Worlds Away and Worlds Aweird Read online

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  Worlds Away and Worlds Aweird

  James Hartley

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  An imprint of

  Musa Publishing

  Copyright Information

  Worlds Away and Worlds Aweird, Copyright © James Hartley, 2012

  All Rights Reserved. Except as permitted under the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without prior written permission of the publisher.

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  This e-Book is a work of fiction. While references may be made to actual places or events, the names, characters, incidents, and locations within are from the author’s imagination and are not a resemblance to actual living or dead persons, businesses, or events. Any similarity is coincidental.

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  Musa Publishing

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  Lancaster, OH 43130

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  “Rain” is a revised and re-edited version of the story first published in Silver Blade by Silver Pen Inc., 2010; “Half a Photograph” first published in Strange Mysteries II anthology by Whortleberry Press, 2009; “Someone Is Dying” first published in Desolate Places anthology by Hadley Rille Books, 2008; “Bloodbank Encounter” is a revised and re-edited version of the story first published in Vampires 2 by Man’s Story 2 Publishing Company, April 2008; “Too Damn Cold!” first published in Flagship by Flying Island Press, Sept. 2010; “Avenge Me!” first published in Lorelei Signal by Wolfsinger Publications, Jan 2008; “Barbecue” first published in Emerald Tales #2 by Scribblers and Ink Spillers, LLC, Oct. 2009; “Gralic” first published in HUNGUR Magazine #8 by Sam’s Dot Publishing, May 2008; “Alien Hunt” first published as “Classified: the Case of Mr. Green” in Sterling Web by Arachnid Publishing, Summer 1989; “My Girlfriend Wanda” first published in Beyond Centauri #27 by Sam’s Dot Publishing, Jan. 2010; “Accident Prone” first published in Written Word #11, by Written Word and Rebel Dawn Creative Forces, May 2008; “Hansel and Gretel” first published in Free Range Fairy Tales anthology by Whortleberry Press, 2010; “A Very Statuesque Woman” first published in Dark Valentine #1 by Dark Valentine Press, June 2010; “The Letter” is a revised and re-edited version of the story first published in Golden Visions Magazine, Jan/March 2008; “Tilt!” first published in Beyond Centauri #21 by Sam’s Dot Publishing, July 2008; “The Spacebum” first published in M-Brane SF #10 by M-Brane Press, Nov. 2009

  Published by Musa Publishing, October 2012

  ...

  This e-Book is licensed to the original purchaser only. Duplication or distribution via any means is illegal and a violation of International Copyright Law, subject to criminal prosecution and upon conviction, fines and/or imprisonment. No part of this ebook can be reproduced or sold by any person or business without the express permission of the publisher.

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  ISBN: 978-1-61937-345-7

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  Editor: Jessica Robinson

  Cover Design: David Efaw

  Interior Book Design: Coreen Montagna

  Content Warning

  This book contains adult language and scenes. This story is meant only for adults as defined by the laws of the country where you made your purchase. Store your books carefully where they cannot be accessed by younger readers.

  Dedication

  As always, to my wife, Antoinette, for all her support and assistance.

  And to my wonderful parents as well for always believing in me.

  Rain

  [What to do about an evil enchanted rainstorm?]

  THE WIZARD EUDORIC AND HIS APPRENTICE LUTHINDA stood and looked at the rain pouring down ten feet in front of them. It was a driving, raging downpour, knocking leaves off trees, flattening plants into the ground. The puddles of water filling every little hollow testified that it had been raining for quite some time, and the darkness of the clouds above gave the clear impression that it was not about to stop.

  Luthinda shook her head and said, “Do we really have to keep going into that?”

  “We have been sent by the Wizards Guild to aid King Leber of Leber at his personal request, and we must meet our obligation however wet it looks. The rain marks the border of his Kingdom. We cannot expect a King to come out to meet us, now, can we?”

  “No, of course not. But then, this must be a magical rain.”

