
Kindel gave her a severe, piercing look and shook his head. ”It is not a joke.”
Forest paced angrily in front of Kindel. “I thought he was dead. All of Regia believes he’s dead, since that attack five years ago.”
“The fact that most believe him to be dead is in your favor. The attack five years ago crippled him.”
“Oh this just keeps getting better and better. What do you mean by crippled?”
“He’s blind.”
Chapter Four