Enaya: Solace of Time (3 page)

Chapter 4

Something New

Nile had a sense of floating. He looked to his side and saw Leo’s feet. He realized then that Leo was upside down, hanging in the blue haze that surrounded them. Woodlands had disappeared
,
and Nile suspected it was somewhere far below them, hidden beyond the blue mist and, somehow, they were flying high in the sky. He expected a sense of fear
,
but instead was amazed at the calm that overwhelmed him. He felt a tug on his ankle and looked down at Leo, who was moving his mouth but making no sound. Above him, a pinhole size of yellow grew swiftly in the distance. A sudden gust of air took his breath away
,
and he felt for a moment that he had been punched in the gut. The yellow spread out in all directions
,
swallowing the pleasant blue haze and, quicker than the blue flash that had ignited the voyage, their trip came to an abrupt halt as the bubble they were in seemed to spit them to the ground. The hard surface met them with a violent impact. Nile tried in vain to stop his uncontrolled roll. They came to rest together.

“I said to turn me back on my feet!” Leo said, rubbing the back of his head.

“What?”

“When I was tuggin’ on your ankle and you were lookin’ over at me, I said to turn me back on my feet.”

Nile’s eyes widened as he looked past Leo, climbing to his feet.

“You have got to stop ignorin’ me," Leo said as he stood. “Did you hear me, Nile?”

Nile remained silent, gazing past Leo into the sky. “What kingdom is this?” Nile asked. His voice cracked with fear.

Leo spun around. He joined Nile’s awe at the sight before them.

Towers stretched into the clouds. Signs displayed over the streets read what each shop harbored, and the sight of moving humanoids became clear. Loud metallic noises roared through the kingdom, and a contraption above them quickly slithered toward them on a sort of track. Smoke rose from several of the towers.

“So many castles and so very high,” Nile said.

“It . . . it’s a kingdom of giants,” Leo spat out.

Out in the distance, from the towering architectures, a giant bird came into view. It was shiny, with blue waves imprinted on the black metal. Nile gulped nervously and grabbed Leo’s arm.

“Dragons” he muttered.

The dragon turned toward them, slowly hovering their way. Nile’s heart raced faster as the fear became hard to control. His knees buckled and he cowered behind Leo.

The dragon didn’t move as quickly as Nile had heard, but a dragon was a dragon, and whether it was slow or fast, he didn’t want to find out. It landed near a building and the side of it opened. People began to scurry out of it.

“What?” Nile asked, stepping closer to it, confused as to what it actually was.

“Do you think it will kill us?” Leo asked.

“No, look!” Nile said, pointing.

From in-between two buildings, Nile could see figures passing by on the street.

“What a relief, we’re the same size,” Leo said, and started toward them.

Nile grabbed Leo’s arm. “Wait! The same size doesn’t mean they are the same, Leo. We have to be careful. This isn’t Woodlands.”

“But we have to be near it. We were only—”

“I don’t think we are anywhere near Woodlands,” Nile responded. “Follow me. And please keep quiet.”

They passed under a sign that read “Della’s Bakery.” Nile looked through the window to see joyous consumers sampling baked bread. Nile was reminded of the baked goods in Woodlands. Leo bumped into him and licked his lips, hungry for the different loaves of bread that were displayed beyond the glass.

Nile turned around and noticed that people were crowding over them. Several of them were laughing and applauding. Nile was bewildered, and he discreetly reached for Leo’s arm to get his attention. Leo slowly turned around and together they gazed into the crowd of villagers in this strange, new world.

“They’re dressed odd,” Leo whispered to Nile.

Nile noticed that they wore tighter clothes and held small devices in their hands. Some of them seemed to be talking through the square object. Most of the shirts had wild designs or several buttons vertically in the center. Some of them wore long coats, short coats, and others had shirts without sleeves.

Some people had objects covering their eyes, like little squares or ovals, and some were shaded while others were clear. The hairstyles also varied—short hair, long hair, big hair, no hair, hair sticking up like spikes, and hair braided.

But it was the black that Nile noticed the most. Just about all of them seemed to be wearing black, and the atmosphere itself seemed black, with gray mist canopying over the city. Nile was used to bright colors and wild colors. He was used to seeing the beauty, but the colors seemed faded here.

“We may have a problem,” Nile whispered. Children rushed through a jungle of legs and stopped in front of them.

Nile jumped as a black creature approached them. It had large black eyes like those of a fly. Yet, it had the body of a man. The clothing looked like plastic muscle. It held a long black barrel with what appeared to be a scope.

“Confirm your identity,” the soldier said through his mask, his voice cracking as if he were speaking through a megaphone.

“I’m Nile, Nile Whitman,” he said nervously.

Leo hesitated, “L-Leo Connell.”

“State your residence,” the soldier said.

Nile exchanged bizarre looks with Leo and then spoke. “Woodlands.”

“You?” the soldier asked, looking at Leo.

“I’m with him.” Leo pointed to Nile.

“They just fell from the sky!” shouted a woman, pointing to the area where they had landed.

“They did,” said a young teenage boy. He didn’t sound convincing; he only sounded like he wanted to start trouble. “I saw ’em with my own two eyes.”

Nile held his hand up. “Now wait a minute! I don’t know how we got here.”

The young boy stepped up and pointed at Nile. “I swear on my life,
man. He just fell down to the earth. They must be some sort of witches.”

Civilians crowded around them, raising their voices
and pointing at Nile and Leo.

The soldier just looked at them, unsure of what to do. “I’m afraid I’m going to have to take you into custody.”

