When the Other Shoe Drops

Author\'s Note: Warning--You are about to read an unedited rough draft version. Typos, grammatical errors, whatever abound. I\'m putting this up for curiosity’s sake. I will be working on One Foot In and When the Other Shoe Drops and combining them into one, hopefully workable novel. So that is why this one is posted unpolished. Read at your own Risk!


Chapter Three – Other realm

Many thanks to Cu-kid for the review and encouragement.


We got to the other realm uneventfully.

So much for Thor’s dire warnings of the entrance moving. Once we had gotten there, it took me a few moments to accept all that had happened, that this place was real and that the events of over a year ago hadn’t been some dream. The air was what got to me. I was used to New York City air, which went in and out of thousands of lungs a day mixed with industrial waste and car smoke. This air was heady and refreshing, just as the landscape that surrounded me. I think Josh would have loved it, as it was the ultimate camper’s paradise. I still had mixed feelings though. This place wasn’t always peaceful and beautiful. It could be deadly.

And it was out of sync with home. We had left New York on a grey winter’s afternoon and arrived on a sparkling spring morning.

We spent the day with me on Jimbo’s back searching for Leo. I’d close my eyes and try to be receptive to something, just anything, that would let me know he was here. A whole day of flying about and we came up nada, gornisht, zip.

As the sun was setting, Jimbo landed in a secluded mountain valley. After a light supper and not much talk, I curled up next to Jimbo still in his dragon form. I wasn’t sure if he was simply more comfortable as a dragon or if he was taking my refined sensibilities into consideration, but his dragon form just naturally radiated warmth and when the temperature dropped I remained warm and cozy in my sleeping roll.

Sadly, that comfort ended came the day. One of the ways Josh had gotten me to accept camping was by filling a rented SUV with every comfort under the sun and then use driving to a camp site within 100 feet of hot and cold running water, latrines and showers. That simple. If I could have a hot shower in the morning, sit on a porcelain throne and have water ready at hand to boil for coffee, I was willing to rough it without my Starbucks latte. The other realm had a mountain stream of cold fresh water and that was it. I filled a pan of water and Jimbo held it between his claws and breathed on it. With practice, we got boiling water. The first time the water disappeared in a flash of steam, but the second time there was just enough left for my morning coffee.

Sitting there sipping the real stuff, I felt a little bit better. It had been a major disappointment that I couldn’t sense Leo anywhere.

“So Jimbo, much as I like you as the “big guy” it’s easier to talk to you with a human style mouth,” I said with a smile hoping not to hurt his feelings.

He shimmered and shrunk down. I again marveled at how he could do that and still keep his clothing.

“Yes, Cindy White,” he sighed, “we shall talk and then I shall go on my morning hunt.”

Dragons use a lot of energy, and whatever he hunted it was probably about four times my size and had hooves of some sort.

“Sorry to keep you from breakfast—but I really need to talk. Why can’t we find Leo? Maybe you were wrong about my senses being able to pick him up.”

“Or there is one place where he could be that we’d not be able to find him.”

“Okay—” I waited. He looked down and picked up a fallen leaf, twirling it between his fingers. I finally I ran out of patience. “Why don’t you want to tell me?”

“It would not be good if he is there. In fact, we should go back if we cannot find him today,” his voice was even smaller and quieter than usual.

“Jimbo, what is it that’s upsetting you so?”

He got up, transformed and took off. I think Jimbo is difficult to read, and maybe that is some sort of western prejudice on my part. Or maybe I was right and he was crying.

I sat and asked myself why had I been so quick to get involved with all this crap? I didn’t want to see Leo again, but at the first hint that he was in trouble I came running back here all ready to play hero. Why? Was I miffed about my wedding not taking place? Or was I relieved? Josh was in California where I couldn’t keep an eye on him. Not that it mattered. Most of his trysts must have happened right under my nose since his old soap opera schedule normally kept him tied to New York. But here he was branching out, new terrain. If he made it in Hollywood-- my heart hurt a bit—I didn’t want to live out there. Maybe not getting married was for the best. I was a New York sort of actress. I could accept that it would never be more than the occasional voice over and commercial work. But Josh, if he was heading for big time… Maybe this was all just a message for me to get out of his way.

