“That’s ridiculous. Not only is it impossible but it’s a waste of time.” He said walking in slowly, dragging behind him a large suitcase on wheels. Doc stared at the faces looking back at him.
“You’re the last one to be filled in. If it weren’t for the kid,” Nobia said blowing a cloud of smoke into the air. “I’d have left you here.”
“Yes, and you’d be dead before you got through.” Doc responded. “None of you can mask yourselves well enough without me here.”
“We’re heading straight to Teros. I imagine by now they already know more than we do. We’ll make our plans after speaking to them.” he informed Doc. Turning to the others, he continued, “Darwin and Arrol you two help Doc with his things, Brielle and I will catch up.”
“What happened to this being an escort?” Darwin joked. Nobia shot a sideways look at him and walked past them into Brielle’s room.
Closing the door behind himself, he sighed before turning around. He could feel burning yellow eyes against his back. “Belaska? Really?!” She said huffing angrily, grabbing things from hangers in her overstuffed, tiny closet nestled in the corner of the cramped room. “And why didn’t you warn me that everyone was coming?! Or that there was any type of mission?!” Brielle continued stuffing an oversized bag with her things.
“Didn’t want you to worry,” Nobia responded. “And this isn’t a mission. We’re just informing the Council at Teros what is happening here. If that happens to mean that we get to go back home, then so be it.”
“If it was that easy to get home this whole time, then why did we stay for this long?” Brielle aggressively tied her bag and slung it onto her back. “Next time, tell me before you make decisions. I’m not a child.”
“Well, good thing I have someone around as smart as you, huh?” he smirked, hoping for a smile from her. “Anyway, we’re heading for the gate…when you’re ready.”
“I’m ready and I packed your bag already,” she said. “It’s in your room, on your bed.”
Nobia opened the door laughing, “Always one step ahead of me.”
Smiling to himself he walked across the apartment, empty and quiet once again. Entering his room from the kitchen, he grabbed a tattered, beige bag from his room and looked over the place where he had lived for years. The cracking, chipped paint on the walls, water-stained and ugly. But it was his ugly. Or at least it had been. He backed out of the door and shut it behind himself softly. Walking away, he looked over to Brielle who was waiting for him near her door. Giving a nod, he headed to the door and they walked out together. Exiting the building, they could see that Doc and the others were waiting for them on the sidewalk in the cold, misty darkness. What little light there was flickered from the streetlights.
“Doc, lead the way. Put up a shield in case anyone sees these two.” Nobia said pointing to Darwin and Arrol. “We don’t want another ‘Jersey Devil’ situation.”
“That was not my fault!” Darwin exclaimed. “And I was nowhere near any goats.”
“Let’s just be careful this time.” Nobia laughed. Each of them covered their faces with their jacket’s hoods and began walking in silence. Around a corner into an alley painted in thick darkness, Nobia sniffed the air. His eyes flashed like mirrors keeping watch on their surroundings. Exiting into the empty street and through the fog that plumed from a nearby gutter, they continued down the dew-covered pavement.
Stopping next to a streetlight, Doc turned to Nobia. Nodding Nobia placed his hands in his pockets and walked across the street to a worn park entrance, disappearing into the darkness. “All of you stay still,” Doc said, carefully retrieving a small brown pouch from his coat pocket. Breathing into it, he dropped it onto the ground. Instantly, a thick mist began pouring out, covering the air around them, clouding their vision.
As the mist cleared moments later, Nobia stood in front of them holding a small man up by his neck. With a flick of his wrist, he snapped the man’s neck and dropped him on the ground.
Brielle jumped and maid a small sound.
“Calm down. It’s only a doll.” Nobia said. The man’s lifeless body hissed and melted into a mound of black clay. “He’s been following us since we left the alley. Someone knows what we’re doing.” Nobia continued waving his hand at the green smoke bubbling up from the oily pile of remains. Sniffing the air, he continued, “There are two more raiding my apartment, so it looks like we just missed them. Let’s get the hell outta here before they figure out their spy was found out.”
“Black clay…that’s-“ Darwin said nervously.
“Yeah, I know who it is. I just didn’t expect our little expedition to be found out so quickly.” Nobia spit. “Now, get to the gate. Arrol and I will keep watch here until I know you’ve reached it and then we’ll join you with the others and pass through together.”
“Don’t do anything stupid,” Brielle added looking back at him with her large yellow eyes.
“You know me.” He answered turning away with a grin, motioning to Arrol to follow. “See you in a bit.” Nobia walked slowly around the nearest corner into darkness. Arrol nodded, quickly reaching his slender clawed fingers out of his cloak and removing it to reveal a pair of large black wings attached to a thin body covered in intricately crafted garments towering over the others. Gently placing the cloak around Brielle, he bent down softly to kiss her head before hastily walking to join Nobia. In seconds, they were gone.
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Doc cleared his throat, breaking the awkward silence. “Don’t worry about them. They can handle themselves I’m sure. Let’s hurry and get where we are going.” Brielle nodded and the three began walking down the abandoned street into the unlit park, melting into the shadows of the nearby trees.
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Nobia launched himself into the air of the alleyway. His hand transforming and wrapping his slender clawed fingers onto the railing of a window grate. Pushing off from the wall, he leaped to the ledge of the roof. Lifting himself swiftly, he knelt on the tattered flat cement top. He stopped and sniffed the air slowly, taking in the night that lay around him.
“Hmm,” he grinned standing upright. Reaching into his jacket pocket, he retrieved a beaten soft pack of off-brand cigarettes, tapping the pack and removing one.
Arrol flew up with a gust of wind landing quietly next to him. “Is he here?” He asked, looking back at the direction of the others.
