A Dream?

“-kay.” Lubic looked around and found himself once again in the park, sitting on the wooden bench he had stopped at to people watch.

“Wow, it really was all a dream!” he said aloud. A couple that was walking by gave him weird looks, then pointedly looked away. But Lubic didn’t care; he got up and stretched, then headed back to his house. He glanced at his watch, wondering how long he had slept, but found the hands were no longer moving. “Huh. I guess the battery died.”

“Are you ready to talk now, Lubic?” a familiar voice called out to him. He looked up from his watch to find a blonde woman blocking his path.

Oh no, it’s the quack! He thought about just ignoring her, but decided that he really should talk, if only to get rid of her more quickly. “I don’t have anything more to say to you.”

“So you are still denying what you are? Even after your fun adventure with time? And with an alien woman?” Mikala demanded.

“What are you talking about? How do you know about my dream?”

“Lubic, that is what we have been trying to tell you! This is no dream!”

“Have you even heard yourself talk? Adventures with time? Aliens? How can it be anything but a dream? Alien women don’t wander through parks in real life! And if aliens really did exist, they wouldn’t be that hot!”

She rolled her eyes. “What did I get that poor girl into?”

“What are you talking about?”

“Did you think you put the call out to her? Of course not! I was hoping that someone more alien looking could help convince you that this is real. Obviously I was wrong! You humans are all the same! Stubborn, disbelieving morons!”

“Wait a second. Are you trying to tell me that you’re not human?” Lubic began slowly inching past her.

“There can be only one human Starlord or Spacelord. That is the rule.”

“You really are a quack!” He turned and jogged away.

“Why do I even try?” Mikala muttered angrily to herself, glaring after his retreating back.

*

It was ten minutes later when Lubic finally made it back to his house. He slammed the door behind him, cursing under his breath on his way to the shower.

“Lubic?” his grandmother called from the living room. “Lubic, aren’t you going to say hello?”

“What? Oh sorry grandma,” he backtracked, poking his head around the corner. Mary was seated on the leather sofa with a young girl. “Hello?”

“Lubic, I want you to meet Elara,” Mary smiled at him.

Lubic turned to regard the other woman in shock. “Elara?”

She looked up at him, her green eyes peering shyly up at him from a tangle of dark hair. “Hello uncle.”

The Timekeeper

“-stop. Time shall revert to normal!”

Lubic glanced at Azalyn and Jaleesa, but found that they weren’t there. In fact, he seemed to be somewhere else entirely, in a room that was completely shrouded in shadows. Yet he could see his hands just fine. It was like being in a shadow mist: he could not see anything a few feet in front of him.

“And I almost believed that crazy broad when she told me this wasn’t a dream,” Lubic muttered to himself. “Hello? Is anybody there?”

There was a vague humming noise, like the whisper of insect wings beating the air. Suddenly, a female voice whispered from the darkness, “Yes, Spacelord. I am here.”

“How many times do I have to say it, I’m not a Spacelord!”

There was a vague murmuring from all around him, agitated. “It is you who is in the wrong, Spacelord. Only a Spacelord can stop time, as you did.” A clear male voice rang out. The murmuring sounded like it agreed with the speaker.

“Hush,” the female voice whispered. The murmuring halted, although the humming still sounded. “It matters not what you think, young Lubic. What matters here is what you are. And, more importantly, what you did.”

“What did I do?”

“You stopped time!” the male rang out once again. Again the murmuring broke out.

“Why don’t you show yourselves?”

“Hush, my children,” the female whispered once again. “Spacelord, you are not yet ready to meet me. One day, perhaps. But for now, trust me, it is better this way.”

Lubic glanced around uneasily. “Alright. Well then, why am I here?”

“I am the Timekeeper. It is my job to keep time travelling smoothly. And, as we already said, you stopped time.”

“Wait a minute! How exactly do you keep time travelling smoothly?”

A sigh sounded from directly in front of him. “It is my job to fix whenever a Spacelord alters time. Once time is halted, it is a complicated matter to restart it. And when a Spacelord alters time, it is a complicated matter to untangle everything. That is why I am here: a neutral third party to sort out the messes and untangle everything. And by the same token, I am also here to help sort out disputes between Spacelords and Starlords, so they do not end in bloodshed.”

“So if you do all that, why am I here?”

