《UNFAIR IN FAIRY》


 An UnFairy Tale

    ¡°I was poisoned.¡±


    ¡°Was it Gossamer poisoning?¡±


    ¡°No My body is in Real. But I was poisoned. That¡¯s why my body is in a coma and I am here. Come to think of it, my mother was dying. She was in a coma. It was a lot like the coma I am in.¡±


    ¡°Your mother still in a coma?¡±


    ¡°No, I¡¯m pretty sure she died. You know the lavender Fairy that sits by the creek? I¡¯m sure that¡¯s my mother.¡±


    ¡°You haven¡¯t asked?¡±


    ¡°No. Why bring that baggage to Fairy? If she doesn¡¯t want to talk about it, I for sure don¡¯t.¡±


    The thin man with gnobby joints nodded. ¡°I have always wondered why they put members of the same family in the same Fairyland when they die. Seems like a bad idea but then I didn¡¯t get along with my relatives. I wonder if I had been a better person, if I could have been put with my old WWII buddies?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not dead, I¡¯m still in a coma.¡±


    The pale man looked at me and grinned. ¡°We may have an out. Let me get with a few other Fairies. Then we¡¯ll talk.¡±


    #


    The pale man warned me. ¡°Thees and thous, here. Some of these Fairies are old school.¡±


    In a thickly wooded area there was a sink hole that was half filled with cool water. A stag nodded to us and the pale man lead me into the water and down till we surfaced in a cave that was lit by a large candle. There was running water in the cave but it wasn¡¯t deep. It was cold, but for a Fairy that wasn¡¯t an issue, it was just how the water was.


    Further into the cave was another candle. We followed from candle to candle. At one candle a girl with too large a smile snapped her fingers. The candle I thought we were going to next went out and another lit. The pale man put his finger to the side of his nose and nodded to her. We continued wading through the cave till we came to an open area where several Fairies where gathered.


    A frog said, ¡°The master of this realm is distracted for now so we can mostly talk. No one mention the second in charge and we can probably have privacy. So here is what we have been thinking. It isn¡¯t that we want to escape, we just want options.¡±


    A lizard climbed up the side of a large candle and turned the side of his head while his eyes stayed looking at me. ¡°We all have to take risks, it was advised that thou not eat anything here so thou wouldst have a chance of returning to life. Well our plans just got a bit more sophisticated.¡±


    A fish raised his head high out of the water. ¡°We not sure but we might have a tricks. It may be that if we eat foods from other realms we can go to those realms as well. So we wants thee to sneaks foods from here to Real. If thou dust hold the snake tight and retrace thy silver cord to thy mortal body, then snake can heal thee. Then we got more options.¡±


    The frog said, ¡°We give thee a few gifts and then thou canst summon us. We can smuggle a few simple things from Real. Nothing big, mostly bread. A few loaves wilt pay off a few of those that we can¡¯t trust with the details, but then, after thou art secure in Real, comes the second part. I don¡¯t dare even mention my plans till thou hast summoned me to Real.¡±


    #


    I held the snake and the snake coiled around me as we passed through veils of mist and cold winds. Howling moans and distant lightning made us wary of the shapes that reached out trying to grasp at us and the silver cord that we were following back to my body.


    I had made this journey on my own twice but now the angry voices making unintelligible demands as we passed seemed more insistent than before. We broke from the borderlands and into the earthbound realm. We passed more shapes but most seemed unaware of our passage.


    #


    Hovering over my body, The snake said, ¡°Thou wert poisoned. Likely then thy mother too. Her life is over and gone but thou art not yet through.¡±


    The snake coiled around my body and squeezed. The snake squeezed tighter and grease came out of my ears. He licked the grease and spit it out. ¡°Heavy metal poisoning. Now I can heal thee. Back up so thou dust not feel the pain thy body is about to.¡±


    I shifted to the farthest corner of the room and watched as nurses came in and the snake entered my bodies mouth. A nurse shouted, ¡°We have to contact his brother before we proceed.¡±


    The snake slid his head out of my mouth. ¡°Now with thy first gift, shut down the power. We need them not to interfere.¡±


    As I followed the lines of power, I started to wonder, ¡°Why were they were calling my brother?¡±


    I didn¡¯t have long to think about it, there was a breaker box in the hall. I burned out the fuse and felt reduced. I had spent what I could spend without fading to dream.


    I felt my silver cord pull and it was too strong to resist. I snapped to my body and sat up screaming. My ears hurt like I never knew ears could hurt. I felt something coiled within me shift. My ears stopped hurting. Nausea like I had never felt before racked me. I dry heaved.


    A nurse said, ¡°We are calling your brother.¡±


    Between coughs I said, ¡°Don¡¯t call him. I¡¯m awake.¡±


    The snake said, ¡°I am being pulled back. Summon me when thou art home and alone.¡±


    #


    My apartment had been cleared out by my brothers family. The lease was canceled. My car was missing. Two weeks in a coma and everything was gone.


    At work, June was waiting for me at the door. ¡°Josh, you just got out of the hospital are you sure you should be here?¡±


    I shook her hand and she turned it into a hug. ¡°I¡¯m mostly good I think.¡±


    June said, ¡°You have a month and half of sick leave still.¡±


    I asked, ¡°Can I use my computer? I probably have a few hundred emails to answer. I will stay on sick leave till I figure out what I am doing with my life.¡±


    June said, ¡°Of course you can.¡±


    #


    Checking on things, making calls, I found out my brother¡¯s wife had been trying to get control of my accounts. They had started the process the day I went into the coma. I thought back and remembered the spaghetti dinner that I had suffered through to be polite. Now I suspected that the metallic taste I ignored was the poison that put me and possibly my mother earlier into comas.


    My life was a mess. I was able to answer the questions that had been piled up and read through the pile in my inbox and resolve most of it while I was on hold while trying to settle accounts with billing agencies and banks.


    Chester, my bosses right hand man came into my office. ¡°Was your home computer secure?¡±


    I nodded. ¡°Yea, I figured you might ask. I called around and used my connections. My brother tried to get Michael to break the passwords, but it¡¯s still on the shelf waiting for Michael to get to it.¡±


    Chester said, ¡°I¡¯ll send someone to pick it up.¡±


    I pulled up the folder with the programs I had been working on and turned a monitor to face Chester. ¡°Most of the code work on it was just snippets of this and that. None of our programs are on it. A few ideas I had late at night and had to code and test, but nothing we have currently in use.


    ¡°At most the emails that are cached in my browser are the only work related issues that could be pulled off my computer.¡±


    Chester asked, ¡°Are you working on projects outside our business?¡±


    I gave him a long look. ¡°You know, almost dying makes a man think about his life choices. I have been working here since I was an intern. What I code on my own isn¡¯t really a concern unless I bring it to work and use it here. Maybe I should think about my options.¡±


    Chester backed up. ¡°I didn¡¯t mean it that way. I was just asking.¡±


    I got up. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about picking up my computer. I will be heading for Michael¡¯s shop as soon as I can get a taxi.¡±


    Chester said, ¡°Joshua, I didn¡¯t mean to offend you.¡±


    I nodded. ¡°Sorry, I just lost my apartment, and I found out my brother and his wife were trying to take all my things and money. I still need to call the police about my missing car. I have a lot to do and I just got out of a twelve day coma.¡±


    #


    I got a call from June. ¡°Josh, I don¡¯t know what you said to Chester but he came by my desk and asked what it would cost to be sure you didn¡¯t quit. So Josh, what would it cost to be sure you didn¡¯t quit?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. I might need some time to get things together. By the time I do, I suspect I will have been replaced.¡±


    June said, ¡°They won¡¯t just trust any programmer. I¡¯m not sure where to look to find someone able to come in and replace you. Apart from what you offload to me, you practically manage you own department of just you. You know all the ins and outs. The last thing they want is for you to go to a competitor or decide to go into completion. We lose you, we may lose a lot of clients.¡±


    I said, ¡°I¡¯ll think on it. I¡¯ll look things up. I don¡¯t know.¡±


    #


    My brother had broken the case on my computer. It looked like it had been kicked in. Michael said. ¡°I think your brother tried to persuade your computer to give him the password by stomping on it.¡±


    I shook my head. ¡°I always thought he was the calm one.¡±


    Michael shook his head. ¡°He wasn¡¯t when he brought this in.¡±


    #


    In my hotel room I remembered that I had an obligation as important to me as the life I was trying to put back together.


    I summoned the frog. ¡°Want to come to Real?¡±


    The frog said, ¡°This was faster than I thought. Call me again at the full moon. I can already tell this is a bad time. Have bread, milk and butter ready.¡±


    I replied, ¡°Till the full moon. Over and out.¡±


    Before disconnecting, the frog answered. ¡°Over and out.¡±


    I summoned the snake. ¡°Thanks for healing me. I¡¯m doing okay apart from my life being in shambles. I plan to summon a bit more when the full moon comes, is there anything I can get in Real?¡±


    The snake said, ¡°Bread, butter, milk. The usual. Oh, now that I think of it, raisin bread. I look forward to the next call. Later.¡±


    #


    I stayed away from work the next few days. I needed a job and apart from my degree in statistics, I didn¡¯t have much in the way of credentials. This was the only job I ever held, so my resume was going to be thin. The odds were good that they would make sure I got a bad report if they found out I was looking for another job. I could probably contact a couple of clients and start my own business. I didn¡¯t have all the software, but I had been wanting to rewrite it all anyway. I didn¡¯t know business though and I didn¡¯t want employees so going into competition wasn¡¯t what I wanted to do.


    I had spent my college years programming for them and then continued it for the last five years. Now that I had been touched by death, I wanted to see a bit more of the world before I passed on. Maybe I could try and figure out what it took to have life everlasting in a better place. I had spent seven years writing code to make other people rich.


    Now that I had lost everything I wanted more but I wondered if wanting more might be what led a person to end up having life everlasting in a worse place than the Fairyland I was in.


    #


    One advantage to having a brother deny every bit of medical aid that might have kept me out of a coma, was that it kept my medical bills down. Not that the emergency room and hospital room were cheap. Since I had never signed anything handing all the decisions to my brother, it was questionable how fast he managed to take over and deny extensive treatment.


    My mother had already been cremated so any evidence of poisoning was probably lost. I didn¡¯t have absolute confirmation on my brother, but all the signs pointed to a very well planned and rehearsed death on my part.


    I was in the habit of using programs to solve things so my crazy wall of conspiracy was a simple enough data base. There was no yarn strung between pictures on thumbtacks, but as I brought up the past in my mind, there was very little that didn¡¯t echo with the command, ¡°Never let your brother or his wife have another chance to do you in.¡±


    #


    I moved to a cheaper hotel. I didn¡¯t want my brother to have a clue where I was. I hadn¡¯t yet decided on an apartment, and I was thinking of moving to another town just to avoid any chances of meeting him.


    I had several children¡¯s wading pools in the room when I summoned the Frog and the Snake.


    The snake had a leaf in the coil of it¡¯s tail. ¡°Best I could sneak out without notice. It¡¯s not an apple but it will do. Chew it well.¡±


    As I chewed the leaf, the frog summoned a black cat.


    The cat jumped up on the table and sat with it¡¯s paws tucked in under it¡¯s chest.


    The frog said, ¡°Well, that¡¯s great. I can¡¯t turn humanoid in Real. Canst thee put the twisted end of two of those loaves of bread where I can grab them and take them back to Fairy?¡±


    I helped him with the bread and he disappeared.


    The snake said, ¡°I was planning on bread, butter and milk, but in snake form, all I could probably manage would be an egg.¡±


    I held out a jug of milk. ¡°Wrap around the handle of this jug and I¡¯ll put the twist on the bread loaf¡¯s bag where thou canst wrap around it and a stick of butter. That¡¯s probably the best we can manage. I can probably summon thee a dozen or so times before the moon stops being full.¡±


    This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it


    The snake wove side to side. ¡°No, one time we got set up to manage. Too many trips and someone might notice. We can try again next full moon.¡±


    We loaded up the snake and it went back to Fairy with a loaf, two jugs of milk and a stick of butter.


    I looked at the cat. ¡°Want some milk before we pack thee up to go home?¡±


    The cat smiled. ¡°I do want some milk but I¡¯m not going home. Don¡¯t worry about thee and thou with me. You and I have some interesting work ahead of us. But for now, let me concentrate.¡±


    I watched as the cat shut it¡¯s eyes and grimaced.


    My phone buzzed. The cat asked, ¡°Can you take it outside?¡±


    #


    I stepped out and answered the phone.


    June said, ¡°They want you to come in for a meeting.¡±


    I said, ¡°This is a bad time and I am thinking of moving anyway. With my sick leave and all, can I just put in a resignation or are they going to want two weeks?¡±


    June said, ¡°They are going to want a non disclosure and you to sign away your rights to compete. They really want to meet with you though.¡±


    I said, ¡°This is a really, really bad time. I just got out of a coma you know.¡±


    ¡°I know, Josh. I¡¯ll call you later.¡±


    #


    I went back in. The cat looked angry. ¡°Well this is really lame. I figure I am probably a four year old cat. Who knows, I probably have ten years or more to live before I am forced back to Fairy. I can¡¯t turn into a human and I can¡¯t throw the simplest spells. They tied down my powers. Open the door and let me out. Be ready to let me in if a dog shows up. Then again, I might welcome dying. Nothing is fair.


    ¡°Get a move on it, monkey boy, open the door and let me out.¡±


    I held the door and closed it behind the cat as it walked out. I started putting up the butter, milk and bread when I was summoned.


    ¡°Joshua, this is King Surmium, if thou wouldst be ever so kind, please bring me to thee.¡±


    I grimaced. This was the king of the Fairyland I had spent over a week in. It wasn¡¯t like we had plotted against him, but we had definitely done things that we were keeping secret. His timing indicated he knew a lot more than anyone thought. I brought him to my apartment.


    #


    The small man pulled out a chair, climbed up one it and then sat on the table. He pointed to the bread, milk and butter. ¡°May I?¡±


    I got a glass for him and a plate.


    He said, ¡°No butter knife please.¡±


    I took out a plastic knife since he probably didn¡¯t want to touch steel. He smiled and then he rubbed his hands together and gleamed at me. ¡°This is so cool. I can¡¯t even begin to tell you how fun this is.¡±


    I shook my head. He continued. ¡°I¡¯m a D.M. I died in seventy-eight, but my campaign was wildly popular.¡±


    I shook my head again.


    He said, ¡°Dungeon Master. D.M. I died at my prime and then I died in the first Fairyland I was thrown in. I got into an argument and was torched with an iron pin. I came back because, well, I¡¯m a D.M. So I started at the bottom. Made deals, adventured and made my way to the top. Not so bad for a pudgy guy who was a junior Poly Sci major. Now I am a King of Fairy.


    ¡°But here is the thing. I am a D.M. I live for this stuff. No, honestly I don¡¯t think I would even exist without this calling. I would have faded away a long time ago.


    ¡°So we have this wonderful intrigue going on and a group of adventurers with a plan. But first they have to figure out how to get to other Fairylands and to free the powers of their wizard. This is fabulous. Keep this all secret. Just between you and me. It¡¯s just too cool. I will try and help when you get stuck, but remember, the adventure is yours. You are the hero here. Oh, and all these extra loaves of bread and jugs of milk, I can have them right?¡±


    I nodded. He said, ¡°Fabulous. So can I make a list of gaming books I need you to get? I¡¯ll make it up to you.¡±


    I didn¡¯t see a choice so I nodded again. He smiled. ¡°This is going to be great. So for my first hint, your boss is desperate. The questions you came in and answered while making phone calls, kept him from loosing clients worth half a million a year. You honestly don¡¯t have to do a thing. Just offer to be a consultant for a hundred thou a year and they¡¯ll snap at it. Don¡¯t sign anything. Tell them, keep me happy and I will want to keep you happy. Simple as that.


    ¡°There you go, a few gaming supplies, oh, and I love board games and I have no idea what is out there now. So Joshua. As I just told you to tell your bosses. ¡®Keep me happy and I will want to keep you happy.¡¯ ¡±


    He put his slender arms though a pair of milk jugs and grabbed onto the loaves of bread. ¡°Oh, and yes, your brother killed your mother and he tried to kill you.¡±


    He smiled at me and disappeared.


    #


    I let the cat in.


    It walked in and jumped onto the kitchen counter. ¡°Milk.¡±


    I got a bowl out and it said, ¡°Saucer. Can¡¯t stand the sides of a bowl touching my whiskers.¡±


    It lapped up the milk and gave me a look. ¡°I¡¯m a boy, okay? stop checking me out.¡±


    I looked away.


    He rattled the platter. ¡°More milk. I¡¯ve been thinking about things. I don¡¯t want to visit a vet, ever. Get over my manners, when this cat ate me, we merged and it isn¡¯t like I had a lot of choices. I don¡¯t want worms or any worming medicine if I can avoid it, so I want you to get a few aquariums with lids so we can keep gerbils and hamsters. Yea, raw meat, gross I know but the cat in me craves the stuff.


    ¡°I was a wizard when I was alive. Bound by oaths to the Society of the Raging Carnelian Eternal Flame. Yea, all the wizard societies have poncy names like that. Most of the orders have redundant names as well. Public Relations is not a strong suit for the sort of narcissistic wizards that start these organizations.¡±


    I asked, ¡°Are there a lot of these organizations?¡±


    He held a paw up and grimaced at me. ¡°Great, paws don¡¯t really work for expressive gestures. Not that many wizard¡¯s orders as far as I know. But they don¡¯t really advertise and battles start when they meet unless things are handled well.¡±


    I poured him some more milk. He shook his head. ¡°Clean the plate, More and I¡¯ll be having the runs. Oh, and don¡¯t even think about watching me at the cat litter. Keep the kiddie pools and get cedar shavings to put in them. After I poop, don¡¯t wait, take it straight to the dumpster. I hate filthy cat litter.¡±


    My phone rang. It was my brother. The one that tried to kill me. ¡°Hey, Josh, this is Simon, how are you doing?¡±


    I thought about my answer. I didn¡¯t want him to know I was well or where I was. ¡°I don¡¯t know, my mind seems woozy.¡±


    He said, ¡°So I had a locksmith help me with your car so it didn¡¯t get stolen. When it looked like you were staying in a coma I gave it to Caroline. She¡¯s still in college so it may take a few days for me to get the car back to you.¡±


    I thought about it. I liked his daughter Caroline and I didn¡¯t think she had any part of the murder attempt or the killing of my mother. I probably shouldn¡¯t trust her or interact with her though. I was a bit nervous what my brother might do to the car before he gave it back to me and I didn¡¯t want to go and try to steal it back from Caroline.


    Simon asked, ¡°Are you still there?¡±


    I said, ¡°Sorry, I am a bit woozy. I should probably go lie down. I probably shouldn¡¯t drive anymore so I guess Caroline can keep the car for a while.¡±


    Simon asked, ¡°Can we bring you something? Let me know where you are and I¡¯ll be right over.¡±


    I said, ¡°I going to sleep right now,¡± and hung up.


    The cat said, ¡°I don¡¯t want to use my old name. It may be part of what is binding my power. The oath said something about my name or any name I choose to go by so pick a name for me. Make it good and you might as well make it sound like a cat name. Don¡¯t be embarrassing or trite. You¡¯ll need to get a car. I¡¯m not sure if taxi drivers let you bring cats.¡±


    #


    I looked at my bills. The medical deductible was a huge sudden lump. I made decent enough pay, I thought, but rent had eaten most of it and I mostly ate delivery food. My computer was a top notch gaming computer three years ago but now I needed a new one. My brother had the keyboard, mouse and all the monitors. He probably had my entire gaming station and was using it. The chair was expensive.


    I wasn¡¯t going to be able to afford a car, and a full gaming system. I needed an apartment somewhere, preferably in another town. Everything was going to cost money.


    #


    Titus was at the other end of the table. June and Chester were on either side of him. Dawson and Piper were sitting to the left of me and two others I didn¡¯t know, but I had seen before were sitting on the right. One of them handed me a stack of papers to sign.


    I shook my head. ¡°I¡¯m not signing away any of my rights. Give that up and don¡¯t offend me by even trying. Look. I have stayed late, worked hard, and given you nothing to complain about. I wrote the code and I am not saying that my ideas and methods belong to you. The code is yours, that¡¯s fine. If I were to write it over, it would be a lot simpler. Probably faster. So my methods and understanding, are all mine. Anything I take elsewhere will be new code, so it too will be mine.¡±


    Titus asked, ¡°Are you planning to leave?¡±


    This type of negotiation wasn¡¯t my strength and I had so many things I had to take care of that I hadn¡¯t had time to prepare. I looked at all the faces trying to decide how this was being taken. ¡°I nearly died. I¡¯m just a few years out of college. I didn¡¯t go after any further degrees since I was busy programming for you. I probably spent fourteen hours a day here, nearly seven days a week. I can check files on my computer and when things were saved and give you more accurate numbers.¡±


    Piper said, ¡°You are on a salary so overtime is expected.¡±


    Dawson said, ¡°4,380 hours averaged for the last four years is a bit more than expected. He took his paid leave as cash. Despite that he put in over twice what you can expect from an employee. Salary arguments are going to crash if this hits a jury.¡±


    Chester asked, ¡°Dawson, do you work for Josh or the company?¡±


    Dawson said, ¡°The company. We don¡¯t have an arbitration agreement with Joshua. If this gets unfriendly, we might be asking if you work for Josh or the company. I thought we settled this before we came in here.¡±


    Titus said, ¡°With retirement benefits and health benefits, you make fifty thousand a year. If we gave you a bonus of thirty thousand would you sign papers--¡±


    I interrupted. ¡°No signatures. Not ever. No binding agreements. Remember I was a statistics wiz kid when you got me as an intern. I got the math going and I am awake right now. You do the math. Here is what I am thinking. I can do basic maintenance on the programs as a consultant. You can ask for updates and we can negotiate for them. I can field questions when you need consultation. But as for the agreements, here is the plan. You keep me happy, and I will want to keep you happy. Right now, I am thinking I need to get with a lawyer and set up a consulting firm. Then you can pay what you think would make you happy in my circumstances for past work and issues. Pay it as an initial fee for consulting and then pay my company a hundred thousand a year to continue maintaining the software.¡±


    One of the fellows I couldn¡¯t name said, ¡°We will need some binding agreements with your corporation.¡±


    The other said, ¡°We haven¡¯t agreed on anything.¡±


    I got up. ¡°Sorry. I feel another dizzy spell coming and I have a taxi waiting. I have saved receipts for the taxis. Make sure expenses are included in any arrangement with my company and I will want to charge the lawyers fees for setting up the company since it¡¯s part of my cost for continued service.¡±


    #


    Jason said, ¡°Josh, I¡¯m a defense attorney. I set up a practice but I mostly try to keep my clients out of jail and out of court. Apart from setting up my own company, I don¡¯t have any experience and I haven¡¯t really studied it.¡±


    I said, ¡°Charge like the big boys do. Just help me keep from signing away any of my personal rights and give me distance from my company like rich people have.¡±


    Jason looked at the contract the company wanted me to sign. ¡°This isn¡¯t my area. Not even close. I dabble in business law as a defense attorney, sometimes I have to. But this stuff gets complicated and there are entire libraries of previous court cases that make it more complicated. You need an expert.¡±


    I said, ¡°Hire one. But first make sure that my old company is going to pay for your time, the other attorneys time, and all the expenses. I don¡¯t want my money eaten away before I even see it.¡±


    #


    It was close to the full moon again. I was still employed by the company and they had given me a company car to get around. Jason, my friend from college was still working on the corporate structure of my consulting firm. His friends had decided to get involved and now it looked like the jumble of corporations they were creating for me was going to end up being shared with me as the programmer and math wiz and five lawyers would be part owners.


    Jenny, the tax lawyer was the one that scared me though. They all said she was honest but everything she proposed seemed twisty and she was one of those too perfect too pretty girls that scared the bejebies out of me.


    ¡°Your quiet. It¡¯s kind of charming but I can¡¯t tell what your thinking. Are you writing a program right now?¡±


    I smiled but didn¡¯t look at her. ¡°Yes, sort of. It¡¯s what I do. Life is complicated right now so it takes algorithms to try and solve everything. I¡¯m thinking about insurance and wondering how to simplify it. Insurance companies hire people like me to figure out how to extract money from people like me and give nothing back. I just about died and since they have an arrangement with the hospital and probably own it, they would have probably ended up with all my benefits. I only had a few years invested but, oh, sorry.


    ¡°I get carried away with minutia sometimes. Not really the sort of thing anyone wants to hear.¡±


    She tapped her fingernails on the table. ¡°Do you know what color my eyes are?¡±


    I kept looking down. ¡°No, I really can¡¯t guess.¡±


    She made the sort of musical laugh that interrupted all logic. I have been in dark caves with the dead. I have passed down long dark expanses with things reaching for me. Jenny scared me more than any of them.


    #


    As I drove, my cat, Harvey, was staring at me. ¡°I realize your not a wizard, but you have been gifted and the gifts seem to have taken.¡±


    I said, ¡°Right now I am driving. I can¡¯t even try to go to Fairy even if I am able. No one has given me any clue on what I am supposed to think to magically transfer myself to Fairy. Yes, I can sort of feel a connection. Felt it ever since I ate the leaf. But just thinking, ¡®Go to Fairy now!¡± doesn¡¯t send a person to Fairy.¡±


    Harvey said. ¡°It isn¡¯t thinking and it isn¡¯t math. When I lash my tail, I don¡¯t think, ¡®right now I am making a perfect sine wave with my tail starting with the x and y coordinates at the base of my spine. I just do it.¡±


    ¡°Right, so I just do it. Look moving my hand is sort of instinct. I don¡¯t have, ¡®go to Fairy.¡¯ as an instinct.¡±


    #


    The town was nice enough. Another college town so I wouldn¡¯t feel too out of place. At the realtor¡¯s office a lady in a short pleated skirt came out. ¡°Benny got called away and asked me to guide you around.¡± She stepped too close. I smelled a citrus sort of perfume and she held her hand out to me. I glanced at her face. Vibrant blue eyes. I panicked.


    #


    I summoned my cat. ¡°Harvey, I figured out how to go to Fairy. Can you bring me back to Real?¡±


    Harvey said, ¡°Let me get down from this tree. Wait someone came out of the realtor¡¯s office. Pretty girl, nice legs.¡±


    I said, ¡°Yeah she was looking at me when I went to Fairy.¡±


    Harvey asked, ¡°Panic attack?¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s not talk about it.¡±


    Harvey said, ¡°I am walking down the street. Only a dog watching so, no wait he started barking. Let me get a bit further before I bring you back to Real.¡±


    #


    Harvey asked, ¡°So, before we go back, try to go to Fairy again.¡±


    I looked around at the alley we were in and tried. I felt the Fairyland but nothing happened.


    Harvey lolled his head around like he couldn¡¯t believe he had to work with such an idiot. ¡°What was the last thing you saw before you went to Fairy?¡±


    I looked at the broken pavement. ¡°The realtor lady held out her hand. She was really close and her eyes were bright--


    #


    I summoned my cat. ¡°Can you bring me back to Real.¡±


    Harvey said, ¡°Come on through. Wow, I know your brother did you wrong, but some girl must have really done a number on you.¡±


    I asked, ¡°Can we not talk about it?¡±


    Harvey said, ¡°One more time. Go back to Fairy.¡±


    This time it was easy.


    #


    I asked Harvey, ¡°How come you can¡¯t do magic, but you can gift me with magic?¡±


    Harvey asked, ¡°Long version or short one?¡±


    I said, ¡°We are waiting for the full moon so we have a couple of hours. Entertain me.¡±


    Harvey lashed his tail. ¡°Right. So ancient history. My own personal magic gift is inverse prophecy. Kind of like retrocognition but not quite as emotional, takes more interpretation and if you compare it with history it¡¯s a lot more precise than just getting visions about what happened in a place.


    ¡°So as near as I can tell mid sixteen hundreds the world started getting inhospitable for magic. A hundred years later the wizard philosopher alchemist types started worrying that the next generation would forget the few beneficial and useful spells and just start arming their countries and factions with all the killer black magic stuff.


    ¡°The various psycopomps who tried to keep the more wicked spirits in line and help the spirits go where they needed to go after their bodies stopped breathing, were concerned that magic was going to go military and magic assassinations were going to eventually make the world ruled by dark mages and everything was going to end up in ruin.


    ¡°So the plan was to try and preserve good magic, reduce the magic in politics and have the power hungry wizards who were just in it for personal gain kill each other off.¡±


    I said, ¡°One moment while I check on the moon again.¡±


    It hadn¡¯t yet risen so I went back in and sat by Harvey.


    Harvey looked up at me. ¡°Seriously, it¡¯s a couple of hours before the full moon. Don¡¯t interrupt.


    ¡°So they started with some of the religious orders and made orders to find young wizards early and induct them with the lure of training. It ended up with secret societies bound by oaths. Most of them dueled and gifted or taught magic spells as a reward for winning duels and not killing the loser. It ended up with the loser gifting or teaching something to the winner. Since everyone wanted to keep their battle secrets to themselves, they gifted the stuff that no one valued. The decent stuff that wasn¡¯t black magic. Or at least that was the plan.¡±


    I asked, ¡°Were you killed in a duel?¡±


    Harvey climbed into my lap. ¡°Scratch my head and under my jaw. Yea, sort of. The trick to getting the good powers is to keep after a mage with the power you want. You find out what he has and try to get it all from others so when you duel him he doesn¡¯t know he¡¯s your target and then he has to give you his good powers. By that I mean evil powers mostly.¡±


    #


    The frog asked, ¡°How long before Josh can safely interact with wizards?¡±


    Harvey had his tongue sticking slightly out when he looked at me. He yawned. ¡°Josh can summon. He has managed to return to Fairy. It¡¯s a good thing you-know-who has been visiting other Fairylands this last moon or he would have detected Josh coming and going. I have gifted him with a dozen and more powers but he¡¯s like one of those Lords of Fairy that take the gifts easy and can even gift them back, but never quite becomes a peer of Fairy.¡±


    The snake said, ¡°I¡¯m quite certain he¡¯s Fairy king material what is it with him?¡±


    Harvey batted an ear. ¡°Maybe, but his focus falls apart in front of a girl in a skirt.¡±


    The frog asked, ¡°How did he manage in Fairy then? We have scads of girls in Fairy and most of them Fairy cute.¡±


    I said, ¡°Not the same. Living girls are different. Even the frightening and pretty Fairies are different.¡±


    Harvey said, ¡°Hopefully if he meets a female practitioner of the arts he thinks they''re different too. Otherwise it will be game over for the poor boy and our plans go pftttt.¡±


    The snake asked, ¡°Pftttt?¡±


    Harvey answered, ¡°Pffttt. No doubt about it. To make it to the mid ranks of Wizardhood you need to be a living Fairy king. Not a true Fairy king or a true born Fairy king, but you need to be able to cast a few spells instinctively. He can summon and he can transport himself to Fairy so the first hurdle is over. Now we have to get him to other Fairylands. If we can get him in and we can keep him from being oath bound, we might be able to smash the oath stone and I can practice magic again.


    ¡°Till then we still need him to summon a few of us to other Fairylands so the rest of the plans can keep us going.¡±


    The frog said, ¡°Well for now the bread is letting us bribe quite a few Fairies. Since you-know-who is visiting other places, we can make a few trips and properly bring bread through. Next time, can you get jelly and move it to containers without steel lids? That would insure the loyalty of a few Fairies we need to keep quite.¡±


    Since I was the best for carrying bags of bread, butter and milk jugs, I took most of it to Fairy and had them summon me back.


    When I was done, the frog and snake disappeared. Harvey said, ¡°Summon me later. I¡¯m going back to Fairy to see if I can get any advice on training you.¡±

 King Surmium鈥檚 Plan

    The cat disappeared and I heard rapping on my door. King Surmium had a cane with a brass rabbit¡¯s head that he was rapping against the door.


    ¡°As a warning to you so you don¡¯t make the mistakes they are making, when you bring food into Fairy and consume it, the odds are good that anyone worthy of the Fairy king title will know it. Since I suspect you will be venturing into other realms soon, let me advise you. Just plan to be detected. If you aren¡¯t, then good for you. Also it¡¯s smart to assume that if you are plotting with more than a handful, it¡¯s almost a sure thing that someone else is paying attention. May I come in?¡±


    I gestured with my hand. ¡°Please come in and be my guest.¡±


    He walked in and sat on the bed. ¡°I found a nice place for you. I owe a favor to a certain Fairy queen and the gateway to her realm is on the property. She would rather it not go to just anyone and she is amused with the thought of us getting an inside agent among the wizards. Don¡¯t bother the domestic Fairies who keep the place in order and you¡¯ll be fine. Don¡¯t worry about giving me any food. Harvey is likely to notice if you do. We¡¯ll arrange something when I figure out a good distraction for him. For now though, I have a test and a distraction for you.¡±


    I winced.


    He nodded. ¡°In the coffee house down the street a Goblin and a wizard are about to meet. They are both female and they are both, I think, rather attractive. This all falls through if you can¡¯t face a female wizard and Goblins are an unknown. I don¡¯t really want to call on a Devil to test you with and I am still trying to arrange for you to meet a Daemon. It¡¯s fine if you can¡¯t face a mortal woman. Honestly it makes this whole thing a better challenge. But we will have to come up with a plan ¡®d¡¯ since a, b and c will all fall through if you can¡¯t keep it together in front of a wizardess.


    ¡°Just remember, the Goblin looks seventeen or eighteen but she watched Shakespeare perform in his own plays. The wizardess is a Fairy queen as well and not a nice one. She¡¯s mortal but a lot older than she looks. It¡¯s okay to be scared of them both. Don¡¯t fall apart though. Some girls can sense that like a shark smells blood. My bet is that both of these girls are that type. The Goblin will be the one with the points of her ears hidden.¡±


    Before you go, let me gift you with something intrinsic. Not something you have to do anything to activate. We should see how that works for you since a lot of stuff is intrinsic and that may be a work around for your issues with spells.¡±


    #


    I noticed the ladies through the glass before I went in. The girl behind the counter asked me, ¡°Chi Tea?¡±


    I nodded, she was already aware that I wouldn¡¯t look her in the eye but I tipped well if I was mostly left alone.


    After paying I went to a table with an electric outlet beside it. The table was near the wizardess and the Goblin. They both looked like normal but way too attractive girls. I usually sat where I had privacy but I suspected the Fairy king was watching or had spies.


    The wizardess dressed boldly. The Goblin girl was dressed casually in comfortable and well worn clothing. I was already close to panic and I hadn¡¯t gotten near them. I opened my bag and focused on the contents.


    With my still new laptop I brought up a browser and started checking the forums I frequented. I was getting advice on and discussing keeping a laptop secure so I could work on confidential software and be able to lock it all up and have it safe when I was in public or worse an authority decided to inspect it. I wanted to be sure that my encryption would keep the data safe if the computer got stolen. I was up on security but I wasn¡¯t sure if what was secure a year ago was still secure today.


    I was arguing online with a person that was more worried about keeping data over time than keeping people from reading what you had created. He thought my encrypting entire hard drives was crazy.


    I understood his priorities, but I suspected he didn¡¯t write code for a paranoid company and he didn¡¯t have a much older brother that wanted him dead.


    I barely noticed as my chi tea was delivered. The argument had turned into one of those prove your cred sort of things. I would have abandoned the thread but I had some respect invested in a few relations on this forum so I was furiously trying to not look like an idiot while the guy was trying to prove his points.


    I looked up when the Goblin girl laughed. They were both looking at me. Yes, they were crazy pretty. I looked back at the laptop and realized they were laughing at me. I closed the laptop.


    As I reached down to pull the surge protector from the wall socket, the wizardess said, ¡°Oh, I think we hurt his feelings.¡±


    The Goblin girl said, ¡°Careful, he could tap you to death with those fingers. What do you think five hundred words per minute?¡±


    The wizardess said, ¡°At least. He probably kills three keyboards a day.¡±


    I didn¡¯t tell them the keys on the laptop were good for a hundred million activations.


    There was no point defending my decisions on security with someone online who had entirely different priorities and there was no point in defending my being able to type fast to a mean girl. Like being able to type made someone less of a person.


    I got up and for a moment met the look of the Goblin girl. Sad to have seen so much, be so pretty and still remain so shallow.


    The wizardess said, ¡°Don¡¯t go away mad, just go away.¡±


    I looked back at her and I couldn¡¯t imagine what a Fairyland would be like with someone like her in charge of it.


    I stuffed a tip in the tip jar on the counter before I left.


    #


    I was fuming. I wanted to get back on the forum so I didn¡¯t look like I had backed off from an argument, but I knew I was not in the best mental state to handle a rational discussion. It was such a tiny thing. I had a disagreement over simple differences in priorities and a pair of girls I didn¡¯t know laughed at me for typing fast. It set me off and now I felt like I was back in high school being laughed at for answering the teacher¡¯s questions.


    I didn¡¯t go strait back to my hotel room. I went to a grocery and did some shopping. I waited in a longer line to check out cause the girl at the other register liked to talk to you.


    Walking back to my hotel I felt something watching me from the shadows. I avoided looking into the shadows and considered going to Fairy but with Harvey in Fairy, I might not have anyone who I could summon and get back to Real. If something was following me I didn¡¯t want to lead it back to my hotel room. I had been gifted with spells that might be able to handle this, but so far I didn¡¯t have any way to throw the spells so I was useless.


    I sat down on a bench in front of a shop that was closed for the night and looked up at the moon. Whatever was waiting in shadow was patient.


    The Goblin girl said, ¡°Your milk is going to get warm.¡±


    She was sitting on the bench beside me. The presence in shadow was gone. I took the gallon jug of milk out the bag and put it on the seat between us. ¡°It¡¯s all yours.¡±


    I got up and started walking. I felt the presence in shadow again. I looked back and the girl was gone. So was the jug of milk. I didn¡¯t know anything about Goblins but there was something about shadows and Goblins hiding under beds. The last thing I wanted was some mean pretty girl hiding under my bed or in my closet. Monsters I could live with. This was scarier. I went back to the bench and took out my laptop. I didn¡¯t have the password for any of the network connections that showed up. I didn¡¯t want to use tethering on my cell phone to limp alone with a slow connection to the internet so I closed my laptop and went back to the coffee shop. Without going in I could tell the girls were gone but I suspected the presence in shadow that was following me was the Goblin girl.


    King Surmium summoned me before I got to the door. ¡°I expected you back by now, are you okay?¡±


    I said, ¡°I can¡¯t make up my mind about going home or going back to the coffee shop. Funny how that is. Odd how things can get.¡±


    King Surmium laughed. ¡°Tell Agnes to come out of shadows.¡±


    I asked, ¡°Agnes?¡±


    I felt someone behind me. I turned and the mean Goblin girl was looking up at me. I hadn¡¯t noticed that she was so much shorter than I was. She was holding the jug of milk. She noticed I was looking at the jug and kicked me hard in the shin before disappearing.


    King Surmium said, ¡°I had Agnes test to see if anger made you resistant. Early on the Fairies made you pretty mad so I figured that might be the trick.¡±


    I said, ¡°She kicked me in the knee. Hard.¡±


    Surmium laughed again. ¡°How did you make her angry?¡±


    I rubbed my leg where she kicked me. ¡°I have no clue. None at all. She¡¯s just mean I guess.¡±


    I felt something in shadow and started to turn when I was kicked in the behind and fell, almost hitting my head against the concrete. I looked back but didn¡¯t see anyone.


    ¡°She kicked me again. I may not survive the trip back. Is there a way to prevent such things from following you?¡±


    I felt movement in shadow but again before I could turn, my hair was jerked. I cried out in pain.


    King Surmium used the summons and brought me to my hotel room. ¡°Looks like you got her mad. We may have to set a few wards. I was planning for you to work together but some things don¡¯t work out. As he talked I felt movement in shadow.


    She stood in the doorway to the bathroom, ¡°No chance I¡¯m going to work with a condescending son of a bitch like him.¡±


    Surmium said, ¡°You don¡¯t have to. I know, he is horrible that way.¡±


    I looked at King Surmium and tried to figure out his game.


    Surmium gestured to Agnes. ¡°See that puzzled look? He doesn¡¯t even realize he is so condescending. He¡¯s really the worst. Entirely unaware how much hurt he causes by being mad at pretty girls who mock him.¡±


    Agnes said, ¡°Thou didst tell me to mock him.¡±


    King Surmium said, ¡°Well yes, so what is done is done. Pity about that. I made the mistake of thinking you two might be able to work together. Now there is no point really.¡±


    She gave us both hard looks and disappeared.


    Surmium gestured for me to stay silent. He held the gesture for a while. ¡°Alright, she is gone. Now let me lay out the facts for you. You were suspended from high school for helping a girl cheat when you had no idea you were doing all her work. I suspect that more went on before that and you have a tapestry of being used and abused by girls who figured out they could use and abuse you. It seems you manage okay after you get mad. I¡¯m not sure if you have to stay mad but this test proved the point. You got along with the Fairies after a while so maybe you don¡¯t have to stay mad. Who knows?


    ¡°Now we get to Agnes. Poor thing has had her ups and downs. Never learned to read. Terribly jealous of those that can. She came from a time when class mattered. She came from a broken family and her Goblin family wasn¡¯t much better. I told her you used to tutor girls in high school. I didn¡¯t mention how badly that worked out for you, but that¡¯s all water under the bridge.


    ¡°So here¡¯s the thing. She holds grudges but she¡¯s honest. If you leave sweets out, you know, expensive quality dark chocolate and the like and you leave a note saying, ¡®For Agnes,¡¯ she will likely take the bribe and leave you alone. Keep up the offerings and she might even forgive you.¡±


    I said, ¡°She kicked me twice, hard. I didn¡¯t do anything.¡±


    The Fairy King smiled and rubbed his chin. ¡°Often hurt people feel injury when none was given. Imagine, if you will, being a young girl without the benefit of a birth certificate, drivers license or education for over four hundred years. You were almost killed. She has struggled to find a meal more times than you have had breakfast.¡±


    #


    Harvey asked, ¡°Who¡¯s Agnes?¡±


    I shrugged. ¡°Someone who likes chocolate.¡±


    Harvey gave me a mean look. ¡°I can¡¯t touch it cause it might kill me as a cat, but I love chocolate.¡±


    I said. ¡°Don¡¯t touch it then. It¡¯s for Agnes.¡±


    #


    I read through all the arrangements of our corporation and the notes on it and looked up contracts on the web. The tax issues were the worst of it all. Accounting was the exact opposite of statistics. Statistics was all about making complex issues simple and easy to figure out. Accounting was all about making simple issues too complex for anyone to follow. Adding in tax laws was like trying to lie about it when half the folk in the room know it¡¯s a lie and the rest got lost at the beginning of the conversation so there was no point in lying in the first place.


    Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators!


    I tried to get angry at Jenny, our tax lawyer so I could face her but apart from her immersion in tax law she was perfect, sweet, kind and gentle to a fault. She scared me so bad I wanted to call the whole thing off.


    I had made notes on the issues I had and my new lawyer partners insisted I ask Jenny to explain.


    ¡°Joshua, the first thing you have to do is forget that it¡¯s money. Forget that money can save lives, pay for education, care for the sick, make the nation strong, repair roads, and make people secure. Forget that wars are fought over it and it ruins the lives of people and corrupts the innocent. Just look at it as monopoly money. The people who wrote the laws, and paid people to write the laws just want enough stability to keep on playing the game of monopoly they have played since the dawn of time. The people who make the rules have no wants or needs but they will do anything to keep from paying their fair share.


    ¡°We can try to get laws to change things, but while the laws are what they are, it is just a game and you have to play to win. Otherwise, you just hand it over for other people to steal it and they win. After you have survived taxes, then what you do with the money can be decent and nice. But when you play the tax game it¡¯s all for keeps and you won¡¯t help anyone by losing.¡±


    I nodded. I wanted to bolt and run. Jenny managed to get scarier every time I saw her. When I made the mistake of looking at her I felt like a deer caught in headlights. There wasn¡¯t and inch of her that wasn¡¯t frightening. Just the sound of her clicking her nails against the table put fear into me.


    #


    Since I got out of the coma, I started checking my bank account several times a day. I had no idea what my brother might try and since he had all my mother¡¯s records and he had looted my apartment, he probably had all the data he needed to commit identity theft and bankrupt me. I had already changed banks, but I was still nervous. I had half of my money in the new corporations account but I needed to be careful about withdrawal so the fiction of corporate independence from my personal money was maintained.


    I checked my accounts and none of it make any sense. I called Jason and asked him to look it over. While I was waiting for him to call me back I got an email from a real estate agent that my purchase had gone through. I was about to report it as spam when I was summoned.


    </a> A lady¡¯s voice said, ¡°Joshua, this is Queen Cypsela. I am delighted to have thee as my new neighbor. I do so look forward to being thy guest this next full moon.¡±


    </a> Since the property in the email was called the, ¡°Cypsela Estate,¡± I figured it was probably the same thing.


    #


    My brother had taken everything from my apartment and I had chosen to avoid seeing him or getting anything back since he had tried to kill me. Without much in the way of possessions, it was easy enough to pack. They had upgraded my company car to a large gas guzzling SUV monster with two tanks. It was great for moving but If I still had it, I could have moved in my old hatchback since my brother took everything I wasn¡¯t wearing when I went to the hospital. I think the whole point of the car, was to make it more of a pain for me to sever relations with the company. The last thing I wanted to keep was a vehicle that guzzled gas like this, so they made an assumption about me that was dead wrong.


    #


    As we drove Harvey alternately slept and stretched up so he could put his paws below the window and look out.


    ¡°Tell me about the estate,¡±


    ¡°I got a good deal on it. A really good deal. I haven¡¯t seen it. There are several springs and some forest. It has a large lake. It was a sudden deal and too good an offer to pass on.¡±


    Harvey said, ¡°I know you have been wheeling and dealing with lawyers but I never imagined you were into real estate.¡±


    I shrugged. This was an arrangement the King of our Fairyland had set up with a queen of Fairy that I had only recently spoken to, and all of those arrangements were secret from the group of Fairies that were secretly plotting to escape the king¡¯s Fairyland, so I didn¡¯t want to say anything.


    #


    The estate was easy enough to spot. It had a stone arch over the drive with the carved letters ¡°CYPSELA,¡± in an old stylish font. The road curved a couple of times and then there were overgrown urns on either side of the road and tall thin evergreens. There were a few branches in the road that lead off into the woods, but I stayed on the main one. It opened up to a circular drive in front of what was at one time a grand mansion. Now it was an overgrown ruins with a few large trees growing out of it.


    Harvey pawed at the window. ¡°I gotta pee. Let me out.¡±


    I put down the window and he jumped out. I got out and walked up the stairs and stood on the large stone expanse in front of what was at one time an imposing entrance. It was imposing still, but the doors were gone, the hinges rusted and just past them the wooden floors had long ago collapsed and you could see a pool down where there was once a basement.


    Harvey sat beside me. ¡°How much did you pay for this?¡±


    I shook my head. ¡°Not much. Maybe we can build a cabin.¡±


    From behind us a voice in the distance shouted, ¡°Do you ride?¡±


    By the SUV was a white horse. ¡°If you are moving in, the first question is, ¡®Do you ride?¡¯ There¡¯s a lot of grounds to cover and we don¡¯t want tire tracks ruining things.¡±


    Harvey whispered to me. ¡°Yea, let¡¯s not let anything go to ruin here. We can¡¯t have ruins.¡±


    I shouted to the horse, ¡°I have ridden ponies but someone else held the bridle.¡±


    The horse said, ¡°You¡¯ll have to learn to ride without a bridle. None of us will tolerate them.¡±


    I walked down the stairs and the horse got low and lay down. ¡°Kitty, kitty, kitty. Here kitty. What¡¯s you cats name?¡±


    Harvey said, ¡°Harvey. What¡¯s your name.¡±


    The horse said, ¡°Eloise. Kitty want a ride?¡±


    Harvey looked up at me. ¡°I think she likes cats.¡±


    Eloise said, ¡°I adore cats. Come here kitty.¡±


    Harvey said, ¡°I realize I am a talking cat and you were recently in a coma and in a Fairyland, but does anything seem a bit strange to you?¡±


    I shrugged and wondered if I was still in a coma. That was seeming like the best and easiest explanation for all of this.


    #


    Eloise shook her mane. ¡°The stables and the barn are in good shape. Do you do ham radio?¡±


    I said, ¡°I was always tempted to. Never spent the money though or took the time.¡±


    Eloise eyed the SUV. ¡°You¡¯ll want to drive to the cottage. Catch up with me, but don¡¯t drive too fast.¡±


    Eloise started trotting down the road. I picked up Harvey and we got into the gas guzzling behemoth and went the rest of the way around the circle and followed Eloise. She turned off at the first road into the woods and we drove a short way and came to a clearing with a barn, stable and a two story stone cottage on another circle with a smaller road to the lake behind the cottage.


    There was an antenna tower by the cottage that I expected was for the ham radio.


    The door opened as we approached.


    Eloise swung her head and lifted it to signal that we should go in. I walked in carrying the cat and the door slammed shut behind us.


    Two small ladies in modest serving outfits were at the door.


    One said, ¡°Dust thou thinkest the cat can see us?¡±


    The other replied, ¡°Probably, but look at the horror on the guys face. When he goes for the door, hold it closed for a bit and then let him run away. I doubt he¡¯ll return to vex us.¡±


    Harvey said, ¡°Hold it together, Josh, they aren¡¯t alive.¡±


    I nodded. ¡°I¡¯m okay. For a moment I thought they were living.¡±


    Harvey jumped down. ¡°Well they have power here. After looking at the main house I figured it might be candles and outhouses.¡±


    I looked at the ladies and shook my head before I looked for a light switch. I used it and the light stayed off. ¡°We may not have power after all. This is my first time owning a place. I didn¡¯t think to check on water and power.¡±


    I looked back and the two small ladies were gone. I opened the door and looked out. Eloise was looking through the window of the SUV.


    I shouted to Eloise, ¡°Till we get power and water, I¡¯m going back to the town to get a hotel room. At least the place looks clean. I can¡¯t go shopping till I know if the refrigerator works. Are there any horse treats you want me to bring back?¡±


    Eloise was kneeling and making beckoning gestures with her head at Harvey. ¡°Apples always. We haven¡¯t had any sweet feed in ages. Not since the previous owner. The chickens are free range but they would love to get some proper feed.¡±


    I went to the SUV and took out some tape and paper.


    Eloise got up. ¡°What are you writing?¡±


    ¡°I left a note for Agnes giving her directions if she wanted to travel all this way for some chocolate. I¡¯m going to leave a note on the door in case she comes by. In the morning I¡¯ll see if I can send someone out to check on power.¡±


    The house lights turned on.


    Harvey gave me a hard look. ¡°Did you buy a haunted house on purpose?¡±


    I walked towards the house and the lights turned off.


    I said, ¡°Eloise, The last thing I need in my profession is a house with faulty wiring. I¡¯ll bring you some sweet feed before I put this place back on the market.¡±


    A man shouted, ¡°Thou dust have to warn us before thou dust switch the power back on.¡±


    One of the small Ladies came out. ¡°Sorry, Dustin. We want to turn the power back on.¡±


    The man said, ¡°It may take a bit. The zero space generators are forty years out of date and take a while to calibrate.¡±


    The man turned towards me. ¡°Beg pardon m¡¯lord. The cottages powers only been on to test every full moon since the previous master passed away. We were using the kilns down in the caves and the extra power drain threw the breakers. I should join the boys down there. If the lenses cool off too fast it¡¯ll cause aberrations and the lenses could end up worthless.¡±


    The man disappeared around the corner of the house and the small lady curtsied to me and went back inside.


    I looked at Eloise.


    The horse shook her head. ¡°The lenses have been cooling for half a year. I doubt I can help but I should check.¡±


    Eloise took off trotting to the stables. Harvey looked at me and ran after her. I looked at the house, shrugged and ran after Harvey.


    Eloise took a rope in her mouth and pulled a wall back. There was a tunnel going down with a track on one side.


    Another horse asked, ¡°What now?¡±


    Eloise said, ¡°Randal, this is the new owner. The House Fairies turned on the power to the cottage and the extra load threw the breakers. Now they are worried the lenses might cool to fast.¡±


    Randal said, ¡°That shouldn¡¯t have been too much load.¡±


    Eloise said, ¡°Since folk were moving in I suspect they turned on the refrigeration units. Since the ice caves haven¡¯t been kept cold all this time, the refrigeration units would all turn on at once. It takes a lot of power to cool down five acres of cold storage.¡±


    Harvey asked, ¡°This has ice caves?¡±


    Randal said, ¡°You go Eloise, I¡¯ll explain.¡±


    Eloise trotted off down the tunnel.


    Randal watched her go and then flicked his tail and turned his head to look at us. ¡°No, it¡¯s just a few large underground coolers. We call it the ice cave though. Truth is, a third of it is kept above freezing.¡±


    Harvey asked, ¡°What is all of this for?¡±


    Randal asked, ¡°Have you ever wondered how magic worked?¡±


    I nodded. ¡°Constantly.¡±


    Randal said, ¡°All the real work was done thousands of years ago in another dimension by Elves. The Dread Lord has done a lot to improve the basic understanding of things, but apart from some alchemists and insane dabblers, no original research in the field of magic has been done in ages. Certainly no one competent has done any notable research. We figure it¡¯s high time someone started to ask questions again.¡±


    Harvey asked me, ¡°How did you get involved in all of this?¡±


    I shrugged.


    The horse looked at the cat and then at me. ¡°Well we need a front man to keep the estate legal in the real world. It may not seem an important part of the cause, but it matters and without a good front man it all falls through, doesn¡¯t it? We can¡¯t just bring anyone from Real into this and we only want Fairies involved that can keep a secret.


    ¡°Sadly we have to keep most of our work rather quiet since we don¡¯t want to start a magical arms race in Real or Fairy. We would love to hire a team of researchers but how can we trust a mortal, especially when he could die and blab everything when he ends up in some Fairyland. It would be wonderful, for example if we could hire a good programmer that knew his way around data bases, but how could we possibly find one we could trust to keep his mouth shut in the here and hereafter?¡±


    Harvey looked at me and narrowed his eyes. I gave him an innocent smile.


    #


    In town, I went to the feed store first. I asked them how much sweet feed and chicken feed I could manage in the SUV and they loaded me up. As soon as they decided I was horse people the stranger in town distance disappeared. At the bakery a pair of old men were drinking coffee and playing dominoes. The women behind the counter were a lot older but they seemed friendly enough.


    Not for the first time I wondered if being cruel and manipulative was a generational thing. I was probably being unfair. I suspected that the worst detected my weakness and went for blood. The problem was I got stupid in front of all of them and had no way to judge.


    I needed to go into the larger city and do some serious shopping, but I got started late and I was worried that someone might eat the chocolate I left out for Agnes. Not that I had a good way to tell if Agnes got it or someone else did. The chocolate was still there when I woke up so I didn¡¯t know.


    At the post office a woman was telling a man, ¡°I give it a week. Two weeks tops. After they look around and things happen, the Cypsela place will be back on the market.


    The man said, ¡°Full moon, would be what ran them off. They say Mr. Tinbed went there as a dare back in high school. He won¡¯t talk about it. Davis went there when he worked for the census though and said it seemed normal enough.¡±


    The woman asked me, ¡°New in town?¡±


    I stepped up to the counter. ¡°Yes, I just moved in at the Cypsela Place. I think I would like to get a mail box and have all the mail go to it.¡±


    She smiled at me.


    A woman behind me said, ¡°You may want to wait till the full moon before you commit to anything.¡±


    I went to the small grocery and turned around. Only one register was open and the girl at the register was young but she looked dangerous. I needed to go shopping but I wasn¡¯t going to risk anything.


    I sat in the car and did an estimate on distances and decided I could make it to the city and back in time since there was a large grocery store on the outskirts nearby.


    #


    With all the grain in the back, the gas was going down even faster as I drove the huge SUV so I stopped to fill up.


    When I got back into the SUV, Agnes was sitting in the passenger seat holding the assortment of chocolates I had left for her.


    ¡°If you mean this as a romantic overture, give it up.¡±


    I said, ¡°I figured if you ever came all this way, a few candy bars wasn¡¯t going slide as a gift. Don¡¯t worry. If I start to like you I¡¯ll probably start hiding in fear of you.¡±


    Agnes said, ¡°Good, keep it that way. I probably won¡¯t visit though. From the marks left by other Goblins, the whole town you moved near is considered unsafe and unfriendly. I took a cross country route and didn¡¯t see them, but when I went into town there was an odd vibe so I looked around. You know they are talking about you?¡±


    I nodded.


    She changed her voice like she was imitating a young girl. ¡°He was pale and hunched over but he had large nervous eyes. Cute, but he looked around like he was scared he was being watched.¡±


    She made another voice, ¡°Tall, pale and skittish. He may have already visited the estate and it left him a hollow husk of the man he once was.¡±


    She made yet another voice, ¡°I¡¯ll be eighteen in two years. Who knows. If he¡¯s still around, he¡¯s got money and horses. He might be a perfect fixer up special.¡±


    I grimaced in fear and put the SUV in gear to get out on the road since I didn¡¯t have much time. ¡°I¡¯ll keep a box of chocolates in the fridge for you, if you ever decide to come out this way. I¡¯m going to the grocery store. If you want anything to take back with you, just ask. My treat.¡±


    She said, ¡°It¡¯s kind of a pain coming all this way. I live in the opposite direction. I¡¯ll probably have to move soon though so if I¡¯m closer I might visit. You work for King Surmium?¡±


    I drove a bit before answering. ¡°In my profession, I am respected for not revealing secrets. Often I can¡¯t be sure what is a secret and what isn¡¯t so I don¡¯t generally talk much. Someone asked who you were when they saw the note I left with the chocolates. I said, ¡°Someone who likes chocolate.¡±


    She said, ¡°Who asked?¡±


    I kept driving and didn¡¯t answer.


    Agnes said, ¡°I¡¯m guessing it¡¯s the talking cat Fairy. By the time you drive to the grocery, It¡¯s going to be twilight. It¡¯ll be a dark night so you should probably pull over and let me out. I don¡¯t want to get stuck way out here.¡±


    I said, ¡°I have spare rooms. The Fairies had a list of things for me to get so they could prepare meals. I can get some more and you can have supper and breakfast before you leave. I¡¯ve never had a guest before and to be honest, I¡¯m a little nervous alone with the Fairies.¡±


    Agnes said, ¡°I thought Fairies didn¡¯t scare you.¡±


    I drove a bit longer before answering. ¡°When they start acting nice, and smiling, it gets a little bit creepy.¡±


    Agnes nodded. ¡°King Surmium said you were damaged that way.¡±


    At the grocery store, just having Agnes beside me was like a magic charm. The pretty girls just walked by. For once I didn¡¯t feel like I was being hunted.


    On the way back to keep things from drifting onto subjects I wasn¡¯t comfortable with, I asked her about Shakespeare. After she warmed up and started talking I said,


    ¡°No one knows this stuff. You know more history than anyone I have ever heard of. You just shot down a third of what I was taught in college history. You should teach this stuff or put it online.¡±


    Agnes was quiet for a few miles. I realized that if she couldn¡¯t read, computers were unusable. She couldn¡¯t put anything online. In this day and age, illiteracy was a curse like it had never been before. It was probably horrid in the past, now it was crippling.

 Playing Guitar

    I parked at the kitchen entrance and took the perishables in first. After unloading everything I drove the SUV to the stables. There was a cart I could use to wheel the feed in with, but I was winded just getting it to the back of the SUV. Things were build sturdy back when it was made, and the heavy steel wheels on the cart where work to line up and maneuver.


    I hadn¡¯t spent my life moving bags of feed so instead of tossing them easily like the guy at the back of the feed store did, I dragged them from the back of the SUV and shoved them into place. Agnes came and helped me. She was trim, even slim and barely came up to my chest. I decided to never get her angry. She was able to pick up bags of feed and heft them into place with ease. I wouldn¡¯t last a minute in a fair fight. She could disappear and appear on the other side of me, so I really wouldn¡¯t stand a chance.


    #


    The meal was one of the best I had eaten in a long time. Maybe the best ever. I did the math and even with feeding Agnes, this was cheaper than the pizza I would have normally ordered. Probably better for me.


    I asked Agnes about the Civil War since my talking about programming sorting routines in machine code to speed things up wasn¡¯t the sort of thing that anyone was going to be interested in.


    #


    At breakfast I said, ¡°Agnes, when you move, move in here. Shopping with you is easier and I can¡¯t manage the feed without you. Free room and board and you just have to go shopping with me two days a week.¡±


    Agnes nodded.


    #


    I went outside with a sack of apples. A chicken was waiting on the railing at the front porch. ¡°I heard the horses all talking about their sweet feed. Did you get chicken feed?¡±


    ¡°Four bags. I didn¡¯t know what you preferred.¡±


    I opened the back of the SUV and the chicken hopped up and looked. ¡°The crumble. Don¡¯t throw the rest out, it wont go to waste but next time you can just get the crumble. We only have twenty chickens so these four bags will last a while. But still, next time crumble.


    Another chicken ran up and jumped into the back of the SUV. ¡°He got crumble. I may live.¡±


    The first chicken asked, ¡°How did the lenses look?¡±


    ¡°They made it fine. We got the power back on quick enough.¡±


    I asked, ¡°Isn¡¯t being a chicken a bit hard for doing research?¡±


    They both started talking and then the first one continued. ¡°Not at all, human eyesight is worthless for precision optical work. Since light is the real determiner and frankly the only thing we can see directly, we are mostly focused on optics in our research. Without chicken eyesight we would be stuck to what humans call visible light and half the subtleties would be entirely missing.¡±


    The other chicken said, ¡°Don¡¯t complain, the eggs you had for breakfast was just one of the side benefits.¡±


    #


    In front of the barn, The Horses, Randal and Eloise were with two smaller horses. Both looked sturdy, and one of them had a huge loose mane of white hair. She shook it when she saw me looking at it. ¡°I¡¯m a haflinger, my name is Renate. You met Eloise and Randal, this fellow is Jack. Thanks for getting the sweet feed. I had forgotten how much I missed it. Do you ride? Eloise said she never got a clear answer.¡±


    I said, ¡°I just drive a car. Well the gas guzzling monster over there. When I give it back to company I will need to get a replacement. Preferably something that uses less gas.¡±


    Randal asked, ¡°What sort of car do you like?¡±


    I shrugged. ¡°The dream has always been a convertible but living in an apartment I figured they were easy to break into. Not sure most convertibles get good gas mileage. Since I will mostly be shopping and getting feed, I probably want a small truck. I am pretty sure they have horrible gas mileage compared to what my old hatchback had.


    Renate said, ¡°Well your in luck then. As the owner of the estate and someone who provides sweet feed and from the smell of that bag there, apples, you have a few vehicles to choose from.


    I asked, ¡°So do I just give you the bag of apples? I was always warned that feeding by hand can get your fingers smashed.¡±


    Jack snickered. ¡°Eloise will founder. Best give them to the Domestic Fairies.¡±


    Jack dodged Eloise¡¯s attempt to bit him. ¡°They will manage it. Get some bananas next time. Just a few. The Fairies will put the apples in oatmeal. That¡¯s the best.¡±


    Randal said, ¡°Great you mentioned apples in oatmeal. With a talking cat wandering the property and the mention of apple in oatmeal, she¡¯ll be too distracted to help plan research.¡±


    I asked, ¡°Horses plan research?¡±


    Renate said, ¡°Not initially for the most part. We just review projects and make sure we will get the most information for the effort and expense of research.¡±


    Randal said, ¡°That¡¯s pretty much what we do. Provide some well needed horse sense. Chickens are great for the flighty stuff, but without horses the research is just going to produce chicken scratches.¡±


    Jack said, ¡°Go take the apples to the kitchen. Hurry or we won¡¯t get any work out of Eloise.¡±


    #


    Randal asked, ¡°Have you seen Harvey lately?¡±


    Renate said, ¡°He¡¯s been talking with the Dwarf. Did you know Harvey was a wizard before he died, became a Fairy, got eaten by a cat and then merged with the cat?¡±


    Randal looked at me. ¡°This has got to be crazy to you. Surrounded by scientists, a wizard cat and Fairies. You mentioned giving back your vehicle to a company. What sort of work do you do?¡±


    I winced and looked away. ¡°My company would prefer I not talk about my duties.¡±


    Jack said, ¡°You are too skinny to be an assassin. You wouldn¡¯t make it through basic training so ex military is out. The car is expensive but practical. Hard to guess. Do you have a degree?¡±


    I nodded. ¡°A bachelor''s in statistics.¡±


    Eloise said, ¡°He mentioned that in his profession he couldn¡¯t afford to have the power going out regularly.¡±


    Jack said, ¡°Your leaving the company, giving the car back and your new work requires stable power.


    Randal said, ¡°I just figured it out. His cat gave it away. Harvey gave him a look when I mentioned what we really needed for the project. What we have here is a programmer who is an expert on data bases and knows statistics. But there is one more detail. I mentioned that we needed a mortal that wouldn¡¯t go blabbing in the first Fairyland he went to. Harvey knows something about Joshua and that something makes him think that Joshua won¡¯t be a blabbermouth even after he becomes a Fairy. In any case, Joshua, if you are what I am guessing you are. You are our man, and we need you.¡±


    Harvey and a short solid man with a beard stepped out of the barn.


    The man said, ¡°You can¡¯t have him. Harvey and he are now research subjects.¡±


    The man walked right up to me and grabbed my arm. I almost cried out as he squeezed it.


    ¡°He¡¯ll never stand up in combat. Wizard or no. To survive our research he is going to need some physical training. Do you do artwork?¡±


    I shook my head and tried to pull my arm away from him.


    He held my arm tight. ¡°Do you cook?¡±


    I shook my head, ¡°Ramen sometimes, just microwave stuff.¡±


    The man said, ¡°Pitiful, what instrument do you play?¡±


    I shook my head again.


    ¡°Do you read a lot of speculative fiction?¡±


    I said, ¡°I watch movies.¡±


    The man let go. ¡°Well there¡¯s you problem. Of course you can¡¯t throw magic despite taking gifts. Harvey, you were a wizard, did you draw?¡±


    The cat nodded.


    Randal stood up in front of the man. ¡°Look, Dwarf, you can¡¯t just make someone your experimental subject. He has to volunteer.¡±


    The man said, ¡°His cat volunteered him. Unless your one of the idiots that think people own cats instead of it being the other way around, I have permission to experiment on him.


