SoulStealer

Smiling and shaking his head, Vorinthe leaned back from the moonlit candle.  He glanced over to the door, checking to see that it was locked one last time before he began the spell.  Vorinthe knew he needed to enter the Majik plane, but what to do when he got there?  He smiled again in anticipation as he decided on the obvious.  Sorana was probably almost ready to go to sleep now, in bed and waiting for unconsciousness.  It couldn't hurt to go and check on her. He leaned forward, lowering his head until he could smell the smoke as it curled around his nose.  As he inhaled, one hand reached up to spin the medallion that hung from his window.  He breathed in the diaphanous blue smoke, his bedroom faded around him, his body pitched forward, and the world turned inside out.     The colors always got to him when he entered the first Majik plane, that plane of existence which seemed slightly off-tilt and impractical, yet altogether normal at the same time.  The colors were odd, bright and clear, defined, and yet they blurred together when not looked at directly, forming new colors never seen before, and indeed not possible in the three dimensions of the normal world.  The candle had gone out of course, as though it had never been lit.  The medallion, spinning recklessly through the air only moments before, had stilled until it could not been said to have been moving.  And anyone who walked in on the boy's body would have thought he had fallen asleep at the table, though they would not have been able to wake him no matter what they tried.     Vorinthe-shan peered down at his room, checking that nothing was out of place.  Then, with a soft noise heard only by him, the shan turned and closed his eyes, envisioning himself in Sorana’s hallway, between the doors to her bedroom and bath.

    He was there.  Floating approximately five feet high in the air, Vorinthe-shan waited, listening to make sure she was not in the bathroom, but was in her bed, sleeping.  Instead, he heard the sounds of an argument didriftingp the stairs.

    “Fine.  And when I’m a famous artist, see if I ever give you any credit!”  The declaration was followed by a loud crash, and then the familiar sounds of a teenager stomping up the stairs.  She came into view, and Vorinthe-shan absolutely glowed with delight. The creature who had caused such a reaction was of medium height and not spectacular in any obvious way.  Dirty-blond hair, brown eyes, nose a little too long for her face, and glasses all combined to give her rather ordinary physical looks, not ugly by far, but not gorgeous either.  The shan didn’t care.  He could see her soul, and that was what mattered.

    At the moment, the girl was storming up the stairs, a frown darkening her features and announcing to her unseen watcher that something was wrong.  She flounced into the room, and Vorinthe-shan followed in concern.

    “All right, Rachel!  Just see if we buy you any more paints or canvas!  You’ll just have to go out on the street and beg.” Her mother yelled up the stairs after her.  From her room, unseen by either parent, the teenager made an obscene gesture at the floor beneath her and then surprisingly, she smiled.

    “They’ll leave me alone for a while.” She muttered to herself happily.  “Now if only I could lock this door.”  Vorinthe-shan sighed in sympathy.  Neither of them got along with their parents at all well, but he, at least, had the Majik planes to escape to.  The girl for some reason did not.  Not for the first time, Vorinthe-shan wished he had the power to grant her access to the planes.  If nothing else, she would have a little time away from her parents.

    As the shan watched from a distance only slightly over her head, the one known as Rachel to those of three dimensions crossed her room and drew the curtains over her wide windows, leaving open one which occasionally gave a glimpse of the moon through rapidly skimming clouds.  Vorinthe-shan watched in confusion as she again crossed the room and, reaching into a drawer, pulled out a candle and medallion.

    Sorana hung the medallion in the small space of window she had left exposed and sat the candle on the window’s sill.  The candle was lit instantly when it was touched by near invisible moonbeams.  The girl leaned forward, then seemed to remember something.  As Vorinthe watched in amazement, she stood up and went to the dresser, where the picture she had snapped last summer sat in the place of honor.  Vorinthe’s own eyes stared out at him, looking serious and slightly silly at the same time.  Sorana gave it a small half-smile and turned it face-down on the dresser.

    “I’m sorry, Kevin.”  She whispered.  “I’m not quite sure how you would react if you knew about all this.”  As Vorinthe stared in shock, she knelt in front of the window once again, breathing in the smoke of the candle and spinning the medallion.  Vorinthe-shan barely had time to wave a hand to shield himself before Sorana-shan joined him on the first Majik plane.

    Vorinthe-shan noticed that Sorana quickly got over the transition between dimensions, an experienced traveler.  Vorinthe-shan judged her to have been travelling the Majik planes for ten, maybe twelve lifetimes.

