Elli
October 2, in the year of 8845, Reminis Calendar (RC)
When Elli woke up, she saw herself lying in a dimly lit room.
Marko was dabbing her chest with a damp cloth.
Howling, she slapped his hand away. "Get off me!"
"Easy, lady, I just saved your life!"
Elli sat up on the bed and found herself covered merely in her undergarments. Wailing, she ran her fingers through the mattress, searching for a towel or a blanket. When she could find none, she covered her bosoms with a pillow, scowling at Marko concurrently.
He returned her stare with a bemused expression. His arms crossed over his chest and his full lips pouted, whistling. "I've seen nude women more than my fingers and toes can count."
"You are a creep! Give me back my clothes!" Elli sobbed, fighting back her tears.
Marko's smirk vanished and he waved his hands frantically. "You must've misunderstood. I am a healer, not a womanizer. Here, drink this. It helps restore your stamina."
He passed her a glass of golden brown liquid; Elli's hands remained on her lap.
"Go on, I wouldn't spend the whole night saving you, and poison you in the end. This is honey crumb mixed with cocoa powder. You'll like it."
Elli hesitated. Marko's words sounded rational. Why would he kill someone he fought so hard to save? Gingerly, Elli took a sip of the drink, and a faint smile lit up her face. She took two sips more. Marko waited for her to finish the drink before dabbing the cloth into a bowl with peach liquid in it. Without asking for permission, he brought the cloth to her cheek, and Elli slapped his hand away again. Marko grabbed her fists to calm her, but his action made her more furious.
Marko had no choice but to step down from the bed. He didn't seem to have a way with woman.
"So-- Sorry. Please, trust me. This is rosemary juice, hard to come by even in the wild."
When Elli's emotion had calmed down, Marko sat on the bed carefully. He looked at Elli before lifting his hand which was still holding the wet cloth. Elli nodded. When the cooling liquid made contact with her body, Elli felt a weird yet soothing tickle coursing through her veins.
Peach mist swirled on her skin, like threads stitching the wounds on her cheek and her neck.
Marko examined the bite wound on Elli's sheen.
To Elli's surprise, it didn't look black, like what she used to see in movies.
"It's a relief that a Vampist's bite isn't hazardous. It's their staffs that we should be afraid of."
Minutes later, the clotted blood was cleaned and the wounds closed up, leaving faint purplish bruises. Marko went to a wardrobe, fetching out black woolen tunics and a black travelling cloak. "They belonged to my mother, her favourites when she was alive."
"What happened to her?" Elli asked while pinning her cloak.
Marko turned his back and wiped the wardrobe with his palm, not willing to retell the tragedy he strove to forget. Elli gulped down her awkwardness and looked around the... windowless cubicle. The faucet attached to a kitchen cabinet turned on by itself and the water washed the dirty dishes. Algae crawled from the wall to the ceiling like the hairs of demons, threatening to dump their dampness on the dwellers. The only light that lit up the room was from a candle.
While she was studying the potions lining along the cabinet, a tickling sensation brushed against her heel. She squinted and saw thumb-sized pixies sweeping the floor with miniature broomsticks. Wincing at the tickling sensation, she repositioned herself on the bunk, and her eyes fell on the bedside table. A clock sat on it, showing 1501 hours. Next to it was a white calendar. She narrowed her eyes to get a more vivid vision on the words scrawling on it.
This was the first time she saw a calendar written by hand, instead of in prints. She squinted and was surprised to know the year marked on it was 8845. She checked her wrist watch and was glad that it was still working. The date on the screen showed October 2, 2013. Feeling perplexed, she looked up at the calendar again. The date was similar to the figures on her watch, though the year was of a huge gap. 8845?
"There's something wrong with your date record," said Elli.
"No, it's accurate. A wizard never gets messed up with the date."
"Right." Elli's head was still spinning, and she chose to accept the fact that the year of this magical realm was different with the humans'. "Where am I actually?"
"In my humble abode, at the town of Tangle, the western-most part of the Realm of Reminis."
"Right." Elli hugged her legs to her chest. Memories and pictures began to form in her head in a slow motion. So many things had happened in the past month. Questions kept battering her brain. There were things that she didn't comprehend, and things that she knew were true but chose not to believe. There were things she would never forget, and someone she would never forgive. What hurt her more was that she couldn't even bury her father's body.
But before she avenged him, she needed to find answers to her questions. Her forehead creased as she asked, "Who are you?"
"I am a wizard, a Black-Born."
Marko sat on the bunk and lowered down his cloak collar. The black serpent coiled around his neck, forming a B word. Amazed, Elli touched it, and it slithered to Marko's chest.
"There are three ranks in the sorcery world — Golden-Born, Silver-Born, and Black-Born. As you can see, the serpent on our body is our identification. The magician blood actually runs the strongest in our veins, and the other ranks are envious of our strength. They accused us of practicing dark magic years ago and things change. We can't attend school, can't get a pet, and don't receive medical aids. We can only learn spell works through books or public fights."
"Can't you protest?"
"Protest? Cold wars might happen and that will disrupt the peace of the realm. Plus, our Chief Sorcerer is a Golden-Born. He doesn't care about us. This place here, is called the Squatters. A year ago, he had even compelled us to live here, in this underground tunnel."
