The Dark Paladin, page 3
part #3 of Ranger Series
“So it would seem. We are currently in a house ,” she repeated as she picked the one that looked like the place they had entered with Alex.
“What is that?” Abrianna asked as she picked another unfamiliar image from the display.
With that, the three sat, working their way through the entire group of images. Cassie was surprised when, after selecting the last image, the entire window filled with new selections. While working their way through the new group, Alex appeared with drinks and food for everyone.
“San Which ,” Leander declared as he held up the plate Alex had set in front of him.
Cassie had remembered the image of sliced bread, filled with what looked like meat and cheese. The nod of approval from Alex had confirmed the statement. Food in hand, all three continued their studies.
Chapter 3
Kelby sat in the private study of the Lord Protector, waiting on word from the King of Great Vale, their adopted Uncle. It had been her that sent the message bird notifying King Ben of the disappearance of his niece and her half-sister, as well as the Lord Protector himself. Leena, her twin sister, sat at the small table nearby, eating.
“I don’t know how you can eat at a time like this?” she snapped in frustration.
“Starving yourself will not help the situation,” she replied in turn after swallowing.
Both women, mermaids actually, had been invited to live with their half-sister Cassie once their relationship had been uncovered. All daughters from the same father, Cassie’s mom had taken the twins in as her own children, their mermaid mother killed by Tantalus and his dragon in Freeport for defying him.
Amelia, Cassie’s mom, had offered to have the girls come to Great Vale to live, but neither wanted to be so far from the water. Here in a castle by the Western Sea, the three, both nymph and mermaid, found happiness.
The adoption of the twins had placed them both in the Royal Family and by title made them Ladies of the Court. Kelby struggled with the newly found prominence, her previous low-key lifestyle in the tavern much more to her liking. Leena however, was wallowing in the luxury her new position provided. Having almost anything she wished delivered to her on a silver platter was not even close to growing old for her.
Before Kelby could offer a retort, a fluttering at the window signaled a possible reply. Opening the pane, she was rewarded by a small black bird that vanished in a puff of smoke once it landed in her open palm.
“What does it say?” Leena asked after another bite as Kelby studied the message.
“Going to see the King of the Woodland Elves for assistance. Sending Amelia to help you. Hold the fort until she gets there”
“What does that mean? This is a castle, not a fort,” Leena asked as Kelby read the message aloud.
“I think he wants us to run things until our new mom gets here?” Kelby said nervously.
“How hard can that be?” Leena asked casually with a shrug before taking the last bite.
----*----
With his three companions safely studying English in his office, Alex finally took a breath and went about reorienting himself to the hometown he had left behind. Gone from here a little more than one year in his mind, the five plus years local time had been more pronounced. New faces in the houses nearby, all friendly, but unfamiliar, had represented a turnover in the neighborhood home ownership.
A quick run to the local market turned into an exploration trip, as new construction supplanted some of his local haunts. Sports bars, restaurants and grocery stores were all either gone or bore new names and owners. Some things were still familiar, though, as he dropped down from the highlands and into downtown Renton proper.
There he could see the library building that still straddled the river. Cutting over a few blocks, he saw the Sam’s Club Wholesale discount was still there as well as the Renton City Hall. Checking everyone’s elf supplied clothing for labels and sizes before he left, he made a list of essentials to collect while he was out. Stopping at several of the local shops, he was able to quickly purchase several days’ worth of outfits for each of the three.
Underwear had been a bit awkward as the A’nlandians had a more relaxed concept of such. Both women had been provided modern earthly solutions and it had been Alex’s uncomfortable duty to get Abrianna’s sizes. In the end he had taken Cassie into their bedroom and had her remove her undergarments. He then demonstrated what he needed from her cousin. Redressing, Cassie soon returned with Abrianna’s garments for Alex to record their sizes.
After wandering the community and completing his chores, he could feel himself falling back into the old familiar patterns of Alex Rogers, Seattleite. The culture shock came when he decided to stop at one of the many drive-through coffee stands he had seen all afternoon. Espresso Stands had been fairly common before his departure, White Mocha’s being his go to coffee drink. Pulling up to the window of a particularly colorful stand, he was completely unprepared for the reception he received.
“Hi, what can I get you?” asked a pretty young woman wearing only pasties and a thong bottom. The stickers on her large bust line did nothing to hide her charms as they danced before his eyes.
“Ah, a white mocha, please,” he replied while trying not to stare. In doing so he spied another girl serving a customer on the other side of the stand. From behind, all he could see covering her was a string that appeared at the top of her ass and split in two directions around her hips.
“Tall, Grande or Venti,” His barista asked cheerily.
“Oh, Grande, please. Hey, forgive me, but I’ve been out of town for a while. When did this all happen?” he asked while motioning at her lack of clothing.
“You must have been gone for a long time. This is pretty much the norm around here,” she replied with a giggle that caused her body to move in extremely appealing ways.
As she made his drink, she continued to chat with him, always staying in view.