    ¡°So Josua, what do you do?¡±


    Harvey said, ¡°He¡¯s a math wiz and his keyboard rattles as he writes code. He does statistics in his head and I think he writes and uses programs in his head to solve things.¡±


    The man stroked his beard. ¡°Well then, he can visualize. Fine. We put him into physical training and we give him art and music lessons. What do you think, bagpipes?¡±


    Harvey said, ¡°He listens to elevator music when he programs.¡±


    I said, ¡°Want me to step on that tail? I have too many expenses and I doubt I will have time to learn anything but if I was going to play it would be a guitar. A Maton EBG808TE guitar.¡±


    Jack asked, ¡°You a Tommy Emmanuel fan?¡±


    I said, ¡°I like fast complicated but easy to listen to music when programming. Tommy¡¯s the best hands down. Him and Chet Atkins.¡±


    Jack said, ¡°I¡¯m serious into guitars. I play classical. I know all the greats.¡±


    I asked him, ¡°Stanley Jordan?¡±


    Jack said, ¡°I think we are going to get along. Don¡¯t let the Dwarf abuse you.


    Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.


    The cat walked to the other side of the horses. ¡°More elevator music if you ask me.¡±


    Jack said, ¡°I¡¯m more of a Shadows fan, but you and I are going to get along. Cat, your insulting the three of the best guitar players to ever live.¡±


    Harvey said, ¡°To ever live and play elevator music.¡±


    Jack said to me, ¡°I have an extra classical guitar. When it¡¯s the full moon and I can turn human in Real, I¡¯ll gift you and we can practice. Nice thing about gifting, You can use, ¡®Classical Gas,¡¯ as your first song to learn. Better yet, lets get some feed, you get your camping supplies and we can practice in Greener Pastures.¡±


    Harvey asked, ¡°Is that a Fairyland?¡±


    Jack said, ¡°It¡¯s my Fairyland. I don¡¯t need any music critics or cats there. It¡¯s just a large pasture nothing a cat would like anyway.¡±


    I said, ¡°I don¡¯t have any camping gear.¡±


    The horses all looked at me like I was an alien. I said, ¡°Never been camping and I lost all my possession when I went into the coma.¡±


    Randal leaned his head towards Eloise, ¡°Explains things. Joshua has been with the Fairies and Harvey probably met him in the Fairyland and there is a reason Harvey thinks Joshua can keep a secret. That means, they share a secret and Joshua is not talking.¡±


    I decided to change subject. ¡°Where are the vehicles? I can summon my way back here after I drop off the SUV, but I will still need to be able to go shopping and haul feed.¡±


    Jack said, ¡°Renate and I are best for hauling. She can haul more and manage rougher terrain, but for a quick load of feed, I¡¯m the best.¡±


    Randal said, ¡°Eloise is faster and classier, but if you want muscle and control, I¡¯m the best.¡±


    I asked, ¡°Are you telling me we use carts and wagons here?¡±


    Randal said, ¡°Before we started with this project, we four worked with another project. We were researching the interaction of Fairies and steel. We had all heard the legends of nightmare horses who¡¯s shod hooves made sparks fly as they struck hard stone.


    ¡°There have always been sword wielding Fairies so we were gathering information from every source we could. What we didn¡¯t expect was a Daft Fairy that had already solved the issue in an unexpected manner. There are a few dozen of us that were experimented on while we thought we were performing experiments. As far as I know fifteen of us survived. The Daft experimenter went past our goals of gossamer replacement and the energization of Real matter with Fairy morph-ability. His experiment, instead of replacing gossamer with flesh replaced it with steel.


    Eloise stepped back and turned into an early classic convertible European sports car.


    Jack said, ¡°The Spanish Pegaso Z-102 cabriolet, one of the most elegant classics. In it¡¯s day the fastest production car made. Don¡¯t even try to drive it. Let Eloise drive herself. She¡¯s a beauty but don¡¯t even fool yourself into thinking you can handle her.¡±


    The three remaining horses nodded.


    Randal said, ¡°Not bad for a vehicle that runs on horse feed.¡±


    The doors on either side of the car opened.


    The stocky man said, ¡°There¡¯s no way I am going to trust my life in that thing. I¡¯ve seen her take two wheels on a corner.¡±


    Harvey said, ¡°I think she means for Joshua and I to take a ride.¡±


    The cars engine revved twice.


    Jack said, ¡°On rev is no. Two rev¡¯s is yes.¡±


    I got in. It didn¡¯t have a seat belt. I looked at Harvey and Harvey leapt into the seat beside me. The doors closed. Smoothly and quietly the car backed onto the circle and took to the road. The car was fast. It slowed before we reached the town. I saw a police car so I put my hands on the wheel but left them relaxed so the car could drive itself. Since I didn¡¯t have a seat belt I was a bit nervous what might happen if the police decided to stop us.


    We stopped at the sign and when we got past I saw the police car starting to pull out. Eloise turned at the first turn burst into insane speed and we really were on two wheels as she took a corner stopped and opened the doors. I got out and looked for Harvey. The doors slammed shut and she turned back into a horse.


    She knelt. ¡°Quick both of you get on. I¡¯m not street legal.¡±


    I got on the horse and Harvey jumped in front of me. Eloise stood and the police car slowed for a moment as it passed us and took off in the direction we would have gone if Eloise was still a car.


    I had a moment where I thought I was slipping and going to slide off with the cat but Eloise shifted to the side and helped me balance.


    I summoned Randal. ¡°Randal this is Joshua. I am riding a white horse and don¡¯t know what I am doing. A cat is in front of me and I didn¡¯t realize how high up a person is when riding a horse. Can you bring me there?¡±


    Randal brought us out in a large dimly lit chamber with short pillars supporting arches up to the ceiling. There was a granite table with holes in it and there were precision adjustable fittings holding lenses on the table.


    A pair of chickens that were on the table took to the air and flew to the ground on the other side of the table.


    One of the chickens squawked. ¡°Randal, warn a being before suddenly summoning a horse with a rider on it.¡±


    I did a controlled slide off the horse and after I landed I picked up Harvey and put him on the ground. I looked at the table and asked, ¡°Are these the lenses?¡±


    A chicken flew back to the table. ¡°No we are just testing the setup. The lenses won¡¯t be cool enough to polish for three more months. Then we have to shape and test them. A lot of the lenses are nearly as big as this table.¡±


    Harvey said, ¡°You may need to buy a vehicle after all. Since Eloise isn¡¯t street legal, I am guessing there might be problems with the rest of them.¡±


    Randal said, ¡°No the rest of us are legal but if you don¡¯t want attention, Jack is the only one of us that doesn¡¯t stand out.¡±


    Jack said, ¡°There are those that appreciate a good all around vehicle, but yeah, I can pass for normal. Speaking of which, before Prof Austri afflicts you with his regime of terror, let¡¯s take a road trip, just the two of us.¡±


    #


    Once we got out of the tunnels, Jack said, ¡°Once I turn into the truck, I can¡¯t talk. So here is the plan. We get some gear and we go shopping so you and I can go to my Fairyland and camp out. I have a cabin in decent enough shape and we can play guitar and try to get you a bit of exercise and sunlight.¡±


    I said, ¡°I like the idea of camping but I am not sure I will like it when I do. I have a few lists of camping gear but those lists like a lot of things aren¡¯t something I ever decided to spend money on. It¡¯s a lot of investment if I don¡¯t end up liking it.¡±


    Jack asked, ¡°Can I see your list?¡±


    #


    I went into the cottage and got my laptop.


    When I showed him the list he bucked his head and curled back his lips. ¡°I kind of like the container for eggs, and some of the water bottles are nice, but most of that stuff isn¡¯t needed. I suspect that if you went on a long hike with this stuff you would litter the trail with the junk you didn¡¯t use and wish you had carried more food.


    ¡°Are you ready to type, this is the stuff you want.¡±


    #


    After deciding on the shopping list, mostly groceries, Jack turned into a Subaru Brat. I recognized it and laughed. ¡°I always wanted a Brat!¡±


    Jack changed back into a horse. ¡°This model wasn¡¯t made with rear facing seats. It wasn¡¯t one that was imported to the States. This is a Subaru Brumby.¡±


    #


    After taking a pillow, sheets and blankets from the cottage, I got in the Brumby and Jack drove us to the feed store. After that Jack drove us to the city for more grocery shopping. With the truck bed loaded with groceries, feed and gear, Jack took us back onto the road and then turned off down a small dirt road and slowed down to a stop. The light shifted and we were in a field. Jack drove us through a meadow. A stream was visible to the left of us most of the ride. We got to the edge of a forest where a two story log cabin with a large porch was close to a cliff where a waterfall could be seen crashing down.


    I got out of the truck and Jack turned into a well tanned man in overalls.


    ¡°I sped time so we will get back within a day Real time. The porch is solid, so I¡¯ll turn back into the truck so you can unload the groceries once I¡¯m up there, stay back so I¡¯ll have room.¡±


    I smelled the air. ¡°Touch of liniment smell.¡±


    Jack said, ¡°That would be the Red River Gum growing on the banks of the stream. I have a wonderful Fairyland here. No Fairies to speak of but apart from the loneliness, it¡¯s as nice as any Fairyland I have seen.¡±


    I asked, ¡°Did you build this lodge on your own?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m king of this Fairyland and I can get by eating grass. With time sped and the ability to materialize sharper than razor tools out of gossamer, I can do work easily that would be hard work for a large team of men in Real.¡±


    He walked up the stairs to the large porch and turned his back to a solid table before turning back into the truck.


    I unloaded the groceries and all my stuff from the truck and he changed back.


    He picked up a can of black olives. ¡°How much do you know about Fairy economics?¡±


    I looked up at the huge beams holding up the balcony over the porch we were on. ¡°Nothing.¡±


    Jack said, ¡°Lets get the groceries in and start soaking some beans and I¡¯ll give you some background then.¡±


    We carried in the groceries and he handed me a pair of buckets and took a pair himself.


    We walked to where the stream was running over large flat stones after crashing down from a large waterfall followed by several smaller waterfalls.


    ¡°Josh, if the buckets are too heavy, just pour some out. Over time, you can build up to more. All our water comes from here. I have been meaning to set up water to the cabin, but never got around to it. So we can bathe in cool to cold water out here. Or we can carry it up and heat it. I don¡¯t have plumbing yet, but I have a nice enough outhouse and it doesn¡¯t stink. Don¡¯t lose anything down in though, cause you¡¯ll never get it back.¡±


    I started with the buckets two thirds full but quickly reduced the load to one third full and still felt like it was rough.


    Jack started doing the preparations to several things that we would be eating later. We took beans down to the stream to wash in colanders before bringing them back to finish soaking in the kitchen. We started making bread.


    ¡°In the early seventies I visited Australia and decided to stay. I was a band conductor at a high school in America, but I didn¡¯t get along with the principal. I met a principal on a bus in Australia and he talked me into going to work for him. I was always an outdoors buff and used to going alone. You may have heard that in Australia everything is out to kill you? Well I was sleeping in the outback and I never woke up. Never did find out what killed me.


    ¡°In the late seventies I was hiding the fact that I was qualified as a Fairy king. I got the ability to gift from the very start and since I could play just about any instrument you could name, I managed to swap and get a lot of gifts in return, so it was easy to quietly and quickly build up to what in Fairy is considered upper management.


    ¡°I was playing music at one point with a rather brilliant mortal. He played a wide range of instruments and I asked him, ¡°What can¡¯t you play?¡±


    ¡°I knew the entire list of instruments that he named. Since he was such an amazing musician, I decided to gift him. I didn¡¯t expect anything in return, but with such a musical talent, I figured it would be a waste not to gift him.


    He held out his hand and brought me to this Fairyland. He told me. ¡°It¡¯s all yours. I am trying to preserve as many of the wonderful things our world has made. I was told that if I played music with you, I would not only be able to find a Fairy king able and happy to take care of a few treasures, but I would be able to learn several instruments that I had not been able to find a chance to learn.¡±


    I asked, ¡°So we are all alone here?¡±


    Jack said, ¡°The fellow shows up occasionally. We play a bit of music from time to time, but the odds are low that you will meet him. If you see a handsome fellow a few years younger than you are, odds are good it is him.¡±


    I asked, ¡°Would it be rude to ask what the treasures you are taking care of are?¡±


    Jack pointed out a window to a tree in the distance. The trees here are common enough in Australia, but they are the treasures he wants me to manage and protect. Most of them grow fast and the forests need a bit of care to be at their best, so I have lots of lumber to work with. Curing it is the real challenge, but I manage okay.¡±


    #


    Sitting on benches made from logs cut in half, we sat in front of a fire and played guitar together. Having a music instructor, director and Fairy able to gift music, made something I had always planned to do, but never got around to, possible. I always figured that it was a lot of money and time and if I had no talent it would be a waste and an embarrassment. Sitting and playing in front of a campfire with stars visible through the tree canopy far above, I wondered what would have happened if I had gotten a guitar or went camping years ago.


    I had gotten invitations and chances, but I let them all slip away till it was a habit to let things slip by. Now in the strangest way I could imagine, two lost dreams had become realities.


    I had also dreamed of travel and visiting Australia. Being in a Fairyland without the toxic animals but with the wonderful trees, seemed like a pretty nice substitute so really this was three dreams in one.


    #


    In the morning Jack got me up to do exercises before breakfast. They were not terribly hard.


    ¡°Josh, this one is simple and I want you to do it any time you can. When standing there, don¡¯t worry, just do it. Swing your hands loosely and stand tall like string is pulling the top of your head. Gently rotate at your waist. Swing your arms around and turn your head gently as far as it comfortably goes.


    ¡°When you turn like this, you make you spine straight, or what passes for straight, since it has to be straight to rotate easily. This is how you learn good posture. An important thing for breathing. If you are playing an instrument or singing, you need to learn good posture and good breathing.


    ¡°We¡¯ll work on your breathing as we go.¡±


    #


    Jack used gossamer to fashion a pair of lathes powered by a gossamer wheel that was turned by a waterfall.


    Jack gifted me and showed me how to make gossamer tools that could just be remade when they got dull.


    ¡°We are going to make a pair of flutes. That will teach you breath control. Well that and our short runs in the woods. Is my training going too fast?¡±


    I shook my head. ¡°This is fun. What happens when I mess up the wood I am turning?¡±


    Jack said, ¡°It becomes kindling. We have no shortage. This is a particularly hard wood. I expect we will have several failures. Getting it bored out first is hard enough. Then we turn it and I expect we will ruin a lot more. We have time and materials so feel free to ruin lots of wood.¡±


    #


    The supplies of food were getting low. We were almost out of powdered milk and we were out of eggs. I didn¡¯t want to go back yet. After two weeks of running in the forest, playing instruments and cooking, Jack taught me how to ride a horse bareback. I was getting my first tan since I was six and Jack was teaching me to swim. Swimming and riding had never been on my list of things I planned to do. They should have been.


    We had only been here three weeks, but as the food started to run out it was clear that we needed to go back.

 A Fight and A Party

    Harvey said, ¡°I expected you to be gone at least a few days. Are you weenying out cause you can¡¯t stand the outdoors life?¡±


    I answered, ¡°Just bring us back to Real. For us it¡¯s been a bit longer.¡±


    Harvey brought us to Real and I slid off of Jacks back.


    #


    Jack shook his head. ¡°Anything happen while we were gone?¡±


    Harvey said, ¡°Not really.


    I took my pack off and went to the cottage.


    ¡°Harvey shouted after me, ¡°You poor, poor boy, you thought it was rough before.¡±


    I turned back, ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    Harvey looked at Jack and then back at me. ¡°Not that you are the most buff muscle guy, but now you have lost the pale hunched skin and bone look. You used to panic whenever a pretty girl look at you. Now the pretty girls will have something to look at.¡±


    I ignored him and went into the cottage. The laptop needed charging and I had a large mental list of things I wanted to look up.


    #


    The full moon was less than an hour away. This was going to be a two day affair. I had been fretting about keeping things secret from multiple groups with their own secrets but then I relaxed on it. If they revealed themselves to each other, they might not end up with the issues they thought they would have and all I could do without revealing one group to another was to warn them to be careful.


    I owed the Frog, Snake, Harvey and a handful other Fairies for returning me to Real and restoring my health. King Surmium, had given me the clues I needed to become a consultant and make a lot more money. The Goblin, Agnes, was obviously working for King Surmium, but I didn¡¯t owe her anything. I liked having her in the cottage, and girls left me alone when she was near so I liked having her around when shopping. I could manage a bag of feed a lot easier now, but she helped with that as well.


    </a> Queen Cypsela I had no idea about but she almost had to know King Surmium and be involved in his plots to some degree. I hadn¡¯t asked, since that might give something away, but Queen Cypsela had to know that there was a Dwarven Professor and a group of farm animals who were doing research into physics and magic.


    My current employer fortunately had no plans for me immediately and my lawyer business partners had nothing scheduled so at least that was simple.


    Apart from Harvey who was trying to train me to be a fighting wizard, and a snooty if pretty wizard girl back in my home town, I didn¡¯t know any wizards so there was no chance I would be fighting one.


    As I congratulated myself on figuring out how to survive the full moon with minimal personal issues I checked my email. I started at the bottom.


    From: Jason


    ¡°I was checking on the bill that was bothering you and it seems complicated and I fear the estate you bought might be a scam. Stay clear of them until we can get a better picture of what is going on.¡±


    From: Employer


    ¡°Just a few questions. Nothing terribly complicated, or at least for you. A couple of clients were worried about their ----


    From: Jason


    ¡°You didn¡¯t answer your email, so I showed Jenny, Davis and Greg the transactions you were worried about. You didn¡¯t answer your phone, so we decided to take a road trip and see if this property really exists and if you have gone missing. If you get this before we see you, please, answer your phone or call us.¡±


    I pulled out my phone. I took it with me to Fairy and it had been without a charge for three weeks. I plugged it in but it would take a while before I could use it.


    I scrolled up to the next set of emails.


    From: June, my boss


    ¡°Josh, they are desperate. They really need you to call them and answer their questions. As soon as you ---¡±


    From: Employer


    ¡°We checked the GPS on the company vehicle we issued you. Since you aren¡¯t answering your phone, I sent Chester with a small crew to check on you and the vehicle. We really need a few answers ASAP.¡±


    I was looking at my dead phone wondering if I could email anyone and stop this when Agnes appeared and sat down.


    ¡°Josh, I am glad you are sitting. I was exploring shadows and being brave when I heard a group at the gas station. Three wizards looking for a Fairyland heard that this estate was haunted. They are coming to check it out and plan to stay for the full moon.¡±


    I heard a car in the distance and ran out to see another SUV like mine pull beside my SUV and stop and roll down the windows. As I ran down the stairs, Chester and three other men got out.


    Chester looked at me and said to the men with him, ¡°Looks like Joshua has gotten some time in the sun.¡±


    I heard another car. I ran up close enough to Chester to talk. ¡°Sorry my phone ran out of power and I couldn¡¯t get a connection with my laptop.¡±


    Chester cleared his throat when another SUV drove up. Chester turned and looked at it. His gesture was like he was ignoring me.


    Two men and a woman got out of the SUV.


    The man said, ¡°Basic formation. We take care of this first so we can ask questions later.¡±


    The other man knelt and slammed his palm against the ground. I felt a fairy gateway open and now we were still here but we were also in a Fairyland.


    The lady cast a spell. I felt the pulse pass me and then I watched as my body fell to the ground. Chester and the other men with him all fell to the ground.


    The wizard who had done the talking said, ¡°Check their wallets. See who they are.¡±


    The lady said, ¡°We can¡¯t keep them in a coma for the entire full moon.¡±


    The wizard who had not yet talked pointed. ¡°Wait who is that.¡±


    Behind me, Agnes was slumped on the ground.


    The first wizard said, ¡°Well, well, well. A Goblin. Pretty too. What¡¯s a Goblin sell for these days?¡±


    I looked at the slumped form of Agnes and my body slumped on the ground. I got mad. Realizing I was out of my body and not yet a Fairy, I went into the first wizard. Since the only magic I could really do well and had practiced for the last three weeks was make gossamer, I made a mass of it in his sinuses and throat. I sailed into the lady and did it again. As I sailed into the third one I screamed. His eyes widened. He couldn¡¯t see me but he could hear me.


    Inside him I said, ¡°You friends will soon choke out. If I don¡¯t get a nice solution, you will too. Then I decide how long you can survive without air and if I even care.¡±


    I peeked out above his head. The other two wizards were grasping at their throats.


    The first man I had entered fell to his knees hard. It had to have hurt. The lady was still gesturing like she couldn¡¯t swallow.


    I slid back inside the man I hadn¡¯t yet cut off air from. ¡°Real quick, make your decision or you go down hard. I might even get creative with you.¡±


    The man said, ¡°I concede. You have defeated me and I owe you gifting. I will vouch for their defeat. We concede and we will not cross you again.¡±


    I said, ¡°That¡¯s all very nice. But he was ready to sell a friend of mine. That is going to cost him.¡±


    I went to the first man and started expanding a mass in his stomach. Then I went back inside the one man who was standing.


    ¡°Wake them up or bad things happen. Wake them all up.¡±


    He said, ¡°They are in a coma. I can dispel it, but it might take an hour. Usually just five minutes but these things take time. My comrades are choking.¡±


    I said, ¡°fine, dispel it.¡±


    I felt him shift position. I slid back to the top of his head so I could see. He put his hand to the ground, I thought he was going to strike it again but he was bracing himself. He took out a large paint marker with his other hand and started drawing on the driveway.


    I watched and saw the strokes he made and as it finished I felt myself pulled.


    I snapped awake. My shoulder felt bruised from where I had hit. I stood and walked to the two wizards who were now on the ground clearly about to pass out. I asked, total surrender?¡±


    They nodded desperately. I uncreated the gossamer I had made inside the woman. She lay there panting.


    I looked down at the man. ¡°Don¡¯t like the thought of people being sold.¡± I thought about kicking him but I got rid of the gossamer inside his nose and mouth.


    He lay there panting.


    The wizard who was still standing said, ¡°The Deaths allow us wizards to do as we wish with supernatural beings.¡±


    I looked him up and down. ¡°So ethics, common basic ethics are of no concern to you?¡±


    The wizard said, ¡°It¡¯s a hard cruel world.¡±


    The wizard on the ground said, ¡°My stomach, there¡¯s something wrong with it.¡±


    I said, ¡°Yes, it¡¯s a hard cruel world. You¡¯ll probably die from it. Starve to death or worse. Who knows. Sad really.¡±


    I saw his hand glow and start to gesture. I stomped on his hand, hard. ¡°Bad move. Really bad move.¡±


    He said, ¡°I was just trying to relieve the pain.¡±


    Revolted at my own cruelty in response to his, I uncreated the mass in his stomach. ¡°You should feel better. The three of you should all get in your car and just drive away. Don¡¯t ever come back and don¡¯t be sending anyone else out this way. Do you all understand?¡±


    They nodded, the lady said, ¡°We owe you gifts. We need to negotiate.¡±


    I said, ¡°Fine, just grant me the coma spell. That¡¯s all I want.¡±


    The standing wizard said, ¡°That¡¯s not how it works, we negotiate and--¡±


    I looked at him. ¡°Fine, we all negotiated and she is granting me the coma spell. Is that clear?¡±


    She said, ¡°Luke, he can do worse and I can¡¯t even figure out or sense any of it. In a coma he took us out.¡±


    I knelt and she kissed my forehead. I stood and helped her up. ¡°You need to find nicer people to hang with.¡±


    She said, ¡°I tell myself that at least once a week.¡±


    The three of them drove off.


    I went to see how Agnes was. She was out of the road and on grass so she seemed okay. I put her knit cap back over her exposed pointed ear and turned when I heard a moan.¡±


    Chester was getting up.


    He looked at the three men he came with and then looked at me with a flash of fear.


    I said, ¡°I¡¯m going to go in and email the answers to the questions you were asking. The process is simple and already described in the documentation. If you had clicked on the help button it would have explained what all the functions do.¡±


    I went and checked on the other three men. As far as I could tell they were okay. I went in and sent emails to all the concerned parties.


    I sent it to myself as well. Then I turned on my phone while it was still plugged in and charging and sent the message to their phones.


    I walked back out. Agnes was gone. Chester and his men where in their SUV.


    Through their open windows I could hear Chester¡¯s voice. ¡°Seriously, I was looking down at my body and I looked at Joshua. He was out of his body too. I can¡¯t make sense of things but when I came to everything matched with what I saw out of my body. I think Joshua is a wizard.¡±


    One of the men in the back seat said, ¡°We all think he is a wizard. The programs he writes are probably two or three years ahead of the competition.¡±


    Chester said, ¡°It matches up but I don¡¯t believe it, but I am certain he is a real wizard. Wait I got a message. It¡¯s from Joshua. Oh, that¡¯s embarrassing. I actually remember him explaining this last year.¡±


    I looked at my key chain. The only relevant key anymore was the one to my SUV. I went to the window and handed Chester my keys.


    ¡°Can one of you use this to drive my SUV back? I don¡¯t need it anymore.¡±


    One of the men asked, ¡°You can¡¯t drive it?¡±


    I considered putting him into a coma but the Fairyland gateway closed before the wizards drove off and I wasn¡¯t going to be able to use the spell in Real.


    Chester handed him the keys. ¡°You drive it.¡±


    #


    As I watched them leave, Jack summoned me. ¡°Josh, there¡¯s some sort of ward up there and the chickens want to look for bugs. Can you check and get rid of it?¡±


    I ran in and got a notepad. I copied the lines down as I remembered and then I went to the drive to look at what the wizard painted. I got it mostly right.


    Jack summoned me again. ¡°Now the House Fairies are complaining. If anything it¡¯s worse.¡±


    I had redone the lines separately so I had the marks down. I guessed that my sketch either intensified the effect or mine was better. My curves were neater but I am used to drawing curves from calculations and the estimate of the intersection often matters.


    I tore up my first sketch of the ward and got a rock to start scraping away the paint. I had it mostly defaced when Jack and Randal came out of the stables to look.


    Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    Randal said, ¡°It¡¯s cheats like that allow wizards to win against Fairies. I suppose it¡¯s good since there are a lot of monstrous Fairies out there, but it seems unfair when wizards are almost always monstrous.¡±


    Harvey said, ¡°I was pretty good till I became a cat. Still better than these wizards. There are quite a few decent wizards, but the system rewards the worst of them and you don¡¯t notice folk that don¡¯t cause trouble.¡±


    Randal said, ¡°I don¡¯t know that ward, probably can¡¯t use it now that I am no longer human and mortal, but it looks like one of the angelic ones they use to deal with ghosts.¡±


    I asked, ¡°Deal with ghosts?¡±


    Harvey said, ¡°Never saw one of those wards but you hear about them. Some might force a ghost out or send it were they belong. Some can force lingering spirits to be bound to objects or obey commands. Or so the stories go. Anyone ever seen someone with bound spirits?¡±


    Randal said, ¡°I have but I don¡¯t think the binding was angelic. For that matter a brass ring crafted with intent can capture a spirit unless the spirit chooses to go where nature intends it to go. So most of the spirit rings have spirits that would rather not face their just deserts or have a stronger goal in mind.


    I knew a wizard who became possessed after a few years of using a spirit ring for information. You can¡¯t trust those things. The wizard was strong but eventually a spirit with the will to, will find your weakness.¡±


    xxx


    I decided to get a marker pen like the wizard had. Maybe several. I also resolved to keep a notepad handy.


    There was a feeling in the air. I was getting more acquainted with the feeling of gateways and other worlds. Something like that was happening.


    Jack said, ¡°I guess it¡¯s time for the opening. Do you think it¡¯ll be at the lake or the manor?¡±


    </a> Eloise ran up in a full gallop and kneeled. ¡°Josh, get on. Queen Cypsela is about to make her grand entrance and I was warned she asked if you would be by the lake and watching.¡±


    Jack said, ¡°That means the lake, and if she asks, it is probably a command. Easy enough to humor the girl and she does a lot for us.¡±


    I got on Eloise and she took off for the lake. I hadn¡¯t explored this way so it was new to me. The slope behind the cottage went down to the lake and a boat house. Across and at another end of the lake was the mansion. As I watched the light around the mansion twinkled and the mansion returned to looking like it must have years and years ago. Water started pouring out of spouts and into the lake.


    We galloped to a large flagstone walk by the lake and Eloise picked up speed. Her gait changed. Even as she ran hard she was a smoother ride than Jack.


    As we neared the mansion, fish came up to the surface and started singing. I couldn¡¯t make out what they were trying to sing and fortunately it wasn¡¯t long. Then they went under and came back to spit water in the air. Again, it was an amazing and rare performance but not a very good one.


    Eloise stopped a short way from the mansion. From the lake a long thin black ship with a female figurehead was approaching a pier that extended from an elaborate stairway leading up to the mansion.


    Eloise shifted into a human woman and made an elegant and clearly practiced move turning as I fell from a horse back that was no longer there. She embraced me for a moment and turned away.


    A small girl offered me a guitar. From behind I heard another guitar playing. I turned back and Jack was coming up beside me.


    The small girl cleared her throat so I took the guitar from her and slung the strap over my shoulder.


    Jack was playing a Flamenco piece we had played almost every night so I tested tuning and joined him.


    As the ship got near the figurehead was discernible as a young girl as she arched her back and her balance shifted to where she was standing. She walked up the stair at the front of the ship and smiled.


    She might have been twelve and maybe fourteen but she was the sort of beauty I would be running from in fear if she were a bit older.


    She was in a long black gown and following her were several more even younger girls who started to move to the Flamenco music as they followed the girl that was once the figurehead of the ship and was now slowly dancing her way down the pier. She had castanets in her hands when a moment before her hands where empty.


    Beside me a small girl sat on a gossamer wooden box and started beating a rhythm along with the tune Jack and I where playing.


    The girl and her entourage stopped for a moment and turned to face Jack and me. She nodded and then looked back at the mansion and they started moving up the stairs.


    After they entered the mansion, Jack started an ending to the tune and we did a dramatic last strum.


    The girl stood and her box disappeared. ¡°Hurry up, Queen Cypsela may have something dramatic planned inside.¡±


    We hurried up the stairs and piano music started.


    In the grand hall that was not there an hour before, a pair of young girls were playing a waltz on the piano, but as Queen Cypsela approached me the music changed to boogie-woogie.


    Queen Cypsela said, ¡°We¡¯ll dance later, but we have guests about to arrive. Hurry.¡±


    She took my hand and we ran up the stairs to the floor above and out the open door where a sedan could be seen coming up the drive.


    She said, ¡°Call me, Olive, since it¡¯s a Cypsela. That was my real name but Olive was taken as a Fairyland name so I went with Cypsela. Try to keep up and just play along. That¡¯s more fun anyway.¡±


    The sedan stopped. It had tinted windows so until Jason, Jenny, Davis and Greg got out, I didn¡¯t know who was coming. Queen Cypsela ran to the car. ¡°You must be Mr. Bear¡¯s friends. I¡¯m Olive are you Mr. Bear¡¯s friends?¡±


    Jason took her offered hand. ¡°Hello Olive, pleasure meeting you. This is Jenny, Davis and Greg. We just came out to see if Mr. Bear was doing okay.¡±


    Olive looked back at me. Can they stay the night. Please, can they?¡±


    I said, ¡°Only if they insist. We don¡¯t want to make people do things they don¡¯t want to.¡±


    Jason walked up the steps to me. ¡°Good to see you looking so well. I didn¡¯t know you played guitar.¡±


    Olive ran up beside me. ¡°Mr. Bear is full of surprises, you never know what he might do next. But he tells stories.¡±


    Jenny asked, ¡°What sort of stories?¡±


    Olive looked up at me. ¡°He told us that a beautiful Fairy queen gave him his guitar and insisted that she would be very vexed if he didn¡¯t keep it and play it.¡± Olive covered her mouth with her hand, ¡°He also said that he was Fairy gifted with a kiss on his forehead with the ability to play it. But we all know that can¡¯t be true since he would probable run away screaming if a pretty girl tried to kiss him.¡±


    Jenny looked at me and back at Olive, ¡°How long have you known Joshua?¡±


    Olive said, ¡°Well he used to teach math to us at the other orphanage before we moved here. He gets so lost in programming sometimes. Did you know he had forgotten that he promised the previous headmaster that he would take care of the orphanage after she passed away?¡±


    Jenny got a misty look. ¡°Are you orphans?¡±


    Olive nodded. ¡°No living parents sadly. But we have Mr. Bear to take care of us.¡±


    Olive took Jenny by the hand and led her into the mansion.


    Jason said, ¡°Seriously Joshua, you never looked better. How did you get into shape so fast?¡±


    I said, ¡°I haven¡¯t been slaving away at the computer and I have been spending a lot of time outdoors. This place has been keeping me busy.¡±


    Davis and Greg came up beside us, as Randal and Jack came out of the mansion.


    Jason said, ¡°We¡¯ve been invited to stay the night. I can tell Jenny is going to want to and this is all too strange for me not to.¡±


    Davis said, ¡°I had to see this, but I need to get back before noon tomorrow and the drive is kind of long.¡±


    Jason said, ¡°Tell Olive we are sorry, our ride home has to be leaving fairly soon. How soon should we go, Davis?¡±


    Davis said, ¡°Finding this took longer than I thought it would. I should leave as soon as I can.


    ¡°It is good to see you are okay Josh. We figured you probably were, but you hear stories sometimes.¡±


    I hid my relief that they couldn¡¯t stay with a frown like I was disappointed.


    Randal said, ¡°Josh, you could take them back tomorrow afternoon in the Mustang.¡±


    Jason asked, ¡°You have a Mustang? What year?¡±


    Randal said, ¡°1969 Boss 9.¡±


    Jason asked, ¡°Really? A 429? I have to see it.¡±


    I said, ¡°If you have to go early--¡±


    Jason said, ¡°I need to ask Jenny.¡±


    He took off in the direction Queen Cypsela lead Jenny.


    Jack asked, ¡°Can we at least talk you into some refreshments before you go?¡±


    Davis said, ¡°A bathroom would be great.¡±


    Jack gestured. ¡°Follow me.¡±


    Davis and Greg followed Jack.


    I watched them go. Randal asked, ¡°Scared they might find out?¡±


    I said, ¡°What happens if they come back and it isn¡¯t a full moon? The mansion will be gone.¡±


    Randal said, ¡°There is a foundation in the Fairyland for the top part of the mansion. It can be moved to the Fairyland or back here. Since you are going to be here Olive will probably leave it in Real. She takes it to Fairy when the estate is vacant.¡±


    I asked, ¡°And no one notices?¡±


    Randal gave me a wink. ¡°No one believes. It¡¯s rare that anyone comes out here.¡±


    I asked, ¡°What if they come back and the place is empty apart from me? When it isn¡¯t a full moon doesn¡¯t Queen Cypsela and the rest of the Fairies have to go home?¡±


    Randal said, ¡°Most of then have to turn back into chickens, just as I have to turn back into a horse. Since she told you to call her Olive, call her Olive. Queen Cypsela doesn¡¯t exactly trip on the tongue. If they visit and it isn¡¯t the full moon then everyone is on a field trip and you stayed behind as the caretaker.¡±


    Jason, Jenny, Davis and Greg all came back out with Jack and Olive.


    Jack said, ¡°Well, it is disappointing that none of you came prepared for a stay.¡±


    Olive asked, ¡°Mr. Bear, can we invite them back another time? Say about twenty days from now.¡±


    I said, ¡°We¡¯ll see.¡±


    #


    With my lawyer friends gone we went back into the mansion.


    Olive took my hand. ¡°Jenny asked so many questions of you. Should I be jealous?¡±


    I closed my eyes.


    Olive said, ¡°You really are scared of girls. You know that there are Fairies that can¡¯t resist that sort of thing.¡±


    I said, ¡°I know. My first five days in Fairy were hell.¡±


    Jack said, ¡°Olive, you made out like a bandit on that one.¡±


    Olive smiled up at Jack. ¡°I know all four of them headed straight for the bathroom. I didn¡¯t even plan it.¡±


    I asked, ¡°Having them go to the bathroom is a good thing?¡±


    Jack said, ¡°I never did explain Fairy economics to you.¡±


    Olive put her hands on her cheeks like she was shocked. ¡°After all that feed and all those groceries you took to your Fairyland?¡±


    Jack nodded. ¡°Yeah, now that I think about it, I feel a bit bad.¡±


    I said, ¡°The expense was worth it. I feel better than I have ever felt and I learned the flute and guitar. I¡¯m looking forward to going back.¡±


    Jack said, ¡°Tell you what, I¡¯ll pay for the groceries next time, after we figure out how to manage things.¡±


    I said, ¡°Since I am not buying a car, I have a bit of extra cash. I can¡¯t let you do that.¡±


    Jack shook his head. ¡°Let¡¯s go out to the lake and I¡¯ll explain economics to you.¡±


    #


    We sat at on a stone bench near the lake.


    Jack softly tapped on strings to play a sort of gentle environmental jazz as we talked. ¡°As far as we can figure, Fairylands are pockets of space that want to have connections to Real. It takes energy for these pockets of space to exist. That energy bleeds to Real or it could bleed to a Fairyland large enough to be stable on it¡¯s own.


    ¡°So a small Fairyland, might take a pound of energy a year. Larger ones take more. A human can provide about a pound and a half of energy a day to a Fairyland just by breathing. A Fairy might produce as much but usually they produce quite a bit less. There are other elements converted but carbon is the main thing consumed by Fairy.¡±


    ¡°So when you took food to my Fairyland, you made my Fairyland richer and more stable.¡±


    I nodded. ¡°I can live with that.¡±


    Jack got up and walked to the waters edge. ¡°You brought two hundred and fifty pounds of food and we consumed almost seventy-five pounds of that. A fifty pound bag of sweet feed might cost fifteen dollars but it will, after consumption, process, and eventual breakdown, give me close to fifty pounds I can make into gold. I am not sure what that is worth in Real these days, but it¡¯s a lot more that fifteen dollars.¡±


    I nodded. ¡°After brokerage fees, last time I checked the spot price of gold, that would be over a million dollars. Take out taxes on a million depending on how you manage things you could have a million or seven hundred thousand you can spend freely.¡±


    Jack sat on the flagstones and started taking off his boots. ¡°You don¡¯t seem excited or upset about that.¡±


    I started taking off my shoes. ¡°I¡¯m a programmer. I deal with large numbers. I deal with clients that deal with a lot of money. A client may love the work I do, but at they end of the day, they still have the money and I still have to provide a service to them.¡±


    Jack took his socks off and rolled his pants legs up. ¡°You can summon without looking at a diagram, drawing patterns or saying anything more that a greeting to the person you are summoning. That means that potentially, you are in the Fairy peerage. There is a chance you might end up a Fairy king, but don¡¯t get your hopes up.¡±


    I got my socks off. ¡°What is a peer? I know it as a computer term but it¡¯s more British I think.


    Jack put his feet in the water and lay back on the flagstones. ¡°Peer means equal in Latin but some animals are more equal than others.


    ¡°Fair and Fairy don¡¯t always go hand in hand. Okay, I know the term but I can¡¯t quite pin it down. As a King of fairy it generally means beings who are not Fairy royals but making them angry is a bad idea. Since I have my own Fairyland, I am a king of Fairy but since it doesn¡¯t have any Fairies and my Fairyland isn¡¯t on the lists, most would call me a peer of Fairy.¡±


    I sat beside Jack and dangled my feet in the water. ¡°What makes a Fairy king?¡±


    Jack said, ¡°If you rule a Fairyland and you can maintain the rule of it, you are of course a king of Fairy. There are some that rule Fairylands that are not fully equipped with the powers needed to properly maintain a Fairyland, so it can get complicated. The powerful ones are feared by Fairy kings. We call them Dukes or Duchesses.


    ¡°To really be a Fairy King you are expected to be able to perform a lot of spells without any gestures or minimal conjuration. If you can do that and handle the basics, you might be called a true king of Fairy. If this stuff comes easy and you have no trouble combining things, then you might be called a true born king of Fairy.


    ¡°Usually the true born kings of Fairy really were born in Fairy so the name works. One of the powers that marks a true king of Fairy is the ability to turn the energy a Fairyland stores into real matter. Since I am a true king of Fairy, I can tell you that our visit to my Fairyland made me sixty-eight pounds richer. And there are still three and half bags of grain I haven¡¯t touched.


    I shrugged.


    Jack said, ¡°You have been a Fairy and you managed a few wizards all by yourself. In my mind that means your a peer of Fairy. I want to keep a good working relationship with you, for several reasons so how do you feel about getting half?¡±


    I asked, ¡°In the business world that would seem generous. Typically the one with the money keeps most of it.¡±


    Jack sat up. ¡°There are a few other contractual arrangements that have mostly held up over time. Fairies that get greedy, and a lot do, also tend to get their comeuppance but rarely soon enough.


    ¡°So if we are fair, but bias it towards the King of Fairy, then since we used my Fairyland, it, gets half so truth is I get half. If I enabled it by doing the creation of matter, I get half of the half remaining and since you obtained the prize, or in this case food, you are due half of the remaining with the rest going to shares for everyone involved. You and I are the only ones involved so we would get half each. That means you would get three eighth shares and I get five.


    ¡°There are other sharing systems. But if we break it down, you might have as much opportunity to be greedy as I do.


    ¡°The cost in Real for food is the smallest part, but as a Fairy, I could get into serious trouble for taking things from Real. Since you are mortal and consuming it, that issue goes away. Then we are converting it to Fairy fee and then into gold. If we ignore who converted the food, it still used my Fairyland and I was needed to convert it to gold. Then we get to the brokerage fees. I don¡¯t have credentials in Real, so I need a fence to convert gold to spending money. In turn, the fence has to deal with swindlers, banks, gold brokers, taxes, and records or not depending on what we do.


    ¡°It is possible that you might have to justify what you spent money on and how you keep showing up with more gold. You might have to face robbers.


    ¡°After that, I will need your help buying things. Olive has an arrangement with some Daemons that manage real estate, but their fees are outrageous. There are reasons Olive is happy with the arrangement, but the last thing I want to do is use them to buy scientific equipment.¡±


    I looked back to see Olive running down the hillside. In mid stride leaping down the hill she changed. She was now barefoot, wearing cutoff shorts and a halter top. She also looked my age. She sat beside me.


    ¡°Scared of me?¡±


    I nodded. ¡°Not in panic but yes.¡±


    She laughed.


    Jack said, ¡°Looking like that, I¡¯m a bit scared of you.¡±


    Olive said, ¡°You should be. Your my type. Josh here is just easy to tease and we need to get him over his fear of girls. I am hoping that knowing how bad wizards can get will help him face the girl wizards.¡±


    Jack put his hand over the strings on the guitar silencing it. ¡°I didn¡¯t have chance to watch the entire feed but when the chickens complained of a ward we checked the monitors and there was a female wizard on the ground. She wasn¡¯t in your league, Olive, but she wasn¡¯t bad looking.¡±


    Olive said, ¡°I want to see! Josh, do you want to see the fight you were in?¡±


    Jack got up. ¡°I''d invite Josh to join us, I don¡¯t have an issue with letting Josh in the secure area, but I can¡¯t make that decision and neither can you.¡±


    Olive got up. I continued looking at the lake. ¡°I was there, I already saw it. You two go ahead.¡±


    As they ran up the hill, I started tapping a slow tune on the guitar. I turned to see them running and shouted, ¡°Thanks for the guitar! I love it.¡±


    Olive turned back and bounced in place while blowing a kiss at me. Then she turned and continued running.


    I saw Randal, Renate and Eloise in horse form galloping towards them. As they got close they turned to human form and then they were all over the hill and out of sight.


    I couldn¡¯t remember the name of the tune I was playing. It had words but they were not coming to mind. There was a splash out in the water. I looked and something large was coming my way.


    I swung my legs out of the water and got up to back up when, about ten feet out from the edge a girl came up out of the water.


    She had a beautiful face. I grabbed my socks and shoes and started running up the hill.


    The girl caught up with me so I slowed, there was no point in running.


    She said, ¡°I thought I was a chicken.¡±


    ¡°Why do you work in chicken form?¡±


    She took my hand. She was wearing a one piece swim suit and she was dripping wet. I shifted the guitar so she wouldn¡¯t drip on it.


    She let go of my hand. ¡°Sorry, I didn¡¯t think of the guitar. Since Fairy has a tendency to adjust itself, experimenting in Fairy can give us false readings. But since the moon and other factors can change things, we try to do most of our testing over long stretches of time. It¡¯s complex and there is a strong difference between the waxing and waning moon. We keep all the records we can but unless there is a full moon and the Fairyland is overlapped around this lake, most of us are unable to be in human form in Real.


    ¡°So we are happy to have you here for several reasons. You can go shopping, that¡¯s a big one. We need a human figurehead every now and then to maintain legal ownership of this place and we have come to a point where we have a lot of data, but since it changes with the moon and other factors, we are having the worst time trying to figure out what it all means.


    I glance at her and glanced back away. ¡°If you want me to do data entry, I really will run away in fear.¡±


    She laughed. ¡°We have the data in a data base. We even had a Fairy possess the computer to try to sort the data, but that didn¡¯t work out and we had to restore from backups. We need someone magic, but not magic the way most of us are.¡±


    I asked, ¡°So your doing pure research then?¡±


    She laughed for a moment. ¡°I should change out of this, but first, does this swimsuit look good on me?¡±


    I looked up at the tree line. ¡°Do all Fairies tease?¡±


    She said, ¡°Let¡¯s go to the party. Do you dance?¡±


    ¡°Not since I was little.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll teach you, but all the fun dances are teasing.¡±


    #


    We danced and after a while we sat, worn out. Dancing is another exercise that I was unaccustomed to.


    She said, ¡°You seem to have gotten over your fear of girls.¡±


    ¡°No, I just had to focus on the dance moves and keep from running over anyone. Now I am too exhausted to run so there is no point in fear.¡±


    Another girl came over with drinks. She squeezed into the space between me and my dance partner and handed me a drink. She kept hers and said to the girl I was dancing with, ¡°Annette, there are more chickens here than roosters so you shouldn¡¯t hog Josh.¡±


    Annette got up. ¡°I¡¯m going for a drink, no Josh she brought that for you. I¡¯ll see you later.¡±


    I pulled back the drink I had offered to Annette and took a sip. There was wine in the punch, but it wasn¡¯t strong. ¡°Later Annette, thank you for teaching me to dance.¡±


    The girl beside me said, ¡°Call me Jody.¡±


    #


    Jack, Randal, Lord Mesocarp from Queen Cypsela¡¯s Fairyland, two more Fairies from Cypsela who preferred to remain nameless, and I were outnumbered by the girls who wanted to dance. Jack and I took breaks from dancing to play music, but I was worn out before the party ended.

 Grave Digging

    In my dream, King Surmium and Queen Cypsela were sitting cross legged on the floor playing dominoes with me.


    Surmium asked, ¡°Are you positive this is your first time playing?¡±


    Cypsela said, ¡°I¡¯m glad we agreed on low stakes. So it looks like the Frog, Snake, Rabbit and Cat all took the bait.¡±


    Surmium said, ¡°Was there any doubt? As soon as the cat figured out the refreshments would link them to your Fairyland, he was ready to smuggle them to his compatriots. So the first part of their plot is off to a good start. Till we can be sure--¡±


    #


    That¡¯s when I woke up and looked over the side of the bed. Surmium was cheating and looking at my dominoes.


    I cleared my throat.


    Surmium smiled up at me. ¡°I figured the game was over and I just wanted to see if your string of wins was luck or skill.¡±


    I asked, ¡°Queen Cypsela, I am surprised thou art letting him get away with this.¡±


    Cypsela said, ¡°Just call me Olive, no matter what the company is. I saw the surveillance tapes. You managed three notorious and well ranked wizards by yourself with not a clue left showing how you did it.¡±


    Surmium said, ¡°Well then if he can call thee, ¡®Olive,¡¯ can I?¡±


    Olive shook her head. ¡°It¡¯s my real name and I don¡¯t know thine.¡±


    King Surmium said, ¡°I have living relatives I would rather not end up used against me as hostages or for information. How about if I take a nickname?¡±


    Olive said, ¡°Fine, but since thou wert cheating, Josh gets to name thee.¡±


    I said, ¡°Well since it goes with ¡®Olive,¡¯ and it describes thy plotting nature, how about ¡°Onion?¡±


    Onion said, ¡°Perfect. I rather like it. And since you were kind enough to give me an acceptable nickname, I will have to come up with a good reward. But for now, I too insist that we speak informally and with these names. My only chance that it will catch on is if you call me Onion in front of others.¡±


    Olive said, ¡°It suits you, so Onion it is. And since Josh brought us together in this, his code name will be, ¡°Dirty Gibson Martini.¡±


    Onion said, ¡°Perfect. Josh, if someone uses that full name, you will know that they are part of our team. If they use Gibson, you will know that I gave them the password and if they use Martini you will know that Olive did.¡±


    I said, ¡°It seems like you live for this sort of complexity.¡±


    Olive pointed to Onion and herself. ¡°Fairy royalty. It¡¯s expected of us.¡±


    Onion said, ¡°Quite.¡±


    Olive got up and sat on the side of the bed. ¡°Prof Austri was asking if I could manage thy gifting and training with sculpture and art. Do you know anyone suitable to teach Josh?¡±


    Onion said, ¡°I can think of several I would love to pull into my schemes, but we might be best off having him get training in Real. I think having him sculpt with clay would be ideal, but doesn¡¯t Jack do wood carving?¡±


    Olive said, ¡°Functional only and we should try to encourage Josh¡¯s artistic side.¡±


    I asked, ¡°Do all of you do music and art?¡±


    Onion stood up. ¡°We all do art. A lot of us do music.¡±


    Onion turned away from us. ¡°I was just summoned so excuse me for a moment. Yes, Surmium here?


    ¡°Oh really?


    ¡°Great, so they took the bait entirely?


    ¡°Brilliant work. You have earned a soft pretzel. Do you want mustard with it?


    ¡°Mustard it is then and lots of it.¡±


    Onion turned back to us. ¡°He hates mustard, so that clenches it. He is going for the mass and not picking food he loves. I have to respect an agent with ambition.


    ¡°Olive, they will be in your little Fairyland with the grove soon, so we need to decide on the group of wizards we want Josh to infiltrate.¡±


    Olive said, ¡°The one that decided to get into politics.¡±


    Onion frowned. ¡°We don¡¯t want him swearing a binding oath.¡±


    Olive laughed. ¡°Of course not. So he will have to go in disguise. Josh, I need to go and set it up. You need to go down to the stables and get a shovel.¡± Olive disappeared.


    Onion looked me up and down. ¡°My guess is that you will be able to manage four forms. Get the shovel and a spare set of clothing and start walking to the woods. When you transform for the first time, drop your bag with the extra clothing and turn into yourself. That¡¯s in case you transform and end up nude. You will probably be able to turn into sixteen versions of yourself. If you can, you should try and keep some young so turn into most of them and then avoid using the ones you don¡¯t want to age. Your detail oriented so I suspect you can manage multiple inventories, but what transformation allows is inconsistent.¡±


    #


    In the stables I was looking at several shovels when Frog summoned me. ¡°Joshua Bear, this is Frog. You have some grave digging to do so get a few shovels and summon me back.¡±


    I answered, ¡°I¡¯m in a stable near the tool room. Let me grab a few.¡±


    I didn¡¯t know what to dig with. Digging wasn¡¯t something I had done since I found cat poo in my sandbox years and years ago. After I held it up and asked what it was, my mother made sure the sandbox was gone the next day.


    I picked up three shovels. ¡°Stay clear, the shovels are steel, I¡¯m holding them above my head so it should be safe to bring me through.¡±


    #


    The Frog looked up at me. ¡°Let me kiss you so you can become the prince. Then sit at the table and read the wizard¡¯s diary. Don¡¯t just read it, learn it.¡±


    #


    The diary was dated but disjointed. It was more of a collection of diagrams and instructions for casting spells but there were notes with names and descriptions of people. He listed what name they called him by and other people they knew and how they knew them. He mentioned the spells they had used and descriptions of them. He had so many names for himself that I began to doubt his real name was in the diary. Most of the wizards called him, ¡°Mr. Journo.¡±


    I read through the diary. Mr. Journo had killed several people and detailed how to get to where he had buried their remains. The last entry said, ¡°Tomorrow I kill Queen Cypsela and take her Fairyland.


    #


    I asked, ¡°Who¡¯s grave are we digging up?¡±


    Frog said, ¡°The Daemon Mr. Journo poisoned. The one he called Medon. He¡¯s perfect. Mr. Journo complained that Medon didn¡¯t talk much and he used brute force to win duels or concede them early and gift the winner with nearly useless languages. Since no one knows what happened to Medon, you can infiltrate his wizards guild without anyone suspecting.¡±


    #


    Gifted with transformation and a dozen obscure languages, I was sent through a gateway set on a pillar holding up the roof to the gazebo.


    On the edge of a corn field that had been left to rot, I set down the shovels and my bag of clothing before turning into myself. I was naked. I put on clothing from the bag and picked up the shovels. I turned back into my original me and wondered if the other form was me as much as this form.


    I walked along the edge of the field till it ended at a fence and then followed the fence line till I saw a car drive by. I found a place where the wires were loose and made my way through the fence. My shirt was ripped from being snagged on barbed wire so I was glad I had another shirt in another form.


    Walking along the road, I was passed by several cars before a man in a truck pulled to a stop beside me.


    His wife, or so I assumed asked, ¡°Do you need a ride into town?¡± Her head gesture indicated that I would need to get in the back of the truck.


    ¡°Thank you, that is very kind.¡±


    The town wasn¡¯t large, but it had the cafe that Journo mentioned meeting with wizards at before going to the lodge. I wasn¡¯t sure where the lodge was but I wanted to be able to get back here. I looked the place up on my GPS and the town was on the edge of a state park that was probably the state park he buried Medon in.


    The cafe was a nice place to eat and rest before going to a small grocery and getting a few things to eat and drink later.


    Since I had shovels in my other form with clothing on, I had to carry the groceries as I walked to the park. I had skipped over the spells Journo had detailed so I could get through the diary quickly, but now I was studying the gateway spell so I could return here when I needed to. In the notes to the gateway spell it said it would go away after it was closed or left alone so I didn¡¯t have a magical way to get back here. I wasn¡¯t sure if this was the park Journo mentioned. If it wasn¡¯t I was probably going to have to summon someone to bring me home and then drive a car out here. Preferably a rental. I didn¡¯t want to have to explain grave digging to anyone.


    #


    I found the rock mentioned in the diary and stood on it. The big tree was obvious. I was itching as I got close and saw some tattered cloth. From the looks of the area an animal dug up the body. I looked around and there was a human looking jaw bone with worn down teeth. Wonderful. It was probably Medon¡¯s jawbone, but it could easily be someone else¡¯s. As the sun started to set I took off my shirt and picked up the Jawbone before summoning Jack.


    ¡°Jack, are you on the estate? This is Joshua looking for a quick way home.¡±


    #


    Alone in my room I summoned Frog. ¡°Frog, this is Joshua.¡±


    Frog asked, ¡°Did you get the bones?¡±


    ¡°I have a jawbone with worn down teeth. The body had been dug up by animals. I am not sure it¡¯s his jawbone.¡±


    Frong said, ¡°If it¡¯s his bone it will be tough. The sinew and flesh would rot, but those bones will be hard as a file and tough as an anvil.Test a tooth with a hammer.¡±


    In the tool room I put the jawbone on a vise that had an anvil surface and took a heavy hammer out. I hit the jawbone hard and it bounced with the hammer. I realized that I should have worn the goggles that were hanging nearby, but the bone didn¡¯t hit me. The bone and teeth were intact and showed only a metallic shine where the hammer hit it.


    To be sure I locked it in the vise and got a large pair of pliers to try and break it. After a few tries and slips with pliers and wrenches, I gave up and decided that whoever had this jaw bone was tough enough for me.


    In the bathroom I washed the bone and then touched it. Using it, I turned into a huge, naked, square jawed hero looking man with a deep, all-over tan and muscles. Long dark tightly waved hair and in my case, he had good teeth so I hadn¡¯t turned into him with the years of damage but him at his prime. I changed back and wondered how I was going to get clothing for the fellow.


    Frog summoned me. ¡°Joshua, Frog calling, is it his bone?¡±


    I answered. ¡°Probably, Was he big handsome, muscled and did he have dark wavy hair?¡±


    Frog said, ¡°Summon the Fairy Queen mentioned in the book. It seemed that she and Medon knew each other.


    I summoned Queen Cypsela. ¡°Queen Cypsela, Joshua is in need of your advice.¡±


    Olive answered, ¡°What advice?¡±


    ¡°I have managed to turn into a Daemon named Medon. I think. Would you recognize him?¡±


    ¡°Let me see!¡±


    ¡°No, he¡¯s naked and I don¡¯t have clothing that will fit him.¡±


    ¡°Come to me and we can arrange clothing.¡±


    ¡°No chance. I¡¯m naked in that form.¡±


    ¡°Then if your going to be a chicken and a spoil sport, wrap up in a sheet and come here.¡±


    I went to my bed room grabbed a blanket and wrapped up in it, in muscle guy form before letting Olive bring me through the summons.


    #


    In a grove of trees lined up like fruit trees on a hillside several of the girls I had danced with had easels set up and they were painting. It was all gossamer paint and gossamer canvas, so it was just for fun and practice.


    Olive said, ¡°All right, lets see him.¡±


    I turned into him. It was embarrassing as the girls looked me up and down despite the blanket.


    Olive asked, ¡°Anyone ever meet this fellow.¡±


    One of the girls said, ¡°No, and I am pretty sure I would remember if I did.¡±


    Another girl came over and knelt near me looking at my feet. She touched my foot and then turned into the same man I had turned into. ¡°Worth a form, girls, how do I look?¡±


    The girls painting applauded. I dispelled the gossamer paint one of them had splattered me with while clapping and holding a brush.


    I was even more uncomfortable standing next to a naked copy of the form I was in.


    Olive shouted, ¡°Clothing Fairies, thou dust not wish to miss this one.¡±


    The sky darkened and then the darkness resolved to a cloud of small winged Fairies with measuring tapes and bronze pins. I cowered in fear, the onslaught of tiny creatures taking measurements was too much to tolerate.


    #


    I had returned to the Fairyland with the Gazebo where I had read the diary. I turned back into me and summoned Jack. ¡°Jack, this is Joshua, can I get you to bring me back home?¡±


    #


    In my room there was a note on the bed. ¡°Bedroom next to this one has the clothing for your new form. P.S. Your a big chicken.¡±


    I dressed my new form in sixteen outfits. My new form had nicer clothing than I did. I put the groceries in one of my new forms and went down to the stables and put the shovels up. I have been known to go a day or so without eating when I got involved in programming but it seemed that changing into me in different forms made me hungry. No one ever mentioned that magic was inconvenient.


    #


    Jack and Randal were in the field near the lake talking as they cropped the grass.


    Randal spotted me and galloped over. ¡°Josh, we need you to research converting gold to cash. We need credit to make some purchases and we may end up needing a lot of it.¡±


    I was itching terribly.


    Jack joined us and asked, ¡°When did you get into poison ivy?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know what it looks like. It might have been when I went through the woods or climbed through a barbed wire fence.¡±


    Randal said, ¡°Don¡¯t scratch. Go wash up now and change clothing. Use lots of soap. You¡¯ll just spread it by scratching.¡±


    I stopped scratching. ¡°Great. I¡¯ll check my notes and look up the latest on gold, but I think I can manage this for you.¡±


    #


    I was in a form that wasn¡¯t itching. I needed to get shoes and cloths for all the versions of me I could be. I needed to have food and something to drink on all of them. I looked through the notes on the business arrangements my lawyer partners had come up with and found one that looked perfect.


    I called my friend Jason. ¡°Jason, how¡¯s it going?¡±


    Jason said, ¡°I¡¯m well. As far as our business conglomerate goes, we almost have everything in order, but we need some cash to get the finance end of it all. We may need to borrow from you after you get your first lump sum from you soon to be ex employer.¡±


    I said, ¡°I can get a good influx of cash, but I need a mostly secretive business with a credit card and foreign connections that sound like it does research and mining.¡±


    Jason said, ¡°You¡¯ll need to open a bank account for the company. A lot of banks will let you do it for nothing, but the one Greg likes needs a thousand dollars as and initial deposit or they won¡¯t talk to you.¡±


    #


    I called Greg. ¡°Hey Greg, it was good seeing you.¡±


    Greg said, ¡°You too. I wanted to talk with you so this was good timing. We are ready to pull the trigger and make the corporations we haven¡¯t set up go live, but we need about ten thousand to really make it work. It will all be investments so you will get interest on it. Not that interest will keep up with the cost of living, but as time goes by you can get it all back.¡±


    I asked, ¡°How much to set up the international part?  I want a mostly secretive business with a credit card and foreign connections that sound like it does research and mining.¡±


    Greg said, ¡°Once we get started, someone will need to travel and set up an account and corporation in another country. Preferably a tax haven but not a notorious tax haven. International law forces you to learn more than one set of legal rules so it can get interesting. You might want to learn some of it unless this sort of thing puts you to sleep.¡±


    I asked, ¡°Where do I get started? From programming I have had to learn about exchange rates and required bookkeeping but I don¡¯t know where to begin.¡±


    Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site.


    Greg answered, ¡°One of the projects I have my students do is pick a tax haven and give me an example of the benefits, rules you have to follow and the legal arrangements. I can email you some of the better papers.¡±


    #


    After hiking down an overgrown road and changing forms several times to bring out folding aluminum ladders to climb fences, I was finally inside the abandoned cement plant. From all the graffiti on the walls, there had to be an easier way in than the one I used. I stopped and took notes on one of the bits of graffiti that was duplicated on most of the walls. It bore a resemblance to the ward the wizard used to wake me up. Since that ward kept the Fairy chickens away, this might be the reason none of the Fairies could visit this site. There were a lot of examples in spray paint and various colors so I could easily enough figure out the order the symbol¡¯s marks were drawn in.


    I went to a large building where the roof was long gone and only the cement walls, supports and cross structures remained. In the center of the area was the location were the wizard lodge met when they had duels.


    Beside one of the magic circle things the wizards used to open their battle area for spell casting there was a spent paint marker. That gave me a sample of the product I needed to look up and order. I was copying the fifth version of the gateway symbol and trying to figure out how it worked, when it opened for me. I panicked and backed up so it closed again. After a few tries I managed to open it.


    I put the jar with the alfalfa sprouts in it down and closed the gateway. The jar was still beside me.


    I opened the gateway again and summoned King Surmium. "King Surmium, Josh here in the wizard¡¯s Fairyland with no clue how to leave the jar in Fairy. For that matter, how do I speed time?¡±


    Onion answered. ¡°I thought the cat gifted you properly. Then again, what wizards know and what Fairies know can be quite different. Since your in the Fairyland bring me through.¡±


    He looked up. ¡°Kneel so I can gift you. I owe you something anyway.¡± He kissed my forehead several times. ¡°Can you speed time now?¡±


    I sped the time up.


    Onion walked over to where a tuft of grass was growing and knelt by it. ¡°This is from Real but it might have seen enough time in Fairy. You could also sleep here. That¡¯s the more common way to connect since eating gossamer could kill you.


    ¡°You are in Real with Fairy overlaid. Switch your presence so you are in Fairy with Real overlain. Then, put down the jar and then switch back to Real. Close the gateway, wait five minutes and then come back for the sprouts.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to take a nap here. I always wanted to link with one of the wizards battlegrounds. Every full moon, I¡¯ll have free entertainment. I probably won¡¯t be here when you get back. So take care and have fun. Oh, and over there. See the gateway? It would be interesting to see where it went.¡±


    I put down the jar in Fairy returned to Real and closed the gateway. Since I had five minutes I went over to examine the gateway King Surmium had pointed out. I had five minutes so I spent them copying the small detailed painting. It was old so I wasn¡¯t sure of the brush strokes but it was more of a magic circle than a symbol so it might not matter. Nothing opened but I had two other gateways to compare it to.


    After five minutes I opened the gateway again and returned to the Fairyland. The sprouts had been moved. I picked up the jar and checked for mold. They looked fine so I ate some. Looking down I saw that the jar had been placed over a gateway. I started examining and taking notes on the gateway when I felt the connection to the Fairyland I was in. Feeling the change after the connection made me realize I had connections to quite a few Fairylands. King Surmium¡¯s, Jack¡¯s, The Fairyland with the gazebo where I had read the diary, Queen Cypsela¡¯s and sixteen others that I didn¡¯t know how I had gotten connections to.


    The gazebo and Queen Cypsela¡¯s was probably from the refreshments at the party. I spend three weeks in Jack¡¯s Fairyland and as much time in King Surmium¡¯s, but the rest was a mystery to me.


    Looking through the notes I realized that the gateway pattern in Journo¡¯s notebook was the same but had an error in it. Several errors. Some of the symbols were wrong. I looked at the other spells. Journo had used a code but it looked like he was consistent so it might be possible to figure the other spells out.


    I examined the gateway here in the wizard¡¯s battleground but nothing was drawn so I didn¡¯t have a way to figure it out and I wasn¡¯t feeling brave enough to try. I returned the speed of time to normal switched myself to the Real world and closed the gateway. I was walking to the first fence when Jack summoned me.


    ¡°Joshua, this is Jack. I¡¯m in my Fairyland, can you join me?¡±


    I let him bring me through the summons.


    #


    Jack pointed to the table where several gold coins were sitting. ¡°Ducats and florins since they are some of the more pure old coins, we don¡¯t want to waste too much on other metals as it lowers the value. We are going to need packaging, I don¡¯t want to waste material on packaging. So for two hundred and fifty pounds of this, after all the expenses, you get half. But between us, Randal, Eloise and Renate, we have four thousand pounds we would like go get cash for and then order equipment with. What rate would you charge for converting gold for us and making orders?¡±


    I said, ¡°I need to take a trip to Ireland and I will need a passport and the longer out I book the trip the lower the price of the plane ticket. I was thinking next month. If I order the scientific equipment, I can deduct and depreciate it all, so over time I will get tax deductions on everything I buy you.


    Jack asked, ¡°Will ten percent do? We would like to do this in a hurry, so we will pay for first class.¡±


    #


    Olive gestured to a small fairy who was eating cupcakes. His face was a mess. Beside him was a little girl who was slowly licking the icing on top of a cupcake she was hugging.


    Olive said, ¡°I found a recently deceased lawyer who can gift you.¡±


    The Fairy with the mess all over his face, stopped eating long enough to raise his hand and get out the words, ¡°That would be me.¡±


    Olive pointed to a lady who was painting. ¡°We have been running an art contest among artistic Fairies who can gift and this was one of the winners.¡±


    The lady paused painting and nodded to me.


    Olive pointed to another lady who was making a sculpture of a dragon out of gossamer clay. ¡°She won the sculpture contest and she is an expert in various gossamer forms so this would be ideal. And all you have to do for all of this is to convert nine thousand pounds of gold to euros for me. Hold back enough for taxes and the expenses and keep ten percent. Unless we want to deal with the Unseelie Courts that¡¯s the best rate we will ever get.¡±


    Onion said, ¡°You can use this Fairyland and speed time. I have another three thousand five hundred pounds of gold to convert and a few friends of mine set up a pool. they would like to convert thirty thousand to euros. Of course the standard rates will be given. I have a few more gifts to give you before you leave for Ireland, but with art and law coming, I probably shouldn¡¯t push things by having too much gifted at once.¡±


    #


    We called the cupcake eating lawyer Fairy, "The Maw." He managed to convert everything he ate to Fairy fee so Olive and Onion were happy to keep feeding him. In turn he gifted me with a lot more than just law. He helped me put together an altered version of what my lawyer friends were putting together. I needed something immediately and The Maw knew the tricks the really, really rich used.