    “By Fekbedel!” The shan muttered.  “And we’ve never met!  It can’t be possible!”  Vorinthe himself had had access to the planes for more than thirty lifetimes.  He was a well-seasoned traveler, and able to hand out advice with some degree of impunity, but was by no means old and wise.  He couldn’t quite believe he had never met Sorana-shan before.

    Before he had gotten over the shock of his girlfriend’s Majikal abilities, the girl’s shan gave a complex hand gesture and opened a small portal in the air before her.  She sighed, looking resolute and almost miserable, and disappeared through the gateway.  Vorinthe-shan, with a shudder of misgiving, followed.  He wanted to see what made his girlfriend so unhappy.

    Color/scent/taste/sound/texture/thought seemed to pass through Vorinthe-shan, and he was there.  On a second plane of Majik, he realized instantly, one of the truly Majikal worlds.  It took time, and not a little skill, for a Majikal traveler to gain access to these higher realms.  There were many dangers in the other planes, most beyond imagination.  And, of course, there were the inhabitants and the wizards.

    The inhabitants were just those; creatures who lived on the second Majikal plane as humans lived on the first, existing in it, yet most never aware it existed.  The wizards, however, were the ones which mattered to those of Majikal abilities.  They were to those of Majik as the travelers were to normal humans, and they tended to be far more dangerous. They had special interests in humanity.

    Vorinthe-shan looked about himself in confusion.  He had followed Sorana-shan into an ornate palace.  It manifested itself as a rich, lush building, filled with art and music.  And Sorana-shan had let herself straight into the grand hall.

    He shook his head, trying to organize thoughts..  Until five minutes ago, he had never known his girlfriend to have Majikal talent.  Now the shan silently blessed the laws of Majik which enabled him to remain unseen from even the most accomplished Maje.

    “That’s it, Shalfnen.  Find yourself a new servant.  I won’t work for you anymore.”  The female shan’s voice rang out in the halls of the second plane of Majik.  It was determined and steady, the voice of one who had thought long and hard about what to say.  Laughter boomed out to meet her announcement, and Vorinthe-shan gawked as he saw what was laughing.  It was a Maje, moreover, one who’s original home was the second plane, a wizard.  Vorinthe-shan shivered in fear, and reinforced his shield.

    “So, little Hunter,” the second plane Maje said softly, his voice reflecting the steel in his eyes, “You are ready to quit are you?  May I ask what brought this about?”  Vorinthe-shan frowned in confusion at the girl’s title.  ‘Hunter’ was not a title to be proud of, and not, he thought to himself, one a Maje should bear.

    “I can no longer feed you.  You will have to find some one else to bring you… to bring you people’s lives.”  Vorinthe-shan could hear her voice break, and his heart went out to her at the pain that showed on her face.  He wanted nothing more than to be near her, to hold her close and comfort her, yet the conversation he eavesdropped on was a more effective deterrent than anything else could possibly have been.

    “Little Maje, you seem to have forgotten who brought you into the Majik planes.  You seem to have forgotten the great debt you owe me.”  The Maje’s voice had dropped to a whisper, and the nearly silent words did more to frighten the shan than anything before.  The girl took a deep breath and straightened up, looking the more powerful second plane native in the eye.

    “When I was first introduced into the planes, I knew nothing about it.  You were there, and you taught me how to travel and how to shield, and in return I promised to help you, because I thought you were responsible for my being there.  But now I am older, and have learned more.  For ten lifetimes, I have fed you, Shalfnen, but no more.  You have no hold over me other than gratitude, and that has now been replaced with disgust.  And so, I bid you a good eternity.”  The girl turned to go, and was stopped by Shalfnen’s voice as he replied.

    “Soulstealer, I suggest you rethink that.  You can not ever deny what you are, what you have done.  It is a part of you, and it is a part that will be scorned and despised throughout all the planes of Majik, but for here in my house.”  The Maje sounded dangerous, and Vorinthe-shan could not believe that he was going to let her go with only that as an entreaty.  This was a dangerous man, and he could not risk losing the servant who brought him his meals.

    The girl nodded slowly, and her eyes were hooded as she replied.  Sorana-shan knew fully the implications of her life on the Majik planes.  “I realize that.  Yet I can no longer feed you.  I will no longer feed you.  There is nothing you can say to change that.”

    “Nothing?”  The wizard awaited her firm answer of “Absolutely nothing.”

    “I do believe I can change your mind, Soulstealer.”  Vorinthe-shan, who had been suspicious of Shalfnen's seemingly easy capitulation, was not surprised at this.  Shalfnen continued, “I have been waiting for you to say such a thing, Sorana.  Would you continue to feed me to save a life?”