Jimbo glided through the sky looked a bit plumper than when he left. I just hoped I wasn’t anywhere within fifty feet of him if he belched. I stood up, put my hands on my hips and gave him one of my sterner looks.

“I want to know where you think Leo is that could be so bad you’d just abandon him?”

I watched the shimmer. He spread his hands, “Cindy White, I—“

“It’s Cindy, okay? Just Cindy.”

He snorted, fortunately no fire came out, “Cindy, I think perhaps Leo went to speak to the Faerae. It is the one place where we probably would not be able to sense him.”

“And, this is a big deal because of why?” Please don’t judge me based on my grammar.

“Cindy, the Faerae bore some responsibility for the war that happened. I know that you are new to all this, and that you prefer your life in New York City.”

“What has this got to do with Leo?”

“I think, Leo decided to return here to as emissary for your father and his people, what few are left. If he offended the Faerae and they imprisoned him, then he would be gone without a trace. Their castles are well fortified with many magics, it would be as if he never was here.”

“If Leo just wanted to talk, why would they imprison him?”

Jimbo made an abrupt gesture with his hand; I preferred it when he simply snorted. “You are naïve. It’s the Faerae.”

“Okay, you are a dragon, but I don’t hold it against you. What is the problem with the Faerae? They keep to themselves, they mind their own business and they don’t try to rule this country.”

“They are… they are… capricious.” His red eyes glared at me.

“Okay.”

“They cannot be trusted. They do not think of us as equals. The Elfish for all their faults are materially bound as are the Folk. The Faerae are closer to the demonic and angelic realms than we are.”

“You still haven’t told me anything to cause me alarm.”

“When you met them you were lucky. They were in a sexual and playful mood. Had they come in a different mood, your experience might have been less pleasant.”

“Listen, Jimbo, it really sounds like more of a communication problem than anything.”

His eyes seemed to close down on me. I had a dreadful feeling that I’d just lost it, or lost him.

“I will not go to them. It is dangerous and they might be in the mood to have sport with me.”

“So, that’s it. You go and bring me here to try to find Leo and they you just crap out on me? Jimbo, I thought I knew you better than that?” Actually, I didn’t know him very well at all, but he’d always seemed so—errr-- stolid? Sometimes an appeal to the male ego, was worth it. I watched him nearly smile.

“I am sorry Cindy. I am old and wish to continue getting older. The Faerae when left alone are fine and well, but to go and stir things up again. It would be foolhardy.”

“And if they have Leo?”

“They Faerae like sport and entertainment. Someone with his curse might be interesting for a while.”

The way he said it didn’t make me think they’d just let him go when they were bored of him. Oh, no, life is just never that simple, even over here.

“Okay, Jimbo. I understand.” I bent down and starting packing up my gear.

“What are you doing?” Jimbo seemed a bit perplexed.

“Packing up?”

“You will leave with me then?”

“No.” I took some leaves and used it to clean out my coffee mug. “You are leaving. I’m going off to find the Faerae. If they need entertainment, well they found their gal. Me for Leo.”

“I won’t let you.”

I stood up and stared at him. “Yeah, you’re gonna stop me? You’re the one who—“

“Brought you here and I shall return you.” His skin, normally like burnished wood, was growing red.

“Listen, if Thor couldn’t control me, don’t think you have a chance. I’m my father’s daughter, for whatever that’s worth. I’m part of the royal family. Leo is part of the royal family. That makes us related. And you aren’t related. So that’s it. Thanks for the head’s up and you can leave. I’m going to get back my cousin, twenty times removed or whatever he is.”

I was thrown off my feet by the heat blast and left gasping for air. When I finally opened my eyes I saw no more than a speck in the air. Well, I guess I had told him.

I’ve been on my own in this strange land before, but not really. The last time I was here I was engaged in a battle of wits with, of all people, my own father. So though I didn’t know it, he’d been looking out for me. This time I was really on my own. No transportation, and clueless as to where I was with no map.

Hey, if I ever get to be ruler here, I think the first thing I would commission would be a map!