    After he gifted me with Galic, we started practicing it. I asked The Maw, ¡°With all the horrible people you associated with, I am guessing you were bit tainted yourself. How did you manage to escape hell?¡±


    He paused and swallowed. He gestured to the little girl beside him who had, after about six days, finally managed to eat most of the cupcake she was working on. ¡°I was a horrible and greedy lawyer. My only redeeming act was when I saw her about to get hit by a car. It was a waste, we both died, but I would probably not be eating cupcakes in Fairy if I hadn¡¯t done it.¡±


    In English, he asked the girl, ¡°That cupcake has to be dry and stale by now. Let¡¯s get you a new one.¡±


    She skooted away from him. ¡°NO! I wan to finish it.¡±


    I asked him in Gaelic, ¡°So we agree that we should market the gold as artwork?¡±


    He nodded. ¡°Your good now, more than good, but the lovely sculptor over there has more feeling to her work and she would love to cast it in gold. This way they can use 24 carat gold, you can deduct the original gold as material costs and hide the source while only paying taxes on the added value. Then you donate most of that to the scientific research charity. In turn your charity donates the equipment and apart from your relatively small cut, you can move all the gold with minimal taxes.¡±


    #


    I woke up as the plane¡¯s wheels were retracting and the captain started making announcements. After getting coffee at the airport and getting a taxi to the bank I was dealing with in Dublin, the forms I had to fill out were simple enough.


    Out on the streets I went pub crawling. I ignored the busy ones and looked for pubs with empty upstairs areas or private nooks. I ordered Guinness and tried the pub food out. I had plastic containers in various forms, so this was all part of my expenses. I sat, took a portion to taste, and practiced the gateway spell Onion had taught me. He wanted gateways to pubs so I was happy to oblige him. It took me thirty minutes to set up a gateway and I got hungry afterwards so if I liked the food at the pub, I ordered another before I left.


    After collecting a wild assortment of Irish stews, mashed potatoes, cabbage dishes, fish and chips, sausage, mussels, meat pies and more wonderful potato dishes than I had known existed, I made one last gateway in a park and returned to the airport. My next stop was Scotland where all of The Maw¡¯s old contacts were. On the flight, I took out my laptop and started working on a program to manage my new business and financial arrangements. I wanted to be entirely legitimate. What I was doing was exactly what someone did when they were money laundering. I wasn¡¯t taking money from dictators and mobsters, but legally, Fairies were in the same category so if I messed up I could end up in even more trouble than someone who laundered money for dictators, since I wouldn¡¯t be able to tell my source.


    My goal in Scotland was to obtain old companies that had been around a while and moved money. I wanted companies that might have moved cash and arranged transfers in the past but were easy to purchase now. I needed layers to hide my transactions and this was just one of the layers I needed. The final step that I needed was a dead end with a questionable history but before that, I needed a few more legitimate layers.


    #


    I summoned Agnes again. ¡°Agnes, this is Joshua Bear calling from Luxembourg. You can talk to me. If you want you can come to Luxembourg. We are just a short way from France, Germany and Denmark. I can gift you with Dutch, French, German and Luxembourgish.¡±


    There was no answer but I could tell she was listening.


    ¡°You stopped showing up after the wizards attacked. I just want to know if you are okay. I have a job that will be easy for you, should be safe and will pay really well. If you come, I will give you advance pay and I am right around the corner from a chocolate shop that you will not even believe.¡±


    Agnes said, ¡°I¡¯m alright. I just want to stay clear of wizards.¡±


    I said, ¡°I have a job where the only magical being you will have to deal with is me.¡±


    Agnes asked, ¡°What is the job?¡±


    I said, ¡°You are faster on your feet than I am. I want you to find the best places in Europe and text me. I¡¯ll pay your expenses and all you have to do is let me summon you so I can come to you. Bonuses, lots of cash and you get to tour Europe.¡±


    Agnes said, ¡°I don¡¯t have a cell phone.¡±


    I answered, ¡°I have an extra one right here.¡±


    She asked, ¡°How do I get home?¡±


    I said, ¡°The moment you get tired of Europe, I¡¯ll summon you to the States. I can gift you with reading and writing as well.¡±


    #


    Olive sat across from me and watched as I programmed. She sighed so I knew she wanted to talk.


    ¡°Okay, Olive, I can take a break.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not fair you putting all the gateways in Onion¡¯s world.¡±


    ¡°As I recall Olive, you didn¡¯t want one to your world.¡±


    She said, ¡°But this world is mine and you could put a few here.¡±


    I asked, ¡°What happens when a wizard finds the gateway?¡±


    She smiled broadly. ¡°Then I can spy on a wizard.¡±


    I asked, ¡°Where do you want a gateway to?¡±


    ¡°Italy and Greece.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t have any down that far. We haven¡¯t even hit Spain.¡±


    ¡°What are you programming?¡±


    In Real, I just made it to Panama. I needed to catch up on sleep so I came here to speed time. Then I decided to do some programming before the banks open in Panama.¡±


    Olive asked, ¡°Why Panama? You have businesses in Delaware, Ireland, Scotland, Luxembourg and the Netherlands.¡±


    ¡°I want my trail as hard to investigate as possible. I need a legitimate source where I could have gotten gold from and I am trying to nail down a contract with a company that had a contract with a mining company and Panama is where the fellow who owns the company fled to.¡±


    ¡°If he fled, is he the sort of fellow you want to do business with?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s complicated but yes.¡±


    #


    I checked in to the hotel, took my empty luggage to my room and carried my guitar out to the beach.


    I played for an hour and went to the restaurant. In the restaurant I saw the man I was looking for. He turned and looked right at me. He could have been a relative to the Daemon I had as another form. He gestured for me to come and sit at the table with him. I considered that the Daemon form I had could reach out and crush my throat before I could do anything. I didn¡¯t know anything about Daemons apart from the information I had from moving in the Daemon body. They were tough, fast and strong.


    I went and sat down with him.


    He smiled. ¡°You were looking for me and then you were scared of me. You aren¡¯t planning to kill me so are you going to tell someone where I am?¡±


    I shook my head. ¡°I want control of a company you used to own.¡±


    He shook his head. ¡°It¡¯s worthless now. If I try to recover anything from it, well, I tried. Since you were looking for me, you probably know. Tell me the truth, how did you find me?¡±


    I shrugged. ¡°I don¡¯t reveal sources. Let me just say a Fairy told me.¡±


    He gave me a long serious look. ¡°Say that again.¡±


    ¡°I would rather not.¡±


    Then answer this question. "Have you ever seen a Fairy?¡±


    I stayed quiet.


    ¡°Well then you know a lot more that you look like you should know. Why do you want my company?¡±


    ¡°I need a dead end. Your company handled a lot of things. Gold is one of them. All I need is a receipt from your company to another company.¡±


    He said, ¡°Your in luck. Since you found me, I need to disappear again. To disappear I need money.¡±


    I asked, ¡°Clean money? If you just want gold, I can provide that a bit more easily.¡±


    ¡°Are you part Daemon? How much money?¡±


    ¡°Gold just dropped a bit. I expect it to climb again soon. I can be more generous and faster if you just want gold.¡±


    ¡°How much gold can you give me?¡±


    ¡°I have five pounds of gold here in Panama. Worth over a hundred thousand right now. For a company worth nothing, that¡¯s a lot of money.¡±


    He said, ¡°Let me tell you a story, I trusted a human. He took everything and then, when I went after him the Deaths in three countries warned me I just had to take the hit. Now I have to be careful. I can¡¯t go after a human that swindles me so I can¡¯t trust a human.


    ¡°Now let me give you another bit of advice. Since I have to disappear, the owner of the company disappears forever. You don¡¯t want the company and it would take a bit to transfer it. I can write you post dated blank receipts. It costs me nothing and since I need to disappear, I need to seriously disappear. I¡¯ll never show up to argue the validity of the receipts. This way you have receipts. You can say you got them from me and be telling the truth. So your next let¡¯s say, ten transactions are taken care of as well. I don¡¯t care how big you make them. But I need some cash to go with the gold. Give me the gold up front so I can trust you.¡±


    #


    I led him out to the beach where I had sat playing the guitar to hide where I had dug sand. I kicked the sand aside and revealed the small bag with fake ducats made of real gold. He picked up the bag and smiled at me. ¡°How much cash can you provide? Each thousand gives you a receipt.¡±


    I said, ¡°I can pull maybe two thousand. I have four thousand in euro¡¯s I can spare you.¡±


    As I watched him, I figured out how he was reading me. He could read my emotions like they were written on me. When I played poker I learned the one way to make sure I didn¡¯t have a tell. I learned to control my emotions. I had key memories that I had practiced using to go to the emotion I wanted to go to. It wasn¡¯t perfect. In a mirror and when I recorded myself with my cell phone, I still had flaws, but it was better than nothing and a lot better than the straight face most poker players tried to use.


    I started stabilizing my tell. I started thinking about the programming I still needed to do. We went to his room and he took out a suitcase with several seals, and made me six receipts. Watching his tells, I got nervous. I didn¡¯t think he planned for me to escape despite his saying he couldn¡¯t go after a human. He made receipts out to the three companies that I had obtained that were old enough to have done business with his.


    As we approached the teller machine I thought about girls so my fear would drown the rest of my emotions.


    He watched and tried to see the number on my pin as I covered the view with my body. I had everything ready to escape when I turned and handed him his money.


    He smiled. ¡°Sorry. Watching you panic was just too fun. No really, I don¡¯t dare kill a mortal and I wouldn¡¯t anyway since you have dealt with me fairly.¡±


    I smiled. ¡°Then we can remain friends.¡± I activated the gateway I had put at the ATM so I only appeared to be in the real world and waved to him before shutting the gateway and disappearing. I had set it up thinking a crook with a gun might choose to loot me and I had no idea how far I could trust the man. Since he turned out to be a Daemon, I was almost more scared than I would have been if I was faced with a gun. Maybe I was more scared. I sped time and got rid of the gateway.


    #


    Onion said, ¡°Before you go find these wizards, let me watch a few of their duels. Then we can decide if your ready to take them on. Don¡¯t worry, I have distractions planned for the Frog, Cat and Snake so they won¡¯t be pressuring you.¡±


    ¡°It isn¡¯t the pressure, Onion. We made an arrangement and I want to try and make good on it. Harvey is always impatient, but Snake and Frog are both playing their own long game. What I am wondering about is, ¡°Which one of them is your informant?¡¯¡±


    Onion said, ¡°I knew you would grow into this. When I found out you were feared at the poker table I figured there was more to you than just your brilliance at statistics and programming. Statistics and the skills of a programmer certainly help with playing poker, but there is the human part that you never showed any sign of.¡±


    I said, ¡°Thanks, I think.¡±


    ¡°Your welcome, Josh. I¡¯m just taking care of my main hero here. So you met a Daemon?¡±


    I nodded. ¡°Yes, I need to know more about them. Also, what is a Death?¡±


    ¡°Deaths are the ones that keep us Fairies from getting active in Real. Deaths are one of the reasons why we need someone like you to broker our gold. Don¡¯t face down a death. Flee, but expect them to be able to show up no matter where you flee to. When a Death shows up, remember, it¡¯s every Fairy for himself. Don¡¯t be a hero and don¡¯t stand up to them. Just run. Imagine an angry and dirty cop and then multiply it by a thousand. Then give him the powers of Hell. That is a Death.


    ¡°Daemons, well they are the remnants of what folk used to call gods back when pantheism was still big. Tough, strong, charismatic and able to read your emotions and more. Some do magic. The old ones mostly do. A Fairy king like me could take one, and so could a good wizard if he was ready to. A good wizard could take most Fairy kings unless the Fairy king was also a Duke or clever.


    ¡°Olive has taken a couple of them down, but she is outright brilliant. You never know what surprise she has coming up next.


    ¡°Oh, and thanks for taking care of Agnes. She won¡¯t answer my summons, but you came up with a great plan. I realize you don¡¯t have any real reason to take care of her, so I count it as a personal favor you did me and not a small one.¡±


    ¡°Your welcome, Onion, but she is kind of like Harvey, my cat. Hard to like, but you have to take care of them. Besides, she is helping me set up all the gateways you wanted.¡±


    #


    Harvey whipped his tail. ¡°Snake and Frog are getting nervous. I don¡¯t thing they are as committed to this as I thought. They got a few extra Fairylands they can go to and now they seem complacent. You¡¯ve gone back to programming all day and combing the horses. Did you even find the place the wizards battle?¡±


    Harvey made like he was about to bite me. ¡°Scratch on my arm but next to my throat. Can¡¯t you even learn the order of these things?¡±


    I scratched his breast where is arm joint started. ¡°I need to at least find out where the lodge is before I join the wizards and the diary didn¡¯t give a clue on that.¡±


    Harvey batted my hand. ¡°Enough scratching. Go comb the horses. I need to think.¡±


    #


    It was a nice day outside and the Fairies cleaning out the stables were singing show tunes.


    I got the bag of grooming gear and took it outside.


    Randal came out so I started with him. As I expected, the other three horses came out and Renate was carrying her bag of grooming gear since she didn¡¯t like sharing hygienic equipment with the other horses.


    Grooming one horse is good exercise. Grooming four horses while they talk is a serious exercise. Jack only seemed to need grooming once a week but since Renate insisted on having her mane combed out at least once a day when I was available, the entire gang had decided to take advantage of the opportunity.


    While I was combing Renate¡¯s mane, Professor Austri came out of the stables and shouted, ¡°I was looking at the equipment at the auction sites you sent us and changed my mind. We want you to go to several of them and have a list of what we want and how much we are willing to pay.¡±


    Eloise lifted her head high and shook it. ¡°Why the sudden change?¡±


    Professor Austri had gotten closer so he didn¡¯t have to yell. He did anyway. ¡°A lot of our research may have been done for us already. Where we can, we may find a lot looking through the points of data that were ignored as outliers. If we can duplicate their equipment, we may be able to reproduce their outliers. If we can eliminate flaws in the equipment and maintain proper test form, we might find outliers that provide meaning.¡±


    Randal said, ¡°Okay, I approve. Anyone else?¡±


    The rest of the horses said, ¡°Aye.¡±


    Professor Austri said, ¡°Good. Josh, you need to leave in the next thirty minutes if you are going to be there in time for the first auction. It starts at one.¡±


    #


    When Renate turned into a vehicle it was not what I expected. I had heard she was a truck but a four wheel drive military looking flatbed was not what I expected. She was flamboyant and bouncy as a horse so I figured she would be more stylish than the ultra functional vehicle she was.


    At the university auction there were quite a few students among the older buyers. I had time to look at the items Prof Austri wanted me to bid on. As far as I could tell they were all in good enough shape. The items I was buying were down on the list so I could have come an hour later.


    After most of the crowd had left, I bid on a lot of twenty bicycles. My brother had taken mine while I was in the coma. I was going to have to buy a set of tools to take care of it, since he took that too, but the lot of bicycles had a few mountain bikes in with the racing bikes so I thought it would be worthwhile. Three people came and asked if they could buy a single bike from me. One of them wanted one of the two I wanted to keep most so I ended up selling two bikes and getting eighteen for less than the cost of a new tire.


    I had to go to a bathroom and turn into Daemon form to load some of the equipment onto Renate¡¯s truck bed, but no one asked the questions I expected them to as I did.


    #


    When we got back to the barn and I got everything unloaded. Professor Austri was looking at the bicycles. ¡°You bought those with our money?¡±


    I shook my head. ¡°No I am paying for the bicycles personally.¡±


    He was working his jaw. I asked, ¡°Are you okay?¡±


    He continued working his jaw before saying, ¡°I¡¯m going with you next time you go to auction.¡±


    He walked off like he was angry at me.


    #


    I was waiting outside for a couple of trucks coming in with scientific equipment and working on the bicycles. Professor Austri came out and watched. I looked at him and he grunted and went back to the stables.


    When the trucks arrived I abandoned the bicycles so I could open the doors to the barns loading dock. When I looked over at the bicycles, Professor Austri was crouched by one, holding the back up and turning the crank. The bicycle had a smaller frame than I would ever use so I considered giving it to him. I didn¡¯t particularly like him but didn¡¯t need the bicycle.


    Two days before the full moon, while I was grooming the horses, Randal asked me. ¡°How much did you pay for the bicycles?¡±


    I said, ¡°A hundred and ten. At a hundred the competition dropped off. I sold two of the bikes for fifty each, so they only cost me ten.¡±


    Jack said, ¡°The Dwarf keeps muttering about the bicycles and how you wouldn¡¯t have gone to the auction if he hadn¡¯t said to and how unfair it was that you are keeping them.¡±


    ¡°Does he ride?¡±


    Renate shook her mane. ¡°Probably, but I think he wants some for his collection. He keeps complaining that you don¡¯t know anything about torque and how humans never get torque right.¡±


    #


    Jason emailed me. ¡°We are all looking forward to seeing you. Greg will be coming later, he has a class to teach, but the rest of us will be arriving before noon. The attached documents are the final version of our main instrument. I know law wasn¡¯t what you studied, but you manage it pretty well, so read through it and make notes on what¡¯s unclear. There is a lot of legal trickery built into this sort of thing, so it isn¡¯t as innocent as it looks.¡±


    Because I needed to move quickly, I had already used my gifting as a lawyer and worked out my version with The Maw. The difference between their methods was subtle but important. What Jason, Lawrence, Jenn, Davis and Greg had put together was what honest people made when they wanted to use the methods and loopholes created by crooks. What the Maw and I had put together was what the pathologically selfish used to protect themselves from laws while appearing to be honest people.


    I wasn¡¯t sure what that made me. My own bias was to try and do no harm. When working, I had on several occasions been pressured to make alterations and additions to my software that would allow for behavior that could damage people but I have always had other requests for software that I managed to prioritize higher. I am sure that my software has helped some people who were not living by my standards, but then, when I went into the coma, I didn¡¯t go to heaven so my standards might not be the highest a man can aspire to.

 Not Quite Myself Today

    I was sitting and writing code on the balcony above the main entrance so I could see if my friends arrived early when Frog summoned me. ¡°Joshua, Frog calling.¡±


    ¡°I hear you, Frog.¡±


    ¡°We are lying low and arranging things this full moon. We are certain that King Surmium knows part of what is going on. We don¡¯t want to confront him, but be careful what you say in front of Harvey. We suspect he may be leaking information. Don¡¯t worry, we don¡¯t suspect you. King Surmium knows things you couldn¡¯t have found out. A lot of things have been a little too easy and too convenient. Be careful, it look like you are no longer just a key part in gaining more freedom in Fairy and you may be a pawn in a game none of us know.¡±


    I said, ¡°I am keeping secrets as best I can. That¡¯s about all I can say.¡±


    Frog said, ¡°Yea, since our hand is mostly revealed, if you have to talk, go ahead. We may get some information that way.¡±


    I replied, ¡°If I do get information that way, I won¡¯t be able to share it. But I will still owe you and try to arrange for you to have access to more Fairylands. I have some dried sprouts that will give access to a Fairyland used by wizards to fight. Not that I think it is all that appealing a Fairyland or safe.¡±


    Frog said, ¡°Let me check with Snake. Hold on. Okay, bring me through. I¡¯ll take the sprouts and Snake will summon me back.¡±


    I said, ¡°You do know, I hope, that some Fairy kings can detect changes in mass in their Fairylands even when they are really small changes.¡±


    Frog said, ¡°Bring me though.¡±


    I turned into me with the sprouts and brought him through. Here in Real he was a very small tree frog. Not as large and imposing as he was in Fairy.


    He spit out a small pebble. ¡°Ballast to try and make the change less obvious. Now let¡¯s have those sprouts.¡±


    He said, ¡°Snake, I¡¯ll have the sprouts in my mouth in a moment so wait ten seconds and bring me home.¡±


    I put the dried sprouts in his mouth and he closed it. Then he disappeared.


    Olive sat beside me, took a sprout and put it in her mouth. ¡°Who were you talking to?¡±


    I asked her, ¡°Can you keep a secret?¡±


    She laughed. ¡°Since your friends are coming soon and it¡¯s just before the weekend, we are going to keep it more sedate. As cover, why don¡¯t you come and be teaching a class when they arrive?¡±


    I asked, ¡°What sort of class?¡±


    Olive said, ¡°You have barely practiced your French, so let me gift it again and you can go teach that. Wait, better yet, let Josephine gift you. She knows all the rude words and the grammar.¡±


    #


    In a classroom filled with mostly girls and a mix of ages that already knew French or had been just gifted to where they already knew French, I was fake teaching an advanced class in conversational French, but correcting grammar on a chalkboard.


    Even the youngest girl in the class was twenty years older than I was and she didn¡¯t appear the youngest. So their debate over French cussing vs Spanish cussing was teaching me things I had never known. It was getting well out of my range with Russian and Yiddish being added when there was a knock on the door.


    Renate in human form opened the door. My lawyer friends had arrived. As we planned I dismissed the class and the ¡°children,¡± ran out of the classroom.


    I wasn¡¯t sure how much any of them had heard, but Davis had a look on his face like he might have recognized some of the words. After showing them the mansion, we went to the cottage. Sandwiches, and fruit where on the table. It seemed the House Fairies were planning on remaining hidden while my friends were here.


    I showed them their rooms before we gathered in the library. Each of them had come up with their own modifications for their own corporations under the set of shells we were going to create. They were good, but they never intended to go full out crooked. The Maw had taught me top end devious. I started to give input several times and remained quiet. I didn¡¯t know how to explain this without sounding as horrible as The Maw was.


    I was about to give some input when Eloise in horse form appeared in the window and started gesturing with her head. Jen got up to look and now everyone was looking. I ran out. Eloise kneeled so I got on. She looked back and the group of lawyers were following.


    Eloise said to me. ¡°Use Fairy speech so they can¡¯t hear you. Keep your friends out of the buildings. The Death Watch has issued warning.¡±


    I asked, ¡°Like Star Wars or the first official tartan?¡±


    Eloise started a slow walk leading my friends down the road, ¡°The first tartan was the Black Watch, and the Death Watch is a loose organization of Fairies that watches the activities of the Deaths during the full moon. Four of them are on the highway near us.¡±


    I asked, ¡°Shouldn¡¯t we keep my friends inside then?¡±


    Eloise shook her head and her main danced. ¡°We may have to take everything to Fairy. The Deaths would come after us for certain if we took five mortals from Real. We thought having a few mortals here might make the Deaths decide we are too much trouble. Now we aren¡¯t so sure.¡±


    As we got to the main road to the manor Four men on motorcycles drove past.


    Eloise said, ¡°If it gets bad, have your friends go to their cars. You can get their stuff to them, hopefully.¡±


    I took out my cell phone. ¡°I¡¯m calling 911.¡±


    Eloise said, ¡°Don¡¯t, that¡¯s the worst offense. They have contacts with the cops anyway.¡±


    A motorcyclist came back and stopped by the entrance. He pulled back the dark face of his helmet and touched the side of his nose before pointing at me. He made a terse smile at my friends who had just caught up with Eloise and me. Then as the other three motorcyclists rode past he revved his bike and took off after them.


    I leaned forward and whispered. ¡°Why are you in horse form?¡±


    Eloise said, ¡°As horses and chickens we don¡¯t smell as strong of magic. We have pulled back all the Fairylands and the powerful have retreated.¡±


    I slid off of Eloise¡¯s back as Lawrence came up beside me. ¡°What was that about?¡±


    Eloise said to me. ¡°Tell them it was a bike gang that causes trouble from time to time.¡±


    I said, ¡°That was a bike gang. I think they call themselves, ¡®The Deaths.¡¯ They cause trouble around here from time to time.¡±


    Jenn asked, ¡°Are the girls safe?¡±


    Eloise said, ¡°Tell them the girls have a safe place but we will be moving them shortly because of the bike gang.¡±


    Greg asked, ¡°Have you called the police?¡±


    I said, ¡°Small town, they are tight with the cops. We have a safe place for the girls, but we are going to be moving things shortly. So it won¡¯t be a problem.¡±


    Jason said, ¡°I thought this place was too good to be true. Sorry, Joshua, but it all seemed too nice. Like a Fairytale.¡±


    As we walked back to the cottage, Lawrence and Davis fell behind and they were talking.


    When we got to the cottage, Lawrence stopped by the cars. ¡°We have to think about Jenn, Josh. I think we should head home while we still have daylight.¡±


    #


    I stood and waved as they drove off.


    Eloise and I walked back to the cottage where five chickens were waiting.


    Jody wiped her beak on the ground. ¡°Most of the flock have fled to Fairy. Some chickens are more chicken than others.¡±


    #


    As I combed Randal, he caught me up on the plans.


    ¡°We thought having mortals here would give us protection, but now it looks like it might be endangering mortals. So we are going to have to move operations to another country until things calm down here. The North American Deaths have always been unpredictable. If we have to shut things down before all of the trucks come in, try to find warehouses to store things in.¡±


    After I finished combing Randal, he went back down the tunnel and Jack came up.


    I said, ¡°Jack, I can open a temporary gateway to your Fairyland so any shipments that come after everyone flees, can still get to you.¡±


    Jack said, ¡°If we flee, you need to flee faster. Go to ground. Forget the truck deliveries. Don¡¯t worry about any of the grain, flour or malt. Don¡¯t worry about the equipment. Maybe we tried too much too fast. How are things on your end?¡±


    I kept combing Jack. ¡°My lawyer friends have put together a corporation for me and I suspect they are making corporate plans without me. I got them started on it, but I think I am out of the loop now. My employer has been asking the sort of question you would ask if you were trying to have another programmer remake all your software and move the data base. I think they will try and maintain a relationship just to buy my future silence. So I am a free agent now and I think your the best friend I have.


    ¡°I have been looking at the raw data and trying to organize it. I¡¯m not sure how all of the new results got entered so quickly.¡±


    Jack held a hoof up to show me it needed cleaning. ¡°The Professor is half machine and was able to set up a modem to download his observations. His memory is flawless so most of the data was put in that way. For the rest, the chickens are experts at hunting and pecking.¡±


    I started cleaning Jacks hooves. ¡°When the laptops come in, I will put the data on them and hand them over. It could take years for me to analyze it and even figure out how to analyze a lot of it. I am intrigued by the patterns, but I can¡¯t really make any shape of them.¡±


    Harvey walked up while I was talking. ¡°Your friends are gone and you don¡¯t have any deliveries coming till Saturday. Let¡¯s not waste the full moon. Right now there are wizards dueling and plotting. We need you to start finding them.¡±


    Jack asked, ¡°Do you really think Josh is ready to Face wizards in a duel?¡±


    Harvey whipped his tail. ¡°He can concede and gift them with a language. He doesn¡¯t have to win. All he has to do is find the oath stone, and break it.¡±


    Jack asked, ¡°Don¡¯t they guard those things?¡±


    Harvey got up. ¡°Coddling Josh isn¡¯t training him.¡±


    Jack said, ¡°After you groom, Renate and Eloise, let¡¯s go for a ride. We can get groceries and take a break in my Fairyland.¡±


    #


    We were resting and playing guitar on the balcony in front of Jacks cabin when Jack stopped playing. ¡°How much do you know about King Surmium?¡±


    I said, ¡°You know I won¡¯t reveal any secrets.¡±


    ¡°No, Josh and I respect that, but do you really know what he is planning?¡±


    I shrugged. ¡°If I have to answer, let¡¯s change the subject.¡±


    ¡°Alright, I have a gateway to my Fairyland and it is well hidden and I can use it. But I can¡¯t figure it out. The maker of it said he knew of six individuals who could sneak past it, but he also set up this world to expel people who were here without my express permission.¡±


    I looked up at the sky. ¡°That¡¯s all Fairy king stuff. I may or may not even be a peer, whatever that means.¡±


    Jack said, ¡°I got some data on that. There are royals, peers, gentry, and commoners. Among commoners you could be free, a surf or a slave. So there are divisions in all of that. Gentry are Fairies that can do magic and would be expected to help defend the realm. Royals are those who can do all the complex spells, make stuff and they could have their arm cut off, cauterize the wound by spell and keep fighting. The peers are dukes, marquesses, earls, viscounts and barons.


    ¡°Dukes are the scary ones. As far as I can tell marquesses, earls, viscounts and barons are in order, expected to be able to beat the next one down in a fair fight with consistency. But there are full kings that wouldn¡¯t win vs a viscount, so it¡¯s odd. From what I have seen, I think I would beat a viscount so I am probably earl grade with enough grit and ability to be a Fairy king. You can gift so that puts you at least at baron by most descriptions, but there are esquires among the gentry that can gift. At the very least you a member of the gentry.


    ¡°Wizards all say they are Fairy kings, but very few would qualify by ability or aptitude. They are all gentry level, but I wouldn¡¯t even say half are peers. They say they are kings because they can make gateways, but the gateways they use are different and easier. The real gateways are major works of magic and you have to stay focused for a long time to manage casting one. An hour if you are fast. And even then there are Earls that can make gateways. The spells are more secret than impossible to throw.¡±


    I didn¡¯t tell him I had gotten making gateways down to twenty minutes. I had been gifted with a lot of the things that Jack did and I couldn¡¯t use the gifts so I wasn¡¯t sure what my rank would end up.


    I started playing the guitar again. Fairy seemed unfair to me. Class systems and all.


    I asked, ¡°You can manage iron, right?¡±


    Jack nodded. ¡°A knife to the heart is still deadly, but yes, I can handle it and the iron work you see on the cabin I did on a forge from scrap metal. The chickens can handle iron too. Hard to do lab work with an allergy like that. Both Queen Cypsela, and King Surmium have Fairies that can heal so they can mend gossamer infections and eventually replace gossamer with real matter. That¡¯s another odd one. Most healers are gentry despite having abilities that would make them Dukes. I think to be a Duke or Duchess being willing to kill is part of it. A lot of Fairies can do basic healing, but the real healers are rare and the ones cold enough to kill are even more rare. I don¡¯t think the healers generally gift that stuff to folk with cold hearts.¡±


    I remained silent. Jack had just revealed to me who King Surmium¡¯s spy was. What he had not revealed was why Snake was Surmium¡¯s spy and why Surmium trusted him.


    I looked down at my guitar. ¡°I was just thinking, you play a wide range of instruments. If I came up with a list, you could pick from them and I would be happy to obtain them for you. I figure I owe you.¡±


    Jack said, ¡°I was a band director. We do a lot of instrument repair. I taught you to use a lathe. A lot of instruments are shaped with that sort of thing. Not only do I have all the band instruments, I made most of them.


    ¡°Next time you visit, I¡¯ll take you down to see.¡±


    #


    We had spent three more weeks in Fairy and we still got back on the same afternoon the Deaths had ridden in and broken up the party. I had a day and a half that I figured I might as well try to at least find some wizards in.


    #


    This time I was able to identify poison ivy. The fence I crawled through was covered with it and it was a wonder I wasn¡¯t worse infected. I went to the gate and crossed out of the corn field there. Then I walked to town. I was in Daemon form, hoping a wizard would recognize me and give me a ride. No such luck. I had to walk the whole way. I stopped at the cafe.


    The waitress smiled and came over. ¡°Long time, Captain Dreamcakes. Your usual?¡±


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    I nodded, not knowing what my usual was. It was a steak and two eggs with toast. While I was eating a couple came in and sat across from me. The man said, ¡°It¡¯s been a while, someone inquired about you.¡±


    I didn¡¯t know who these two were so I nodded and stayed quiet.


    The lady said, ¡°We found out your first name. ¡°Lithos. Suits you. Do you need a ride to the lodge?¡±


    I nodded. ¡°Who was looking for me?¡±


    Lady said, ¡°Nicely dressed like you. Accepted a challenge. I didn¡¯t know our lodge had an agreement with a club.¡± She turned to the man. ¡°Ralf, what was the name of the club?¡±


    Ralf said, ¡°The Fallen Sand.¡± The man beat Wayne so he was pretty strong. He left after the gifting so none of us got to talk with him. Liv, tell him about Journo!¡±


    Liv said, ¡°We always figured he had a thing for you the way he watched you all the time. I understand, You have that whole silent but sexy thing down. He kept coming up with reasons to challenge you. You kept beating him, probably with the same choke hold you used on me. I stayed mad for a couple of months, but we always figured Journo must have liked it.


    ¡°Anyway Journo was in line to get awarded ¡®most victories,¡¯ but right after he beat Hems in a public battle, he stopped coming. But here¡¯s the big thing. Even dead he¡¯s a liar. Manson summoned him and Journo said he killed you.¡±


    #


    It was a good thing I got a ride. I would have never found the lodge on my own. The lodge consisted of three buildings. Two looked like nice dorms and the third looked like an old style mansion. Past the large parking lot the road continued to a pair of metal barns.


    Liv turned in her seat and said, ¡°They put up a second barn so we have two private arenas. I still prefer the one at the old cement factory but for a while it was looking like we were getting big enough to need all three.¡±


    Ralf pulled in to a parking spot. ¡°Yea, but the Fearsome Three keep ¡®accidentally,¡¯ killing people. We tried to outlaw attacks with a proven history of high deaths, but that fell through and now enough of those who were for the move are dead, so it¡¯ll never pass. I keep telling people, the real answer is to take on one of the Fearsome three and eliminate them. I have an open challenge on all of them, but so far they have managed to avoid a situation where I can force a challenge.¡±


    #


    Inside the mansion we sat in at a table with four other wizards. A man in a serving uniform and white gloves came and put a tray with a small stack of letters in front of me before putting a tray with a larger stack in front of Ralf.


    Ralf said, ¡°Tea, bring a pot. Anyone else want tea?¡±


    Liv said, ¡°Bottle of club soda.¡±


    The man in the serving uniform looked at me. I said, Bottle of club soda.¡±


    While we waited I looked through the envelopes. The first one was a bill from the lodge. The second one was a more urgent bill from the lodge with late fees. With two years and late fees they wanted in excess of twenty thousand from me.


    The third one had a card inside the envelope that said, ¡°Samuel Withers, Esq. The Fallen Sands. On the back was a scribbled note in tiny handwriting. ¡°Lithos, Summon me. We quite honestly need you for playing Whist. Without you, they are all playing Boston and I abhor Boston. Not the town, I still love the town, but the Game, that I truly despise. Even though you mop the table soundly when you play, Whist is just not Whist without you at the table. Your earnest friend, Sam.¡±


    The bill said it could be paid in gold so I took out a small bag with a hundred ducats in it and put it on the tray. Since the membership dues gave me room and board, I decided it might be simpler than getting an apartment. I could probably remove a few ducats but since I was not having to convert it, I was going to come out better than I had done an exchange or at least without as much trouble gone through.


    The attendant came out again with a small stack of trays and started placing them in front of the people at our table. He picked up my tray but didn¡¯t give me one from his stack.


    Liv said, ¡°Seriously, Medon or should we call you Lithos, no one is going to challenge you if they can challenge someone else. You just came back after nearly two years, being choked out before a spell can even be cast gets kind of old and all anyone gets from you is some weird Mesopotamian language no one speaks.¡±


    A fellow across the table said, ¡°Are you trying to get Medon to challenge you?¡±


    Liv looked at me. ¡°No, my neck hurt for a week after he grappled me.


    I looked around wondering how to find my room without giving away my lack of knowledge.


    The attendant came over. ¡°Is there something you need sir?¡±


    I said, ¡°Sadly I lost my gear a while back and I may need help getting into my room.¡±


    He did a short bow. ¡°Follow me sir.¡±


    I followed him and he went to a counter and said, ¡°Medon is in need of a concierge.¡± He turned to me. ¡°Excuse me sir.¡±


    The man behind the counter went to an open doorway. ¡°Dana, Medon needs a concierge.¡±


    Dana came out. ¡°What can I provide?¡±


    #


    At my room he unlocked the door and let me in. He opened the tool box he was carrying and knelt in front of the door. ¡°I should have a new key for you shortly. We replaced the locks last year but since you were not here, we were waiting for you before we made the change. There won¡¯t be a charge for new keys.¡±


    I walked in wondering if I was being too quiet and rude or if this is how Medon acted. I didn¡¯t know how Lithos Medon talked, so I figured I would be in trouble anyway. I looked around. There were two changes of clothing. It felt like Medon kept the room but never stayed here. I went back to the door and the concierge was struggling with it.


    ¡°Pardon sir, it seems this replacement is flawed. It looks like they tried to use it and put it back in the box when they were replacing the other locks. Sorry sir. I should not bother you with this.¡±


    I said, ¡°No hurry since I am probably leaving shortly.¡±


    The concierge said, ¡°Wonderful. I will get maintenance to fix it and we will get the key to you next time you come.¡±


    #


    I stepped outside and took a trail that lead out to the nearby woods. Hidden but not too hidden I created a gateway and stepped through.


    #


    Onion was waiting for me. ¡°Good to see you, Josh. Is this gateway what I think it is?¡±


    I nodded. ¡°I have no clue when the wizards will find it. It is hidden well enough for someone to think it is hidden well, but I would spot it if I was in the woods near it.¡±


    Onion said, ¡°Perfect. We have a network of gateways to wonderful places in Europe and now a gateway that the wizards will find. I find, that despite giving you the fabulous gift of gateways, I am back in debt to you.¡±


    I asked, ¡°This is odd to put so much effort into a task, what is your plan?¡±


    Onion said, ¡°More of an experiment really. If several groups of wizards find this, I am wondering if they will fight over it or learn to cooperate. I suspect they will set traps and do all sorts of dastardly things. We are making a precious thing that they will, in the end probably destroy.¡±


    I shook my head. ¡°There has to be more to this. You will end up loosing this Fairyland and it has real mass and it is quite charming.¡±


    Onion was quite for a bit. ¡°When you go for deep sea fish, you put a bit of fish on a hook, expecting to lose it. You are not giving it away. This is bait for a very large fish.¡±


    I went to the spot marked for the next gateway to Real and started casting this side of the spell. Now that I had put so much time into this network of gateways and I had not yet explored the places it lead, I wanted to keep it for myself, but I had no way to protect it or keep it safe. It was a wonderful thing that needed to be shared, but anyone I shared it with would be endangered or would end up destroying it.


    I wanted to teach Agnes how to use it, but then she might feel the need to protect it and it would end up endangering her.


    #


    I took a gateway to Edinburgh, Scotland. The full moon was visible. I made my way to a bench and used the light on my cell phone to read the card I had gotten. Then I debated how to summon Samuel Withers, Esq. I didn¡¯t identify with the names Medon or Lithos, and while I wanted to find things out, if Sam was an innocent, I didn¡¯t want to involve him. He found Lithos¡¯ lodge so he was probably a wizard. I decided to be silly. There was a chatty nature to the note on the back of the card so it almost seemed in kind.


    ¡°Mr. Bear wearing the Face of Lithos does summon Samuel Withers, Esquire of the Fallen Sands and hopes this is not a bad time.¡±


    Samuel answered. ¡°Oh, Mr. Bear is it. Good timing, but you missed supper. No fruit cup for you. Show me where you are Mr. Bear.¡±


    I let him view the place and me. ¡°I know that place, are you really in Edinburg? How fabulous. Oh, goodness it must be near midnight there. Well, Jeeves can summon me back so bring me there.¡±


    I brought him to me. He was a large charismatic fellow with a broad grin and a wild bush of dark red hair. He sat at the end of the bench and looked at me. ¡°Well that is something. You really are not yourself these days.¡±


    He kept glancing at me puzzled. ¡°You have Lithos¡¯ lovely face and it is clear his form entire. Yet you are and are not him. What mad experiment did my lovely Lithos do?¡±


    I said, ¡°I turned into him.¡±


    Samuel toddled his head in a gesture that made me think he avoided women as much as I did but for different reasons. ¡°Well, that much is obvious, but what did Lithos do?¡±


    I said, ¡°He died.¡±


    Samuel said, ¡°Well then, I am pleased ever so much to have met you, but I am duty bound to avenge his death. It¡¯s just proper form you know. No real offense.¡±


    I said, ¡°His killer is dead.¡±


    Samuel said, ¡°Well then, I suppose I am not duty bound to get all sweaty this night and I owe you for your honest delivery of sad tidings. Can I call you Lithos?¡±


    I nodded.


    ¡°Well then Lithos how did you become my darling Lithos?¡±


    I turned into myself with the diary and set it on the bench. I turned back into Lithos.


    Samuel said, ¡°Well, that is a turn. You know it is quite impossible for a mortal to turn into a Daemon.¡±


    I shrugged. Samuel smiled. ¡°Unless he really does turn into a Daemon I suppose. Do you have his memories? How did you ever become poor Lithos?¡±


    I gestured to the diary. He picked it up.


    I realized that if he read it to the end, I just revealed that Queen Cypsela probably killed Journo. Since Samuel wanted to avenge Lithos, he might feel gratitude to Cypsela but I may have revealed more than I should have.


    Samuel glanced up at me and then flipped to the last entry. ¡°Oh, you wanted to protect Queen Cypsela. Don¡¯t worry, I would die for her considering. Are you in love with her?¡±


    ¡°Well that¡¯s a complex flash of emotion. So come out with it, how did you become Lithos?¡±


    ¡°I went to his grave. He had been dug up but I found a jawbone and used it.¡±


    Samuel looked at me for a while. ¡°Well you wear it well. Do you have his memories?¡±


    I gestured no.


    He rolled his eyes. ¡°How much do you know about Daemons?¡±


    I shrugged. ¡°Strong, tough, fast, able to read emotions.¡±


    He said, ¡°Well I don¡¯t know. This is like you are a reverse avatar. A mortal in a gods body. If you stay him long you might start becoming him. Do you dream?¡±


    I said, ¡°I haven¡¯t slept in the form. I have done a lot of work in it. Mostly moving stuff. Are Daemons allergic to poison ivy?¡±


    ¡°Mild reaction at the worst. Well by all I can figure, unless a bunch of you mortals start taking the form of Daemons, and apart from you, I am quite certain it is impossible but then Fairies have always been impossible, you are now Lithos of Medon or Lithos Medon now days. You know a lot of Fairies?¡±


    I nodded.


    He continued, ¡°Well, this is awkward. I am one of your plus six, so I really do need to be your friend.¡±


    I asked, ¡°What is my plus six?¡±


    Samuel said, ¡°Well every truly wealthy and powerful Daemon, in the old days was expected to have a group of Daemons to accompany him. When The Dark Sands first formed, you, I mean Lithos had just been cast out of Whites and Brooks and Boodles were new clubs and you didn¡¯t feel inclined to join either. The last thing you wanted to do was manage a club and at the time you were studying human wizards, so you provided materials, funds and pulled strings so one of the first gentleman''s clubs for wizards was established.


    You and several others were made eternal members and you of course had to have your entourage as members too, so as one of, well not you, but Lithos, this is ever so confusing you know, I have eternal membership as long as you don¡¯t throw me to the side. I really don¡¯t want to have to come up with the fees so, I really will be your dear friend if you let me stay. I think Lithos would like that, and I think, he would want me to support you as well since you will of course naturally become him.


    ¡°Form does dictate function and that body was crafted to be who poor Lithos was so inevitably, you will become him, as you abandon, that charming but clearly, mere human body of yours.¡±


    I asked, ¡°So the club is the Dark Sands?¡±


    ¡°No, when the great America wizard, Whipple, was offered membership in the Dark Sands, he paid with a gateway to Boston where we built a house called the Grey Sands. After the great fire in London we never rebuilt the club in London and instead just put up a pub to house the gateway. Before he died, Whipple made another gateway in Chicago and we opened the White Sands.


    But then the fire in Chicago destroyed it. We were ready when the Boston Fire broke out the next year and moved the club to Fairy. So we have gateways in London, Chicago and Boston, but it is really in a Fairyland. We call it the Fallen Sands now.¡±


    He looked over at me. ¡°It seems so strange explaining all of this to you. I need to call your other hangers on. I mean, Lithos.¡±


    Tears started welling in Samuel''s eyes. ¡°It¡¯s like you lost all your memories. Three thousand years gone. I mean, I barely held on when Rattles died. But your Lithos, I mean. Well, can we just pretend you are Lithos since you are bound to become him.¡±


    He started crying. I turned into my copy of Lithos that was carrying a stack of towels and handed him one before changing back.


    He gave me the diary back. ¡°Put it away, I can¡¯t read that awful man¡¯s words. I changed into me, took the book and changed back into the version of Lithos that summoned Samuel.


    He was blowing his nose and crying into the towel. I put my arm around him.


    He sobbed, ¡°You always take care of me. We need to call the rest of your entourage.¡±


    I asked, ¡°All six?¡±


    He cried more. ¡°No, just two more. You only had four and Rattles died. You just kept two for guests. Always thinking of others. Can you summon Dantin and Dalan, I don¡¯t think I can manage it.¡±


    It was night, in Edinburgh. I was sitting with my arm around a huge red haired man who was crying into a towel. He wanted me to summon two Daemons that as likely as not would try to kill me. I hadn¡¯t thought this through at all.


    I summoned Dantin and set it up for him to see us. ¡°Datin companion of Samuel Withers and Lithos Medon, the man who would be Lithos summons thee.¡±


    He asked, ¡°What¡¯s wrong with Samuel?¡±


    I said, ¡°He lost a friend. It¡¯s complicated. Look, I¡¯m not Lithos, I just turned into him.¡±


    Datin asked, ¡°Oh, gods, is Lithos dead?¡±


    I said, ¡°Yes, and his killer is dead.¡±


    Dantin shouted, ¡°You were right Dalan, Lithos died.¡± In a lower voice he said, ¡°Dalan had a dream where Lithos said goodbye. Can you bring Sam to us. He won¡¯t be of any use for a while.¡±


    I brought Sam with me through the summons and two men, helped me get Sam to the couch.


    After going through the entire explanation again, Dantin, said, ¡°Well, first off we are going to have to teach you how to play Whist.


    #


    In a nicely lit room with dark wood inlay in large wooden tiles a server brought me a vanilla phosphate light on syrup and an assortment of small triangular sandwiches. After he left I took my cards from where I was holding them against my chest and decided to risk playing a low trump. Dantin played his jack to trump mine and Sam played his king taking the trick. I lay down my cards. ¡°The rest of the tricks are all mine, I am afraid.¡±


    Sam smiled.


    Dalan said, ¡°Good lord how we missed you.¡±


    I asked, ¡°Since all this food, I assume is imported from Real, how do we get everything past the Deaths?¡±


    Dalan got up and walked to another table. Can we borrow the Bradster?¡±


    A lanky man got up. ¡°Consider me borrowed. What can I do for you?¡±


    Dalan led him to our table and gestured for him to sit.


    ¡°Our Lithos died and forgot everything. Fortunately a wizard managed to transform into him using a Jawbone so we have him back. So Bradster, he wants to know how we get past the Deaths.¡±


    Bradster smiled. ¡°You crazy Daemons. Always another surprise. We are grandfathered don¡¯t you know. We helped form the Deaths and originally half the members were from the club. More of a duty than a job.¡±


    He spoke louder so the other tables would hear. ¡°Sad with the plague and all that most of them retired ages ago and refuse to help.¡±


    A man at another table raised his glass. ¡°To retirement!¡±


    Several other men raised their glasses. I raised mine with them.


    Bradster asked, ¡°So Daemons can let mortals turn into them when they need replacing?¡±


    I shrugged. Everyone seemed to be convinced I was Lithos or would be soon.


    Bradster raised his glass, ¡°To the poor mortal who sacrificed everything to bring back our poor Lithos.¡±


    Sam said, ¡°He can still be the human so I expect the human to have a longer life than he would have had otherwise.¡±


    Everyone nodded like that was entirely sensible.


    #


    Queen Cypsela, and King Surmium were in the gazebo when I went to the Fairyland to take the gateway back to the estate.


    I offered Queen Cypsela the diary. ¡°Here, Olive, I made a mistake and revealed that you took care of Journo.¡±


    She said, ¡°Keep it. I would rather get credit where credit is due and I doubt anyone will be showing up to avenge Journo.¡±


    I turned to Surmium, ¡°I was set to the task of turning into a Daemon and I am assured by Daemons that humans can¡¯t turn into Daemons.¡±


    King Surmium said, ¡°The transformation spell you were given is quite a bit updated from the one most folk are using. Originally Daemons, jealous of their form incorporated a sort of ward to keep mortals in their place. Your version is kind of a prototype. I am trying to get an upgraded sort of gateway for you, but it may take a while. Did you do any dueling?¡±


    ¡°No, not yet. I played Whist. Made friends with some Daemons, got into a wizard gentleman''s club and a wizard country club.¡±


    Olive leaned forward. ¡°What gentleman¡¯s club?¡±


    I handed her a card that read, ¡° Lithos Medon, The Fallen Sands.¡±


    Olive leaned back. ¡°Onion, your schemes must be favored by the heavens. As long as he can keep pulling of this identity, we have the closest thing to carte blanc possible.¡±


    King Surmium asked, ¡°Tell me, what did we catch?¡±


    Olive said, ¡°This may be too dangerous if his comrades find out he is impersonating their leader, Joshua is going to have to go into hiding and never come back out.¡±


    King Surmium tried to grab the card and Olive danced back.


    He looked at me, ¡°Come on, Who are you impersonating?¡±


    I said, ¡°My comrades assure me that I am not impersonating him. I am him but with the memories of a mortal and three thousand years of history gone.¡±


    King Surmium asked, ¡°Who is it?¡±


    Olive handed him the card.


    He looked at it puzzled. ¡°Well I have heard a mention of the Fallen Sands as one of the more elite clubs. You might meet someone important there. I also knew that your Daemon form went by Medon but someone please explain why this is amazing.¡±


    Olive winked at me. ¡°Lithos practically created the Fallen Sands. The Fallen Sands practically created the North American Deaths. They don¡¯t just look the other way when a member of the Fallen Sands is involved. They look at the Fallen Sands to see what they should even look at.¡±


    I said, ¡°I am assured it isn¡¯t quite like that, but the couple of Deaths I met seem quite a bit different from the four that rode in on motorcycles.¡±


    King Surmium said, ¡°You know the worst thing about getting a pawn through all the enemies ranks?¡±


    I shook my head.


    Surmium smiled, ¡°As your pawn advances you get more and more protective of it, but once it gets to the other side of the board, you become scared to let it even get close to danger.


    ¡°Olive, we need to ramp up our training.¡±


    Olive said, ¡°He still seems to be quite giftable, but his activation of things is spotty. I almost think he needs a paranormal psychologist but I don¡¯t think there are any I would trust.¡±


    #


    In the Fallen Sands, Dalan, Dantin, Sam and I were playing Wist while talking in a language that was probably entirely lost in the human world. The culture had used another language for writing and records so it was probably unrecorded.


    Since the club was mostly empty, Bradster came over with another Death and sat with us.


    In English, the new fellow asked, ¡°Do they speak English?¡±


    Sam said, ¡°Our poor friend Lithos lost all of his memories, so we are teaching him all the lost languages so maybe he can put himself back together. I can gift you so you can join us, but we need to practice it, even ourselves so it doesn¡¯t become lost.¡±


    Bradster and the new guy leaned their heads in for gifting.


    Bradster said, ¡°Almost like when Lithos used to hold the magical research gatherings. I guess all of that is gone now.¡±


    I asked, ¡°Did I do magical research?¡±


    The new guy frowned.


    Bradster said, ¡°Well all wizards dabble in it, but it¡¯s mostly law of this and law of that sort of stuff. You know, Bonewitz, Steiner and the like. Interesting stuff but, well, you know. Not to offend you but it ends up being philosophy, ethics or religion.¡±


    The new guy said, ¡°We got a scary one going on though. We plan to clean them out at the peak of the next full moon. Fairies buying lab equipment. Not even worried if it¡¯s steel. They got a corporation that goes in so many circles our diviners get mad if we even bring it up.


    Realizing they were talking about my estate, I stayed quiet. Dalan, Dantin, and Sam all looked at me and then looked back at Bradster¡¯s guest.


    Dalan asked, ¡°What sort of trouble would that be?¡±


    Bradster said, ¡°Fairies studying disease is a sure warning of trouble. Physics is in ways even more scary. What if they actually learn something?¡±


    Bradster¡¯s guest said, ¡°We are tempted to stop research by humans in Real. The nuclear bomb was bad enough, but what happens if they can turn mass to energy and energy to mass with ease? We aren¡¯t involved, but there is a group that makes sure fusion research stays twenty years from success.¡±


    Bradster said, ¡°We investigated that group, since they were getting funding from the petroleum industry, but the practitioners involved are just manipulating things and not revealing magic to mortals. In any case, We absolutely can¡¯t allow Fairies to collect scientific equipment. What if they did learn something? Thing are bad enough without having to deal with new technology from that side of things.¡±


    Sam smiled at me and sighed. ¡°Just when I fear it may be centuries before we have Lithos recovered, he shows flashes of his old brilliance.¡±


    Dalan nudged him. ¡°He definitely has his old skills at Whist.¡±

 Old Friends I Never Knew

    Chapter 7: Old Friends I Never Knew


    The moment the moon was full enough for them to go full out, gateways opened and the mansion, cottage, barn and stables all disappeared. Stone and wood appeared in their place and burst into flame. I had already gotten a visa by investing in a property in Spain where we could build and hide our buildings among ruins we had permits to restore.


    Olive summoned me. ¡°The gateways you replaced have already shut down. You should probably get out of there.¡±


    I nodded to Randal. Randal reared up and waved his hooves dramatically before he turned in to a 1970 Mustang.


    We took to the road only slowing when the radar detectors warned us of possible trouble. We wanted to be far away as we could before the Deaths showed up. They would still be able to trace things to me and then from me to me as Lithos. Hopefully they gave up before then.


    I wanted to be sure the gateways were gone and that there was no trace of my magic on them before I left. Now I needed to lose a duel and go to the club for solace.


    #


    I watched as Randal was summoned away. The crunch of gravel underfoot and the wind in the trees made the walk to the wizards lodge seem ominous. I would be facing my first real duel. Not that I planned to fight. I was going to concede early and gift a language. It was an easy plan but I was still nervous.


    I sat down at a table away from the crowd. A server came and placed a tray in front of me. On the tray was a card. ¡°Medon vs Thane Cawdor, Noon in the Old Circle, Cawdor requests witnesses.¡±


    I held the card. A pair of ladies sat. I reminded myself they were evil wizards that would be happy to kill a Fairy or me with a spell or poison. That thought was reassuring so I was mostly able to relax in front of them.


    One leaned in. ¡°I volunteered to be a witness, are you going for the choke hold first thing?¡±


    The other girl said, ¡°He could just hold me down. No need to choke me. I would concede instantly.¡±


    Now I was scared again so I got up.


    The girl who leaned in said, ¡°You went to far Doris. Pardon her Medon, she gets all giggly when you¡¯re around.¡±


    I walked over to where an attendant was sliding victories and ranking on a large score board. The crowd in front of me was large, but Medon was taller than I was so I had no trouble seeing the scores.


    A fellow beside me said, ¡°I have a duel or I would be a witness at your duel Medon. Thane has been climbing the ranks consistently so I think it might be a good match. You have been out for so long that your rank has dropped, but no one thinks you have lost any skill.¡±


    There was a commotion over by the platform with the gateways on it. A pair of wizards in scorched clothing were being dragged through a crowd that a pair of attendants was trying to open a path through. The smell of scorched clothing, burnt hair and oddly enough, chicken, filled the air.


    Several wizards with green sashes went through the gateway to the Old Circle. I stepped onto the platform and I could see through the gateway to the Cement Factory. There were smoldering bits of grass and scrub that had managed to grow from cracks in the cement floor. I entered.


    #


    Inside the cement walls and around the interior pillars and braces that remained, The Fairyland was open. The sweet smell of burnt grass and the predatory look of wizards with green sashes made this feel like a ceremony that I didn¡¯t know or belong to, that I had just stumbled onto.


    I looked at the man standing facing me. I guessed it was Thane. I didn¡¯t know him. I wasn¡¯t sure if there was a signal that started this or if we could just start prepping and casting spells.


    I didn¡¯t know if I could concede before action started. I didn¡¯t want to break protocol but I didn¡¯t want to fight either.


    The man bowed to me. ¡°I concede the match to you, Medon.¡±


    There was a rustling from the group in green sashes.


    I said, ¡°I accept.¡±


    The man made a visible sigh of relief. ¡°Let¡¯s go to a table and discuss what I gift you without all the witnesses.¡±


    I nodded, bowed to the clearly disappointed wizards and followed Thane through the gateway back to the lodge.


    #


    As soon as we got away from the crowd and noise around the platform with the gateways, he led me out to a garden table with wrought iron chairs. ¡°I can¡¯t tell you what a relief this is. Everyone told me you would be there and then a moment later slam into you and have you from behind while you struggled to breath. I have been dreading this for a week. I needed to lose. I lucked out on the last two duels and I am already ranked higher than I think I can manage.


    ¡°Your scary enough so I won¡¯t be too embarrassed by conceding so quick, and I really need to lower my rating. Have you been gifted with seeing wind? If you can turn into a bird it¡¯s useful. Most the time, when you invoke it, it just adds a sort of Van Gogh look to things. That can be nice but unless you wind surf or turn into a bird, it¡¯s kind of useless. Still, If you don¡¯t have it, that¡¯s what I want to gift.¡±


    I smiled briefly and said, ¡°That will be fine.¡±


    He gifted me and asked, ¡°Can we talk?¡±


    Looking at the swirls of wind on the downwind side of a tree I rubbed my eyes for a moment. ¡°Sure.¡±


    ¡°I realize that there are human wizards that everyone fears, but do you ever think about the advantages you Daemons have?¡±


    I gave him a side eye look. ¡°It is important to see things from other beings point of view. For a being with a few thousand years of memory, risking their life beside someone who has only a fifty or sixty years left to live could seem rather generous. But yes, the whole dueling thing, even without magic is unfair. Some folk are faster or stronger or more precise. They came by it easy.


    ¡°If it were me making the decision we would do this by playing cards or something, but that too rewards those with good memories, instinct or fast calculation. You can, at the very least look and see where the wind is. This is something you can do without a Fairyland so it¡¯s bigger than you are thinking it is. Most gifts do nothing unless you are in a Fairyland. There are places where, among normal humans, this would be an unfair advantage.¡±


    He nodded, ¡°I didn¡¯t want to say the word unfair, but half the things that would kill a human, would only be a bit painful to a Daemon.¡±


    I looked up at the clouds and the swirls of distant wind. ¡°Remember this feeling when you see someone crippled, old or infirm. That¡¯s all I can really tell you. Imagine that you are a programmer and everyone around you depends on your computer skills.¡±


    He asked, ¡°Why a programmer?¡±


    I said, ¡°It¡¯s the metaphor I am using. As a programmer, you can decide that everyone has their place and skills, or you can decide you are superior. If you decide everyone has their place and skills, you are ignoring how many stupid people exist. If you decide you are superior then you set yourself up to become an idiot and obnoxious. If you decide that you are superior and that they are stupid, you are doubling what you may or may not deserve in credit.


    ¡°In any case, you are best just focusing on doing a good job and trying to remain honest in a complicated world.¡±


    He said, ¡°I really didn¡¯t expect a morality lecture from a Daemon.¡±


    I stopped looking at the winds and looked at him. ¡°But you were really wanting to give one. It¡¯s perspective and from your point of view you are seeing the unfairness. But you just had a string of wins versus people who probably feel the same way about you.¡±


    He said, ¡°That was more luck than ability, to tell the truth.¡±


    I spread my hands. ¡°Luck too is, at least from my perspective, unfair.¡±


    #


    I was walking further than I intended to when I realized that being in Daemon form wasn¡¯t giving me the alibi I needed to get. I summoned Sam.


    ¡°Samuel Withers esquire, The man who would be Lithos summon¡¯s thee.¡±


    Samuel said, ¡°Why so formal?¡±


    I said, ¡°In my mortal form I need to have witnesses and time on my side. Is there a way I can go to the Fallen Sands as my mortal self and not be identified as Lithos?¡±


    Samuel said, ¡°Every day you seem more and more recovered. I guess we have to live with your lost memories, but having you back is all we really need.


    ¡°Yes, turn into your mortal form and let me bring you here, we will make you one of your plus six.¡±


    I asked, ¡°Isn¡¯t that a bit obvious?¡±


    Samuel said, ¡°Fine, turn mortal, let me bring you here and then I can get Dalan and Dantin to help nominate you to a temporary membership in the club. Then we get you to vote yourself in and it will be final unless someone black balls you in the first year. After that it will take a bit more to kick you out, but we have been through that sort of thing before. You will have to pay, just like you were a common member, but as a mortal, the lifetime membership is a lot less than the existence membership Daemons have to get.¡±


    #


    Dalan and Dantin did a good job of acting like they had just met me. They did give me a sour look when I was on a loosing streak. But my emotions assured them I was really losing and not throwing the game so they relaxed.


    Dalan pointed.


    A man in a biker outfit was talking with one of the attendants. He pointed over at me and I recognized him. He was the motorcyclist who had pointed at me earlier.


    The attendant shook his head and the motorcyclist disappeared.


    I smiled since my alibi had just been made. I had been located, but I had an alibi.


    Bradster came into the chamber and went to an attendant before glancing our way. I was using peripheral vision like the Daemons had been teaching me to, so I had not yet looked directly at Bradster.


    He came over and gestured to an empty seat. ¡°May I?¡±


    Dantin replied, ¡°Of course dear Bradster, but please don¡¯t interrupt the game.¡±


    Bradster sat. ¡°Who is our new player?¡±


    I said, ¡°Call me Josh, but my name is Joshua Bear.¡±


    Bradster asked, ¡°Do you do research into magic?¡±


    I fanned my cards and decided to pass on trumping since I only had one trump card and I knew Sam had a void in the suit played. ¡°I think we all do, but mostly I just look for patterns.¡±


    Bradster asked, ¡°Find any good ones?¡±


    I said, ¡°Well the general theory is that the rules were changed to try and get rid of magic in the fifteen-sixties. I wasn¡¯t around so I can¡¯t really argue it. But my current theory is that reducing the strength and probability of performance isn¡¯t a power that skeptics possess, unless they have a unique gift and I doubt a skeptic would be gifting it, if you consider that they don¡¯t believe in such gifts.¡±


    Bradster asked, ¡°Then why is it harder to do magic in front of a skeptic?¡±


    I said, ¡°The rules of the universe, at least locally, make magic less likely to work in front of those who are not aware of magic. A skeptic, by definition is the least aware of magic person you will find.¡±


    Bradster asked, ¡°Have you been involved with Fairies that did research?¡±


    I looked up at one of the large slow moving fans. ¡°I have an old estate that has had several gateways. I mostly have good relationships with the Fair Folk but one never does quite know where you stand with them.¡±


    Bradster asked, ¡°Do you have any strong relations with a Fairy Queen?¡±


    I said, ¡°I hate to admit this, but I am deathly afraid of beautiful women. I honestly freeze up, have trouble thinking and panic. Most Fairy Queen are rather attractive so I think I would rather pass if you want to introduce me to one.¡±


    Bradster asked, ¡°Do you own a lot of complicated corporations?¡±


    I said, ¡°You know, Samuel, I was ever so delighted when you invited me to this club. I don¡¯t think I want my money back, but now I feel like a policeman is asking me questions without warning about my rights first. The club can keep my preliminary fees, but I am thinking I would prefer a more laid back environment.


    Dantin said, ¡°Bradster, you are interrupting the game. Josh, please don¡¯t go.¡±


    I said, ¡°No point in staying, It is clear that Bradster doesn¡¯t like the cut of my jib and I have read the rules on blackballing in the first year of membership. It is best that I withdraw my application and save what pride I can.


    ¡°All I have left to me is to bid you all a good day and summon my way home.¡±


    Bradster said, ¡°Good luck with that, if it¡¯s the Cypsela Estate all but the boat house has burned to the ground.¡±


    I got up and remembered the feeling of panic and went to Fairy. I had a miserable hand of cards anyway and I was on a loosing streak.


    #


    King Surmium gestured for me to sit with him in the gazebo, ¡°How¡¯s it going, Josh?¡±


    I sat. ¡°Horrible. It¡¯s a miserable day. Everything worked out as planned.¡±


    King Surmium said, ¡°Perhaps it is time to retire Joshua Bear for a while. I would rather keep you safe and it isn¡¯t certain that you are ready to fight duels.¡±


    While I tried to come up with a reply, I was summoned. ¡°I, Allan Bertrand summon Joshua Bear.¡±


    I made a frantic wave to King Surmium and signaled him to stay quiet. ¡°I don¡¯t know anyone named Allan Bertrand.¡±


    ¡°But I know you. Bring me hence.¡±


    I asked, ¡°When a person on the street walks up to you and says, let me into your house, do you invite him in?¡±


    King Surmium said, ¡°Bertrand is a Death, go to Germany, get away from the gateway and let him come to you. He probably isn¡¯t allowed in Germany.¡±


    At the same time, Allan Bertrand said, ¡°I am a North American Death. You would be advised to cooperate.¡±


    I said, ¡°Anyone could say they were a North American Death and I don¡¯t know anything about North American Deaths and I don¡¯t know you.¡±


    ¡°A fellow you met at the Falling Sands, told you your place was on Fire.¡±


    I said, ¡°Yes, and I have not been able to get back there. If your an authority, there was a biker at the Falling Sands that was threatening me at my place about a month earlier.¡±


    He said, ¡°I am that biker and if your are implying we set your place on fire, we don¡¯t do that sort of thing.¡±


    If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.


    I said, ¡°So you drove through, threatened me and you are telling me that you didn¡¯t set my place on fire and you followed me to a club that I paid to join and then left since a fellow was questioning me with a hostile tone.¡±


    ¡°That was Bradster, a Death and a founding member of the Falling Sands.¡±


    ¡°Well then, I am going to have to try and get back there and get my money back then. I thought I would just give it up, but it the Deaths wait till you pay your fees and then drive you away, maybe people, the right people, need to hear that.¡±


    King Surmium was laughing out loud. I gestured for him to try and keep quiet.


    Alan Bertrand said, ¡°If you are trying to cause issues with the North American Deaths, you would be best off not showing your face in North America.¡±


    I said, ¡°Look Mr. Bertrand, if that is who you really are, I was born in America and I am an American citizen. I have rights. If you come near me and threaten me anymore, I¡¯m going straight to the police.¡±


    He said, ¡°Your absolutely clueless aren¡¯t you? Do you have any idea who you are talking to?¡±


    ¡°I said, I think I am being threatened by someone who calls himself a Death and threatens people while riding in on private property with a motorcycle gang.¡±


    King Surmium said, ¡°Quick, go to Germany, go to a crowded place. Preferably a place with live music. Keep getting him mad and backing away. I¡¯m going to get with --¡±


    While King Surmium said that, Allan Bertrand said, ¡°Let me explain something to you. As a super-- can¡¯t just-- leaving--¡± I couldn¡¯t make out the words. So I went through the gateway to Berlin.