    “I have taken too many lives already for that to have any impact.”

    “Even the life of your beloved Kevin Dalk?  He is well within my reach, little girl.”  Sorana-shan gasped and her hand flew to her mouth.  This had been the one thing she's feared.

    “You couldn’t.  He is not a Maje.”  Vorinthe-shan winced as she said this, and wished to all the gods that ever were what she said was true.  As it was, he realized how much danger he could find himself in.

    “Soulstealer, he does not have to be a Maje.  I suggest you return home and rethink your proposal.”  Shalfnen waved a hand, casting a spell that sent all travelers in the room back to their bodies.  As Vorinthe-shan felt himself pulled home, he heard Sorana’s tears.

    Half an hour later, Kevin sat on his bed, the covers rumpled around him.  The Maje was deep in thought, and had been ever since he had journeyed though both Majikal planes to return to his prone body.  He could not make heads nor tails of his situation.  Soulstealers were despised and outlawed in the Majikal realms, and by all rights he should cut off all contact with the girl Rachel and never speak to her again.  Yet… he loved her, and was not sure that such steps were possible on his part.  The phone’s loud ringing drew him from his thoughts, and he slowly walked into the hall to pick it up.

    “Hullo?”  He tried to sound tired, despite the fact that he was wide awake.

    “Kevin!  Thank God you’re there.  I have to tell you something.”  Kevin’s heart leapt, and he lost all pretense of weariness as he spoke.

    “Hi…  Rachel.  Do you have any idea what time it is?”  Kevin had no idea what she was going to say, but it was best that he listen and find out before anything he did put either of them in more danger than they were.

    “Kevin, I…  I can’t see you anymore.”

    “What?!”  Kevin’s eyes flew open.  In his thoughts, he had contemplated all sorts of solutions, but it had never occurred to him that Rachel would be thinking the same.  Now, hearing the best thought he’d had out of Rachel’s mouth was a bit of a shock, and he did not take it well.

    “I’m sorry.  My…  My parents and I just had a huge argument.  My mother was unreasonable, and I can’t see you anymore.”  None of which were lies, but meant to be taken in exactly the wrong way.

    “Rachel, I…” He started to say something, to explain that he knew the truth, then shook his head.  Realizing she couldn’t see him, he spoke his thoughts.  “No.  This isn’t right.  Rachel, I’m coming over there, and I’m bringing some stuff with me.”

    “What the hell—“ Before she had time to finish the objection, Kevin had slammed down the receiver and run back to his room.  Without thinking, he threw a change of clothes into a backpack along with his medallion and candle.  Surveying the space, he decided he didn’t really need anything else.  Without giving himself time to think what he was doing, he had grabbed his keys from their hook on the wall and raced outside.  The car was unlocked, and he had driven off the driveway before he had any serious doubts about his decision.

    Rachel’s mother answered the door.  She looked tired, and though Kevin knew Rachel had been lying, he half expected the woman to throw him out on the spot.  She was a dumpy woman, but with frazzled blond hair and green eyes, Kevin could see where she had been pretty once.  She sighed when she saw him, and opened the door wider.

    “Oh, it’s you.  Well come in, but don’t expect a warm welcome.  She’s still awake, though it’s not any of my doing.”  Kevin walked into the room and hesitated in front of the stairs.  Patting the bag he had slung from one shoulder, Kevin took a deep breath and proceeded.  He was already having second thoughts about getting into this.

    When he reached her room, the door was standing slightly open..  He almost smiled as he heard the telltale loud noises that meant the occupant was at her favorite hobby: lapidary.  The noises she made sitting at her table covered in brightly colored stones covered his own, and he was able to position himself behind her before she noticed he was there.

    “God damn it, Kevin!” she cried when he rested his hands on her shoulders, “What are you doing here?”

    “Well you see, I got this disturbing call from a girl I liked, and I was hoping you’d help me out with this problem she has.”  His drollness almost prompted a smile from Rachel, and Kevin took that as a good sign.  “Look, can you toss your Maje works in my bag and climb in the back of the car?  We have a lot to talk about.”  Rachel had twisted around in her seat to face him, and he watched her eyes widen as he spoke.  Apparently, she really hadn’t known he was a Maje.

    “What…?  Okay, I’ll do that.  Though somehow I don’t think you know what you’re getting into.”  He grinned as he unzipped his bag for her.  The candle and medallion, along with some assorted crystals and stones, fit in the pack with room to spare.  Rachel had opened her window and stuck one leg out before his words stopped her.