Now would I find a well hidden, ummm well, magically hidden Faerae fortress? The mage I had met last time I was here had had no trouble communicating with them. Unfortunately, I’ve never been very certain of my magic. Being only half Elfish, it didn’t really mine to possess or control. I walked along the mountain valley, eventually coming to a stream and deciding to follow it. I figured it was as good a plan as anything. This place was almost completely rural but the few towns and fortifications were usually down on the plains and in the forks of rivers. Hope they have good flood insurance.

The folk acted human in many ways, but they didn’t need to build houses as far as I could tell. They were quite good at roughing it in caves, underground hollows and even up in trees if need be during the bad years of demons.

Flying around on Jimbo’s back, I had been surprised at the size of some of the settlements which had sprouted up in the past year. The forts, again always near waterways, seemed too old to have been around for only a year. But prior to that the demonic invaders of this realm had destroyed all towns and villages. And the Demons themselves stuck to tents and encampments; they had had little interest in putting down roots here.

But Jimbo had explained the size and age of the settlements. Since the return of the Faerae, time had stopped being in sync with my home. For me only a year had past, for them five years! At first I was terrified, thinking maybe this was arbitrary and perhaps my one night away from home could then elongate into weeks or years. But Jimbo said it seemed quite steady and only in one direction. Five days here would only be one day from my home. With that one bit of information, a lot of pressure came off of me to get back home.

So what if it took a week to find Leo? It would translate to only two day or less from my land. Josh would be so busy that—yes, I know, I was bull shitting myself. Josh was probably wondering where I’d gone to and why I hadn’t tried to reach him again or why I hadn’t taken the cell phone? Damn. Some things a woman just has to do--like rescuing an ex-lover—scratch that, kinsman.

I developed a blister on the back of my heel from walking down a rather steep incline, following rapids that easily went on for a half-mile. Eventually, the small stream widened and became shallower with the land around it flattened a bit.

The branchs of the trees were gently swaying in the midmorning breeze as I took off my boots and dunked my little tootsies in the water. I shrieked and pulled my feet out because the water was like ice. Well, what did I expect from a mountain stream? I scooped up a handful of water and patted it over my heel, sucking in breath from the pain. Fortunately, my first aid kit had one of those special blister plasters that some angel in pharmaceutical R&D department had come up with. Those things worked!

I air-dried my feet and as I lay there on the grassy bank I heard a giggle coming from behind me. Part of me wanted to leap up and run away. But heck, the sound wasn’t particularly threatening and I’m a royal, right? Got to maintain dignity. I took out a snack baggie filled with dried fruit rolls, perfect for sharing. Out of the corner of my eye I spotted her. She was small, about half my height and I figured she might actually be a child. I stood up, keeping my body at an angle to her, and I adjusted my eyes. She was indeed one of the Folk and looked to be quite young.

“Hi there! Are you hungry?” I said slowly turning towards her. But she was gone. Well, good for her. If she were my kid, I wouldn’t want her going and taking food from strangers either. My feet were dry and I put my socks and boots back on. I was ready to be on my way when I smelled it. Something good and freshly baked. Wherever that young Folk had come from she hadn’t wandered far from her home. I used my nose and spotted a camouflaged entrance near something that looked like a thicket. I didn’t know if I should approach it. Would that be considered hostile? I raised my voice.

“Hmmm. Hmmm. Something smells really good. I wonder who’s been hard at work cooking?” Did I ever tell you I’ve done children’s theatre? That was the sort of voice I used-- The kind of voice that would win over young people. I figure if they wanted to offer me food, fine. If not, I’d be on my way.

“You’re one of the Elfish,” came a deep voice from across the stream. The young one’s older brother or father was there. Or at least I guessed it was a male relative. He looked like a beaver to me, with a fat furry face, overalls and a thick, flat tail dragging on the ground.

“That’s right. White Moon Clan.”

He chortled, that’s as close an approximation as I can come to the sound. “I had heard that you were all wiped out.”

“That’s pretty close to the truth. I’m trying to locate a kinsman of the Rosy Lion Clan. Have you seen another Elfish pass through here?”

I watched him, for all his bulk, deftly hop across the stones and boulders of the stream to reach me. “I might have. Come will you come share a meal with us?”

I smiled, “Thank you. I’m Cindy White.”