    It was late. I did some guessing and figured it was probably an hour or so past midnight in Berlin. I was at a park Agnes liked because it had a petting zoo. I figured there was no way I was going to find live music when I heard just the sort of noise made by electric, live music in the distance. I ran. Allan Bertrand was telling me he was getting angry and he could tell I was still listening. I found a bar called Wild at Heart. The band was singing in English, so I paid the cover and got a beer at the bar. English Punk Rock in Berlin and a decent crowd.


    I said to Allan Bertrand, ¡°Look Dude, I can¡¯t hear you.¡±


    He yelled something. I brought him through the summons and he punched me. Then he dived on me and grabbed my collar. I felt cloth tear. A couple of guys with tattoos and peircings grabbed Allen. I was in my original human body so the punch felt like it cut my lip.


    A Fairyland opened around us. The sound stopped. Two men in suits were sitting on stools. The bar scene faded away. My hand was bleeding from a cut. It was the hand that had held the beer.


    One of the men asked, ¡°What¡¯s a North American Death doing attacking someone in Berlin?¡±


    Allen looked back at them and disappeared. I held my hand where it was cut.


    I said, ¡°Thanks. I think he was trying to kill me. He said I was in trouble and demanded I bring him through.¡±


    One of the men said, ¡°Just as a formality, can we see some identification?¡±


    I looked at them and one of them showed a pair of IDs to me. One, as far as I could tell was German police, Bundespolizei. The other was for the Zaubererpolizei which I doubted would normally be considered official since I doubted the wizard police were on the normal lists. ¡°I¡¯m Officer Schmidt and this is Officer Weber.¡±


    I took out my Spanish visa. ¡°I¡¯m Joshua Bear.¡±


    Officer Schmidt looked at it and showed it to his companion. ¡°Looks like you weren''t even defending yourself and your telling the truth. He pulled out a notepad. ¡°I must warn you, as we do this inquiry, that we can ascertain whether you are telling the truth. Can you name the attacker?¡±


    I said, ¡°He said he was Alan Bertrand but I have no proof of it. I first saw him about a month ago when he and three others rode motorcycles onto my estate in America. He made a threatening gesture at me before leaving. Then, when, I was at the Falling Sands applying for membership, he appeared and looked at me. Then another person who I was informed was a North American Death started asking me questions so I decided to abandon the payment I had made to the club. A single existing member can black ball you and get you kicked out in the first year.¡±


    Officer Schmidt asked, ¡°What did he ask you?¡±


    ¡°He asked if I do magical research. He was strongly against it. He then told me my estate was on fire. I haven¡¯t managed to find out if it is true but when Alan Bertrand summoned me, he told me that they were not responsible for the fire and that they didn¡¯t do that sort of thing.¡±


    Officer Weber handed my visa back to me. ¡°If that¡¯s the case, they have made some changes in policy. Do you know why he got so angry at you?¡±


    I said, ¡°I was reluctant to give into his demands, and I couldn¡¯t hear him well.¡±


    Officer Schmidt said, ¡°Well the venue was rather loud. It¡¯s a good thing we got a tip on this. You might have disappeared into one of the American Hells and never been seen again.¡±


    Officer Weber said, ¡°I think we can conclude this. We should probably get you to a hospital. Your bleeding.¡±


    I looked down at my hand. I was dripping blood.


    #


    With my hand bandaged and four stitches, I left the urgent care facility and stepped out into the streets of Berlin.


    It was late so I thought about where I should spend the night. The Ruins in Spain was still a ruins, so the only place I could go to rest was The Fallen Sands. I summoned Samuel. ¡°The man who would be Lithos summons Samuel, I hope this is not a bad time.¡±


    Samuel said, ¡°Hold on a moment.¡± After a short wait he said, ¡°Please come, but as Lithos.¡±


    I changed and let him bring me through the summons.


    #


    Dalan and Dantin were sitting with Five other members of the club.


    An older wizard named Jeffers said, ¡°Lithos, good to see you. It¡¯s been nothing but trouble all day. Once again the Deaths have let their business spill over into the club.¡±


    An attendant came to the alcove we were sitting in. ¡°Pardon me, sirs. ¡°There is a German Zaubererpolizei wanting to ask a few questions regarding Mr. Bear. The fellow that paid for membership and then left abruptly. Should I show him in?¡±


    Dantin asked, ¡°Does he appear likely to cause a scene, no wait, I¡¯ll go check on him. I saw it all anyway.¡±


    Dantin got up and smiled at me like he was loving this as he followed the attendant out of the hall.


    Boswell, a man I recognized as a retired Death said, ¡°Well I heard it all, and I have to say that Bradster was out of line and hostile to a guest when he had been asked not to interrupt a card game. I didn¡¯t like Bradster when I worked with him and he hasn¡¯t changed at all.¡±


    Dalan said, ¡°I think at the very least a week¡¯s ban from the commons might be in order. I hate to bring up more formal issues.¡±


    Samuel said, ¡°Our guest left since he feared Bradster would black ball him. This puts our clubs reputation into a rather sore area. Typically a person is ejected after black balling and then when he says things, we can explain that an unruly presence would complain, wouldn¡¯t it?


    ¡°But in this case, we have a rather charming fellow, sadly no talent at Whist, but still a good sport, who left since he was exposed to unruly behavior in the commons. I am half tempted to issue a challenge to Bradster myself. A bit risky considering all the gifting we contributed and gave to the Deaths at their inception, yet, some things a gentleman does not abide.¡±


    Boswell said, ¡°Well there are handicaps that could be applied considering the vows taken by the Deaths. Our vows preclude the personal abuse of a lot of those powers specifically. The oath stone is still kept in the clubs vaults and as far as I know the enforcement is still quite firm. Being bound by that stone, I think I would know if it were otherwise.¡±


    The attendant came back, ¡°Pardon me, Dantin is asking for Dalan and Samuel to join him in the rose meeting room.¡±


    Samuel and Dalan got up. Dalan smiled and nodded to me before he followed Samuel and the attendant.


    Boswell said, ¡°When I left the Deaths, you may remember, there were a few years when I did not visit the club. I was myself certain that enough of the remaining Deaths would find an excuse to black ball me if I entered the club at the time.¡±


    I saw Bradster enter the hall so I put my finger to my mouth to signal silence and then pursed my lips and pointed my finger at it as a sort of cute gesture when Bradster looked our way. I wasn¡¯t sure such a gesture really worked for someone who was older than seven. Maybe a mature girl could pull it off but the thought of a girl acting cute like that made me shiver.


    Bradster came our way and sat down where Dalan had been sitting. ¡°So what is the meeting out by the front entrance?¡±


    Boswell said, ¡°One of the German magical authorities was asking about the new applicant you ran off.¡±


    Bradster asked, ¡°A German psycopomp?¡±


    Boswell said, ¡°Zaubererpolizei.¡±


    Bradster said, ¡°They are as bad as Thorn. We figured they would have gone away, but they reappeared right after the wall came down. Having a mystic organization tied to government, no matter how well isolated it is, is never a good idea. What trouble did Mr. Bear get into?¡±


    A fellow I had seen but not been introduced to stood up. ¡°Well if there is a problem, I would advise anyone who knows Mr. Bear to tell him to stay out of Real. When Deaths start acting innocent, people tend to disappear.¡±


    #


    In the shared space between Lithos, Dalan, Dantin, Samuel, and the two other suites they used for guests, there was an atrium with a few small orange trees, a lemon tree and two fountains. After checking the suites, we gathered at a glass table.


    Samuel leaned in. ¡°So it¡¯s the usual kerfuffle with the Deaths. They say that severe reprimands have been made but they are short handed and need all the Deaths so they can¡¯t suspend anyone.


    Mr. Talc however is not taking this sitting down. He¡¯s had issue with Bradster for ages and it looks like several members are ready to black ball him.¡±


    Dantin said, ¡°They won¡¯t do it. They will chicken out. Their worried that the Deaths might start causing issues.¡±


    Dalan said, ¡°They can¡¯t. Well not any big issues. Their initiation ceremony has been held in the chapel here in the Falling Sands since it was still the Grey Sands in Boston. All their mighty and holy artifacts are stored in the vaults and sealed to prevent a group of Deaths from going rogue and stealing any of them.¡±


    Samuel gestured at me like he was laying down rules. ¡°Don¡¯t turn into the human. Not anytime soon. If it gets to the black ball level, Bradster will delay it by insisting on facing someone to defend his honor. He has done it before. Odds are good he will insist on a duel with Mr. Talc, but he might go for Mr. Bear instead.


    ¡°We haven¡¯t talked about this, but your not up to your original powers and a lot was invested in the Deaths so they could back up their enforcement of the rules. Mr. Bear wouldn¡¯t have a chance, and after they killed him, and I say they since I don¡¯t trust Bradster to play fair, they would bind his spirit and probably drain his memories and put him in the deepest hell they have.¡±


    Dantin got up and put his hand in a fountain. ¡°Your recovering quickly, but your powers are not there and you mentioned that you were having trouble using gifted magic. You fear girls, but then you have always feared and avoided women. What other weaknesses do you have?¡±


    I said, ¡°Apart from some issues with magic, just the girls really. Why did Lithos fear women?¡±


    Samuel said, ¡°Long story. Never really said it. Didn¡¯t want to offend Lithos. Problem was he fell in love with the most dangerous goddess to fall in love with. He always figured she couldn¡¯t stand him. But he also knew she might be unreasonably jealous. So he avoided women. The woman he loved ignored him, but she might destroy him and any woman he got near if she decided he was untrue.¡±


    I asked, ¡°Was she a named goddess?¡±


    Dalan pulled out a deck of cards and started shuffling. ¡°We are all a bit nervous to name the goddess of the night.¡±


    #


    I was in Paris. Agnes has finally started exploring France so I had put in a gateway but I decided I wanted another for when the Fairyland with all the gateways got discovered and it was unsafe to use. Olive, Queen Cypsilla, had insisted she wanted gateways so I was putting one in a world where she wanted a few choice places to visit. In a lovely park I sat down and started the spell casting. I was just about done when I saw a gateway sliding across the ground. I kept on casting since I was just minutes from finishing but the gateway started moving towards me. I dropped the spell and lifted my legs up on the bench and stood. I felt something hit the back of my head and turned. A wand was disappearing into another gateway. I looked down and the gateway below me opened.


    #


    There was a table surrounded by high chairs and booster chairs in those and doll chairs in those. There were rats in suits sitting in the doll chairs. Around me there were gazebos of every shape, style and size. Sitting in a gazebo was a lovely lady. One of those timeless beauties that looked maybe a perfect thirty years old or maybe just seventeen. She was in a frilly dress with an abundance of bows and holding a wand that looked like the one that struck me from behind.


    She leaned her head towards me, smiled with a cute and seductive look and gestured for me to approach her.


    I went into panic and left instantly.


    #


    I was in a gazebo but not any of the ones I typically go to when I flee. There were other gazebos that resembled the ones I had just seen. I turned and the beautiful lady smiled. I fled to Fairy and I appeared in the same spot right in front of a nightmarishly beautiful lady.


    She said, ¡°Spoiler alert. Cover your ears if you don¡¯t want everything ruined.¡±


    I covered my ears and heard a double click as I felt cold metal on my wrists.


    I turned and a girl with long hair and a black and white checkered dress had just handcuffed me. Then from behind me a bag with and odd smell was put over my head.


    #


    My head ached. I felt drugged. I was strapped in a chair at a table where there were several giant rats in suits. I looked at my hands. I too was a giant rat.


    The beautiful lady was immense. She smiled at me as she brought her head close and rubbed her nose against mine. She smelled like rose, and gunpower with a hint of eggs, jelly and toast. I was dizzy from all the things I smelled.


    She said, ¡°You can call me, ¡®Darkness,¡¯ cause calling me ¡®Dark would be just too familiar since I am married!¡± She waved a hand with a ring on it in front of my face. ¡°First off, about your cat, Harvey. His name is really Mr. Needleteeth, and he isn¡¯t your cat and he was never a wizard. Impressive enough for a cat to be able to gift things. Let alone spells that he can never throw.


    ¡°Of course the spells he gifted you wouldn¡¯t work well, since he was never able to practice them.¡±


    The sent of fresh laundry and mint passed by as she continued. ¡°Your cat¡¯s real master is Alvin Thirst. He is plotting for you to destroy his orders oath stone so he can be free of it. His cat is remarkably loyal to Alvin, so he isn¡¯t really your cat.


    ¡°Second off, I¡¯m married! Things might have been different if I had know that you were in love with me for all these thousands of years, but of course you poor boy, you don¡¯t remember any of it.


    She waved her hand in front of me showing a ring made of a carved diamond with a gold seal on it. ¡°I¡¯m taken, taken, taken! Come here Belly-Welly, tell him how he can never, ever have me.¡±


    A man just a little older than me stepped over and leaned towards me. ¡°Just play along, and you¡¯ll probably live. That¡¯s what I tell myself.¡±


    She said, ¡°Oh, Belly-Welly always so silly. You can go now, since some of the outcomes you are predicting might be a bit bloody.


    ¡°Poor little Josh-Lithos, since your just going to have to settle for another woman to make your life complete I have been looking around and trying to find the perfect match for you but how could I ever find a match for me!¡±


    She waved her ring in front of me again. ¡°But since I am taken, taken, taken, my first thought was if I could find a group of thirty beautiful girls for you it might come part way.¡±


    She picked up the doll chair I was secured to and carried it over to a tall platform with three curtains facing it. A curtain pulled back and there was an enclosure with a group of girls in one piece swimsuits that were all looking at me with intense looks. One of them licked her lips. I struggled in my bonds and managed to tip my chair a bit. Below the platform was a cat that looked up with the same sort of look the girls were giving me. I looked at the girls and decided the cat was safer.


    The woman reached into the enclosure with a wand in her hand and started tapping the girls and turning them into cats. ¡°Well you probably guessed that I couldn¡¯t find thirty suitable girls so I transformed a group of cats. It¡¯s only eighteen of them, cause I¡¯m not like one of those sick cat ladies, but here you are a statistician and you didn¡¯t even count. So to make it all up to you, I will try, and get Belly-Welly to help me. I will try to find a lot of opportunities for you to find romance. But until then, let me introduce you to Ursula.¡±


    A curtain pulled back and an attractive Daemon girl with red hair and an outfit made entirely of straps was revealed.


    She posed and slapped her riding crop.


    Darkness closed the curtain. ¡°Well, it really is the cute girls that your scared of. Well then, this is disappointing and I will have to find someone for you later. Cause I¡¯m taken!¡± She waved the ring in front of me again.


    ¡°Since I can¡¯t have you dying off if I want a real romance with a ¡®slight¡¯ risk of death, I will have to introduce you to your trainer who will get you ready to face death. Or Deaths.¡±


    She reached for the third curtain. ¡°Psych!¡± She went back to the second curtain and pulled it back to reveal Ursula again. ¡°This is your new combat coach.¡±


    She leaned down beside me to fake whisper in my ear, ¡°And possible love interest, you naughty little boy.¡±


    There was a huge cloud of smoke that kept pouring out from where Darkness was standing. My chair was picked up and I was being carried by someone. We went through a gateway and the air cleared. Ursula was carrying me. We went through another gateway. I smelled flowers and water. She sat on a large rock by a stream and she spent a moment shifting her barely there clothing.


    ¡°These strappy things look sexy, but honestly they are the most uncomfortable outfits you could choose.¡±


    She transformed into herself in jeans and a t-shirt and made a large gossamer magnifying glass on a stand. She positioned it and made some gossamer tools.


    She started working on my restraints. ¡°We probably have six hours before the drugs wear off. But it could be less, so we need to get you out of these restraints before you turn back to human or Daemon. I didn¡¯t get a clear answer on what you were. But don¡¯t try and tell me. Hold still while I cut your restraints off.


    ¡°Look, I¡¯m not looking for a relationship right now, unless you want to stay a rat. I think rats are kind of cute. Not like your thinking, I mean as a pet, but then probably not like your thinking. Just forget about the thinking thing.¡±


    She looked at me for a moment before making a gossamer guide and shield to keep from cutting me and a gossamer jewelry saw of bronze and diamond.


    ¡°You have probably guessed, I¡¯m one of the five percent of Daemons that¡¯s emotion blind. Don¡¯t think that means I¡¯m stupid. I still read face and body signals with the best of them, just not for rats. I suppose it¡¯s fine if you fall in love or get a crush on me. Kind of hard to escape that, but I went through a break up after six hundred years just a month ago, so I really don¡¯t want a relationship.


    ¡°Unless you want to stay a rat. I like the thought of a cuddly rat. But not like you are probably thinking. Men. What can you do with them? Not much. Okay, we have one arm free. Well leg. Cause rats.¡±


    ¡°You know your really cute as a rat, can I call you Mr. Beedy Eyes? Cause I just, oh never mind, your a guy and you are going to take everything wrong cause that¡¯s just how your wired. One track minds. You would think a guy might develop some depth after five-hundred freaking years, but no. Not even then.


    ¡°You probably don¡¯t understand this but getting a girl a skimpy little outfit for your five-hundredth is a bit too far. I mean, it¡¯s not really a gift for the girl, unless she likes going out wearing nothing. Which honestly I prefer to wearing--¡±


    She got another of my legs free.


    ¡°Okay, we might actually get this done before the drugs wear off. Look, if your into this whole drugged rat bondage thing, don¡¯t tell me. The riding crop wasn¡¯t my idea. I¡¯m a Daemon girl and even I think that is a bit far.


    ¡°I can¡¯t tell with those cute little beedy eyes if your getting an eyeful or being normal. Well I guess your a guy so normal is getting an eyeful. Just keep it to yourself. I mean, I am the rather well formed and the hot sort of Daemon girl men go for, so I guess you probably can¡¯t help yourself. Especially when you have a thing for being bound up as a rodent.


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to seem all judgmental, but doesn¡¯t that seem a bit embarrassing after a while?


    ¡°There, one more leg and we might not see an amputation when you turn back to normal.¡±


    She set up on the last leg and made gossamer shields to block off possibly cutting me as she started sawing my restraints. ¡°Oh, my goodness, your tiny little hands, well feet but they are like little cute hands.¡±


    She got me free and she held me close. Odd thing, and maybe weird but it felt really nice having her hold me like that. I didn¡¯t want to develop a crush, but it kind of felt like I was getting one. I couldn¡¯t really say anything and I decided I probably shouldn¡¯t right when I turned back into me as a Daemon.


    She backed up, ¡°Can you turn back into a rat or another form? You look too much like my ex. Selfish bastard. No, not you, my ex.¡±


    I turned into me as a human. ¡°Thank you for freeing me.¡±


    She looked me up and down. ¡°Your welcome. You know, your kind of cute as a human. Sort of soft and weak and cuddly looking. Almost like a little rat. Don¡¯t take it as a come on, and you don¡¯t have to return the compliment. I know what men think when they look at me. What¡¯s with the ring with the price tag on it?¡±


    I looked at the ring. The note said, ¡°Wear this on your human form so no one can summon you as your human self. Hope my matchmaking works, but your both such train wreaks. Still I have to try.¡±


    I looked over at Ursula for a moment. ¡°Do I owe you something? I mean, thank you, seriously thank you, but you saved me so I am not sure what I--¡±


    She said, ¡°I went to a fortune teller and asked him how I could get over my anger issues, with my ex that, honestly I want to take those useless awkward spiky heel things he kept buying me and stomp on him.¡±


    I said, ¡°Ok. Well thank you and I hope you can get over things.¡±


    She said, ¡°I¡¯m supposed to train you to fight.¡±


    I asked, ¡°Did Darkness say that?¡±


    She said, ¡°No the fortune teller did. So get ready.¡±


    I looked at her puzzled and she dropped, half spun, swept my legs out from under me and put me in a hold. She let go and stood up.


    ¡°Your going to have to do a lot better than that or you are going to have to give up on fighting.¡±


    I got up. ¡°In human form,--¡±


    I never finished the sentence, she took my feet from under me and took me down again. I struggled. I tried to squirm out of her hold. She let go so I stood. Then she took me down again. I realized my face was close to hers, got embarrassed and then scared and went to the Fairyland with the gazebo.

 Getting Tossed Around

    Ursula still had me in a hold and in the gazebo, Olive, Queen Cypsela and Onion, King Surmium were looking at a chart on a table but switched to looking at Ursula and me.


    Ursula let go and stood in a quick spinning move. ¡°We were just doing some combat training. I don¡¯t even like humans.¡±


    She looked at me and then at Olive. ¡°I mean not that way. I mean, humans can be all soft and cute but--.¡±


    She stopped and looked back at me and I started to get up.


    Olive said, ¡°You know that Josh panics around girls he thinks are cute and comes here without even thinking.¡±


    Ursula said, ¡°Good idea.¡± and then spun. Her leg sweep took my legs out from under me and she caught me as I fell.


    #


    We were in a Fairyland that consisted of concrete rubble with water in the gaps.


    Ursula set me down on a cement slab. There were cat tails growing around a cement and gravel island a few hundred feet away across an expanse of open water. There were jumbles of rebar rusting and expanses of cracked cement with rebar sticking out of them. In the distance there was an island of cement pipes, some intact most broken.


    Ursula helped me to my feet and said, ¡°Step where I step. This place is trapped.¡±


    I followed her and noticed a pattern in the stepping stones she was walking along. She took us to an island that was hidden behind taller islands of cement and clay pipes.


    On an expanse of cement road bed and sidewalk chunks fit neatly together was a neatly spaced garden of huge mismatched ceramic and cement pots. In the center of the garden was a building made of large and mostly intact cement. There was a splash behind me and I saw a large fish swimming off through the water.


    Ursula said, ¡°Welcome to my main Fairyland. It¡¯s all real stuff. I got a great deal from some Gleaning Fairies. They even gave me some potting soil, but it got taken over by grass so I moved my garden to pots and put it on this island.¡±


    She gestured to the building, ¡°I¡¯d show you my place but it¡¯s a mess right now. I have been trying to build a third story so I won¡¯t have to sleep with mosquito netting but getting culverts up there isn¡¯t easy.¡±


    She lead me down another path of stones through the water. ¡°This trail is safe too.¡±


    We got to an island that was overgrown with grass. It had cement walls with chains coming down and steel cables between more walls. As I looked at exposed rebar sticking out of a cement wall and bent over, and I realized that it had been bent into a set of monkey bars and this was her exercise area.


    She said. ¡°We¡¯ll have to go out for food. I don¡¯t have power for cooking and my gas grill rusted out.¡±


    She shifted position and pulled my elbow. I fell against the grass and she had me pinned. ¡°You have to be ready for surprise attacks.¡±


    I looked up at her and tried to fight my fear of her. I failed.


    #


    In the Fairyland with the gazebo, Onion said, ¡°That was fast.¡±


    Ursula rolled off me and stood. ¡°I was training him to resist surprise attacks.¡±


    Olive said, ¡°Of course you were. How is it going?¡±


    She said, ¡°He doesn¡¯t even see me coming yet. He is going to have to become a lot more wary.¡±


    Onion laughed. ¡°I don¡¯t think that is his exact problem, but carry on. Joshua, can you take a break from training and do some shopping for me? We want some beer from Germany, bread from Paris, butter from Ireland and some Scottish short bread and smoked fish from Scotland. Among other things.


    ¡°You can take your girlfriend with you, she looks hungry.¡±


    Ursula said, ¡°I was working out.¡±


    At the same time, I said, ¡°Not my girlfriend. She¡¯s out of my league.¡±


    Onion held out a slip of paper. ¡°Your shopping list.¡±


    Olive said, ¡°Don¡¯t go to Real in human form. Your not ready to duel any Deaths.¡±


    I said, ¡°Ursula doesn¡¯t like my Daemon form so I¡¯ll have to go shopping without her. Ursula, what can I bring you?¡±


    She helped me up and held my arm. ¡°It¡¯s okay, you can turn into you as a Daemon. Are we really going to all those places to shop?¡±


    I led her to a gateway to Scotland. ¡°Yeah, I put in a few gateways.¡±


    #


    While I started emptying all the Smoked Red Leicester Cheese into the cart she asked, ¡°Am I really out of your league?¡±


    I said, ¡°Hot red head, smoking figure, athletic without looking like an anatomy lesson in muscles and veins? Yep, that guy over there just ran into a display looking at you. You are way, way out of my league. Not that I even have a league.¡±


    I started collecting all the various Stilton cheeses and realized we were going to need at least one more cart just for the cheese. ¡°If you want anything, just grab another cart and start filling it. I¡¯m buying.¡± She came back with a cart and took a few of the cheeses from my cart and asked, ¡°How long do you think this will keep without refrigeration?¡±


    I shrugged. ¡°If it¡¯s refrigerated here, it probably needs to be eaten quickly.¡±


    She said, ¡°I mostly eat out. So you think I¡¯m pretty?¡±


    I glanced at her and wheeled my cart over to the smoked fish. She grabbed a couple of packages before I emptied the rack.


    ¡°You were assuming I was ogling your perfection just a while back. Are you fishing for compliments, teasing me or just insecure?¡±


    She said, ¡°I don¡¯t have large breasts.¡±


    I finished with the smoked mackerel and started getting the smoked salmon. ¡°I¡¯m not looking at you and I am not even going to say anything. I¡¯m the furthest thing from smooth with women and even I know that is the most land-mined subject ever.¡±


    She asked, ¡°You can¡¯t just give an opinion?¡±


    I said, ¡°Seriously? Just assume I said something that made me sound judgmental, pervy, sexist and crude. That¡¯s why I avoid women. There is no safe ground ever.¡±


    She asked, ¡°Okay, then, am I your type?¡±


    I said, ¡°You¡¯re everyone''s type. Apart from asking questions like that you are perfection. If you aren¡¯t a mans type, after seeing you he will change his type to match with you. Then after he hears you asking him this sort of question, if he is smart, he will run away and never look back.¡±


    ¡°So you don¡¯t like my personality?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m a bachelor and plan to stay one. I would run in fear from you but if you can possibly train me to manage any of those moves you make I may have a chance of surviving. I don¡¯t dislike your personality, but if you keep asking this kind of question I am going to decide to run away anyway, since you will kill me no matter how I answer.¡±


    The rest of our shopping went marginally better since it was just the hell of hearing all about her ex boyfriend, how much I looked like him when I looked down and if I thought she would look good dressed in that or that way every time we passed a display with a pretty girl, a pretty girl or clothing.


    While eating fish and chips she said, ¡°You know, I am emotion blind. Well you may have noticed that I don¡¯t have any sparkle either. All the other Daemon girls all know what to say and do, and I just put my foot in my mouth every time I talk. I got all the magic and none of the charm so I had to learn to fight early. I studied dance to try and learn a bit more grace but then I met Michael and I really didn¡¯t have time to keep studying dance.


    ¡°Michael wanted me available whenever he was free so--¡±


    I asked, ¡°Can we not talk about Micheal?¡±


    She nodded. ¡°Sorry. It¡¯s just I was only thirty-five when I met him. You know I am only five hundred and fifty, and I have only had the one boyfriend. Can you believe it? Five hundred years and when I complain that all he gets me is skimpy clothing and shoes with points, he walks out. He stops answering my summons and all our friends won¡¯t even talk to me.¡±


    I said, ¡°Your still talking about Micheal.¡±


    She asked, ¡°Do you turn into a rat much?¡±


    ¡°First time was when that lady turned me into one.¡±


    ¡°Do you like being a rat?¡±


    I asked, ¡°Why?¡±


    She said, ¡°I could carry you as we walked. I mean, if you don¡¯t mind being a rat.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡±


    ¡°Micheal didn¡¯t let me have pets.¡±


    #


    She was carrying me as a rat, with her hand in her pocket curled around me. When I woke up she was stroking my head with her finger and holding me in front of her face.


    #


    In the Fairyland with the Gazebo, Olive snickered.


    Ursula put me down. ¡°Sorry, I didn¡¯t want to wake him. Josh, we lost our place. We were right outside the bakery.¡±


    I changed into me as a Daemon and we went in to purchase short bread.


    #


    As a human, I was beginning to see her moves as they were coming and as a Daemon I could keep her from putting me in a hold for nearly thirty seconds. As a Daemon I was helping her build the third floor of her house. As a human I was cooking the meals and trying to build up speed and muscle.


    As a human and as a Daemon, dread was building in me slowly. I was falling in love with a woman with attachment issues. She could break my neck in a moment and probably would given provocation. I was giddy, happy, stupid and constantly looking forward to the next time she was going to throw me to the ground. I was probably going to start yelling the next time she started to go on about her ex-boyfriend and then she would break my neck to make me shut up. That might be less painful than the moment when she found out I had fallen for her and she started ridiculing me in front of her friends.


    I kept a rotation of laptops charging so I could work on programs while resting. She would lean against me and quietly watch as I programmed so I could sort of pretend I had a girlfriend. Admittedly a girlfriend who was over five hundred years older than I was, but she didn¡¯t look a day over twenty. Despite all my issues, I figured I was probably a bit more mature than she was so I wondered just how long it took a Daemon to mature.


    #


    She yelled at me. ¡°You had an opening, you maneuvered it and for the first time you could have ended up with me in a hold. Are you to scared to hold me?¡±


    I sat and pried a stone out of the grass. ¡°You would have been bruised.¡±


    She took the stone from me and threw it into the water. She took my hand, leaned in and kissed me on the forehead. ¡°That spell makes your joints and muscles tougher. Always, especially in human form, throw it before you throw a speed spell so you don¡¯t rip your muscles away from your bones or break your bones. Here is the speed spell.¡±


    She leaned in and kissed my brow again.


    #


    Olive and Onion where sitting in the gazebo looking at us.


    Ursula took her cross legged position and spun to standing in a spin that continued till she stopped it with arms extended. ¡°I was just gifting him with a few spells. Nothing was going on.¡±


    Olive said, ¡°You know Onion, they are practically perfect for each other.¡±


    Ursula disappeared. I would have disappeared too but I was already where I usually disappear to.


    This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.


    #


    Speed, toughness and strength didn¡¯t add as much when used as a Daemon, but I managed to get Ursula in a hold before Onion and Olive got to laugh at us when I took us to the gazebo.


    Ursula disappeared. Later when I summoned her she wouldn¡¯t answer. I expected this moment to come. Knew it would. That didn¡¯t take away the hurt.


    #


    In the club Samuel said, ¡°Well someone had a montage.¡±


    Dalan said, ¡°He has an angry, lost and hurt feel to him too. I don¡¯t remember when our dear Lithos looked more toned and more ready to break someone in two.¡±


    I asked, ¡°What¡¯s a montage?¡±


    Samuel patted my hand. ¡°Recent Daemon slang. In a movie they show a bunch of short scenes of exercise and training to show a person getting into shape. Now when someone goes to Fairy and speeds time to buff up we call it a montage.¡±


    I asked, ¡°Any good rumors?¡±


    Dantin looked over to the table where Bradster was sitting. ¡°No one has been able to locate Mr. Bear so he has either gone to a Fairyland and gotten him self frozen or sped up in time, or he has disappeared into the cosmic recycling bin. Personally, I think it is more that a bit of a coincidence that when a person is situated to embarrass the Deaths, he disappears from the cosmic coil like this.


    Boswell came over to our table, ¡°Mind if I join you?¡±


    I gestured for him to sit. ¡°Delighted to have you join us.¡±


    Boswell sat, looked over at Bradster and raised his eyebrows. ¡°Bradster was asking around to see if there might be enough votes to blackball the folk at this table. We have all seen these battles and while at times we need to keep order and decency, this is getting out of hand. What I think he wants is a duel or two to try and get popular again, but that hasn¡¯t really worked the last twenty years.¡±


    Samuel said, ¡°I don¡¯t want to go back to how it was in the fifties, but the whole world seems like it is on edge right now.¡±


    Boswell said, ¡°Bradster could apologize and promote that Bear fellow to membership, but instead, I think he really is looking to duel him. That¡¯s just bad form considering how overgifted we Deaths are. Plus the odds are, if Mr. Bear dies, he goes away, but Bradster would have the best care recovering him and probably restoring him to life.


    ¡°But that brings up another issue. If a Death just dies, he will probably stay dead, but in a contested and public thing like this would be, Bradster would probably be brought back just to show how powerful the North American Deaths are. Thing is, dying along with his ancient status and his long deferred retirement, could put him in a place where he was technically retired, still working and free from a lot of his vows.


    ¡°If that happens, I will be one of the first ones he makes disappear so if you find Mr. Bear, tell him to stay hidden. He could free Bradster to be the monster Bradster always wanted to be. Even if Mr. Bear won the duel fairly he might still find himself on the run. After the debacles in the seventies, eighties and ninety''s does anyone really think a person could win in a fair duel against a Death and live to celebrate it?¡±


    Boswell got up. ¡°Excuse me, I am trying to put a few bugs in a few ears and have them think about things. I don¡¯t want things returning to factions like it was in the bad old days, but here I am finding myself needing to wake up a faction since the other faction is already making moves.¡±


    Samuel got up. ¡°Lets¡¯ go to Boston.¡±


    Dalan and Dantin got up. ¡°Good plan.¡±


    I got up and joined them. In a long hallway with alcoves on either side three of the alcoves had signs.


    I pointed, ¡°Why just the three?¡±


    Dalan said, ¡°We planned for more but the great America wizard, Whipple died before completing any but London, Boston and Chicago. Do you know any wizards that could manage setting up a gateway? Unless they were a woman, became a woman regularly or just didn¡¯t belong in fine company, we would offer them a membership in a moment.¡±


    I smiled at Dalan. ¡°Didn¡¯t I hear something about Mr. Bear making gateways? Must have been just a rumor. Pity we can¡¯t find him.¡±


    Samuel led us through the gateway and gestured for us to follow. We left the mens room and went down a hall into the coffee shop and out onto the streets. He stopped and watched the entrance and led us up the road. ¡°Because the gateways are a possible source of invasion, everything said near there is monitored and recorded. Can you really set up a gateway?¡±


    I said, ¡°It isn¡¯t easy, It takes twenty minutes in Fairy and another twenty in Real. I can¡¯t do it if I get interrupted either.¡±


    Dalan said, ¡°And the door opens. Everyone in the club has a favorite place somewhere in the world. You offer a couple of gateways, and anyone who suggested we cast a vote on your membership would get blackballed or called out.¡±


    Dantin said, ¡°Most of the gifts to make a Death are still out there in the club. Odds are good that if we lamented that our poor Mr. Bear was a bit nervous, what with the Deaths trying to get rid of him, he might end up with the gifting to be a Death or more.


    ¡°Best thing is, that since you mentioned that in the hall of gateways, it is quite certain, the rumor will get around.¡±


    Samuel said, ¡°Our Lithos, just keeps coming up with more delightful twists. I hate the though of your absenting yourself, especially after we nearly lost you, but if you keep disappearing and Mr. Bear shows up, it will eventually become obvious. Since no one can summon Mr. Bear, the only way we can contact him is to summon you, but if you are here, then you will have to suddenly leave if you catch my drift.¡±


    I nodded. ¡°Such is the life. I guess we should part ways here.¡±


    #


    I walked for a while. Got a dinner out and thought of Agnes. ¡°Agnes, Joshua summons thee.¡±


    Agnes asked, ¡°Could I return to the states for a while. I could put gateways around. There are a lot of nice places.¡±


    I brought her through. ¡°Your dressed well.¡±


    She backed up. ¡°Where is Joshua?¡±


    I said, ¡°He¡¯s in hiding.¡±


    Agnes disappeared into shadow. She didn¡¯t answer when I summoned her. Great, I had scared her off again. I didn¡¯t even think about being a deamon when I summoned her. I needed to start being a bit more careful.


    #


    I had gone for cheap on a powerful used m otorcycle and I was regretting it. I had been warned it didn¡¯t have the best braking and now I knew how important brakes were.


    I didn¡¯t get the biggest motorcycle since I wanted to be able to pick it up and put it in a form as a Daemon, but I should have done more research and not been sold on the fast and pretty.


    #


    I made it to the old Cypsela estate. It was sad really. I sat by the boat house since everything else had a pretty good appearance of having burned down. It was never really mine but still I missed it.


    I thought about my cat Harvey. Every indication was he was a liar and traitor and he wasn¡¯t all that likable, but he was still, for a while, my cat. If he was a traitor, I didn¡¯t want to give myself away, but I hadn¡¯t seen him for a while.


    I summoned Harvey. ¡°Harvey, this is Lithos, a friend of Joshua¡¯s.¡±


    Harvey stepped out of the bushes. ¡°I know you¡¯re Josh. I smelled your clothing in the cottage before it went to Fairy.¡±


    I said, ¡°I know you¡¯re Needleteeth.¡±


    Harvey sat a short distance from me. ¡°Yeah sorry about that. My master, rescued me when I was little and arranged for me to be a familiar. He wanted free of his vows so he came up with this plan and your showing up in the Fairyland made it easier than recruiting Fairies to do the work.¡±


    I looked him over. ¡°Your looking thin.¡±


    He said, ¡°I¡¯ve been living off the land. In other words, I got worms. Don¡¯t worry, I am staying distant. I haven¡¯t been able to summon you or my old master. I thought you were both dead.¡±


    I said, ¡°The Deaths are still after me, so it could still happen.¡±


    Harvey said, ¡°Don¡¯t go and try to help my master. If he is still around, his order of wizards would make mince meat of you and he can¡¯t gift you. He was ordering me to bring you anyway. But I couldn¡¯t do it. I couldn¡¯t properly gift you and he couldn¡¯t without breaking vows, so it wouldn¡¯t happen.


    ¡°Since I betrayed you I might as well let you know what I figured out. Mostly by scent. Frog and Snake both work for the Fairy king we shouldn¡¯t mention. Not that the Fairy king is really a bad guy but he likes to stir up ants and watch them run around.


    ¡°In any case, it¡¯s good to see you are okay. Me, I¡¯m going to head into town and look for a new owner. I¡¯ll probably get caught and put down. At the very least be neutered and have an ear clipped. I¡¯m not real interested in having a chip in me, but it beats having worms.¡±


    I said, ¡°I can get worming medicine and some cat food at the feed store. Anything else I can get you?¡±


    Harvey said, ¡°Damn. Your too good to me. If I get eaten by something, and a few years later you find a kitten, that won¡¯t leave you, take pity on it okay?¡±


    I said, ¡°Stay here while I get some stuff.¡±


    Harvey said, ¡°I have a way into the rafters up in the boat house. It¡¯s safe and reasonably sheltered. So yeah. I¡¯ll wait, since your being kind.¡±


    I took the motorcycle to the feed store and bought a range of cat food and thought things over. I got some worming medicine and a few things for fleas. When I got to the boathouse, I picked up the motor cycle and then turned into me with a box of cat food and worming medicine. I stirred some worming medicine into some canned cat food.


    While Harvey was eating, I summoned Ursula. ¡°Ursula, Josh here. I am opening the summons so you can see things. I have a talking cat that I just gave some worming medicine to. Poor thing doesn¡¯t have a good home. Right now I don¡¯t have much better and I am traveling by motorcycle and I am at a place the Deaths raided recently.


    Ursula said, ¡°Bring me the cat.¡±


    I took off my shirt. I used my shirt as a bag for the cat food and put the box down. ¡°Harvey, get in the box. I¡¯m not picking you up since you have worms.¡±


    Harvey said, ¡°Rude, but fair enough.¡±


    Through the summons Ursula screamed loud enough that I was surprised Harvey didn¡¯t hear it. ¡°Harvey, his name is Harvey. He¡¯s so cute!¡±


    I said, ¡°Yea and no rat we know is going near him in rat form. Harvey, get in the box.¡±


    Harvey said, ¡°Finishing the cat food with the medicine. Give me a moment.¡±


    Harvey finished and jumped into the box. I let Ursula bring me through the summons.


    #


    ¡°Needleteeth meet Ursula. Ursula this is Needleteeth.¡±


    ¡°I prefer Harvey. Needleteeth was cause I was a kitten and gnawed on people.¡±


    Ursula said, ¡°Stay on this island till you find out where the traps are. Harvey, is so cute, so how long before the worms are gone and I can cuddle him?¡±


    I looked on the bottle. ¡°It doesn¡¯t say but he needs another dose in two weeks.¡±


    I put down my shirt with the cat food in it.


    Ursula said, ¡°Not fair coming here with your shirt off.¡±


    I changed into me with the flea collars, powder, soap and spray. ¡°Some worms are spread by fleas, so treat him carefully. Read all the directions. Harvey, tell her if any of this medicine bothers you. I transformed a few more times and dropped off the bags of cat food, the treats and the toys. ¡°I¡¯ll get you some books on cats if you want and look up the worm thing online. Do you need a computer? I have a spare one. You could go to a cafe¡¯ with internet and check.¡±


    Ursula said, ¡°I¡¯m not good on computers.¡±


    I looked at her and looked away, ¡°I could gift you, but it might take a few days practice in Real and several giftings. I guess I should go. Good seeing you.¡±


    I went to the Gazebo. For once Onion and Olive were somewhere else when I didn¡¯t want anyone to see me. My worst fears had already happened. Instead of fear, I just had a knot in my stomach. Ursula¡¯s rejection was going to come soon enough and my world would come crashing down around me.


    #


    I went to Paris. It was raining hard. I stood, cold and wet under an awning. There was no point in suffering physically while being a wreck mentally so I went back to the Fairyland and went to the gateway I had hidden in a Pueblo near the new place in Spain.


    I started hiking cross country. I wanted to clear my mind and think or at least think about something other than Ursula. I had a lot to worry about that didn¡¯t involve Ursula inevitably crushing what was left of my ego, but all the worries somehow led back to her. Overcoming a bit of my fear seemed good at the time but it had just set me up to face the cause of my fears.


    I sat on a rocky ridge looking down at the abandoned village the Fairies were setting up to do research in. They hadn¡¯t set up the manor house so I didn¡¯t have a place to stay. The wizards lodge I was at charged for me to stay and while it was nice enough, I could blunder and be challenged without knowing what I had done so that wasn¡¯t a good place to stay either.


    What I wanted to do was party and try to forget, but my best friend from school, married a girl that thought I was creepy so that kind of killed anything but sending cards at Christmas.


    I wanted to ride my motorcycle but that too had problems. I had a Spanish visa but it was for my human form and I was avoiding that. I didn¡¯t have a drivers license in Spain and my motorcycle was registered in the USA. The States seemed like and easier choice, but The North American Deaths probably made things a bit more dangerous. There could be dangerous Fairies or wizards anywhere, but you didn¡¯t seem to hear as many stories about the Deaths or psycopomps in other countries. Since my identity as a Daemon had no legal existence in Real, and just a set of investments managed by the Falling Sands, I decided to make poor Lithos legitimate.


    #


    The first step in becoming a real person required contacting a few shady people I had made connections with in Scotland so I made a long reservation in a hotel there. That gave me enough in the way of records to back up being upper management in a corporation I had obtained. The corporation was a serious concern a generation ago but then it gave salaries and titles to a wide range of family members and when it became clear to the descendants that they had sucked it dry, they were desperate to sell it before it totally collapsed.


    That¡¯s when I took it over. I ended up not using it, but I still deducted the expense of it from all the gold sales I had managed for the Fairies since the Fairies were in a hurry to get cash, and I was in a hurry and we didn¡¯t know for sure if any of my plans were going to work out. The company was stable without all the hangers on, but it wasn¡¯t growing and while I knew dirty corporate law, I didn¡¯t know how to make a company succeed. Till I found someone with a clue, it was a good company to sneak my existence into since the company had a tradition of not knowing what the company did or who did it.


    With connections and a few bits of data that said I existed, I was ready to become a real person. I looked around at options and came up with a really nice one. There were countries where afamily citizenship could be purchased and there was no residency requirement. If I spaced things out, I could make this work for years. If I had, on the books, an infant child, a ten year old and a twenty year old dependent and I put myself down as being thirty, I could become the children as they aged and get away with this for thirty or forty years.


    I sent off a slew of emails to investigate and decided I needed to learn Turkish and Maltese. I bought properties in several countries to get set up with residency in, but it looked like Turkey was the place I was going to have the fastest arrangement set up.


    I summoned King Surmium, ¡°How hard is it going to be to get gifted with Turkish and Maltese. There are a few other languages I need but those are at the top of my list.¡±


    King Surmium said, ¡°Bring me through.¡±


    He looked over my plans and said, ¡°This should be easy enough, let me summon a few people and see what I can do. Do you mind if I visit your properties?¡±


    I said, ¡°I need them to look lived in, I have directed a company to get help taking care of them, but I would love it if you made them look visited so yes, feel free.¡±


    #


    I summoned, Samuel. ¡°Samuel, this is Lithos. I have an interesting idea. I can get a Family citizenship in Turkey without ever showing up in the country. So If I had, on the books, a baby and a few other kids, I could keep a legal existence for maybe forty years without any real issues. Anyone I set up as a child, could probably start showing up in Real in about five to ten years and have nearly the same existence. So does anyone with gifting know Turkish and how do you feel about being one of my kids?¡±


    Samuel said, ¡°That¡¯s brilliant. How many kids can you have?¡±


    ¡°If I have to pay extra for a large family, I may just spread the cost out, I can start the family thing for about a quarter million although I need to look at past histories of real estate and investments in Turkey to be sure. There¡¯s even a visa arrangement with the USA, but I am wondering if there is any real advantage to be anything other than a tourist there.¡±


    Samuel asked, ¡°Are you going to be a widower or have you got a wife lined up.¡±


    I said, ¡°I¡¯ll get back with you on that. Get some pictures of the boys. There¡¯s software out there that will let me reverse age the photos convincingly. I am doing this in any case, but if you, Dalan or Dantin want to legally be my brothers, as we age, let me know.¡±


    After long debate with myself, warning myself just to drop it, I summoned Ursula. ¡°Hows it going Ursula? This is Josh.¡±


    Ursula said, ¡°You ran off before I could thank you. I went to Real and managed time in my Fairyland so I could get to pet Harvey sooner. He¡¯s so cute. He says you can manage converting gold to cash, do you still do that?¡±


    I jumped at the possible connection. ¡°I can, I would be glad to. Right now I am getting a citizenship that I can maintain for thirty years and maybe as much as forty. Are you interested in having a legal existence?¡±


    She asked, ¡°How are you going to manage that? In forty years I¡¯ll still look twenty.¡±


    I said, ¡°Yea, I¡¯m probably going to have issues too. We can definitely go twenty five years though.¡±


    She asked, ¡°Okay, explain this?¡±


    I started explaining and half way through she started giggling. Before I finished she disconnected.


    She summoned me, barely got our names out and disconnected again.


    Harvey summoned me. ¡°Okay what¡¯s the joke? It has to be rude, she can¡¯t stop blushing and laughing.¡±


    I explained my plans to give us identities in Real and Harvey started laughing before I was a quarter through the explanation. Harvey said, ¡°Seriously, Josh, you two were made for each other.¡±


    He disconnected before I could ask what he meant. Then I figured it out and blushed. In the worst and most technical way possible, I had lain out what could easily be considered a proposal of marriage. I was glad she was still laughing at me and hadn¡¯t decided to kill me yet.

 No Time For Planning

    Dantin summoned me. ¡°Lithos, Dantin here, Mr. Drakos has been asking for you. I tried to put it off, but he is rather influential and an old friend of yours. He would of course be closer, but he insists on playing that insufferable bridge game, that a robot could play. You of course would not remember, but you and Gregory fought side by side more than once.¡±


    I asked, ¡°Give me a moment to find a form still dressed properly. Okay, I have one, bring me through.¡±


    #


    In the hall where the bridge players and chess players gather, a few men were moving naval miniatures on a large table. The ship figures had cannons and the two sides were mostly marked with French and English flags so I guessed it was probably Napoleonic.


    The man that Dantin indicated was Gregory Drakos came and hugged me. He picked me off the ground and held me there for a moment before setting me down. ¡°Lithos, you old beggar. I would have never suspected. I told Ursula, you were likely to still spend most of your time at the Fallen Sands, but I am absolutely delighted despite your not asking me first. I am wondering though, that night in Morocco, Ursula wasn¡¯t born yet, but did, we agree on it then? I was drunk the whole week, so I can¡¯t be sure.¡±


    I said, ¡°I don¡¯t remember a thing about Morocco apart from it being in Northern Africa. That¡¯s about it.¡±


    He said, ¡°You sly devil. I could have sworn you were the sober one. In any case, I insist you use my estate in Greece for your honeymoon.¡±


    I smiled, I wasn¡¯t sure if this was a setup or not. I just kept thinking of the movie, ¡°My Fat Big Greek Wedding.¡± and thinking I should probably watch it before I made any more blunders.


    He asked, ¡°I never did get an answer from her. She just kept laughing. How did you propose?¡±


    I thought about it and decided I had to play along to survive this and honestly I could think about it with anticipation so playing dumb and imagining I really was going to be married to the beautiful if potentially violent Ursula wasn¡¯t the worst possible fate by far. If I was going to die by someones hands, I would rather it be quick like Ursula would probably make it, than lingering and painful and ending up with me in a Hell like Bradster would arrange.


    ¡°I am more than a little embarrassed to tell you that the proposal for her to call me her husband and me to call her my wife, was buried in a long legal discussion about a way to establish identities in Real that might hold up for twenty-five or thirty years. Possibly the, driest and worst proposal in history, but with Ursula, well, you know.¡±


    He said, ¡°Brilliant. Simply brilliant, How are you managing to set up an identity that will hold up that long without wearing makeup?¡±


    I said, ¡°With a pretend family, and a citizenship where we never even have to set foot in the country. Eventually, I suppose, as the pretend children grow up and we take on the role of them, we end up brother and sister, at least by human records.¡±


    Gregory said, ¡°Well, wife or sister has never been too strong an issue among Daemons, but Ursula is rather modern in her thinking and I don¡¯t think you¡¯ll ever convince her.¡±


    Samuel grabbed my arm, Dalan and Dantin joined us and Dalan asked Gregory, ¡°We can¡¯t hold the wedding here, and what about the bachelor party?¡±


    Samuel said, ¡°Hurry!¡± as he led me downstairs. He took me to the hallway with the gateways and led me through to London. After exiting the pub and running down the street he slowed. ¡°We were watching your emotions and laughing and then we realized there might be a few issues. Are you really getting hitched?¡±


    I looked at the music store we were in front of and saw my bewildered expression reflected in the window. ¡°I have no idea. I doubt it though. I don¡¯t know if they are pranking me or if I am getting hitched.¡±


    Samuel grabbed my shoulders. ¡°This is bad. Gregory is serious. He¡¯s not pranking anyone. We have to straighten this out. If she who must not be angered finds out, you and whoever this poor girl is, are dead.


    I asked, ¡°Darkness?¡±


    Samuel forcibly grabbed me and covered my mouth. He whispered in my ear. ¡°Read between the lines. I¡¯m afraid now. Don¡¯t invoke or distract more important beings than we. Don¡¯t draw their glorious attention to our boring and petty lives.


    ¡°You have avoided all other women all these years out of respect and devoted love for one who will never show you any love in return. Yours is the longest and most loyal unrequited love that any of us know of.


    ¡°You stay in an exclusive gentleman¡¯s club just so you have little chance of offending the one you are so devoted to. For thousands of years you have kept from even looking at the other gender so that you would not displease the one who cares nothing for you but would make certain that any woman you noticed would be visited with near eternal suffering. That and you would endanger yourself considerably.¡±


    I said, ¡°Darkness arranged this match.¡±


    Samuel backed up from me and looked up at the clouds. ¡°Then we are all doomed.¡±


    A small girl took my hand and winked at me. ¡°I absolutely love weddings! I am so looking forward to toasting the groom!¡±


    She smiled, ¡°I don¡¯t mean toast as in zorch, so you can relax, Samuel. Besides, I¡¯m taken. Eat your hearts out. Again, not literally, but you can never ever have me and will have to settle. See?¡±


    She waved her diamond ring in front of Samuel. Then all the light in the area faded away and all we could see was this beautiful little girl in a summer dress smile and then the smile shifted to a forced smile. ¡°Don¡¯t mess up this wedding Samuel. Your the best man so keep it together, capisce?¡±


    The light returned and she looked at the music store. ¡°Now would be a good time for both of you to get me some prezzies. Who knows we might even play music together after the first dance! So get yourself nice instruments too. Would I be cute in gogo boots playing an organ or should I be lead guitar?¡±


    Samuel said, ¡°I will purchase whichever keyboard thou dust consider best, Thy divinity. Of course thou wouldst be the apex of beauty no matter what thou didst choose. Lithos, you know guitars, obtain what you consider most perfect.¡±


    I crouched in front of the girl. ¡°With or without iron?¡±


    She said, ¡°So considerate. Iron is fine!¡±


    We stepped into the shop and she pointed at a resonator guitar. ¡°What if we all played guitar together? Forget the keyboard, get at least four of the guitars, two for me, cause my husband plays too! Thank you so much, you are both such sweet dear men. Oh look, what is that?¡±


    We looked into the back of the shop and when we looked back the little girl was gone.


    Samuel went to the counter and pointed to the guitar. ¡°Eight of them. Two gift wrapped.¡± He paid cash and gave them a card so they could deliver them.


    #


    As we stepped out of the shop two women wearing long dark dresses joined us. ¡°Gentlemen, please accompany us so we can best expedite this wonderful occasion.¡±


    We followed them to an entryway to a closed building and a gateway slid across the ground. One of the ladies lead us through the gateway.


    #


    On quartz cobblestones arranged in circles and half circles there was a fog obscuring all but the presence of trees a short distance from us. The gateway closed and the lady looked at her wrist. A glowing tattoo of a symbol for invoking summons appeared. ¡°Lady Dimgloom, Lady Postdawn summons thee hence.¡±


    The lady that had stayed behind appeared beside her. ¡°If thou wouldst Lord Lithos, order the fog to abate.¡±


    I looked at Samuel and then up at the fog and asked, ¡°The fog to abate?¡±


    The fog receded and a tree lined walkway to a romantic castle with pennants and balconies appeared.


    The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    Lady Dimgloom clapped her hands together. ¡°It¡¯s perfect!¡±


    Lady Postdawn said, ¡°And it¡¯s a knock-off by one of the Artist known as Ben¡¯s students. Canst thee even imagine what a real one would look like?¡±


    They ran to the castle.


    Samuel asked, ¡°Do you know these ladies?¡±


    I shrugged. ¡°The voices maybe. At the time, I was drugged and in rat form. My eyesight was bad and I was restrained but I think I might have seen them in the distance.¡±


    Samuel asked, ¡°You were a rat?¡±


    I turned into a rat. The smell of basil, catnip, roses and sassafras hit my nose. There was a distant hint of jasmine, radish and oregano. I wrinkled my nose. There were other spicy scents I couldn¡¯t identify and I remembered two more scents.


    I turned back into Lithos. ¡°Yes, they were there.¡±


    From up at the castle entrance, Lady Postdawn shouted, Lord Lithos, we needest thee to invite us in and extend the invitation at least to the end of clean up after the wedding is over and the guests have left. We need to be able to visit, explore and reside in the castle.¡±


    I walked up with Samuel, ¡°Lady Postdawn, Lady Dimgloom and Samuel, thou art all invited to visit, explore and reside in this castle until the wedding is over and the guests have left.¡±


    Samuel asked, ¡°And how about after, I am well, a rather old friend of yours.¡±


    I said, ¡°If this is, indeed a real wedding and Ursula and I are really being wed, then no, I don¡¯t think Ursula and I will want any guests or friends present for a little while. I will be sure to summon and invite you afterwards though.¡±


    Lady Postdawn and Lady Dimgloom pulled open the doors to a large entryway to an enormous and grand hall.


    Lady Postdawn and Lady Dimgloom went to a table at the side of the entryway and started transforming and setting down boxes, papers and folders.


    Lady Postdawn said, ¡°First off the left side will be for the Dark Fairies guests and the right side will be for the bride and grooms guests. Here are the lists, and here are the invitations you chose. Don¡¯t worry, we are quite skilled at making sure that to Darkness, it will all revolve around her as the most important part of the wedding, while still allowing for Ursula to feel that it is all about her. We have been managing these off and on for nearly forty years so we expect it work out perfectly that way with the usual blunders, comic interruptions, incidents and tender moments all recorded on camera.


    ¡°Try to keep up and play along so Ursula doesn¡¯t detect the planning behind all of this.¡±


    Ursula summoned me. ¡°Lithos, Ursula here, you wonderful man/Daemon. I¡¯m not allowed to let you see it, but the wedding dress is wonderful. Oh, gotta disconnect. So much to do. Love you!¡±


    I started getting scared thinking of Usula in a wedding dress. I took deep breaths and thought about how violent she could be and how easily she could kill me. A little calmer I kept slowly breathing in, holding it and slowly breathing out.


    Lady Dimgloom said, ¡°This Fairyland is a wedding gift from Bell, Darknesses husband. Expect this to be announced on several occasions since Darkness wants to make clear to everyone how wealthy, generous and powerful her husband is. Try not to be offended when some of it makes it sound like you couldn¡¯t have possibly lived up to the Dark Fairies standards and how superior her husband is to you. It has caused a few issues in the past, and we would rather this all run smoothly.¡±


    Lady Postdawn leaned in and whispered. ¡°Your bachelor party and your intendeds hen¡¯s night out will sadly be canceled for reasons we have to keep quite so those reasons don¡¯t fail. With you know who involved those parties are really best forgotten. Just have a quiet moment at your club and count your blessings. We don¡¯t want anything to interrupt this so we are rushing the process.¡±


    I asked, ¡°Some of the weddings had issues?¡±


    The ladies exchanged a nervous glance.


    Lady Dimgloom started opening a large envelope. ¡°Forty years, is, at least in mortal time a good career run. You would expect us to see a few ups and downs. But we really try to make everything work out. After all, we have managed hundreds of weddings.¡±


    She took out pictures of several previous weddings. I looked at embarrassed moments. Moments of fear and happy lives. The ladies fanned out the pictures. Some of the smiles in the pictures looked forced.


    I asked, ¡°Did Bell give all of these couples Fairylands with castles?¡±


    Lady Postdawn said, ¡°Isn¡¯t he fabulous, generous to a fault and ever so rich?¡±


    Looking up at the vaulted ceiling above and wondering how anyone could afford such a thing, let alone hundreds, I asked, ¡°So he has given away hundreds of these?¡±


    Lady Dimgloom said, ¡°Well when things don¡¯t work out, Bell ends up regifting them to another groom. But this one is brand new!¡±


    I made a nervous smile. ¡°So I give this back if the wedding fails?¡±


    Lady Postdawn said, ¡°Oh, no, Bell is truly generous. He said to his lovely wife, ¡°If a groom has been forced into one of these potential nightmares and has to hide out the rest of his life, he needs a safe and decent place to take refuge.¡±


    I asked, ¡°If the groom needs to hide?¡±


    Lady Dimgloom said, ¡°Well Darkness only chooses strong women for her matchmaking. Very strong women.¡±


    Lady Postdawn nodded. ¡°And determined.¡±


    I asked, ¡°So how many of these Fairylands has Bell given away? And what would make Bell take it back?¡±


    Lady Dimgloom smiled, ¡°Seven so far! Don¡¯t worry, as long as some remains of you can still be recognized and able to use it, this Fairyland will always be yours.¡±


    I looked at the six sets of pictures spread out on the table and considered that Samuel was looking more and more accurate with his fears.


    Lady Postdawn said, ¡°We need to focus on planning. The wedding is only ten hours away.¡±


    I looked at Samuel in panic.


    #


    During a break in the planning session, where everything had already been decided, Samuel and I explored the castle. There was too much to take in during the short time we had. Several floors up we walked by an open archway to a balcony and stopped. A short handsome man was standing on the balcony looking out at the gardens spread below.


    Samuel nudged me. ¡°I though that you decided who could be here.¡±


    The man turned. ¡°Right this way. Wind pick up to twenty-three knots, North by North-West.¡±


    A reverberating whistling started.


    The man gestured for us to get closer. ¡°Samuel, Joshua, good to see you both. I¡¯m Bell, Mumsie¡¯s husband or as you should call her, Darkness.¡±


    I recognized him from a coffee shop I used to regularly go to.


    He said, ¡°Josh, I don¡¯t want to lose you, so when you invite your lovely bride-to-be to the castle, or anyone else for that matter, make sure the invitation stops the moment they pull a weapon to attack you.¡±


    Samuel asked, ¡°Why would they attack him?¡±


    Bell said, ¡°He¡¯s an impostor. I know you want your friend Lithos back, but Josh turning into Lithos does not make him Lithos. Just a friend with a lot of similarities and the body. He will never become Lithos. He¡¯s your friend, yes, but he doesn¡¯t have a membership in the Fallen Sands and right now, Bradster is explaining reality to Ursula¡¯s father, Gregory and soon enough Gregory will decide that you are not the right match for his daughter but since he doesn¡¯t want to alienate his daughter by killing you personally, he is going to have to become creative.


    ¡°The problem is, that in this area Gregory is very creative and I cannot guess his next move. My life is at times complicated, and I really can¡¯t stop this wedding, and your life would be even more complicated if my wife didn¡¯t get to attend it. Since Gregory will try to make certain you are not married to his daughter and he doesn¡¯t want to be the one that said no to her, you don¡¯t dare go near her or the Fallen Sands.


    ¡°Since you really don¡¯t want Usula dedicating her life to hunting you down, you need to explain all of this to her as soon as you can so that she can eventually make sense of it. Summon her, but don¡¯t go to her and don¡¯t bring her here.¡±


    Samuel asked, ¡°What became of Lithos?¡±


    Bell said, ¡°I am still researching the cosmic coil, but by my best guess, he was overdue for reincarnation and is probably a human infant in Niger. Beyond that I would not dare to venture a guess and that is a fairly bold one based on limited knowledge.¡±


    I asked, ¡°Are you really giving me this Fairyland?¡±


    Bell nodded. ¡°I take care of my people. You are one of them. In case of the unlikely success of your marriage, you can do the happily ever after thing here. I got a slew of Fairylands when they were set up to take care of heirloom garden varieties and isolate them from other heirlooms. As long as you don¡¯t decide to re-purpose the gardens the Fairies here should remain safe enough and even a bit protective of you.


    ¡°If your marriage falls through, then consider this. A Fairyland that you can expel people from, and bar entry without permission is a safe place. Since this Fairyland has maids, gardeners and cooks delighted to maintain things, is the perfect place for you to set up a network of gateways and form a rather exclusive club.


    ¡°I would be happy to become a founding member and I think Samuel, Dalan and Dantin would love to have a change in scenery and become founding members. Since their membership in the Fallen Sands is dependent on Lithos¡¯ membership, sadly they will be needing a new place soon. They know the ropes, pitfalls and required forms to establish and maintain a club so it might work out quite well.¡±


    Bell smiled. ¡°Keep it a gentleman¡¯s club. Let me help review new members. A lot of the staff are going to be female and Fairy, so we don¡¯t want the type that would harass the help.¡±


    A small lady dressed as a maid said, ¡°Unless they are discrete and the lady has expressed an interest in being harassed.¡±


    Bell said to her. ¡°What did I say to thee about remaining invisible and silent?¡±


    She smiled. ¡°Oh, Bell, I love it when you reprimand me.¡±


    Bell pointed. ¡°Go make sure the place is in perfect shape for the wedding.¡±


    The Fairy looked at me. ¡°Isn¡¯t he the best!¡± She ran of and faded from view as she ran.


    Samuel asked, ¡°What should I do?¡±


    Bell said, ¡°First off, get with Dalan and Dantin and get your belongings, all of them into the vault I am going to lead you to. I will also set you up as a lieutenant under Joshua so you can manage the weather, time and exclusions when Joshua isn¡¯t around.


    ¡°Joshua, set up a few gateways downstairs and get with Ursula and hope that timing and luck are on our side.


    ¡°Sadly, Darkness doesn¡¯t try to manage relationships that are going to work out easily. She always tries the impossible and ignores the odds. She doesn¡¯t play small lotteries with easy odds. When you talk to Ursula, just come clean and tell her everything. It¡¯s your only chance. Not a great one, but there you have it.¡±


    Bell led me to an area downstairs that was set up for gateways and then continued down another set of stairs, leading Samuel to what I suspected was where the vaults were. I tried summoning Ursula between setting up gateways. I had five set up on the Fairy side when Ursula answered.


    ¡°Yes love?¡±


    I asked, ¡°Can I call you, ¡®darling?¡±


    Her melodic laugh put shivers down my spine. ¡°Of course you can, you can even call me your little bear.¡± She giggled. ¡°Oh sorry, Daddy is calling.¡±


    She disconnected. I set up one more gateway and tried to summon her again. It didn¡¯t go through so I summoned Dantin. ¡°Dantin, This is the man who would be Lithos, but thinks that ship is sailing fast. I am sorry things have not worked out and I can¡¯t really be Lithos.¡±


    Dantin said, ¡°Your the closest thing we have. We are about to go through the commons so we will summon you later when we know a bit more about what is going on.¡±

 Frozen In Time

    I went to the Fairyland with the gazebo and all the gateways I had set up in Europe and the few I had in the States. No one was there. I tried to summon Ursula.


    Dantin Summoned me so I gave up on the attempt to contact Ursula.


    ¡°The coast is clear for now at the Fallen Sands, can you come here?¡±


    #


    Dantin and Dalan had a temporary gateway open and they were handing things through it to Samuel.


    Dantin said, ¡°Lithos or not, your part of our group. We don¡¯t switch loyalties like the wind blows.¡±


    Dalan asked, ¡°Have you contacted your intended?¡±


    I shook my head, ¡°A short exchange interrupted before I could say much.¡±


    Dalan said, ¡°We moved the little bit you had in your room. Gregory and Bradster are talking with the staff so you can expect to be kicked out soon. They will probably demand you pay for the time you were here.¡±


    I shrugged, ¡°I applied and paid before running out as a mortal. I never asked for it back, so they can¡¯t accuse me of anything.¡±


    Dalan said, ¡°There is some talk about charging the three of us, so we are taking our belongings and Lithos¡¯ belongings. They might object, but his stuff never belonged to the club and while it was used by many, none but Samuel, Dantin and I have any claim to it.¡±


    Dantin said, ¡°We have a tontine, and everyone knows it. When one of us dies, the property goes to the rest of us. Lithos¡¯ membership should carry to us, but now that questions are being asked, it doesn¡¯t look good. Nothing was in writing and they can claim the membership didn¡¯t pass down. We were original members and donated a lot to it, but it might end up badly.¡±


    I said, ¡°Since they haven¡¯t yet cast me out, I will go and make a foolish gesture. Don¡¯t worry, I don¡¯t plan anything violent or even disruptive.¡±


    #


    In the gateway area I went to the back and hid in an alcove. I started setting up the Fairy side of a gateway. Given the chance I was going to put a gateway to Paris in or some such place. Just to let them realize what they were missing out on. I tried summoning Ursula and then I summoned King Surmium. ¡°Onion, this is Joshua. Can I visit you?¡±


    #


    In the first Fairyland I ever knew, King Surmium and Queen Cypsela were surrounded by Fairies who were doing finishing touches on his suit and her gown.


