The Changeling Princess (34 page)

“
It certainly is. These people didn’t deserve to die like this. Let’s check out the rest of the fortress before we decide what to do next.”

We covered every inch of the fortress before we decided to fly back to town. Once we were back in town, we saw several Peace Makers still making the rounds. It was obvious that they weren
’t aware that Queen Neela was dead. I explained my plan to Wade.

“
The first thing we’ll do is turn ourselves invisible. Then we’ll use our power of telekinesis to grab the Peace Makers and fly them out of town. Once we’re in a secluded area, we’ll simply destroy them.”

Wade shrugged his shoulders.
“It seems kind of cruel.”

“
What choice do we have? If we let then live, they’ll just terrorize the townspeople until there power begins to fade. Without the Queen to stop them, the townspeople will eventually end up on the barbecue pit for dinner.”

“
What about reversing the power of the crystal?”

“
When I probed the mind of a Peace Maker, I discovered that he was once an insane criminal. I think the town is better off without them.

“
Yeah, you’re right. Up, up and away.”

“
I was waiting for that.”

We made ourselves invisible and flew out over the city. When we picked up the Peace Makers, we carried them off one by one to a deserted area in the countryside. Death by an energy bolt was an instant, painless death.

“I take back what I said about killing the Piece Makers,” said Wade. “Death by energy bolts is a thousand times better than what they deserved. Those creatures loved to torture their victims before devouring them, so they’re getting off easy. I should have whittled them down to size with my sword, one body part at a time.”

“
Now you’re getting gruesome, Wade. You don’t really mean that.”

Wade sighed.
“I guess I’m just letting off steam.”

“
I think you are, too. You don’t have a mean bone in your entire body.”

“
Neither do you.”

“
Are you sure about?” I said as I morphed into Queen Neela. “Wanna see my fangs?”

“
Will you quit that? Jeez, you’re such a tease. I can’t imagine what it would be like to be married to someone like you.”

“
With my morphing skills, you could have a different woman every night. Doesn’t that appeal to you?” I thought Wade was going to explode.

“
No it doesn’t. No one can replace Janis French. And that’s the truth.”

I was really moved by Wade
’s last statement. He was so sweet, I felt myself melting on the spot. “Do you really mean that, Wade?”

“
Well, maybe you could do a Queen Neela once in a while, just to keep me from getting bored.”

I stood with my hands on my hips.
“Boy did I fall for that one. You know, Wade, you always get the better of me.”

Wade placed his hands on my shoulders.
“Wanna kiss and make up again?”

I was laughing as I pushed Wade away.
“I’ll save that for later. Our next priority is to destroy the fortress. Then we have to find a way to let the townspeople know that the Queen is no longer a threat. Let’s head back to the fortress. I have a hunch that a big tornado is heading our way.”

* * *

We positioned ourselves at the foot of the fortress. When Wade raised his hands toward the sky, the wind began blowing and the sky turned dark. The ground was shaking when suddenly a massive tornado appeared. The funnel was a good two hundred feet in diameter and it was heading straight for the fortress. Wade had taken complete control of the elements.

The entire fortress was sucked into the tornado. When the tornado disappeared into the sky, all which remained of the once mighty fortress was a patch of barren land.

“You were terrific, Wade. Your control over the elements is amazing.”

“
It seems to be getting easier and easier for me. What do we do now?”

“
Are you familiar with Pegasus?

“
You mean the mythological winged horse in Greek mythology?”

“
That’s the one. I’m going to morph into Queen Neela and talk to the townspeople. When I’m finished, I’ll give you the sign and you morph into Pegasus. I’ll climb on your back and we’ll fly out of the valley.”

“
That’s a pretty dramatic exit, but I like it. And I like the idea of using my new morphing skills. I hope I don’t morph into Elsie the cow.”

I frowned.
“That would not be a dramatic exit.”

* * *

Thousands of people had gathered near the platform at the foot of the hill. They had witnessed the destruction of the fortress and they were filled with both fear and curiosity. I knew they were waiting for their Queen. 

Wade and I turned invisible and made our way onto the platform. I morphed into Queen Neela and made myself visible.

“Look it’s the Queen,” someone shouted.

I raised my hands over my head and shouted
“Quiet.” My voice was so powerful it sounded like thunder. There was an eerie silence before I spoke.

“
Citizens of Haven Town, the time has come for me to leave this valley. I have been called by a greater power because I am needed elsewhere. I am taking the Peace Makers with me, so you must learn to govern yourselves. My departure also means that no one will be called to Haven when they turn forty. If you can learn to love one another as brother and sister, Haven Town will flourish beyond your wildest dreams.”

I turned sideways and gave Wade a nod. You could hear the gasps from the crowd as Pegasus; the beautiful white winged horse suddenly appeared beside me. I turned to Pegasus, slid up onto his back and rode sidesaddle, Pegasus flapped his wings and we raised high into the sky. We were about fifty yards off the ground when we suddenly turned invisible.