The soldier released his weapon and it fell to his side, jerking as the strap caught his shoulder. He reached into a pouch hanging from his belt and pulled out a metal rod nearly three inches long. Placing the rod between Nile’s wrists, he touched a sensor underneath the rod, which then extended to six inches and attached to Nile’s wrists. Nile tried to pull his hands free. The magnet in the rod was so strong that it was attached to the bone in his wrist.

“What is this?” Nile asked.

“It is for your own safety and mine as well,” the soldier said. He did the same thing to Leo. “Follow me
.
You will be in our custody until we can confirm your identity.”

After walking through the streets and noticing the very large structures and the odd gazes bestowed upon him from
these
people, Nile found himself sitting against a cell wall, frustrated. Leo pacing around the cell didn’t help either.

“Do you still have that gem?” Leo asked.

He searched his pockets frantically, then pulled it out and smiled with relief. “I still got it.”

Leo held out his right hand. “Let me see it.”

Nile tossed him the gem.

Leo held it between his thumb and index finger. He scrutinized the gem carefully, taking close interest in the small miracle. “What are you?” he asked. His eyes sparked the same innocent blue that the gem resembled. “How do you use it?”

Nile froze. “I don’t know.”

Down the hall, two sliding doors opened
,
and in walked a dark-haired man wearing a black trench coat. Beneath the trench coat was a white button-up shirt and black pants that stretched down over his black shiny shoes. He had his hands behind his back
,
and four soldiers followed him. He stopped in front of the cell where Nile and Leo were detained.

“I’m Norcross Kenneth,” the man said. Nile assumed that he was thirty-five.

“I’m—”

“Nile Whitman and Leo Connell,” Norcross interrupted with a sly smile. “I’ve been informed. We placed you in the cells because people on the street were getting uptight. Safety of our people comes first. I hope you understand.”

Leo rushed to the bars. “Why are we here?”

Norcross avoided the question. “Civilians say that you have
magically
appeared out on our streets of Silvago. They don’t seem to change their stories. Well, we’ve had a few who weren’t on the same page, but for the most part, we’ve had the same responses. So in order for you two to leave, I need to know how you appeared from nowhere.” He made it sound like a joke. “That must have been some magic trick.”

“We’re not wizards,” Nile said. “We’re from Woodlands. The wizards are nowhere near Woodlands.”

Norcross sighed with a bizarre smile. “What are you talking about?”

“You said magic trick
,
and I said we’re not wizards,” Nile replied.

“Wizards don’t exist.”

“Sure they do. I’ve heard all about them. They live more to the east. My father told me about them on his travels. .”

“No, they don’t exist ”

Nile gasped.

Norcross glanced over at Leo. “So, how did you get here?”

Leo held the gem up. “This.”

Norcross cocked an eyebrow and smiled. “That?” With a deep yawn, he slowly massaged his temples with his fingertips. “You expect me to believe that you came from that? What’s next? A person lives in colonies built on leaves?”

“No,” Leo said. “We do have kingdoms in raindrops,
though.”

Norcross looked back to his soldiers. “What am I supposed to say to all of this?”

“Nothing—just say you believe it,” Nile said.

“So you came from this crystal-looking thing?”

“Yes, that crystal-looking thing.” Nile jolted toward the bars.

“I don’t have time for foolishness!” Norcross placed his arms behind his back and began toward the doors.

“Wait!” Leo shouted. “We come from Woodlands.”

Norcross stopped walking and turned back to them. He clasped his hands together and shook them gently. “I have no idea what you are talking about.”

“You don’t have to have an idea.
Just believe us,” Nile said.

“Where on the world is Woodlands?”

“Sienna,” Nile replied.

“Where is that?”

“Earth!”

“Calm down, Nile.”

“Don’t tell me to calm down; I have no idea how to explain where Woodlands is. It is just there.” Nile raised his hands up in frustration and grabbed the bars tightly.

“It is just there?” Norcross asked, reaching through the bars for the gem. “I’ll just dream it up and go there.”

“Is that sarcasm?” Nile asked.

Norcross ignored Nile and held out his hand.

Leo placed the gem in his palm.

Norcross studied the gem in his hands. His eyes looked sleepy, as if the crystal was speaking to him, but he came to. “Shall we try this?”

He clutched his palm around it, closing his eyes. Everyone was silent. Nile became filled with hope. If he could use it, then he’d have to believe them. There was no doubt in Nile’s mind that it wouldn’t work for him.

Norcross opened his eyes and tossed the gem back into the cell. “Nothing happened.”

Nile caught it and pocketed it.

“It doesn’t work.” Norcross yawned. “How did you use it?”

Nile shrugged.

Norcross laughed. “You have to know.”

Nile grabbed the bars. “I don’t!”

“You have to know,” Norcross repeated.

“No, I don’t.”

Norcross grew frustrated and grabbed the bars. “You have to!”

Nile and Leo were
startled.

“Norcross, I don’t know how to use it!” Nile shouted. “I just had my eyes closed when it was in my hand
,
and I dreamed of being away from home, away from my troubles.”

Norcross stopped suddenly. He looked around suspiciously, then moaned a sigh of interest. “What? Say that again . . . about being away from troubles.”

Nile looked at Leo and slowly repeated himself. “I closed my eyes and thought about being away from home.”

“Can I see it again?”

Nile handed him the gem. Norcross held the gem close to his heart and closed his eyes. The gem rotated in his hand, trying to escape the clutches of his tightly closed fingers. Nile and Leo watched as Norcross’s hand shook violently. Nile smiled, knowing that Norcross had to believe them now. Norcross closed his eyes tighter, and his arm lifted toward the ceiling. Nile flinched, expecting the crystal to flash abruptly, but Norcross opened his eyes.