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Chapter 7
I stared up at him. So now he was going to give us answers? Well, better now or never.
Rixia spoke up, “First, where are we exactly? And how did we get here?”
“You are in Lun-Sei, a different version of the world of which you come from. This place used to be a dimensional refuge, that is, of course, before the shadow children ran ramped,” Anger flared in his eyes, “You see, other people from other worlds or dimensions came here for safety, to start new lives and to escape war torn places or what ever it may be.”
“As to how you got here, you know the answer. It is usually a portal or some powerful magic, like Mirrors. They can also take you to different places, if you know how to use one. There are other various methods but I think those are the main ones.” Rixia looked down and nodded.
I decided to ask the question that bugged me the most.
“Why are you helping us? If we are just some weirdo’s from another planet, how are you benefitting from this?”
Aayoko looked up smartly, then opened his mouth. However, our coffa came first. The waitress wobbled up to the table with an oversized tray in her arms. Atop of the tray were little red cups with a creamy pink liquid steaming in them.
“Here’s your coffa Enjoy ”
I was a bit surprised that she didn’t burst out in some preppy–
“Like, oh my gosh You have a Mirror. Gross It’s all covered in...dirt Gag me with a spoon Yucket ”
I rolled my eyes up to the sky. What a crazy girl.
“Thank you ” Rixia said sharply. It was a clear sign that Rixia was shoo-ing her off. Brittany turned around and huffed into the kitchen, probably about to tell her friends about the lame customers that she just waited on. That would be us.
Aayoko looked at the disappearing girl for a moment then turned to snatch up his coffa, taking a long sip, savoring on it’s rich flavor but mostly wasting our time.
“It’s my job to register all Otherites. That would be the people from elsewhere or Othersides, like you. A part of being registered, you receive your Tunics and Passes.”
“Ok, that clears things up.” But not by much.
I decided to take of a sip of my coffa, figuring that it couldn’t be that horrible. Gingerly I picked up the mug and put it to my lips. For something with a mellow, flat appearance, it was sweet and sharp. It tasted like it had cinnamon and saffron in it. Something like hot chocolate without the chocolate, mixed with chai tea. Delicate yet sharp. Very tasty. Rixia sipped hers, and a look of surprised satisfaction grew on her face.
“Who are the Shadowed Ones and who is Haunt?” Rixia asked, wiping off some froth from her chin.
“They are a mysterious group of child ghosts. Their goal? I can’t say...” He said shaking his head sadly. “But Haunt; he is their suspected leader. I believe he only hopes for the destruction of humans. He wishes for Shadow Children to rule.”
The thought sent shivers down my spine. How about living in a ghost world? Not a ghost town. And for every one to be dead and evil. Scary
“So what are the twins following around people?” I asked taking another sip.
“Those are Guardians. They come only with people from Lun-Sei when they are born. They appear as a twisted copy the person. They protect us and their loved ones and are resilient to being slain. They are the result of our negative or positive traits. In fact there are two types of Guardian, infatalious, negative, and appositis, positive. Most people have infatalious but it’s not uncommon to see some one with a appositis Guardian. Does that answer your question?”
“Yes, thank you.”
Then, Rixia asked the question that hit home, literally.
“How can we get home? Back to Earth. America.”
All this time I had almost forgotten that we were even going home. I felt a little guilty of that.
Aayoko looked blank for a moment.
“Aww, that’s easy Just go to the Reflection Lord He’ll give you a way home,” I leaned in closer “ That is, if you can give him something in return.”
I frowned. What could we possibly give this weirdo? Oh well...The more I learn, the more I’m confused.
“What do we have to give him? “Rixia asked, on cue. Aayoko shrugged.
“I do not know. No one has actually gotten to him, though they say it’s easy.”
“Then how do we know that he is not just myth?”
“We’ve seen him before; the Council invites him to the annual dinner. But that’s not for a few months.” He took another long sip and gave a cheery smile.
“What are you so happy about?” I asked in a mild tone.
“Oh, well, now you get your Tunics and Passes.” He finished his cup of coffa, and stood up.
Rixia and I noticed that he was leaving and gulped the rest of ours down.
At the same time Aayoko secured his top hat on and his coat, which hung on a coat rack by the door. He placed some thick silver and bronze coins on the table “Coming?” He asked, tilting his head a quarter of an inch.
I quickly got up. “Aayoko, where are we going?”
“Not far from here, just at the end of the street.”
I nodded as Rixia took the lead out of the door. When I walked out I looked to my left. It was still a busy scene but the people weren’t rushing anymore. I checked to my right. A dirty, mangled store lay at the end of the street.
Tell me we’re not going in there... I prayed silently.
“See that building at the end of the road? We’re going there.” Aayoko announced, as if reading my thoughts.
“Lovely.” Rixia muttered.
Once we walked into the building I began to feel a bit better. The store inside wasn’t so bad. To my right and left lay two large shelves racked with swords of all kinds. Wide swords, long swords, a few daggers and sharp silver blades lay across the metal shelves. At the far end of the store was a counter, and behind it a burly man, who looked about thirty and had a thick, brown go-tee. He was bald and was currently polishing a small shield with a nasty black cloth.
He looked up and back down. Then a startled expression flashed across his face. He looked up for a second time then smiled.
“Aayoko Good to see ya ”
“Galin It’s nice too see you too.” Aayoko replied striding up to his counter.