“Fly me out to the edge of the valley and land.” I told Wade.  

“
The Queen commands and I obey.”

“
Oh good, a horse that can talk. That’s really cool.”

I found it quite thrilling to be riding the legendary horse from Greek mythology. Swooping up and down over the air currents reminded me of riding a merry-go-round. I guess I was still a little kid at heart.

We landed on the ground and turned visible. I morphed back to Janis French and Wade morphed back to his human form. “You were a beautiful Pegasus,” I said. “You took my breath away.”

“
I’m glad you approve. Where do we go from here?”

“
We’ll keep heading west toward the next crystal. Let’s morph into Mists because it’s easier to travel that way.”

* * *

We’d gone about four hundred miles when we came to a large ocean. We landed on the water’s edge and morphed into human form. The soft breeze told me that this ocean was similar to the Pacific, unlike the cold waters of the Atlantic. I had to decide on a course of action. “The crystal is defiantly in the water,” I said.

Wade looked troubled.
“I can’t swim, Janis.”

“
I don’t think that’s going to be a problem. Our powers should allow us to hold our breath under water, indefinitely. If you think going under water is going to bother you, you can travel in Mist form and we communicate through telepathy. I think we’ll be capable of handling anything that comes our way.”

Wade tried to look calm.
“I’ve always had a fear of water, so please don’t be mad at me if I don’t look enthused.”

“
I like the fact that you’re man enough to admit it. If it becomes more than you can handle, I’ll find the crystal myself. Is that fair?”

“
That’s more than fair. Are we going to fly out there?”

“
My senses tell me the crystal is close, so let’s just swim out there.”

Wade morphed into a Mist and we walked out into the water until it was up to my waist. I dove under the water and used my power to pick up speed. Wade was right beside me, slipping through the water in his Mist form. I sensed he was relaxed, so I knew the water wasn
’t bothering him.

We were less than a mile from shore when I felt the presence of the crystal below me. The depth was about three hundred feet, so we were still in shallow water. We dove to the bottom
. The crystal was laying on the ocean floor in plain sight. It was about the size of a dinner plate and it was glowing.

I was about to fetch the crystal when I sensed something swimming toward me. I turned to see a giant octopus heading toward us at a really fast speed. The creature was on the attack, so I surrounded it with a force field, rendering it motionless in the water.

There were two possibilities. First, the sea creatures on this planet were really huge. Second, this octopus had reached its enormous size by extracting energy from the crystal. If the latter was true, it was probably returning to the crystal to renew its power.

I dissolved the force field and hit the octopus with a green energy burst, testing it to see if I could reverse the effects of the crystals. It was like watching a disappearing act as the giant octopus was reduced to one third its size. It quickly swam away and I picked up the crystal.

Way to go, Janis. Returning the octopus to its original size was a stroke of genius. I bet there are a lot more of those overgrown creatures swimming around these waters.

That
’s true, but they’ll eventually revert back to their original size without the crystal. I was glad I could change the big guy back to his original size without hurting him.

You did the right thing.
 

How are you holding up with this underwater thing?

Pretty good, I’m beginning to feel like an invisible fish.

Why don
’t you morph back to your human form before we swim back to shore? I’m curious how you’ll handle your fear of the water.

Wade did as I asked, so I picked up the crystal and we swam toward the beach. When we were out of water, Wade was beaming.
“I guess you’re not afraid of the water anymore,” I said as I squeezed the excess water from my hair.

“
No, and I have you to thank for that. You’ve really been a positive influence on my life.”

I was proud of Wade. He was a warrior, but he had a sweetness about him that was really unique.

I doubled my height and went to work on the crystal, drawing the crystal’s energy into my energy beam. When I finished, it was time to set out in search of the next crystal

CHAPTER 61

We’d covered about three thousand miles and we were still flying over the ocean. When we reached the crystal, it was obvious that it was lying at the bottom of the ocean. I was amazed that I had the power to detect a crystal from such a vast distance.

The water was four to five miles deep. I sensed that the extreme depth could affect my powers, so I discarded my Mist form and tripled my height.

Wade morphed into his human form. “What’s going on? Why did you increase your height?”

“
The crystal is directly below us and the water is about five miles deep. I tripled my strength because the depth might be a problem. I want you to do the same thing.” Wade nodded his head and then did as I asked.

“
Okay, what’s next, Janis?”

“
You morph back into a Mist and we’ll both turn invisible. Are you ready for the plunge?”

“
No really, but I don’t have a choice. Let’s get this over with because I’m sick of water. I just want to get back to dry land and walk for a hundred miles.”