    “Love?  What exactly do you think you are doing?”  His head cocked to one side, Kevin watched as she straightened up, a surprised look on her face.
    “Oh, you think that either of my parents will let me simply waltz out to your car, to return in God knows how much time?  Honestly, Kevin, not all of us are Majes, they’d have no idea what was going on.”

    Kevin gave her a half smile and shrugged.  “Okay, agreed, we’ll do it your way.  And the name’s Vorinthe, if you don’t mind.”  She gave him such a look when he said that, he didn’t know quite what to make of it.  Just as he was casting about for something else to say, she softened into a smile.

    “Sorana.” She said it simply, and once again began to climb out the window.  He walked over just in time to hear her say, “It’s easy here.  The roof is only slightly slanted, so you can walk along it ‘til you come to the tree.  Then just climb down it.”

    “You’ve done this before?”  He asked dubiously.

    “No.  I’ve watched the cat do it thousands of times, though.”  Her reply was a little shaky, and Vorinthe realized she had been speaking as much for her own sake as for his.  He watched as she went down on her knees to cross the roof, then stood up unsteadily against the old pine tree to catch her breath.  Vorinthe caught his own as she turned, and time seemed to slow when she embraced the thick trunk and began to shinny down it.

    Then she was out of sight, and he decided it was time he start.  Pushing the backpack in front of him, Vorinthe also went down on his knees.  The tree seemed farther away then it had been before, but he eventually reached it and held on gratefully on the support it offered.

    “Throw down your bag!  Hey, throw down the bag!”  Her harsh whisper cut through the night, and Vorinthe realized she was right.  Checking to make sure Sorana wasn’t near it, he heaved the pack onto a spot of lawn that looked softer than most.  Taking a deep breath, he grasped the tree and climbed down.

    As he did so, he cursed himself for being so frightened.  He had the psychological age of nearly fifteen hundred years, yet his seventeen-year-old body reacted to what it thought he was doing: sneaking out of the house at night with his girlfriend.  He grinned, remembering past times when that was what he really had been doing, and his heartbeat slowed a little.  Then, seeing the ground three feet below him, he hopped to the ground.

    Sorana had been off to one side, spotting him.  As soon as he had come within range, her hands were up in case he should fall.  When he hit the ground, she was there to help him up, and then they stood, looking into each other’s eyes.  It was a perfect night, and the moon was full.  Vorinthe’s blood beat in his veins as he stared at his girlfriend.  She smiled a little as she turned away, thinking of what might have been.  “Come on, we’ve got to get going.”

    “Yeah.”  His voice sounded husky, even to his own ears, as he too turned away.  They headed toward the front of the house, where he had parked his mother’s car.  It wasn’t until they were both in it occurred to them that they had no idea where to go.

    “Not to your place, and we can’t stay here,” said Sorana, “Somewhere where there aren’t a lot of people.  Actually, none would be preferable.”  She fell silent with wondering, and sat low in the seat as the old Honda cruised down the road.

    “How about a park?  I think Seaside State is only a half hour from here.”  Sorana brightened up at his suggestion.

    “Sure, we can fight evil wizards to the sound of the ocean in the background.  Good thinking...  Actually, that sounds like the perfect place.”  She smiled and threw him a look that said she could never have thought of it for herself, and Vorinthe felt himself blush.

    “When we get there, you are going to have a lot of explaining to do.”  He said it to cover his embarrassment, yet as he did, he realized it was true.  He had fallen in love with another Maje, and didn’t even know her history or background.  As it was, he wasn’t really sure he wanted to.  Concentrating on the road ahead, the Maje didn’t notice when his girlfriend didn’t answer.

    The park gate wasn’t guarded at night, and the only ranger they saw didn’t even stop them, assuming they were campers going for a late drive.  A little bit of exploration was all he needed to reach the shore, and in about five minutes he had pulled up near a deserted stretch of beach.  After a few moments of simple pleasure in his surroundings, Vorinthe gently shook Sorana awake and shouldered their bag, ready to head off and find a place to set up camp.

    She woke up slowly, with all the reluctance of a person who loathed mornings, despite the fact she had simply had a half-hour nap.  She was jolted into awareness, however, when she realized where she was.  After that, she climbed out of the car briskly, rubbing the sleep from her eyes, and impatiently walking down to the water.

     “Oh, isn’t it wonderful?”  She had dug her toes into the sand of the intertidal zone, and was looking dreamily out to sea.  Vorinthe, meanwhile, had occupied his time by finding an isolated spot high on the beach, and gathering driftwood for a fire.  Sorana walked back to him, eyeing the little pile distastefully. “Is that really necessary?”  She asked.