“Rufus.” He turned to face his home and stretched out his arm, “I live with my wife Bett, and daughter Avianne.”

I nodded, still smiling and followed him into the hut.

It was a one-room affair with a ladder to a sleep loft, built into the side of loam mound. I’d seen something like that build by environmentally conscious types once. By building into the side of a hillock they conserved a great deal of energy, staying warm in winter and cool in summer. But this place didn’t really have seasons last time I was here, did it? How many other things were changing since the return of the Faerae?

There were two benches catty cornered next to a square table and it was either quite cramped or cozy in there depending on your need for closeness. A bit of light came through a window come ventilation shaft in the top part of the hut. I liked the food. It was a rich vegetable stew of aromatic roots with a few nuts thrown in. I took out an apricot fruit roll and we all shared it with our meal.

While last year I was a complete ignoramus when it came to the ways of the Folk, I had learned a little-- Like not to talk when eating. It was considered disrespectful to the food and to the person who had cooked the food and the land that provided the food to talk while eating. One didn’t even ask to pass the salt, if there was such a spice available and normally there wasn’t. So we ate in silence and I had to admit, it was relaxing. And once the eating was over we were free to chat.

Avianne was very curious about my kind, and the problem here was I had little to know information about the Elfish myself so her mom and dad did a sort of tutorial for us both.

“So the Elfish and the Faerae became increasingly uncomfortable because it seemed that the Faerae may have been stealing both Elfish and Folk for their entertainment?” I said, feeling a bit queasy.

“Exactly. Though it couldn’t be proven,” said Rufus with a shake of his head, “the rumors continued to mount. Now some think that the rumors were the product of your grandfather wanting to find something wrong in order to consolidated his power based by finding an enemy in the Faerae.”

“But my Great grandmother disappeared, never to be seen again,” said Bett, with some indignation. “It had to be the Faerae, there was no other way it could have happened.”

Rufus smiled, “Bett, it was before you were born. For all we know she might have run away with a Skunksman.”

Bett opened her eyes wide in shock and her little mouth made an “oh”, just before clouting her husband. Rufus seemed to enjoy it, and I got a feeling that maybe I was watching some sort of courtship ritual between them. I tried not to laugh, just in case. And Avianne just ignored them with a superior shake of her shoulders.

“So, Cindy what’s is like where you live? I’ve heard so much from the others as they returned.”

I felt a bit stumped. The air was bad, the food was bad, the people, eh, it was a complicated place just as this place could get complicated. “I don’t think you would like it. It’s all sort of ruined, like this place was during the war. There’s food and water, but the quality isn’t as good.”

I had given a good answer it seemed, because Bett and Rufus held hands and her eyes went shining. “That’s what we heard. We’d discussed many a time leaving, but even at it’s worse, well this was our home.”

Home. I was feeling more at home here myself. Now that the land was healing.

“Will you spend the night with us?” asked Rufus.

“No, but thank you for the hospitality. I’ll remember all of you.”

Rufus walked me to the perimeter of his area, about a twenty-minute walk. I’d asked if there were any mages or enchanters about. They were, I believed my best hope for finding where the Faerae could be. I found it hard to believe that my family could have made such a sweet and gentle people into scapegoats. But then again, power hungry people will do stupid things.

Rufus didn’t know of any, but there was a village one day’s walk to the East. The way to get there was fairly elaborate. Still I kept it in mind and began walking following a stream which was heading to the East and being mindful of the path that I would see when it changed direction. The path didn’t lead directly to the village but was used by the community of Folk that were part of the village. So I had to count so may forks and off shoots to make sure I didn’t wind up spending the night with Rufus’ cousin Hent.

Of course, once the sun started setting I’d have to make camp and handing my feelings about sleeping alone in the complete darkness. Things do go bump in the night here, and more than likely don’t mind snacking on Elfish, or even half Elfish. However, Rufus felt that this area was quite safe and I didn’t need to sleep up in a tree or find a cave. Good news.