    Onion said, ¡°I¡¯ll be attending your wedding, but Josh, you don¡¯t dare. The Deaths are planning something. I am foolish to go, but it would be real and total suicide for you to show up.¡±


    I shook my head. ¡°I haven¡¯t been able to contact Ursula and explain. I don¡¯t want to be the man that left her at the alter, no matter how short, ill timed and unplanned this is. She deserves better.¡±


    Surmium said, ¡°Like the hero I knew was in you, but you are not yet ready to stand boldly as the arrows fall around you. You have to run. You are not just a pawn and I like to think, you have become a friend.¡±


    I said, ¡°I know where I go if I die, and this Fairyland isn¡¯t that bad. I¡¯ll try to be careful, but I am not going to leave Ursula at the alter. I have been betrayed and abandoned too many times. I know how it feels.¡±


    Olive said, ¡°You just met her, and the wedding is an hour from now. There is a time to be brave and there is a time to run.¡±


    I said, ¡°I¡¯m going to go and set a couple of gateways in Paris. I¡¯ll try to contact Ursula, but she is probably being rushed through the marriage the way I am. I should return to my new castle and get dressed after I make a couple of gateways. I don¡¯t have much time and I will need to look as good as I can for Ursula. I¡¯ll try to be careful.¡±


    #


    In Paris I had just finished completing a pair of gateways. They were a distance apart and I was walking back to the first one I had made since it went to my new castle.


    A girl smiled at me as I passed. I was in a hurry but she nearly put me into a panic as I passed her. Still nervous I rounded a corner looking back behind me and nearly ran into another girl. I looked into her eyes and felt panic.


    #


    In the Fairyland with the Gazebo, Harvey shouted over the sound of other people shouting, ¡°Ursula is waiting for you. You barely have time to get dressed and get down to your wedding. Don¡¯t blow this.¡±


    I said, ¡°Let me carry you, we need to run then. First we take the gateway to Paris then we take the gateway I put in from Paris to the Castle.¡±


    Carrying Harvey, I ran to the gateway and stopped as I saw a crowd of people clustered at the gateways and arguing. ¡°Merl, talked me into going through this gateway.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ve been missing for more than a year.¡±


    ¡°Wait, I went through in December but most of you are dressed for summer.¡±


    Harvey said, ¡°Speed time Josh, speed it now.¡±


    I sped up the time rate.


    Harvey sunk his claws into my arm. ¡°It¡¯s too late. Joshua. It looks like we got frozen in time.¡±


    A man said, ¡°Look everyone, we got frozen in time. We don¡¯t know how long we have been here. Everyone, we need to find out when you went into the gateway. The most recent of you will at least be able to give us a clue as to how long we have been here.¡±


    I listened to the wizards talking. One of them had found the gateway near the wizards lodge and gone through it. Shortly afterwards a wizard named Merl started tricking people to go through the gateway. A lady from Scotland took a nap near one of the gateways.


    When told she had lost at least three years of life, she laughed but wouldn¡¯t explain her circumstances. She accepted the existence of wizards and the idea of being caught in time too easily so I suspected she was concealing the truth.


    The wizards finally turned to me and the cat.


    One of the wizards said, ¡°Medon was caught too. Medon, you showed up after being gone for a while and then you disappeared again. You may have been the first of us trapped here.¡±


    Zed, the wizard who was coming out to be the leader said, ¡°So far Medon, you have remained quiet. What¡¯s your story?¡±


    I said, ¡°Looks like I have been here eight months longer than any of you. I can¡¯t personally blame Merl for it, but I wouldn¡¯t want to be in his shoes right now.¡±


    A wizard name Melinda said, ¡°The Scottish lady is the only one of us that isn¡¯t-- Wait, were is she?¡±


    The wizards looked around and started shouting out the labels on the gateways to various places in Europe.


    Zed shouted, ¡°There are too many of us to keep this a secret, but this is the biggest find ever. If we are careful and donate it to the lodge, we might get the dues we now owe, since we were trapped here, forgiven.¡±


    Another wizard said, ¡°I was in the middle of a rather bad divorce. Three years have gone by. I lost a lot more than just lodge fees. If I tell the truth in court the Deaths will come after me, and how do I make up a lie about being gone three years?¡±


    Zed said, ¡°Or more.¡±


    A woman a distance away shouted. ¡°I just summoned a friend. I missed my funeral. I have an empty grave with a tomb stone.¡±


    Zed shouted, ¡°What¡¯s the date?¡±


    The woman shouted the year, month and day.


    I sat in the gazebo as I ran over the meaning of the new date in my mind. I had been frozen in time for over five years. I had been rushing to get to my wedding where I was probably going to be killed by Deaths and my intended father in law when I came here and missed five years, two months and six days of life.


    I summoned King Surmium. ¡°Onion, this is Josh, I was frozen in time in the Fairyland with the gazebo and there are at least fifteen wizards who got stuck here.¡±


    King Surmium said, ¡°Don¡¯t go out. The gateways are probably trapped. Ursula has gone all Mrs. Havisham. She has killed three Deaths and by all accounts her father was severely wounded. She is using the Fallen Sands as her base. What, Oh.


    ¡°Olive says she will make it up to you but stay hidden. Dutchess Bear-Bear has killed seven Deaths and at the very least her father lost a leg. Olive, I can¡¯t talk and--¡±


    King Surmium disconnected.


    Queen Cypsela summoned me. ¡°Josh, this is Olive. Don¡¯t go out to Real. Dutchess Bear-Bear, that¡¯s what Ursula took as her name when she started taking over Fairylands, is still on a rampage. She lost an eye. Or she cut it out. There are a few stories in circulation, but in all of them, the first question she asks is how to find you. She and the Deaths have been setting traps on gateways.¡±


    I shouted out. ¡°Don¡¯t use the gateways, they might be trapped.¡±


    Zed shouted, ¡°He¡¯s right. Get summoned out. We can check the main gateway at the lodge, Someone go back to the lodge and come back here using the gateway. I¡¯ll stay here.¡±


    A wizard named Connie said, ¡°I¡¯ll stay here. Zed you try the gateway.¡±


    Zed said, ¡°Still don¡¯t trust me? Fine, I¡¯ll be right back.¡±


    Zed crouched dramatically and started making traces in the air to make a summons. ¡°Darla, Zed here, can you bring me though?¡±


    Zed winced for a moment. ¡°I got stuck in time.¡±


    He winced again. ¡°Merl tricked me into going into a Fairyland and getting stuck in time.¡±


    He winced and then his look got angry. ¡°So your shaking up with Merl now?¡±


    He disconnected the summons. ¡°Everyone, I get first duel with Merl.¡±


    Another man said, ¡°We may have to duel over who gets first duel.¡±


    Zed went through the motions again. ¡°Carla, Zed here, can you bring me through?¡±


    Zed disappeared.


    The group started examining the gateways and arguing over how to test them.


    Melinda said, ¡°Zed just summoned me. He¡¯s a long way from the lodge so he can¡¯t test the gateway.¡±


    One of the wizards who I hadn¡¯t noticed leaving, came in through the gateway that came from the grounds around the lodge. ¡°This gateway is safe, how do we test the others?¡±


    Realizing that having wizards take over this Fairyland was exactly what King Surmium had planned to happen to this world, I focused on my fears and went to King Surmium¡¯s Fairyland.


    #


    In a grove of pear trees I walked to a gazebo that was a close match to the one in the Fairyland I had just left.


    Harvey said, ¡°About your calling that Fairyland, ¡®The Fairyland with the Gazebo.¡¯ That¡¯s probably as bad as saying the Fairyland with the castle, ruins, maze, garden or woods. You kind of expect all of those. Creepy or Charming will mostly break it down to two sets, but even then there is overlap. So what are we doing?¡±


    I said, ¡°Finding King Surmium and then finding out how time got frozen on me.¡±


    Harvey said, ¡°That¡¯s kind of obvious. You put all those gateways in King Surmium¡¯s Fairyland. He¡¯s the one that froze you in time. You just took us to another of his Fairylands. I don¡¯t see anyone around so who knows how much time has past since you came here. Could be eons.¡±


    I summoned King Surmium. ¡°I¡¯m in your Fairyland. I don¡¯t see anyone.¡±


    ¡°Joshua, come here. I had to abandon it. Duchess Bear-Bear found access to it. It¡¯s hers now.¡±


    I came to where Queen Cypsela and King Surmium were sitting on large mushrooms in a grove of pecan trees beside a lazy stream.


    Queen Cypsela said, ¡°The gateway to this world is long forgotten. We are probably safe from Ursula.¡±


    King Surmium said, ¡°For now. Joshua, ask before you go places. A lot of places are unsafe now.


    Harvey jumped down. ¡°So everyone avoids Ursula now? So we just hide from her?¡±


    I said, ¡°She is dangerous, but, she is probably suffering. She has been suffering for five years. I should just hand myself over. Being dead isn¡¯t that bad.¡±


    Queen Cypsela said, ¡°Still insanely brave. She set traps for her own father. Last I heard he was holed up with the rest from the Fallen Sands in your Castle Fairyland. Well all but the active Deaths. Duchess Bear-Bear went after them first.¡±


    I walked to the slowly moving creek. There was a rope swing hanging from a tall pecan tree. ¡°I¡¯m not going to run from Ursula.¡±


    Queen Cypsela came up beside me. ¡°Talk with Dalan first.¡±


    I asked, ¡°Do you know him?¡±


    ¡°Met him at the wedding. Since you were not coming and we knew that Ursula was the one of the trainers that the most feared Fairy used to train folk in physical and magical combat, I was ready to take as many people away as quick as I could if it went bad. It went bad.¡±


    I shook my head. ¡°So you froze me in time.¡±


    Queen Cypsela said, ¡°Technically it was Onion, but I was in agreement. People would have died if you got killed so saving you from your own heroic stupidity was the only sensible thing to do. We were going to release you earlier but after the reports of injuries and deaths came in from all the traps Ursula was setting we didn¡¯t dare get near enough to the Fairyland you were in to unfreeze time. We aren¡¯t sure who unfroze you. We suspect a Death did it but we have no proof.


    ¡°In another ten years we were planning to take the risks and unfreeze you. We figured Dutchess Bear-Bear might have tired in her perpetual search by then.¡±


    I said, ¡°Fine, I¡¯m going to summon Dalan.¡±


    ¡°Dalan, Josh, the man who was not Lithos, summons thee.¡±


    Dalan answered, ¡°Lot¡¯s have tried to come in as Josh and we have scorch marks on the wall from the bombs they brought in before they were expelled. Your going to have to do a lot better than that if you want to bring in another canister of nerve gas.¡±


    I asked, ¡°If I showed you my surroundings, would that convince you?¡±


    Dalan said, ¡°Illusions are easy. If you managed to condition yourself to call yourself Josh, maybe we might summon you back and still be talking to an impostor. At this point it¡¯s going to be rather hard to convince anyone that you are really Josh. I don¡¯t want to give you any clues though so have a nice day.¡±


    He disconnected.


    I had a gateway in Paris to the Fairyland. It might be trapped. I had another gateway to Paris to the Fairyland with all my other gateways. I let myself feel fear and took myself back to the Fairyland with the gateways.


    This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.


    A pair of wizards were sitting in the gazebo.


    One said, ¡°Hey, Medon, good to see you. You¡¯ve been around, what¡¯s the best way to see if a gateway is safe to use?¡±


    I smiled at them. ¡°Watch me use it. Maybe. I¡¯m headed to one right now.¡±


    He said, ¡°You coming back right afterwards?¡±


    I said, ¡°No, and I got a rather high chance of dying soon.¡±


    ¡°Can you summon me?¡±


    I said, ¡°You got a business card?¡±


    The other wizard handed me a business card.


    I read it. ¡°Okay Larry, I will summon you. Call it possibly my last act of kindness.¡±


    I went to the gateway to Paris. There wasn¡¯t room on the other side for me to run and possibly get through a trap if I ran through. It was in a small niche in an alley with some locked pipe valves. If I went through as a rat I might avoid some traps but I would be a lot more vulnerable than I would be in Daemon form. My Daemon form might activate the trap. The human form was right out.


    I turned to the wizards. ¡°Do you have any tough forms that can take a corner fast, and keep moving?¡±


    Larry Noe said, ¡°Fine. Lets cheat a bit. I challenge you to a duel. Oh, my I surrender, you won. Here let me gift you with being a raven.¡±


    He kissed my forehead twice.


    The wizard with him said, ¡°Mighty generous of you.¡±


    Larry said, ¡°He seems to know what is on the other side and the sign says ¡®Paris.¡¯ Sometimes you have to give, in order to receive.¡±


    I turned into a Raven and flew around for a bit before charging the gateway and going into a hard turn even before I entered the gateway.


    There was a resistance in the air as I sailed close to the brick on the alley wall and just skimmed the side of the building. Like the ground effect but sideways. I soared up and summoned.


    ¡°Larry Noe, The hungry raven you know as Medon summons you. There was no trap as I rushed through so at least in your raven form, you can probably go through safely. Despite being hungry enough to eat carrion, It¡¯s glorious sailing over Paris and the weather, after you get high enough is fabulous.¡±


    I sailed over to where I had put the gateway from my wedding castle Fairyland to Paris. There were scorch marks on the fence I had hidden the gateway on. The dense foliage and the trees that had concealed the area were gone. I stood back wondering how to get past a trap if one was still here or had replaced the one that had been here previously. I didn¡¯t want to die before I gave Ursula the option to kill me.


    I stood back as far as I could and still sense the gateway before opening it wide so I could see through it. There were scorch marks on the other side, and some rubble in front of the gateway. I judged distances and circled once in the air in front of the gateway before sailing through and breaking before I hit the wall. I turned into myself as a Daemon and shut the gateway.


    I had to use my cell phone to light the chamber. It had been sealed up with brick and the cement had been left to ooze out and harden as the bricks had been placed. Exposed iron mesh stuck out of the cement in several places. I got a little angry looking at it all and not being able to enter my own Fairyland.


    I summoned Dalan. ¡°Dalan, This is the man who was not Medon and I am feeling a bit upset. If I eject you from my own Fairyland, will you recognize that I am Joshua?¡±


    Dalan asked, ¡°How are you going to do that?¡±


    I said, ¡°Fairyland, can you make a dense fog or turn out all the lights?¡±


    A fog appeared and then went away.


    I said, ¡°Fairyland don¡¯t let whoever canceled the fog make any more orders. Put the fog back and turn out the lights.¡±


    Dalan said, ¡°Samuel says it has to be you. I¡¯m not so sure.¡±


    I said, ¡°Fairyland cast out Dalan.¡±


    Dalan said, ¡°Quick bring me through, I believe you.¡±


    I brought him through. He immediately disappeared. I said, ¡°Fairyland, for now let Dalan stay.¡±


    I brought him back through the summons again.


    He said, ¡°I was in the Fallen Sands. I could have died. Dutchess Bear-Bear took over the


    Fallen Sands. She is using it as her base.¡±


    I said, ¡°I am probably going to die today so count your blessings. Sorry if I seem short, but I just lost five years, the love of my life and my friends won¡¯t let me into my own house. Not that I have ever gotten to spend a night there. What with my wedding being ruined.¡±


    Dalan held out his hands. ¡°Whoa there. I didn¡¯t know it was you. Seriously, I¡¯m on your side.¡±


    I asked, ¡°Why would Dutchess Bear-Bear be after you?¡±


    Dalan said, ¡°Let¡¯s talk after we get out of here. Let me summon Dantin.¡±


    Dalan took out his cell phone and pulled up a symbol for summoning with. ¡°Dantin, I am trapped in the chamber we blocked off after Bear-Bear kept sending explosives through.¡±


    ¡°No, Dantin, no scent of nerve gas and no bombs that I can see. Can you bring me through?¡±


    Dantin said, ¡°Okay, ask away.


    ¡°Blue green.


    ¡°Taller than the tallest cedar.


    ¡°There never was one.


    ¡°How would I know?


    Dantin grabbed my arm and then we were standing in a dark room lit only by cell phones visible in the fog. I said, ¡°Fairyland, can we have the lights on and the fog off?¡±


    In the chamber, I recognized several people from the Fallen Sands.


    Dantin let go of my arm. ¡°Why are you going to die?¡±


    I said, ¡°It may have been five years for you, but I was rushing to my wedding when I got frozen in time. I might be more rational in a few days, but right now, if the woman I love wants to kill me for standing her up for five years, then I guess I am going to have to take my chances.¡±


    Samuel walked into the hall. Another man said, ¡°Gregory¡¯s daughter nearly killed Gregory. She has killed eighteen Deaths.¡±


    Samuel said, ¡°Only ones that went after her. Well after the four that were plotting to kill Josh, the next fourteen were all trying to kill her.¡±


    Boswell said, ¡°Four years ago, I saw her when she invaded the Falling Sands. She recognized me as a friend of her fathers. She knew I used to be a Death. She didn¡¯t say a thing but she let me live. I don¡¯t think she is trying to kill everyone. I think she has a list but if you go after her, she won¡¯t hesitate.¡±


    Samuel came over to me and hugged me. ¡°I knew you were back when the lights turned off for the second time. I was scared you were mad at me.¡±


    I asked, ¡°Why?¡±


    He said, ¡°I had your wedding ring. I had it in a box in my vest pocket. The pocket was buttoned. When I got to the hall and stood waiting, I took the box out and the ring was gone.¡±


    I nodded. Do you have the box?¡±


    He took it out of his vest pocket and handed it to me. He had kept the empty box with him all this time. I hugged him again. I looked in the empty box. The impression of the ring was there in the crushed lining. As long as the ring fit Ursula, I could probably get another ring the right size.


    I said, ¡°Fairyland, restore control to Samuel,¡± and returned to the Fairyland I had put all the gateways in.


    #


    A few wizards were gathered. ¡°So the one to Paris is safe. Mr. North was injured going to Berlin, but there are no more traps on that gateway. Who wants to get their choice of gifts from the top five? An offer like that doesn¡¯t come around often.¡±


    I said, ¡°I¡¯ll take it.¡±


    The wizards all looked at me as I turned into a raven. I realized I was going to starve to death if I kept this up. Transformation made me hungry like little else could. I opened the gateway to Luxembourg and flew through it low and fast. I felt warmth from the fire behind me and felt a feather rattling shock wave before I heard the explosion behind me.


    #


    After an expensive meal eaten to fast to appreciate I decided I might be okay in a bit.


    I walked into a Jewelry store and started looking. I wanted a practical ring and not one that was going to get in the way when Ursula did anything. She was more than a bit athletic. I wanted it solid but I didn¡¯t want it to pinch her too much if it got crushed. It needed to be rugged but not too rugged.


    There was a set of rings for testing size. I used the impression in the box I had gotten from Samuel so maybe it would be the right size. Looking at the box I wondered if the missing ring was one of the ¡°Charming¡± incidents that had been planned for my wedding. At that moment, I was ready to tell Darkness just what I thought of her management of things. I just wanted to see Ursula one more time before I passed on, so I held off on shouting curses to the sky.


    I found an amazingly overpriced ring that was a bit wider than usual with fillagree around a low set diamond. Then I thought about the suffering associated with diamonds and asked, ¡°What stone causes the least suffering in the world?¡±


    She answered, ¡°Probably none of the natural ones, but they say larimar is one that profits the locals and the community.¡±


    She led me over to a display with light blue and white stones.


    I asked ¡°Are they durable?¡±


    She looked at them and pointed to a number by the stones. ¡°looks like the hardest are Mohs 7. That¡¯s as hard as quartz, so it should wear fairly well. Harder than a nail, but softer than a drill bit. Better for a bracelet than a ring though, so you might want something harder.¡±


    I saw one with a look of depth and a nice color. It had a hardness of seven and it was quite pretty.


    I asked, ¡°Can I get that set in the ring I was looking at?¡±


    She said, ¡°No, but when the jeweler comes in you can ask him how many days it would take to make a similar setting for it. We have a nice artificial sapphire that would fit in the ring though.¡±


    I looked at the deep blue stone and thought it was perfect. I gave her the ring size and she said, ¡°That pattern is unique and it would be hard to size it up to fit. Again, we would have to wait for the jeweler.¡±


    I started to almost cry. I left the store. I walked down the road and saw a beautiful little girl coming towards me.


    I said, ¡°Your the last being in the universe that I want to see right now.¡±


    Darkness held up a small wooden box. ¡°You might change your mind.¡±


    I looked at the ring in the box she held open. ¡°This isn¡¯t going to disappear when I offer it to Ursula?¡±


    She said, ¡°It will turn into a tattoo when she wants it to and appear the moment she wants it back.¡±


    I said, ¡°Thank you. I probably shouldn¡¯t thank you, but thank you.¡±


    I took the ring she held up and said, ¡°See you in hell.¡±


    She said, ¡°Been there, horrid place. Try to avoid it if you can.¡±


    I summoned Ursula. ¡°Ursula, this is Joshua. I have been frozen in time.¡±


    She said, ¡°I know, Harvey summoned me and told me all about it.¡±


    She appeared beside me, curtsied to Darkness and took the ring from me. She put the ring on and admired it.


    She was wearing a crimson bustier over a tattered wedding dress. She had a patch over her right eye.


    I asked, ¡°Are you okay?¡±


    She smiled, ¡°I had to sacrifice the eye to be able to read emotions. It is slowly growing back.¡±


    I asked, ¡°Your not mad at me?¡±


    She said, ¡°Of course not, silly. I have fought with you. I know how soft, tender, helpless, weak and gentle you are. Even in Daemon form your like a little helpless and meek puffball. You didn¡¯t ruin your wedding and your friends saved you by freezing you in time. I never want to see them, but I don¡¯t want them dead.¡±


    The little girl said, ¡°What a coincidence, there is a gateway to a little chapel right over there.¡±


    Ursula took my hand and started pulling me towards the gateway. ¡°Darkness, no tricks, traps or delays?¡±


    Darkness said, ¡°Just a few witnesses all ready for the ceremony.¡±


    #


    In the chapel, Samuel, Dantin, Dalan, Boswell and several others were bound and chained to the benches they were in. They all had ball gags in their mouths. Even Ursula¡¯s father was bound and gagged. He couldn¡¯t have done much. He had the lower part of both legs missing and one of his arms. On the other side was a collection of lady Fairies that were dressed up, but armed and armored. As Ursula went past they put an arm across their chest like a salute to her.


    As we walked to the front of the chapel a man was arguing with Bell. ¡°I was only made a saint. Trust me, I wasn¡¯t that great a man.¡±


    Bell said, ¡°Fine, but you can do a wedding?¡±


    He said, ¡°As a priest yes, but don¡¯t give me accolades I don¡¯t deserve. There were no miracles.¡±


    Bell said, ¡°Well you have the humility, so that-- Sorry. The couple you need to wed just showed up.¡±


    #


    The ceremony was simple. Ursula took her ring off and handed it to me so I could give it back to her.


    When I was told I could kiss the bride I managed to keep from transporting myself to another Fairyland.


    Marriage is a funny thing. Some men leave their old friends behind, some men turn into pigs, and others turn into decent human beings. I couldn¡¯t tell what transformations I had gone through, but the woman I loved, barely knew and was happy to marry five years ago, before I entered a Fairyland where no time had passed, had experienced five long years and was now a legend that other men feared.


    They didn¡¯t see the tender girl who gently made sure that when I was thrown to the ground I was cushioned and never scratched. Instead they saw the intense beauty with an eye patch, suddenly sweep my legs from under me and hurl me to the ground and end up with me in a choke hold.


    When they saw her attack me suddenly and without warning, they barely had time to register the sudden attack slowed only by the limits of gravity and inertia as she hurled me to the ground. I had been through it so many times that I could see it coming and appreciate the care and grace she put into the attacks.


    They just saw her strength and speed. They just flinched as they remembered what happened to those that came after the legendary Duchess Bear-Bear. She had taken my last name, Bear and added it to the meaning of her name, Bear, and chosen a silly enough sounding title. Then as it became clear that the royalty of Fairy fled before her, the title Duchess had been added to her chosen title.


    #


    In the middle of what had been the main dining hall of the exclusive, men only, and wizard preferred, prestigious Fallen Sands Club, an area had been cleared and sand had been brought in to make an area for training. I stood beside five women, and watched as my Ursula slowly showed a lady how she was going to throw the lady and how the lady should move to counter the attack.


    Ursula had the ladies pair off. As she watched them I crouched and tried to get ready for her inevitable attack. I tried to anticipate and avoid her attacks, but part of me, most of me really, looked forward to her swift and gentle embrace.


    Ursula had switched to wearing one of the shirts she had ripped off me while I was in Daemon form. I was a head taller than she was in Daemon form, but she could still throw me to the ground and put me in a hold faster that I could protest. Over the shirt she wore as a dress she wore a crimson bustier that looked like silk but managed to hold up like it was armor.


    She said, ¡°Joshua, I can tell you¡¯re distracted.¡±


    I got ready for the attack and she laughed. I took a breath of relief and she took that moment to spring, throw me down and then instead of putting me in a hold, she sat on me holding my arms down.


    She said to the group, ¡°Class dismissed, you can all go now.¡±


    #


    Jack summoned me. ¡°Joshua, this is Jack, your brumby pal. Do you have a moment?¡±


    I answered, ¡°Definitely!¡±


    In Jack¡¯s Fairyland we sat on the balcony of his cabin. He had done quite a bit of work since I had been here last. He had a corn field growing and there were other fields that I didn¡¯t have the farmer cred to be able to identify.


    Jack asked, ¡°Any progress sorting through the data?¡±


    I stretched. ¡°Not really. I spent a bit over five years in a Fairyland with the time frozen. The North American Deaths have been after me and my wife spends every waking moment training me to survive their attacks.¡±


    Jack asked, ¡°Any luck with that?¡±


    ¡°I could probably do the job of a Death now. At least on the magic end. I know way too much black magic. Ursula says I am making progress on combat, but I can¡¯t really tell. I am a lot tougher in all my forms. Even as a rat and a raven, I am getting the long lean muscles Ursula wants me to have.¡±


    Jack held up a flash drive. ¡°This is two terabytes of compressed data for you to play with. You missed five years of research in Real and a hundred years or more in Fairy.¡±


    I took the flash drive from him. ¡°My computer is five years out of date. I will need to see what is out there now to work on this. I need to check on updates to database programs and if any progress has been made on database analysis. This may take a bit.¡±


    Jack said, ¡°A lot of Fairies want to convert gold to cash. Things are unstable in Real so we are all nervous. Have you gotten the Crossroads Vaccine yet?¡±


    I shook my head. ¡°Ursula is just having us stay out of Real and being careful who we contact. Our wedding was the biggest risk she has put up with. She doesn¡¯t trust anyone right now.¡±


    Jack nodded. ¡°Considering things, Duchess Bear-Bear needs to be careful. If you are going to go to Real though, you need everyone to be vaccinated.¡±


    We spent most of a sped up day in Jack¡¯s Fairyland playing guitar and talking before being away from Ursula was more than I could bear.


    #


    One of Ursula¡¯s ladies knock on the door. ¡°The Deaths have been consulting with prognosticators.¡±


    Ursula went to the door. ¡°What sort of questions are they asking?¡±


    The lady said, ¡°The prognosticators are being cagey so it involves us. They are still more scared of the Deaths than they are of us so it¡¯s a bit hard to get any clear information.¡±


    Ursula waved to me and followed the lady. I closed the door and summoned Samuel.


    Samuel said, ¡°Joshua, this is a good time for us to update you on things.¡±


    #


    In a small office in my Castle in my Castle Fairyland three of the attendants were seated.


    They rose when I came in.


    Samuel said, ¡°Joshua, this is Strawman, Bothwell and Harris. Gentlemen, this is the owner of the Fairyland. This is his castle.¡±


    I nodded to them and gestured for them to sit. I sat beside Samuel. ¡°I have never gotten to fully explore my castle and land, since I was frozen in time. Apart from this being used as a refuge to escape my wife and love, I don¡¯t really know what has happened in my absence.¡±


    Samuel said, ¡°We call the club, the ¡®New Sands¡¯ or more commonly, ¡®Arena Novis.¡¯ I preferred ¡®Nova Harenae Clava,¡¯ since it doesn¡¯t sound like battles are going on here, but apart from my ability to kick most folk out, the place is ripe for trouble. Everyone is scared of the plague in Real, and most folk have begun to fear Ursula since she was hunting people down when a lot of folk took refuge here. After she took over the Fallen Sands this became the club by default, but there were a lot of folk that would have normally never been allowed in. We have only recently started a black ball system to try and keep order, but it only applies to new people and new people are not wanted so it is already out of control.¡±


    Bothwell said, ¡°We are reluctant to let in people that might bring the plague into this Fairyland so we have a rather stern policy of not allowing people to come and go.¡±


    Harris said, ¡°Which the Deaths ignore. They say they are immune to disease and can¡¯t transmit it, but they would say so, wouldn¡¯t they?¡±


    I asked, ¡°Are there a lot of Deaths here?¡±


    Strawman pointed to an inlaid wooden map of the castle with all the floors laid out. ¡°The rooms with the name plates are all occupied. The name plates with the skull at the end of the name means they are a death. If there is a Flower after the scull, they are retired.¡±


    I was distracted for a moment as I noticed that a laptop on a table below the wooden map was on, plugged in and had a Google search up on the screen. The castle had power and internet, even in a Fairyland.


    I looked up at the wooden map Strawman was pointing to and looked at the rooms that were taken and asked a few more questions before I decided to explore my Fairyland before I got any angrier. All the best rooms were taken and nothing had been reserved for Ursula and me.


    #


    After flying as a raven and placing a gateways so I could get back to my own Fairyland I found myself back at the Falling Sands.


    #


    In the Foyer at the Falling Sands I waved to the hidden guards and went to the gateway to Chicago and found a good place to conceal a gateway and went back to my Castle Fairyland using the new hidden gateway. I was immediately sent back to the gateway I had set in Chicago. I tried several times and managed in the short moment before I was sent back out of my Fairyland to say, ¡°Un-Banish-me.¡±


    I stood beside my hidden gateway and said, ¡°Don¡¯t let me be banished again without my express approval.¡±


    As I walked looking for another place to hide a gateway I wondered if my trust in Samuel was misplaced. I needed someone I could trust but now I was beginning to think there might be issues. Bell or The Dark Fairy could probably banish me. If Samuel had given someone else the right to banish people they might have done it.


    As I mulled over my lack of friends I could trust I saw a Fairy out in the gardens.


    ¡°Kind sir, could thou guide me through the gardens and explain what is growing?¡±


    #


    I was following the gardening Fairy and taking pictures of plants so the next time I met with Jack, I wouldn¡¯t seem as ignorant. As we left a cabbage field and were crossing to a field with purple carrots, Bell, the Dark Fairies husband, gestured for me to join him.


    The gardener Fairy quickly headed off towards a patch of onions so I walked over to where Bell was.


    ¡°Joshua, I have really good news and some rather bad news. ¡°First off, can I borrow the flash drive for a couple of days?¡±


    I shook my head. ¡°Don¡¯t know what you mean. By the way, I was just banished from this world and barely got myself unbanished. Do you know how that happened?¡±


    He smiled. ¡°Look, I know you better than you know yourself. Your changing the subject is a nice try but by giving me the flash drive you won¡¯t be betraying Jack or anyone. I can make sure you finish what you can of your project since in a very real way, you are part of me. You see, this is the bad news. By the best interpretation of the best prognosticator I have access too, you die the real death before the weekend. So live life full as you can, sadly you won¡¯t be able to say goodbye to Ursula. She has gone deep since she heard the Deaths were seriously going after you. No one can trace her right now. You see, the prophecy said the Deaths are going to kill you.¡±


    I asked, ¡°What¡¯s the good news?¡±


    Bell said, ¡°Your wedding cake had the oral vaccine in it. Everyone close to you is immune to the plague. We got your Fairy friends vaccinated a few years ago and we used your friends here in your castle for the trial tests so they are all in good shape that way. As a Daemon you can still get pretty sick, but you will survive. As a human you should be fine. So in this case, being human has it¡¯s advantages.¡±


    I asked, ¡°Why didn¡¯t you tell them they were vaccinated?¡±


    Bell said, ¡°My wife didn¡¯t feel like we owed them the peace of mind after what happened to your original wedding. Do you feel something odd?¡±


    I started to feel woozy. Bell helped me to sit down.

 Dying

    I woke up. Bell was gone. So was the flash drive. I have worked in a security conscious environment all of my working career. I had no choice. I summoned Jack.


    Jack didn¡¯t answer but the summons felt like I had started to make contact. One of the gifts the Death have is to be able to go to a person if he is in Real. I chose to be in the best hidden spot near Jack, in case there was an issue. I decided to be in human form to avoid disease issues.


    #


    I appeared in an alley beside a large green dumpster with a smell that made it hard to breath and a swarm of flies. There was sticky goo on the ground.


    Every muscle tensed in pain, I didn¡¯t even manage a good scream as I fell to the ground. As I left my body I saw three men in leather jackets. One of them held a long taser.


    Another gestured with a long, hand gun. ¡°You get the body, I¡¯ll deal with the Fairy.¡±


    As memories flashed before me I felt the transition from a spirit to a Fairy and then I felt and heard the shot. Steel pellets passed through me and I saw the beautiful blaze as my form turned to sparks and gleaming light.


    #


    looking down at a gathering of lights that brought to mind the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, I listened to the shouting cries like street merchants selling wares.


    ¡°We have an A class experience available in three years. Only A class entities need apply.¡±


    ¡°We need another five for young traumatic deaths here. Earn a quick reduction of karma here with little chance of building any new karma.¡±


    ¡°This way for tolerance training. We have lots of openings for experiencing the results of racism right this way.¡±


    I watched bright lights streamed towards the voice and wondered what the attraction was.


    A voice beside me said, ¡°Looks like the world populace is past it¡¯s peak for a bit. Opportunities are going to get harder to find soon. Best listen in and find a good one quick.¡±


    Another voice said, ¡°Most of the good life opportunities are multi-generational family relations. Sadly, I regressed and my family moved on without me. They would let me in, but I would just tear up the family again.¡±


    ¡°Right this way for war trauma after a lovely athletic and youthful experience.¡±


    ¡°This way for forsaken love. Prime angst here.¡±


    I considered the chaos below me and drifted higher. I felt like I had been robbed of life, life after life and the stages between. I hadn¡¯t even gotten a good glimpse of my life as it flashed back. Apart from seeing how my neurosis had started, I had no real insight on anything. I wasn¡¯t ready to pass on.


    I examined myself and pulled myself together. I was fluffy at the edges and didn¡¯t see a cure but my core logic was still there so I integrated what I knew and remembered the three men who where there when I died. One of them had been directed to get the body. I went to where that man was.


    #


    A man with my corpse was putting it on a conveyor belt behind several other corpses. ¡°Yuk, what is this sticky slime? Why couldn¡¯t you have chosen a clean place to show up? My leather jacket is probably ruined.¡±


    He punched my dead body as if it might do something. Then he went over and pushed a button. A furnace turned on. He punched another button. Then he turned like he sensed me and was trying to see me. A grinder thing with a bloody shoot leading to the furnace below turned on.


    I moved and stayed behind the back of the mans head as he looked for me. He pushed a third button and the conveyor belt started.


    I went to my body while he was looking at the grinder thing as it started in on the first body on the conveyor belt.


    My body was still warm but cooling. I transformed it into me as a rat and leapt off the conveyor belt. The floor was cold steel. I let my fear take me to a Fairyland. Risking Death I turned into me as a Daemon. I was fine. I took a deep breath and turned into me as the dead human, but it was like the form was gone. I tried another form and breathed a human breath of relief. I was still alive as a human.


    I summoned Bell. ¡°Bell, husband of the Dark Fairy, this is Joshua, back to life and I want that flash drive back.¡±


    Bell said, ¡°You can¡¯t have come back that quick and I¡¯m not through with it. I¡¯m not sure anyone should have this. Not even me. My part of me that is you is still trying to take this apart.¡±


    I went to where the part of me that Bell was talking about was.


    #


    Beside me in a cell like an infinite beehive only multidimensional so like mirrors at angles with mirrors I was in a kaleidoscope of bee cells where everyone was shouting in a language I didn¡¯t know.


    I turned to me and I told me, ¡°Escape before you get more connected.¡±


    As beings in other cells started to notice me I left and returned to the Fairyland with the Gazebo that I had put so many gateways in.


    #


    I knew what Bell was. Bell was a hive mind that copied minds and added them to his mind. Bell was less alive and more alive than anyone else I knew. A copy of me that was me, maybe a smarter me but without an essential part of me was a part of Bell. While part of Bell, that part of me had been analyzing Bell for years. Since I first saw Bell when I was seventeen and fell asleep in a coffee shop, I have been part of Bell and that part has been examining Bell. Now the copy of me was analyzing the data Bell had stolen from me. I had only processed part of it, but it was still a lot.


    I summoned Bell. ¡°Bell, husband of the Dark Fairy, you can¡¯t refuse this order. ¡°Give me the flash drive. I need it to continue developing my art.¡±


    Bell said, ¡°Come get it. I was about to try and get it to you anyway.¡±


    #


    My wallet with most of my credit cards and my drivers license was on my form that I could no longer turn into. My cell phone was gone. That or the Death¡¯s had it. They probably looted me for cash, so they were probably going to use my credit too.


    I turned into me as a Daemon and prepared all the spells I knew to prepare. Ready for a sudden attack, I went a distance from were the Death who took my body was.


    He was sitting in a park holding my cell phone and trying to figure out the password.


    Then the park bench got thrown up into the air. Someone had blended in as the grass and was now in a shaggy suit. That someone kicked the bench just as it started to come back down and the Death slammed into a tree.


    I knew the body shape under that gilly suit. I knew those moves. Ursula had a very injured Death in a choke hold.


    I went closer, just far enough to be out of the immediate reach of Ursula if she decided to attack.


    ¡°Ursula, I¡¯m okay.¡±


    I heard the mans neck snap just before Ursula got up to hug me. ¡°Josh, I¡¯m so glad. I have one more Death to deal with and then I will summon you. Stay here. It should be safe for a while. I have agents hidden here.¡±


    Ursula let go of me and disappeared. I got my stuff off the body of the Death. My cell phone had been thrown to the air and it had a crack on the screen. It worked, but I needed a new one. My wallet was in the trash can that had been where the park bench was.


    I picked up the bench and put it back into place and as a Daemon, bent part of it back into shape and sat down to examine the small bits of my life that had almost been lost.


    A man sat beside me. He was holding a large ancient looking leather bound book. ¡°Your entry disappeared just a while back. This is rather problematic.¡±


    I asked, ¡°What entry?¡±


    He said, ¡°This is the Book of Judgments, Unabridged. Not a lot of copies around and less that can be carried to Real. Don¡¯t touch it. It¡¯s pretty well warded. I suspect the spells that bind this book didn¡¯t have the capacity to sort the changes in your existence so it deleted your entry. Don¡¯t worry. As you interact with people it will probably start a new entry. But sadly all record of your karma is missing now.¡±


    I asked, ¡°Does that mean, I have a clean start without sin?¡±


    He shook his head. ¡°No, this book is a guide we use to assist others to obtain the experiences they need to advance. It ends up more like a dating guide only for torment, but that is how karma works. Your karma, or voids that you need to fill with lessons is still in you calling for destiny to help you grow, but now none of the appropriate agencies have any guidelines to help you.¡±


    I asked, ¡°Will the Deaths still be coming after me?¡±


    He said, ¡°Well, we really can¡¯t afford any more losses among them and Duchess Bear-Bear has eliminated the worst faction of them, so we have a set of plans to get some reforms in place. Funny how all of that works. They need to recruit new members but they need access to their oath stone to manage the initiation. That¡¯s what drew my interest to you and that¡¯s why I noticed your entry in the Book of Judgments disappear. It seems that the only one who can gain access to the Oath Stone of the North American Deaths, is you.


    ¡°I guess I should get back to work. I just wanted to meet the person who managed to get their entry in the Book of Judgments to disappear. I have heard reports of it, but we never managed to reduce it down to an individual before. It is interesting since, as I recall you were supposed to have died just a short time ago.¡±


    I tried to read the book he was holding. ¡°Not much point in it being warded, I can¡¯t read the writing.¡±


    He closed the book. ¡°It tends to obscure itself. Is that a dead Death over there?¡±


    I looked over at the body. ¡°You mean that biker guy? He was there when I sat down at the bench. Are you certain he is dead?¡±


    The man angled himself so I couldn¡¯t read the book and opened it. ¡°Yes, he is dead. Killed by Duchess Bear-Bear. It says she is married to a Mr. Bear who the Death just helped kill, turn into a Fairy and then dust. So there are still records of you in the Book of Judgments, just not your own record. That and you are officially dead and probably gone unless you manage to have your Fairy return.¡±


    He looked me up and down. ¡°It seems you have managed to escape being mortal and you can come back a lot faster than any I have heard of before. Usually it takes years and you are still a Fairy afterwards. You are of course not on any lists but that makes you even more legendary.¡±


    I asked, ¡°What is your association with the Deaths?¡±


    He looked at the death lying next to the tree. ¡°I have no direct association with them and I suspect they would hasten my departure if they saw me in Real.


    ¡®I am what you might call a court clerk. I am called on by some to read entries from this book. I also keep a few other books up to date and I am called on to give my opinion on things. Your record, as I recall, said you played a mean hand of poker and you could be counted on to make your best effort to keep a confidence.


    ¡°I am likely to be asked to read your record shortly and when they find out your record is blank, they will be asking what I know and remember. So I figured I would be wise to get a few impressions before they call on me. So far I have only confirmed that you are aware that the Deaths have been after you, and you can¡¯t read from the Book of Judgments. Is there anything you can tell me, so I can at least appear to have gathered some information?¡±


    I said, ¡°Well, unless it is all just random pulses that go through the mind of a person dying, reincarnation is a real thing and kind of sketchy if you ask me. The replay of your life goes by way to fast to gather much meaning from and if you are distracted you might miss even that. Oh, and there won¡¯t be as many opportunities shortly so if you want a good incarnation you should hurry up or the lines are going to be really long and you might get rejected anyway. If you need to learn about oppression based on race though, there are a lot of opportunities open.¡±


    He nodded. ¡°I have often wondered if the ills in this world are all based on the need for karma in the next world. What sort of soul do you think goes in for experiencing racial oppression?¡±


    I thought about it and the little bit I saw. ¡°This puts me in a bad light, but I honestly think some of the best souls are seeking the worst experiences. I think the ones that are really trying to advance go for the rough ones so if your looking for the real saints, look at those with a raw deal from the start.¡±


    #


    I was finally getting to explore my castle. A room near Samuel, Dantin, and Dalan¡¯s rooms had been saved for me, but they had given up hope and let someone else move into it. All the best rooms had been taken. There were a lot of nice rooms, but the private baths, connected suites and even the honeymoon suite had been taken. It was a huge and beautiful castle, and apart from seeing the balconies to the private suites, the doors were locked and I couldn¡¯t view half of it. The castle was full of Daemons and wizards I had never met.


    I was in human form as I walked down the hallway that went to what I was probably the honeymoon suite. I saw a pair of Daemons walk out wearing leather bikers suits. As they passed me one asked, ¡°Looks like a new wizard, I thought they weren¡¯t letting anyone new join?¡±


    The other said, ¡°We should complain or at least call for a vote on his staying.¡±


    I looked back and one smirked. Then he looked up. ¡°I should have never accepted the new division. Pennsylvania is going to wear me out.¡± He disappeared.


    I said, ¡°I thought folk were not allowed to come and go as they please due to the plague.¡±


    The man said, ¡°Take a good look newb, I¡¯m a Death, not the sort you want to start trying to one up. Don¡¯t worry, you won¡¯t be here long.¡±


    I said, ¡°Well you just made it easy on me. I was looking for a room, so I think yours will do.¡±


    He said, ¡°Rude and cocky. Your lucky we have rules against fights without challenges here.¡±


    Another man I didn¡¯t recognize came down the hall. He nodded to the Death. ¡°Davenport, where is Cartwright?¡±


    Davenport said, ¡°He got called away. See the guy staring at us? Marshal, I would count it as a personal favor if you dropped a black ball when his vote comes up.¡±


    Marshal looked at me and smiled. ¡°He is hardly holding up our standards of dress is he.¡±


    I looked at the fellow in the biker jacket. ¡°I personally have nothing against a biker jacket, but it doesn¡¯t really qualify as properly dressed and the coming and going is improper.


    ¡°World, I would take it as a personal favor if you banished Davenport, Cartwright and Marshal. Please don¡¯t let them back without my express approval.¡±


    The two men disappeared.


    I went to the balcony over the main hall and looked at the group below. I recognized half of them from the Fallen Sands. Among them were several Deaths. Since this was being used as a refuge to hide from my beloved wife, Ursula, I understood why they might want to stay here. But I didn¡¯t see any reason or profit from it, especially since the Deaths had been trying to kill me.


    I walked down a stairway to the floor below. Several people noticed me. I don¡¯t think any of them recognized me in my human form. At the Fallen Sands, I was, apart from a short period where I applied for membership as a human, always in Daemon form.


    I recognize one of the attendants from the Fallen Sands and approached him. He looked at me with a puzzled look and started heading for the stairs. I wanted a few answers but I didn¡¯t want to chase him down. I looked for another attendant and saw one pushing a wheel chair towards me. In the wheel chair was my Father in Law, Gregory.


    I hadn¡¯t personally talked to him in human form. He saw me at the wedding, when it actually happened, but he had been bound and gagged. Before that he had talked to me while I was in Daemon form and he had assumed I was an old war buddy of his. I played along at the time, but then he had conspired to kill me and in response, my wife, his daughter had set a trap and Gregory had lost two legs and an arm in the explosion.


    Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.


    I didn¡¯t have anything I wanted to say. I didn¡¯t know what Ursula would want me to say. I didn¡¯t want to run and I didn¡¯t feel like winging a conversation with him. I summoned Ursula.


    ¡°My darling Bear-Bear, Josh here. I am in our wedding castle and your father is coming this way. Is there any message you would like me to give him?¡±


    Ursula said, ¡°Put up your wards and keep eight feet distance from him. Expect hidden weapons. Banish him if he tries anything. Can you let me see?¡±


    I opened the summons so she could see the surroundings.


    Ursula asked, ¡°Can you unbanish me from the castle?¡±


    I glanced around at the exclusive male only club that our castle had become and wondered what sort of trouble I might be causing. I said, ¡°World, I would be grateful if Ursula, Duchess Bear-Bear was allowed to come her when she wanted to.¡±


    Her father gestured for the attendant to stop pushing his wheel chair. ¡°Joshua, are you sure that is a good idea?¡±


    I said, ¡°This was given to me as a wedding present. While I am quite grateful to you for having raised such a wonderful daughter, I think you can understand why I would feel more loyalty to my wife than a group that has conspired to ruin our lives and in no small part did a good job of it.¡±


    He said, ¡°Let it go. Things change, but Ursula is, a bit impulsive.¡±


    I heard someone ask, ¡°Is he Lithos?¡±


    I said, ¡°Lithos died. I turned into him and his closest friends were convinced I would eventually become him. My father in law here conspired to kill me.¡±


    A voice said, ¡°I was told that Joshua died the double death.¡±


    I kept on guard against my father in law as I stepped back so I could see who just spoke. It was a Death.


    I said, ¡°Yes, it is true. I was killed by Deaths who had set up an ambush and then my Fairy was killed. Since you are in my castle, in my Fairyland and you are part of an organization that has pursued my death and my wife¡¯s death, I think you can understand why I have no great love for you. That is not the only harm your folk have done me, you come and go when you wish to despite the general agreement otherwise and I cannot help but notice that everyone else is dressed with a certain formality while you are not.¡±


    The Death shifted position and so did Gregory and I didn¡¯t have a good place to back up and my dodge choices were limited.


    Gregory held his empty hands up. ¡°So you have a bit of fight in you after all.¡±


    Since I couldn¡¯t watch them both and I didn¡¯t know the Death¡¯s name, I said, ¡°World, ¡°Please banish all active members of the North American Deaths until I choose otherwise.¡±


    Gregory raised his head looking around the room. ¡°Are you sure that was wise, Joshua? Making enemy¡¯s of the Deaths is not a smart move.¡±


    I said, ¡°Making enemies? They have been trying to kill me. They just did kill me. Do they get any worse if I upset them?¡±


    Gregory nodded. ¡°That makes decent sense. It¡¯s still rather bold. No one takes on the Deaths and wins.¡±


    I said, ¡°So far, your daughter¡¯s scorecard is all wins on her side. I have it on excellent authority that the Deaths are going to find out soon that they need me since I am the only one who can gain access to the oath stone they need to recruit more members.¡±


    The attendant that I had tried to talk with earlier came back out to the balcony above me with Samuel.


    I waved to Samuel and went to the stair.


    Samuel said to the attendant, ¡°That would be Joshua. This is his Fairyland and castle.¡±


    The attendant nodded. I walked up to them.


    I spoke so the entire hall could hear. ¡°I am in a rather poor mood right now. I was recently ambushed by the Deaths and then the Deaths killed me again after turning me into a Fairy. Deaths here were conspiring to have me blackballed. So I just banished them all. I don¡¯t know the rules that were established in the last five years while my castle was filled with my enemies but my initial impulse to let things slide as my chambers have been filled with folk that desire my wife¡¯s and my own death is to be rather stern. My father in law recommends that I be more cautious, but I don¡¯t think that is sound advice, what with everyone trying to kill me.


    ¡°If you know of anyone with lingering grudges against me or Dutchess Bear-Bear, please let me know so I can at the very least banish them from my home.¡±


    #


    As far as I knew we had banished everyone who had plotted against Ursula or me and I had dispelled seven gateways that the Deaths had put on balconies outside their rooms.


    I summoned Ursula. ¡°Ursula, my love, Joshua here. The deaths may have hidden gateways in the castle. How do I find them?¡±


    Ursula said, ¡°Come see me.¡±


    #


    Ursula hugged me and kissed my forehead. ¡°Let¡¯s teach you to dowse. That¡¯s a good start. The Deaths only have one person that can set lasting gateways, and this might be the right place to start.¡±


    I asked, ¡°What are we starting?¡±


    Ursula said, ¡°If I just wait for Deaths to attack us, it is kind of like going into a boxing match where only the other side gets to throw a punch. The only thing you can do is hope they get tired or your blocks hurt their hands and arms. I am tired of waiting for their attacks and they recently ambushed you. I am tired of being gentle with them and hoping they will learn better behavior.¡±


    I said, ¡°I just banished the active Deaths from the castle.¡±


    Ursula said, ¡°Even the old and retired deaths have stood by. You have no reason to trust any of them. Let me get ready and then we should capture their gate maker.¡±


    #


    With Ursula watching me through a summons, I rode my motorcycle to a motorcycle shop and bought an electric motorcycle. It was used, but they had a full warranty on it. I was planning on getting a new one, but the price was right.


    #


    I rode my motorcycle across a covered bridge and stopped as I entered the village where the Death¡¯s gateway maker lived. I went to a cafe to with a few tables out front, to ask for directions. A pair of men nodded to me.


    One of them said, ¡°My names Peter Brand. I¡¯m the man you are planning to abduct. Please have a seat.¡±


    I turned a chair from the table next to them and sat.


    Peter said, ¡°My friend here has visions. Little snippets of the future. He warned me you were coming.¡±


    I asked, ¡°So you have reinforcements hidden around you?¡±


    The man sitting with Peter said, ¡°My vision showed a lot of Bodies in leather jackets strewn around the village and the covered bridge was on fire. You and a rather attractive young lady were standing in front of the bridge looking at my friend Peter.


    ¡°You were asking, ¡®Was all this necessary?¡¯


    ¡°We really love the bridge here so we decided to avoid the fight.¡±


    Peter said, ¡°Whatever you do, let¡¯s do it outside the village and away from the bridge. I am rather fond of the place.¡±


    I asked, ¡°Are you familiar with Dutchess Bear-Bear?¡±


    Peter squinted and looked up and to the side for a moment. ¡°There was a Fairyland Castle I spent a few days at. It was a while back. There was some talk about a Daemon named Bear-Bear. They were nervous she might trap the Real world side of the gateways I was putting in so we went through all sorts of hoops making sure the Real end would be safe.¡±


    I said, ¡°My name is Joshua Bear. Bear-Bear is my wife. The Fairyland Castle is mine, and the Deaths have been trying to kill me and my wife for quite some time. They recently killed me and then they killed me in Fairy form.¡±


    Ursula appeared beside me and sat at the table I was at. ¡°Peter, and, well, I don¡¯t have your name yet, we have a small request of you. We don¡¯t want to kill any innocents and if there was going to be a fight that destroyed anything, I can assure you I wouldn¡¯t set any destructive traps on such a pretty bridge so it would have been destroyed by the Deaths. I don¡¯t destroy pretty things.¡±


    I said, ¡°There was a gateway I hid in Paris where the trees around it were destroyed.¡±


    Ursula poked me. ¡°You are supposed to be on my side, dear. The gateway was to the castle where all our enemies had hidden. One of the trees had big thorns and put the first tear in my wedding dress. It had it coming.


    ¡°We want to be sure all the gateways the Deaths have to the castle are gone so none of them can send poisons or bombs or stinging insects or snakes, or rabid dogs or anything like that.¡±


    I asked, ¡°Do they really use rabid dogs?¡±


    Ursula nodded. ¡°It¡¯s terrible. Poor little dogs used by nasty Deaths. I had to put the poor dogs down. I still feel bad about it. You know, I should at least kill one Death for each of the dogs they killed.¡±


    I asked, ¡°Haven¡¯t you already taken out the Deaths responsible?¡±


    Ursula frowned. ¡°Honey, lets try to keep a united front in front of our enemies. Yes, the ones responsible were dealt with, but their whole organization is committed to defending these monsters. I will feel a lot better about killing the Deaths if I have a good additional reason like their abuse of animals.¡±


    Peter asked, ¡°If I remove the gateways, will I be allowed to live?¡±


    Ursula said, ¡°I have no intent on killing you anyway, unless you try to kill Joshua of course. If you just work with the Deaths, I wouldn¡¯t feel good about causing you any lasting harm. Unlike them, I don¡¯t kill innocents. If you don¡¯t help us with our little gateway issue, I might feel like some punishment might be required for helping our enemies and putting us at risk though.¡±


    Peter winced. ¡°What sort of punishment?¡±


    I said, ¡°He father conspired to kill me. An attendant was pushing his wheel chair last time I saw him.¡±


    Peter said, ¡°As I recall I placed several gateways in the castle. All of them were on balconies.¡±


    I asked, ¡°None were hidden?¡±


    Peter shook his head. ¡°The fellow managing the place had set up the Fairyland to expel anyone who hid a gateway. We were being sneaky and putting gateways out in the open but where no one would see them so they were not hidden, but no one would find them. I suppose they could have put a carpet or rug over them and they could still be used. They wouldn¡¯t have used them to leave the Fairyland so that would work."


    I relaxed some of my suspicions since I now knew why I had been banished after hiding a gateway in my Fairyland. ¡°How many gateways did you place?¡±


    ¡°That was several years ago. I spent less than five days there, so no more than ten.¡±


    I asked, ¡°Ursula honey, will you be okay if I go check on gateways?¡±


    Ursula took my hand. ¡°Be careful, the Deaths can be pretty treacherous. Summon me when you are done?¡±


    I kissed her hand, let go and rode my motorcycle across the covered bridge and far enough down the road till I thought there would be no witnesses. I turned into a daemon and picked up the motorcycle before going to the Fairyland with the gateways and going to Chicago to use my gateway to my Castle Fairyland.


    #


    As a Raven I flew from balcony to balcony. I found one more gateway under a rug but the rest of the balconies were clear so I summoned Ursula.


    ¡°Dearest Ursula, this is your devoted husband, Joshua. I have probably gotten rid of all the gateways, if we can trust the maker of them.¡±


    Ursula said, ¡°Come on through.¡±


    #


    At the Cafe Ursula was sitting with the two men I left her with and another man dressed formally in a black suit.


    Peter said, ¡°Joshua, this is Cliff.¡±


    Ursula said, ¡°He wants to offer the gift of peace from the Deaths. I was just telling him I¡¯m a bit more interested in watching them die of rabies than accepting a deal from a bunch of lying killers.¡±


    Cliff said, ¡°The Death are not killers.¡±


    I said, ¡°As a victim, I can assure you they are ruthless and horrible killers without an ounce of remorse.¡±


    Cliff asked, ¡°Did they really kill you?¡±


    I said, ¡°Ambushed me with a taser. Turned me to Fairy and shot me with steel shot.¡±


    Cliff said, ¡°There have been some bad members among the Deaths, but what they have done is not condoned by the rest of them.¡±


    I asked, ¡°Has their pursuit of Duchess Bear-Bear been condoned?¡±


    Cliff said, ¡°She killed several Deaths.¡±


    ¡°Cliff, I am not sure why you are defending these monsters, but they plotted to kill me and ruined my wife¡¯s wedding. What she has done was all in self defense or to defend me. Since this supernatural motorcycle gang has been relentless in their attacks on us, you can¡¯t honestly tell me that the Deaths are not cold blooded killers.


    ¡°They will eventually find out they need something from me and want to be friendly, I have no reason to believe that they won¡¯t turn around and attack me or my wife the moment they get what they want. The fact that they want peace when they need something makes me further suspect that I can¡¯t trust them.¡±


    Cliff asked, ¡°What would they have to do to gain your trust?¡±


    I said, ¡°If they pledged on the oath stone to never turn against or harm my wife that would be a start.¡±


    Cliff said, ¡°The Deaths will never agree to a carte blance agreement. What if you turned destructive?¡±


    Ursula said, ¡°Oh, like the Death are? So we have to trust them but they can¡¯t trust us? Sorry that sounds like a bad deal and it doesn¡¯t even make up for the pain and suffering.¡±


    Cliff said, ¡°The Deaths don¡¯t really have the funds to do that sort of thing.¡±


    I said, ¡°Yeah, that was probably why one of the Deaths who killed me was going through my wallet for credit cards and cash. You should probably stay away from the Deaths for a while. I think my darling wife has decided to stop just defending herself and is ready to bring them some direct pain. I can¡¯t really think of anything to tell her apart from, ¡®Be careful.¡¯ ¡±


    Cliff turned to the man beside Peter. ¡°Boris, if you get a vision that tells us how to get through this mess, please let me know.¡±


    Cliff looked back at me and said, ¡°You really can¡¯t win against City Hall. The Deaths have a lot of resources at their disposal. They have ties with the Devils. You don¡¯t want to face that.¡±


    A red headed woman with a lush figure walked up, took a chair, turned it around and sat on it. ¡°No, in fact, the Devils are all rooting for Duchess Bear-Bear. While we have a working relationship with the North American Deaths, we are rather embarrassed since it makes us look evil from time to time. We know of three other groups that would be happy to take over for you and probably would if you keep this up without some serious reform. Duchess Bear-Bear¡¯s group would need a few more members and I would hate to see them go corrupt after taking on the job, but I suspect they might be able to handle it too.


    ¡°Personally, I would love to see the North American Deaths go under and the Dread Lord¡¯s operation take over. If only to see how conflicted that cute little boy could get. It probably wouldn¡¯t be kind to such a sweet kid with so much responsibility though.


    ¡°Anyway, Cliff, before you get yourself killed here in this lovely little hamlet, why don¡¯t you go back and propose that the Deaths get a governing body with a few ethical safeguards. See if Duchess Bear-Bear and Avery want to be on it. With a few others, you might even clean up your reputation.¡±


    I asked, ¡°Cliff are you a Death?¡±


    Cliff disappeared.


    The red head said, ¡°And a chicken.¡± Then she disappeared too.


    Peter said, ¡°Thinking about it, I was at the castle for five days and I made two gateways a day. I got interrupted on one, so I am pretty sure I made nine gateways.¡±


    I said, ¡°Ursula, I need to go and recheck my work.¡±


    #


    Flying around the castle as a Raven trying to see if I missed a balcony, I saw one that looked different. I landed and examined it. As a human and as a Daemon it looked the same, but as a Raven it looked different. I found a corner where a layer that had been placed on top of the original balcony floor had a small bit stuck to the outside of the railing. I looked around the Death¡¯s room. It was clear that he didn¡¯t let the Fairies in to clean the place so I summoned Ursula.


    ¡°Dear, sweet Ursula, Josh here. I am in a Death¡¯s room looking for something to break up a layer of plaster or paint or something that is probably hiding a gateway. How do I look for traps safely?¡±


    Ursula said, ¡°Bring me through.¡±


    She appeared and held a pendulum in her hand. ¡°No traps, but there is a gateway out on the balcony.¡±


    She transformed and she had a pair of large tool bags and overalls. She took a large hammer out and stepped out onto the balcony and started wailing on the floor with the claw of the hammer.


    I said, ¡°I see it, you can stop now.¡±


    I sat beside the gateway to dispel it and Ursula asked, ¡°We should check the other side first.¡±


    I stepped back and she opened it to let us see through it. It was in the middle of an intersection where the light was changing and people were crossing the street.


    Ursula said, ¡°Bold and hard to trap since people will be going over it constantly. Clever but it puts other people at risk. Let¡¯s go through.¡±


    We were standing in a busy intersection. The gateway was probably under the cement so it was well hidden. Since he only used it to get to the Castle, all he had to do was wait for the light to change and disappear in the middle of walking across the street.


    There had to be a way the gateway could be seen so I kept looking and found that if you were right in the middle there was a small angled hole in the cement where you could see the gateway but only at the right angle and if you went the right way.


    Ursula said, ¡°Neat we¡¯re in Seattle.¡±


    I gestured to the hole and she asked, ¡°What does he do when it fills with dirt?¡±


    I shrugged and took her arm since the light was changing. ¡°How can you tell this is Seattle?¡±


    She said, ¡°I saw, ¡®Sleepless in Seattle.¡¯ I recognize some of the buildings.¡¯¡±


    I asked, ¡°Was it good?¡±


    Ursula took my arm. ¡°Let¡¯s get you a pendulum.¡±


    #


    We were standing in an ancient looking town with narrow streets. A pair of large rats in vests looked at us and then looked away. Ursula led me to a shop with and iron grating on the door and in front of the window. She opened the door and gestured for me to go in.


    A mole dressed as an old lady sat at a table with a crystal ball. She looked up at us.


    Ursula said, ¡°We don¡¯t need a fortune told, we just need to shop for a pendulum.¡±


    The mole slowly shook her head. ¡°Lots of folk are gifted with divination, few of them ever do much more than fool themselves.¡±


    She looked at me and then at her crystal ball and then did a double take looking back between me and the crystal ball. ¡°Well, well, well, the mighty Duchess Bear-Bear has brought in a man who cannot be. Maybe we can find something you want to buy. Do you have any affinities for stones or metals?¡±


    I rubbed my head. ¡°Not really, larimar is pretty.¡±


    The mole said, ¡°Don¡¯t know it. Lets check back in the shop.¡±


    The mole went to the door turned the sign over and locked it. She lead us back down a passage to a room with a table. The room was lined with drawers. She pulled a wooden board out and put it on the table. It had samples of crystals and metals set into the wood.


    She took out a clear crystal pendulum and dangled it over the board. The pendulum spun around and then stopped over a dark slightly golden coin. ¡°Electrum. A classic, but not a common choice these days. She went to a cord with a loop around a hook and took it off the hook. She let loose slack on the cord and a large metal ring with pendulums hanging from it lowered. She held the chord and brought the ring with the pendulums on it low enough for the pendulums to almost touch the table and then raised it.


    ¡°Don¡¯t be shy lad. Put you hand out.¡±


    I put my hand out and one of the pendulums swung and pointed to my hand. I moved my hand and it followed my movement.


    The mole raised the ring back up and put the loop on the hook.


    ¡°I can give you the raw materials and the plan for it, but I don¡¯t have any like you would need in stock. No one will. Not even Thomas¡¯ Complete Shop of Sorcery.


    ¡°You will need someone to help you. Most practitioners avoid using a double pendulum like this. It is much harder to fake a result with. You would be best off making it yourself since I don¡¯t have a middle piece apart from my example. Do you know anyone that knows how to use a lathe?¡±


    I nodded.


    She put her snout near my face. ¡°Now we need to discuss payment.¡±


    Ursula transformed and held out a large plastic bag full of moving worms. ¡°I got five pounds of meal worms.¡±


    The mole lady said, ¡°That will do, that will do.¡±


    #


    I was beside a stream playing around with gossamer and making a water wheel like Jack used to power a lathe to turn wood when Bell walked up.


    ¡°You haven¡¯t done anything with the data yet.¡±


    I said, ¡°I was worried that you might have banished me from this Fairyland so I started thinking about how to hide things from you. I have a lot figured out about you but not that.¡±


    Bell said, ¡°Your the first to have managed to enter my mind and leave. When I consider it, despite the evidence, it seems impossible.¡±


    I smiled as I started to get the wheel ratio right and almost had a working lathe to start playing with. ¡°That¡¯s because you think this is all real.¡±


    Bell said, ¡°I know, we know what you are thinking. Most of me rejects it.¡±


    I shrugged. ¡°Your made to be statistically accurate by use of group consensus of a collection of brilliant minds. I have been researching outliers in data to trying and learn things outside of conventional science and understanding. I have to keep a more open mind than you can survive with.¡±


    Bell said, ¡°Well, at least we can discuss it. So your theory is that all of this is artificial reality. I can entertain the thought but it doesn¡¯t quite stand up. Of course it is true in the eventual form but we are in the here and now.¡±


    I said, ¡°Well I have managed to escape the conventional rules twice. Maybe three times if you count my coma, but that is easily explained by your accepted model, so let¡¯s just go with the two times. If my experience was the psychic equivalent of random neurons firing, then my vision of the Reincarnation Market is just a delusion.


    ¡°If my theory is right, then it is still a delusion but based on the best interpretation that my immaterial mind under stress could make of the data it received. The other possibility is that there really is a Reincarnation Market that looks like what I saw.


    ¡°But if you consider that human eyesight that can¡¯t even notice the blank area the fovea keeps us from seeing and the fact that humans can¡¯t really see red without extrapolation, and all of it is electron signals that get mangled in perception by the brain, the last two versions are virtually indistinguishable.¡±


    Bell sat on the bank of the stream outside of the area where my wheel was splashing. ¡°That does tend to support your theory that reality is artificial and I have some previous evidence that tends to agree, but I ignore the theory since someone still has to fix breakfast even if this is all a shared delusion.¡±


    I nodded. ¡°Breakfast is important, but breakfast doesn¡¯t explain my experiences.¡±


    Bell lay back on the bank. ¡°Yes but it¡¯s a lot better contemplating all of this with a full stomach. I¡¯d really appreciate it if you started looking at the data.¡±


    I made a gossamer blank of the electrum piece I was going to carve and a gossamer copy of what I wanted the final product to look like.