    “Oh, probably not, but it’s nice to have just in case.  Now then, are you going to tell me how you got into this mess?”

    “Not until you tell me how you know about it.”  She said stubbornly.  “If you knew I was a Maje, I think I rather would have appreciated the company on the full moon nights.  As it is, I think my privacy may have been invaded.”  She was looking at him mischievously, and Vorinthe was finding it hard to think with her brown-eyed gaze upon him.

    “I only know what I saw tonight.”  He said.  “I watched you go to Shalfnen’s house and argue with him.  Then he waved his hand, and I woke up here on Earth.  I sure would like to know how you got into this mess.”  Vorinthe looked at her in question, matching her half-smile with a raised eyebrow.  She sighed and folded into a cross-legged position sitting in front of  him.

    “All right, but promise you won’t laugh.”  Her sardonic statement failed to draw an answer from him, and she went on.  “I first became a Maje twelve lifetimes ago.  I had no idea what had happened, but I was having fun exploring on the first plane, when I met the shan of a servant of Shalfnen.  He told me his master had drawn me into the Maje planes.  He introduced the two of us, and Shalfnen offered to teach me all about the planes in exchange for a small service.  I didn’t even know what I was doing, but I agreed.”  The girl closed her eyes and lowered her head, fighting back tears.  She took a deep breath and went on.  “He showed me how to travel, and taught me about full moons and all.  In return for which I was to bring him something that belonged to a non-Maje once a year.  It wasn’t until I had learned all about the planes,  and what could happen on them, that I realized not even he could have drawn me into them.  I still brought him his trinkets, though, because he had taught me.”

    “And when did you realize what you were doing?”  The sharpness in his voice caught even Vorinthe by surprise, and it caused Sorana’s head to whip around until she was looking him in the eye.  Vorinthe cursed himself when he saw the tears running down her face, but he didn’t try to soften the question.

    “Last year.  I realized last year.  That was when I met another shan on the first plane and she wouldn’t have anything to do with me.  She… she called me ‘SoulStealer’ and refused to talk after that.  You should count yourself lucky you weren’t there when I asked Shalfnen what Difmenig had meant by that.  I just left, without saying anything.  Tonight was the first time I’ve talked to him since then.”

    Vorinthe shook his head.  He couldn’t believe it of Sorana, but he had just heard it from her.  And yet, he had also just witnessed her refusal to work for Shalfnen any more.  He sighed as he wondered again what he had gotten himself into.  “And what was the phone call all about?”  He asked.

    Sorana snorted as she replied, “If you really were there, you should know.  He threatened you, in order to keep me working for him.  I thought that if I didn’t see you anymore, he wouldn’t have anything to use against me.  I really didn’t want to hurt you, but I couldn’t think of anything else.”  She met his eyes again when she added the last sentence on to her statement, and Vorinthe could see that she really meant it.  “So what are you doing here?”  The question took him by surprise, and he cast about for an answer.

    “Umm… what do you mean?”  He could hear how lame that sounded, but had no idea what else to say.

    “Why are you here, when you know what I am?  Why haven’t you turned from me in disgust?”  Vorinthe and Sorana faced each other across the unlit campfire, one with tears running down her face, the other with a puzzled expression.  Suddenly, Vorinthe could stand it no longer; he crossed to sit next to her, and gingerly he took her in his arms.

    “I love you, Sorana.  That is all that matters.”  He whispered it into her blond hair as his arms tightened around her shuddering frame.  He held her until she stopped crying, and she drew back to look him in the face.  “But as it is, I think we have to take care of this little problem of yours.”

    She gave him a small smile, and drew in a deep breath.  “Well, if you have any idea how we can accomplish that, I’d love to hear it.”

    He grinned back at her in response.  “I might just, at that.”

    It was getting late, and the moon had almost set by the time the two of them had hung twin medallions on a tree branch and set their candles under them.  They lit slowly, the dim light of the cloud shrouded moon a reluctant catalyst.  Vorinthe watched as Sorana slowly leaned over and breathed in.  Her body pitched forward, and he reached out quickly to lay her down on the sand.  Then he leaned over his own candle, and breathed in the smoke.

    The shan shook his head, taking in the unfamiliar effect of a beach seen through the first plane.  He looked around, and spotted Sorana’s shan entranced, staring out at the ocean.  He drifted over to her, and placed a hand on her shoulder.