“Well, I needed to stop you from making all of those decrees! You were getting out of hand! The universe can only take so much.”

“Oh. Well, I’m sorry I guess.”

“I do not expect you to be sorry. You do not even understand what is happening.” She paused as the murmuring sounded again, then just as quickly quieted. “It is done. I will send you back to your world. Just try not to mess with time again.”

“O-”

A Resolution

"You ATE his daughter?"

Jaleesa glared at him. "No, I did not eat his daughter. I said I have his daughter. She is very much alive."

"Then where is she?"

Jaleesa stepped aside, revealing the room that was behind her. Lubic and Azalyn saw the massive ruby, prominently displayed on a pedestal in the centre. A figure dressed in khakis and a safari hat was cowering behind the pedestal. And beside the figure, the air seemed to be caught in light; it shimmered, vaguely suggesting a humanoid figure.

The witch pointed a slender finger at the ruby. "Her soul is safely kept in the gem. That is how she has stayed alive all these years. She is not immortal."

"But if her soul is there, then where is her body?"

"I did not eat her body, if that is what you are really asking me. I magically animated her body. There was no sense in having it lying around, cluttering up space. So her body does the menial work around here. I find it a very beneficial arrangement."

"Look everyone, as fascinating as this is, I’d really like to get out of here," Azalyn spoke up. "So Lubic, if you wouldn’t mind hurrying things up a bit?"

Lubic grinned sheepishly. "The only question I really wanted answered was ‘who is Jared?’"

Both women glared at him. "Then why is time still stopped?" Jaleesa demanded.

"How should I know?"

"Alright Lubic, then why don’t you just finish up this business here, and then hopefully time will sort itself out," Azalyn told him.

"Oh, like the witch. How should I do that?"

"Just tell her how things are going to be from now on. Make it a law."

"Hello? I can hear you two. I am still here!" Jaleesa said angrily.

"A law? What do you mean?" Lubic asked, ignoring her.

"Whatever you did to stop time, try to do that again. But this time speaking about the witch."

Lubic turned directly to face Jaleesa. "Don’t eat anyone anymore."

"Lubic! Try to put a bit more thought and energy into it!" Azalyn rolled her eyes. "We’re going to be here for a long time!" she muttered.

"Alright," he frowned. "Ummm, Jaleesa, you -"

"Before you say anything," Jaleesa cut him off, "Perhaps we can make a deal of some kind! Do not kill me! I can help you!"

"Well, how can you help me?"

"I know how to divine almost anything. Whenever you need some information about a situation or a being, you can come to me, and I will get it for you!"

"Lubic, be careful!" Azalyn cautioned.

"Alright Jaleesa, I think I can live with that. You’re help whenever I need it, and I let you live. Not that I wanted to kill anyone," he shook his head. "So from this . . . moment forward, you will not eat the souls of anything ever again! "

"But how will I practice my magic then?" Jaleesa protested.

"You need to eat souls to get magic powers?"

"Yes!"

"Well then, you will not eat the souls of anything ever again, but you shall retain whatever magic you have to this point. And your immortality, I guess. Is that okay?" he asked, turning back to Azalyn.

Azalyn felt the telltale shiver; the universe had a new law. "Well Lubic, she’s your witch. You have to deal with her as you see fit."

"Oh, that reminds me," he turned back to Jaleesa. "And you will not be able to interact with anyone I care about ever again. I’m not having you pull something over me like you did Jared."

"That sounds good to me," Azalyn agreed.

"And you will release Jared’s daughter, to return to whatever family she may have left. And that other guy in the room, he is to return to his family as well." With that, the ruby shattered into a million pieces, and the figure vanished.

"So now, what about the time stop?"

"Oh yeah, the time - " Lubic began to say as he himself vanished.

Explanations

“What do you mean I just halted time?”

“Do you mean to tell me,” Jaleesa began slowly, “that you did not mean for this to happen?”

“Alright!” Lubic threw his arms up to the heavens. “This dream is getting way too weird! I want to wake up!”

“Lubic,” Azalyn began wearily, “this is not a dream.”

“But if time has stopped, like you two say it has, then why are we all able to move?”

“I think it is the way you did it. You said no one was going anywhere, but you wanted answers from us. So we’re stuck in this with you, until you get your answers.”

“So, if that is correct,” Jaleesa said thoughtfully, “then this will end once his questions are satisfied?”