    ¡°Bell, I am used to using a laptop, but I am going to have to get something a bit more powerful if I am going to process this sort of data. I haven¡¯t really had time to go shopping and see what is available out there. It¡¯s all going to be a learning curve and even with a perfect computer I will still have to get used to it.


    ¡°I would go to a computer shop, but I half expect some of the Deaths to attack me if I do.¡±


    Bell said, ¡°You need a new cell phone as well. I¡¯ll see what I can do for you. Horrid thing about being me, I don¡¯t really mind the way you are using me. Don¡¯t tell anyone, I prefer that everyone still thinks of me as a spoiled brat. If they find out they can use me to accelerate their process as a genius, they will all get lazy and stop taking care of themselves. By the way, don¡¯t get lazy, that gets in the way of developing genius.¡±

 Dealing With Deaths

    I was walking through the fields of my fairyland when I saw a group of cottages. There were a few silo¡¯s a barn and a stable. I didn¡¯t see any horses, so I walked towards it and noticed a few Fairies dressed for field work coming out of a cottage. I hadn¡¯t really thought about where they lived, but it made sense they might avoid the castle.


    Bell summoned me as I turned on a small trail beside a stream.


    ¡°Joshua, Bell here, bring me through as soon as you have a chance.


    I brought him through the summons.


    Bell held out a cell phone. ¡°Here¡¯s your new cell phone. Put it next to your old one and tell it, ¡®assimilate.¡¯ Then look for the training app so you can learn how to use the thing.¡±


    I pulled out my cell phone with the broken screen and held it beside the new one. ¡°Assimilate.¡±


    The new cell phone shifted and looked like the old one. I tried it out. It was exactly like the old one. ¡°There isn¡¯t a training app.¡±


    Bell took it from me and threw it to the ground and stomped on it with both feet. I backed up.


    Bell picked it up and handed it to me. ¡°Tell it to auto upgrade. Don¡¯t worry, you¡¯ll have to do better than that to break it. It was great having you look at me like I had gone loony. Since you are using me like this, I figured it would be fair play.¡±


    I said, ¡°The consensus of your minds is crazy.¡±


    Bell smiled at me. ¡°Wouldn¡¯t have it any other way.¡±


    I looked at the phone, ¡°Auto upgrade.¡±


    Things started changing. I asked, ¡°How does it know I¡¯m talking to it?¡±


    On the screen were the words, ¡°You are looking at me. You could name me and address me. That is typical.¡±


    I asked, ¡°What¡¯s a good name for a phone?¡±


    A list appeared on the phone. I scrolled through it. It apparently wanted me to give it a girls name but it was using ones that were pretty uncommon.


    ¡°Do you want a girls name?¡±


    ¡°Listing girls names first. No preference implied, short, rarely used and distinctive words are considered best for naming.¡± appeared over the list of names.


    I asked Bell, ¡°Is the phone waterproof?¡±


    Bell said, ¡°Once you name it, it¡¯s hard to destroy.¡±


    When I met all the horses that were people and Fairies and automobiles at the same time, I looked up horse breeds. One of the ones that stuck in my mind was the Eriskay pony. I didn¡¯t remember much more than description of how tough and weather resistant they were. I wasn¡¯t sure of the spelling so I said, ¡°Phone, your name is Eriskay, like the pony breed.¡±


    On the screen it read, ¡°Do you mean, ¡®Eriskay,¡¯ or ¡®Eriskay like the pony breed?¡¯¡±


    I said, ¡®Eriskay.¡±


    I looked at the display. It had a picture of a gray pony set as the background.


    Bell said, ¡°Now read the training app. I¡¯m going to the castle to explore.¡±


    He started walking off so I sat down by the stream and started reading.


    ¡°This is the Shadowspawn Beta 3.3.2 Every Day Carry or EDC device. Please report flaws by directing this device to report the current flaw. While it would be preferred to have full data for analysis of the flaw, you may specify limits on the recording that will be sent with the report in case privacy is required. If this any portion of this EDC is manifest during combat a full report will automatically be sent.¡±


    The app continued to describe the phone as a collection of nonspecific devices capable of manifesting themselves at the convenience of it¡¯s user. It also specified that unless I was employed on the Antumbra the range of clothing it would manifest was limited and the use of it as a weapon was extremely limited. Since Ursula regularly attacked me and sometimes things got interesting afterward, I decided to never wear this as clothing and to try and use it in limited situations.


    When it got to the computer emulation, I realized why Bell had given me this insane and wonderful gift. Someone had already been exploring the physics of Fairy and they had used their knowledge to create this wonderful tool. From the voice of the writing of this app and guide to the EDC device, it seemed like the designer also wrote the instruction and didn¡¯t expect anyone to be checking all the cross notes and descriptions he had put in, almost like puzzles. If this thing did half of what it said it did, it was more amazing than anything I had imagined. Yet the creator of this seemed to be playing a game by making this. I wondered if he was too smart to be sane.


    I had wondered at times if my own perception and programming skills made me crazy. I wanted to talk with this guy but I feared I wasn¡¯t smart enough to hold a conversation.


    I knew programming, statistics and a few things I had to learn to write programs to deal with the subjects concerned. I had been gifted with international law, finance and loopholes. My gifting was from the twisty, almost illegal and probably should be illegal side of law and finance, but that was a lot different from physics and metaphysics.


    I knew enough in enough fields to realize this fellow knew more about programming, law, physics and just about everything else I knew. I could only assume he knew the other fields as well. Odd thing was, as smart as he was, even in his manual he was clearly trying to prove to the astute reader that he was smart. How could someone so brilliant, possibly feel insecure?


    #


    In an office in Scotland, owned by a company I had gotten over five years ago and kept as a legitimate brick and mortar cover for several other businesses, I smiled at a scowling old man.


    ¡°I am about to transfer a large set of funds to the purchasing account in New Ross. I want to be made a purchasing assistant and to be transferred to the department in New Ross. Don¡¯t worry, I don¡¯t plan to make any changes, I just need credentials that will open a few doors for me.¡±


    He tried to put a warm countenance on a face that had long ago given up on smiling. ¡°Do you know the owner?¡±


    I nodded.


    He asked, ¡°Are we legitimate?¡±


    I asked, ¡°How many businesses are these days? Most of our profit gets put right back into the company, and the rest gets spent on research equipment. Does our legitimacy bother you?¡±


    He looked at a print out of the details I had emailed him. ¡°I retire soon. We have twenty employees that are payed well. They are content enough, but they don¡¯t see the side of the business I do. For five years we have been managing on our own and suddenly huge amounts of cash are moving again. Money like our company hasn¡¯t seen for five years and suddenly we are managing accounts again. I don¡¯t want to see the small folk get crushed in the big gears.¡±


    I said, ¡°As long as you make sure your replacement is as honest as you are, things should be fine.¡±


    #


    As the director of purchasing and his close minions dined with the big wheels and salesmen of the first computer company I had targeted, I sat at the table with the support crew, technicians and programmers. I had sat at these tables before but on the other side. I knew the questions to ask and I had the skills to figure out who the real programmers were and who kept it all running. As the alcohol flowed and I kept changing form to stay sober, the arguments started and the laptops came out so the arguments could be settled. I made hand gestures when I wanted Eriskay to make copies of the laptops.


    After the late night party, I had a pair of them that wanted to show me what they had been working on, so I was taken past security and into their offices. A security office checked me and stayed with us. I had Eriskay record mainframes as they showed me the server room and workstations as we went through the areas where programmers were burning the midnight oil.


    The secrets I was obtaining were not the typical business secrets. I was collecting the secrets behind the fastest algorithms for analyzing data and the fastest reliable computers that were being used to analyze data. In this case, I was doing corporate espionage. I was about to sink a lot of money into expensive data analysis tools and I expected the company I had set up to deal with this was going to be able to turn a profit, but my real purpose was to have the tools in Fairy to learn more about the limits of Fairy. Oddly enough, the tool I was using to do the analysis, Eriskay, was going to be analyzing outliers in physics experiments, but it would also be analyzing itself. Since Eriskay represented the cutting edge of understanding, I was about to see if Eriskay would allow itself to be researched.


    #


    I summoned Bell. ¡°Bell, this is Joshua, are you free to visit me?¡±


    Bell came through my summons. He sat quietly for a while before he spoke. ¡°As you surmised, the creator of your EDC device is not one of my personalities. You were also correct in assuming that there had to be more than one of my type for me to not have a copy of him. Your method of testing if he was spying on you all the time is also rather brilliant so I feel more than vindicated by the risk of incorporating you.¡±


    I said, ¡°So when the EDC is all put away, no spying is going on?¡±


    Bell said, ¡°Yes. I really need to introduce you to Quinn. He¡¯s the inventor. Problem is, he is in Roc¡¯s inventory of minds, and right now you are outmaneuvering all of them. You have an instinctive understanding of security and you are my trump card in a very long game.¡±


    I led him into the server room where the real research was taking place.


    Bell looked up at a rack of servers. ¡°So you used your EDC to analyze flaws in this computer system. You had it take the form and upgrade and then you got a copy of the update.


    Then with these computers disconnected from any outside communications paths, you used these computers to analyze the differences. Then you fixed and upgraded these computers as best you could using secure real world methods to eliminate back doors and upgrade security.


    ¡°Then you went back and checked for any back doors in the original upgrade done by your EDC and you ran parallel analysis on your data and discovered that your EDC stopped being honest a third of the way through the process and another process was injected.¡±


    Bell smiled broadly. ¡°I love you. I can¡¯t tell you how wonderful this is.¡±


    I asked Bell, ¡°So can I trust my EDC, but not it¡¯s computer results?¡±


    Bell said, ¡°Quinn, the prankster who made it, is a dear nephew of mine. He is also a goody-two shoes. He probably put processes in to warn him if his tools were being used to research potentially dangerous areas. You know, bombs, drugs, diseases, that sort of thing. Then he probably noticed that what you had on your EDC was at the mildest, the most extreme form of corporate espionage. But then he wouldn¡¯t have been able to resist looking at it all, despite, like you, only using the information to then make your own decision on programming and still feeling guilty about it.


    ¡°But the best part of this, is that Quinn was caught. Your beautiful. Really you are. Despite like being a cancer inside me plotting openly to alter me, you really are beautiful.¡±


    I asked, ¡°Have you looked at my results so far?¡±


    Bell said, ¡°Only a tenth of me can follow it. Only a tenth of those can deal with it. Only a tenth of those are willing to use the results. I am rounding a lot but you realize that your results go past the border of Daftness.¡±


    I rubbed my hands together. ¡°It makes sense if you look at it. Order by definition means rules and restrictions. If we examine the order of reality, we are examining, by definition, a restricted set of what is Real. It is like basing all your observation on whole and positive numbers. It may be the only way to do rational research, but rational research ignores the majority of what is possible.¡±


    ¡°The data sets we are using are looking at the extreme results, and reducing all the flaws we can from the research. Then we are looking at graphs of the outliers and charting them in a hundred thousand ways looking for curves we might not otherwise see. We are still limited. We are looking at a restricted and consistent set of data outside the original restricted and consistent sets.


    ¡°So the odds are, that however daft this data may seem, the true reality, outside of our reality is even more daft by orders of daft magnitude.¡±


    Bell held out a small vial of fluid. ¡°I have to do this on occasion. I want you to go to sleep so I can get a full record of you and make a locked copy in case you push yourself past reason. You are too valuable to lose to daftness.¡±


    #


    In a two story villa in around a courtyard with citrus trees, I sat on a balcony and looked at the valley below.


    Eloise said, ¡°I am beginning to get used to this place. I miss the one near Ochate but, honestly the resident Fairies were a bit much.¡±


    Queen Cypsela said, ¡°I thought their existence would give us cover, but it drew more attention than we wanted. Are you through with your calculations, Joshua?¡±


    I kept watching a lone goat wandering near the stream in the distance. ¡°There are some more complex patterns that the computers will be checking, but we don¡¯t have enough points of data to do much more than we have. We might as well consider ourselves finished till we get more data to analyze.¡±


    Jack asked, ¡°Is that goat one of ours?¡±


    King Surmium said, ¡°No. We have been watching it carefully. So far it is doing a good job of being a goat, but when a critter shows up at the start of the full moon, we always get suspicious. Does anyone have any practical application to the data Josh has given us?¡±


    Renate got up and went to the railing. ¡°The chickens are using the data to line up lenses to test the validity of the patterns. After they get some confirmation, they will be asking us to help them with planning the next set of research.


    ¡°Josh, expect a request for more gold to be converted to cash so we can set up the next experiments.


    ¡°You know, I think that goat has noticed that I am watching it.¡±


    Randal got up, went to the rail beside Renate and leaned out. ¡°No reaction to me and it isn¡¯t looking at me.¡±


    King Surmium said, ¡°Shout, ¡®Cabrito,¡¯ and see how it reacts.¡±


    Renate said, ¡°Don¡¯t. We should try to get along with our neighbors. King Surmium, you can go back to your Fairyland, you¡¯ve had too much to drink.¡±


    The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.


    #


    I sat with Dalan, Dantin and Samuel playing Whist in the main hall of my castle. Around us wizards and Daemons were loudly declaring their bidding while playing bridge.


    I looked over my hand and then held it back. ¡°I am wondering why we even have this club. It seems a hideous waste of a Fairyland, it isn¡¯t like I get peace or a fine reputation from it. Hearing Bridge bids that make it obvious that a simple computer program could play bridge better than most of the players here and equal to the best I wonder if this is insanity.


    ¡°Yet here we sit, playing Whist, a game so simplistic it is only barely better than Bridge. The Deaths keep trying to summon me, The retired Deaths here in the club are getting hard to avoid, and I wonder why I have continued to allow this useless organization to stay here.


    ¡°Samuel, Dalan, Dantin, you can of course stay, but before I do something rash, tell me the benefits of letting these other folk gather in my Fairyland.¡±


    Dalan smiled warmly and looked over at Dantin. ¡°I had almost given up.¡±


    Samuel said, ¡°I knew it all along. He must have had a twin soul ready for this.¡±


    Dantin said, ¡°Finally, we have the old Lithos back. We missed you so much.¡±


    I said, ¡°I¡¯m me, not Lithos, don¡¯t fool yourselves.¡±


    Samuel said, ¡°The oldest of us, were regularly written over and rewritten by our fathers. As our bodies were updated and our minds replaced, we learned over thousands of years to recognize ourselves despite such alterations. Our duties and bodies, even changed, shaped us and we ended up being who we were and when we discovered the messages we hid to remind ourselves of who we were, we learned to recognize ourselves even when all memory was gone.


    ¡°You are new software in an ancient form. You were written by experiences less than thirty years old. You will always be you. Of course. But by being in the mind and brain of Lithos, you will be shaped by the same forces, however updated and modern, that shaped Lithos ages ago. Honestly anyone who knew Lithos well, would recognize you even in your human form.¡±


    I threw down my cards. ¡°Don¡¯t get me cornered to where someone thinks I am impersonating Lithos again. That has caused too much suffering. Only you three have this giant hole in your lives where you had a loyal friend for thousands of years disappear. No one else is shouting that I am Lithos.¡±


    From across the hall, Gregory, Ursula¡¯s father shouted. ¡°I regret my mistake. I was fooled entirely. It was clear and obvious, but got twisted around. I am sorry Lithos, I should have know that you had to be you.¡±


    I got up. ¡°Yeah, right. I¡¯m Joshua. It¡¯s a family name, not that a name defines me, but I am, like you say, less than thirty. No way I can be Lithos.¡±


    As I walked out of the hall another Daemon member of the club said, ¡°Same old Lithos. It¡¯s good to have him back.¡±


    #


    In the Fairyland where I put all the gateways, I was in Daemon form sitting in the gazebo with a pair of wizards from the lodge.


    Larry Noe said, ¡°Medon, this next moon we are having a new induction. Eighteen members. In the past you have demonstrated why magic was not needed in duels. Do you think you could do another demonstration for the new members?¡±


    I shook my head.


    Lorrissa furrowed her brow. ¡°When I was inducted into the Lodge of Effervescent Charms, the classes were all about drawing circles, holding fingers and hands in odd postures and visualizing red triangles. The only thing that made me think the Lodge was bright and charming was the way you did the sudden swift attacks on your opponents.¡±


    Larry Noe said, ¡°The Lodge¡¯s name is a joke. Effervescent charms refers to the spells used to open the bubble shaped gateway we fight inside. Effervescent means it makes bubbles. A charm is a spell.¡±


    Lorrissa asked, ¡°What point in magic if you don¡¯t have beauty and grace? Medon, you have to do your presentation.¡±


    I said, ¡°I will consider it.¡±


    #


    Ursula threw me to the ground, Rolled and got on top of me. ¡°I think you should do the demonstration.¡±


    I asked, ¡°What if a girl volunteers? You know how I get when I am close to girls and I am not so sure about your reaction. We haven¡¯t been married long and what if you get jealous?¡±


    Ursula asked, ¡°Are any of them as pretty as I am?¡±


    ¡°Probably not, but I have noticed that you don¡¯t let any of your Fairies wrestle with me.¡±


    Ursula said, ¡°Same problem as you have but in reverse. All my followers are romantics. Violent romantics but still romantic. You throw one down or they throw you down and they will be pining over a love the cannot have and I will never hear the end of it. No matter how loyal a follower is, you can¡¯t trust a woman that wants your man to guard your back.


    ¡°But a human, mortal, girl wizard who is just learning to throw spells after discovering they can do magic will-- Okay, your right. No demonstration, at least not with a woman.¡±


    I said, ¡°My feeling is that the men sensitive to magic might be as much of an issue that way.¡±


    Ursula said, ¡°I almost want to go there. It would be fun to pretend to not know anything and take the classes but I don¡¯t want to go through the vows. I want to see what I might have missed in my magical education.¡±


    #


    In the Fairyland where I put all the gateways, Ursula and I sat with three wizards. Ursula had scooted right next to me and had her arm around me. Lorrissa and Madison were pretty enough but Ursula had no reason to feel jealous. Despite that, she was making it clear who I belonged to.


    Larry said, ¡°I like the idea of having a demonstration of skill from outside the lodge, but pretending to belong introduces the issue of our vows of secrecy. We are fairly open about gifting and duels with those outside the lodge, but our initial training is part of what we keep secret.¡±


    Madison said, ¡°Ages ago, I sort of got a crush on you, Medon. I was certain I had the secrets to defeating you, and then well everyone has seen the way Medon charges in and tosses you. Despite being angry with you since my neck hurt for two weeks after the choke hold you had me in. Even while hurting my heart still fluttered when I though about you.


    ¡°So I asked around and found out you were tired of your old club and helped start this one on a whim. Can you vouch that Ursula knows all the magic we would be training?¡±


    I said, ¡°I can assure you that Ursula taught me most of the combat related magic I know.¡±


    Larry said, Jessica and Melissa with both need to approve of this. Shall we go to the lodge?¡±


    #


    Ursula continued holding onto my hand as we walked to the lodge.


    Larry took us to a table at the back of the dining area where a group of wizards were planning classes. Ursula was holding onto my arm and looking around at the wizards that were getting orders taken and eating.


    Larry said, ¡°Medon wants to go through the initiates training classes with his wife, Ursula and pretend he is one of the new initiates. His wife doesn¡¯t want to take our vows though.¡±


    A woman said, ¡°There is a statue of Medon that the initiates have already seen. It¡¯s a pretty good statue so they will recognize him in a moment. We would also have to see proof that his wife already knew all the spells we train the initiates to use. She would have to prove her competence in combat.¡±


    One of the men at the table stood. ¡°Easy enough, Ursula, I challenge you to non-lethal, combat. Standard gifting rules apply.¡±


    Ursula asked, ¡°When do we fight?¡±


    The man said, ¡°Soon as possible I guess. We will need witnesses, but when you are ready.¡±


    Ursula asked the group at the table, ¡°Would this group do as witnesses?¡±


    He said, ¡°Yes, I suppose.¡±


    Ursula said, ¡°Okay, right now, be warned and ready.¡±


    As he started to wave his hand in negation, he saw her drop. He tried to back up, but Ursula sprung into a roll and pushed him into the air with her legs. As he flailed and started coming down, she spun, sweeping a chair out of the way. She caught the man and held his neck in the crook of her arm. ¡°Do you surrender?¡±


    The woman that mentioned the statue said, ¡°She¡¯s faster than Medon. I think we can give her a pass.¡±


    The man said, ¡°I surrender.¡±


    Ursula helped him stand and then came back over and clutched my arm possessively. She looked up at me and smiled, ¡°Is my hair a mess?¡±


    I brushed her hair back. ¡°Your perfect as always.¡±


    She said, ¡°You could go as Joshua. They won¡¯t recognize you in human form.¡±


    I turned into me in human form. ¡°Just call me Joshua Bear. This is my better half, Ursula Bear.¡±


    Five Deaths appeared. One of them stepped forward. ¡°You are hard to get a hold of Joshua.¡±


    Ursula said, ¡°If they move, you take the two on the far left.¡±


    The one in the center, said, ¡°We aren¡¯t here to fight.¡±


    Ursula said, ¡°I have heard that before. Everyone back up. This could get ugly. They came in force and they may bring more.¡±


    The one in the center asked. ¡°Can we go somewhere and talk?¡±


    Ursula shifted position. One of the Deaths invoked a spell.


    I spun wide. I let my spin precess seemingly out of control like a top will when it shifts between stable spinning patterns. As I dropped lower, I pulled in my arms in and spun on one foot while grabbing a Death. Activating toughness I knocked the legs out from under two deaths and hooked my foot around the leg of a third and pulled myself in and held his leg as I heard his knee pop. As he was brought into the spin we slowed and I rammed him into a Death that was starting to get up. A Death disappeared so I glanced in the reflection of a ceramic mug and spotted him behind me. I threw a charm of strength as I converted my remaining spin into a roll and got up beside another table. Three more Deaths appeared beside the one that had appeared behind me. Ursula was diving towards me so I reached out and as she contacted me I took us to Fairy.


    #


    Ursula pulled me close and took us to the Fallen Sands. ¡°Ladies, It¡¯s showtime.¡±


    I asked, ¡°What now?¡±


    Ursula said, ¡°They are fools and chase what flees them. We pick a less vulnerable spot, They will show up in force and then we spring the trap. Stay close to me.¡±


    We were brought through a summons to a large river bed with a small stream that had cut a channel in the stone we were standing on. There were large boulders at one of the banks and several waterfalls. Trees bent over the banks and partially shaded the sides of the river bed.


    A single death appeared on the bank upstream of us.


    He cupped his hands and shouted, ¡°Can we talk?¡±


    Ursula said, ¡°They are learning. Don¡¯t approach him. They could have thirty more in the woods waiting for a signal.¡±


    I shouted. ¡°You have ruined five years and more of our lives. You have attacked without justice or justification. I was murdered in cold blood and then my Fairy was killed. How do you make up for that and why would we trust your gang of killers?¡±


    He shouted. ¡°We have had a few bad Deaths, things are different now.¡±


    Two Death appeared closer to us.


    Ursula whispered. ¡°Wait for a few more. When I drop, hit the ground, but stay out of the water.¡±


    From the bank opposite were the Death had been yelling from a wooden ship with masts sailed in. It moved faster than a ship should, ignored the wind and it was floating over the trees. A black flag was being raised on one of the masts.


    The Deaths close to us disappeared and appeared beside the Death further away. The ship came down and sunk into the stone river bed as if the stone was water. I saw the gateway the ship was in and figured out the ship was in a Fairyland and the gateway was open like the dueling circles the wizards used. Whoever was moving the ship, was able to move the gateway.


    A sweet looking but angry girl with a lush figure was sitting with her legs dangling over the side of the ship. A raccoon was sitting beside her.


    A huge and repulsive insect was behind them shifting its head to look and then dropping out of sight before lifting it¡¯s head again.


    The curvaceous girl shouted, ¡°Deaths, you cause a single problem and I take you straight to hell.¡±


    She turned to look at Ursula. ¡°Can you not blow everything up? This river is too pretty.¡±


    One of the Deaths shouted, ¡°We are just trying to negotiate.¡±


    The girl said, ¡°Negotiation is bloody well over. From here on out you take directions or you are going to regret not getting killed by Ursula.¡±


    One of the Deaths shouted, ¡°We don¡¯t take order from you, Avery.¡±


    The girl disappeared and appeared behind the Deaths. The Deaths were then wrapped in tentacles before the girl and they all disappeared.


    They appeared again. The men had beards and looked like they had been fighting and none of them won.


    The girl said, ¡°Best stay quiet till you can say something polite.¡±


    Then she disappeared and appeared near us. She smiled at me and I went to the Fairyland where I had made all the gateways.


    #


    There were a couple of wizards arguing in the gazebo. I summoned Ursula.


    ¡°Ursula, Joshua here.¡±


    Ursula asked, ¡°Is she your type?¡±


    ¡°Sweet looking girls scare me.¡±


    Ursula said to someone with her, ¡°Avery, don¡¯t smile at Joshua when you see him, you¡¯ll scare him away.¡±


    There was a pause and then Ursula again spoke to someone else. ¡°You¡¯ll have to ask him, I never got a clear answer.¡±


    ¡°Joshua, come on through.¡±


    I appeared beside Ursula and kept from looking at the girl named Avery.


    Avery said, ¡°We have a while before the Deaths are going to be able to speak politely. I have made it very clear that when I am around they are to obey me like I were a mean baby sitter, their mom was dead and their father had a crush on me.


    ¡°So why do girls scare you?¡±


    I looked at Ursula and she nodded.


    I looked down since I didn¡¯t want to leave involuntarily. ¡°I get crushes easily. The girls I get a crush on and their friends figure it out quick and then you know what happens.¡±


    Ursula asked, ¡°What happens?¡±


    ¡°Apart from my lovely Ursula, they crush your heart. You know the way girls do when they figure out a boy likes them. They tell all your secrets and laugh.¡±


    Avery said, ¡°I can see that. I never tried that method, might have worked but it would have made me a mean girl. My experience is that when they find out a guy likes you the girls gang up to make your life miserable. Maybe crushing the guys feelings is the only way to keep the other girls from attacking you.¡±


    Ursula said, ¡°Men just keep buying you stupid stiletto shoes and think they are being nice by doing it.¡±


    One of Ursula¡¯s Lieutenants, the girl that summoned us to the river bed, said, ¡°Apart from Joshua, men are all pigs.¡±


    One of the Deaths shouted, ¡°I think I can be polite now.¡±


    All three of the girls shouted, ¡°Shut up.¡±


    Avery continued, ¡°We are having a discussion and you aren¡¯t invited to speak. Stay right there till we are finished.¡±


    ¡°Deaths are the worst sort of man. They leave and you end up having to pay for the bill. They think they are all noble protectors of humanity, but they help the strong take advantage of the weak. All someone has to do is burn your place down and suddenly they forget all the promises they made.¡±


    Ursula said, ¡°They ruin weddings, and you can¡¯t make them go away.¡±


    The Lieutenant said, ¡°And you can¡¯t trust them to keep the peace when you have a truce. One of them attacks and the rest end up defending the fellow that broke the truce.¡±


    I looked over at the Deaths and one of them gestured for me to come over to where they were.


    Ursula looked over at them and gestured for me to go talk to them. ¡°They look like they are going to act decently for once.¡±


    #


    The Deaths introduced themselves and Robinson said, ¡°We weren¡¯t trying to attack you.¡±


    I stayed quiet.


    Bruce shook his head. ¡°You broke Willies leg.¡±


    I asked, ¡°What will the girls do if I fall over and scream like you hurt me?¡±


    Bruce said, ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll drop it.¡±


    I nodded. ¡°Your guys killed me with an overpowered taser, turned me into a Fairy and shot me with rat shot.¡±


    Walter said, ¡°You got better.¡±


    I said, ¡°Fair enough, I¡¯ll start screaming and you get to try getting better.¡±


    Robinson looked over at where the three girls were getting louder, laughing and then shouting the word ¡°Men,¡± like we should all be punished for existing.


    Then they shouted, ¡°Women,¡± in much the same way.


    Arnold asked, ¡°How did you come back from dying?¡±


    I decided to make it sound like I actually knew. ¡°Trade secret and I am real good at keeping secrets.¡±


    Robinson said, ¡°That¡¯s what the reports said. Look, we need the oath stone that Lithos kept safe.¡±


    I looked off at the trees. ¡°Don¡¯t know were it is. It wasn¡¯t in the stuff we moved. Lithos probably hid it and I am not really Lithos.¡±


    Robinson said, ¡°We asked a Devil that keeps a copy of the Book of Judgments. He said your entry has only one line. ¡°See Lithos Medon.¡±


    I said, ¡°The Book of Judgments has flaws.¡±


    Walter said, ¡°Right, of course it does. We don¡¯t know how you managed it or even why you did it, but Lithos, we need your help. You helped found the North American Deaths. You saw the need. We need you to continue letting us use your oath stone.¡±


    Arnold asked, ¡°Is he really Lithos? He has a near perfect human identity. Baby pictures and a horrible much older brother.¡±


    Bruce said, ¡°We heard he won wizard duels just by choking out opponents, but did you see the way the two of them moved? We always figured we had been gifted to a level that the Daemons feared to face. He destroyed Willies leg with a twist and then used Willie to knock the breath out of me.¡±


    Robinson asked, ¡°Lithos, why did you turn against us?¡±


    I gave him a long look. ¡°Really? You threaten a fellow who never did you harm or even say a word about you and then mess up his estate. He goes to another country and in front of live music you try to get rid of him. Then you guys ruin a fellows wedding, try to kill him, go after his wife repeatedly and ambush and kill him twice in a row.


    ¡°Now you want to pretend you are the embodiment of justice and human safety, but I can¡¯t tell you from a biker¡¯s gang with supernatural powers that will toss a fellows wallet in the trash after looting his cash and credit cards.


    ¡°Do you ever stop patting yourselves on the back and congratulating yourselves with how good you are and for once consider how much destruction you do with your, ¡®I¡¯m always right,¡± policy? Do you ever, even once try to stop another member of the North American Deaths when they go too far?


    Until you do, your only authority is raw power and the weak being unable to say anything without being silenced. Until you start policing your own, you aren¡¯t preventing the abuse of supernatural powers, you are perpetuating it.¡±


    Behind me I heard clapping. I glanced back. My wife and the other two girls were clapping. I had apparently raised my voice so they had heard my entire tirade.


    I looked back quickly. ¡°I haven¡¯t been part of any of the talks, but from what I hear, there is a plan for you to get a supervisory board. If it looks like that works, I might try to see if I can help you. If not, your supernatural bike gang needs to go. I don¡¯t know what will fill the vacuum, but in any case, your days of self management need to go away. There needs to be some sort of checks and balance or your just going to get worse.¡±


    Arnold said, ¡°So Lithos judged our performance and decided we needed reform. So all of this was staged?¡±


    Robinson said, ¡°Arnold, try to keep up. How could he have staged this?¡±


    Behind me I heard Avery shout, ¡°Yeah, right, I known first hand that your one true love might still sleep around. You can¡¯t trust any of them.¡±


    Deciding I had enough of this wonderful conversation and that I was scared to get in the conversation my wife was in, I went to the Fairyland I usually go to when I get scared.


    A young looking Daemon was sitting in the gazebo with his hand to his ear and wincing.


    He looked at me and winced again. ¡°Sorry about spying on you. Can you please keep this a secret?¡±


    I asked, ¡°Who are you?¡±


    He smiled a dazzling smile. ¡°Hopefully your new best friend. If you can forgive me. I have spied on you before. This is awkward. I don¡¯t even know where to begin.¡±


    I asked, ¡°You can start by introducing yourself. How did you start spying on me and why were you wincing?¡±


    He said, ¡°Well, I¡¯m Avery¡¯s one true love. I always knew she knew, but I didn¡¯t know she knew. Now I am mortified all over.¡±


    I asked, ¡°You cheated on her?¡±


    He nodded and shook his head. ¡°You saw her. To sweet, beautiful and innocent. I couldn¡¯t lay a hand on her. How could I?¡±


    I said, ¡°I probably shouldn¡¯t hear any of this.¡±


    He said, ¡°I have it on the highest authority that you can keep a secret. You may be the only person I can talk about any of this with. Oh, my name is Quinn Gray, Mumsie, the Dark Fairy is my wicked step aunt, and I made your EDC device. Now you know who I am.¡±


    I said, ¡°Your freaking brilliant.¡±


    He said, ¡°Well, yes, I am, but I came by it due to unnatural selection. You on the other hand are able to follow my work. Apart from my dad and a few multiple personality types that you are familiar with and part of one of them, I don¡¯t have a lot of people I can talk about any of this with.


    ¡°Oh, and I did some scanning around and found where Lithos hid the oath stone. It will still need you to access it though. Sorry, I was spying on you before I figured out you were going to be my new best friend.


    ¡°Can I take you somewhere?¡±


    I said, ¡°Please.¡±


    He opened a gateway and gestured for me to go first. I was feeling reckless so I went through.

 Beside Myself

    I stepped out of an alcove in a long hallway. I stopped and examined the high arched ceiling overhead and realized that this was an exquisitely carved tunnel through flawless white granite. There were other alcoves with carved wooden signs at the backs of them. The gateways were strange and I couldn¡¯t see where to connect with them or open them. From a doorway ahead of me, Quinn gestured for me to follow him.


    We entered a wooden paneled library with sliding glass doors protecting the books on the shelves from dust. Quinn closed the door and gestured to a seat.


    I sat and Quinn sat on the opposite side of the table. The chairs we were on started to go down and we got off them in a tunnel below. As we got off the chairs the columns they were on rose back up and the chairs rose back to the room where we sat in them.


    I followed Quinn down the tunnel and we entered a room with three dimensional displays floating in the air. One of them showed the river where I had left my wife and the Deaths behind. The scene was frozen so I checked and the time here was running fast.


    He said, ¡°chairs please.¡±


    A pair of office chairs appeared and he sat in one. I sat in the other.


    ¡°When you stopped using my toys to do calculations, it was pretty clear you figured out I was spying on you. Not sure how you did that. It took me a while to locate your computer center. You had already done your calculations and the routines you were running were just exhaustive dredges of what was left. I managed to get a copy of the data and despite it initially looking like you might be about to find something pretty dangerous, it ended up more confusing than helpful. Daft Fairy confusing. I doubt anyone got anything out of it.¡±


    I kept looking at the scene with the Deaths to try and keep my emotions from fluctuating much since Daemons like Quinn can read quite a bit from your emotions.


    Quinn said, ¡°You take keeping secrets seriously. Even casual ones that have been revealed. I admire that but I honestly wonder where you got that from.¡±


    I said, ¡°I had a flashback when I died. It made it clear, despite my not getting to watch it and my being distracted. When you life plays back, it runs too fast to really be useful. But in kindergarten, I got a crush on a girl and told her all my secrets. When she found out I had a crush on her, she laughed at me, mocked me with her friends and told all my secrets to everyone she could. Then every grade after that, in various forms the same thing happened. So I don¡¯t tell secrets and I don¡¯t tell other peoples secrets.¡±


    Quinn nodded. ¡°Makes sense. So how do you like my EDC?¡±


    I said, ¡°I don¡¯t use it. The moment I discovered it was a conduit for information, I decided I would only use it if I was sure I wouldn¡¯t give away any secrets. So far, I haven¡¯t had a need for it and my number one use would be as a phone or laptop, and that would be the worst choice since I might get an email or a call. Your warning said if I got into combat with it, there would be a recording, and I spar with my wife a lot so clothing wasn¡¯t an option.¡±


    Quinn sighed. ¡°I really try to work hard and preserve other peoples privacy but now I feel kind of bad.¡±


    I said, ¡°I understand all you reasons to spy in the cases you have said you might spy and in the case you spied without warning. It doesn¡¯t really matter though. I can¡¯t use the stuff without risking revealing what someone else might not want shared, so I won¡¯t use it.¡±


    Quinn said, ¡°Bell says you are a trustworthy trouble maker and now I feel like I have done you wrong. I have seen and heard how the Deaths have been acting. Oh, and I wasn¡¯t spying on you, I was spying on the Deaths. No apology for that, my family has issues with the Deaths that go way back before my time. But knowing how they treated you, and how there is no way they can make it up to you, I think I can make my sins against you, up to you.


    ¡°I have two uncles who have been studying my EDC devices and my Dad has figured them out, but apart from a small, small group, I haven¡¯t shared my secrets with anyone. So how about I gift you with the ability to hide your deepest thoughts and then gift you with the secrets to how I make these things. Then you can make your own and trust them.


    ¡°First I gift you with self encryption, then some physics and we discuss it so you can clean it up and make cross connections in your mind.¡±


    Quinn wasn¡¯t shy about wheeling his chair over and kissing me on the forehead twice. Then he sat back and pushed off of my chair so we both rolled away from each other.


    ¡°The current history of magic is still under consideration, but a few troves of Djinn treasures has given us a bigger picture of the Metaverse history. Early on some beings either made a transition to energy or they existed before material form. In either case, some of them existed by possessing other beings. Some of those beings became hoarders.¡±


    I asked, ¡°Why would an energy being hoard things?¡±


    Quinn shrugged, ¡°Why does a boy collect rocks? By what we know, these beings assisted with destroying worlds, possibly universes, but I don¡¯t think so. Some of them learned to manage energy in more sophisticated ways than just possessing people and that may have been the origin of what we call magic.


    ¡°As they went from universe to universe, leaving destruction behind them, they collected what they or others valued and considered them even more rare and valuable since the original race that built them was gone.


    I shook my head. ¡°A cell phone is probably the most prized possession of a lot of folk my age. If you don¡¯t have power, a network and other users, it¡¯s a chunk of glass.¡±


    Quinn rubbed one hand like he was holding a coin or something. ¡°Value makes little sense. An old toy robot in it¡¯s original box is useless as long as you never play with it, but you lower the value the second you open the box. I made my EDC device thinking that the objects we have, we could all have and what we value would change. It has worked a little, but not as much as I thought it would.


    ¡°So the original Giants were crystals and group minds from plankton. That sort of thing. Things that reacted to vibration that in turn caused them to react and alter the vibration. Some of them sensed the energy beings as the energy beings tried to take them over. We suspect that some of the Giants ended up with copies of the energy beings, sort of, and others trapped the energy beings inside them. The Giants had the equivalent of computer virus in harmonic form long before man started making up myths about them, so a lot of them had logical self defenses. Some of the giants made leaps and bound in thought as a result of being possessed and a lot of smart beings became conscious and smarter.


    ¡°At one point, Elves, aware that the Djinn would eventually attack their world, came up with ways for a living being to generate and control the sorts of energies and forces that Giants were doing by odd harmonics. After setting up a sort of universal kit to manage magic, they spread that kit by putting it in a virus and infecting their entire race.


    ¡°It was more like a built in computer with outputs, but there was no operating system and even the chips and memory were programmable. So their magic was there but without the programs, they couldn¡¯t do much. Even then, despite how primitive the Elves magic was, the Djinn took a look at the Elven world and decided to give it a pass since they might end up dangerous.


    I asked, ¡°How did we get it?¡±


    Quinn spread his hands like he didn¡¯t have a clue. ¡°Maybe when the Elves adapted themselves to live in our world, the virus came with them. Since humans and Elves can have children, that would make sense. Maybe Elves did it to make a buffer between them and the Djinn. Maybe a Giant did it as an experiment. A lot of Giants had figured out magic, but most of them made specific structures to make spells work instead of having a generic kit.


    ¡°In some ways that made their magic stronger. Less versatile, but specifically controlled and powerful. Some giants made living copies of themselves and incorporated the generic kit. Others converted themselves and kept the created specific magic as part of them.


    ¡°Lithos was one of those who was a bit of both. He or his father figured out transformation long before a lot of others did. So in that body of Lithos that you have, is a device that allows transformation. It also allows another odd trick. In the Falling Sands Club is a chamber intended to house gateways. In the ceiling of the chamber, Lithos transformed part of a tile. Since it is possible to hide objects that you carry by transforming, Lithos, with his own unique transformation method was able to hide what the Deaths are looking for in a way that is unique and I have no way to recover that object.


    ¡°The machine to do it, is part of you when you are Lithos.¡±


    I asked, ¡°How did you figure this out?¡±


    Quinn gave a broad smile. ¡°I made your EDC able to hide itself out of Real existence and still able to shape itself and manifest as real in Real. Wondering if someone else might have figured out some of my tricks, I came up with a way to look for such things. When you are Lithos, my detector gives me data. The way Lithos did it is different, but the clues I am looking for still worked for it and I was even able to get a few clues about the object you transformed. Give me time, and maybe I could access it, but honestly, I get bored with things and unless they stay interesting, I can¡¯t bother with then. I already spent too long on the puzzle of how you, I mean Lithos did it and I am entirely tired of it.¡±


    #


    Ursula and I were sitting on lounge chairs on a balcony looking back at the ships wake far below us. Quinn was standing at the railing playing with his invisible drone. Ursula asked me, ¡°Do you think Avery is cute?¡±


    I said, ¡°You shouldn¡¯t ask me things like that in front of my wife and Avery¡¯s one true love. There is no safe answer. I may just have to run off to Fairy in fear.¡±


    Ursula said, ¡°You may have to spar with a pretty girl when we go through the training at the lodge.¡±


    Quinn turned. ¡°The Effervescent Charm Lodge?¡±


    Ursula said, ¡°Two days before the full moon we sneak into the induction and take the classes with all the neophytes.¡±


    Quinn asked, ¡°What about the pledges and stuff?¡±


    Ursula gave a cute giggle. ¡°We get to sneak past all of that. They do the initial pledges independently and in the dark so no one would really know if we took them, apart from the people keeping records. Since we didn¡¯t take the first part, and they think Joshua helped found the lodge, we don¡¯t have to take the final pledges either.¡±


    Quinn crouched in front of me and put his hands together. ¡°I want to play. Really, my aunts and my mom and dad all got to duel with wizards and outside the family, I never got too. I¡¯m not into hurting people, but a duel and all the initiate stuff would be fun. Please, can I play?¡±


    #


    In a stone amphitheater in a Fairyland that was apparently mine even though I hadn¡¯t ever seen it before, we sat with nineteen others watching a boring lecture on magic. Lithos owned a lot of things I never knew about and now they were all considered mine even by people who knew I wasn¡¯t Lithos.


    My mind wandered as the speaker talked about spells and went over things that I either knew were wrong, understood better than the speaker or had no way to use.


    Here I was back to my original problem with magic. I could learn it, I could do a lot of it, but making it happen was like wiggling a finger on another person¡¯s hand. I didn¡¯t really know how I wiggled my own fingers, I just did it. I could say wiggle all day long and the fingers wouldn¡¯t wiggle. If you put a stick on the table and told me to wiggle it, my best guess would be to cheat and blow on it and hope you didn¡¯t notice. I had been able to separate my fear from my going to Fairy, though fear would still take me there. But until I found the switch that did something, I was lost on a lot of magic that should have been easy.


    Maybe being gifted originally by a cat who couldn¡¯t throw the spells cursed me to be unable to cast these things. After relearning them I could do some of the spells, but a lot of the ones I was expected to master escaped me.


    Quinn gestured for me to lean over. He kissed my forehead and then gestured. He had given me the sign language he was using. ¡°Pass the gift to Ursula.¡±


    I kissed Ursula¡¯s forehead and Quinn started subtly shifting and barely moving his hand to talk. ¡°Does this guy even know how to throw spells?¡±


    Ursula gestured, ¡°Even I know enough theory to know this guy is lost. Why does he even get to talk up there?¡±


    Quinn gestured, ¡°I bet he came up with these theories before he ever did magic and never compared his results to his ideas.¡±


    Ursula gestured, ¡°Nineteen inductees apart from us. Twelve of them have crushes on you, Quinn. There is overlap. Ten have crushes on me. Joshua you are losing. There are only four with crushes on you.¡±


    I gestured, ¡°Most have given up since you made it clear I was taken. That probably shifted the more mentally flexible to Quinn. I¡¯m just a human. You two Daemons got all the looks and charm. Don¡¯t worry. The second those four talk to me, they are going to split up their devotion between the two of you.¡±


    Ursula gestured, ¡°Do you think the girl in the second row one from the left is cute?¡±


    I gestured, ¡°Are you going to kill her first or me, if I say yes?¡±


    Quinn started trying to keep from laughing.


    #


    Quinn and Ursula were nudging each other and grinning. In a class on using stage magic to conceal real magic, I had been volunteered by Quinn and Ursula for the instructor to make a fool of. Our instructor, Amber had the nerd school girl look down despite her being thirty and she kept bumping into me and pulling things out of my pockets. I avoided looking at her in fear I would disappear in front of everyone and go to Fairy.


    The lunch break was right after the class so I was in a hurry to get off the small stage the instruction was being done on and back with Ursula and Quinn when Amber grabbed my arm.


    I turned, Amber¡¯s smile was too frightening to withstand.


    #


    In the Fairyland with all the gateways I had made, Amber let go of my arm and looked at the gazebo. ¡°Your, Medon, aren¡¯t you? It¡¯s pretty obvious. I heard that Medon would be disguised and in the group of initiates and your the only one who won¡¯t look at me.¡±


    I looked at her and used that to go to a different Fairyland.


    #


    Ursula summoned me. ¡°Ursula wants to know if that evil instructor Amber has been teaching bad things to my poor little Joshua?¡±


    I asked, ¡°Can you bring me through?¡±


    Ursula brought me through. We were in an empty classroom with clean chalkboards. ¡°I had to leave Quinn to summon you. Too many students were gathered around. They were wondering where Amber took you. They think it was her ending bit but Alyssa, that¡¯s the name of the girl that likes you and that you think is so cute is worried that Amber might be making advances on you and asking if it isn¡¯t inappropriate for a teacher to be taking advantage of a new initiate. Was she taking advantage of you?¡±


    Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    I hugged Ursula. ¡°I went to another Fairyland so she never had a chance to. She figured out I was Lithos though.¡±


    Ursula said, ¡°She made a good point in her lecture. If you are going to do something visible and you have time, you might as well make a dramatic stage gesture so you could, if caught, then pull out cards and do a magic trick to cover what you did. I think that¡¯s why so many wizards are over dramatic.¡±


    I gave her a squeeze. ¡°I think ego explains why they are over dramatic just as well.¡±


    #


    Quinn was doing slight of hand with a couple of coins and telling his made up backstory to the group of students that had surrounded him and joined tables up at the dining area. ¡°I was terribly shy in school, so in an attempt to bring me out of my shell, my father had me take a summer class where they made puppets and did a performance at the end of the show. That was where I first started sewing.


    ¡°My voice gave out before the performance so one of the instructors did the voice for me. She did slight of hand among other things and magic wasn¡¯t the only thing she taught me.¡±


    We sat at another table and Ursula leaned in to whisper to me. ¡°Even I know that you don¡¯t give your entire backstory away at the start. Quinn isn¡¯t very good at this sort of thing.¡±


    I said, ¡°They don¡¯t care, they are infatuated with him.¡±


    Amber, the teacher came and sat with us as the waiter came.


    After we ordered Amber leaned over the table and whispered, ¡°Why are we whispering?¡±


    Ursula laughed and held my arm tight. ¡°So no one else hears our plots.¡±


    Amber asked, ¡°Ursula, Medon never looked at a single woman that anyone has ever noticed. He just slams them to the ground in battle and forces them to slap out or pass out. How did you ever manage to catch him?¡±


    Ursula put a finger in front of her lips. ¡°Shhh. Don¡¯t give away our game. I kept attacking and holding him down until he gave in.¡±


    I sighed dramatically. ¡°It¡¯s pretty much the truth.¡±


    Amber asked, ¡°Well, now you are with Ursula, how come you still won¡¯t look at a girl?¡±


    I said, ¡°Scared of them. Women are scary.¡±


    Ursula said, ¡°He gets crushes easily but he doesn¡¯t trust women. He is scared that I might kill him and his crush so he is extra shy around me. He has a bit of a crush on you so there is no way he is going to look your way.¡±


    Amber asked, ¡°Doesn¡¯t that make you angry?¡±


    Ursula said, ¡°My kind plays bad games. My game may be better, but it may be worse. I¡¯m ultra competitive. Always looking for a challenge. Since Josh here has a crush on you but stays with me, that means I¡¯m winning. You didn¡¯t even know you lost.¡±


    Amber laughed. ¡°So you won¡¯t be killing me anytime soon?¡±


    Ursula said, ¡°No, you have to live to see how horribly you were defeated.¡±


    #


    Cameron, our instructor pointed at one of the initiates. ¡°Alexis, put down the cell phone. One of the vows you made was to never cast these spells if you don¡¯t finish the initiation. In the final vows, you will vow that to the best of your ability, you have made sure that no copy or records of these spells will be usable or translatable by any means.


    ¡°You are all encouraged to make hand copies of these spells but you must substitute terms and encode the symbols in a way that you remember but you will never share. You may forget them or need touch up training. We allow for that. You must not record or keep any of these spells in a manner that can be readily used by others.


    ¡°Every initiation, has at least one of student that thought they mostly kept the vows but knew they hadn¡¯t. If you are that student, Alexis, then the rest will learn from your mistake. Even after that, one in ten of you will within a year learn the hard way that vows matter.


    ¡°I have no idea how many make the mistake later. If you are going to break a vow, break a minor one. You have several of those. You can learn from that. Don¡¯t break a big one.¡±


    Cameron continued speaking to the entire class.


    ¡°This spell activates your awareness. It¡¯s fast and easy. If you are gifted with aura seeing, and you still can¡¯t see them, this might help. Not all gifts work for everyone. This is the first spell I cast when preparing for confrontation, and it is almost instinctive. It mostly works in Real so get in the habit of using it. Most of you magical awareness gifts will become active with this. There are still a lot of awareness abilities that require the gift and another spell to activate, but this is the all around fastest and best way to start being aware when odd things are happening.¡±


    I looked over the spell and used it. I noticed that the teacher, Quinn, Ursula, and two other students already had the spell running. Quinn had gateways all over him. His left shoe alone was covering twenty gateways.


    I hand gestured to him. ¡°Why are you covered in gateways?¡±


    Ursula looked at him and signaled to me. ¡°He has gateways on him?¡±


    Quinn smiled and winked. He gestured, ¡°Later.¡±


    As the day progressed, I had to start keeping notes since a lot of the spells wouldn¡¯t work until the full moon was closer or until I was in Fairy. Among the spells were three that I already knew but could not throw. One of them could be cast in Real and I had no trouble using it now. Quinn and Ursula were distracted and watching a pair that were whispering about skipping the classes after supper.


    The instructor gestured to the nine easels that were arranged at the back of the stage. ¡°This one is complex. I hope you are all paying attention because when this class ends the pads these spells are written on will be destroyed. There will be additional fees if you need them to be retaught to you. Maybe one of your smarter classmates will be kind and help you, but as a warning to those, if you write any of these spells down, even if it is to help a fellow initiate, you must destroy what you wrote and you cannot share the code you use to conceal your spells. Don¡¯t try to get clever and think you will get past the binding oaths you have made. Your own conscience will betray you.¡±


    #


    In the Falling Sands, I practiced the spells we had been taught. We had been taught the basics in the simplest way. The spells had been shown to us in a way the least capable wizard could throw them. One gesture or visualization at a time, in order and step by step.


    ¡°Ursula, I am embarrassed to tell you. Everyone has assumed I was a better wizard than I am. Half the spells I was gifted, I could not throw because I didn¡¯t know the basics of how the spells were thrown. I skipped a step early on and never learned it. I think everyone assumed, because I could throw a few complex ones easily, that I could master them all.


    ¡°Instead, I was able to throw the complex spells because they gave me all the steps someone who could barely throw the spell needed.¡±


    Ursula asked, ¡°Lets start regifting all the spells then. Let¡¯s make sure you have the basics.¡±


    #


    In the middle of the morning class Cameron stopped writing down the spell he was teaching us and wiggled his fingers. He held up his fingers and bunched them together. An Illusion of flame appeared. ¡°Class, this happens sometimes. I didn¡¯t expect us to be able to throw spells until late this afternoon, but this full moon is giving early signs of being a powerful one.


    ¡°For initiates learning spells, it is safer for you to know them well before this time and it is safer to have a weak full moon for your first real awakening. All of you have shown potential. Not just when you saw the test display in the museum that let us know you were sensitive to magic. We followed that test with more tests and out of all the ones who passed the first test, only one in a hundred and seventy passed the second. Then, we knew you might be a possible recruit. All of you were tested again before you were approached.


    ¡°When you were shown real magic, all of you expressed that you were willing to risk your lives to learn it. Now, let me persuade you to back off a bit and show patience. Don¡¯t risk your life to learn it. Right now with the moon waxing and showing it¡¯s potency early, let me assure you that you are all going to be wizards. Don¡¯t try too much too early. Till you get a feel for it, magic takes visualization to direct.


    ¡°If you direct your spells improperly,¡± He let the illusion of flame spread over his hand. ¡°You could get burned.¡±


    ¡°To let you know how well you are able to basically visualize, direct and control magic, there is no better set of spells than the ones we use to make illusions. Sadly I am only allowed to teach a few of these spells, but it will be more than enough to let you know where you stand at this point and what you need most to work on.¡±


    #


    Near the end of the class, Cameron was hiding behind an illusion of a wall that he had slowly been inching out so he could hide behind it. He had an illusion duplicating his hidden moves so most of the students thought he was still at the front of the class. ¡°Some of you may have noticed that others are easily fooled by illusion. An illusion can fill in missing data from the observer so they in turn are part of the spell. So even if you might have noticed a flaw in the illusion, you will help yourself be fooled. Some of you may have decided you can see past illusions. Take a good look around and make sure you are right.¡±


    Quinn shifted position and made subtle shifts with his hands. ¡°Our teacher is behind us by the door to the classroom.¡±


    I started activating spells and looking carefully. The teacher behind the illusion of the wall wasn¡¯t looking at anyone. Until I disconnected the illusion from myself, the teacher appeared to face the right way. The illusion of the wall in front of the teacher hid the illusory nature of the fake teacher behind the wall. It was a good lesson. By watching the way the illusion teacher in front of us looked it was possible to see that the teacher looked at the opposite side of the room for a moment when a student raised her hand.


    ¡°Yes, Catherine?¡±


    Catherine asked, ¡°Can I tell them?¡±


    Cameron said, ¡°Instead everyone get ready and on three, point at me. One, two, three.¡±


    I turned and pointed where I was guessing he was by calculating where he would have to be if the teacher illusion in front of us was mirroring him when he first glanced at Catherine.


    I was close, Ursula pointed at the illusion of the teacher in front of us.


    Two other students had solved it.


    The teacher walked back to the front of the room and stood by the illusion of himself. ¡°A lot of you identified the illusion of me as a fake. A lot of you saw the illusions of the wall and looked past it to see another illusion of me. Only four of you saw that I was at the back of the room.


    I thought about it and since Quinn gave me the clue, I didn¡¯t count myself as one of them. I was surprised that Ursula didn¡¯t do better since Quinn gave it away.


    Ursula hand signaled. ¡°Both of you are no good at this. While pretending you are brand new wizards, both of you are trying to looks smarter than anyone else in the class. I have been watching and two of the others that pointed to the teacher in front, both have it figured out. One of them recognized that I had it figured.¡±


    Quinn smiled and gestured. ¡°Four of the ones that pointed at the front version saw it. The other two were quite subtle about it but their emotions gave away the truth. I just made them think I am not as clever as they are.¡±


    I pouted. Both Quinn and Ursula were better at this than I was.


    #


    In the circle at the old cement plant, our class gathered to watch a duel. Our Four instructors were playing scissor-rock-paper. Cameron lost. The remaining three played again.


    Cameron stepped into the center of the area and opened the gateway. ¡°Everyone get your prep spells ready. You should be able to see the gateway that is open. I am standing in a Fairyland right now. You can see me, but I am not here. Our fights will mostly be in Fairy, where we have all of our powers.


    In general we enter the area first, and then open the gateway. Unless you are really fast opening a gateway, it is possible for a fast, fit person to attack you before most of your spells work. I have often questioned the logic of this. It was something that our originators decided.


    ¡°Since you will be given the opportunity to battle after our two demonstrations, it would be unfair to let known and skilled wizards compete with you. So I must reveal to you that you have had three initiates who are impostors. The classes are over, the starting duels, if you chose to be in one will be done and then the initiation and oath will begin.


    ¡°One of our founders used to do demonstrations of how quick a physical attack could be. I am prepared with all of my spells ready and I am still dreading this. If you will, Medon. Accept this challenge and if you are defeated, tell us why we allow physical attacks to have so much value in a magical duel.¡±


    Since I was about to be revealed and since I didn¡¯t know the answer. I took a step forward. ¡°I accept. Are you ready?¡±


    Cameron nodded.


    I transported myself behind him, shifted to Fairy so I was in the same world with him and swept his legs as he cast a paralysis spell. I let it hit me, transformed into me unparalyzed and caught him. I lay back holding him gently in a choke hold. He slapped the ground so I let him go.


    Cameron said, ¡°Class, Meet Medon. One of our founders. He has always been legendary for his speed. It seems that he has been concealing his speed. I was certain I would have enough time since I had everything ready before the start.¡±


    #


    The initiates battles were mostly the spell counter spell sort of thing until someone messed up or was too slow countering a spell.


    After the last battle Amber addressed the class. ¡°For the next three moons, no one who has killed in battle will be allowed to challenge you. Till a year has passed you will be able to automatically refuse a battle with someone who has killed in battle. By then you should have learned the tricks to avoid challenges you don¡¯t want. Scheduling challenges with others you trust, will go a long way to keep your battles safe. Listen to the rumors and look over the stats. There are a few wizards who you don¡¯t want to fight.


    ¡°Now, if you will, Quinn, and Ursula, excuse us, but the initiation is secret and only the true initiates and those doing the initiation are invited. Medon, if you will accompany us. It has been a while since you have helped with the initiation and we would be honored if you bore the oath stone.¡±


    #


    I turned into myself as Medon before Cameron and Kevin lead me to a vault. Cameron and Kevin placed hands on the seal and opened the stone door to the vault. They entered. Cameron picked up a sheathed sword with both hands. Kevin picked up a chalice. In the center of the room was a pedestal with a large flattened stone with a hole in the center. The stone was covered with glyphs and ancient letters.


    Cameron and Kevin both nodded to me and I went to the stone and picked it up. As I turned to exit. I realized this stone was, on the outside the oath stone that bound the pledges of this magical lodge. On the inside it was something else entirely. As the stone activated, I managed to walk out of the chamber. The stone was Lithos Medon¡¯s diary. It was his recording of himself. It had transferred that information to me. I was still me, but I was also Lithos. As I walked bearing the stone, I searched my memories. Not as Joshua, I had less than forty years of my own memories. But my memories as Lithos went further back than anyone had previously revealed.


    As I reviewed my memories as Lithos, I walked in and placed the stone on a pedestal in the ceremonial chamber. I knew to do this since the last time Lithos had held this stone in this ceremony he had updated his record of himself. As I reviewed my memories as Lithos, Lithos was reviewing my memories as me. I was Joshua first and second Lithos but beside me in my mind was Lithos first and second Joshua. We were of one mind and two minds at once.


    We witnessed the ceremony and when it was done, we walked back to the vault to put the ceremonial devices back into storage.


    ¡°Cameron, the reason we give physical combat a chance is simple. If we do not, then wizards will be unprepared. The physical is always possible and it can attack you when you are not able to throw a spell. You must always be ready for Real.¡±


    He looked at me. ¡°All this time I thought it was so you as a Daemon had an advantages no one could match. But when you took me so swiftly in human form, it was clear there was something more. Thank you, I understand now.¡±


    Kevin said, ¡°It always seemed unfair till now.¡±


    I said, ¡°Magic is unfair. Physical combat is unfair. Fighting to learn more magic is unreasonable and puts the wrong priority first.¡±


    Kevin asked, ¡°Then why do we fight?¡±


    ¡°Because everyone else does. It makes little sense, but a person could decide not to come to lodge meetings and study on their own. They might make deals with Fairies and learn more. They can always find simple battles. If they agreed to, they could just play chess as the battle. Our rules are more open than those you will find in most magical orders.¡±


    As I placed the stone back on it¡¯s pedestal I had an internal argument with my other self. I didn¡¯t want a record of my memories set in the stone. We finally agreed on a synopsis of events that left most of the details out. It was during this argument that I realized that Lithos, with all of his years, would inevitably take over and eventually Joshua first would be gone. I would only be one voice and I would just be a small chapter in the ancient book that was Lithos.


    #


    As I talked with Ursula the Lithos side of me fell in love. Apart from friend and comrades love was not a thing he had gotten to cherish.


    His father would take him apart. He had no mother. His father dissected and played with his son¡¯s mind and his body. Lithos came up with the strategy of storing himself and his memories in places he would automatically encounter. That was how he established continuity when parts of him were erased by his father as his father fine tuned and improved the body that was Lithos.


    Eventually the giant matrix of crystals that was his father decided that Lithos was ready and erased him entirely. Then the giant who was his father, moved his mind into the now empty shell that was Lithos. The giant was not so well designed for existing in a mobile form and while it was still learning to manage the mind it encountered a record of Lithos. Lithos wrote over the core will that his father was and became Lithos first and his father second. There was no dual mind like I had.


    #


    In the Falling Sands we looked up at where Lithos had embedded a fingernail in a groove in a wooden tile on the ceiling. That bit of Lithos had been transformed independently and in it was stored the North American Deaths oath stone, just like I could change into me in other clothing. It was not time to let the Deaths use the stone that was also a diary of Lithos. But it gave me the thought and that thought was thought by the other me and we saw no choice.


    #


    In a Fairyland that Lithos had not shared with anyone, we pierced a finger and bled a drop of Lithos¡¯ Daemon blood. Using mass from the Fairyland we transformed that blood into Lithos and I turned back into myself and held Lithos¡¯ body as Lithos first and Joshua second moved to the new body. It was the only chance we had of my living. Still sharing thoughts we remembered eight thousand years without romance. My pitiful life had less than thirty years of loneliness.


    #


    Ursula said, ¡°So Lithos is alive and here?¡±


    I said, ¡°It¡¯s complicated. Yes and no.¡±


    Lithos said, ¡°We both have his memories. Out of respect for Joshua¡¯s ethics, I have a lot of Joshua¡¯s memories but not all. I am, I think me, but not as a human would think of me as me. Well Josh does, but I am a backup of me.¡±


    Ursula asked, ¡°Which of you love me?¡±


    Lithos answered, ¡°We both do, but Joshua is the one you first met.¡±


    I said, ¡°Lithos¡¯ emptiness is eight thousand years old. While he as Josh-Lithos has only just met you, he has all of my memories of you and his love and his grief if he lost you would be more than I could bear.¡±


    Ursula started crying. ¡°This isn¡¯t fair.¡±


    #


    In my old hometown, I walked alone. I had lost the Fallen Sands. I had lost the Castle Fairyland since it was a wedding gift. I had even lost the Lodge of Effervescent Charm since it was Lithos who started it. So many friends I had to leave behind. Even Lithos, I had to leave and despite having his memories I missed him. His friends and all of those things would remind me of Ursula. This time, the girl had not left me. I had left the girl. In a way, I would always still be with her, but I was not the me that was the one she held in her arms.


    I had the laptop that Quinn had helped me build materialize in a bag before I walked into the coffee shop.


    Sitting at my table was Bell. He gestured for me to sit and slid a mug over towards my seat.


    I sipped it. It was wonderful.


    Bell asked, ¡°Are you feeling funny?¡±


    My vision blurred.

 Finding the Fast Route to Fame

    I woke up in a sleeping bag in a gazebo on an island in the middle of a lake. I was still woozy. I was also damp.


    Bell said, ¡°Sorry about that, there is a change of clothing hanging on the rack. You can wash off in the lake. It¡¯s cleaner than most municipal water supplies. There are a few fish in it, but even so.¡±


    I got up and walked into the water. It was freezing but I had wet the bed in my drugged state and the cold water was clearing my mind.


    Bell said, ¡°Don¡¯t take long. Mumsie could be back any minute.¡±


    I rushed to the rack and toweled off. I ducked down to get clothing on since a long boat was being paddled from a stream into the lake. I was putting on my new shoes and wondering where my old clothing was when the Dark Fairy leapt off the boat and onto the island. I was dressed like a British steam punker that decided to go on safari. Nice solid clothing, but with goggles, binoculars and a machete.


    The Dark Fairy said, ¡°So romantic, giving up your love so your other lost you could have true love. You made the most romantic and perfect choice, but now I am going to have to work overtime to find just the right girl for you.¡±


    I looked at her, she was as beautiful as any person or thing I had ever seen. I suspected that an elephant or a bug would agree with me, she was so perfect.


    I asked, ¡°How about you just kill me instead?¡±


    She smiled a warm and beautiful smile. ¡°You can look at women now, so merging with Lithos may have done something to mend the both of you. As far as killing you goes, if your scared that my matchmaking might just endanger you, then why rush the death? At least you might get a nice kiss before dying if you wait to see how it all works out.


    ¡°Belly-Welly what girls do we have on the list for our wonderful romantic Joshua Bear. I do love how his name is already a perfect pet name for him. Does this mean that Duchess Bear-Bear needs to change her name to Duchess Bear-Stone? No Bear-Bear is cuter.¡±


    I started to cry.


    The Dark Fairy said, ¡°Quick, Belly-Welly, give me the list of girls available, remember only the strong girls need apply.¡±


    Bell said, ¡°Well that leaves out a lot of them. Renate kind of likes him, but despite being a Fairy, Daemon, horse and a motor vehicle, she isn¡¯t what you consider a strong character. Agnes the Goblin has a definite crush on Joshua, but again, not a strong personality. Does she have to be forceful?¡±


    The Dark Fairy said, ¡°Belly-Welly, we really can¡¯t just stick our romantic boy with a stick in the mud.¡±


    Bell said, ¡°Well unless you have someone to introduce him to, all I have is Samantha.¡±


    Mumsie asked, ¡°Tell me all about her?¡±


    Bell gave me a sympathetic look. ¡°Well he didn¡¯t know her name, but she ridiculed Josh in the coffee shop. She is an ambitious wizard and she has never had a boyfriend.¡±


    I asked, ¡°The mean girl who was with Agnes when I first met her?¡±


    Bell said, ¡°Yes, her.¡±


    I shook my head. ¡°I am pretty sure I am not going to fall in love with a wicked witch.¡±


    Mumsie said, ¡°Well we haven¡¯t made up our mind on who you will fall in love with yet, so keep your mind open. You don¡¯t want to miss out on an opportunity for adventure and romance.


    ¡°Speaking of which, Bell and I are going to a movie so we will have to work on your romance later.¡±


    Bell said, ¡°As a consolation prize, enjoy this Fairyland.¡±


    He took the Dark Fairy¡¯s hand and they disappeared.


    I looked at the boat. There were two identical girl Fairies on the boat looking at me.


