The Guardian's Grimoire (21 page)

As stupid as it was, I felt like I could believe her.
She went in and closed the door quietly behind her. I turned away and looked
down the street just as a raincloud hid the sun and it became quite dark.

“Great.” The few people in the street cleared out and
the wind picked up. I was sure the sky had been clear just half an hour before,
but I tried not to worry about horror movies I’d seen that started with the
same exact scene.

I leaned my back against the wall so nothing could
sneak up on me. It wasn’t a few minutes later that rain started to fall
heavily, and since there was no protection from the rain, I was immediately
soaked with the freezing water. For some reason, my clothes (Edward’s clothes)
were water-resilient, which provided a small comfort.

There was suddenly a hackling in the distance, sort
of like a hyena’s laugh. It didn’t bother me too much… What did bother me was
the quick yelp before everything went silent. I preferred the silence to the
blood-curdling, unearthly howl that replaced it. More howls erupted. It was
definitely not from a wolf; it was a much more frightening sound, and it was
coming closer.

Surely Divina hadn’t accounted for me being attacked
and wouldn’t expect me to stay outside. Fully anticipating what was inside to
be more dangerous than what was outside, I opened the door and stumbled through
it. The room was old and crumbling with just enough light to show the decomposition.
The door suddenly slammed shut with a gust of wind and plunged the room into
darkness.

I waited for a few minutes, listening for any sound
other than the rain pounding against the roof and the wind making the house
creak. There were voices in another room, so I followed the sound until I came
to the wall and felt my way to the doorknob. Opening it just a little allowed
me to see Divina sitting in a large leather chair, across from a man in a
larger chair. They were talking in front of a bright fireplace with a strangely
red fire. Divina was buried in shadow but the man was visible. He was a creepy
person, which fit in well with the house, with black hair, dark eyes, and a
baleful expression.

It was none of my business, but I was extremely nosy by
nature, so I listened for a few minutes. They were speaking another language,
which didn’t sound like Sudo, and I didn’t want them to notice me, so I closed
the door and retreated to the front door. While I wasn’t going back outside to
be eaten, I had the commonsense not to explore the decrepit building. I was
more than a little interested in Divina’s business here, though.

There was no warning; the wood beneath my feet gave
way and I fell into the dark.

I could see the misshaped hole many feet above me become
blurry. For a couple of minutes all I could hear and feel was my frantic
heartbeat, then my head started to throb with a dull pain and I could feel warm
liquid seeping down my scalp. My leg suddenly burned, but I wasn’t sure which
one it was. My vision became blurrier and faded as I passed out.

*          *          *

When I woke, I knew I had been out for a long time. I
also knew my head should have hurt, but my whole body felt great. There was a
gentle, cool wet cloth on my forehead. “How do you feel?” The most beautiful,
glorious sound in the world softly broke the silence.

“Amazing,” I purred. I didn’t want anything to burst
my peaceful bubble, but my eyes opened of their own accord. Divina was next to
me, combing her fingers through my hair, her face so close I could feel her
warmth.

The room was dim with and I was in a bed that felt
like it was made of feathers with satin sheets. I tried to sit up, but Divina
stopped me with a gentle hand on my chest.

“Rest a little more. You hurt your head very badly.”

Damn, her voice is beautiful.
“Am I on drugs?”
I asked.

“No, you’re under a healing spell. You should be
healed now, but there’s no sense in rushing it. Just relax,” she said
soothingly. My body obeyed.

In all my life, I never once became addicted to pain
meds, but it sure felt like I was on my way to becoming addicted to her. “Where
are we?”

“We’re at a hotel in West Mijii. You’ve been
unconscious for about six hours. We’ll head out about five hours until dawn.
That gives you plenty of time to use the bath and enjoy the hotel. Don’t think;
just enjoy everything as much as you can.”

“Who was that man you were talking to?” I asked.

She sighed. “It doesn’t matter right now,” she said.

“Tell me anyway.” I tried to focus on her, but my
eyes wouldn’t cooperate.