“Yes. So Lubic, start asking!”

“Am I the only one who thinks that this is weird?”

“Lubic! Can you please try to be serious?” Azalyn groaned.

“I am being serious! You’re the one who told me this isn’t a dream! But here we are, ‘magically’ in Africa, looking at a floating knife and discussing how I stopped time somehow. What the hell am I supposed to think?”

“Lubic, this isn’t helping!”

“And why the hell do you still look half fish, but everyone else doesn’t seem bothered by this?”

“You’re half fish?” Jaleesa turned to regard Azalyn curiously.

Azalyn felt her cheeks blazing. “Lubic, I told you, I'm an Imezzan! You’re the one who made it so everyone else sees me as a normal human!”

“Hey, and how come you speak English if this isn’t a dream?”

“I believe I can answer that,” the witch began. “Jared once explained to me that there was a law enacted in the aftermath of an ancient war between several races. This was from before even my time, and I am one of the first true humans to gain sentient life. The law states that Starlords and Spacelords can understand every sentient being. The ancients wanted violence to be the last resort for inter-planetary conflicts.”

“Alright witch, so who is Jared?”

“My name is Jaleesa, not witch,” Jaleesa regarded him coldly. “Jared is the Starlord of the humans on Earth.”

“You mean was,” Azalyn corrected. “Lubic is the Spacelord. There cannot be both.”

“I’m not a Spacelord!”

“So that is why I have not seen him in such a long time,” Jaleesa mused sadly. “He normally comes to visit me quite often.”

“Why would the old Starlord visit a witch who eats people?” Lubic asked suspiciously.

“I do not just eat people,” Jaleesa snapped. “It is their souls that I consume. Silver is the mirror to the soul, connecting the physical and astral bodies. By twisting it slightly, I created a dagger that could both sever that connection and hold the soul until I could consume it.”

“That didn’t answer my question.”

“No, but it answered what could have been another one. The old Starlord came to visit me because first of all, I am one of his people. Yes, I eat souls. But I am still a human.” She smiled wickedly. “Of course, the more important reason is that I have his daughter.”

Time

"Ummm, Lubic, I think we have something more important to worry about right now," Azalyn said, tapping him on the shoulder. He spun around to see the witch standing in front of a doorway, the wicked gleam of metal in her hand.

"Oh, right. The witch," he said. "You! Witch! Drop your weapon!"

The witch stared at the two of them, a frown darkening her features, her left hand on her hip. "How did you two get in here?"

"Azalyn, next time I dream about you, remind me to also dream about having a gun handy," Lubic whispered.

Azalyn turned to glare at him once again before turning back to the witch. "We are here to stop you from hurting anyone!"

The witch continued to frown, but after a moment a ravishing smile broke out across her face. "Oh, you must be sent by Jared! Is he here?" she turned to look beyond them into the hall. "Jared? Jared, show yourself!"

Lubic and Azalyn exchanged confused glances. "Who is Jared?" Lubic finally asked.

"Jared did not send us," Azalyn affirmed. "We came of our own accord."

"If Jared did not send you, why would you come here now?" Jaleesa asked, confusion clouding her face.

"Who is Jared?" Lubic asked again, a little more loudly.

"We are here to stop you from hurting anyone!" Azalyn asserted again.

"And what makes you think you can stop me?" Jaleesa asked darkly.

"That is our job!"

"If anyone were to stop me, it would be Jared. Not a child like you."

"Jared is not here, is he? We are! And we are not children! We can and will stop you!"

"Believe me, you are children in the grand scheme of the universe. I have been here since before even the mighty Jared was born, " Jaleesa declared, her eyes narrowing. "And how exactly did you two get in here, anyway?"

"He," Azalyn gestured at Lubic, "brought us to the source of the dreams: you."

"And just how exactly were you planning on stopping me?"

"Alright!" Lubic interrupted. "No one’s going anywhere until I get some answers!"

And then the universe stopped.

"Oh my!" Jaleesa dropped her knife. Or she would have dropped it, except it hung motionless in the air, the silver blade still gleaming, in the exact position it was in before time stopped. After staring at the knife in amazement, she turned to regard Lubic, a look of horror rapidly spreading across her features. "Jared could not do what you just did!"

"Oh, the Timekeeper’s going to have a field day with this!" Azalyn muttered.