  “Ah, Luthinda, you are learning. But come, tell me why you believe this rain is magical.”

  “Master, a real rain changes. It moves, it starts or it stops, the wind blows it. A real rain knows naught of the boundary between kingdoms. Hence this rain is magical, and from the look of it, I would say it has much to do with our journey.”

  “Good, very good. It is times like these that I almost cease to wish you were a boy, that I no longer regret my pledge to my dying cousin to apprentice her orphaned daughter.” Eudoric was looking at the rain and didn’t see the strange expression on Luthinda’s face. “Come, we must move on.”

  Each drew on a large cloak, and Eudoric made sure that the waterproofing spells were fresh. Then the tall gray-bearded man and the slender girl pushed through the boundary of the rain and started down the muddy road.

  Even the best of waterproof cloaks could not keep out all of a rain such as this one, and both were soaked when they finally reached the castle. Eudoric saw it looming up through the dimness and pointed to it.

  “We have arrived, Luthinda. Luckily the drawbridge is down.”

  “I doubt it matters, Master. We wouldn’t get much wetter wading the moat.”

  The two ran across the bridge and stopped under the shelter of the gate. For a minute they stood there, shaking off the water.

  A guard stepped out of a door in the stone wall, sword drawn and raised. “Who are you, drowned rats, that you dare to drip on the doorstep of the King’s castle?”

  Eudoric drew himself up to his full height, a head taller than the guard. “I am Eudoric the Wizard, and this is my apprentice. We come here at the personal summons of his Majesty King Leber the sixteenth of Leber, and if you value your head, you will lead us to him at once.” Then, as the guard turned toward the courtyard, he continued, “And you will take us through the inside passages. We are wet enough already.”

  The guard bowed and motioned them through the door. Eudoric heard him muttering, but all he caught were the words “Prime Minister” and “meddling wizard.”

  The path through the castle was long, and they had time to remove their cloaks and stuff them in their packs. Eudoric cast a quick drying spell, and by the time they reached the throne room they looked almost presentable. The guard escorting them made a quick gesture, and a line of waiting peasants was swept out of the way as Eudoric and Luthinda were led to the throne.

  Eudoric bowed low. “Greetings, Your Majesty. I am Eudoric, Master in the Wizards Guild. I have come at Your Majesty’s personal request, traveling over many lands to the aid of the throne of Leber. And this—” he gestured at Luthinda, who bowed also “—is my apprentice.” He heard murmurs as those present realized his apprentice was a girl, and decided a bit of exaggeration was called for. “Luthinda is the best and smartest apprentice in all the far fabled land of Atlantis.”

  The King nodded and looked impressed. “Eudoric, We thank you for coming to Our aid. In traversing the land from the border to the castle, you have already seen Our problem, this cursed and unending rain. Our court magician Landry, before he met his untimely end, pronounced it the work of evil sorcerers. But he had barely started trying to solve the spell before his death.”

  Eudoric made a mental
note to check into this. “Your Majesty, it would be such an honor to do this for you, that were it up to me, I would ask nothing but the chance to try. But our Guild has certain rules, which I have sworn to uphold—”

  The King interrupted. “Yes, yes, We know. A thousand pieces of gold, food, and lodging for you and your apprentice while you work. Travel expenses! Your Guild does well by you, Wizard. No matter, see the Major Domo about your rooms and the Chancellor about your money.” He stood up, and everyone else in the room scrambled to do likewise. “We declare this audience ended for the day,” he proclaimed, then spun on his heel and left through a small door behind the throne.

  The Major Domo was a brain brother of the guard who had led them in. “Certainly, Sir Wizard, one of the guest rooms in the east wing for you, and a fresh cot in the stable for your boy here.”

  “Hold!” roared Eudoric. “Two guest rooms together for me and my apprentice. In the Wizards Guild, not even apprentices sleep in the stable.”

  The Major Domo looked upset. “But, Sir Wizard, all the boys sleep in the stables.”