“So, where have you been lately? Registering those feisty Otherites, eh?”
Aayoko smiled. “Yes, and I have a few right here.” He said gesturing back to us.
Rixia and I walked up to where he was standing.
“Well, Aayoko, you’re in luck I just got a box fulla all of that register stuff.” Galin bent down and picked up a box that was behind the counter.
“Are our tunics in there?” I asked.
“Yes.” Aayoko replied opening the box. “Wait– let’s take this over here...” He walked over to a short table to our right and dropped the box on it.
I finally got a look inside. Two neatly folded stacks of tunics lay side by side. They were in all sorts of colors with gold trim. Next to the piles of clothes were black belts with huge, gold buckles and light looking pants in white, gray, brown, and black. It all looked so comfy, and most of all, clean, which was a type of clothing that my sister and I didn’t have then.
“Pick one of each.” He instructed. I looked at Rixia who looked at me. A small smile curled across our faces. We both knew what we were thinking: “It was about time that we got some new clothes”
I reached for the white tunic finding it simple. I grabbed the white belt and the black pants, which were closest. Rixia got the purple tunic, naturally, and got the white pants and gray belt.
“Well..?” Asked Aayoko, expectantly.
“They’re nice...” Rixia said, “Uh... were gonna change now.”
Aayoko nodded and turned around.
I watched him for a moment, then I undressed, quickly putting my new, nice clothes on. The pants were loose and comfortable. They were also loose around the waist, so the belt was really useful. When I turned back around, Rixia was fully dressed in her new clothes. She looked like she came right out of a fantasy book. I smiled.
“How do I look?” I asked, stretching out my arms to show everything. Rixia giggled. “Like a fantasy character ” We both began laughing. We were all fantasy characters in the fantasy world of Lun-Sei. It was fantasy– but not. It was very real.
I walked over to Aayoko and tapped him on the shoulder.
“What now?” I asked. His face lit up.
“Passes ” He exclaimed.
Rixia came over to us, stretching her angel wings again.
Aayoko dug deep in the box of clothes and summoned fourth two incredibly thick cardboard cards. They were all silver and had gold trim. In the top left corner was a blank square. To the right of the box was general information: Name, age, gender, species, and then ‘valid pass’ in bold. Below the box was some un-general information: Magic Level, Area level, and Anti level. And in the bottom right corner was: Certified by
“These are your passes.” He held them like a camera. “Smile ”
I quicky put on a cheesy grin and a green light washed over my face. When I looked at the pass, my face was in the corner box, and all of the info was filled. I felt a little bad for not looking better in the picture. My teeth looked all weird and crooked, though they’re straight.
(Box)(box)(box)(box) Name: Auxion Tempis
(Box)(box)(box)(box) Age: 11
(Box)(box)(box)(box) Gender: Male
(Box)(box)(box)(box) Species: Human
(Box)(box)(box)(box) Valid Pass: Yes
Magic level: S+
Area Level: D
Anti Level: 0 Certified by: Aayoko Caelum
Aayoko did the same thing to Rixia, and of course, she looked dazed in the picture. It was like all of her other school id’s; she would look up when her hair falls into her eyes then the picture would be taken and she’d end up looking like a dazed, glazed girl.
I looked closely at the Pass and noticed that it had the same hum as the Mirror did. I gave my Mirror a second glance then turned to Aayoko.
“So are we gonna go the Reflection dude?”
He opened his mouth to answer, when a horrible boom erupted outside.
Galin glanced up from polishing and walked over to the door. He opened it slowly, then suddenly leapt backwards trying to slam it. He was very nimble for someone so big.
With another crash, a hand thrust open the door and people began pouring in.
“What is going on?” Rixia asked. Aayoko looked at her grimly and shrugged.
“The demon; it’s here!” A man shouted after reaching for a sword on the shelf beside us. Crimson blood dripped form his chest.
“Oh no,” Aayoko whispered. He suddenly turned to us. “There is a demon that comes every once in a while to rampage the town. I guess it decided that it would pick today to do it!”
I stared wide eyed at what he just said, but my eyes grew even wider as I saw a long black snake whip through the air, from the door, and began wrapping around the neck of the man who grabbed the sword.
“Look out!” I shouted, my voice cracking. The man still hadn’t noticed.
Aayoko glanced over in that direction and in an instant he leapt up with his Mirror wan in his hand. He merely flicked his wrist at what I now realized was a tendril of the demon, and an electric blue beam sliced through it. The tentacle coming from the door quickly flew out, and the detached part wriggled and melted away into dust. However, it was too late for the man. He fell to the floor convulsing for a second, then stopped glassy eyed. He had been chocked...to death.
My sister and I stood in horror, staring at the body. This was no fantasy. That man was really dead. And I, soon, might be next.
Rixia tightly shut her eyes and turned to the shelf of weapons. She ran to the end and got a bow and a case of arrows.
“Let’s kill this monster!” She shouted running back to the door.
I finally looked away for the body and found the strength to nod. I gripped my Mirror tighter, and in that moment, I felt the overwhelming urge to destroy the demon and save these people. I felt empowered. But, in that same moment there was another horrible crashing noise.
I only had time to turn my gaze to the door, which had been blown off of it’s hinges, heading straight towards me.
I was right. I would be the next one dead.
 Emperor of shadows · Wed Dec 31, 2008 @ 08:22am · 0 Comments |
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