One Foot In

Chapter 10 – Head Games

It was at that point where I became really interested in what Denny had to say. He was going to prove to me that it was all a fantasy. So I sat and waited. He smiled. And it wasn’t working. I had grown too powerful.

I stood up and faced my liar. “Okay, you’re not Denny, who are you? You’re not a Mage and you have no proof of this being nothing more than a figment of people’s imagination.”

A look of panic spread across his face as the coffee bar disappeared and he tried to run for it. I chased him and caught him in a full nelson. Interesting thing about this hold, it’s very easy if one’s not careful to break a person’s neck. Now, I consider myself to be a pacifist, but I was getting a bit peeved. He transformed into Leo. I tightened the hold, “Stop lying. I know who your are.”

I let go when he transformed into my father. “Daddy, why?” Even though I knew, I felt some sadness.

“I needed to get rid of you. As you just demonstrated, you are becoming too strong. I can’t control you anymore.”

I exploded, “What the fuck is it with all the manipulations around here?”

“Once you made it clear that you weren’t interested in marrying Leo…”

“I never said I wasn’t interested, just that I wasn’t ready to be rushed into a relationship.”

“Whatever, Cindy. What is it that you want? To rule this place by yourself? To betray everything that your family stands for?”

“Look at this place. There’s nothing here. I don’t want it for me. I want everyone out who doesn’t belong here. And then let the healing begin. I don’t notice the Common Folk being very aggressive. It seems to be the Elfish and Humans who are stinking up this place.”

“Don’t forget the Demons, this is mostly their work.”

“Uh-huh, and who keeps bringing the Demons over? Various greedy warlords thinking that this time they’ll get the gold ring and a free pass to ruling the whole domain? This is stupid. You’re being used by the Mages for God only knows why. I mean nobody is gaining anything. You don’t have a people to rule over, you’ve got bupkis here. Scorched earth and nothing more.”

“Cindy, just stay out of things that you don’t understand. Leave the building. The crisis is over. That Demon that had taken over our lands is gone. Everything can go back to normal.”

“Oh, really.” I put my hands on my hips, reminding myself of Mom when she used to disagree with Daddy. “So what about the other areas. Don’t they have a few Demons? What if they choose to come over and grab some “tribute”, how will you stop them? Get another Demon Box from the Mages?”

Daddy’s face grew white with anger. I’d never seen him this mad. “It’s none of your concern. You could have been a part of all this.” He waved his hands around. “You and Leo would have been able to rule over a very large area and you could have worked to restore it. But you had to take up with the Demons instead.”

“Okay, that’s how you see it? Well, we don’t agree. It’s not about ruling; it’s about taking care of things you’ve messed up. You owe this land and this people. And the first thing you need to do is find some Mages and get rid of the remaining Demons. Then you can get on with things. If you don’t there’s just going to be more problems down the line. Why can’t you see that.”

“Jimbo will take you home.”

“I’m not going home. I’m staying here until I find a Mage and do some proper negotiation.”

“On whose behalf? You’ve turned against your family.”

“Only because you’re being stupid. I’m not blindly following any leadership, just because you’re my father. Oh Damn, I’m wasting time with you.”

I began to walk away.

“Cindy! Cindy! Don’t you walk away like that! Cindy!”

I didn’t stop, and I didn’t look back.

“It’s over. I disown you.”

I was tempted to shoot him the bird, but he was my father, not just some creep I’d met on the street. I walked until I reached Jimbo.

“So he had you fooled.”

“That wasn’t a Mage?”

“It was Elfish Warlord White.”

“Your father.”

“Used to be.” I set up the blanket, which was starting to show a few holes in spots and was slashed in others. My hands had stopped bleeding, but I added some more bandages onto them for protection.

“I’m hungry, Jimbo, but I can’t eat here. Could we put some space between us and him and then settle down for brunch?”

Jimbo regarded me with his large turquoise eyes. Now that I was seeing him in broad daylight, I couldn’t help but admire him. He had some incredible iridescence on those scales, looking like a mystical iguana or something. I’d always admired Chinese Dragons, but Jimbo was beyond beauty; he was simply magnificent!

So it was up, up and away again. My heart ached with the thought of my family regained only to be lost. I wondered how Sadie felt about all this, but had a feeling that her first loyalty would be to my father. And Leo? Sometimes life got so messed up that all you could do was shrug your shoulders and walk away. That’s how I felt right then. I’d do whatever I could to set things right, and then I’d walk away. I sighed and a couple of tears rolled down my cheeks only to be whipped away by the wind. We were flying high over the desolate lands. I saw a river, which we seemed to be following, and then a couple of lakes. I got the feeling that we were close to the sea. And then the feeling became as certainty as I got a sniff of brine and saw past the horizon to a line of blue becoming larger by the second.