“Where did you go?’ She asked as she topped his mocha with whipped cream.
“Oh, you know, all over, strange places and stranger people,” he replied, not sure what more he could say on the topic without sounding crazy.
“Staying in town long?” She asked invitingly as she leaned out the window, handing him his drink and giving him a show in the process.
“Not sure. I have a lot of unfinished business back where I was and my wife has never been away from her home before this,” he replied as he handed her a $10 bill for a $4 drink.
“Keep the change,” he said with a smile.
“Come back again,” she replied with a smile, blowing a kiss as she waved at him with the $10 bill.
Alex turned the Jeep around and headed back home, resolved in one fact. He was not going to take Cassie out of the house until she understood English well enough to avoid any misunderstandings with the locals.
----*----
Pulling into the drive, Alex finished the coffee and grabbed his packages from the passenger seat. Opening the garage with the remote on his keychain, he dropped the empty paper cup in the trashcan before hitting the door closer and entering the house. The door from the garage opened into his office and there he found his three companions as he had left them, all huddled around his laptop.
“Alex,” he heard Cassie exclaim, as she jumped up from her seat and rushed to greet him.
Expecting a kiss, he was disappointed to see her rush past him and into the dining room.
“Chair,” she declared while pointing at one of the dining room chairs.
“Table, door, window,” she rattled off while moving from one object to the next.
By now the others had joined them in the common area formed by the living room, dining room and kitchen. Not to be left out, Leander and Abrianna each grabbed a nearby item.
“Cup, plate,” the two added.
“Excellent,” Alex replied with a smile as he placed his packages on the kitchen counter.
As the three left him there and returned to their studies, Alex went about unpacking his food purchases and putting things away. Separating out each of the clothing purchases, he placed the appropriate items on the bed in each recipient’s room. His mind wandered as he performed the tasks, thinking about the situation they were in and the circumstances that had gotten them there.
He was surely being removed from power in A’nland due to his growing abilities, but why now? His role as explained to him by Elion was to help restore the balance there. Now more than ever the influence of the Dark Elves was in check, their forces in full retreat. He was being pulled from the game before he even got a chance to solidify the gains made across the lands.
And, while thankful that Cassie and the others were here at his side, it confused him even more. Were it just the pair of them, he and his wife, he could see the reason of it. Without his love there with him, the pair would move heaven and earth to be together once more, but Leander and Abrianna? Why banish those two with him and Cassie, for surely Ben Griffin was probably frantic with worry over his beloved daughter.
The loss of magic was another concern. He recalled that the Elven King had explained to him on his earth, magic was not as it once was. The Elves had abandoned this realm, thinking it beyond saving, its corruption and chaos irreversible. Still, there was something in the explanation that troubled Alex. The cause and effect were missing in the message, why was the magic gone? What had happened to make it go away?
His tasks finished, he returned to the kitchen. Moving outside through the sliding glass door to start his Barbeque, as he had burgers on the menu for an early dinner, he uncovered the gas fired grill. Standing before it, he questioned the words of the Elven King as he went through the motions of preparing it for use. If magic were completely gone, how is it they were able to continue to move back and forth between the realms. What were the elves drawing on to continue to operate in this realm? There would have to be something left for them to draw on, wouldn’t there?
Opening the lid of the grill, he stood lost in thought as he reached for the burner knob. Pausing, he opened his senses, searching for the telltale signs of the wisps of free energy as Abrianna had taught him to detect so long ago. As hard as he tried, he couldn’t find anything he recognized to pull from, he sensed only darkness around him.
Closing his eyes, he searched deeper, wider, broader. There was something there, something on the fringes of his understanding that he couldn’t quite grasp. It was as if the magic he was looking for had been changed into something unrecognizable, masked or hidden from detection.
Concentrating like never before, he reached for the burner knob and turned on the gas. Pulling from deep inside, he was able to focus his effort from the energy he had inside himself and those small sparks he sensed. Opening his eyes, he stared intently on the burner, envisioning the gas as it escaped the many ports along its length.
He was startled to see it burst into flame before his eyes. Did he actually do that or did he hit the igniter without thinking? Looking at his outstretched hand, he couldn’t remember.
----*----
“Good!” Leander commented as the four sat at the dinner table in Alex’s Renton home.
Before each of the four was a plate of food, all prepared by Alex and hot off the grill. Each platter held a cheeseburger with homemade fries and a side salad. The simple fare was as familiar to him as it was exotic to his housemates. All seemed to be enjoying the experience, as the finger food was a novelty for the three. Usually, even in the field, one used a knife or a spoon to eat.
His experimentation while working to make dinner had debunked the notion that all magic had been driven from his world, thought the slightest results took tremendous efforts and concentration, and left him with a terrible headache. In part, it confirmed the Elves stance that the magic might as well be gone, as all Alex had been able to do so far was light the gas grill and a few candles. The amount of concentration required to perform those simple tasked left him light headed, but the effort would have leveled a forest in A’nland.