  “Are you blind as well as a fool? This is no boy—” he gestured at Luthinda “—this is the daughter of my dead cousin, whom I promised to keep safe. Do you think she would be truly safe in the stable with the other apprentices?”

  The Major Domo nodded grudgingly and said, “Perhaps not. But to give an apprentice a guest room—Ah! There are Sisters of the Goddess at the Temple, she could room with them?”

  Eudoric said, “No, she must be in a room near me. She is my apprentice, she assists me in many ways, and I may need her services at any time.”

  A sly smile appeared on the Major Domo’s face. “Ahhh! Now I understand. You may need her services. Let me think…” He mused for a minute. “There is a suite in the east wing with a drawing room, a bedroom, and a maid’s room. Would that do?”

  “Certainly. Even the Wizards Guild does not demand that an apprentice live as well as a master. A suite with a maid’s room would be perfect, and I can use the drawing room for a workshop. Take us there, if you please.”

  Eudoric was pleased he had finally gotten through to this blockhead. He would have been far less pleased had he heard the Major Domo later telling the other servants, “The Wizard has a girl apprentice, and she must be near as he may need her services at any time.” He would have been even less pleased had he heard all the laughter this invoked.

  Early the next day, Eudoric called for the records and effects of the late Landry, court magician. He began to study these, speaking aloud from time to time, although it was not clear if he spoke to himself or to Luthinda. Occasionally he tried spells to stop the rain, but to no avail. The rain continued to pour down in an endless flood, and as the days passed rumors of famine and plague among the peasants were spreading.

  It was almost three weeks before Eudoric found the nature of the rain spell. After an hour of mumbling over an ancient grimoire found in Landry’s trunk, he cried joyfully, “Aha, I have it.” He raised his voice. “Luthinda, come immediately and see this.”

  After a short delay, he heard her walk up behind him and say, “Yes, sir. What is it?”

  He pointed at the page of the big book and said, “Apprentice, it is the ancient amulet spell. There is no other that could go on so long without destroying the one who casts it.”

  “Then you will be able to stop the rain, Master?” Luthinda’s voice had a bit of a quiver. She threw her arms around him and kissed him.

  Eudoric was startled, and for a moment, just sat there allowing himself to be kissed. Then he noticed that he was getting wet, and that something else felt strange, also. He pulled his head back as far as her clinging arms would allow and looked down, then blushed. Luthinda was completely naked and dripping wet, and carrying a towel in one hand.

  “Luthinda, stop that!”

  She jumped back, then stood there in a pose Eudoric found disturbingly provocative.

  “Cover yourself with the towel, girl! What do you mean coming in here like that?”

  She wrapped the towel around herself, then said, “Many pardons, Master, but you did say to come immediately, did you not? And we are in our private quarters here, so I complied as any well-trained apprentice would.”

  “Yes, but all my previous apprentices have been boys! Oh, no harm done, I was just surprised. But please go get dressed, and don’t do it again.”

  “Of course, Master.” She ran out of the room, and was back again in less than a minute, fully clothed. “Now that you have found the spell, you can stop the rain?”

  Eudoric looked downcast. “Well, no, I cannot yet stop the rain. True, I know the spell used, but there are three parts to it. There is the spell itself, the amulet, and the controller. The spell is cast, and then it is sealed into the amulet, and as long as the amulet endures, so does the spell. After the amulet is sealed, it is bound to the life force of one single person, the controller. He is a layman, not a Wizard. As long as he lives, only he can destroy the amulet and cancel the spell. If the controller does not want to stop the spell, nothing on earth can do so, except the controller’s death.”

  Luthinda nodded thoughtfully. “Then there is nothing for it, Master, but that we must find and kill the controller.” Suddenly a dagger gleamed in her hand, spun through the air, and buried itself almost an inch deep in the oak bedpost. She walked over, pulled it out, and made it disappear again. “If you can find him, we won’t have any trouble with the other part.”

  “Luthinda, you amaze me. Where did you learn that?”