“His name is Nano. We had some business to discuss. I
needed to give him some information on where and when to meet someone. Further
details are his business and it would be inappropriate to tell you.”

“You people need phones,” I said, closing my eyes
again. “Does that have something to do with your job?”

“It
is
my job. I find and relay information,
make appointments, and advise people on who to trust or distrust. I overhear
things. Sometimes the job involves making potions. Sometimes it involves
playing arm candy until someone blurts out their evil plans.”

“So you’re like a spy. A hired spy. That’s pretty
cool.” That was my last thought as I fell asleep.

I woke again not long later. Divina was asleep next
to me on her stomach, facing me, relaxed, and gorgeous as always. I felt like I
could lay there all day just watching her, but that would have been creepy.

The room was dim and warm and the only sound was from
a small waterfall. I sat up slowly. There was one bed, low to the ground, with
black satin sheets, four very plushy pillows, and a thick, soft, blood red
blanket. Several feet to the right of the bed was a small, four-foot-wide,
square, glass table in a mahogany wood frame.

On the table was a two-foot-tall rock statue of a
dog-like creature, standing on a bed of small, black rocks that were neatly
placed inside a shallow pot. The creature had glass eyes. The most interesting
aspect of it, though, was that its mouth was open and water streamed from it
into the rocks. I wanted to touch it, but it could have been a religious or
philosophical item where it would have been rude to do so.

Sitting next to the statue was what looked like a
large, translucent butterfly, about five inches wide with about eight sectors
on each wing. Each sector was slightly a different color with tiny, glowing
lines throughout the wings. It flapped its illuminated wings several times
before fluttering away. There were five more, providing most of the light in
the room.

The rest of the light was supplied by three globes,
each about a foot wide. One sat on either side of the bed, towards the pillows,
and the other was in the far corner of the room. The one on my side of the bed
was slowing red and black like lava and it looked like it was moving. The one
on Divina’s side was light green with a dark red, thick, long ribbon inside
that slowly moved around like a snake. On the other side of the room, the globe
was clear with what looked like a sphere of yellow and red fire in the middle.

I pulled the covers off of me and put my feet on the
floor. It was a very flexible and soft wood, which seemed to contrast with rock
walls. I tested my strength and my legs felt fine, so I slipped out of bed,
trying not to wake Divina.

After standing for a moment, making sure I didn’t
just pass out, I made slowly for the paper, Japanese-style door. I slid it open
to reveal a hallway, with three doors. The closest one opened to a room that
was barely bigger than a bathroom stall, but I was thrilled to see a toilet
with indoor plumbing. In fact, it looked just like any American one. I went to
the next door and found a sink and bathtub. The sink was built in a black
marble table with a silver nozzle above it. I didn’t see and knobs, so I stuck
my hands under it. Warm water poured out and when I removed my hands, it
stopped. Above the sink was a round mirror, about two feet in diameter.

Wrapped around my head was a white bandage. I took it
off slowly, wondering if it would be stuck to an open wound and hurt. It
didn’t. My forehead was fine and so was the back of my head when I touched it,
though I could feel dried blood and a long scab. Whatever healing powers Divina
had, they would have really helped during my childhood on Earth.

The black bathtub beside it was built low into the
floor, but was deep and had nozzles in the sides like a hot tub. Inside the tub
was lined with a seat. On the far rim of the tub was a set of silver buttons
with words written beside them and a small indent for a round bar of green
soap.

There was no use talking myself out of it. I stripped
off the little clothes I was wearing; my boxers, and stepped in. Hot water
started flowing from the nozzles automatically, so I sat on the seat and let my
feet soak in the rising water. I expected the seat and back to be hard, but
they were cushioned. When the water reached my navel, I pushed all the buttons.
The pouring water became scented and the mixed scents from the different
buttons were wonderful, but girly, so I pushed the buttons again until they
stopped. I picked up the soap and, not to my surprise, it smelled slightly of
mint and green tea.

I washed my hair out very carefully. The water shut
off automatically when it reached my chest. After washing myself, I put my arms
on the rim to keep my fingers from shriveling and laid my head back.