Lubic looked at them, now even more confused than he had been. "What? What did I do?"

"Lubic," Azalyn whispered, "you just halted time."

Witch

Jay found himself sitting on a dais, with no memory of how he got there. He looked around, finding himself in a large hall, surrounded by grand pillars. The pillars looked like they were made of ebony; they appeared to be intricately carved as well. The only lighting came from the numerous candles scattered throughout the hall.

He got to his feet a little unsteadily. The last thing he could remember was stopping with his tour bus at the oasis. Suddenly, a sand storm had come out of nowhere, and he couldn’t see anyone. Until the woman came and found him . . .

He looked back at the dais, and there she was: the same woman who had saved him. He’d been unable to get a good look at her in the storm, but now he could see her in all of her glory. Jay was dumbfounded; he had never seen a woman more beautiful than the one who sat before him. She looked like she couldn’t possibly be more than twenty - she had the world’s most perfect body. Her dark skin was flawless, her dark hair trailed down her back. She was covered in what looked like animal skins, giving her a more exotic look. But her eyes seemed somewhat at odds with the rest of her: where everything else looked young, her eyes looked ancient. Not that there were lines under them or anything. But her dark eyes looked like they had seen far more than he could imagine.

“Jay, you must be famished! I shall have Elara bring you something to eat.” she gestured at the place he had recently vacated just in front of her. “Come. Sit with me.”

Jay sat in the indicated place. “I need to thank you, for coming to save me. And if I may ask, what's your name? You know mine, but I don't know yours.”

She laughed, a light and pleasing sound to Jay’s ears. “I told you my name as I led you from the storm. But I am not surprised that you do not remember it. You may call me Jaleesa.”

It was then that Jay got his first unpleasant surprise. The girl who must be Elara entered with a tray of fruit and cheese. He went to thank her, and made the mistake of looking her in the eye. The most dead-looking pair of eyes stared back at him from a face devoid of all emotion.

“Wha....what happened to her?” he asked Jaleesa, stumbling back a bit

“Do not be alarmed. She was lost in the storm, like you were. Sadly, it was too late when I found her,” Jaleesa put a hand to his shoulder to steady him, while glancing at the girl. “I do not even know her real name.”

Jay was going to ask more, but Jaleesa stood. “I have some things to prepare. So please, enjoy the fruit. Rest here when you are finished with the food. I will join you when I am done.” And with that, she strode out of the hall, Elara at her heels.

Jay looked at the fruit; to his surprise the tray was filled with many fruit that did not grow in this part of the world. It was all quite delicious. When he finished, he did not feel like resting. He was instead curious about his hostess, so he wandered around the hall a bit, appreciating all of the carvings on the pillars, as well as the other works of art that were tastefully arrayed around the hall.

He was examining the ornate throne that Jaleesa had vacated, when he touched one of the armrests and part of the wall slid open. He jumped, then frantically tried to slide the wall back into place; all he succeeded in doing was hitting some sort of light switch that lit up the small room.

Well, I suppose a quick peek won’t make much difference, he thought, curiosity overcoming his apprehension.

The first thing he saw, as he approached the room, was the ruby. The gem was obviously the focal point of the room; it was easily the size of his fist. As soon as he stepped into the room, a voice rang out, “Just go away! Leave me alone!”

He looked around, and in the far corner huddled a shape. “It’s okay. I won’t hurt you.” He reached a hand to her shoulder, but jerked back in alarm as his hand passed through her. “What are you?”

She turned then, and he found himself staring at a familiar face, although this time she looked far more alive, even if she was insubstantial. “Elara?”

She looked at him blankly. “Who are you? You’re not the witch.”

“No, I’m Jay. What are you? Who did this to you?”

She stood up then, and there was no mistake about it, she was definitely Elara. “I don’t know! I don’t remember anything! Who I am, why I’m here! I won’t even remember you once you leave this room. All I can remember is,” she shrank back from him, eyes rounding in fear, “her.”

Jay spun around to find Jaleesa behind him, holding up a wickedly curved blade of silver. “Well child, I leave you alone for a few minutes, and look what happens! But what does it matter? I have hungered for 50 long years, but now, finally, I am free to feast once again!”

Jaleesa was about to advance into the room, when a voice rang out behind her, “Whoa, this is some dream! Now I’m in Africa!”