We plunged into the water and began descending toward the ocean floor. We passed several schools of fish and a lot of oversized sharks. The sharks had massive jaws, far larger than the sharks on Earth. The huge sharks may have been products of the power of the crystal.

The water darkened because we were losing sunlight. I placed my energy beam on low and used it as a flood lamp. At a depth of three miles my flood light picked up the outline of a large whale that was at least a hundred and fifty feet long. He was not only larger than the blue whales on Earth; my senses told me that this whale had the attitude of an attack shark. I fired a low level energy blast in his direction and he quickly swam away. I became aware that Wade was nervous, even with his Mist protection.

We were close to the ocean
’s bottom when I saw the crystal, resting on a rocky plateau, a hundred feet in front of us. It was only about a foot in diameter, but it was extremely powerful. Swimming directly over the crystal was a huge creature that looked like a dragon.

The winged creature fired a blast of hot air directly at my bright light. I fired an energy bolt with just enough power to stun the creature. I moved in quickly and picked up the crystal, safely tucking it away before Wade and I headed for the surface.

We were thirty feet out of the water when I stopped and forged a stationary force field below our feet. This would provide me with a secure surface to stand on while I worked on the crystal. Wade looked like ghost when he assumed his human form.

“
You know, Janis if you treat all your dates like this, you’ll end up an old maid.”

“
Ah, come on, Wade that was fun.”

“
I have to say this, but you give a whole new meaning to the definition of Party Girl.”

“
Was it really that bad?”

Wade dropped his frown.
“It was pretty bad, but the next time it won’t bother me as much.”

“
That’s because you’re not afraid to face your fear. That’s what makes you a warrior.”

“
Flattery will get you everywhere.”

I giggled and then I got down to the business of draining the power from the crystal. When I was finished, I dropped the dull looking crystal back into the ocean. My senses told me the next crystal was on the other side of the ocean.

We flew for another two thousand miles and then we came upon a small island. The Sun was setting, so we decided to land. I caught a couple of small ocean fish and Wade built a fire on the beach. We found some trees with delicious fruit, so we had our own little Hawaiian luau.

“
I love these tropical islands,” said Wade. I could spend the rest of my life here.”

“
I know what you mean. There’s something about a simple life that’s really appealing.”

I used telekinesis to make our mattresses and we turned in early. I had no idea how far we
’d have to travel tomorrow.

* * *

We started out about four o’clock in the morning. A couple of hours later, the Sun came up and we could see land that was covered by a huge forest. I noticed that the climate had cooled too.

How far do you think we
’ve traveled across water? Wade asked as we slowed down.

At least ten thousand miles. That was a really big ocean.

The crystal was nearby, so I assumed it would be protected by some sort of creature with strong powers. We’d just have to play it by ear until we knew what we were facing.

We saw a settlement with a large castle built close to the shore line. The settlement surrounding the castle was twice the size of Castle Town. This was definitely a thriving settlement, but the town had one serious drawback. The stench of evil was a dead giveaway that Demons lived in this settlement.

We landed on the shoreline and morphed into to our human form. I morphed back to Janis French so I wouldn’t look out of place wearing a toga. Wade added a cloaking spell and we were both turned invisible.

As we got closer to town, the streets were crowded with people who resembled Quills, but their skin was a light green.
“I guess we’d better change our skin color to blend in with these people,” I said

“
What about swords and shields?”

“
Not yet. None of these people are armed and we don’t want to call attention to ourselves.” We turned visible and added a light shade of green to our skin color.

As we walked down the cobblestone street, we noticed there were several pictures of a man called Cayland posted on the walls.
“Look at that picture, Wade. This Cayland guy is wearing a necklace with a green crystal.”

“
I bet he’s the big shot who rules this town.”

Our conversation was interrupted by the sound of people screaming. We rushed forward and saw a young boy lying on the ground. He had been run over by a wagon and both of his legs had been crushed. I went right into action and employed my rejuvenation beam. The color of the rejuvenation beam had always been red, but now it was a bright green, the same color as the crystals I had drained.

The healing results were instant. The young boy rose to his feet, bending his legs up and down as everyone cheered. I realized instantly that the power of my rejuvenation beam had doubled and maybe even tripled. I was pleased.

“
Praise be Cayland,” one of the villagers chanted out loud. The remaining villager joined in. “Praise be Cayland, Praise be Cayland, Praise be Cayland.”

A Demon riding by on horseback stopped and listened to the chant.
“Is good you praise Cayland. He be pleased.”

“
What a crock,” Wade whispered to me. “Cayland didn’t have a darn thing to do with healing that young boy.”

I nodded my head and we continued down the street. I couldn
’t get over how much this settlement looked like Castle Town. “Does this place look familiar to you?” I asked Wade.

“
Yeah, it looks just like Castle Town, but that’s to be expected. The culture on this planet is at least a thousand years behind Earth and there isn’t a lot of diversity.”

