Remnants of Night
Chapter 2

My condo had great location. There was a frou-frou coffee shop on the corner. Designer shops were within walking distance. There was even an underground parking garage that kept the scenery unobstructed by stationary vehicles. My youthful new friend kept pace with me, though it was obvious he was very distracted—to say the least. He knew he needed to keep his head down to keep passersby from seeing that mug of his, but he just wasn’t the type to slump his shoulders while he walked. Trinathe was definitely a ‘look the world in the eye’ type. It was amusing to see the mini-war he was having between head and hand as he kept jerking the hood lower only to raise his eyes once more. Not that I could blame him—when I first came to this world, I was nearly overwhelmed with the sights, the scents, the activity. It took many months before I could even dare attempt what Trinathe was doing right then.

Climbing the wrought-iron steps of the handsome red brick building, I paused with a sigh. Turning, I snapped my fingers in quick succession to get Trinathe’s attention; the Zarhsha was admiring… uhg, who cares?! Blasted pointy-eared fluff-head. A few annoying moments later, I ushered the handsome fool into my abode.

What can I say? Power doesn’t necessarily make one orderly. With a slight hitch of embarrassment, I snatched up the shirt, black lacy bra and lone sock that were on the couch. And floor. And lamp. Tossing them randomly in the bedroom, I scouted about for something comfortable to wear home.

Home. I paused. Was I really going home? Did I really still consider Lehiras home? Slipping off my blouse, I tossed it on the bed and fetched a plain black sweater from its hanger. I replaced my gray dress pants with jeans, then pulled on a pair of comfortable low-heel boots. The home coming reunion could go either way; I wanted to be prepared. There was no need to try to physically impress the Pelthocians—they would know me no matter what I was wearing. I glanced around—was there anything else I should bring? A machine gun perhaps?

Inhaling deeply, I evicted the butterflies that were considering moving into my stomach; I guess I was feeling a little nervous. Only a little, mind you. When I turned I found Trinathe standing in the doorway. “Oh, no. Get out of here. Elves aren’t ever to step foot in my bedroom.” When he blinked his large luminescent eyes, I followed up with, “It’s a rule.”

Ushering the Zarhsha from my room, I bade him to sit on the leather loveseat while I prepared. Traveling via portal was no easy feat. It wasn’t like catching a cab to downtown. I pulled the small table away from one wall, took down the picture and rolled up the ornate rug. These things I sat aside. Taking a settling breath, I knelt down and sat back on my ankles with my hands loose in my lap.

I began to focus my energies by shoring up any “stray strands”; my time in the human world, not feeling the need to hide, had lent me a bit of frivolity when it came to that. Okay, I’ve gotten lazy. Pulling in everything I had, I thought of Lehiras, specifically the cascading mountain spires that overlooked my lair. I thought of their craggy beauty, the lush green vegetation below that remained untouched by Pelthocians, Zarhsha or Sarkkrai. Well, had been untouched. I would be bringing that subject up in this ‘meeting’.

The spell’s energies began to snap and break apart as my concentration wavered. Quickly I snatched them back, very conscious of my mage-talented onlooker. The glorious mountains that I had made my own flooded back to me—the scent of evergreens, the morning fog and the feeling of cold biting wind beneath my wings that lifted me higher, ever so higher. Wings? Ah, yes, I will tell you about that in due time…

It is hard to describe what it is like to set a portal. I would say it as replaceing a memory, reaching through and grabbing it then pulling it toward you until it connects with reality. When the two meet, it’s like two drops of water colliding. Audibly, it’s more like a sharp crack of thunder. The sound reverberated around my living room. Pictures rattled but nothing fell. Before me, swirling like a hole cut into the very fabric of existence was the portal to Lehiras. Black vapor poured skyward—the residual magic of one realm burning from the connection to another’s.

I straightened with a sense of accomplishment. I hadn’t set a portal in many a year—it’s a drain to set and would cause no end of an uproar were it discovered—but to my exacting eye, it was holding up fairly well. Trinathe however was looking dubious. “What? Think you could do better?”

One elegantly arched eyebrow lifted; he pulled his eyes away from the dark swirling portal to meet mine. “I did not say that.”

“Impressive, isn’t it?”

Trinathe’s jewel eyes went back to the portal. “It is different than the one I traveled here through. The other was less… chaotic.”

I frowned. Ok, so I was really out of practice. Sue me. “Alright, Elf. Let’s get this over with.”

“I am ready. Where will we be arriving?” The Zarhsha stood and paced to my side; we both faced the portal. I could see the trepidation in his expression; he was trusting someone who was once his sworn enemy to bring him safely home. I could easily sabotage the portal and leave him in limbo forever but, to be honest, the thought hadn’t even crossed my mind till then. It was a good thought (Hey! You know who I am!) but I’d learned temperance over the course of ten years away from Lehiras.