  “Oh, I had brothers, and when I was younger, I was rather more the tomboy than less.” She looked at Eudoric with a strange expression on her face and added, “I wonder if some don’t believe I am still more boy than woman.”

  “Come, girl, the hour grows late and I am tired. Tomorrow we will start searching for the amulet, and we may have to journey anywhere in the Kingdom. Get you to your bed, and I to mine; we need rest.” He started toward his room.

  In the dim light, neither saw the gaze of one of the portraits on the wall follow Luthinda until she entered the maid’s room.

  The next morning Eudoric arose and knocked on Luthinda’s door. Getting no response, he knocked louder, then opened the door a crack and called, “Apprentice! Arise, it is time to get to work.”

  There was still no answer. He pushed the door wide and looked in. The room was empty and in a shambles. He scarcely needed magic to tell him that there had been a struggle and that Luthinda had been taken against her will. He dashed out of the room, and within minutes was facing the Sergeant-at-Arms of the Palace Guard.

  “My apprentice has been abducted from our quarters. Call out the Guard and search for her! At once!”

  The Sergeant-at-Arms looked him over. “You are the Wizard Eudoric, and your apprentice is the girl Luthinda, correct?”

  “Of course. Do something!” The Guardsman’s attitude was raising Eudoric’s temper to the boiling point.

  “Calm down, Sir Wizard. The girl Luthinda was not abducted. She was taken in and given shelter by the Sisters of the Goddess, for her own good.”

  “But there was a struggle. It is clear that she fought against her kidnappers.”

  “Yes, perhaps, sometimes these girls mistake what is for their own good and what is not. But I was directed to tell you to go to the Temple here on the Palace Grounds and talk to the Sister In Charge. There, all will be made known to you.”

  Eudoric lost no time getting to the Temple and finding the Sister In Charge. She regarded him with a look of revulsion.

  “I know why you are here, you lecherous old goat. You want your doxie back. Well, that is not to be. One of the missions we Sisters are charged with is the succor of fallen girls like her. She is now safe from your foul advances.”

  For a long moment Eudoric stood there, blank amazement on his face, unable to speak. Finally he managed to choke out, “Lecherous? Doxie? I swear, Sister, the girl is my apprentice, and my niece besides, an
d I have never acted improperly with her. What is this slanderous accusation you make?”

  The Sister glared at him. “When you first arrived, you told the Major Domo that she must be near you as you might need her services at any time.”

  “What? I meant her services as my apprentice, to fetch tools and materials, to aid in the casting of spells, nothing more.”

  “Since then, you have been watched. Yesterday you were seen hugging, kissing, caressing the girl, as she stood there shamelessly naked. That is why we chose to help her last night, before you could abuse her yet again. Goat!” She spat the last word.

  “Wait, wait! Yesterday I found an important clue, and she got excited and kissed me. When I realized she was naked, I told her to dress. It was nothing. Anyway, she is my niece, daughter of my late cousin, we are family.”

  “So you say. But I have heard the stories and listened to the Palace talk about you and your mistress. Niece? Her mother is said to have been the great grand-daughter of your brother, whatever that makes her. Very close for such a distant relative, I’d say! Besides, that would make you well over a hundred, and here you are making a fool of yourself with an eighteen-year-old girl who should be married to someone her own age and raising a family instead of tramping all over the land.”

  Eudoric tried to reply, but the Sister gave him no chance.

  “I consulted with the Archpriest, and we agreed to rescue the girl. She has been removed from the Palace to a Convent, and after her six months as a Novice, she will be sworn to the Temple as a Sister of the Goddess. Now get out, you disgust me!”

  Eudoric stumbled back to his room. He tried to work, but found it difficult without Luthinda. Not only did she assist him with spells, but she provided someone with whom to talk out his problems. Finally he gave up and lay down on the bed, raging mentally at the Sister and her accusations. He had never abused Luthinda, never even thought about it. Never. Never?