Children

"Huh?"

Azalyn gestured towards the children. "Did you not hear them?"

He turned to regard the laughing and shrieking children a bit more cautiously. "Well, from what I can tell, they’re shrieking in that annoying kid way. Hardly anything to be alarmed about."

She glared at him. "Did you not hear them mention a witch?"

"No."

"Honestly Lubic, it’s your job to pay attention to these things!" She stared at him expectantly; he stared blankly back. "Well?"

"Well what?"

"Aren’t you going to go and do something?"

"Umm, should I?"

She sighed in exasperation. "At least go and ask them about it."

He turned to regard the children a bit uncertainly, then glanced back at Azalyn. Her midnight eyes were flashing a mixture of impatience and annoyance as she stood, hands on hips, waiting.

"Alright already!" he turned and trudged towards the children. There were at least five of them, both boys and girls, playing some version of tag. He approached the nearest one, a boy of about eight. "Hey kid! Wait up a second!"

The boy turned, peering up at him with big innocent brown eyes from under a mop of brown hair. "My mom told me not to talk to strangers."

"Don’t worry, child," Azalyn came to Lubic’s rescue. "We just wanted to ask you about the game you’re playing. It sounded very interesting. Did it involve a witch?"

The boy peered up at Azalyn, deciding at once that she was more trustworthy than Lubic. "Yes! Sky over there’s the witch!" he pointed at a little girl who was chasing down one of her friends. "If she catches you, then she eats you and then you’re the witch!"

"Wow. What an imaginative game! Did you come up with it?" Azalyn asked as she knelt down to the boy’s height.

"No ma’am. We all did. We were all dreaming about it. About the witch, I mean. So we thought it would be a fun game to play."

"All of you were dreaming about witches?"

"Well, not Frankie over there. He never dreams. But all the rest of us, we all had the same dream!"

"Well, thank you. Have fun playing!" Azalyn straightened up as the boy ran off to rejoin his friends. She turned to Lubic. "Well now. Looks like you have a witch to catch."

"Wait a minute! Just because some kids were dreaming about some witch, now I have to do something about it?"

Azalyn’s glance flicked upwards; she looked like she was uttering a silent prayer or curse. "Lubic, has no one told you anything? The children are more in tune with what’s going on in your world, with what’s threatening it. They’re your best source of information!"

"But . . . a witch?"

"What, have you never dealt with a witch before?"

"Well, no."

She sighed once again. "Alright, I will help you then. Witches are usually straightforward. Unless they have made a bargain with you, or hold some other power over you."

Azalyn

The next afternoon, Lubic was jogging through the local park, killing time before heading over to Stevens’ for a poker night. He headed through the peaceful back paths for awhile, but eventually found himself on the busier main path. Coming upon a street vendor, he decided to stop and get a drink of water before slowly making his way home.

He sat down on one of the hard wooden benches, observing the comings and goings of everyone else who was out to enjoy the beautiful spring day. He was a bit surprised that there were a lot less people than you’d normally expect to be out on such a fine spring afternoon.

“Greetings Spacelord. I am Azalyn Minara.”

Lubic jumped off of his seat and spun around. Before him stood a beautiful alien woman. Her pale green skin shone in the sunlight, reflecting off of her scales; her gills fluttered at her neck, barely visible beneath her strawberry blonde hair. She was humanoid, standing with her hands on her hips, her long fingers splayed enough to reveal the webbing between them.

“Holy shit! What are you? What are you doing here?”

“Spacelord, I am Azalyn Minara, Starlord of Imezza. I am here to pledge my allegiance to you.”

Lubic stared at her, speechless. “Wha?”

She glared at him with eyes the colour of midnight. “You put the call out, and I have answered. I am here to pledge my allegiance to you, Spacelord.”

“Spacelord?”

It was then that Lubic noticed that they were attracting a fair sized crowd. He turned to face everyone else. “Ummm, nothing to see here folks! She’s just like you guys! Move along!”

He shooed the crowd away, and to his amazement, they all quietly dispersed. He glanced at the alien woman before him, then back to where the crowd had been. “Huh.”

“Thank you Spacelord. Their stares were rather rude.”

“Look, I think you have the wrong person. I’m no Spacelord.” He looked again to where the crowd had been. “Did you think that was kind of weird?”

“What was, Spacelord?”

