Rell and The Rose

Ch. 27, Lost and Found

Lorcan

The cold hit me like a thousand needles, knocking the breath out of me, and putting a frenzied madness to my strokes. I'd always been a strong swimmer, but I might have been lost if not for the swift current that pulled me closer to the shore, almost as if it were eager for me to get there. I staggered out of the water, and drew my sword with hands shaking from the cold.

"I command thee stop!" I shouted, holding out a hand, shocked when no magic came to me.

The gargoyle's head whipped sideways, and he grinned with dagger sharp teeth, then launched himself towards me.

Where was my magic? But there was no time to find it, I jumped to the side, drew my sword and swung hard. The gargoyle's head thumped to the ground, splattering everything nearby with thick, black blood, myself included.

My breath came fast, and for a moment I stared down at his eyes as he slowly turned to smoke and disappeared, a horrible, sinking feeling in my chest. He hadn't listened to me. My magic hadn't come.

But I was suddenly distracted by a soft voice.

"You saved me." I turned and, for one brief moment, all my worries disappeared. Her dark hair fell like a curtain to one side, large chocolate brown eyes gazing up at me. She was wearing the most indecent clothes, trousers that fit tight and a shirt that showed off her belly, but on her it looked perfect somehow.

"Are you alright?" I suddenly remembered my manners, and held a hand out to her. She took it.

"Yes...Though I think I might I'm either dead or insane. I've been wandering around in this place for days now, and meeting the most awful creatures."

"You're not dead. This is the Dark Realm." But the words jarred in my head, and I suddenly remembered: My magic hadn't come. The gargoyle hadn't listened to me. I spun, a horrible, terrible fear rising in me.

A sea of water stood before me. And the land that rose all around me was bursting with every color imaginable.

Be careful of the magic, my son. It belongs to the land, and it is greedy for it back. It will trick you, even kill you to take it back. My mother's word.

The rose that guarded the realms was gone, which meant the realms were now opening and closing at will. The land had tricked me, and I'd accidently left the Dark Realm, my kingdom, behind. Without the rose, I had no power to get back. No power to close the realms. No power to protect my people. Looking down at the grass stained the black blood, I realized that it wasn't just my realm that needed protecting.

With that revelation I sat down hard on the grass beside the beautiful lady, and gave her a woeful smile. "I may be lost as well. My name is Lorcan."

Her smile would have broken a lesser man.

"Then maybe we can be lost together. I'm Cat."