    “Hmmm?”  Sorana-shan looked at him, a smile wreathing her face.  “Oh, Vorinthe, isn’t it absolutely lovely?”  She gestured out to the beach and the surf, and he had to admit that it was made extremely impressive when seen through Maje sight.  The colors, brighter than they had any right being in the middle of the night, seemed to blur together as the waves crashed against each other.  The surf was a symphony of beauty, as small, half-transparent creatures leaped among the sea foam, catching different rays of moonlight and reflecting them in rainbow spectrums.  Vorinthe-shan felt himself smile, and wished that the two of them could stay there forever, watching the unearthly beauty.

    “Come on Sorana, we have things to do.”  He removed his hand, and Sorana-shan turned slowly.

    With a mumbled, “Oh, all right.” she closed her eyes in concentration.  Her hands moved slowly as Vorinthe-shan gave her the directions, and she soon had a portal open.  With one last, brief hesitation, the girl disappeared inside, catching her boyfriend's hand and dragging the shan in with her.

    The two shans found themselves outside a low hut in the middle of a dense forest.  It was a neat, clean looking little place, with an herb garden in the small sideyard and a well in front.  Sorana was slightly surprised to see a birdfeeder close to the door, though at the moment it was empty.  Vorinthe-shan stepped inside without hesitation.

    Inside it was just as charming as out.  A low pallet by the fire served as a bed, and a low table with sitting cushions positioned around held two bowls full of milk and honey.  A fire burned merrily on the hearth.  “It looks just like a story book!”  Sorana-shan was enchanted.  “But I don’t see this friend of yours, Vorinthe.  Where is she?”  As she spoke, the girl bent down to caress a beautiful longhaired tortoiseshell cat that strode out to meet them.

    “I do believe you’ve met her already, Sorana.”  Vorinthe-shan’s voice was full of amusement as he gestured to the cat who was even now curling  around the girl’s hand in feline ecstasy.  “Sorana, may I introduce you to Dijit?  Dijit is the wise woman who taught me how to move around the Majikal planes, as well as about the various dangers therein.  Dijit, would you cut that out and properly greet your guest?”  The cat growled low in her throat and seated herself sedately in front of the two.

    “Well, if you insist.”  Dijit purred primly.  “Though I don’t see why you have to ruin my fun all the time.”  The girl had been frowning when Vorinthe-shan introduced them, but now she was staring at the cat in wide-eyed shock.  The cat returned her gaze unblinkingly.  “And to what do I owe the pleasure of such a visit from my prized pupil?”  The cat gave up on getting a word out of the girl and moved on to her friend.

    “Dijit, I’m afraid we have a bit of a problem.  I was hoping you’d be able to help us out.”  Vorinthe-shan looked at the cat beseechingly.  His girlfriend couldn’t help but giggle at the picture the two of them made.

    “Well, I might be able to help you out, though I’d have to know what the problem was first.”  The cat, while not the picture of a wise old woman, certainly sounded like it, and Sorana-shan decided that she probably could trust the feline.  “Well, sit down, you two.  Make yourselves comfortable.  I’m afraid I can’t really offer you any food, unless the young lady has a liking for mice and birds?”  The cat threw a questioning glance at the girl as she grimaced,  then nodded in approval as she gave a polite shake of her head.  “I didn’t think so.”

    The two shans seated themselves as the cat bustled around the cottage, pawing open low cabinets and pushing glasses across the floor.  The two poured themselves glasses of milk as Dijit seated herself and waited to hear the story.  “Well, I’m all ears.”

    “Love?”  Vorinthe-shan gestured to the girl to tell her story, and she shot him a furious glance as he left the telling of it in her hands.  She started explain her predicament to the cat.

    Dijit leaned forward, her eyes intent when she heard the girl mention Shalfnen’s name.  The rest of the story prompted no further response from her however, and by the time Sorana-shan had finished the cat had settled down again.  She carefully considered what she had heard as the other two watched her, eager for her judgement.

    “Well,” she drawled slowly, thoughtfully, “ The way I see it, there’s only one thing you can do.”  The two leaned forward, waiting for her to finish.  “He’s too powerful for you to destroy.  And Sorana here can most definitely not give in to his threat.  I have a solution, but you’re not going to like it."

    “Please, Dijit, whatever solution you have is more than what we’ve got now.”  Vorinthe-shan had made a sound low in his throat when she spoke, while his girlfriend had sat back, disappointed.  Now she sat up again, hope dancing in her eyes.