It was all rocks and no beach. There were cliffs and I found it all so very romantic. I got down from Jimbo’s back, this time ripping a huge gash in my blue jeans, but thank the heavens not in my leg. I seriously had to rethink my travel options in this place. I cautiously walked down to the shore, trying not to fall in any of the tide pools there. The sound of the waves on the rocks was soulful and lonely. Why would a Mage choose to be here I wondered. I looked around me and found a shack about 500 feet down the coast and up on the bluff. Well, here goes nothing, I thought to myself. I smiled and waved to Jimbo, he lifted a clawed foot and waved back.

“I’ll be nearby, but I’m just going to hunt down some sashimi.”

“Cool.” I started climbing the bluff, grabbing onto beach grass and swore as my grip slipped and I got dirt in my bandages. Why couldn’t Jimbo have just left me up there? Hmm. Probably thinking about his stomach and not our destination.

Finally I reached the top of the bluff. I went to the door of what looked like a fishing hut and knocked.

The door swung open I was faced with my first real life Mage. He was dressed in blue jeans and an Aran sweater. He had hazel eyes and light brown hair and he looked quite human.

“And what can I do fer yeah?” He was Irish from the accent.

“Hi, um, my name is Cindy and I was wondering if you were the local Mage in these parts.”

He smiled and then laughed. “Well, I guess I am, Miss Cindy. And what would you be wantin’ with a Mage?”

He opened the door wide and motioned me inside. There was a fire in the fireplace and a kettle of hot water. He brought up a chair for me to sit in.

“Tea?”

“Yes, thank you.” I was getting the hang of tea drinking, though I swore I’d never like it.

I accepted the ceramic mug of the stuff and sniffed its aroma. Herbal, as usual. I nodded my thanks again, and put it down. “It’s a bit hot.”

“Quite. And now that we have the preliminaries down, you look to be part Elfish.”

“Yes, my father is head of the White Moon Clan.”

“Ah, I gave to your grandfather--”

“It was you then!”

“Aye, if you be askin’ whether I gave him a Summoning Box.”

“Why did you do that?”

“He asked me for power. SO I gave it to him.”

“You have to know what the results were.”

“That wouldn’t be my problem, girl.”

“Those Demons have wrought havoc all over this realm.” He shrugged nonchalantly.

“Well, you could just say no!” I was ready to rub my eyes in disbelief.

“But, how would I advance the science of what I do?”

“And what is it that you do?” I was ready to not only rub my eyes, but candle my ears as well. He was bizarre.

“I make Demon Boxes.”

‘Well, you don’t do a good job of it. They are deadly.”

“Hmm.” His bright eyes positively glowed. “That’s why I give them away. I’ve carefully catalogued the symbols I’ve made on each and everyone of them to see what gets summoned and how malevolent they are.”

“Why that last one-- you called it didn’t you?”

“How?”

“I have a scrying plate here. It alerts me to whenever a Box is about to be used. It is most useful for keeping up on things.”

“You bastard! You don’t care how many get hurt by this?”

“I consider it a service. Your family is rather aggressive and quite uncaring about what effect they have on the land and it’s people.”

“But you make it worse by bringing in more Demons.”

“It you care to check, you will discover they are all gone.”

“Why did you do that, if it were your doing?” I blinked-- this guy was very difficult to understand.

“I have enough information now. My experiments are over and I will move on.”

I didn’t like the sound of that. “Move on to what?”

“Ah, well now, that is for me to know and you—not too. But I’ll be assuming that you feel much assured that this is all over and done with.”

“You are the second person today who has tried to convince me of that.”

“Convince is a rather strong word. I don’t care what you believe, I am simply saying that I will be leaving here and not bothering anyone, now.”

“Why?”

“Because you want me to. Because you figured it all out and because you have a rather tough, mean demon listening to this conversation and he wants you to be happy.” I stared at the Mage. Are they all nuts?

“Well, sounds good to me.” I was stalling for time. I needed to think this through and figure out if there was a way to tell if he was lying to me. I picked up the tea, which had cooled considerable. I sipped it and discovered that it was some sort of liquorish type root, very sweet with an after taste. I worried for a second that perhaps he wanted to drug me.

“So what will you be doing next?” I asked.

“Quite the curiosity we have, haven’t we?”

“Forgive me, it all seems a bit too easy and a bit too sang froid. I just don’t understand how things can be one way one minute and different the next.”

“As I said. You’ve made a rather strong ally. Well, he’s more than that, isn’t he? And because of your relationship with him the whole power structure has shifted—away from me and your family and onto you. Surely you understood that? It’s why your father wishes you to leave. It’s why I will be leaving. You have won without lifting a finger, or rather by opening your legs.” He leered.

Was nothing sacred? I guess not.

“So you can see this Demon?”

“He’s with you, watching over you and ready to do your bidding. He’s hoping that you will offer yourself to him for eternity, if he could only ingratiate himself with you.”