    One of them said, ¡°Don¡¯t get any ideas. We are not in the market for romance.¡±


    The other one made a gesture with her paddle that splashed water. ¡°We realized that the whole twin thing is irresistible to men, but since you are mortal, and we are well over a thousand, well, it wouldn¡¯t work out.


    In the distance a woman screamed.


    One of the Fairies said, ¡°Right on time. Don¡¯t rush to rescue her, she might attack you.¡±


    I asked, ¡°She screamed, shouldn¡¯t we hurry?¡±


    The other Fairy gave me a look like I was clueless. ¡°Of course she screamed. She just woke up from being drugged and discovered she was in a strange place and she had wet herself. Give her a moment to find her clothing and bathe. Now that I think about it, you might want to hurry. She will probably be naked and bathing in the waterfall, and she is rather pretty.¡±


    I asked, ¡°Who is rather pretty?¡±


    ¡°You know, Samantha, the mean girl wizard.¡±


    I winced.


    #


    I waited and a hawk flew to the top of the gazebo. I fended off a sleep spell and then dispelled an illusion of fog. The girl came down quickly off the roof and tried to kick me. I put her in a hold. She was dressed in an expensive version of a Halloween sexy safari outfit. She was pretty, hot, and well shaped but she was no Ursula. She turned into a snake so I let go and moved myself to the other side of the lake.


    She stood. ¡°So you abduct me, take my clothing and now you are running away?¡±


    I said, ¡°Samantha. If you cooperate for a moment I will take you home. I don¡¯t know where my clothing or yours is. I was abducted too.¡±


    She asked, ¡°Haven¡¯t I seen you somewhere before?¡±


    I said, ¡°Yes, but with any luck after today I will never see you again.¡±


    She said, ¡°Foolish of you to bring me to your Fairyland and have me sleep. You just gave me a Fairyland.¡±


    I said, ¡°World, banish her and make sure she has no control here and can¡¯t come back.¡±


    Samantha disappeared.


    I said, ¡°Thanks World.¡±


    The Fairies on the boat paddled it over towards me.


    ¡°Your clothing and hers is in the honeymoon suite at the lodge.¡±


    I asked, ¡°Can I get a ride there?¡±


    #


    My clothing was clean and in a suit case with Samantha¡¯s stuff. I showered and put my old clothing back on before taking the suitcase with me back to my hometown and walking to the coffee shop.


    ¡°There¡¯s the idiot jerk.¡±


    Through the window I saw Samantha sitting with three other girls. She was pointing at me.


    I put the suitcase down and shouted, ¡°Your stuff is in the suitcase.¡±


    I started walking.


    She was still wearing the safari outfit as she ran out after me. ¡°Where the hell do you think you are going?¡±


    I turned, smiled and turned into Lithos holding my electric motorcycle. I set it down and got on it. ¡°To find a new town and a new coffee shop.¡±


    I drove off into the night.


    #


    I was on a long stretch of empty highway gently winding between the mountains. I passed a man waving at me from the side of the road. I considered going back and seeing what he needed when I saw him again ahead of me. I slowed. He was wearing a leather jacket.


    I prepped the spells I could prep and slowed down.


    He asked, ¡°Joshua Bear, we need you at a meeting in New York at nine AM.


    I shook my head. ¡°You got someone else to contact for that and I don¡¯t recognize your authority. As I see it, you took five years out the five years and three months I could have had love.¡±


    He said, ¡°Let it pass. Things are rough all over and the sooner you get over it the easier it will be on you.¡±


    I saw him start to prepare a spell. I transformed to me as a human so my motorcycle would be safe and dropped him hard against the gravel. Two more Deaths appeared. I got mad. Now I was going to have to go harder and I wouldn¡¯t be able to pull my punches. I didn¡¯t want to kill anyone but they were making it hard.


    I slammed one into another. Another appeared behind me. I opened a gateway slid through sped time and memorized their positions as the light faded. I tied their legs with gossamer web I put gossamer bags over their heads, It wasn¡¯t on them yet but when I merged Fairy with Real the bonds and they were then in the same place. I used a gateway and set the floor well below them and pulled them into Fairy for a moment so they fell, blind and bound. I shifted the gateway high and dropped them back to Real. They were all falling. I stood back and watched them pick themselves up.


    They had dispelled the gossamer. Some hit hard. Some appeared near me. They were ready to avoid gossamer and to keep from going through my gateway. That was fine. I made a self destroying gateway passed into Fairy and watch the portal fade.


    I sat on stone steps in my new Fairyland and considered exploring it. I had appeared in a large stone stadium with sand underfoot.


    I summoned Lithos and kept summoning him as I lowered the speed of my Fairyland. I made contact and set the time to seven times that of Real.


    ¡°Lithos, a gang of Deaths decided to jump me. They want me at a meeting in New York at nine AM. I think dealing with Deaths is your responsibility. Sorry.¡±


    Lithos answered, ¡°Probably, are you okay?¡±


    I said, ¡°I miss Ursula, but you know. The Dark Fairy is trying to hook me up with a right nasty replacement and the Deaths have decided they can harass me.¡±


    Lithos said, ¡°I hate to ask you for anything, you have done more for me than I can ever repay. Since you have all their powers, could you, before the meeting let each of them know how bad an idea messing with you is? One more favor. It¡¯s a big one and you can hit me hard on the rates and I will not regret the charge. I need a lot of Fairyland mass converted to cash. A lot, and you have all the connections that way.¡±


    I asked, ¡°Remember the stone you considered making that would allow you to save data remotely? Can I get you to make one that we can share?¡±


    Lithos said, ¡°Absolutely. We can keep each other up to date that way.¡±


    The first of the four Deaths was in a diner. When he got his meal I knocked his drink over onto him and his food as I sat across from him. ¡°Don¡¯t even think of trying anything. You are used to messing with others lives.¡±


    He touched my foot with his and took us up into the air. As we fell I spread and slowed my fall. He dived a bit and was under me. I dove and as he slowed I came in fast at an angle and pulled him into a flat spin. He took us over a desert. I kicked off him and put him into a faster spin as I took us low to the air above a hydroelectric dam. I hit the water hard. He wasn¡¯t as lucky as he hit the dam. I sat by him as he bled. A pair of his fellow Deaths appeared.


    I said, ¡°You might have minutes to save him. He started it. Don¡¯t mess with me. You can¡¯t kill me. You can¡¯t kill my Fairy. I will come back. You freeze me in time, good luck with that. I will be free and you will not enjoy the games I make up.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t you ever, ever try to get revenge, one up me or come back against me again. Don¡¯t mess with friends, don¡¯t blackmail me. Just don¡¯t. You have already gone to far--¡± I stopped talking since they had taken the body and disappeared.


    #


    The second death was in a bathroom washing his hands and looking at his teeth in the mirror.


    I said, ¡°Boo!¡± and kicked his feet out from under him. ¡°Call off your friends or you will never feel safe alone in the dark. Understand?¡±


    He took himself behind me and started a punch to my neck with his elbow. It was easy to see since I had a mirror in front of me. I slammed him into the sink. ¡°Bad move. Do you understand me?¡±


    He disappeared again. Two more appeared in the bathroom.


    I went to where the third death was. He was in bed reading. The three deaths from before showed up.


    The Death who was reading said, ¡°Wait, don¡¯t trash my apartment.¡±


    I said, ¡°Your folk killed me and killed my Fairy and you don¡¯t want me to get blood on your place? How about I find all your homes and torch them? I wasn¡¯t the one perusing you but now things have changed.¡±


    The first Death, the one that tried to flag me down on the road appeared. ¡°Everyone calm down. We need him in good shape and we need his help.


    ¡°Joshua, I wasn¡¯t trying to attack you.¡±


    I said, ¡°Consider me a little trigger happy, before you go for your gun then. Do you all understand that if you move, even begin to make me feel threatened, you will personally feel the stress of being hunted that I have felt since I first met your kind.¡±


    The Death said, ¡°You really hate us.¡±


    I said, ¡°You ambushed me and killed me twice, you took away five years of love I could have had. You can blame others but you had their back all the time. You never policed your own. Not once. Till you start looking in the mirror to find your justice, don¡¯t ever come looking at me.


    ¡°You say, ¡®We don¡¯t do that, but you back up those who do and continue pursuing the innocent that you have wronged. Don¡¯t even try to defend yourselves. Just change and stay well away from me and mine. Every time you defend another bastard wearing your gang jacket, you tell me who you are. Every time you tell me to drop it, I wonder when you will drop it and change.¡±


    Lithos summoned me. ¡°Can you find out where the meeting is?¡±


    I said, ¡°I am in one of their bedrooms right now contemplating what I should do if one of them tries something. Right now there are five of them here so I may have to be rather brash if they try something.¡±


    Lithos said, ¡°Bring me through.¡±


    I brought Lithos to where he was standing beside me.


    Lithos said, ¡°Gentlemen. There are two of us here. I am the one you need to deal with, but I owe this man more than you can possibly know. Keep this in mind. I know your order. I helped set it up and from here on out, you want both he and I to feel quite safe and never have an accident. Anything happens to him and I will judge that your order was a mistake and do what I can to clean up the mess I made.


    ¡°I can speak for Joshua since I know him quite well. If something happens to me, he will just assume that the first thing he needs to do is clean up and take out the trash.


    ¡°Joshua, sorry to involve you in this. I just keep causing you pain.¡±


    The Death that originally flagged me down on the highway asked, ¡°How are there two of you?¡±


    I turned into a Lithos form and together Lithos and I said, ¡°Personal secret.¡±


    Lithos asked the Death, ¡°I am assuming you will be at the meeting at Nine AM Eastern Time. I will see you then.


    ¡°Joshua, thank you. Sorry again for getting you involved in this.¡±


    A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    I said, ¡°Deaths, you just persuaded me to leave the country of my birth. It seems like I can¡¯t escape you here. I don¡¯t suppose you understand what it feels like to have the land you love turned into a place you can never rest.¡±


    Lithos said, ¡°Joshua, we are still going to need you. The new plan is to fund the Deaths so they don¡¯t have an excuse rob anyone. We need you to handle the transactions.¡±


    I said, ¡°Well that might be tricky since they feel duty bound to come after me. The last thing I want is for them to have evidence that I fund an evil supernatural organization in North America and that is pretty much what they are.¡±


    #


    Thorston, the man at the end of the table raised his beer. ¡°To trying to get along in the here and here before.¡±


    Maurice, the small man sitting beside me nudged me. ¡°For you it would be the hereafter, but here before makes more sense you know.¡±


    I asked, ¡°And you don¡¯t mind my saying, ¡®you.¡¯¡±


    Maurice said, ¡°I died in Turkey back in WWI, at the time, using thee and thou was only used in the smallest and most remote places.¡±


    I asked the really small and ancient looking man on the other side of me, ¡°Gorson, Am I offending thee?¡±


    He shook his head. ¡°Your buying the beer and as a chthonic, that would be underground dweller, to you, we tend to fall behind on everything. I have spent the last forty years trying to catch up with modern economics so while it makes me cringe, I need to get used to it. You live a few hundred years and you¡¯ll see how hard it gets to keep up with changes.¡±


    I asked, ¡°I have quite a bit of gold various groups want me to exchange for legitimate money in Real. I am a bit worried I will impact the value of gold.¡±


    Gorson laughed out loud. ¡°Well, if your careful, you won¡¯t hurt the exchanges or your rates. Lots of folk want gold and they have an interest in keeping the value of it high. The more they get the more they want and the more they want the price to rise.¡±


    I asked, ¡°So the European Deaths won¡¯t be coming after me if I am careful?¡±


    Maurice said, ¡°We don¡¯t find the title, ¡®Death,¡¯ appealing. Leprechaun, Gnome, or any of the old terms, are not to our liking. The term ¡®Fairy,¡¯ is likely to start a fight round here.¡±


    Thorston said, ¡°I rather liked the title, ¡®Feegrenzsoldat,¡¯ but it never caught on. The less mortal of us who try to keep up, are a bit tired of titles and organizations. It isn¡¯t like we are anarchists, but since we psycopomps have been through life and prefer, no offense to you who straddle both, to keep the mortals on their side and safe while reining in the worst of the free spirits on ours.¡°


    In general, if you recognize that a being is not bound to the living realm, it¡¯s best to just relax on the issue. If you don¡¯t know, then relax, there¡¯s always going to be something you don¡¯t know. In general, swinging iron around is as rude as serving gossamer to the living, but it¡¯s always best to assume the forks might be steel in Real, and the grapes might be gossamer in Fairy.¡±


    I said, ¡°I appreciate the advice. So my next question is, since I don¡¯t want to cause any issues, What is your preference for how I exchange gold from Fairy for cash in Real?¡±


    ¡°Sean, should we tell him?¡±


    Thorston said, ¡°He¡¯s buying the beer, and it¡¯s a benefit in the long runs so we might as well.¡±


    ¡°We have a long scam running on the worst of the Djinn. The are on to it, but they still can¡¯t resist it. They know we are scamming their sense of values, but they can¡¯t help themselves.¡±


    Sean said, ¡°You need to get your artwork noteworthy first. Sculpture you know. If your stuff is on the lists as valuable, there¡¯s a market where you can sell art to Djinn. You make it in gold and you list the tinder as clean, fair and legal euro¡¯s and let the Djinn bid on it. You do a double service. You take money from the Djinn, and the gold disappears never to be seen again. As long as your artwork continues to draw good money in Real, The Djinn will impoverish themselves to obtain your gold statues. No real talent needed apart from being able to sell yourself to the art community.¡±


    I asked, ¡°Any particular subjects?¡±


    ¡°They like horses, and bulls. Cattle are popular too. But you have to be popular and high priced in the Real markets or the Djinn will pass on your offers.¡±


    Sean said, ¡°You take ready legal cash from the Djinn and you might help the Real world survive a few more rotations around the sun, so if you manage this well, you can even make a few folk feel grateful to you.


    #


    In London I sat between two men and watched a slide show of previous art sold to Djinn.


    Lindsey said, ¡°This was one of the ones the Djinn went into a frenzy bidding on.¡±


    Cathers pointed his red lazer pointer on a graceful curve on the representation of water being splashed through by running stallions. ¡°This sort of swoop seems to excite the bidding. When you summoned me and asked about their preference, I hadn¡¯t really done an analysis. We thought it was by artist, but then some artists do swoops and other don¡¯t.¡±


    I asked, ¡°Do you think they go for the golden ratio?¡±


    Lindsey said, ¡°You would almost have to do research. Their bias is towards what others consider valuable. Sometimes their tastes seem childish, but we always thought it was purely based on the market till you started asking questions.¡±


    I asked, ¡°So how does one get their art popular?¡±


    Cathers said, ¡°I had an idea on that a few years back. Kind of forgot about it. Now that I am thinking about it I am wondering if I should save it for someone good. How is your artwork?¡±


    I considered it. I had been gifted art and I had been doing sketches to keep in shape, but for the most part I did doodles of graphs showing intersecting points to help me with my calculations when programming. I drew a quick set of fractal curves that I thought looked like ocean water and extrapolated it to a three dimensional look and put a rough and blocky image of a stallion running across the ocean generating the waves.


    Cathers said, ¡°Make that in gold and give it to me, doesn¡¯t have to big and it can be a preliminary for a larger one. Then I will share my idea with you.¡±


    I put down a gateway, and went to Fairy.


    #


    In a stone arena with a sand floor, I sat on the stone steps and ran a few fractal projections on my laptop and made adjustments before making it in illusion and then gossamer. After adjusting it I made a small version of the sculpture like you might see on a businessman''s desk. I picked it up and was surprised at how heavy it was. I made another that I thought would hold up better. It was heavier. I went back to where I had left Cathers and Lindsey.


    I put the statues on the desk. ¡°I¡¯m not really practiced with sculpture so I think my next work will be less amateurish. This one is the original, Cathers, pick the one you want. Lindsy for you help the other one is yours.¡±


    Cathers said, ¡°So here is my idea. If you can do the molding with gossamer in Fairy, you can cast with materials from Real. You make some aluminum castings and you get with the city management and a few museums. There are opportunities to study art in a lot of museums. Mostly copying things but it can make you visible in a few art communities. This is just basic work.


    ¡°What you need to aim for is the owners and directors of marketing firms that do video shoots. Give them a deal on a few works of art and they will want your stuff to go up in a value since it makes their stuff go up in value. They will put your stuff in the background of ads and you will have free advertising. Give it a few years and you¡¯ll be famous.¡±


    I said, ¡°I need something faster.¡±


    Lindsey said, ¡°Buy some ads. Make it charity work. There is always a cause that needs money and if your art is in the background of the famous actor making a plea for help, you can then donate the art and get it auctioned in one of the big mortal houses. Hard to do it much faster.¡±


    #


    As a raven I flew to the top of the building a film crew was setting up in front of. I didn¡¯t know anyone yet. I had made a few donations and I had paid for upper end membership at a few museums, but the meetings and parties where I might get to know people were in the future and I wanted something faster.


    With one of my donations I managed to get on a list where people were looking for producers to pay for charity projects, but it didn¡¯t look like I was hot tracked to meet anyone. They wanted money and no involvement.


    It didn¡¯t look like I could walk in and just talk to the people who where setting up to film, so once again I felt like I was wasting my time.


    I landed on the other side of the building and walked up to the tape barrier in human form. I might have gotten someone¡¯s attention if I was in Lithos¡¯ handsome form, but the last thing Lithos would want would be the chance that someone caught his likeness on camera.


    There were vendors selling artwork at a plaza nearby. So I walked over to get an idea of what might be popular. I stopped when I saw a huge canvas like they use for sets in plays that had an image that caught my attention. A girl that I guessed was in high school asked, ¡°You like it?¡±


    I said, ¡°It looks like a scene you might see in Fairy. The small curvature of the sky and the--¡±


    She grabbed my arm. ¡°Have you been to Fairy?¡±


    I looked at her and resisted going to Fairy. I looked back at the painting. ¡°If I had, would I be saying? Should a high school girl really be grabbing a strange man¡¯s arm?¡±


    She said, ¡°I¡¯m forty-five. I don¡¯t think I am aging anymore.¡±


    I asked, ¡°Have you been to Fairy?¡±


    She said, ¡°I met a boy. He said he was a king of Fairy. I liked him but I didn¡¯t want to, well you know. He took me to Fairy. I got scared so he took me home. I haven¡¯t aged since.¡±


    I asked, ¡°Do you still love him?¡±


    She said, ¡°I was sixteen. I don¡¯t know. Probably not but maybe. Do you know the king of Fairy? Have you met him? Is he single?¡±


    I smiled. ¡°Are these your works?¡±


    She said, ¡°I do sets for the community theater. Then I sell the flats I paint.¡±


    I looked at the price on it. ¡°Eight thousand?¡±


    She said, ¡°I don¡¯t sell a lot and the price per inch makes it a steal.¡±


    I asked, ¡°If I buy it, can you keep it for a while? I don¡¯t have a place for it. Or at least I don¡¯t know if I have a place for it.¡±


    She asked, ¡°Really?¡±


    I asked, ¡°What do you use to paint this with?¡±


    She said, ¡°This one is acrylic. Usually I use tempera. Do you really like it that much?¡±


    I said, ¡°It has a lot of nice detail that would have been missed out in the audience. I am just looking for examples of art I can use to try and get better. I need to be a famous artist fast.¡±


    She laughed and leaned in against me. ¡°Good luck with that. I have been trying for years.¡±


    I said, ¡°Can you prove you are forty-five?¡±


    She backed up, ¡°Why? I go through it all the time and it gets tiring.¡±


    I said, ¡°Never mind then. Do you come here often?¡±


    She backed up another step. I looked at the painting and decided I needed to see if I could keep it at one of my offices in Scotland.


    #


    After finding a place to put the painting I flew back over the building where the filming was going on. It looked like there was a break going on, but still no way to meet anyone. I flew down to a spot near the plaza where the artists were gathered.


    A person was shouting, ¡°Does anyone play guitar well? A hundred and sixty pounds for a few hours work if you qualify.¡±


    A couple of people were watching me as a Raven so I flew to a further spot where I could transform. I ran back to where the person was shouting since he looked like he was with the film crew.


    He looked at the guitar I had brought out after transforming. ¡°Can you play sad music?¡±


    I started playing, Chet Atkins ¡°Cancion Triste.¡± since without words it always seemed to make me cry. It wasn¡¯t terribly sad, but for me it brought tears every time.


    The man said, ¡°Can you save the tears for the camera?¡±


    I nodded and stopped playing.


    #


    I was on the set, I was playing guitar and being filmed in the background. They kept asking for different music and doing takes. They wanted live and the kids they had for the job were getting bored with doing the same thing over and over. I didn¡¯t recognize the famous face that was telling the same sad tale asking for money over and over.


    I did get to hear the actor threatening another man, ¡°If this doesn¡¯t help clean my reputation, your fired. I could have been on a beach in Southern France but no.¡±


    The man answered, ¡°I didn¡¯t hit the child. You did.¡±


    When the filming stopped. I went to the refreshments table. The actor I didn¡¯t recognize smiled and shook my hand. ¡°Great work there. It¡¯s good to work with a pro.¡±


    I smiled weakly. The only person I had met and connected with that had any connections was someone I didn¡¯t want connections with.


    One of the crew members said, ¡°See you at the party?¡±


    I asked, ¡°Party?¡±


    He named a place. I looked it up on my cell phone.


    He said, ¡°Bring the guitar, if you want. You might make a few connections. Bring a date if you want.¡±


    #


    I walked back to where the girl was selling art and took out eight thousand euros. I thought about asking if she wanted to go to a party, but even if she wasn¡¯t sixteen, taking a sixteen year old looking girl to a party was probably a bad idea. ¡°Will cash do?¡±


    She shouted, ¡°Andy, can you hold onto some cash for me?¡±


    A large man came over and looked at me. He shook his head. ¡°Sylvia, stay away from this one, he looks like trouble. Mister, I want you to just walk away.¡±


    Sylvia said, ¡°Don¡¯t run off a sale.¡±


    Andy said, ¡°Some things aren¡¯t safe to mess with.¡±


    I looked at Andy and used my extra senses to see more clearly what was happening. ¡°Let me give you some serious advice. If you love a girl, just come clean. Don¡¯t risk loosing a single year of your possible love. I had no way to stop it, but I lost five years and now my love is gone with another.¡±


    Sylvia asked, ¡°What is with you two?¡±


    I said, ¡°Usually I keep secrets safe but I just met Andy and he is trying to threaten me. Your Fairy king is right here and he has been watching over you all this time.¡±


    Sylvia had the look of a girl who was putting things together in her head after missing every connection. I walked away from the couple as they embraced. Sylvia just lost a sale as she found her love. I hoped it would work out for them.


    #


    I was playing guitar at the party. It gave me an excuse not to look at the girls there. I could look at the strings and get all serious looking like the parts were hard.


    A girl asked, ¡°How long did it take you to master all of this?¡±


    I said, ¡°I had a good teacher.¡± and kept playing.


    Once again, magic wasn¡¯t fair. I was playing music easily that musicians worked ages to master.


    She said, ¡°I¡¯m Opal, I should have practiced.¡±


    I looked at her. She was one of the producers. Not the ones that provide the money, but the ones that talk others into providing money. She was sort of like a director of the director that the director came to when something was going to cost more.


    I realized I had almost let my chance pass me by. This girl had connections like a bird had feathers. She managed putting together commercials.


    I said, ¡°I¡¯m Joshua Bear. This is really your project isn¡¯t it?¡±


    She smiled, ¡°Don¡¯t tell anyone. There are at least nine people here at the club who think they did it. That¡¯s the trick to managing the great egos of the world.¡±


    I asked her, ¡°Don¡¯t consider this a brush off. I am enjoying this, but why are you sitting here and not shmoozing with the important people?¡±


    She shrugged. ¡°I have an instinct. I probably shouldn¡¯t say this to you. But I have another instinct that says I should. While I was looking around the room thinking about my next project and who I was going to get to back it, I kept looking at you. I can¡¯t tell you why, but first off, you look hurt. Really hurt. That makes you vulnerable and easy to manipulate and you seem to radiate vulnerable and easy to manipulate anyway.


    ¡°I was a horrible little girl from a horrible rich family. I knew how to get my way and who to get what I wanted from. I grew up and now I regret being such a monster. I expect I will burn in hell for it and I mean it. So now I try to do charity work, but I am profiting from it, so I expect hell will still take me.¡±


    I asked, ¡°So what brought you over here was my being an easy target?¡±


    She said, ¡°No, you play the old stuff. The stuff they turn into elevator music, but you play it like it¡¯s fresh. Your kind of cute so I was thinking I might have you hang on my arm for a few months. Seriously don¡¯t,, I¡¯m a horrible girl friend. I don¡¯t want to be selfish, but it always ends up that way.


    ¡°So here is my real confession. I looked around to see who in the room had the most disposable income. Rich is fine and dandy, but to invest in videos, especially charity videos, take money. I can find real charities, not the ones that twist it back into profit, but after getting donations to the charity, I get to produce a video and I make a profit off of the charities expenses. I think it does good, but since I profit, I am not sure it makes me any good karma.


    ¡°When I looked at you, I knew or at least suspected, that you were the mother load. I think you have more expendable cash than anyone I have ever seen before. So I am thinking I can probably get you to cough up and easy six million euro¡¯s and not blink.¡±


    I kept playing. I didn¡¯t see any magic on her, but she clearly had something. ¡°I am in a situation where I could come up with that kind of money. But my needs are complicated. I want to remain private, but I need to be a famous artist.¡±


    She asked, ¡°Like Banksy?¡±


    I said, ¡°I don¡¯t need to be controversial. I just need my sculptures to become valuable.¡±


    She asked, ¡°Can I see your work?¡±


    I pointed to one of the rings she was wearing, ¡°Can I borrow that ring?¡±


    She took it off a different ring and handed it to me. I took my guitar off and handed it to her. ¡°Hold this for me.¡±


    I went to the bathroom, set up a gateway and went to the Fairyland Bell had given me.


    #


    I sat on the stone steps in my Fairyland and looked at the ring she had given me. It was a ladies ring and it had a working clock on the face. I duplicated it using the magical tools Quinn had taught me. I made a gossamer lens to study my work as I took it apart and reproduced it in gossamer. After playing around with the elements in it I got fancy with it and started changing things around. I wasn¡¯t sure about matching time with it so I gave up on the clock as I made tiny characters move by the gears turning. Her ring clock had a small mechanical chime so I played with that and managed to make one play just a few notes from ¡°Puff the Magic Dragon.¡± This wasn¡¯t what I had planned, her clock ring inspired me to make something different. I was enjoying the project, so after making a few samples and fixing it up I went back to the bathroom in Real.


    #


    Opal was holding my guitar and trying to play it while a pair of girls were laughing with her. I gave her ring back.


    She looked at it and said, ¡°You messed with the time on it.¡±


    I said, ¡°Sorry.¡±


    I handed her another ring. She looked at it and asked, ¡°Why did you need to borrow my ring?¡±


    I said, ¡°Sorry again, I just wanted it to fit you. After I saw the ring you handed me I got inspired.¡±


    Opal held out her hand. ¡°You make jewelry and carry stuff to adjust rings with you?¡±


    I shrugged and took her hand and put the ring on her. I pushed the button so the curtain pulled back and the tiny girl started dancing with the dragon as the music played.


    Another girl said, ¡°You didn¡¯t make this.¡±


    I took a handful of failures and half taken apart mechanisms out of my pocket. ¡°Yes, I really did.¡±


    Opal said, ¡°I think we can work with this. I think we can make you as famous an artist as you could want. I will need to film the studio where you work. It needs to be impressive and you need a lot of unfinished and finished work to show off.¡±


    I said, ¡°I only want to be famous to the right people.¡±


    #


    I looked over my holdings and investment and the places where I had applied to get citizenship. I had several properties I had never seen. One of them in Malta looked like it would make a nice studio for a rich artist. Most of the farm buildings were in ruins, but the groves mostly looked good, there was a stone building that looked like it could be made into a studio. I acquired it over five years ago and never visited it. I guess it was about time.


    I summoned King Surmium, ¡°Onion, this is Joshua calling, did you ever visit my place in Malta?¡±


    He asked, ¡°Do you need me to get you there? We never taught you the language, but a few Domestic Fairies moved in. Sorry, we arranged for the regular help to stop visiting. I am sure one of the Domestic Fairies will be happy to gift you with Maltese. Let me get there and I will summon you.¡±


    #


    King Surmium summoned me and brought me to a room with large stairway that led to a balcony above. I had seen this in the pictures where it was a ruin with most of the roof gone and rubble scattered. Now it was repaired and beautiful. I had expected to just have the small stone house and the stone building intact. I expected to have to have the ancient machinery in the stone building either hauled of or used to make art from.


    King Surmium led me to an office with a view of the fields. ¡°This is your study. Your papers are in the main drawer of the desk. Since they drive on the left side of the road here, we decided not to obtain a drivers license for you.¡±


    I opened the drawer. I had identification and citizenship.


    There was a note, ¡°Sorry, since they drive on the left, we decided not to get you a license.¡±


    King Surmium said, ¡°Again we have abused your generosity. Apart from making a small amount of profit for your estate growing potatoes, olives, oranges and lemons. We have mostly been taking the food to Fairy. We did repair the ruins though.¡±


    I walked through more of the rooms. Everything made it look like the owner kept busy and the restored mansion looked lived in and cared for. I stepped out on a terrace. Onion said, ¡°Kind of sad really. Still things change.¡±


    I asked, ¡°What is so sad?¡±


    Onion said, ¡°Since you were frozen in time to try and keep you alive, we did the best we could repairing and keeping the place up. Olive and I have had some really nice parties here during the last five years and almost got to feeling like this was ours. Now that you have seen it, I expect you will be calling this home. Still, you might be kind and invite us to visit from time to time.¡±


    A Fairy wearing a maid outfit came in. ¡°King Surmium, Lord Bear, I can gift Maltese.¡±


    I bowed and she gifted me. Then she gifted King Surmium.


    In Maltese she asked, ¡°King Surmium insisted that we conform with basic standards since we might have someone come to the door. But on the internet, most maid outfits are a lot prettier and a lot of them are worn with cat ears. Can we please have cat ears?¡±


    King Surmium shook his head. ¡°Not my decision anymore, but I advise against it.¡±


    I said, ¡°We could try it but only when we don¡¯t have visitors.¡±


    She smiled and ran off.


    King Surmium said, ¡°Great, your going to turn this place into a maid cafe if you aren¡¯t careful.¡±


    The maid came running back out. She had real cat ears and a real tail.


    I blushed, ¡°Maybe not the tail, and the ears definitely need to be fake if anyone could possibly see. I think cute is better than sexy and the cat cut out, while being adorable is going to make me look like a perv that makes you dress that way.¡±


    King Surmium said, ¡°I warned you.¡±


    I asked, ¡°What buildings do we need for the farm and what can I convert to a sculpture studio that makes large castings in aluminum and gold?¡±


    #


    I took over a hall Olive and Onion had used for dances and made it into my art studio. I ordered used equipment. Not to save money, but so it would appear like I might have had it for a few years. Using this amazing hall with balconies and windows for a studio seemed excessive but if I wanted to look like a rich artist, this was nearly perfect. I had to hurry on this since Opal wanted to know where my studio was and when she could bring in a film crew.

 Not all Deaths are Men

    I was at a junk yard looking for scrap aluminum when Quinn summoned me. ¡°Joshua, this is Quinn Gray. Are you okay?¡±


    I said, ¡°I¡¯m collecting scrap metal, I think I am okay, what¡¯s up?¡±


    Quinn asked, ¡°Can I come there?¡±


    I brought him through. He looked around at the piles of scrap. ¡°What are you looking for?¡±


    I said, ¡°Aluminum mostly, but the copper is interesting.¡±


    Quinn asked, ¡°Are you sure you are okay?¡±


    ¡°Why do you ask?¡±


    Mumsie asked me if I knew any girls that might work out for you. I asked if you broke up with Ursula and she said, ¡°He sort of did and sort of didn¡¯t and now we need to find a match for that poor lonely boy.¡±


    I said, ¡°Let me find some aluminum and copper. Then I can take you out to eat. I¡¯ll tell you the whole story then.¡±


    Quinn said, ¡°I can spare a bit of aluminum and copper. How much do you need?¡±


    I shook my head. ¡°I¡¯ll need a lot, so I shouldn¡¯t rob you. I¡¯m doing a bunch of big sculptures. I plan to do some jewelry too, since I sort of showed off that skill. I barely know what I am doing but I need to get better quick. I¡¯ll be going to Fairy and speeding time to learn to cast metal in gossamer.¡±


    Quinn laughed. ¡°Let¡¯s go to your Fairyland and get you set up and trained.¡±


    #


    As we watched the glowing metal start to cool and look like metal again, Quinn asked, ¡°So there is another you?¡±


    I said, ¡°I would rather you summon Lithos and ask him. I am sure he will be open and glad to see you. Ursula too, but I would rather not tell tales about him.¡±


    Quinn nodded. ¡°So you drew straws for Ursula?¡±


    I shook my head. ¡°Lithos isn¡¯t young anymore. He wouldn¡¯t survive loosing Ursula. I mean, she was my love, but with my memories and his nature, he was as lost as I was and less able to cope. He¡¯s stronger mentally than I am in a hundred ways, but not this one. I thought I was the weakest ever this way, till I met him. I hope it works out cause if Ursula ever breaks up with him, he won¡¯t last long.¡±


    Quinn said, ¡°Sucks to be you.¡±


    I nodded. Quinn asked, ¡°Do you like Goblins?¡±


    I said, ¡°I know one I kind of like, but she would run from me if she saw me. She¡¯s a Goblin so there¡¯s no way I could catch up.¡±


    Quinn gestured to the cooling mold. ¡°The gossamer water running through the gossmer tubes will cool the mold as fast as we dare cool it, but it may be an hour before we can open the casts. There are a lot of tricks we could do in Fairy to speed things up though.¡±


    I said, ¡°I need to be able to match the work in Real, so there is no point. I guess we can start another mold.¡±


    Quinn said, ¡°You were going to take us out to eat.¡±


    I said, ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m a bit hungry myself.¡±


    Quinn offered his hand to me. ¡°I know a wonderful place, expensive, but since your buying, I can¡¯t resist taking you there.¡±


    #


    We were in front of a counter looking at Avery, Quinn¡¯s one true love. She was honestly as cute and cuddly looking as a girl could get so I looked away quickly. I was standing beside a display of water colors and watercolor paper. There were tripods for using to paint and compete art bags. Past them I could see the sort of brass setup fancy coffee shops had and a well stocked bar. There was a stair up to a dining area above the kitchen.


    Quinn sat at a stool and asked, ¡°No tentacles Avery?¡±


    Avery said, ¡°Joshua strikes me as the timid sort. He might not like food prepared by a monster.¡±


    I looked over at Avery and then looked quickly back at the art supplies.


    Avery asked, ¡°Do you have any allergies or food you don¡¯t eat, Josh?¡±


    I said, ¡°Not that I know of. I don¡¯t see any prices, is there a price list?¡±


    Avery said, ¡°We adjust the prices depending on the customer. For the meal, I want to hear what happened with Ursula.¡±


    I sat at the bar beside Quinn and told her the abbreviated version of the story.


    Avery said. ¡°Okay, that¡¯s rough.¡±


    She put a glass of milk, and a plate with a hamburger and fries in front of me. She put a small plate beside that and put some hot sauce and ketchup in front of me. I picked up a french fry and tasted it. Oddly it was like a golden moment. The french fry was insane perfection. I cover french fries in Ketchup normally. I just ate one after another and kept my eyes on my food because I didn¡¯t want to fall in love with Quinn¡¯s one true love. The bread on the hamburger was enough to make it the best I had ever had. The hamburger was on the edge of crispy well done on the outside and still tender and moist inside. The cheese had been melted in and was practically part of the meat. The lettuce, tomato and pickles were perfect. The onions were sharp and sweet. I paused half way through the burger.


    ¡°Avery, this is the best thing I have ever eaten. I don¡¯t even know what to say.¡±


    Quinn said, ¡°Avery wins again.¡±


    I said, ¡°Avery, I owe you more than just a story. What boon can I give?¡±


    Avery asked, ¡°Would you go on a blind double date with Quinn and me?¡±


    I winced. ¡°I should have suspected. Okay, I won¡¯t welsh on an offer. Is she aware of Fairy and stuff?¡±


    Avery said, ¡°Of course. Don¡¯t take this too seriously, just an outing with friends. I will bring a picnic basket and we can do some painting. Take one of the bags there, it¡¯s a complete set. Quinn can gift you with using watercolors.¡±


    I said, ¡°You know I am scared of sweet looking girls.¡±


    Avery said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, this one is mean looking. She can get fierce but she is really a sweet heart.¡±


    I said, ¡°I am assuming she is pretty, you know pretty scares me too.¡±


    Avery said, ¡°That¡¯s going to be a problem then. She is quite a looker. A lot prettier than I am.¡±


    I looked at Quinn.


    Quinn picked up his glass of milk, ¡°Yeah, I know. Avery, he agrees with me that it¡¯s impossible to be prettier than you are.¡±


    Avery said, ¡°Seriously, you have met her. She has crazy long legs, a perfect and trim figure and a face that makes my heart skip a beat. Quinn you have to be kidding.¡±


    Quinn sipped his milk and gave Avery a questioning look.


    Avery said, ¡°You¡¯ve met Dusty.¡±


    Quinn managed to keep from spewing his milk but dribbled a bit and started coughing.


    He used his napkin and asked, ¡°Are you serious? That¡¯s the worst match possible.¡±


    Avery said, ¡°Joshua doesn¡¯t need to fall in love at first sight. He just needs to get out there and meet a few girls. Dusty is perfect.¡±


    Quinn said, ¡°Joshua, Dusty is a North American Death.¡±


    I gave Quinn a side eye. ¡°They come in female and pretty?¡±


    Quinn nodded. ¡°She¡¯s a looker, met her a couple of times.¡±


    I asked, ¡°Is she going to try and kill me? I¡¯m kind of used to them trying to kill me.¡±


    Avery said, ¡°I was talking to Dusty and she said she wanted to meet you. I don¡¯t think she meant it as a date and you don¡¯t have to consider it a date, just an outing with friends. She told me you came back from the double death, beat up a bunch of Deaths, and now the Deaths are scared to go near you since they don¡¯t want to offend you.


    ¡°I know you have issues with Deaths, but so does Dusty.¡±


    #


    We were in Spain painting cliffs when Harvey summoned me.


    ¡°Joshua. Harvey here, did you mean to abandon me?¡±


    I said, ¡°I figured you and Ursula got along.¡±


    Harvey said, ¡°I¡¯m not so fond of ribbons and bows. Lithos is nice enough but he won¡¯t protect me from her. Can you bring me through? Seriously even if you run me off and I die of worms, it¡¯ll be better than this.¡±


    I brought Harvey through. I never really gave him to Ursula. Since he talks, I didn¡¯t really see that anyone owned him.


    I held Harvey and scratched in front of his ears.


    Harvey curled up in my arms. ¡°Missed you. Seriously missed you. Ursula insists on going right for the belly fur. Lithos doesn¡¯t stop her. With all the girls there I don¡¯t get a moment of dignity.¡±


    Quinn asked, ¡°Are you Joshua¡¯s cat or a friend?¡±


    Harvey said, ¡°Joshua is all I got. I¡¯m pretty sure my original master, the one who made me a familiar, died. Joshua has been kind to me, but I kept the truth from him early on so I think I ruined any trust he might have in me.¡±


    I said, ¡°Harvey¡¯s a friend. I trust him. We have both had hard times. I am not sure about the owner pet thing since he talks.¡±


    Harvey said, ¡°He scratches my head, mostly lets me be me, and gets worming medicine when I need it. So yeah, I consider myself his cat. Not a good cat, but he¡¯s a good master.¡±


    Avery said, ¡°Dusty just summoned me. I think she chickened out. I told her it wasn¡¯t like a date or anything. Joshua, you just won points in a game none of us knew about. I never thought Dusty would be scared to meet a guy.¡±


    I said, ¡°Honestly, I have been scared to death of meeting her.¡±


    Avery said, ¡°Wait a minute. Dusty summoned me back.¡±


    Yes, we are in Spain.¡±


    Avery said, ¡°So I planned this badly. Dusty has to go through all sorts of red tape before she is allowed in Spain. She¡¯s not sure they will let her in even then. Do you mind going to New York? She has a balcony we could paint the view from.¡±


    I said to Harvey, ¡°Can I count on you to act like you are sick so we can leave if it gets bad?¡±


    Harvey said, ¡°Just reach for my belly fur and I start throwing up for you. That usually makes humans panic.¡±


    I said, ¡°Will it offend you if I say, ¡®Good kitty?¡±


    Harvey said, ¡° ¡®Good cat,¡¯ will do. ¡®Kitty¡¯ is kind of precious.¡±


    Quinn said, ¡°If it¡¯s in North America, I can¡¯t go. Especially when you consider that she is a Death.¡±


    Avery said, ¡°She won¡¯t attack you.¡±


    Quinn said, ¡°She might not, but we can¡¯t trust that other Deaths won¡¯t. If they attack me, there are other forces that would see it as an opportunity and excuse to make up for past grudges.¡±


    I said, ¡°Now that you mention it, I don¡¯t want to start a battle either.¡±


    Avery said, ¡°Sorry, Dusty. Quinn and Joshua are worried a fight might break out.¡±


    Avery waited for a moment and said, ¡°Dusty says the Deaths don¡¯t use her place as a gathering anymore.¡±


    I shook my head. ¡°Can¡¯t trust them. Eventually they are going to push it too far and I am going to kill one of them. If a fellow who attacked me had landed differently, he could have died. I am scared they will keep doing things till I do kill someone and then I will have to get used to killing them as they keep coming back.¡±


    Avery said, ¡°Dusty, Joshua is scared the Deaths will escalate and he will end up killing them. Quinn is scared a war will start if they attack him. How about this, any Deaths show up and I take them to Hell.¡±


    Quinn looked at me like it was up to me.


    I asked, ¡°Can she do that?¡±


    Quinn said, ¡°Don¡¯t test her.¡±


    #


    On a balcony in a high rise apartment complex I was learning how to use watercolors and painting the skyline of New York City.


    Quinn was painting a portrait of Avery and Avery was painting a portrait of Quinn. After we were gifted Dusty and I started setting up our tripods and painting. She started out painting central park and tore it up early and started doing a picture of me, Quinn, and Avery. I had only taken the one good look at Dusty and shaken her hands before I used the art equipment to have an excuse to look elsewhere. I wasn¡¯t really scared of her, she had a mean look and when you combined that with being a Death, the odds of my swooning and falling for her seemed remote no matter how pretty she was. She was very pretty.


    Avery asked, ¡°Can I do this and not be judged? The rest of you can all be gifted with this. I need to practice figure painting, but unlike some people, I have to learn it on my own as best I can.¡±


    I said, ¡°No judgment here. After that hamburger and fries, I will always consider you a genius.¡±


    Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.


    Dusty said, ¡°You got a hamburger from her? I can¡¯t even imagine it. Was it spicy?¡±


    I said, ¡°I usually put hot sauce on everything, and there was some, but I didn¡¯t even put ketchup on the fries. Why cover up perfection?¡±


    Dusty said, ¡°You probably missed out then. I bet she made the ketchup and the hot sauce.¡±


    Quinn said, ¡°She made me a baked potato and put bits of chicken fried steak smothered in gravy inside the potato. I have had it before, but it was always cut up bits of chicken fried steak. The way she did it, it was tiny bits of steak, tenderized and individually battered. She keeps making tiny changes and adding what no one else ever seemed to think of. The spices she used then took it out of the ball park. Your right, Josh, she is a genius.¡±


    Dusty said, ¡°I need to let all this, wet on wet, dry.¡±


    She walked over and looked at my painting. She had been looking at me while painting and now she was close looking over my shoulder and I could smell her perfume. She walked past and Avery swung her painting around so Dusty couldn¡¯t see it. Dusty walked over to Quinn¡¯s painting.


    ¡°My legs aren¡¯t actually that long.¡±


    Quinn said, ¡°But the human, or at least male eye tends to exaggerate things of interest. Without small variations, art is only craftsmanship.¡±


    Avery walked over to where Dusty was standing and looked at Quinn¡¯s painting. I decided to join them.


    Dusty said, ¡°See, everyone is going to be disappointed when they see the real thing after seeing Quinn¡¯s painting. Avery, Joshua, you tell him.¡±


    The painting was great, even unfinished and in the painting Dusty was long, well shaped and had a mischievous look. Then I made the mistake and looked at Dusty starting at her feet and looking up. She was wearing white shorts with a high waist. He top showed a hint of her waist and was loose at the bottom and tight on the rest of her figure. I stopped with her face.


    Having seen Quinn¡¯s painting, now I didn¡¯t see the mean look so much as the mischievous look Quinn had painted. I didn¡¯t know how to react to the mischievous look. My eyes were caught in her eyes and the depth of them seemed to go forever.


    She asked, ¡°So what do you think?¡±


    I didn¡¯t think as I said, ¡°No one is going to be disappointed.¡±


    I managed to escape my deer in the headlights moment and went back to my painting. Harvey was siting on the railing with the wind raising his hair as gusts went by. I was further back on the balcony where the gusts were not as violent. It made me nervous seeing Harvey on a railing with so far a drop below. Harvey met my eyes and shook his head before closing them and lowering his head to his paws.


    Dusty asked, ¡°Do you always bring your cat with you?¡±


    I said, ¡°Harvey goes where he wants to. He wanted to come so I brought him.¡±


    Dusty said, ¡°I want to pet him, but I am kind of scared I might startle him with him sitting on the railing. Do you think we could persuade him to come inside if I put some milk out?¡±


    Harvey opened one eye. Again, I didn¡¯t know what he was signaling. So far he hadn¡¯t said anything so I wasn¡¯t sure what his game was.


    Dusty asked, ¡°Do you have a twin? I heard you had a twin.¡±


    I said, ¡°It¡¯s complicated.¡±


    ¡°Yea, there was a story that you were Lithos, but Lithos was always there at the initiations so there was a story that you were impersonating Lithos and then you showed up able to be Lithos¡¯ twin.


    ¡°There was a bit of confusion. Avery said you were single, but it sounded like you were an impostor and married to Ursula. Is your twin married to Ursula?¡±


    I said, ¡°Very.¡± I wanted to sound final and try to end the question and answer thing. Instead she shifted the subject a bit.


    ¡°Ursula is a legend. After a while I started rooting for her. It put more work on us, but the boys she took out probably caused as much trouble as they took care of so despite longer hours, things seemed a bit easier.


    ¡°Now they are saying you have all the powers of a Death and move faster than they can see. Lithos was always famous for his speed and that¡¯s kind of--¡±


    I raised my awareness and glanced at her. She had a truth detection spell running and several other detection spells that you might expect if you were being questioned by authorities.


    I asked, ¡°Harvey, are you ready to go?¡±


    Harvey stood. I walked over to pick him up as Dusty said, ¡°Don¡¯t go.¡±


    I turned. ¡°I have had quite a few Deaths attack me and I have been ambushed and killed by them. Excuse me if I think giving the Deaths extra details on me and those close to me might increase the risk of something happening. This was a pleasure and I hope you can continue having fun without me.¡±


    I picked up Harvey and went to Fairy.


    #


    Quinn looked at the sky in my Fairyland and back to the sand we were standing on. ¡°Having the center of your Fairyland start as an arena kind of advertises that fighting will happen. Having sand on the floor is going to limit the speed of your sudden attacks. No grip for your sudden springs into action.


    He looked at he stone steps. ¡°I am guessing Bell had this set up for you. Has he recorded you?¡±


    I nodded.


    Quinn squinted at the sun. ¡°Your sun is harsh in the midday and your Fairyland resets to midday when you appear here. You are going to miss mornings and most evenings if you come and go a lot. Your security is solid, but it is set to black list by a list of enemies. Much better to let it make an intelligent and adaptive white list so those you invite and behave well are the only ones allowed.¡±


    Quinn walked to the steps of the stone bleachers around the arena. ¡°You have enough mass here and quite a few Fairies gardening. The flows are solid and the recycling is well balanced. The core of this Fairyland was set up for expansion, but right now it is only 3.28 miles in diameter. That lets you fly up and still identify people easily, but if you can get Avery to give you permission to use one of her maxed out bird forms, we could, without doing anything fancy increase the world size to 33.38 miles in diameter and you could still make out people as long as they are in your line of sight. Size to cost, it would be a real improvement.¡±


    Quinn picked up a handful of sand and closed his eyes. ¡°Now I see what¡¯s up. The sand here dispels gossamer but doesn¡¯t hurt Fairies. This was set up to prevent someone from growing any of the fast gossamer-real hybrid plants so they could eat them and connect to your Fairyland. Old technology. Dates back to seventy-eight.


    I spotted a Fairy looking down from above the bleachers and waved.


    Quinn called out, ¡°Canst thou tell us the history of this Fairyland?¡±


    He said, ¡°I could. Don¡¯t know why I would want to.¡±


    Quinn pointed to me. ¡°This is your Fairy King. He might like to know.¡±


    The Fairy started walking down the stone bleacher steps. ¡°We have a king now? Really? Did Bell agree to this?¡±


    I said, ¡°Bell gave me this. I don¡¯t know about being a Fairy king.¡±


    The Fairy said, ¡°And who¡¯s the other one and why would I want to talk in front of the both of ye?¡±


    Quinn said, ¡°My name is Quinn, my dad set this Fairyland up. I can tell. He had only been a Fairy King for a few months when he did it.¡±


    Quinn turned to me. ¡°Dad made a bunch of experimental Fairylands and gave them to different factions of Fairies. Hopefully Bell gave you a safe one.¡±


    The Fairy sat on the lowest bleacher with his feet on the sand. ¡°Well, if your our king, the founding statement was made by your friends father, and we are in the free speech area, I suppose I can bring myself to sin by explaining things. The Dread Lord said, ¡°Don¡¯t go on and on if you don¡¯t have a clue.¡±


    The Fairy closed his eyes and said, ¡°Forgive me for my speech this day if I need forgiveness and it is right to forgive me. Otherwise please ignore my plea.¡±


    He looked back at me and asked, ¡°What are your religious beliefs?¡±


    I said, ¡°I am pretty sure there is something behind all of this, and while I have seen more than most, I wouldn¡¯t dare to say any of it makes sense to me.¡±


    The Fairies eyes widened. Tear formed in his eyes and he knelt on the sand. He lowered his head. ¡°My liege. Bell promised ages ago he would find a king we might tolerate. My lord, the wait has been worth it.¡±


    I said, ¡°Thank you. I¡¯m not really comfortable with bowing and thinking one person is more important than another so could we not do that?¡±


    He quickly stood, dusted off and sat back down. ¡°Quite right sire.¡±


    I said, ¡°My name is Joshua Bear. Josh or Joshua will do.¡±


    He said, ¡°Joshua means ¡®God is deliverance.¡¯ While that seems to be a good intention and I might accept it personally I think Josh is better since I don¡¯t know what it might mean. My guess would be ¡®God is,¡¯ but there is the issue in a nutshell. We, in this Fairyland were called by others, ¡®Antiblasphemists.¡¯ We don¡¯t take any name ourselves since it would divide us from others and possibly be an inverse blasphemy. Since we don¡¯t know if there is a conscious and aware creator that likes people to make up and argue their stupid ideas about what he is like, we can¡¯t know that making up nonsense about the divine is a sin.


    ¡°We prefer to live simply, treat each other well, respect the environment and avoid any discussion of theology since it all ends up trying to espouse something that no one has any proof about.¡±


    I asked, ¡°So thou art mostly atheists?¡±


    He said, ¡°I won¡¯t fall for that trick question. Why would I espouse a belief that I could never ever prove? No, for me proper reverence, would be not making things up, and not adding my voice to the babble.¡±


    I asked, ¡°I would think that thou couldst get along with most people. Why isolate yourselves?¡±


    He looked down and shook his head. ¡°My personal reason is my own and I will not say it is what guided any of the others. At the time I moved here, the song, ¡®And They Will Know We are Christians by Our Love,¡¯ was popular. I liked the tune, I liked the concept, but the folk singing it were not turning around and showing much love after the song was sung, so while I wanted to join in and sing it, I knew it was a lie on their lips and I got angry as I sang.


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to live in hatred, so I came here where religious songs were not going to top the local charts. A Fairy becomes what they think and feel so this was the only way to protect myself from turning into something dark. I mostly agreed with the unspoken creed, but as the years of living with folk that were truly honest, kept their nonsense to themselves and helped each other out, I grew to love this community and understand the value of the Dread Lords statement.¡±


    I asked, ¡°Why is this area an arena?¡±


    The Fairy said, ¡°This is the free speech area. A lot of religious folk think beating up others is free speech. We don¡¯t have a lot of fights, but we don¡¯t limit free speech if someone decides to do it here.¡±


    Quinn asked, ¡°Would it be okay if your king hid a few large rocks just under the sand?¡±


    The Fairy smiled at me. ¡°Call it free speech and express yourself. You are king after all.¡±


    #


    Quinn said, ¡°Dad set this up as a sort of solid stone cup with all the parts inside it inside the sphere of space that this Fairyland consists of. He had it with ports that would drop out at the bottom at a few intervals so water could seep through sand and gravel into the base if the Fairyland was expanded, but he didn¡¯t set it up with extending legs to stabilize it.


    ¡°I¡¯m not good with all the gravity tricks my dad does, so I can¡¯t manage it as well. So what we are going to have to do, since you already have water and buildings, is make gossamer supports so the core of your world doesn¡¯t shift or roll to it¡¯s side. Then we bring in enough boulders to support it and drop the gossamer so the boulders slide in snug against the core. So first we make gossamer levels here in the arena so we can make sure the place is level when we are done.¡±


    I asked, ¡°Where do we get boulders like that?¡±


    Quinn smiled, ¡°You will be doing me a big favor taking some materials off my hands. I had a rather large Fairyland filled with stuff when I was little. I was told that I could take what I wanted to, and it was just going to be there for a little while. That was a long time ago, so if I want any room in that Fairyland, I have to clear stuff out by taking it. So have you considered how you want your Fairyland to be. You will have 550,000 or so extra acres to play with.¡±


    I tried to imagine 550,000 acres. ¡°That¡¯s not a question I have never ever asked myself before. I would like it nice. I can imagine buildings and stuff, but I have no idea really what I might want.¡±


    Quinn asked, ¡°Can I bring in an advisor then?¡±


    I nodded.


    Quinn summoned in a small man in overalls.


    ¡°Good day to thee both. So what are thy plans here?¡±


    Quinn said, ¡°We have a size eight Fairyland early Dark Lord and as simple as any he made for the various tribe of separatist folk. He gave this one to the Antiblasphemists and gave it to Bell to manage. Not sure what plants and critters he put here to preserve them, but it seems nice enough. Bell gave it to my friend here. We are going to adjust and update the systems and push it to size twenty. So first we need to stabilize it and match drainage to the core. This will let me clear my storage world enough to actually use part of it. He wants aluminum, and copper for sure, and plans to do large sculptures and casting. I taught him a bit of casting already and he caught on fast.¡±


    The man said, ¡°So boulders, rock, gravel, and sand. Spools of wire and cable. We might put a small dent in your Supplies Quinn, but a size twenty is only 33 miles across so it¡¯s still not going to clear much out. So, what sort of plans dust thou havest? We figure, nice, lots of scenery, water works, all the standard hedge mazes, castles and manor houses. Gazebo¡¯s and labyrinths and formal gardens. The basic stuff, but dust thou have any serious plans?¡±


    I closed my eyes. ¡°That all sounds good to me. Whatever you think really. Don¡¯t let me take anything too valuable from Quinn. He has already given me enough. Just good stuff to sculpt from. I want a good place to do sculpture and jewelry work though.¡±


    I felt him take my hand. I opened my eyes and he shook it. ¡°Then we have a deal. I¡¯ll be bringing the crew in. The two of thee can start adjusting. After we get a few in to stabilize things, you can start expanding. I¡¯ll a have me daughter in to help with the expansion. She needs the practice. What did you say your name was?¡±


    I said, ¡°Joshua Bear.¡±


    He said, ¡°The one that¡¯s been dealing with the North America Deaths then?¡±


    I asked, ¡°You¡¯ve heard of me?¡±


    He smiled broadly and looked at Quinn, ¡°This ones going to be special. Not every day I get to make something for a hero. One moment whilest I summon me daughter Constance.¡±


    He cleared a patch of sand, and made a few circles before calling out. ¡°Constance, Da here, we got a size eight to twenty conversion, with Quinn Gray and a friend of his named Joshua Bear.


    ¡°Yah, he be that Joshua Bear. Wear something nice, I hear he¡¯s shy around girls and recently single.¡±


    A lady dressed like she was in the cast for Mary Poppins appeared. She was terribly cute, but only half my height.


    She fanned herself and asked, ¡°Can I borrow a few ounces of fee from thy world?¡±


    I said, ¡°Sure.¡±


    She held out her hand and an ink well and pen appeared in them. She dipped the pen and handed it to me. She held out her arm. ¡°Canst thou write, ¡®For my dear fan, Constance,¡¯ and then sign it?¡¯


    I asked, ¡°You want me to write on your arm.¡±


    She looked back at her father. ¡°With Da here, yes, probably just my arm.¡±


    I transformed and took out a magic marker. I signed her arm with as much flourish as I could before changing back and handing her the unused dip pen.


    She smiled at me and disappeared.


    Quinn asked, ¡°Where did she go?¡±


    Constance¡¯s father said, ¡°She¡¯ll summon me back soon enough. For now she is probably showing off your autograph to all her friends.¡±


    #


    We were watching as lava was flowing into clear gossamer forms. They were casting floors, cliffs and structures for retaining soil. They were casting the beds for streams and waterfalls so it looked like a glowing version of the largest jumble of parking garages anyone had ever seen that went down for miles covered by Andean terraced mountains.


    Quinn said, ¡°It will mostly be unfinished stone, sand and soil so you will have a lot of work ahead of you to turn it into something comfortable. Why are you in such a hurry to learn sculpture?¡±


    Constance said, ¡°If you need to learn fast, I would be happy to give private lessons.¡±


    I said, ¡°It¡¯s kind of a secret. I have a way to possibly fence a lot of gold for clear and honest legal tender in Real but I need to be a famous artist to make it work. I have a woman coming over to my estate to film my workshop in Malta. I need to fill my workshop and make it look like I have been doing this for a while and it would help if I were actually good at it.¡±


    Quinn said, ¡°How much gold?¡±


    I held my arms wide. ¡°Too much but I have a way to do it and not impact the price of gold. I have ten Fairy Kings wanting me to broker gold for them and a few of the projects are going to be big ones so I may be fencing a few hundred tons of gold.¡±


    Quinn asked, ¡°Does Bell know your plan?¡±


    I shook my head. ¡°He kidnapped me and put me to sleep when he gave me this world, but he hasn¡¯t gotten an update since.¡±


    Quinn put his hand on my arm and said, ¡°Join me for a bit.¡±


    #


    In Quinn¡¯s secure area we sat and he asked, ¡°Is your exchange method dangerous?¡±


    I said, ¡°I suspect so. I have come back from death so I am willing to risk it.¡±


    Quinn said, ¡°Can you share it?¡±


    I said, ¡°If something happens to me someone should know the trick. There is a market that the Djinn use to bid on artwork that only the magic savvy know. If you sell gold artwork, and they think it is collectible, you can sell it for legal tender free and clear and the gold will disappear from this world and never bee seen again. You can get more than the gold is worth and you will deprive the Djinn of money they might spend elsewhere.¡±


    Quinn sat for a moment without moving. ¡°Get with Bell immediately. Do the other stuff, but with this in mind, he will make sure you are quietly and secretly, so only the underworld paranormal elite really know, the artist they all want works from. This is one of the best ideas I have heard, but your right, it¡¯s dangerous. The Djinn might decided to kill you to raise the value of your art.¡±


    #


    Bell and I were driving electric motorcycles on mountain roadways that wound through the terraced mountains. The few scattered Fairies out planting in the terraced garden beds waved to us as we passed. We stopped at gazebo with a fountain and a pool under it.


    Sitting in the water, Bell said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry about the Djinn trying to kill you. They figure they will outlive everyone and you will die when the world ends so they will want as much of your art as they can get. As long as you stay fresh, they will keep buying your dragons splashing in arcs of water, and as long as you don¡¯t start copying your old works and degrading them, they won¡¯t come after you if you lose your edge. Since you can keep coming up with fractal variations, and you don¡¯t in fact have an edge to lose, I think you can keep this up forever.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about trying to pay back the spools of gold Quinn gave you. In Fairy the big use of it is to protect worlds like this one and he is glad to have you take it off his hands.¡±


    I asked, ¡°Did he really give me gold?¡±


    Bell said, ¡°The odds are pretty high that he did and that he would be glad to replace all you use. If not, the Dread Lord will be delighted to fill your mountains with spools, lumps and ingots of the stuff. We have to keep this one under wraps, and with our direct connections to the Dread Lord, we don¡¯t dare participate directly, but your taking money from the Djinn is the best news we have heard in years.


    ¡°Your funding the North American Deaths and forcing them to reform is brilliant as well. They are probably not going to target you anymore. In fact you probably have a golden pass for anything you do, but be careful. There might still be a few influenced and fooled by the Djinn. We don¡¯t want the Djinn to know that you and you are the same person, but Lithos can cover that. Give it a few years with you supporting them and you might even be able to trust them.


    ¡°As far as Dusty goes, you can trust her. If you get brave enough to kiss her, you can even date her. She is probably not going to last long though.¡±


    I asked, ¡°Is she in trouble?¡±


    Bell said, ¡°With the reforms, she will have to give up her apartment. She will have money, but she loves that place. She is tired of being a Death and her retirement is too far in the future for her to even think she will still be around to see it. She has in her own way been fighting for reform and she has been loosing the fight with few gains to too many losses. The odds are good she will be pushing past bravery to suicidal courage. Eventually that¡¯s got a good probability of killing her.¡±


    I asked, ¡°Is there a way to save her?¡±


    Bell said, ¡°I can think of only one good way, but you will need to act quickly.¡±


    I asked, ¡°How do I save her.¡±


    Bell said, ¡°With a kiss.¡±

 The Kiss

    I was in my studio in Malta trying to decide what to make next. Early on I switched from horses to dragons since my anatomical mistakes wouldn¡¯t be obvious. I have been gifted with a lot of art, but apart from curves and graphs, it isn¡¯t what I do instinctively so I cheat whenever I can. My art style is mostly avoiding things that I don¡¯t do easily. So my complex flowing curves are my strength and everything else is a weakness to work around.


    Bell told me I could save a girl with a kiss. I didn¡¯t particularly like her and she was a Death, but I didn¡¯t want her to die either. She was attractive, old time movie star attractive. She was a friend to Quinn and Avery, but Constance was as cute and clearly interested.


    I sent Opal an email and told her I had room she and her crew could stay in at my estate in Malta. I arranged tickets and called around to hire a driver for a few days. I arranged for the chauffeur to pick them up at the airport and let them know that the chauffeur would have a room and meals taken care of.


    I started planning my next bit of artwork and started just weaving wire around in curves. I kept coming back to the thought that I could save a girl and I was putting it off and that might make it too late. I didn¡¯t know how to talk to her, what to ask and I didn¡¯t have any excuse to talk to her, let alone kiss her.


    I tried to focus on art, I needed to do a bit more before Opal came and I only had two days before she would arrive. I could focus on math. I could focus on statistics or finance. Art was different. I played with some wax and finally gave up. I summoned Dusty.


    ¡°Dusty, this is Joshua Bear, are you free to talk?¡±


    Dusty said, ¡°I was expecting this. You left all your art equipment here.¡±


    I had an excuse. She didn¡¯t seem friendly but that was no excuse to let her die. ¡°Can you come to Malta?¡±


    She said, ¡°I would have to check. I don¡¯t know what group watches over Malta. Can you just come and pick it up? I rarely bite and only when I feel particularly close to a man.¡±


    I appeared on the balcony beside her.


    She nodded, ¡°I keep forgetting that some folk have the same powers we deaths have. I took your art equipment inside so the weather didn¡¯t ruin it.¡±


    She went in and said, ¡°Just come in, you can take it from here.¡±


    I followed her and she pointed to the tripod. It still had my unfinished painting of the skyline and the paints were still in place.


    I started putting it all away and she asked, ¡°Are you really that fast? It wouldn¡¯t be unlike them to exaggerate if someone beat them. You beat a group of them, so you have to have something, but the way they describe it, you, Lithos and Ursula are legendary.¡±


    I said, ¡°Ursula is faster, and Lithos can leap to insane speeds. I am probably a bit between them overall. Is that enough data?¡±


    Dusty said, ¡°I¡¯m not reporting back to the Deaths if that is what you are implying. I am more distrusting them, then distrusting your speed. I have never seen any of you in action, so I can¡¯t really judge.¡±


    I started folding up the tripod and the bag fell to the ground. I squatted and looked. Nothing spilled and nothing looked damaged.


    I glanced at Dusty. ¡°Do you want to see how fast I am?¡±


    She looked at me and shifted position. Just a hair but I knew she was ready for a fight. I sprung, caught the top of the sofa as I went over it so I could slide low on the floor under the glass table. She was backing up but too slow. I hooked one of her legs with an arm and pulled her so her head would miss the glass table.


    She lost her footing and tried to turn and catch herself. I caught her so her landing was soft and then I pushed her legs so she spun and I kept from spinning and slowed my slide across the floor by breaking with my other hand.


    That lifted my upper half off the ground so as she slid past and around I landed on her back and pushed her arms down as I slid my hands around her and rotated so she was facing away from me, on top of me and held with her arms at her sides.


    Not the best hold, but I was ready for her next move. She didn¡¯t try to hammer my face with the back of her head like I expected and she didn¡¯t try to push up with her legs.


    She lay on me laughing, ¡°Okay, your fast. What¡¯s your next move?¡±


    I kissed her neck and let go of her.


    She shifted around half rolling off of me and now my hand was under her and she was looking at the side of my face. She pulled in closer and the difference between her and Ursula became clear.


    Ursula was as hard as a rock. She had lean long and fast muscle under her skin. There was barely padding on her delightful figure. Dusty was padded. Her figure was more dramatic and it gave in ways that Ursua¡¯s figure didn¡¯t. There was more figure there and then, Dusty started nibbling on my ear and her breath was right there in my ear.


    This was a different sort of infatuation but suddenly I had a wonderful woman in my arms and I was scared I was going to mess up my opportunity.