The next thing I knew, Divina was shaking me awake
and I felt like I had slept for a few hours.

Divina had changed her outfit; she was wearing a
black, skintight, long-sleeved shirt with fishnet mesh on her shoulders and
gold writing across her stomach. Her pants were tight, black, and shiny.

I stared at her, confused for a minute, before I
realized I was naked in a bath.

“Relax, I’ve seen everything a man has,” she said
when I quickly tried to cover myself. “Hurry up and get dressed; we have to go
as soon as possible.” She left me pondering how well her pants framed her
curves. The water in the tub started to drain as soon as I stepped out of it.

My outfit, which had been laid out on the sink
counter, smelled clean and felt softer when I put it on, but the boots were
still uncomfortably big.

The second I walked out into the hall, Divina was
ushering me out the front door; a heavy, swinging door. “What about breakfast?”
I begged.

She shut the door and continued to push me forward.
“On the way. We’re late, very late.”

A spy-for-hire who overslept?

We were in a long, narrow hallway, decorated floor to
ceiling with amazingly rich patterns of color and design. Divina didn’t direct
me so I turned left and she went with it. We passed many doors and several open
rooms with a cleared floor and weapons decorating the walls. It must have been
a training room. All the doors and rooms were on the left. When we came to a
door on the right, Divina slid it open and pushed me out.

It was dark outside with a heavy morning chill.
Before us was a gorgeous garden, which looked eerie in the light of the two
moons, and the entire place was surrounded by stone wall. There was a long
stream, perfectly cut grass, neatly shaped trees, interesting flowers, and a
small rock walkway. As we started down the path towards the stream, I glanced
back at the hotel. It looked like a small Japanese castle.

When we reached the middle of the wooden bridge, I
paused to observe the stream bellow, expecting to see fish.

“Sorry, sweetie, we don’t have time,” Divina said,
gently touching my arm.

“I just want to see. I bet Shomodii would have
different kinds of fish.”

“Shomodii, Mijji, and Tumordii have very few fish
around them; amphibians and giant marine animals are the majority.” She reached
into her backpack, pulled out a small, black, plastic bag, and handed it to me.
Inside was something like bacon bits. She indicated that I pour it into the
water, so I emptied it into my hand and tossed some over the guardrail.

What looked like giant salamanders with sharp fangs
erupted from the darkness and fought over the bits of dried meat. I pitched the
rest over and they devoured it like a voracious piranha. “They’re awesome. So
the hotel has a moat protected by carnivorous salamanders?” I asked.

“Actually, all amphibians are carnivorous here… Just
something you should know.” She took my arm and pulled me along.

We passed through the wooden gate. Outside the wall
were small buildings of wood and stone. Dirt roads divided them into blocks,
but the roads were narrow. Divina took the lead and I followed silently through
the neighborhoods. There was no sound of people or animals and it felt like it
was two or three in the morning. We walked for about half an hour before we
came to a huge white building.

“How did you get me here while I was unconscious?” I
asked Divina.

“I had help,” she answered ambiguously.

Yes, that cleared it right up.

When I opened the door, I stumbled to a stop and
gaped, for I hadn’t expected to see a subway station on Duran.

“What’s wrong?” Divina asked, pushing me out to the
doorway.

“Nothing,” I said.

There where were people waiting in groups and lines
at the service desks, but Divina appeared to know exactly where we were going
when she led us to a flight of stairs. On the lower deck it looked like a
subway with a diminutive track, as if the train was very small. Divina studied
a large black plaque with multiple colored lines that met at points with words,
making a complicated web. We followed the track, each section divided by a
double column and marked with a sign that displayed smaller portion of the map.

Divina stopped at one, where there were already two
dozen people waiting, standing around tiredly. One man was sitting against the
column on the right with a sleeping woman in his arms. A tired looking mother
held a sleeping baby in one arm and the collars of two fussy twin girls in the
other. Most of them had travel bags, some like tote bags, some not unlike
suitcases.