I felt a bit sickened and a bit scared. It was a creepy feeling, like finding out that the fan whose program you signed was really a stalker.

“That’s it then?” I shook my head. Talk about your anti-climax.

“What would you like? More bloodshed, more war?”

“No, no, no, just a sense of closure, I suppose. I didn’t know that by trying to get Thor back I would come into possession of my very own demon.”

“That is what this has been all about. Of course the irony is that you refuse to use the power. Perhaps that is why you are able to control it. All the others have been interested in using it to strengthen their own positions. You simply wished to help others.”

“Ugh. You are making me sound so goody-goody.”

“No, that fact that you’d even consider consorting with the like of them, well, it’s repulsive.”

The Irishman wrinkled his nose in disgust at me. It was just something Josh would do. Damned Irish! Why did they have to be so irresistible?

I was feeling restless and claustrophobic. I felt the need for a good workout; I wanted to hit something and hit it hard. These lands were ugly and barren and why, all to satisfy the intellectual hunger of this man before me, and a grandfather that I never knew. Why? I walked out of the cabin and breathed in the clean ocean fresh air. I just stood there, sucking it into my lungs. The Mage followed me out of his hut, but I ignored him.

Just then I heard a whinny behind me. It was the unicorn.

“Hello, Felix,” said the unicorn to the Mage.

“Hi yourself, Calphus.” The unicorn turned his big blue eyes on me. I got excited and reached into my backpack.

“Hi Calphus, my name’s Cindy.” I got out the apple and carrots.

“Wazzat?” Asked the magical creature.

“I was hoping I might run into you or one of your kind. You see, my father would tell me about unicorns when I was a kid and—“

“Cut the crap, girlie, are those for me?” I could tell he was getting real happy.

“Yes. Would you like them?”

“Sure. Just put ‘em down. I don’t need to be hand fed. Not some colt you know.” He came forward real fast and I had to get out of the way or be knocked over.

“May I touch your mane?”

“No skin off my nose,” he said through a mouthful of carrots and apples. He made loud crunching noises and my heart just about broke. This was what this place was about. Unicorns! Rude, obnoxious talking unicorns, and I loved it! I thought about the land, it would self-heal and then the Common Folk could come out of hiding and things would go back to normal. Right?

And then I thought of something else.

“Ummm. Felix?”

“Yes. Are the Faerae going to return? Would they want to?” I asked.

“Why do you ask that question?”

“Just curious. There is something so sad about this place, I just thought that—“

The Mage raised his hands and then, much to my amazement, did magic. I felt like jumping up and down again. Between his hands there was a blue light all sparkling and filled with bright little motes.

“You may speak to them, you know.” I was staring with my mouth open. They were so small, like midges or something.

I felt like a total dork. And then I started crying. These were the Faerae, something I’d dream about and, and… I didn’t know what to say to them. They were so precious.

“I’m not going to stand here all day, Cindy.” Felix the Mage’s voice brought me back. I swiped at the tears in my eyes. All right.

“Excuse me for any bother I may have caused you. And please forgive my family for fighting with you.”

I think they liked that because the color started going pink and lavender. Then again, what did I know about Faerae?

“As daughter of the Warlord White, I entreat you to return to your and our ancestral land. I promise you that as long as I have breath in my body, you shall be unmolested and respected here.” I felt like Xena. Here I was with the big speeches talking to a bunch of flyints. ts. But, man o man, they were heart renderingly beautiful. I was awestruck. The sound and smell of the beach below us inscribed itself on my memory. I needed to remember every detail of this moment, this place and these wonderful creatures before me. Then suddenly, there was a movement in the air and the blue, lavender and pink mass floated from the Mage’s hands over to the left of me. I turned, following its path. And suddenly, as if in slow motion, the lights grew about a thousand times their original size.

You can talk about De Vinci or Raphael or Titian-- these people might have been the models for all those painters and each and every of those masters would have cried in despair at their inability to capture such other worldly beauty. To say they were humanoid was to say that humans and apes are related. Maybe they were but the comparison could go no further.

One of them stepped forward and addressed me. “Cindy, daughter of the Warlord White Moon, we accept your apology and deem to return to these lands. May both our people live and abide in harmony.”

He looked so noble and not of here. His eyes were huge and pale green set in a face of silver and blue. He had wings and was both masculine and delicate at the same time.

The rest of the Faerae nodded in agreement and then it was party time. And the Faerae knew how to party.

They played music on lyre and bells, flute and finger cymbals. Others danced and then some took my hands and had me join in. I felt huge and awkward compared to their grace. Suddenly I thought that perhaps my family had been jealous of them, for they had a joy and freedom I had been unaware was possible in spirit or in deed. They more spirit than flesh and unworldly as well as otherworldly.