The exercises did provide some hope that there was a way to get back home, this realm no longer holding that name for him. He was excited at the prospect, but he also felt he needed to keep his discovery to himself, as the inability to explain the complexities of his efforts was a huge obstacle.
“San which?” Cassie asked as she held her burger up for another bite.
“Cheeseburger. But yes, I suppose it’s a kind of a sandwich,” Alex replied with a smile while nodding in agreement.
He listened as the three exchanged familiar and unfamiliar words while they ate. The general demeanor suggested they liked what he had placed before them. He smiled to himself as he remembered the surprise he had stashed in the freezer for later. He didn’t think their world had anything like it.
Kinsey, having finished her own food, sat curled up in one corner of the couch, watching intently for any indication she might get a handout. As best Alex could tell, his little dog was taking their return home in stride, not at all upset at losing her wolf identity. He suspected she had always considered herself a wolf all along so nothing lost.
----*----
Cassie took another bite of the thing Alex called a Chee Burger. Unlike the San Which they had eaten earlier, this one was served hot and had vegetables and sauces mixed in. It was a novelty to eat a proper meal without utensils, the mixed vegetable dish called a Sa Lid being the exception.
“What are these things called again?’ Leander asked as he held up one of the long slender fried vegetable sticks.
She had seen Alex dip his in the red sauce before eating it.
“Fries?” Abrianna replied tentatively.
“Yes, that’s it. I like them,” Leander added as he followed Alex’s lead, dipping his it a pool of red on one side of his plate.
“Me too,” she added as she mimicked the action.
“Have either of you considered why we are here? I mean why we got sent away with Alex?” Abrianna asked as she paused from her meal.
“I had assumed the Dark Elves had something to do with it. Besides removing Alex as a threat to their plans, you and I are the only heirs to the Great Vale Throne. In one action they have cleared the way to both Great Vale and Windfall.”
“Perhaps, but why now. There is no threat on the horizon and no one to assume power should something happen to father. It is almost as if we all came here because it is safe for us to do so,” Abrianna said speculatively.
“I am not sure I follow?” Leander asked after swallowing.
“If King Elion needed to send Alex home, for whatever reason, now is the perfect time to do so. The Dark Forces are driven back across the lands, even in the west, and by sending all of us, it lessens the sense of urgency Alex might feel in getting back to you,” Abrianna finished, indicating Cassie as the object of Alex’s motivations.
She could feel her cheeks flush at the inference, her feelings for the man beside her just a strong.
“You have to admit; things were set up pretty nicely for Alex to return here. I have no idea how it works though, but were anyone to disappear for years back home, I would expect little to remain of their holdings,” Abrianna explained.
“You suggest someone else besides Avenstore sent us here? Who and for what purpose?” Leander asked as he finished the last of the food on his plate.
“That is what we need to figure out if we ever hope to get home,” she replied as she passed looks between Cassie and Leander.
----*----
Dinner over and the kitchen cleaned, Alex led the trio into the living room to test out another learning tool. Placing everyone where they could see and sit comfortably, he turned the TV on and began flipping through the various channels.
With far more options available to him than he remembered, he eventually found what he was looking for. Located on one of the prime pay channels on his cable TV system, he selected an early season of shows, before television became so politically correct.
Turning to the three seated nearby, he launched the 1970s Sesame Street intended for children’s early learning. He watched as the characters talked through letters and numbers. His three companions were confused at first, but began showing understanding as the alphabet streamed across the display. Soon all three were repeating the lessons provided to them.
Leaving them enthralled, he returned to the kitchen where he broke out the ice cream he had purchased earlier and began filling bowls. Toppings added to increase the decadence of the experience, he passed out the treats to the three humans, dropping a Frosty Paws in front of Kinsey for her own enjoyment. That’s how the group spent the evening until exhaustion finally overtook all five and they retreated to their beds for the night.
Chapter 4
Ben Griffin was not particularly excited to see the King of the Woodland Elves. While Elion had been a good friend and ally to him over the years, that relationship had not come without cost. Wars and death had been the currency with which the pair had paid one another for the favors bestowed.
Using one of the two winged horses provided to Alex and Cassie as gifts, he had taken flight to E’anbel. The magical Elven city, one that could only be accessed by elven invitation, usually an escort, or by magical transport. Shadows, a jet-black mare, was one such magical transport.
Amelia had taken the other mount, Rose, west to Windfall to help the mermaid twins in their attempt to rule the city in Alex’s absence. He knew Amelia was well up to the task of governing, he was more concerned about the adopted daughters she had recently acquired. The pair had only lately abandoned the larcenist lifestyle of their mermaid sisterhood.
“I would ask to what I owe this unexpected visit, but I won’t insult you by playing that game,” Elion said as he greeted Ben in the open area where Shadows had landed.
No sooner had hooves hit stone than two of Elion’s retainers had appeared to take Shadows to the stables. Following the Elven King as he waved him inside the nearby structure, one Ben knew to be Elion’s home, he remained silent until the two had settled in a quiet anteroom.