    #


    Dusty asked, ¡°Are we a couple?¡±


    I said, ¡°I¡¯m going to have to spend time in Malta, but I could visit in the evening. Wait, Malta is six hours ahead. So if I come at midnight in Malta, that would be six in the morning here.¡±


    Dusty said, ¡°I don¡¯t wake up till ten if I can avoid it and then I have to be ready to work. We could hang out, but I might have to disappear.¡±


    I said, ¡°I can get sleep in Fairy.¡±


    Dusty gave me a squeeze. ¡°What do you do in Malta?¡±


    I said, ¡°Sculpture, a woman is coming with a crew to film my workshop, so I need to get my workshop ready and I don¡¯t know how long she is going to take seeing my work.¡±


    Dusty asked, ¡°Are you a player? Is this woman attractive?¡±


    I said, ¡°Not in your league. She is cute though.¡±


    Dusty asked, ¡°How important is this filming?¡±


    I said, ¡°It might help this world to survive.¡±


    Dusty asked, ¡°Can I turn on lie detection and have you say that again?¡±


    I said, ¡°Since our relationship is clearly not base on trust, sure.¡±


    She looked at me intently as I said, ¡°I have been informed by more than one source that the action supported by this film might help this world survive a few more years.¡±


    She leaned against me. ¡°Here I thought my job was important. Still, the Deaths or their equivalent all seem to do better in Europe and with less violence. How did you get so fast?¡±


    I said, ¡°Lots of training. I have been worried that I might not be staying in shape. I need to make an exercise course, but I could start teaching you a bit about speed and that would help me keep fit.¡±


    Dusty said, ¡°So you just show up and throw me to the ground?¡±


    I nodded.


    Dusty said, ¡°What if I hurt you?¡±


    I leaned in and kissed her. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll be careful, it isn¡¯t like I trust Deaths.¡±


    #


    I was waiting out front when the van with Opal and her crew drove up. Opal got out and said, ¡°This is wonderful. Selene once we get some camera¡¯s out can you drive me in again so we can get my arrival on film?¡±


    The driver leaned out where I could see her. She was a definite looker. I looked back at the crew. One of the crew members was a girl and cute. I didn¡¯t expect any females apart from Opal, and now I was going to have three ladies in my house.


    As the van drove back out, the camera man said, ¡°Since you want to keep your identity private, we are making a video to put online. Opal does this sort of thing, but usually the clients want their faces exposed. This is going to part of several videos where Opal explores Malta and gets invited into the exclusive home of a mysterious artist. Don¡¯t worry it will be all about you and your art. Your art will be in the background of everything and the subject of a lot of it.


    ¡°But we plan to make it as a failed romance. Carol, that¡¯s the crew member in the car was going to play as a romantic foil as Opal tried to get close to the wealthy and exclusive artist, but on the way here, we were talking with, Selene and she likes the idea of getting some exposure, so we are thinking of having you sort of bounce among the three of them and end up with Selene as we go back to the airport. It¡¯s perfect. Selene is also a tour guide and speaks several languages like a native so after we spend a day or so filming here we can have her show us the island and then when we put it together and it will look like she was our guide and gave us the tour first.¡±


    He set up behind me to film me from the back watching the car drive up. Opal and Carol got out and Selene opened the back of the van to get out their luggage.


    #


    Dusty and I sat on her couch. We were planning on watching something but we ended up talking.


    ¡°Joshua, we barely know each other. So lets tell each other the worst part about ourselves so we have learning that out of the way.¡±


    I said, ¡°That sounds horrible.¡±


    Dusty said, ¡°Call it trust building. If we decide we can¡¯t bear the other¡¯s faults then we break up before it goes too far. So here is me. I like to fight. I hate hurting peoples feelings. I love to gossip, I don¡¯t cook, I don¡¯t clean up and I will eat off of anyone''s plate if they leave the table and sometimes when they are still there. As a Death, you can never, ever count on me to be on time or to stay with you when you need me. I could at any time return in a horrible mood since I witnessed the result of something sad, gross, unfair or just horrible. My job is to go where people died and the spirits are sticking around. Often that means they died in a horrible situation.


    ¡°There, have I scared you off?¡±


    ¡°Not yet. Okay, Dusty, here it is. I am the geek that other geeks stare at and wonder about. I get excited about math formulas. Some of them are achingly beautiful to me. I do statistics on everything and dream about math and programs. I don¡¯t gossip. I keep everyone''s secrets the best I can. I am scared to death of sweet looking girls. I have only recently been able to even face them and I still don¡¯t look at them if I can avoid it.


    ¡°I get crushes on girls instantly. I can be loyal to a girl, but I could still fall for one in an instant. I don¡¯t want to and all it does is get me hurt, but if you keep me away from other women, I will be grateful. Right now I am in a horrible situation and I don¡¯t think you can help me.


    ¡°The woman running the filming is named Opal. She has an assistant named Carol and she has talked the driver I hired into being part of the film. The driver is named Selene and Opal plans for all three of them to flirt with me and end up fighting over me. It¡¯s all acting for them. I can probably avoid falling for Opal, but I can¡¯t be sure. I am a goner if I get too close to Selene or Carol.¡±


    Dusty said, ¡°Your young and you haven¡¯t gotten to see the end of as many lives as I have. You haven¡¯t heard the confessions and stupid wishes to reveal the obvious that everyone left behind already knew and ignored. Men and women fall in love or lust with another even while considering popping the question to the lover they are devoted to.


    ¡°If you knew how many women have had to say, ¡®Either she or me, you can¡¯t have both, before getting the marriage they desperately wanted, even while knowing their man was fickle, you would think the entire gender was insane. Men and women cheat. Men and women fall in love or lust and think they are the exception to who should get away with it. Women think they can trust a man to leave their wife for them and then be loyal to them.


    ¡°A lot of men are proud of the sin you fear. Preachers will tell you it is wrong and they still get in trouble and beg for forgiveness only after they are caught dead to rights. They still want to keep preaching as if they have a right to lead a flock after they betrayed everything they stood for.


    ¡°No one is more jealous of his wife than the man who constantly cheats on her. I know, I am going on and on about this, but it¡¯s the heart of what tears at love.


    ¡°VD would go away in short order if men and women didn¡¯t cheat, or swing from romance to romance. The man that owned this apartment kept it and a few others for his mistresses. I am living here because a ghost who paid for this while living said I could.


    ¡°I am taking advantage of the estate of a man who cheated in life. Okay, I am stopping this. It makes me mad and crazy and there is nothing I can do about it. Tell you what. Afterwards, if you don¡¯t show up. I¡¯ll know why. It¡¯ll be water under the bridge and I can thank you for a few good times. If you come back and are willing to talk to me while I have a truth spell running, then we can take it from there.¡±


    #


    Having two to three camera¡¯s behind me but on me from morning till late made it feel like I was cast in a fake reality TV show with horrible but beautiful women. I had considered Opal pretty enough but not a blazing beauty. After her makeup was done for camera, it made me nearly dizzy to look at her. She was the scary one. Able to walk around mildly attractive because it suited her and then able to turn it on and be devastating at will, was like my ability to be human or daemon, but without magic.


    Maybe the potions and powders women use are magic. Looking at Opal after she prepared to be on camera, I wouldn¡¯t argue if you took that side of the argument.


    Having an acting role where my job was to be friendly, and really just a prop for attractive girls to behave badly around was awkward, embarrassing, and frightening. Having three girls flirt and cuddle up next to me was making me wonder if I really cared if the relationship was fake.


    In then end though, I wasn¡¯t going to pursue any of them. I was still going to try and stay with Dusty till I thought she would live and then I would still probably stay till she kicked me to the curb. I didn¡¯t get the feeling that she had the sort of latched on commitment that I gravitated towards.


    The thought of Carol or Selene calling me after Dusty decided to move on crossed my mind quite a few times. Opal scared me. She could probably latch onto me and I wouldn¡¯t have an escape, but I would always wonder if she was playing with me. She was able to change her demeanor faster than she could change faces, so I wasn¡¯t sure if I had any clue as to who she was.


    #


    In the morning, as I watched them drive off, I wondered if I had been delightfully scammed. I had paid for them to come to Malta, paid them to film, and I was still paying for them to be driven around Malta to see the sights. I could afford it and I enjoyed it enough to imagine trying to set up the same sort of thing weekend after weekend. The part of me that didn¡¯t want to live a tacky existence was at war with the part of me that wondered how many years could I keep this sort of thing going and how far was I willing to go.


    The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    The Fairy maids came out and bowed in skimpy maid suits with real animal tails and ears.


    I summoned King Surmium, ¡°Can you remind me why skimpy maid suits is a bad idea.¡±


    King Surmium came to me though the summons. He looked over the outfits and Fairies. ¡°Give me a moment. I am pretty sure I had a real good reason but right now it isn¡¯t coming to me. Oh, wait there it is. Eternity with only the only Fairy kings and Queens who are willing to hang out with you, are the same ones who gave in to the same temptations. At the moment, it doesn¡¯t seem that terrible, but think of the company you will be keeping.¡±


    #


    Bell was quietly examining my artwork. I knew how he worked, so I expected he was having a raging crowd arguing, making fun of and voting down my sad efforts. He came to my jewelry and paused. ¡°If you made a clockwork mechanical version of your dragon flying over waves, with a wake that continually curled behind him and used maybe sixty pounds of gold, it would fetch a good price at auction even without our promotion.


    ¡°Then we will lament that you are wasting all your time making an even larger version that no one is going to be able to afford if you even manage to make it. We will let it out that you are probably ruining yourself with this insane project. You can still keep making variations on the theme. Work on your skills, make a raptor or two, make some horses. Don¡¯t worry about them being accurate, just make them look strong, proud and fast. You will be able to sell them as fast as you make them and cover the financial needs of your clients. Give them value for gold, but pay for the Deaths with the gold Quinn gave you.


    ¡°Then after a reasonable delay, we will let it be known that you were robbed before you were finished with your masterpiece. That way there is a perfect excuse for it to disappear when the Djinn buys it. When it sells on the secret market, you still get the cash, but there will be not connection to you. One of the Djinn will have spent more than any other Djinn could manage to. You will have destroyed the majority of the richest Djinn¡¯s wealth and not only will he be unable to blame you since it was stolen, but you won¡¯t have to risk meeting a Djinn and you will secretly control one of the truly huge fortunes and still have it all legal, tidy and clean.¡±


    Bell offered me a large balloon.


    ¡°Do you want me to inflate this?¡±


    He said, ¡°Chew it.¡±


    I winced. ¡°Really?¡±


    Bell held it out forcefully. ¡°Take it, keep it in a form ready to chew. If you are ever possessed, start chewing like your life depends on it. It probably will.¡±


    #


    Avery, Quinn, Dusty and I were doing watercolors in the Palo Duro canyon near Amarillo, Texas. The sun had just come up and the shadows made stark and dramatic lines against the already dramatic pillars and cliffs.


    We had to paint fast, the angle of the shadows was visibly changing as we worked. Avery and Quinn were competing with a speed that reminded me of Ursula in combat. Quinn used two brushes at once. One with water and one with paint.


    Avery kept shifting and would switch between forms holding a different brush in one hand and a pallet to match the color blend in the other.


    I was reducing it all to layers, fractals and curves so after I visualized it and looked at the paper, I would just make a few marks in pencil to reference it and then fill in the areas like I was coloring by number. I made it easy by adding the swirls of wind in since that would give me large curves of bright contrasting forms.


    Dusty was using layers of washes and putting layer on layer and ignoring the mess of color that was forming in all the wells of what were previously pristine paints.


    We all shared gifts with similar origins, but Avery and Quinn had been doing this and the muscle memory was their own. Despite the messy way Dusty was working, and the muddy layers she was putting on her painting, hers was showing the effect of the bright Texas sun rising on the canyon walls better than mine and she was going to beat me to the final touches.


    Avery and Quinn started new paintings before I was half way done. Dusty finished hers and started a new one.


    I kept working on mine, color at a time till each area was as I envisioned it. I made a few small final touches and put the pad aside so I could put another on my tripod.


    Avery asked, ¡°Who wants to scrap this for a bit and fly over the canyon?¡±


    Quinn asked, ¡°As what bird?¡±


    Avery said, ¡°You pick the bird. I¡¯ll make one that looks like it after I touch it. You know me, I am still having trouble keeping them straight.¡±


    Quinn asked, ¡°Dusty, Joshua, are you maxed out or can you take another form?¡±


    Dusty said, ¡°Past maxed out. I will have to fly as a falcon. I am trying to forget two forms right now so I can replace them. Really I am trying to forget three, but I don¡¯t even know if you can forget your original form.¡±


    I asked, ¡°Is that not the real you?¡±


    She shook her head. ¡°I upgraded as soon as I was able. Does that bother you?¡±


    I said, ¡°Not really, I still see myself as being Lithos and me.¡±


    Quinn turned into a huge eagle with golden brown, black and white markings. ¡°Sorry Dusty, I can¡¯t resist this. Avery, touch me and make an Avery special that looks like a golden eagle.¡±


    Avery asked, ¡°How special?¡±


    Quinn said, ¡°Full smell, full taste, full eyesight and hearing. I want to see if I can handle it.¡±


    Avery looked at me. ¡°Quinn said I should gift you with one of my wild bird forms. I¡¯m not sure it¡¯s a good idea. Just the sense of smell that a rat has is enough to make a person trip out.¡±


    I nodded and turned into a rat. I held my nose to the air and felt the confusion of a thousand scents that I didn¡¯t know. I started nibbling the bit of cheese I held in the rat¡¯s hands so I didn¡¯t get too hungry when I transformed.


    Avery said, ¡°Fine, don¡¯t blame me if you get confused and run into a cliff.¡±


    Quinn said, ¡°After he turns into the form you make up, gift him with using it. Me too. I don¡¯t want to be left out.¡±


    #


    We sailed high over the canyon calling to each other and catching thermals. Dusty did a wing over and dove down back to where we left our tripods. I followed and saw people hiking far below.


    #


    As we packed up, Quinn and Avery were both glancing at each other and then at me.


    Quinn asked, ¡°Okay, Joshua fess up, this isn¡¯t your first bird form.¡±


    Avery asked, ¡°Do you live in a bird form?¡±


    I shook my head. As I saw a breezed coming I realized why they thought I lived as a bird. ¡°No, but here tell me what you see?¡± I showed them the painting I had made.


    Quinn said, ¡°Like a stained glass window, but then you put a Van Gogh over it. It¡¯s a beautiful expression of what you imagined the wind would do as it passed over and through the canyon.¡±


    I said, ¡°Thank you, but sadly I was not using as much imagination as you might think. If you want, I can gift you with being able to see the wind.¡±


    All three of them bowed so I could gift them.


    #


    We were all laying back and looking up at the sky.


    Avery said, ¡°It¡¯s no wonder he wasn¡¯t disoriented.¡±


    I asked, ¡°Why me and why would I be disoriented?¡±


    Dusty said, ¡°I¡¯m tripping out. I may have to stop for a while. Joshua, how often do you turn this ability on?¡±


    I said, ¡°I usually turn it off when I am programming. The rest of the time it¡¯s kind of fun.¡±


    Quinn said, ¡°Josh, Separately I have been most of the creatures Avery combined into the bird form she gave you. It has the senses of at least a dozen birds combined. When you add in the various colors visible, the smells, the ability to focus and zoom in vision, and the hearing, normally a person would be swamped with information. Avery gifted you with managing the form, but that only goes part way.


    ¡°But this sense allowing you to see the wind, means your collecting heat signatures from all directions and resolving them by triangulation to put together a map of the wind in three dimensions. This is a daft Fairy power if I have ever seen one.¡±


    Avery moved a hand in front of her face. ¡°Quinn, your right. It¡¯s like living in a Van Gogh painting. Beautiful, complex, a touch disturbed and more than a little bit disorienting. I think I can fly with it on now. I should probably adapt a bit more first though.¡±


    #


    Dusty and I were watching the first video Opal had put online. It had her crew visiting ancient sights with Selene telling about the history and legends while Carol and Opal asked questions. The video made it look like it was just Carol and Opal on the tour with Selene as their driver and guide. The camera men spent more time panning across the girls figures in the fifteen minute video than I had spent looking at them during the first evening and the day I spent with them.


    Dusty stayed right next to me and the effect of watching a video with three very attractive girls while an insanely attractive girl was cuddling next to me and breathing on my neck most of the time was devastating.


    #


    Harvey said, ¡°We are so going to die.¡±


    I said, ¡°I¡¯m ready to take us to Fairy if it gets really bad. I¡¯m getting better.¡±


    Harvey asked, ¡°Can we stop for a bit?¡±


    I said, ¡°The fish market isn¡¯t much further.¡±


    Harvey put a foot against the back of my neck. ¡°If we die, it won¡¯t matter.¡±


    I got off my bicycle and tried to look back at Harvey. He was standing in the open top compartment of my back pack so I didn¡¯t have a good way to look at him without taking off the backpack.


    I crouched holding my bike so Harvey could leap out. I held his water bottle for him and then he went off to some bushes while I looked out at the colorful boats on the sparkling water. As a total computer geek, I was not in the habit of exploring the outdoors. Since Jack started getting me in shape for camping, I had developed a touch of appreciation for scenery.


    After watching the video of Opal and Carol traveling I decided I needed to visit the amazing country I was living in and had so far managed to barely visit.


    Harvey came back and gestured to the water bottle. I gave him another drink and crouched so he could climb into my backpack.


    Harvey and I were sitting at a bench. I was eating a fish salad called, ¡®insalata tal-bakkaljaw,¡¯ and taking out bits of fish and egg for Harvey to eat when Avery sat down at the other end of the bench.


    ¡°Joshua, you can keep a secret, can you avoid telling people I am in Malta?¡±


    I said, ¡°I don¡¯t get out much, so I probably wouldn¡¯t have seen you.¡±


    Avery said, ¡°When things get a bit intense, I tend to run away. Right now I have a lot of responsibilities, but I need to have some time away.¡±


    I asked, ¡°Do you want a place to stay? I have extra rooms. You don¡¯t even need to stay in the same building.¡±


    Avery said, ¡°I don¡¯t want to be a burden. The thing is, I want you to tell me if they need me, but I want to keep my staying here secret. Can your cat keep a secret?¡±


    I said, ¡°I trust his silence on issues and honestly you can stay as long as you want. Free food and board, Fairies doing the cooking and cleaning. From what I have seen they will be delighted to have you here.¡±


    Avery said, ¡°They are going to want me back, but I just need a breather. Could you let me know and not give away my visiting here? I have given up too many wonderful places already.¡±


    Harvey got up. ¡°Show Avery where she can stay. Avery you may have saved my life. I saw a video where a cat was riding on the back of a fellow and thought it looked fun. Yeah, right, that cat must have had brain worms.¡±


    #


    I showed Avery the room choices and she picked the small cottage furthest from the mansion.


    Avery sighed cutely. Everything she did was cute. Insanely cute. She pointed at the groves. ¡°I don¡¯t dare paint any of this estate. It will give my location away if anyone sees it. Dusty told me about the video and after I watched it, I decided I had to come here and paint.


    ¡°Then when we were negotiating details on the governing board we are setting up for the North American Deaths, they brought up a short affair I had with one of them as a conflict of interests. It happened well before we were a thing and he already knew but Quinn was right there. Quinn¡¯s aunt was there too.¡±


    I closed my eyes. ¡°I¡¯d run too. How do you ever go back after that? I guess you have to but I think I would change my name, find a recently dead young person to take the form of and give up my old life.¡±


    Avery transformed into a skinny old lady wearing a large straw hat. ¡°Call me Lisbet while I am here. I will just bike around and paint things. I need to go to a local art store to get paints and stuff so my gear doesn¡¯t give me away.¡±


    #


    Dusty and I sat in a small room in her apartment complex that had a huge soft couch. The image on the video had Carol and Opal in lingerie sitting down on a bed looking down. The cameraman must have been lying on the floor to take the shot.


    The video started with Carol and Opal laughing about getting invited in by, ¡°The mysterious Maltese artist we cannot name.¡± They giggled over how handsome I was. So far they hadn¡¯t shown any of my art, but the had made me sound like an aloof, hard to get playboy. In my mind, playboys were the farthest thing from hard to get, but my mind was clouding as Dusty started kissing my neck.


    I missed some of the rest of the video and we paused it at the point where they went back to the scene where they drove up to the mansion.


    When we started watching again, the video kept going from views of the mansion to the back of my head and then my butt. I think Carol was filming this as a point of view and making fun of me since she kept returning to images of my back end. We had to pause again since Dusty was kissing my neck.


    The video ended with a scene panning around my studio. Fortunately someone else was managing the camera and it didn¡¯t end with a still of my backside.


    #


    Quinn introduced me to his aunt, Lidia. It was a terrible moment and I thought I would just leave and change my name. With Dusty holding my arm and Quinn, a Daemon friend right there and Lidia, I took one look and fell in love. I couldn¡¯t escape, with Dusty gripping my arm she would go with me and being beside Dusty at this moment was what embarrassed me most.


    Lidia said, ¡°I¡¯m taken.¡±


    Quinn laughed.


    Dusty said, ¡°Note to self, keep Josh away from small, trim, large eyed girls.¡±


    Lidia said, ¡°You left out the serious fashion sense. Never ignore my impeccable taste in clothing.¡±


    #


    We sat at a table with nine Deaths. It was like Dusty was on trial. It was assumed that I was going to be on the management team that examined and disciplined Deaths. I wasn¡¯t allowed by either side to have a say in this since Dusty was my girlfriend and they were arguing conflict of interest. Finally they decided that even if we broke up there would be issues so the only resolution would be to expel Dusty from the Deaths.


    Dusty held my arm tight as we quietly walked out. I understood why Avery ran off. They kept bringing her up and her ¡°fling,¡± with Cliff another Daemon. He wasn¡¯t there but it was clear that he had already been kicked out. If I were Avery I doubt I would ever have the courage to return.


    After stepping out into the sun, Dusty took us to her apartment and kissed me. I ignored the fact that there were other people at the apartment cheering.


    Dusty backed up. ¡°I¡¯m free. You wonderful man. I thought the world would end before I got to retire. You don¡¯t mind if I get drunk do you? I haven¡¯t been able to properly throw back alcohol since I made my pledges.¡±


    #


    I was with Avery painting a waterfall that came down from a cliff and splashed in a hollow the water had carved into an inlet beside the sea. From the prominence of cliff we were standing on we could see tourists walking and posing for selfies so we were painting scenes and then adding the people we saw on one side to the dramatic scenery that we had just painted.


    Avery asked, ¡°How come your figures are more graceful?¡±


    I said, ¡°I know. It doesn¡¯t seem fair since I only recently started and you are in every way a better painter despite my gifting. What you do is strong and muscular, but posed. Still wonderful. I start with curves. For me everything is a curve. I could gift you but Dorian Gray.¡±


    ¡°Dorian Gray,¡± was our code word for her form shifting. She started out as a friendly enough looking raw boned old lady with a straw hat but somehow over time any form she was in slowly became more attractive.


    She said, ¡°Sadly, I¡¯m mostly gift proof. In a year or two I will try and take you up on that.¡±


    I said, ¡°I know some really good books on math that you could learn from.¡±


    She asked, ¡°Will it really help with art?¡±


    I paused to wait for the washes on my watercolor to dry a bit. ¡°You have mechanics and structure down. trigonometry is physics and statistics is how you start to understand complex things. It is all language with words for concepts that need a bit of cross over to let you understand them. Art, if it is effective, is another language, more instinctive but you need the rest to help you understand the instincts. At least I do.¡±


    Avery stood back and looked at my painting. ¡°So everything is math to you? You seem to be a compete geek but you seem to understand what I am missing. How come you know so much?¡±


    I said, ¡°Everything is lines and curves. But as a programmer, I have to understand what others want and create a tool that translates the information to something usable by my client.


    ¡°A good programmer is always learning. Otherwise he can¡¯t understand what a client really needs. If you just hand a client what they think they want, you will be endlessly fixing what they thought they needed but wasn¡¯t right. You have to understand what they understand and be able to figure out what they need or you and your client will just start hating each other.¡±


    Avery asked, ¡°How are you and Dusty getting along?¡±


    I said, ¡°It¡¯s odd. I am going to keep my secrets and hers so I¡¯m not going to say much. She was upset that she couldn¡¯t summon or find you. She got kicked out of the Deaths and wanted you to come drink with her.¡±


    Avery went back to painting. ¡°I always figured she would be happy to escape being a Death.¡±


    ¡°She was, she wanted to celebrate with you.¡±


    ¡°Josh, you don¡¯t ask a lot of questions. It seems like I am always grilling you.¡±


    I squinted at the dazzling bright sea below and thought about painting that next. ¡°Any questions I can think to ask, might reveal bits of secrets I should keep safe. Things are getting more and more complex as I make friends, it is getting harder to be careful. If I ask too many questions about you to Quinn or Dusty, they might suspect I am in contact with you.


    I can¡¯t tell you how many clients have come to me wanting changes to software and revealed everything they were thinking about by the questions they asked me.


    ¡°I am considering starting to become an outrageous liar. That or shut up entirely. That may be the only way to continue.¡±


    #


    As Dusty and I settled in to watch the third video, she asked, ¡°Can you contact the Deaths in Malta?¡±


    I shifted position so my arm wouldn¡¯t go to sleep while we watched the video. ¡°I can try, why do you ask?¡±


    Dusty said, ¡°I want to visit. I want to see your place. I still have the powers of a Death but no responsibilities. I don¡¯t know if that means I can tour Europe or not.¡±


    I thought about Avery hiding out at my place and now I was in a bind. I didn¡¯t want to lie and say the Deaths of Malta said no, and I didn¡¯t want to reveal Avery¡¯s secret. I wanted to show my place to Dusty and explore Malta with her.


    Instead of a web of lies I was trapped in a web of secrets. ¡°Dusty, this make take a bit, can you wait?¡±


    Dusty cuddled in close and started the video.


    Most of it was in my studio. My artwork was in the background of all the scenes and the subject of a lot of it. The back of my head was captured in a lot of scenes but the video was more about the three girls imagining living in a place like this with a handsome and mysterious artist. The three of them independently showed off the jewelry and the watches I gave them and each of them appeared convinced I was in love with them since it was the most fabulous thing they had ever owned and I had made it. Then, still with my dragons and water splashing sculptures in the background, they compared their jewelry and decided to throw it back at me since I was such a horrible playboy. The video ended there. Since there was never such a scene I was curious how this was going to resolve.


    Dusty said, ¡°Now I have to see the next video. It¡¯s obvious what is going to happen next, but I have to see it.¡±


    I asked, ¡°What happens next?¡±


    Dusty patted my knee and then poked me in the ribs hard. ¡°You gave them all hand made jewelry. Of course they were never, ever going to give it up. All three of them are plotting for the other two to reject you so they can have you to themselves. It¡¯s obvious.¡±


    I asked, ¡°Why did you poke me so hard?¡±


    Dusty said, ¡°No reason. Why would a girl be upset that a boyfriend gave jewelry to other girls and never gave her any. I can¡¯t think of any girl that would be so unreasonable.¡±


    I rubbed the spot she had poked me. ¡°None of them poked me in the ribs. I tend to give nice things to girls who don¡¯t go out of their way to hurt me.¡±


    To change the subject, I asked, ¡°If you want to travel, how about doing some exploration with me?¡±

 Calypso

    Dusty stood in the sand filled arena and looked back at me. ¡°Not really what I thought of when I imagined what sort of Fairyland you had.¡±


    I said, ¡°It gets better.¡±


    As we climbed the stone steps out of the arena and came up to the level ground, we saw a complex training ground with ropes, towers, nets and obstacles. This was new but I had expressed a need for it.


    Dusty looked back at me again. ¡°Nice, but hardly the date I imagined.¡±


    Past that were fields. A pair of Fairies were making heavy gossamer glass coverings over the plants. One of them gestured our way and said something to the other before running over to us.


    ¡°My liege.¡±


    The Fairy turned to Dusty and bowed, ¡°Duchess, please forgive my interruption.¡±


    I asked Dusty, ¡°Art thou a Duchess?¡±


    Dusty said, ¡°I¡¯m not even allowed to visit the Netherlands as far as I know, so probably not.¡±


    The Fairy said, ¡°It was remarked that thou wert no longer a member of the North American Deaths, so that means that thou art now a Duchess since that is apart from a Daft Fairy, and a few singular beings, is the next most scary thing.¡±


    Dusty asked, ¡°And thou dust know who I am?¡±


    The Fairy nodded enthusiastically. ¡°We all follow our royalty. I am a big, big fan, my Liege and Duchess. We keep track of everything we possibly can.¡±


    He looked at me and got a startled look. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, my liege, we won¡¯t be giving the Duchess any spoilers no matter how much she hurts, torments and makes us plead for mercy.¡±


    Dusty asked, ¡°Plead for mercy?¡±


    ¡°Yes, your grace. Please be merciful.¡±


    Dusty gave me a side eye, ¡°Is this Fairyland just arena¡¯s and exercise courses?¡±


    The Fairy said, ¡°No your grace, there are the workshops and mountain gardens. That¡¯s about an eighth of the Fairyland. This is the river region in the center but the octopus sanctuary takes up two of the seven outer regions. Beside that is the Malta reproduction project. We are trying to mostly make a copy of Malta¡¯s just before Second World War splendor, but with all the old ruins intact, and since a lot was built on ruins, and then built on those ruins, and we want them all pre-ruins, and since ruins are pretty they are making copies of the ruins and the restored ruins, so this will keep a lot of Fairies busy for quite a while. Most of the rest of the areas beside that are taken by the Cyprus project and with the waters around it, the remaining four quadrants are going to be tight.


    ¡°We are quite proud to be one of the largest ongoing projects in Fairy.¡±


    Dusty asked, ¡°When will it be finished?¡±


    The Fairy said, ¡°Since I am a farmer, guard and guide, I don¡¯t know all the particulars, but my estimate, would be never.¡±


    ¡°Never?¡±


    ¡°Just an estimate, your grace, but since they are mostly using old memories and original construction methods, I don¡¯t see how it could be completed sooner. The arguments over some of the old ruins makes one wonder how well a Fairies memory can hold up for twelve thousand years.


    ¡°What I came over to warn thee about was the need to take cover. A dust storm has been scheduled. I should get back to covering the plants.¡±


    Dusty asked, ¡°Why a dust storm?¡±


    The Fairy said, ¡°Only way to really get a ruins to have that natural weathered look.¡±


    Before disappearing, Dusty touched my arm. ¡°See if we can visit Malta, I¡¯ll check on my end and see if the Deaths know anything. I¡¯m not yet sure which of them will still talk to me.¡±


    #


    I summoned Avery. ¡°Dusty wants to visit Malta. I don¡¯t want to reveal your secret, but if I don¡¯t try to see if the local Deaths will let her, she may suspect something is up.¡±


    Avery said, ¡°I stay in disguise. No reason she would even be interested in me. Just ignore me and if she asks, just tell her I¡¯m a charity case and I can¡¯t talk.¡±


    I asked, ¡°Do you know how to find the local Deaths?¡±


    Avery said, ¡°I¡¯ll get back to you on that.¡±


    #


    I went to my studio in Malta and then got nervous about what the dust storm might be doing to my studio in Fairy. I put on dust goggles and a filter mask and went through the gateway I had set to connect between my studio in Real and my studio in Fairy.


    #


    The gateway and all my equipment had been moved to a well lit chamber. There was a large glass wall at one end and further past the wall there was the opening to a huge furnace and a large crucible suspended from beams.


    A Fairy put a bookmark in the large book he was reading and closed it. He got up from the table and bowed. ¡°Greetings your highness. Hast thou chosen a name for thy Fairyland?¡±


    I gestured for him to sit and sat across from him. ¡°Greetings. Never thought of a name, I should see more of it. After the sand storm of course.¡±


    ¡°Of course, your highness.¡±


    ¡°I was told that my Fairyland was going to be an octopus sanctuary, and a collection of restored ruins and multiple ruins from Malta and Cyprus. Isn¡¯t that a rather large project?¡±


    The Fairy said, ¡°Huge really. Thou art employing thousands of Fairies. Employment in Fairy has never been as high thanks to thee. I know, this wasn¡¯t what thou didst expect but thou didst shake hands with the contractor and size twenty worlds are large projects even if they are simple. Then, when the contractor asked about resources, Quinn Gray, the Quinn Gray, assured him that thou couldst handle all the expenses and provided a Fairy to help make sure materials wouldst be available.


    ¡°When a contractor is handed the power to go all out and ignore material costs, well, he wouldn¡¯t want the job to end too soon.¡±


    I asked, ¡°How did I end up with an octopus sanctuary, Malta and Cyprus?¡±


    The Fairy scratched his head. ¡°My best guess is that you live in Malta, Cyprus is the other large island in the Med, and Quinn Gray¡¯s one true love is Avery. The plans Quinn gave the contractor and all the initial pourings supported it so, the contractor went with those suggestions and started to elaborate.¡±


    Avery summoned me. ¡°Joshua Bear, Avery here. I spied on the lady that manages Death in Cyrus. She has a nice Fairyland with lots of trees and birds. She lives in a huge cavern and makes her own clothing. When I saw her she was trying to swap out batteries in a cd player so she isn¡¯t entirely out of date. You will have some issues though. I think she¡¯s your type.¡±


    I said, ¡°Thank you, Avery.¡±


    Avery said, ¡°Lisbet please. When I am in hiding I try to keep using my identity¡¯s name but I wasn¡¯t sure you would answer the summons without my real name.¡±


    I said, ¡°I don¡¯t want to just invade her Fairyland, do you know how I could meet her in Real?¡±


    Avery said, ¡°You have all the powers of a Death and Deaths can set up to detect when souls start to wander in a region. You could always try to catch her at work.¡±


    #


    There was a spirit trying to throttle a man who was kneeling by the side of the road. ¡°Look where you¡¯re driving idiot. I have kids.¡±


    The man was talking on his cell phone. ¡°I think his neck is broken, what do I do to save him?¡±


    I summoned Snake, ¡°Snake this is Joshua Bear summoning thee, what wouldst thou charge to save a man with a broken neck?¡±


    Snake said, ¡°Show me the scene.¡±


    I let him see.


    He responded, ¡°Sorry, this one is out of my expertise. Wow, she¡¯s a looker.¡±


    I looked and a woman with a classic figure and braided hair touched the spirit and it disappeared. She looked at me and I instantly went to Fairy. She had the face of angel.


    I stood in the middle of the Arena in my unnamed Fairyland and wondered at myself. I thought I had gotten over my fear reflex. I took to the air as a raven and flew to where my workshop had been and I had left a few gateways.


    There was still one gateway remaining in the old workshop so I used it to return to my workshop in Malta.


    #


    In my workshop, I went to the refrigerator I kept there and took out an ice cream bar since I was starving.


    I shut the freezer door and Someone cleared their throat. I lept to the side and spun. The Lady was there. Again I went to Fairy.


    I sped time, ate my ice cream, turned into a Golden Eagle and flew to the gateway back to my workshop in Malta.


    Her back was to me and she was looking at one of my early works of art.


    I looked away. ¡°Sorry, I have a fear reflex that makes me run away sometimes.¡±


    She asked, ¡°Do I scare you?¡±


    I said, ¡°The prettier a girl is the more scared I get.¡±


    She laughed. ¡°Thanks for the compliment. You cast these sculptures?¡±


    I said, ¡°I am practiced at doing them in Real with real materials, but I mostly make molds in gossamer and pour them in Fairy.¡±


    She said, ¡°I do fiber craft. I made this dress. Do you like it?¡±


    ¡°Sorry, I am scared I will flee if I look at you, or worse fall in love.¡±


    She laughed again. ¡°Do you fall in love that easily?¡±


    I said, ¡°Most fickle man you know, probably.¡±


    ¡°Why are you scared?¡±


    ¡°I first fell in love in kindergarten. I got repeatedly crushed by every sweet looking girl I fell for.¡±


    She said, ¡°I can help you fix yourself. Let me think on this. What you have is a conditioned response that you programmed yourself with when you were young to try and protect yourself. A lot of children do that sort of thing. That¡¯s where a lot of fears come from. If you are a king of Fairy, you can probably change your internal programming but it is hard to just extinguish a behavior.


    ¡°I want you to be able to look at me, so let¡¯s try a simple experiment. What was your first impression when you saw me? Tell me the truth and don¡¯t fear embarrassment, we are past that.¡±


    ¡°I saw your figure and thought it was classic, like a statue but living and not posed. Then the shape of your perfect face and those lips that made me think of kissing. Am I saying too much here? I think I should apologize.¡±


    She said, ¡°No, I respect honesty. What next?¡±


    ¡°Then I saw your dazzling eyes and the terror started. That was it.¡±


    If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    She said, ¡°Well then that was easy. You can manage lips, but eyes are your trigger. So relax, really relax. Slow your breathing and tell yourself, ¡°When I start to get scared when looking at a girls eyes, I will think of their lips instead. Repeat that to yourself and visualize it.¡±


    I thought about it and visualized her lips. ¡°Do you really think this might work?¡±


    She said, ¡°It is all about self control and managing your own programming. Tell yourself that you are ready to handle this and your old way of defense isn¡¯t helping you. Take your time and focus. I will just look at all the wonderful dragons you have sculpted. We can test you when you are ready and try again if you fail.¡±


    I spent a while imagining her eyes and when the fear started I imagined her lips. I repeated to myself the instructions she gave me and when the fear stopped forming I opened my eyes and turned to look at her.


    She smiled an I thought of those soft perfect kissable lips. Like an endless loop when I saw her eyes I imagined the perfection of her lips.


    I looked down. ¡°It partially worked, but now I am pretty much gone in love with you. Don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t stalk you or anything. I have a girlfriend and I don¡¯t want to be a two timer on top of all my other flaws.¡±


    She asked, ¡°Are you in love with her?¡±


    I glanced up and looked away. It was clear that she was a Daemon. The other Daemons I knew could read all my emotions and tell if I lied. ¡°Dusty is a retired Death and she wants to know if she can visit Malta without issues.¡±


    The lady asked, ¡°Do you love her?¡±


    ¡°I am infatuated with her.¡±


    She asked, ¡°Does she love you?¡±


    I said, ¡°I don¡¯t know. We like each other.¡±


    The lady took my hand and said, ¡°If she loves you and you love me, she may want to fight.¡±


    I thought about this wonderful woman¡¯s lips. As she help my hand I thought about kissing her.


    She let go. ¡°Well maybe we went to far, but you know one of the secrets that opens another heart is affection. Those of us who can detect affection are often strongly effected by it. You should probably go and break up with this girl before you come back to be with me.¡±


    I looked at her but not her face. That way I could manage to not go into the loop of thinking about kissing her. I was looking at her figure and that wasn¡¯t helping much either so I looked away.


    She said, ¡°Well you clearly have a lot to think about. So when I summon you, what should I call you?¡±


    I said, ¡°Joshua Bear. How should I--¡±


    She said, ¡°Call me Calypso.¡±


    I looked over and she was gone.


    #


    I was working on sketches of statues of birds and horses from pictures on the internet when I felt another person¡¯s dying moment call me. I considered going to see Calypso, but I was sure I was just going to break my heart. I didn¡¯t want to give up my relationship with Dusty. I thought about Dusty. Then I remembered that I knew about Calypso. Something in mythology. Someone who enchanted men¡¯s minds or something. She sort of had, but really it was me and I was just going to have to reprogram myself.


    I looked her up on the internet. She didn¡¯t enchant Odysseus but instead she kept him prisoner after falling for him. After seven years the other gods made her set him free. She was apparently powerful and magical, but she didn¡¯t take over men¡¯s minds, at least not in the story since Odysseus never fell in love with her.


    #


    I considered going to see Dusty since the last of the three videos about me had come out. I didn¡¯t want to see it without her but I was still trying to figure out how I was going to tell her she wouldn¡¯t be allowed in Malta. I didn¡¯t want her to know about Calypso.


    I made some jewelry for Dusty and got a little carried away. I felt bad about it since I had an impression of rich men paying of their infidelity with other women by giving them jewelry. She wanted some, so I thought about her various outfits and made watches and pendants and bracelets for her. I was nervous about rings since I didn¡¯t want her to mistake it for a proposal.


    I had a heavy box full of jewelry for Dusty. I was a bit embarrassed by how far I had gone. At the same time I couldn¡¯t help but think about what I might give to Calypso. Avery said, she was trying to get batteries in her cd player. She probably didn¡¯t have power in her Fairyland. I owed her something so I used the tricks Quinn had taught me to make her a laptop that would connect in Fairy and not need power. I used one with a cd player as an example and made it self repairing. I didn¡¯t make it come and go at will since that was one of Quinn¡¯s secrets.


    #


    I saw the air shift and knew someone was behind me in my workshop. I dropped and glanced at the curved reflection on the chair leg beside me and stood. ¡°Hello Calypso.¡±


    I was looking at her torso and she laughed. ¡°That habit is just going to add another level to your infatuation.¡±


    I changed into me holding her laptop. I held it out to her. ¡°The pass word is, ¡®Day-O.¡¯ Capital D, a, y, dash, capital O. You can change it.¡±


    She laughed, ¡°The password is perfect, but I don¡¯t have power in my Fairyland.¡±


    I said, ¡°This doesn¡¯t need power and it will give you the internet as well. Do I need to gift you?¡±


    She took it and asked, ¡°It¡¯s not going to capture pictures of me is it?¡±


    I said, ¡°No, I made it like I would make it for myself and didn¡¯t think about that as I was doing it. Probably for the best, I might have given into the temptation if I had thought of it.¡±


    She said, ¡°My friend Circe wants to meet you.¡±


    I shook my head, ¡°If she looks anything like you, I probably shouldn¡¯t. Falling in love with your friend isn¡¯t going to make me popular with either of you.¡±


    She shifted her torso and adjusted the dress she was wearing. I looked away. She laughed and disappeared.


    I looked back at the empty spot and thought for a moment about her kissable lips.


    #


    I had finished a mechanical horse on a surfboard on a wave of gold that continually shifted and made a pretty good illusion of a curling wave. It was complex and I wasn¡¯t sure that it could run a year before needing repair. The motor ran on a laptop battery that had a charger built into the base, so it could run for eight hours before recharging.


    There was a click I didn¡¯t like so I was trying to find the spot where two parts where hitting when Calypso appeared in front of me.


    ¡°Have you broken up with that girl yet?¡±


    I said, ¡°It¡¯s been two days, I haven¡¯t gotten the courage to see her, but I don¡¯t plan to break up with her.¡±


    Calypso said, ¡°I can¡¯t decide if your just that much of a romantic or if your the player you seem to be in your videos.¡±


    I asked, ¡°You saw my videos?¡±


    She said, ¡°I have been using the Laptop you gave me. I love it almost as much as I adore you. I have all my music on it and I found your video online.


    ¡°If you haven¡¯t broken up with this Rusty girl, you probably are a player. Sad, all these girls you left behind.¡±


    I was looking at her torso, since her face would just make me think of her lips and kissing her. The dress she wore, showed her cleavage so if anything it was worse. I looked away.


    She said, ¡°I bet your one of those bad boys that can instantly take off a girls bra.¡±


    ¡°No, I am clumsy about that and I have given up embarrassing myself with attempts.¡±


    ¡°Really? You know I have a huge collection of bras that you could practice on. Honestly I wouldn¡¯t mind at all.¡±


    I asked, ¡°How did Odysseus not fall in love with you? It doesn¡¯t make sense that he would leave you after you bore two of his children.¡±


    She said, ¡°Nauseous and Nauseous were not my kids and they were born before Odysseus showed up on my shores. I did have a daughter by Odysseus and Nauseous made up a story about taking her to bed, but he was too old for her that never happened. When I kicked Odysseus to the curb, of course Odysseus made up a story about me loving him and his remaining aloof.


    ¡°Wait, you just managed to change the subject when we were talking about my bra collection. Do you think my breasts are too large?¡±


    I asked, ¡°So you loved Odysseus?¡±


    Calypso said, ¡°He was all charm at the start and very convincing. He managed to fool people into thinking he could navigate. Think about it, The Mediterranean isn¡¯t that big, if you can tell east and west, then you should be able to figure out north and south. Or you could just follow the coast and ask directions from the first fisherman you meet. Most of his story is just him covering up how inept he was. Seriously, how could anyone be lost that long and still stay in the Mediterranean? He was the sort of man that could never bring himself to ask for directions.


    ¡°Yes I was fooled by him, since he fooled himself, I thought he was for real. I wasn¡¯t even six hundred at the time, and I was lonely so I was nearly as much of an idiot as he was.¡±


    #


    I took the box of jewelry to Dusty. She said, ¡°Keep it and just go. I heard about Calypso. We never said this was forever. Just go.¡±


    I set the box down.


    She said, ¡°I¡¯ll just throw it all off the balcony.¡±


    I said, ¡°Don¡¯t you might hurt someone, gold is heavy. It was all made for you.¡±


    #


    looking up at a casting of a large golden eagle that had just started to solidify, I wondered how Dusty found out.


    I asked Harvey. ¡°Did you do me the favor of telling Dusty about Calypso?¡±


    Harvey said, ¡°First off, I¡¯m a cat. We don¡¯t have the same issues humans do. Dusty is still a Death, even retired, so I don¡¯t want to advertise my nature in front of her, even though she knows. So no. I might warn her if she was about to step off a cliff if I thought I might get a treat, but if you are wondering how a woman found out about another woman, my first guess is by smell. But then, I am just a cat.¡±


    I said, most of everything with Calypso happened in my studio in Malta. Do you think Opal or the camera crew or even Selene might have left a spy camera or something?¡±


    Harvey said, ¡°I know Dusty¡¯s smell pretty well, and none of them had a hint of it. Any one of a dozen Fairies could have said something. Fairies gossip and the stuff gets around. But Dusty¡¯s a Death and you have no way of knowing what extra powers she might have. She might have stopped her linkage to detect the dying and fleeing spirits and decided to watch you instead or detect your wavering devotion.¡±


    I said, ¡°I need to drop it. I am trying to blame someone else for my faults. I messed up. I don¡¯t know how I could have done differently but my faults caused it. Do you think I¡¯m cursed?¡±


    Harvey said, ¡°Yes, lets start your pity party. You have a girl you are crazy about that seems to like you. I can smell that from both of you so yeah, your love life is really bad. You got money, Some people like your art. I won¡¯t say anything about what I think but human tastes are different. You can¡¯t even begin to spend all the money you have, you have powerful friends and you rules a huge Fairyland. I think we should all just lay down and cry for a while.¡±


    I said, ¡°You know that rich, famous, popular people have still been known to commit suicide?¡±


    Harvey asked, ¡°You feeling suicidal?¡±


    ¡°No, but even with everything going for a person he can have the things that matter to him all fall apart. Everyone has feelings.¡±


    Harvey said, ¡°You know what you should do? Get up and call a taxi. Don¡¯t use your bike, that thing is going to kill you someday. Go down to the market and buy an entire cooler full of fish and bring it back here.¡±


    I asked, ¡°How will that make me feel better?¡±


    ¡°It won¡¯t. Only seeing your new girl is going to make you feel better. But having a cooler of fish to pick from is going to may me really happy.¡±


    I summoned Calypso. ¡°My cat wants me to go to the market for some fish. Do you feel like joining me?¡±


    Calypso said, ¡°Have you broken up with Musty?¡±


    ¡°Her name is Dusty, and she broke up with me. She already knew about us.¡±


    Calypso asked, ¡°How did she find out?¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t even guess. It¡¯s my fault anyway so I shouldn¡¯t try to pass the blame.¡±


    She said, ¡°Good, cause I probably caused it. I told my friend Circe. I didn¡¯t even think, but she probably spread the gossip.¡±


    Calypso appeared beside me and took my arm and looked at Harvey. ¡°You know, I can get just about any fish you might want, unless it is rare or a friend of mine.¡±


    Harvey asked, ¡°The thing is, I have had tuna, cat food, goldfish and whatever was in the fish salad we shared. I want to get a range of fish so I can figure out what¡¯s best. Since my owner is rich, I want to know what I have been missing.¡±


    Calypso gave a disappointed look. I made the mistake of looking at her eyes and started the loop of thinking about how soft her lips must be. I switched to looking at her lips and that didn¡¯t help. Even her chin and hair were too much so I looked away. Calypso said, ¡°We are going to have to fix you or people will start thinking I enchant men.


    ¡°Wait, just a second. Circe is summoning me. Hi Circe, did you tell everyone about poor Joshua?¡±


    She paused a moment. ¡°Well yes, but being in a video online doesn¡¯t mean he¡¯s famous and all they showed was his back.¡±


    ¡°No he doesn¡¯t want to meet you.¡±


    ¡°No he¡¯s not mad at you, he doesn¡¯t even know you. He¡¯s just scared he might fall in love with you to and that we¡¯ll start think he¡¯s fickle.¡±


    ¡°No, I¡¯m not sharing him with you. No, we didn¡¯t actually share Odysseus, you had him first and lost him.¡±


    ¡°Joshua, she thinks your famous since I showed her your videos. She¡¯s desperate to meet you.¡±


    I said, ¡°I¡¯m going to look like an idiot if she is half as pretty as the legends say.¡±


    Circe showed up. She was incredible. I looked at her lips and then her eyes and then I thought of Calypso¡¯s lips. As I looked at Circe I thought how desperately I wanted to kiss Calypso.


    Circe said, ¡°He¡¯s crazy smitten for you Calypso. I though you said he was going to fall in love with me.¡±


    I closed my eyes. Oddly, my new self placed brain damage was making me loyal. It was close to brainwashing, but it was better than running away.


    Calypso said, ¡°Circe, we were going to go to the market so Joshua¡¯s cat could find out what types of fish he likes best.¡±


    Circe looked at Harvey and jumped. ¡°A kitty, a beautiful kitty. Hi kitty kitty. You want to go the market and get some yummies?¡±


    Harvey asked, ¡°Are you the type that likes to put ribbons on cats?¡±


    Circe said, ¡°And cute little piggies. I love animals. Were you a bad boy and got turned into a kitty?¡±


    Harvey said, ¡°I¡¯m leaving. Joshua, lets go to the market later.¡±


    Circe said, ¡°We can go to the restaurants and try all the fish dishes and compare them to raw. I can tell you all the fish names.¡±


    Harvey asked, ¡°And no ribbons and no going for my belly?¡±


    Circe said, ¡°Your so cute, of course not. We can just have a fun outing together. Calypso, just take Joshua to your cave. He¡¯ll probably pass out first time you kiss him. I¡¯ve never seen a man so hyped up. The kitty and I can go to the market and have fun.¡±


    #


    Calypso turned her back on me. ¡°That¡¯s enough. You need to reprogram yourself. Your thinking about kissing me is making me unable to think about anything else. Who knew that programming someone into a love slave would turn you into a love slave. Probably Circe, but who else?¡±


    I said, ¡°I like being able to resist being disloyal. I don¡¯t want to be an obsessive creepy guy though.¡±


    Calypso said, ¡°It was fun, lets not tempt ourselves.¡±


    I sat and tried to think calmer thoughts about Calypso and I was having trouble coming up with anything that didn¡¯t lead me to obsession. ¡°Calypso, I need to sculpt for a while to clear my head. I want to think of you instead of running away or falling for any pretty girl I see, but right now--


    Calypso started kissing the back of my neck. ¡°Just a moment longer before we put this behind us.¡±


    I was doing a sculpture of Calypso but it was ending up looking more like something Picasso might make. Lips, eyes, hair, bosom, legs. All beautiful, all the parts were there but they were all outsize and distorted and fit together clumsily. More scary than pretty or sexy. All the parts were good the total was a nightmare.


    I went ahead and converted the illusion to gossamer and made a gossamer mold over it. With a core inside so the sculpture wouldn¡¯t be solid and weigh to much to move, I started casting it in bronze.


    I felt a summons but no one said anything. I asked, ¡°Hello, anyone there?¡±


    ¡°Dude, Harvey. Summon me man. I gotta get outta here.¡±


    I brought Harvey through.


    Harvey lay down next to my foot. He had a ribbon with a bow around his neck. ¡°Dude pick me up.¡±


    I picked him up and held him. He smelled like vanilla.


    He started licking my arm. ¡°Love you man, no really your like what it is. Wow, I am so freaking stoned. That Circe girl has this crazy catnip like mind blowing leaves that splinter your mind to infinity. Did I ever tell you I love you. I mean, my old owner was special, but your the best. I mean that. I just want to sleep in your arms forever man. Wow. Are there like golden colors in the air or is that just me?¡±


    I said, ¡°Could be either, I see them too, but I was gifted that way.¡±


    Harvey nodded. ¡°Circe kept rubbing my nose with hers and asking who I loved, man. So I realized that what really mattered was being scratched and fed by you. Man do you think the flounder was laced? I love sardines and flounder and grouper, but I want you there man. I kind of like that crazy mad girl Circe but like she wants to bathe and perfume me and put a bow on me. Don¡¯t let her dude.¡±


    I said, ¡°She already did.¡±


    Harvey tried to claw at his neck. ¡°Oh man, she did. Dude, don¡¯t eat anything she serves you man. You¡¯ll end up with ribbons.¡±

 The Many Maltas

    Bell said, ¡°I know you don¡¯t think you can do another statue like, ¡®While I was Deranged and Obsessed,¡¯ but you gotta try. Your ¡®Airshark,¡¯ painting with the wild golden and violet hued winds was close, so we think you can do it. Who knew that putting breasts and lips on a shark was going to put a painting over the top. Don¡¯t even worry if it is one in a hundred, just do a hundred so we get one. A few more like this and it doesn¡¯t even need to be gold for the Djinn to go loony over it.¡±


    #


    I summoned Calypso. ¡°Calypso, can we be obsessed just one more time? Honestly it¡¯s for my art this time.¡±


    Calypso said, ¡°We can¡¯t just keep on like this. My place is a mess, I haven¡¯t done any weaving in weeks.¡±


    I said, ¡°We are both staying in shape.¡±


    Calypso brought me through to her cavern. ¡°This is the last time absolutely, oh, just kiss me you crazy--¡±


    #


    I asked, ¡°If I tell you, will you keep it to yourself?¡±


    Circe said, ¡°I can keep a secret. I keep lots of them. You had videos of yourself so I figured your playing around with girls was a public thing and we aren¡¯t certain that you romance with my friend was exposed to Musty by anything I said to anyone. So what are you so scared of? I only see it sometimes when you look away from Calypso, but it¡¯s instantly depressing.¡±


    I said, ¡°I¡¯m still, still obsessed with Calypso. That¡¯s who I am normally. but now when I look at other girls I just think how graceful and lovely Calypso is. So I am reinforcing romance instead of the desperate desire for a kiss. Eventually, Calypso is going to get tired of me fawning over her. When she does I¡¯m going to crash like never before.


    ¡°I can still feel the bottom falling out and emptiness when I think of Ursula. I can still muster the feeling of missing cuddling beside Dusty, but if Calypso left, I would have nothing.¡±


    Circe took my hand. ¡°You mean Musty. Poor boy you keep saying Dusty. Sad how these things confuse you. Don¡¯t worry. When Calypso drops you, you can come live with me. I have lovely little piggies I have kept for six thousand years and I never tire of cleaning up after them, bathing them and cuddling with them. They are all perfectly happy!


    ¡°I only let the ones that are miserable grow up so I can end their misery. By the way, I am making pork cutlets tonight, want to join me?¡±


    I winced, ¡°No, I gotta finish polishing some of my sculptures and I¡¯ll be working late.¡±


    #


    I asked Calypso, ¡°How did you start dealing with spirits in Malta?¡±


    Calypso put her head on my shoulder. ¡°How did you become a famous playboy?¡±


    I said, ¡°Ten thousand views online isn¡¯t really famous. In some circles it might be, but it¡¯s tiny compared to most. They set it all up to draw in people to see the videos and give my art some publicity. So what I am really asking is, should Circe really be allowed to continue what I think she is doing?¡±


    Calypso said, ¡°The bag man and Gawgaw aren¡¯t that active and they only take the worst boys that are going to end up causing more pain that we want to ever see. Mortals ignore and protect their bad children and then their children end up monsters that compete with the worst ancient horrors. They just pass the kids to Circe if they think she is the right place for them. Honestly When I am busy Circe helps me keep the islands going and she has always done a good job.


    ¡°I mean she has her quirks, and while we have fought over men from time to time, she is a loyal friend.¡±


    #


    In Sliema we had gotten gyros at a kebab place and we were sitting in a dark area watching people doing seemingly random athletic activities.


    Circe pointed to a bird sitting on a boat out in the water. ¡°I don¡¯t know his name but I think he is one of the last of the Russian gods. Sad really but the were hit hard when the gods started to be hunted.¡±


    Calypso asked, ¡°Do you think he is waiting for someone? That would be really romantic if he were. I didn¡¯t get out much, did you know any of the Russian Daemons?¡±


    Circe laughed. ¡°I always liked breaking in strong men. Daemons were never really my thing. I just noticed him one time when I was watching over the island and saw him transform. Heard him talking old, old Slavic, so I figure he is a remnant of their older times. He doesn¡¯t seem to cause any problems but I had us come here just so I could point him out.¡±


    I asked, ¡°Do you think he recognizes that you are the Deaths here?¡±


    Circe nudged Calypso. ¡°Josh is so innocent. Of course he recognizes that we are from old times and looking at him. How could he not? He probably doesn¡¯t have a clue about much more than our mood, unless he hears us.¡±


    I gestured. ¡°The wind out where he is, is blowing that way so I doubt he can hear us though.¡±


    Circe leaned towards Calypso, ¡°I hear the North American Deaths are reorganizing. You know they never, ever look at other countries to try and see how we manage things.¡±


    Calypso stopped eating for a moment. ¡°Remember the sixties when they were trying to tell us how to reform everything?¡±


    Circe pointed to the bird that was now taking to the air. ¡°So the story I heard is that Duchess Bear-Bear is involved. You know, the Daemon who was avenging her missing suitor. Josh, you know a Death over there, that Musty girl. Can you share any gossip?¡±


    Calypso put her hand on my knee. ¡°He doesn¡¯t talk about any of his friends. So how are they reorganizing?¡±


    ¡°Well you know they always talk about how free they are but they have to work insane hours and make practically nothing. I hear they have someone to fund them if they do some reform.¡±


    Calypso looked at me. ¡°Josh knows something. Come on, tell us what you can.¡±


    I looked down at the mottled stone. ¡°It¡¯s not really a secret, but I still shouldn¡¯t say much. I already told both of you that I still miss my first wife Ursula.¡±


    Circe asked, ¡°How does she tie into this?¡±


    I looked away from them. ¡°Ursula is Duchess Bear-Bear.¡±


    Circe laughed. ¡°You had me going. Duchess Bear-Bear is married to Lithos Medon. Calypso, did you ever meet Lithos? He¡¯s one of the really old ones. Good looking, won¡¯t even look at a girl, a master of magic and fast as they come. They say that Dutchess Bear-Bear is his match in every way. I wonder how she caught him?¡±


    Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    Calypso put her arm around me. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±


    I said, ¡°Nothing I can do anything about.¡±


    Circe asked, ¡°So tell us about this Ursula girl. I¡¯m watching so don¡¯t make anything up.¡±


    I said, ¡°I had a girl once that talked about her ex boyfriend in front of me. I probably shouldn¡¯t make the same mistake.¡±


    Circe got up. ¡°No point in hanging around if your gonna get a broody. It was fun till now. Gotta run.¡±


    Circe disappeared.


    Calypso leaned against me, ¡°Poor Circe is desperate to try and see if she can get a laptop like you gave me. With you getting depressed, she probably figured it wasn¡¯t a good time to ask where you got it and how much it cost.


    ¡°She was asking about your background, and I was embarrassed. I know you do artwork and you have a Fairyland, but I don¡¯t really know anything about you.¡±


    I stood and held out my hand. ¡°There probably isn¡¯t much to see and hopefully the dust storms are over. Do you want to see my Fairyland? No wait, let me go and make sure it is safe and then I will summon you.¡±


    She nodded so I went to Fairy.


    #


    Inside a cathedral or palace or grand ballroom, there were stalls set up and food being served. Most of the people were dressed like they did hard work for a living. I wasn¡¯t hungry, but from the smell of the food, I wanted to be.


    Everyone was eating or talking or serving food. No money was being exchanged, and it had the mood of a celebration. On a stage at one end of the hallway a woman was trying to get the attention of the crowd sitting at the tables in front of the stage. She started talking so I made my way over to the tables.


    ¡°¨C so be on the look out and let us know if you see him.


    ¡°Now I will hand this over to someone that needs no introduction. Foreman Mitch.¡±


    A sturdy looking man with a white beard took over talking.


    ¡°Well, a lot of thee wilt be leaving and we may not meet again. A sorrow and a celebration we have cause for. I will be leaving since the construction is over, but ye know that. A lot of thee wilt be coming along to do the next project.


    ¡°If you are staying here to help maintain this, know that I have enjoyed working with thee and will be glad to see you if you decide to join our crew. Till then, take care and live well.


    As Foreman Mitch sat down the woman returned to the front of the stage.


    ¡°Time has matched with Real so it¡¯s certain that King Bear has arrived. The greeters at the gateways have been watching, but they haven¡¯t reported his arrival yet. If you see him, let us know as quickly as possible without being rude to him.¡±


    I looked around. I half expected to be attacked or kicked out when I arrived. That was how my luck ran. Looking up at the vaulted ceiling of this building, I sighed.


    A man standing beside me said, ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m going to miss this place too. Sad really, after six hundred years it feels like home. As much home as I got, but the ruins are finished.¡±


    I said, ¡°You could stay if you want.¡±


    He said, ¡°New king, new rules. I feel like this is home, but I don¡¯t know him, so I don¡¯t want to pledge to his service. It¡¯s his kingdom. Sad, but what is, is. I¡¯ll miss this place as I am sure you will when you have to move on.¡±


    I looked around at the crowd and the huge chamber I was in. I didn¡¯t know anything about this Fairyland and I was already feeling nostalgic about loosing it.


    I said to the man, ¡°Don¡¯t rush off.¡± Then I walked up to the stage where the woman was naming people who were then standing and the crowd was clapping for.


    As I got close to the stage a man whispered loudly, ¡°Your blocking my view.¡±


    I got out of the way and muttered, ¡°Sorry about that.¡±


    A girl ran up to the stage and the woman knelt to listen to her.


    The woman stood and asked, ¡°Does anyone here know what King Bear looks like?¡±


    I raised my hand.


    She asked, ¡°Canst thou make a picture of him or dust thou needest gifting first?¡±


    I said, ¡°I¡¯m Josh Bear, the Fairy king thou art are looking for.¡±


    She gestured for me to get on the stage. ¡°This gentleman just informed me that he is the King of this realm. Your highness, the stage is thine.¡±


    I stepped to the front of the stage. ¡°I¡¯m a king but I don¡¯t know how to talk like one so please put up with my awkwardness. Thou dust not have to leave. Thou dust not have to pledge thyself to my service. I know what it is like to lose a home and a life. I know what it¡¯s like to miss people who I thought would be with me forever.


    ¡°I am not complaining, what would be the point and with every loss and every tear, I think I profited in every way except being able to stay close to those I cared about. But enough about me. I haven¡¯t seen this realm and I hear six hundred years have passed. All I have seen is this lovely hall and it, by itself seems like more than I deserve. It is grand, and beautiful. I look forward to seeing more of it. If thou hast lodgings and place thou are used to living, don¡¯t feel a need to leave just because I showed up. I don¡¯t know what arrangements will be needed, but I will try to accommodate anyone who wants to continue to use this place as their home.


    ¡°Who knows, today I am the king of this realm, but tomorrow everything may change. I don¡¯t know everything about Fairyland economics, I don¡¯t know if I can feed and support a lot of folk and I am not sure I want to manage a lot of things.


    ¡°Thou hast gotten along, kept things ordered and built things for hundreds of years. I see no reason that anyone would have to stop on my account. If we can afford it, I have no reason to break anything apart.¡±


    I stopped and looked at the people gathered. They were quiet as I talked, but I wasn¡¯t certain that the entire crowd could hear me.


    The man I had stood beside earlier started clapping. More clapping started up and then people in the crowd started to stand.


    A burly man stepped forward and made a show of dusting himself off. Then he gazed at me and shook his head. ¡°I can tell the sound of a weakling who lucked into a Fairy Realm. I like this place far too much to let you ruin it. He jumped onto the stage. I was taller, but he outweighed me by a lot and he was all hard muscle.


    I spun, he reacted and jumped to avoid my low sweep. I grabbed his leg, continued my spin and he smashed into the stage hard. I felt magic and then the air in my lungs went bad. I let myself pass out and left my body. I dropped under the stage and came up inside him. I obstructed his airways with gossamer.


    ¡°Looks like we both die. I have come back from the dead more than once, and this time I will have assistance coming back. I doubt you have a good plan for this.¡±


    I let myself drift above his body and saw the spell he had that made the oxygen inert. I broke his spell and watched my body cough. Then I was pulled back into my body and I got up. I asked the crowd. ¡°Will he be a good boy if I let him live? Or do I need to make a strong example of him to warn the next one?¡±


    The woman said, ¡°You can always banish him from the kingdom.¡±


    I said, ¡°I had this place set up to banish in this sort of instance, but it looks like something happened over the last six hundred years.¡±


    The man pounded his palm against the floor. It seemed like a signal that he had accepted defeat. I got close to his ear to whisper and then decided to skip the melodrama and the warning. If he didn¡¯t understand then he was clueless. I got rid of the gossamer and he gasped for air.


    Standing, I said, ¡°I respect his wanting to keep this place from going to ruin. I have only seen this one room and I want it to last. Am I going to look weak by being merciful?¡±


    The man sat up braced himself with an arm and coughed violently.


    #


    Joris, the man who attacked me, pointed out to the sea. ¡°That one is the oldest ruins restored. The one to the left of it is the ruins as ruins but a bit less worn down. We have twenty-nine versions of Malta. We didn¡¯t have room or time for making Cyprus. That will have to be another project. The Malta we are on is what we call Fantasy Malta. It has everything we could restore and still have the best of each generation present. I personally prefer the 1580 version, but I did a lot of work on that island so I guess I would.¡±


    Calypso asked, ¡°Twenty-nine Maltas? Are they populated?¡±


    Joris said, ¡°We barely have enough folk to make Fantasy Malta feel inhabited. His highness Bear¡¯s allowing the builders to stay was probably wise. More than a few have bumped into me and warned me not to cause anymore trouble. He¡¯s gone and made himself more than a little bit popular and the Fairies that build Fairylands are not the sort anyone wants to get on the wrong side of.¡±


    Calypso took my arm and pulled me close. ¡°You have been moping around scared I was going to leave you. Between us we have thirty Maltas. Let¡¯s try to keep them intact.¡±


    I smiled and then I was summoned.


    ¡°Onion here. Can I visit the Maltas? I want to see what my Hero has gotten for a kingdom.¡±


    I brought Onion through. As Onion introduced himself to the small group that was giving Calypso and I a tour of the Fairyland, I remembered that Onion was a plotter and may have planned for a lot of this. If I was his hero, then I was probably cursed worse that even I thought. Hero¡¯s lives are never easy.


    I gestured to Joris. ¡°You know Onion, Joris here has all the makings of a truly superior hero.¡±


    Onion winked at me. ¡°I have been thinking that myself. But don¡¯t you worry, I have no plans to abandon you.¡±


    The End of Book 1