    Dijit studied the two young people in front of her and sighed.  No matter what she said, they would probably try something anyway.  She might as well steer them to the wisest course.  “You’re a SoulStealer, aren’t you?”  She looked directly at Sorana’s shan.  “So steal his soul.”

    “I still don’t like it.”  Sorana-shan complained to her boyfriend as they stood outside Shalfnen’s palatial home.  “I was going to stop doing this.  And it’s Shalfnen!  Surely I can’t just wander in there and take something of his?”

    “Why not?  Look, Dijit knows what she’s talking about.  She’s a third plane Maje.  Do just what you would when you’re feeding Shalfnen, only you give the thing to her when you have it.  How hard can it be?  The bastard doesn’t even post guards.”

    “He does, actually.  You just don’t see them until they’ve caught you.”  The girl, while still doubtful, was far more confident then she had been back at Dijit’s home.  Here, in familiar surroundings, she had straightened up, there was a determined look in her eye.  She knew Shalfnen’s home like the back of her hand, and had long ago lost her fear of the man himself.

    “That’s it.  Now just nip in there and bring back something.  Hell, you know more about this than I do.  Go on.”  Vorinthe-shan gave her a gentle shove up the steps, and she stumbled as she went.  Then, turning with one last smile for him, Sorana-shan disappeared inside.

    They were operating on the assumption that no one yet knew she had defied Shalfnen’s will.  When stopped by one of his lesser servants, Sorana-shan held out a wristwatch and arrogantly proclaimed that she had to see the master.  The look in her eye, more than what she said, served to scare off the servile creature.  She walked though the halls, looking for the one passageway leading to his personal quarters, praying to Fekbedel that he hadn’t yet retired for the day.

    Her breath caught in her throat as she walked down the halls.  The walls, in her fear, seemed to have darkened threateningly, and all paintings watched her suspiciously.  She shuddered and walked on, hoping no one heard her heart pounding in her chest.  The carpets silenced her footsteps, and she walked quietly, passing the hidden guards unnoticed.

    Seeing one room that might hold something useful, she ducked into it for a second.  Looking around the wall display, the shan picked one object off its hooks and slipped it up her sleeve.  It took no more than a minute, but the cold steel against her skin reassured her infinitely.  Her whim fulfilled, she stepped back out into the hall.

    She reached the hall she wanted.  It was considerably better lit than the others, and the art on the walls was more valuable, originals rather than reproductions.  Not letting herself think twice, Sorana-shan entered the first room she came to.

    It was a bathroom.  She saw that immediately, and one corner of her mouth lifted in a sarcastic smile.  You could not get much more personal than that.  Looking around, she grabbed a toothbrush out of its holder and turned to leave.

    She almost made it.  The trip out seemed shorter than the one in, and Sorana-shan breathed a sigh of relief as the door came in sight.  The sigh turned to a strangled sound, however, when she saw the two score armed men blocking it.  Worse still, Shalfnen stood in front of them, with a firm grip on the struggling Vorinthe-shan.

    Sorana-shan moved her hand in the shielding gesture, but Shalfnen’s voice stopped her.  It was too late, she had been seen.  “Little Soulstealer.  Did you really think it would be so easy?  I’m not that stupid, you know.”  She opened her mouth to reply, but he again stopped her.  “I have been looking forward to this moment, Soulstealer.  I’ll admit, we almost didn’t catch you until a servant spotted this deplorable soul skulking around my doorstep.”  He shook Vorinthe-shan, but the boy refused to make a sound.

    The girl’s shan slowly tucked the toothbrush into her pocket and took a deep breath.  She was a young Maje, with just twelve lifetimes behind her, and most of those had been under this man’s protection.  There was still a part of her which wished to run to his arms and beg forgiveness, but she crushed it ruthlessly, wishing it were so easy to get rid of the man himself.

    “Did you really think that, after all you’ve done to me, all you've made me do, I would just continue to sustain you?”  Her voice was sarcastic, a bitter mockery of Shalfnen’s words.  As she spoke, her hands were moving behind her back.  By time she had finished, the forty men standing behind Shalfnen were gone.  None of them had been Majes, and Sorana-shan was confident that Dijit could take care of them as they stumbled around in her forest.  She grinned at Shalfnen’s surprised expression, and almost laughed as he realized what she had just done.

    “Clever.”  He said softly.  “It seems I’ve slightly underestimated you.  But you see, I still have the advantage.”  It was Sorana-shan’s turn to be shocked as the second level Maje brought a knife to her boyfriend’s throat.  He had a tight hold on both of the boy’s hands behind his back, holding him helpless.  It was the worst position a Maje could be in.  Sorana-shan grimaced in sympathy.

