Monsters & Magic

Cora and Seth made their way down a road of smooth stone. Along either side, more buildings rose out of the ground like fossils that had been imbedded there for centuries. None of them appeared to be more than one or two stories in height, their edges all smooth and rounded rather than the sharp corners of the city’s brick buildings.

Heads turned as they passed groups of people walking together. Instead of the fancy overcoats and high boots Cora was used to seeing, these people wore colorful cloaks that swayed with their movements. On their feet were the strangest strappy things she had ever seen, like the bottoms of shoes tied onto their feet with strings.

She picked up the pace as Seth hurried down the street. They rounded corners and rushed down two more streets that looked the same as the first, before finally coming to a stop in front of one of the buildings.

“We made it,” he said in a huff. He knocked twice on the wooden door.

When it opened, a taller, dark-skinned man, older than they were, stood in the doorway. “You’re back. I was beginning to worry.” His face showed no emotion until he saw Cora. “Come inside,” he said quickly, moving to the side so they could pass. He closed the door behind them and eyed them with a look of concern. “What’s going on?”

The room was simple and rectangular with little in the way of decorations. Windows in the ceiling let in the sun’s light. On one side sat an oval table with chairs set up around it and a counter against the wall. Plants hung from the ceiling, drying out, above the counterspace. The other side of the room held what must have been a sitting area. Large colorful pillows were arranged on the floor beneath a shelf on the wall. At the far end of the room, a set of doors indicated more rooms.

“I’ll explain everything, but first, she’s hurt.” Seth gestured toward Cora. “Can you help?”

The man nodded. “Of course.” He headed across the room to the door on the left, and Seth hurried to follow.

Cora followed at a much slower pace.

Two cots sat against two of the walls, and a workbench filled the space between them against the far wall. Shelves along the top of the walls held what looked like blankets. Cora’s mind immediately began working on a plan to steal a couple before going back to the city. They would be useful in the coming winter.

“Alright, let’s see that arm,” the man said, indicating one of the cots. Rather than wait for a response, he turned toward the workbench and pulled open a drawer.

Cora didn’t move. No doctor ever looked twice at people like her.

“It’s okay,” Seth encouraged, hopping on the cot to sit with his legs dangling over the side. “Matt is a healer. The best in Phaedra. He’ll fix you up easy.”

“It’s Mattias.” The man shot a glare at Seth. “Don’t call me Matt.”

Seth rolled his eyes. “I don’t know why. It’s way easier to say.” He faced Cora again. “What are you waiting for? Come on.”

Her arm throbbed and she took a slow breath before going to sit on the cot, leaving as much space between them as she could. “Explain.” She directed her focus on him while Mattias began prodding at her shoulder.

“Right. So, back in the cave, we went through a portal from your world to this one, Phaedra,” Seth said.

Cora stifled a cry when Mattias found the painful spot in her shoulder.

"Are you alright?" Seth asked.

She clenched her jaw and gave a stiff nod, unable to trust her voice.

"You've done quite a bit of damage to it. How long has it been like this?" Mattias asked. He picked up a small glass jar and dipped his fingers in, then carefully lifted her sleeve to rub the cold goop onto her shoulder.

She shook her head, breathing hard. If she opened her mouth, there was no doubt she would start crying, and she wasn't about to show any sign of weakness.

"It's been four days," Seth answered. "I can explain," he added when Mattias shot him a look.

“I think you owe that to both of us,” Mattias confirmed, blue eyes narrowed.

Seth took a deep breath. “Well, I was getting ready to leave when they called an emergency family meeting. I was curious…” He shrugged as if this was a normal occurrence. “It’s not every day they keep someone in the basement… so I went to see and that’s when I met…” He looked at Cora.

She rolled her eyes and let out a sigh. “Cora.”

"Cora," he repeated with a smile. "I decided to stick around and find out what was going on, since Cora didn’t want to talk to me."

"I told you to leave me alone," she corrected through gritted teeth.

Mattias picked up a long roll of fabric and began to wind it around her arm before looping it over her neck.