My feet hurt and I was actually quite grateful for the sun setting and giving me an excuse to quit for the day. I missed Jimbo’s company and his radiating warmth. Even with the sleeping bag it was a bit nippy. Bett had given me a really wonderfully fat little basket of vittles, including acorn-like nutbread and some fruit from here that I’d never tried before. They were vegetarians as most of the folk were (Jimbo was one of the exceptions) and I was feeling a little bit protein deprived. Jimbo would have shared some of his dinner with me I bet! Yeah, well I spooked or offended my friend and I just had to get over it.

With that last thought, I fell asleep and was blissfully unconscious until the next morning when the infernal, happy chirping of birds totally ruined any chance I had of sleeping in. Yes, the crack of dawn. Something Josh got to see a lot of in his field, and one of the reasons I liked doing voice-over work and theatre. Theatre people got to sleep in late. Something natural about that, something right.

Jimbo wasn’t there to heat my pan of water. I had a very big decision to make, build a fire and have coffee or go without. Tears were ready to roll down my cheeks. I hurt all over, and I hated this place. Trolleys, we needed trolleys or some form of transportation. I came over here thinking I wouldn’t get stuck hiding all over again, and lookee, here I was hiking. Yes, I was having a lovely little pity party. Eventually, the memory of life without caffeine came back to me—withdrawal headache. I got busy find twigs and dry grass and building a small pit for my fire. Everything seemed moist with dew, but with sheer grit, determination and safety matches—a lot of safety matches, I got my fire going. But where was the water. Sighing, I headed back along the path to find the stream, feeling mildly guilty about leaving a fire alone for so long.

One hour later I had my mug of coffee. Little cinders and ashes flavored the water and I didn’t care. It was mine all mine and I treated myself to a second cup just because I really, really earned it. The birds had finally piped down and the sun was up and over the ridge and I felt, if not exactly happy, at least ready to deal with the day.

I walked. While I walked I counted turnings to make sure I didn’t get lost and I thought about Leo and what the hell was I doing here? Self-doubt isn’t a lot of fun and I’m not usually the one to over-indulge in such things, but my mind was pretty unencumbered since there just weren’t that many turning left to count. The good news was that I was almost there and so would hopefully soon have a few answers.

The air was sweet that late morning, and fleecy clouds bounced around in the sky pretending to be all sort of cute animals and such. The land had been healed by the Faerae and again I wondered if it were all politics. What if they had Leo? Why would they keep him? He hadn’t done anything to them directly.

I thought back to my one and only meeting with the Faerae. They were friendly and frisky and artistic and horny little creatures, who could transform at will into our size. They seemed much more powerful than Elfish and right up there with Demons as far as power went. And yet when the Demons had come to this realm they had quite quickly taken a powder.

My stomach rumbled and I realized that the sun was already past the meridian. I sat and rested, eating the last of the nutbread and purple skinned fruit, which tasted berry-like I finally decided. I still had plenty of water in my water bottle and had a few swigs. I felt sleepy. The air had warmed up nicely and I was down to just a sweater in the fresh mountain coolness.

I took the nap. Why not? Nothing was happening, life was simply and serene here, it wasn’t New York City, after all. The grass tickled my nose but I slept and woke and headed on my way. Hah, I bet you thought something bad would happen, but it didn’t. First time I was ever in the realm and I didn’t find myself faced with one problem after another. I could live with that.

I finally reached my destination, a small collection of huts, seven to be exact, set out amid the intersection of three streams. It wouldn’t be good if there was a flood but the banks were high and it didn’t seem to be a problem for them here.

I attracted quite a crowd of Folk, about two dozen of them, and I switched back and forth from normal sight to Elfish a few times just to get used to the variety of fur and scales I was seeing. Rat creatures and quite a few more beaver types, these were the ones who had the greatest affinity for streams and water, so maybe there was little surprise that they were in the majority. There was a skunk type family reminding me of a friend I had, and a couple of moles. They crowded around me, whispering to each other, excitedly saying stuff like, “Look,” and “One of them survived,” and “Who is she?”

A grizzled mole type Folk came hobbling out from one of the larger huts. The crowd fell quiet and parted before him. I smiled.

“My name is Eben. I am the Elder here of Three Streams. And you are?”

“Cynthia of the White Moon Clan.”

