Branded (2 page)

“Why doesn't she tell us herself?” Asher interrupted him.

Blindfold stiffened while the others shot Asher annoyed looks.

“You're kinda rude,” Stoner said. Asher proved his rudeness by making a hand gesture at him.

“She says she's not talking to you,” Blindfold said then.

“Bitch.”

“Anyway,” Blindfold went on, ignoring him, “I figure if we stick together we have a better chance at getting out of here and back home. We can combine our powers and—”

“Powers?” This time it wasn’t Asher who interrupted, but the one who’d called him rude for doing so earlier.

“Yeah, like what I do with the fire. You all can do something, too. You’re not just human anymore, that’s why your appearances changed. I don’t know how it works, but that’s what happens.”

Asher checked himself over again. He was still wearing the same pair of jeans as before, and no shirt. Luckily he couldn’t find any more scales aside from those patches on his arms. He opened his belt to pull his pants down and check his legs. Nothing there. But just to be sure, he should check inside his boxers, too.

“Asher!”

He looked up at Snakes’s voice. “What?”

“Put your pants back on.”

Asher rolled his eyes at her.
Women…

Blindfold went on talking: “The lavalight tells me you're an earth elemental, Jonas. And Maya, you're a medusa. Asher's a… dragon.”

“I’m not a dragon.” Asher stopped fiddling with his belt. “Do I look like an overgrown reptile to you?”

“Honestly, I have no idea what you look like. You sound like an idiot with attitude problems.”

“Yeah, maybe you should take off that blindfold and take a look around yourself.”

“I still wouldn't see a thing.”

Asher quieted, churning the answer over in his head.

“So you are blind,” Snakes said into the silence. “I'm sorry to hear that.”

“Yeah, me too,” Stoner added.

“Wow,” Asher said finally, “sucks to be you, huh?” Just thinking of all the beautiful things he couldn't see almost made Asher feel sorry for him. Almost. With their useless eyes, blind people ruined all the effort he put into his looks.

“I think I'm just fine the way I am, thank you.”

Asher shrugged. “If I was you I'd want to be someone else.” Well, apart from the fire abilities. Those were cool.

“I don't think so,” Blind Guy said.

“You do look like an overgrown reptile, by the way,” Snakes said.

“Fuck you,” Asher said. At least his hair wasn’t as messed up as hers. “How do we get home?”

“We start by walking,” Blind Guy said, then paused for a second. “That direction,” he added, pointing his arm right.

“The little bitch tell you that?”

“The lavalight told me, yes,” Blind Guy said with a patience that seemed forced. There was something amusing about his politeness. Asher was itching to find out whether he could make him freak before this dream was over.

But his thoughts were interrupted when trampling noises thundered from the other side of the beach. A group of freaks was running up to them along the coast. At the front Asher saw a woman with green hair and skin, and beside her, a guy with blue scales all over his rather scrawny body, almost floating over the ground. It looked as if they were running away from the people behind them, the woman pulling on the man’s arm.

“To the forest!” she shouted.

The other freaks were catching up to them, though. Small lizard-like creatures with disgustingly green skin on small horses. Only one of the horses didn’t have a rider. It didn’t need one because it was half man itself—and horse from the waist down.

Asher had time to think that he didn’t want to know what that guy’s parents looked like, or how they’d done it, before Blind Guy cursed beside him.

Blind Guy could curse. Wow.

“Everyone back!” he said as if he’d somehow become their boss over the last few minutes. “Get to the forest.”

Asher couldn’t rip his eyes off the horse guy, though. Horsey had almost caught up to the strange couple, who’d almost caught up with them. The guy and the girl ran past Asher, and damn, they were fast. Unnaturally so.

A wall of fire shot out of the ground and erected itself between the couple and their pursuers. Asher glanced at Blind Guy. His doing, definitely.

“What’s going on?” Stoner asked.

No one replied. The half horse man stopped just in front of the flames, and turned to spot them. He looked pissed.

“You really should run,” Blind Guy urged. A concentrated look on his face. More flames appeared in front of the other horses.

The sounds of half a dozen horses nickering in panic rang in Asher’s ears. Some horses threw off their riders. Still rooted to the spot, Asher watched as one of the lizard-like creatures tumbled to the ground not too far away. Its large pupil-less eyes glowed red.

“Asher!” an impatient voice called his name. He turned to see all of the others already running. He sprinted to catch up as they headed for the woods. This would have been a good time to wake up. Why the fuck wasn’t he waking up?

“Criminals!”
The half horse guy’s voice boomed through the air. His hooves thundered on the ground behind them.

Asher ran into the shadow of the first trees behind his companions. He wasn’t going to make it, the freak was too close and way faster. Four legs against two was really unfair. Asher risked a glance back. Branches grew and moved themselves into the gaps he’d just run through, forming a solid wall behind him.

Asher’s eyes widened as he watched. The horse guy growled outside the woods. A voice in the wind whispered, “Thank you.”

Chapter 2 - Get Your Freak On

“The forest can’t protect us forever,” the green woman said. “But it’ll be a while before the Centaur and his minions find their way in.” She’d introduced herself and her scaly companion, but Asher had already forgotten their names.

“We’ll be out before then,” Blind Guy said.

Asher supported that idea. He kept watching the branches of the trees sway in the wind. They seemed like ordinary plants now, but he knew what he’d seen earlier. The memory sent a shiver down his spine. Trees were not supposed to be alive. He’d burned a good number of trees, and he shuddered to think they’d been sentient.

“What the hell is this place?” he asked.

No one paid attention.

“Why were they chasing you?” Snakes directed her question at the weird couple. “Who are those people?”

The man and the woman exchanged glances. “I thought it would be obvious,” the woman said. They reached out to each other and held hands between themselves. As if that was supposed to tell them anything.