"Right... But I couldn't do that. Not after I heard what they were going to do. So I broke her out and brought her here. It's the one place I know my family won't find you." He looked from Cora to Mattias and back as he spoke.

Cora narrowed her eyes at him. "Where exactly is here?" He wasn't making sense.

“I told you, this is Phaedra,” Seth said, motioning around the room as if it was the whole world.

Mattias stopped and stepped back. “Our world is similar to yours, connected by the portal you came through with Seth.”

"Not many people know about it. My family discovered it and used it to leave, that's how I know it," Seth explained.

"If they know about it, then how can this place be any safer?" Cora questioned.

"Well," Seth said with a sheepish smile, "They don't know about the tunnels, or that I broke you out." When she raised a brow, he continued quickly. "But more importantly, they've been banished. If they try to come back-"

“They won’t,” Mattias interrupted. “How does that feel?” he asked, turning his attention back to Cora.

She looked down at her shoulder, wrapped in fabric that was cleaner than anything she had ever worn. “A little better,” she answered.

The healer nodded. “Good. You can rest here.” Then he turned his attention on Seth. “Kitchen. Now.” He did not wait for Seth to follow before leaving the room in silence.

Seth gave Cora a sheepish look before following Mattias from the room.

Alone, she waited a moment before closing her eyes and tipping her head back to take a deep breath. She let it out slowly and glanced around the empty room. The door had been left ajar and the conversation drifted in to reach her.

“What’s your plan here, Seth?” Mattias asked, his voice low.

Seth hesitated before answering. “I haven’t gotten that far…”

“You brought her here. You need to have a plan,” Mattias said, his tone reproachful.

"I had to get her out! If you had been there, you would have done the same thing." He paused and lowered his voice. "You remember what my parents are like. They were going to torture in front of everyone, and then kill her... to make an example…"

In the silence that followed, a chill ran down Cora’s spine, settling in her stomach with nausea. She never should have stolen the watch. It had been a stupid mistake.

The wealthiest families in the city worked under the radar of the law. She knew they owned several of the shops along the main street and all the “rats” knew to avoid the alleyways where their goons patrolled. Desperation had made her foolish.

From the other side of the door, Mattias sighed. “How much does she know?”

“Nothing, I think. From what I heard, she has no family and no home. There’s a lot of them in the city…” His voice trailed off, and then he started again. “But I don’t think that’s right either. She’s different.”

“How in the name of the Ancient Magic would you know that?” Mattias asked, his voice full of disbelief.

“I… I don’t know, but I’m sure of it. She’s not one of them. She can’t be,” Seth insisted.

“What is that supposed to mean?” Mattias challenged.

“She’s different, not like the people of that world. I don’t know how, but I’m sure she’s not from there.”

Cora shook her head. Even the young kids who lived in the streets did not hope for such outrageous things.

“She can’t stay here,” the healer finally said.

“She can’t go back!” Seth insisted, raising his voice.

Mattias cut him off. “You can’t keep her here against her will, Seth. If she wants to stay, then you can find her a Shield. Otherwise, once she’s healed, you need to take her back.”

A heavy sigh came from the other room, followed by silence.

Her stomach churned as she thought over what Seth had said. All the street Rats stole. It was the only way to survive. None had ever been “made an example of” for it.

“Here,” Mattias said, breaking the silence. “Give her this. It’ll help with the pain.”

Footsteps signaled his approach before Seth appeared in the doorway. His expression changed and his face reddened when he met her eyes. “Oh. Um. Here. Matt says this will help with the pain.”

Cora eyed it before taking the cup from Seth. She smelled it, as if she would be able to detect poison if it was laced.

“It’s medicine. I promise, Matt wouldn’t hurt you. He’s a healer.” The look on Seth’s face almost made her feel bad for exercising caution.

“Whatever,” she finally said before downing the contents of the cup. What’s the worst that can happen? After what she had overheard, she couldn’t imagine much worse. She handed the cup back to Seth, refusing to make eye contact when he paused in the doorway. If he had something to say, he could go ahead and say it.

Alone again, she leaned against the wall and let her eyes fall shut.