Hope I’m not boring you. The upshot was I got to have a nice meal and sat with the Elder and his family in a really good-sized hut. They had a guest hut for me, actually the tenants shacked up with some relatives so I could have my own place and I was again wined and dined that night. They had absolutely no information that was useful in finding Leo. Instead I was regaled by story after story of who headed where during the bad times and how some had gotten by living in Prospect Park, Brooklyn in another little building just like the one in Chelsea. They didn’t know about each other and it was funny that the two communities had been just across the bridge from each other for so many years. How many other buildings were like that I could only guess. The population was so very small here, but again, without some sort of central power organizing things, one was only left with guesses. I caught myself. Organized power was what my family had tried to bring and had only created chaos and self-destruction. These people needed to be left alone to grow and flourish without any more interference. My see how strident I can get. Well, yeah, I felt strongly about it. Just call me Anarchist Annie!

Almost all of them had returned from New York and some were interested in whether the Yankees had won the World Series and who was the current Mayor and all sorts of things like that. It was an old hometown reunion. They missed New York and had even come up with their own versions of nut-bread bagels, bless ‘em.

I slept on a pallet of sweet grass that night and listened to the sounds of the village as it settled in for a good night’s sleep. And after those sounds were gone, there was only the sound of the streams. I slept well into the morning. The morning food was a collection of berries with a clotted cream from some creature that seemed to be a cross between a goat and an antelope. Rufus and his family didn’t keep livestock, but here in the village they had set up a field fenced in by a tall barricade and had several milk giving ewes. They were still vegetarians so it was more a fondness for cheese and other dairy products that had led to this and Kember, Eben’s son admitted the idea had only come to them on their return from New York when they started missing such items.

Cistal was one of the rat creatures. She had longer, thicker fur than the others and it was calico. She came up to me shyly that morning and said, “Cindy, will you be staying here? My family has room and we’d welcome you.”

I was really touched, and I reached out and gave her a hug. Pulling back, I said, “I’m sorry, but I have to continue now. I need to find my kinsman.”

She blinked at me and her whiskers twitched, “There are no other villages that we know of. We have no directions to give you. If you leave here, you will be lost and you might get hurt and die. So you must stay with us.”

“Cistal, are you sure there are no mages or wizards or such about? You are right, I would probably get lost since I haven’t a clue either as how to find the Faerae, but surely there must be someone who does.”

She looked at me and then she looked behind her. Satisfied that no one was in listening range she whispered, “There is a lady who lives not too far from here. I don’t know if she’s still alive but she might be a wise woman, or she might but prefer being alone. We’ve known of her for years but she seems to have no interest in being friendly. I fear for you. If she isn’t friendly, what if she hurt you?”

Okay, Brooklyn is a tough town and they still hadn’t quite gotten used to being in a non-violent world. “I’m willing to risk it. Look you can send a rescue party if I don’t come back. So tell me how can I find her.”

“Cistal!”

Busted. Her brother came running up to us. “I told you not to say anything, and this is what happens?”

“Hi, Cred. Please don’t blame her, but don’t you think I should at least try this person. None of the people here had information.”

“I was going to take you up the trail to where you could return to your land.” He shot a look of annoyance at Cistal. “She shouldn’t have said anything.”

“Well, let me check out the lead and then if it doesn’t work, I’ll head back.”

Cred didn’t seem mollified by the idea. But he said nothing and walked away.

“Cistal, are you not telling me something?”

“Well, we think she, we aren’t certain but—“

“Yes.”

“We think she’s actually a meat eater. We worry that she might try to eat one of us.”

“That would be weird.” Cannibalism, sigh. Nothing stays simple for very long. “Why do you think that?”

“Well, there are all these bones where she lives. She posts them up as a warning to stay away from her land.”

“That would be rather discouraging.” I sat down on a hillock next to one of the streams. I could probably handle myself if need be, but I really didn’t want to intrude on any one looking for privacy. Cistal went running off to do some chores and I just sat and thought.

After a while I made my decision. I had already spent three nights here. I’d go see the woman and if she couldn’t help me, I’d head home and ask for help from my father, Thor, anyone. It was becoming obvious that I was way over my head in all this rescue business.

I picked up a small stone and threw it into the water. And then I went to go find someone to guide me to my next destination.