“That’s the question, isn’t it?” Nobia replied placing the slightly bent cigarette in his mouth. Snapping his fingers, the end of the cigarette caught fire, calming to bright embers in seconds.
“You won’t be able to smell me coming with that burning.” A shrill voice stated from in front of them.
“Well, there’s your answer.” Nobia sighed, breathing out a plume of smoke. “Do you plan on coming out or will we be talking to the thinner, more invisible you?”
A cloud of black feathers shot into the air from the street below, landing several feet from them in a formless mass. It began to melt together and upwards into the shape of a dark-haired young man in a pinstriped suit. The man’s left ear was missing, the area surrounded by three large scars tracing the curves of his head. Adjusting his tie, the man cleared his throat and brushed the non-existent dirt off from his suit. “Better?” came the smooth voice from his newly formed mouth.
“Well, you’re still ugly as ever, Rasul. And why is it that if you can change into whatever you want, you can never seem to grow that ear back?” Nobia answered.
“Souvenir, I guess. Reminds me of the wolf at my door.” Rasul replied folding his arms calmly. The two seemed calm and relaxed, as though they had been friends for years, but Arrol stood stone still.
“I’m beginning to think you’ve lost your touch.” Nobia continued. “Gorum? That man has never been polite to me a day in my life. Hopefully, you liked my performance, though I may have been a bit dramatic.”
A sneer crawled across Rasul’s face. “It doesn’t matter now. You’re away from anyone who could change what I’m going to do to you.” He retorted, his voice dissolving into a sharp tone.
“Maybe this time we can fix that lopsided head of yours.” Nobia laughed, crunching the embers of his cigarette into his open palm.
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Brielle, hearing a loud screech echoing from behind her, stopped and turned to look back. She sat still for a moment, her eyes searching for the origin of the noise in the shadows but there was nothing.
“They’re fine.” Doc’s voice flowed calmly into her ear, breaking her concentration. She nodded in silent agreement and continued walking on the path. It quickly narrowed as they continued their descent into what was becoming a thick forest. The trees surrounding them stood with flashing claws and gnarled faces; monsters frozen in time. The city lights faded into the horizon; slivers of moonlight were all that could be seen.
“We’ll stop here,” Doc said leaning against a tree. “At least until the other two get here.”
“Well, you won’t have to wait long,” Nobia said as he hopped down from a nearby tree. Arrol flew in from the shadows overhead landing next to him. A roar echoed from where they had been. Everyone in the group jumped at the screech with the exception of the Nobia and Arrol.
“If you’re here, who is that?” Brielle asked nervously.
“I decided to make a couple of dolls myself. Rasul is up there fighting some smoke dolls of what he thinks are Arrol and I. I wouldn’t have minded staying a bit longer to watch.” Nobia grinned.
“Rasul?” Brielle said wide-eyed. “Belaska’s son? I thought you killed him in the war.”
“Well apparently everyone I killed is just popping back up.” Nobia laughed, bumping Arrol on the arm.
“This isn’t a game Nobia,” Brielle said glaring.
“Then we’d better get going. Doc, if you don’t mind.” Nobia answered waving his hand forward toward the path ahead of them.
As they approached a clearing, a massive oak tree could be seen in the center. Where normally ancient trees sapped the life from the ground around them leaving barren ground, this one grew bright green grass and flowers whose colors could be seen even in the darkness. Its age was unknown even by the present company and it commanded silence from the creatures that lived among it. Doc stopped at the entrance and turned to face the others. “As you all know we can’t enter in these forms unless we release our human selves. Does each of you have your seals?”
Nobia held up his right arm in the dark to reveal a white circular beaded bracelet carved with faintly glowing symbols. “This isn’t our first rodeo.” He continued smugly. “Although, it has been a few years.”
“I will begin opening the gate,” Arrol said, walking into the clearing towards the ancient tree.
“How do you plan to do that?” Doc asked. “We have been stuck here for years and the gate just happens to work now?”
Arrol turned to look at Doc. “Remember your place. I owe you no explanation,” he replied. Turning to face the tree, he lifted his hands, palm open, and closed his eyes. Exhaling slowly, he opened his green glowing eyes to look upon the ancient tree and began to speak in a foreign tongue.
Doc growled under his breath and closed his eyes, his transformation beginning. From the tips of his fingers it began to spread, his skin began to dry and crack into the bark of a tree. Simultaneously, his beard and hair began growing into twigs with a few leaves attached to each one. As the metamorphosis ended, he stretched his thick oaken limbs and each creaked and moaned like the trunk of a tree swaying in an angry storm.
“Sorebi optu, Arrol, tarin Kol Lohk’tas. Sorebi Kol Lohk’tas ega mahn. Optu tarin molas, Kaiagoth.” Arrol’s voice echoed in their ears in the foreign language and English simultaneously. “I stand keeper of doors, as you have given us passage to this world. I call upon you to open once again. Give us passage home.” Silence consumed the glade for the moments after.
Finally, the tree lurched within and a thin mouth cracked from the center of the tree. “And why should I do that?” hissed the voice from the tree.
“Ki lok hidan Modas.” Arrol’s voice echoed again in their ears. “I command it as your King.”
“The world beyond is not ruled by the words of mortal bottom feeders.” The voice boomed shaking the ground. “What proof have you that you are what you say?”
Arrol closed his eyes and a faint light began to glow near the center of his head. A symbol formed and as it formed it burned itself into the flesh of the tree whose voice tore at the ears of anyone in range. “Your word is law.” The voice trembled and the mouth of the giant face grew wide and began to bathe the area in soft green light.
Everyone sat for a long moment in silence. “Works for me,” Nobia said. “Let’s get out of here before we get stuck fighting ol’ one ear.”
Striding forward, they each walked through the gaping mouth of the ancient giant into the warm yellow light of the gate and into the other side.