Reader Beware

Chapter 4

            “You still haven’t told me what a Shinmo is,” Rika said.

            “I’ll tell you, but you need to follow me.” Damek didn’t wait for her, but took off in the direction opposite from the one Rika had arrived in. Down a narrow trail that was almost hidden by the trees that flanked it. Only when she’d caught up, having had to run once she finally shook herself out of her stupor, he said “Shinmo are nasty little monster. They’re not terribly strong by themselves, but they always travel in packs. Thankfully for us, they’re nocturnal. Shinmo are around knee-height, very thin, almost skeleton looking, but with very large mouths filled with very sharp teeth. They’ll eat anything as long as it’s meat. Including each other, if there’s no other food available. That’s why we need to be well away from here before night falls.”

            Rika moved faster, gaze darting around the trees, not trusting the sun’s height to keep them safe, even though it was directly overhead. “How far to the town?”

            Damek, after seeing her wide-eyes and pale skin, chuckled. “We’re not in that much danger. We should hit the road within an hour or two. They rarely come that far. From there it’s only another two to reach Saimore. We should be inside the walls well before the sun sets. Which reminds me, I never properly thanked you for getting me out of that.”

            She smiled a bit, shaking her head. “Don’t worry about it. Anyone would have done the same. And you’ve helped me. I had no idea where I was. I was going to try to find somewhere in the forest to hole up for the night,” she said, shivering slightly. Her imagination was already painting the picture of hundreds of little Shinmos sneaking up on a sleeping version of her.

             “Nah, I owe you more than that. How about this? I promise to help you get home or back to school, or wherever it is you came from. That’ll settle our debt nicely, I think,” he said, nodding to himself. “So, where are you from?”

            “Canada.”

            “What country’s that in?”

            Fear filled her stomach with ice. “It is a country.”

            Damek stared at her, then shook his head. “Okay, what continent’s it on?”

            “North America,” she whispered, already knowing what his response was going to be.

            And he didn’t disappoint. “I’ve never heard of it. Tell me again, how did you get to the forest?” He said, his frown creasing his brow.

            “It was the book. I picked up this book and school and opened it. When I closed it, I was in the forest. I have no idea how it happened or how to get back.”

            Damek whistled. “Must have had one demonically strong transport spell on it to bring you here. And without you noticing. The one and only time I got a transport spell cast on me, I could hear air rushing by me the entire time and I felt sick. It’s why I don’t take them. But you happen to be in luck. There’s a transport mage living in Saimore. I can take you to him, and he’ll probably be able to send you back. Or at least to someone who can send you home.”

            “Seriously?” Rika said, feeling hope rise painfully up to her throat.

            “Very seriously. As seriously as…as training is to me!”

            She grinned at him. “Thank you! Thank you so much!”

            Damek flushed and looked away. “It’s nothing. I owe you anyway,” he muttered.

            Practically humming, Rika shook her head. “No, you don’t. Thanks!”

            He shrugged, avoiding her gaze, cheeks still red. Rika saw this and said “What kind of training do you do?”

            Damek looked at her then, eyes lighting up. “I’m a martial artist. I’ve been developing my own style of unarmed combat and I’ve been working on improving it. One day, I’d like to teach it to others, after I get enough of reputation as a skilled fighter, of course. I’ve already perfected one super move. I call it the Earth Wave. See, I modified the Earth Shake from the Nature Fist style. It just causes your opponents to lose their balance. But I found, if you change the angle of impact, you can actually make the ground jump up and hit your attackers. It’s like making a wave in a small pond by hitting the water. Except it’s harder with the ground. But I’ve got it down. I could teach it to you, if you want. Unless you’re already learning a different style…?”

            She shook her head, smiling inwardly at his enthusiasm. “I’m afraid my karate lessons only lasted a week. They took me away from my books too much. And I’d love to learn, but I don’t think I’m going to be here long enough to have time to master it.”

            “Oh. Yeah…I suppose you won’t. If this transport mage isn’t strong enough to send you home, I’ll happily escort you to one who is. And I can teach you on the way. You could be my first student!”

            Rika laughed while making a mental note not to ask him any more questions about martial arts. The light in his eyes was approaching fanatical in its excitement. “Okay then, it’s a deal. So, have you been to this town a lot?”

            As Damek launched into a story about what other martial artists lived in the town, the styles they studied, and what moves they’d exchanged with him, Rika came to a realization. It didn’t really matter what she said to Damek. He could turn pretty much any and every conversation into one about unarmed combat.

            She repressed a sigh. Still, it could be worse. At least if trouble showed up, she’d have someone to help her deal with it.