“I don’t get it,” Asher said.

“We’re a couple,” the man said. His voice was unusually high for a guy. He would have rocked any karaoke night in town. If they were in a town instead of this creepy forest.

“What’s that to do with anything?” Stoner was leaning against a tree. His body weighed so much the tree bent backwards a little.

“We’re not judging you,” Blind Guy said, before the couple could react to Stoner’s question. “And we really should be on our way. We wouldn’t want to hold you up.”

Asher glanced at the fire elf suspiciously. What wasn’t he judging them for? Having disgustingly heterosexual sex?

Come to think of it, which way did Blind Guy swing, anyway?

Asher couldn’t ask his question before the man spoke again in his karaoke voice. “So should we. We have long ways to travel. I hope helping us has not put you into peril. Be watchful.”

“We will,” Blind Guy said, and then he walked off. And right into a tree. It was the second time Asher heard him curse. The lavalight fluttered around him, but he waved her off. Asher had to give him credit for dusting himself off and going on as if nothing had happened.

“You have a leaf stuck to your hair,” Asher said, walking behind him.

“It’s decoration,” the fire elf said, not bothering to pick it out.

“Huh,” Asher said. “That’s kinda gay.”

Stoner and Snakes caught up to them then. “Leave him alone,” Snakes said.

“It’s fine,” Blind Guy dismissed her. “I can deal with him.”

“What was that couple all about?” Stoner asked. “What’s so bad about them being a couple?”

Blind Guy rubbed his head. “They’re not of the same…” he seemed to search for the right word. “They’re not of the same species. That’s an issue here. Being gay or whatever is a-okay, so long as you stick to your own people. Guess every world has its own weird set of rules regarding sex.”

“So they were going to be punished for loving each other?” Snakes asked.

“Yes, actually…” Blind Guy slowed a little. “It’s a capital offense. Especially if they had children.”

“Wow, that’s stupid,” Stoner said.

“I agree,” Blind Guy said. “But we can’t do anything about it. This isn’t even our world. Still, I just… I had to help them. I’m sorry, I probably got us into a stupid situation.”

“How do you mean?” Asher asked. This was exactly why he kept his nose in his own business.

“They might take us for criminals, too. Did you notice those lizard thingies? They’re a kind of police force.”

“But I didn’t even have sex with anyone.” If Asher was going to be punished for fucking someone, he should at least have done that. Otherwise it would be like being killed over a meal he never got to eat. And he’d sure enjoy feasting on a particular member of their group.

“I’m so sorry,” Blind Guy said, although he didn’t sound it. “I can’t change it now. If you don’t want to get killed, walk faster. Actually, no.” He stopped. “Don’t walk. You can fly.”

“What now?” Asher stopped, too, and so did the other two. All eyes were on him. Well, all seeing eyes anyway. Even the lavalight appeared to be looking at him.

“You’re a dragon, remember?” Blind Guy said.

“I have a couple scales, that’s all.” Asher glanced at the weird red patches on his skin. “Doesn’t make me a dragon.”

“You would have to shift.” The way Blind Guy said it, you’d think it was common knowledge.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” The sun was starting to set and an owl hooted in the distance, and Asher wanted to keep going. He shuddered at the thought of spending the night in the forest and not having a shower, or even a mirror, in the morning.

Blind Guy shook his head at himself, seemingly amused by something. “I’ve definitely been here for too long,” he muttered.

“Anyway,” Asher said. “I have no wings, and I’m not flying.” He stomped past Blind Guy, trying to make his words final. “I don’t know how to shift or whatever, and I’m not trying, because I’m not a freak.” He went deeper into the forest. He thought he heard streaming water in the distance. If there was a stream, he could wash up. “Where are we even going?”

“There’s a port town called Long Harbour I’ve been trying to reach,” Blind Guy said. “Their ships go to the other side of the continent. The lavalight says she knows someone in that area who knows a little about our world.”

“How far is that?” Snakes asked.

“A couple days by foot.”

“Days?” Stoner’s eyes widened. “Wow. Where do we get food around here?”

“I have a bit of food with me.” Blind Guy pointed to a brown leather bag that he'd slung across his right shoulder. “Not enough to last for long but I hope we'll find some village soon.”

Looking at the bag, Asher wondered what else was in it. “You got any cigarettes?” he asked, feeling around for the lighters in his own pockets.

“No.”

“Sucks. You know where to get some?”

“No.”

“How about condoms?”

With his blindfold on, Blind Guy couldn't shoot Asher an annoyed look, but as Asher watched his face, lines creased on his forehead. Asher could get a rise out of him, he knew he could. It was just a matter of time.

“I don’t think you’re going to need condoms,” Stoner cut in. “And smoking’s bad for you anyway. My mom always says—”

“You always do what your mom says?” Asher rolled his eyes at the kid. “Grow up.”

Snakes snorted at him from the side. “Look who's talking.”

Asher turned to her. What the hell was that supposed to mean? “I'm almost twenty.”

“Congratulations, now you only need to act it.”

He narrowed his eyes at her snakes, who stared back at him defiantly. One against five was not fair. The snake in the middle of her head stuck its tongue out at him. Maybe it hissed at him, too, but the sound was inaudible over the roar of the river, which was growing continually louder.

“Do you hear that?” Stoner sprinted ahead and vanished into the thicket. “Come on, guys,” he shouted. “It’s a waterfall! This is amazing!”

Catching up to him, the first thing Asher noticed wasn’t the waterfall, but the cliff it thundered down. Stoner stood so close to it that Asher involuntarily pictured him tumbling over the edge, and a feeling of nausea tugged at his stomach. He closed his eyes for a moment. No way was he getting near that thing.