“Well, we can’t exactly port directly to the Pelthocian castle, now can we?”

“I believe you only have yourself to blame for that,” Trinathe replied, a slight smile turning up the corners of his mouth. “Another of the changes the Pelthocians exacted to assure you wouldn’t be able to send a squad of heavily-armed Sarkkrai to their doorstep again.”

I gave a small chuckle. “Fast learners, aren’t they?”

Trinathe looked down at me with an admonishing, yet still amused, expression. “Something like that. Do not tell me you plan for us to port—”

“You worry too much,” I said, waving off his words. “I will take us to my mountains. It should be safe there… unless there is something you would like to tell me?”

The Zarhsha held his hands up before him. “As far as I know, after the Pelthocian scouts found the portal, no one has been there,” he said, then followed up, “With the notable exception of the magi who studied it and in turn sent me here.”

Taking a moment to collect myself after picturing a half-dozen disgusting Pelthocian magi running amuck in my lair, touching my stuff, thumbing their self-righteous paws through my books, I suddenly had a new gusto for entering that portal and it had nothing to do with confronting that half-dozen Pelthocian magi. Alright, it did. Pelthocian were the worst sort of mages; there was no love-loss between me and those kind of people. “After you, Elf.”

“Oh, no, ladies first,” Trinathe replied with a flourish. Heh, for being a Zarhsha, this guy was easy to like. Not because of any foolish notions of chivalry, but because he was still not fully convinced that I wouldn’t leave his ass in limbo.

I couldn’t bring myself to see the remains of my lair just yet—hence why we stepped out of the portal onto a cliff overlooking the woods. It was a large cliff, clear of brush and saplings. Below us grew tree upon tree with nary a break. Taking a deep breath, I relished the fresh rejuvenating air. A fierce feeling came over me, one I had repressed for nearly a decade. Now remember what I had said earlier about wings? Now would be a good time to explain that.

The form I took, the being known as Zofeya… well… that wasn’t really me. There was a reason why the Sarkkrai worshipped me, the Pelthocians feared me, and it wasn’t all due to the magic contained within me. I’ve never met another of my kind so I cannot say exactly what we would be called. Perhaps they fell asleep like I had so very long ago and just had yet to awaken? I honestly did not know. I chose to take the appearance of a Pelthocian on a whim (that, and the fact when you are nearly three meters tall at the shoulders, you don’t comfortably fit in most buildings). The Sarkkrai had accommodated me but I had grown fond of my diminutive alter-shape.

Breathing in, I felt my lungs expand till they filled beyond that of my current form. They stretched and grew. When I opened my eyes, the mountains began changing as my vision acuity strengthened. My range of sight widened and I could see Trinathe without even moving. His form got smaller and smaller as mine got larger. Flying over the mirror surfaces of lakes had given me a good idea of what the Zarhsha was seeing now—sleek spiny sublime ruination, destruction on gilded wings.

I could feel Trinathe preparing to defend himself and for a moment my tempered judgment was lost in a sea of ruthless primalism. The fear he was trying to wrestle control of was intoxicating and all of a sudden I wanted him to run so that I could chase him, so that I could carve into him with fang and claw, taste his adrenaline-spiked blood. I caught myself baring dagger-like teeth at the Zarhsha. Reining it in took a lot more willpower than it once had and left me feeling embarrassed and un-assuaged both. I shook out the colorful keeled scales around my neck and forced my gaze to the trees below us. My hearing was a lot better so I could hear when Trinathe began to breathe once again after a long deep gulp. He was wrapping barrier spells around himself as ‘quietly’ as possible but I could feel each strand. “I’d forgotten how beautiful it is here.”

“Indeed. I can see why you chose it. It is very remote and hard to reach by those who do not possess wings,” Trinathe said, wariness in his tone.

Craning my neck, I spied deer and small rodents in the forest below. I could hear the tiny feet of birds on their tree branch perches. My ears perked at a sound I couldn’t quite place but felt like I knew. Searching with all my senses, I couldn’t replace it. I began to get frustrated at this elusive something that was lurking in my woods. My claws dug into the hard soil and rock. When Trinathe finally stepped up beside me to peer down, I almost snapped him in half out of anger. But I didn’t have time to replace this intruder; I was here for a different reason. Reluctantly, I turned my attention away. “Let us depart to Osiril before I change my mind.” Trinathe looked up at me, then back down at the forest, then off towards my lair. I suppressed a deliciously cruel chuckle. “I will carry you, little Elf. Feel privileged, for this isn’t an honor I bestow on just anyone.”