We saw several Demons on horseback as we continued down the street. No one paid any attention to them, but I still sensed fear. No one was going to get out of line with these Demons riding up and down the streets. I also noticed a wagon carrying dead bodies. As I would find out later, there were no cemeteries in Cayland Town. All dead bodies were delivered to Cayland
’s castle.

We came across a sign that proclaimed,
“Cayland heal citizens in Coliseum on birthday.” We stopped at a fruit stand to ask questions. “We are strangers to this settlement,” I said. “What do you call yourselves?”

“
We are Cays.”

What is this town called?”

“
Cayland Town,” the peddler replied.

Wade leaned closer and whispered.
“This Cayland guy must have an ego the size of Mount Everest.”

“
When is Cayland’s birthday?”

“
That today,” the peddler replied.

“
What time does the great Cayland do his healing ceremony?”

“
When Sun is directly overhead.”

“
How do we get to the Coliseum?” Wade asked.

The peddler pointed down the street.
“It not far.”

We picked out some fruit and I gave the peddler a gold ohm.
“That most generous,” he said as he bowed to show his appreciation.

We walked for about thirty minutes until we came upon a large circular structure. I was impressed by the design because it looked like a Roman coliseum.
“It’s like stepping back in time,” I told Wade as I stood there, admiring the huge structure.

“
This entire planet is like stepping back in time.”

“
Shall we get in line?”

Wade frowned, indicating a no.
“I hate lines. I think we should sneak in.”

“
Why doesn’t that surprise me,” I said as we stepped off the midway. We turned invisible and flew into the open air arena. We picked out front row seats and waited for the town’s people to arrive. I had no idea what to expect when the show started.

Like a Roman coliseum, this was a round structure with tiers of seats rising clear to the top. The Great Coliseum in ancient Rome was large enough to hold fifty thousand spectators. I estimated this coliseum could hold up to twenty thousand spectators.

The coliseum quickly filled, so we turned visible and blended in with the crowd. When the sun was directly overhead, the entire coliseum was packed to capacity. I heard the sound of trumpets and it became very quiet.

“
Look,” said Wade, “the sky is getting dark.”

In less than a minute, it got so dark you couldn
’t see your hand in front of your face. Suddenly, the sky was filled with a barrage of fireworks, lighting the coliseum like the Fourth of July. The Cays were standing on their feet and applauding. I had to admit it was an impressive show.

The fireworks ended and there was a bright light, high in the sky, directly over the arena. I was able to make out the figure of a man as the bright light descended toward the arena floor. This was obviously the great Cayland, making his dramatic entrance. When Cayland reached the floor of the coliseum, he stepped forward and lifted his jewel encrusted scepter above his head. The darkness disappeared and the Sun returned. The people rose to their feet again and cheered.

“This guys a great showman,” said Wade. “I can’t wait to see what comes next.”

“
I assume it’ll be the healing ceremony. Most of the people entering the arena look like there’re in pretty bad shape.”

There was a long line of sick and injured Cays being helped into the arena. Some of them could barely walk and others were being carried on homemade stretchers. When they were lined up side my side, I counted a total of twenty-five people waiting to be healed.

Cayland walked from one Cay citizen to the next. He lifted his scepter above his head and firmly grasped the large crystal hanging around his neck. The bright green light engulfed the unfortunate Cay and he would be instantly healed. The overjoyed Cay would then step forward, raising his hands over his head as the crowd cheered. When the last person had been healed, the chant for Cayland filled the coliseum. “Praise be Cayland, Praise be Cayland, Praise be Cayland.”

For the final act, a Demon was led to the center of the arena. The Demon looked terrified as he was hooked to a long chain anchored to the ground.
“What’s going on?” I asked the young woman sitting next to me. “We are strangers in Cayland Town.”

“
Demon disobey Cayland. He be punished.”

I watched with interest as the Demon was left alone in the center of the arena. It was extremely quiet until I heard what sounded like a large bass drum. The Demon
’s eyes were filled with fear as he looked upward to the open sky. I heard the flapping of wings and then I saw a giant dragon circling overhead. The dragon floated down into the arena and landed directly in front of the condemned Demon. The Demon was screaming for mercy, trying his best to break the chains holding him in place.

Twenty thousand spectators were holding their breath as the dragon reared his head upward and blew a long flame of fire into the sky. The crowd gasped as the dragon lowered his head and nudged close and closer to the terrified Demon. Then, in one quick motion, the dragon opened his mouth and devoured the Demon.

“Now, that was sickening,” whispered Wade.

Cayland appeared again and walked up to the dragon. The dragon kneeled and lowered his head like a dog bowing down to his master. Cayland lifted his scepter and the dragon rose to its feet and flew away. Cayland prepared to exit the area and the chant began.
“Praise be Cayland, Praise be Cayland, Praise be Cayland.”