"But to live in an underground tunnel, that's inhumane! All that excrement and trash and rats, that's no way for anyone to live." After the strenuous night she had gotten through, Elli's voice was low and hoarse, almost lifeless. Her own protest wouldn't work wonder.
"It's not as bad as you think it is. Reminis has another sewer to handle the excrement. We're just being compelled to live here. This underground tunnel has its own beauty, I can guarantee you that." Marko's expression hardened as he continued, "Reminis used to be a free land. Each kin is assigned an equal size of land to stay. Mages gather in Tangle Town, while the Elves love the evergreen East Wood. No war has ever risen, not until the birth of the Vampists."
"The Vampists!" Elli's fists tightened. "Why had nobody stopped them? They escaped a month ago! Didn't you guys receive any news about it? And-- and those mutated Vampists! All this while, they're never trapped under that Mount Tramp or whatever it is."
"This... Uhm, one year ago, it was King Eremiel, the Chief Lucifer who had sealed the mark at Mount Tampas' entrance before his death. The mark, however, has no effect on the mutated Vampists. We didn't hear any news about the breakout though. I guess the Vampists are being discreet. Plus who would think of such thing to happen? The Lucifers had sacrificed themselves to bring us one whole year of peace. We had let our defense down ever since."
Elli hugged her legs tighter. Marko seemed like the only one she could rely on now; if he also had no idea of what had exactly happened...
Marko quickly added, "There's always a way. Don't stress yourself. There are things we need to embrace to be strong. Here, I got this for you, thought you'd like to keep it."
He passed her a photo frame.
Elli took it with shivering fingers. A teardrop fell on the frame as she saw her family portrait.
Her mother died the night of her tenth birthday, and her father had been avoiding the topic ever since. Elli knew that he was hiding something from her, but she had never pestered the issue. At least her father had taken the parenting roles well. Every night, her father came home with his fingers blistered due to the heat from the furnace. Despite his fatigue, he insisted to cook her nutritious dinner and read her bedtime stories about the magical world.
To help lighten their financial constraint, Elli had taken an evening waitressing job. Her father advised her about the danger of coming home late, but she didn't take his words seriously. If I listened to father, I would be home earlier and we would be able to fend off the Vampists that night... Father wouldn't have died. Her body trembled as tears struggled to stream out of her eyes. Marko stroked her back and comforted her. Mother was gone, father was gone, and now I'm alone. Realizing the sudden twist of fate, fear enveloped her. The Vampists must be still lingering around Detroit. The lives of the citizens in Detroit were at stake...
Bracing herself, she asked, "What's the Blue Portal? I've lived twenty years and never noticed it."
"I thought the same, not until I saw you going through it. I was sneaking out for a midnight stroll when I saw shadows going into the forest. I followed them and found you. I wasn't sure what was happening though. If I reacted faster, you wouldn't have to go through this."
Elli placed a hand on his. "I-- I am fine. Go on."
"I had later understood that the portal would only open up twice a month when two blue half-moons join. None of us have ever noticed the moons as they appear visible only if the right spell is chanted. The portal closes up an hour later, when the light of the moons fades away."
"With the portal, they can raid Detroit anytime. We must stop them!"
"Easy, lady, we can't make any rush moves. You see, not all of the Vampists can use magic and they are still weak. We can defeat them if we act quick. But now we have a problem. It seems that once they wear the chain-mail, even my celestial blade can't hurt them. I need a plan... I need a plan..." Marko pinched the bridge of his nose as he mumbled. "I could try track them down. Having been taken hostage by them, do you know where their base is?"
Elli shook her head. "They are like nomads. They bound my eyes along the journey, and had only removed the blindfold when they fed me. They never stayed in the same site for too long."
"Not a problem, I can seek advice from the Seers. I need to loot some weapons too. Meanwhile, you can stay here."
"They killed my father! I won't stay here and do nothing about it!" She balled her fist.
"You? You can't even lift a sword." The familiar smirk found its rendezvous on his face.
"Of course I can! I learned martial arts in high school. I can use a sword pretty good too."
"Are you sure you can do this? The Vampists are merciless, they—"
"I am not a mama's girl, wizard."
"All right, get ready then."
Marko dived off the bunk to retrieve his bag. He first packed a pair of travelling cloaks. He then clasped his red wand, a flute, and some hawthorn powder pouches on his belt.
"Why do you need to pack so much? In Detroit, we have vending machines and convenience stores everywhere."
Marko shot her a stern look and shoved a bag into her palm. He told her to bring along a dictionary. It had black covers with golden words, reading, Ancient Tongues of the Sprites.
"Trust me, it will come in handy."
Marko said with his back facing Elli, as he continued to ransack his cabin. He last packed three canteens of rosemary juices and a pouch of coins, before heaving a sigh of relief; part of it was because Elli had stopped ranting, and was gaping at him with a what-now look on her face.
Wiping a bead of sweat from his forehead, he said, "Now, I want you to meet someone." He walked to the front door and turned around, "Uhm, do you know how to swim?"
Elli nodded. Unease and anticipation lanced up her veins. She was going to explore this magical kingdom, a place she always believed it existed, a place she'd kill the murderer of her father.
Marko cast an assuring glance at her and pointed to the door. "Well then, ladies first."