Then food was magically produced from the air and it was unlike any I had ever tasted or seen: strange and bizarre fruits and nuts; sweetmeats and candied something perhaps flowers; Wines and juices that tasted of foreign herbs and left a smile on ones face. As the day ended, they spread out blankets and sheeted tents. There was a large fire that produced aromas that bespoke of distant lands never seen by man or Elfish. I found myself in a trance, hardly able to accept or process the sheer glory of all that was about me. And my grandfather chose to fight with these creatures. He was mad.

The wine was heady and soon I found myself spinning all about faster and faster. The rhythm of the music took on a deep throbbing quality that reminded me first of heartbeats and then the pulsation of ones sex in orgasm. It was hard to believe that creatures so spiritual could also be bawdy, but they soon began to touch and kiss, not just each other but twining in and out of each other and bringing in the Mage and myself to the mix. We were dancing, and touching, and making love all at the same time in a throbbing mass of swirling energy. The Faerae who had first spoken to me seemed to favor me above all others. He stayed near me and bit my neck. They were dressed in very little and even that was shed. I found myself being stripped and touched in my most private areas. I looked down to see that the one who favored me was virile and ready. He kissed my neck and brought his body against mine. His cock pressed against me and I felt it’s silky warmth. He smelled of flower nectar and cinnamon and something musky and sensual. He continued to rub his body against mine and I felt excited, wanting more.

I couldn’t see him or her, but another body came in contact at my back and I felt hands caressing, probing and then pushing at me from behind. I gasped as the one in front of me slipped his fingers into my sex and then I felt the penis of the one behind me sliding in between my legs. A woman to my right massaged my breast and put her honeyed mouth on mine. I was losing any sort of sense as to where my body began and ended. I think I screamed when the one from behind entered my vagina. I bent forward to give him easier access and the Faerae in front of me took my weight while continuing to nuzzle my neck. It was dark and the only light came from the fire. I was a part of the massive swarm of bodies. I reached out and touched the breasts of a woman. I have never swung both ways, but somehow it wasn’t about being straight or gay, it was about participating in the community, in the energies of love and desire. I touched another woman’s cunny and allowed my fingers to explore inside and up. I rubbed her large clit and felt her wetness come over my hand. I was very close to spending and suddenly felt the member inside me jerk and release it’s hot flood of cum.

As the night went on I coupled over and over again, amorously and anonymously with the Faerae. I came many times and bought many partners to completion. I did things that night that I had never tried before with a lover, nor ever thought to do after. It was for that night, and that night alone, that every orifice, any sex and any position were allowed.

At some point I became aware of the Mage on top of me and entering me. He was naked and I saw that his body was densely covered by hair that glowed bronze in the firelight. While the Faerae had penises that were long and thin, his was also quite thick and I moaned as he filled me. His movements were rough and very human, a startling contrast to what I’d been experiencing that night. He raised my legs up over his arms and pounded deep into me. I cried out in orgasm again and again until I passed out. That was the last I remember, looking up into his eyes and finding myself more excited than I thought possible.
I awoke around dawn and there was no sign of the Faerae or the Mage. His hut was gone and I found myself sleeping naked under a blanket next to Jimbo’s burning dragon body. I would have thought I’d been sore, black and blue from all the kissing and pinching and sexual activity my body had gone through. Instead there was only this sense of relaxed well-being. I inhaled the fresh salt scent of the sea and closed my eyes to luxuriate in the warmth of Jimbo’s soft scaly stomach. I was touched that he had come over to keep me company for I understood that he cared little for either Mages or Faerae.

I quietly got dressed and ate my breakfast as I watched Jimbo swim out into the waves to catch his breakfast sashimi. I wasn’t sure what had happened yesterday. It seemed that we had sealed the deal in the traditional Faerae way.

I got up onto Jimbo’s back after I’d inquired how his breakfast was. He’d burped a fishy burp and told me excellent.

We flew up into the air and I at first thought that we must be taking another route from the one we had traveled. The land below us was lush with vegetation and I could see wildlife frolicking. There were herds of unicorns and more mundane creatures as well. I saw rabbits and foxes, and creatures that I couldn’t even begin to describe, but seemed not to be from the demon realm or mine or this one. Finally we arrived back at the tunnel to our building.

Getting down from Jimbo I asked him,

“Why the different route? I thought it was all waste land.”

He blinked at me. “Not at all. It was the same route, but now that the Faerae have return so has the balance of the land.”

I laughed and clapped him on his back. Fortunately I didn’t cut myself. He pulled into himself becoming human size, though there was more reptile about him than anything else, and I found that it didn’t matter what he looked like, he was still Jimbo.

We left a thriving, flourishing world behind us. And I felt grateful that the Faerae were quick to forgive and willing to forget.


A/N: Again more apologies for the time between postings. Mea Culpa, was working on fanfic.