    “You’re right.”  She said.  “You do seem to have the advantage.”  She sagged in defeat.  “I give up.”  She lowered her head, and watched a pleased smile spread across Shalfnen’s face.  Smiling arrogantly, he twisted Vorinthe’s arms behind his back.  The boy had cried out in shock at her announcement, and the knife had cut a thin red line across his throat.  Sorana-shan tried to hide a sympathetic wince as Shalfnen advanced on her, leering.

    She watched him come closer, counting his steps.  As soon as she had a clear spot, one arm whipped out from behind her back, where she had concealed the small throwing knife in waiting.  The knife flew in a deadly arc across the room, to find its target deep in the second plane Maje’s neck.  Shalfnen fell dead with nothing more than a gurgle.  She smiled grimly as he hit the floor.  “Bastard.”

    Vorinthe-shan simply stood there as she walked over to him.  When she landed a feeble kick on the corpse, he spoke up.  “Impressive.  Where’d you learn to do that?”

    “Maybe I was an assassin in a past life.”  She said drolly, and they both laughed.  “Come on, let’s get this over with.”

    They stood outside Dijit’s cottage once more, but whirled in surprise when they heard her voice from behind them.

    “I trust that those forty odd men crashing around in my backyard had something to do with your little errand?”  Her sarcastic comment set them both giggling again, and the cat had to patiently wait for them to calm down.  By the time they had, she’d ushered them inside and onto a cushion each.

    “Well?”  her impatience was rewarded as Sorana-shan flourished the brush.  “A toothbrush?  I ask you to get something personal and you bring a toothbrush.  I suppose it works."  The cat was shaking her head, but she delicately picked up the trophy in her mouth and walked over to her hearth, to drop it inside a waiting cauldron.  Then the girl remembered something.

    “Oh dear…  Dijit, I’m afraid we killed him.  Does that interfere with your plans?”  She looked sheepish as the cat turned a feline glare on her.

    "It most certainly does not.  He’s a Maje, girl.  He won’t be forgetting this.  No, we still go on with this little spell, it shan’t take a moment.”  The cat turned away then, and the girl watched in fascination as Dijit reached into a bag and tossed a pawful of something into the pot.  Within a few seconds, smoke billowed out of it, thin and blue as a candle’s.  The cat mumbled something neither of them could hear, then bent over the cauldron and breathed in the smoke. After three breaths, she reached into the boiling water and drew out the toothbrush.  To the utter astonishment of the two shans, the toothbrush, while exactly the same in every other way, had turned all-over black.

    “Is that all?” asked Sorana-shan.

    “That’s all.  All right you two, I’d better not hear of you getting in anymore trouble.  Now go away, I have more important things to do than watch over two amateurs.”  The cat hissed at them as they backed out of the cottage.  By the time the bewildered girl and her boyfriend had reached the door, she relented a bit.  “May the paths through the forest reveal themselves as you walk.”  She said it solemnly as the door slammed shut behind them.

    “What?  Did we do something to offend her?”  Sorana-shan was staring wide-eyed at the cottage they had been pushed out of so unceremoniously.

    “No.”  Vorinthe-shan chuckled.  “It’s just her dignity that’s been affronted.  Think about it.  We just watched her eat a toothbrush.”  Sorana-shan joined him in his laughter as he summoned up an extremely undignified picture of the wise old cat.  They were still chuckling as they woke up in Seaside State Park.

    "What?  Why not?"

    "Shalfnen may be dead, but he had a lot of friends.  I'm afraid...  I'm afraid they'll look for me."

    "Oh."  He saw her point.  It made life difficult, killing a wizard.  Destroying a wizard.  It made life, Vorinthe thought to himself with a sardonic twist of his mouth, interesting.  "So what are we going to do?"

   "We?  Who said anything about we?"  She looked over at him, frowning.  Sorana had been hoping, in her own mind, to keep Vorinthe out of it.  A little late for that.

     "I did.  You can't pretend I had no part of this, all those guards saw me.  And," he said, barging ahead before she could stop him, "And, when they get out of those woods, they will be pretty annoyed.  You know Dijit doesn't have the heart to kill them all."

     Sorana looked glum.  "Yeah, I know.  I guess you're right. I just...  I just didn't want to hurt anyone else."

     Vorinthe silently rejoiced.  He'd been half-afraid that she would forbid him from coming, and he hadn't been looking forward to following behind secretly.  "So...  Where do we go?"  he asked again.

     "Well...  I've always wanted to see California."