“Well, usually a crowd like that doesn’t just depart without a word. Kind of creepy.”

“Spacelord, you commanded, and they obeyed.” She stared at him, somewhat incredulously as he gaped. “You really don’t know what I’m talking about, do you?”

“I told you, I’m not a Spacelord.” He studied the alien woman before him. “Okay, I get it. This is a dream. I’m probably asleep on that bench over there.”

She ignored him. “But if you don’t know what I’m talking about, how could you put out the call?”

“Look, lady. I’m not a Spacelord! I don’t know what you are, and I sure as hell didn’t call you here!”

“If you didn’t, then who did? And let me assure you, you are a Spacelord.”

“Stop calling me Spacelord! Look, if you’re going to keep chatting to me, at least call me by my name.”

“You didn’t introduce yourself.”

“Well, I’m Lubic. Lubic Murray.”
She took his hand. Her palm felt smooth, and besides the webbing, her grip was similar to a human’s. “Well met, Lubic Murray.”

“Just call me Lubic.”

A couple of children ran by, laughing as they shrieked about a witch. Azalyn studied the children, then turned to regard Lubic. “Shouldn’t you be looking into that?”

Family

Lubic took the long way home, rather angry that the attractive blonde was a quack, and that she’d made him late for his family dinner. Of course, driving the long way home would make him later, and his grandmother even more upset with him, but he thought it wise to calm down a bit first.

He finally pulled into his driveway, leaving room for his brother’s Del Sol and his sister-in-law’s ML63 to get by his lowly Protégé. Lubic could almost smell the scent of lilacs before he got out of his car. His grandmother had planted a number of trees in the front yard years ago. The trees were large enough now to obscure the house itself; when they were in bloom, like now, it was difficult to tell what colour the bricks were underneath the mask of violet and green.

During the heat of summer, the front yard was an even wilder array of colour thanks to the extensive flower beds Mary planted every year. Though Lubic hadn’t the heart to tell her, he was convinced his grandmother must be colour blind; her selection of colour seemed even more outlandish with each passing year.

He entered the front door and kicked off his boots. “Hi everyone, sorry I’m –”

“Where have you been?” his grandmother yelled at him as she came around the corner. “You know tonight’s our family supper! And being late because of some blonde hussy!”

“Look, I’m sorry,” Lubic kissed her cheek, mollifying her temper a little bit.

“I’ve warned you about pretty blondes before, Lubic!” they stepped into the dining room where the rest of the family was seated, pretending not to listen. “Your father fell in love with one, and look what happened to him! She left him and he passed away from a broken heart!”

“Well, you don’t have to worry, grandma,” Lubic assured her. “This one was a quack who I hope I never see again!”

Mary seemed in better spirits after this declaration, so the family settled down to eat. Lubic caught Ryan’s eye; Ryan shot him an apologetic look. He’d obviously tried to reason with their grandmother, but she’d been livid when he mentioned that the woman who had detained her younger grandson was a blonde.

Just after Ryan’s mother had passed away, their father had met and fallen in love with a beautiful blonde woman. She became pregnant not long after they met, but mysteriously disappeared after Lubic was born. Their father passed away from a twice broken heart not long after. And so it had fallen to Mary to raise the newborn Lubic and his five year old brother.

Their family had been just the three of them, until Ryan married Alyssa, who had taken his heart by storm. The fiery red head had been a welcome addition to their family, as was their son, Jason. But despite all of their happiness, Mary was still a bitter woman, obsessed with the loss of her son.

Luckily for everyone, Mary seemed in better spirits, at least until she answered the door about an hour later. She hadn’t even said a word, just slammed the door and returned to her seat, tight-lipped and obviously angry with whatever she had seen. Everyone else wisely changed the topic.

*

Mikala stood stunned after the old hag had slammed the door in her face.

What is wrong with these people? She was about to knock on the door again, but thought better of it, remembering the hateful look on the other woman’s face. Perhaps it’s time to try something else.

Conversation at the Troll and Harpy

“Do I know you?” Lubic asked, looking the woman over. She seemed somehow familiar, but he was certain he’d never met her before in his life.

“My name is Mikala. I just need a moment of your time.”

Lubic looked helplessly at his brother. He knew their grandmother would be upset if they were late, especially if they were talking to a blonde; Mary absolutely hated blonde women. She had been a bitter woman since their father had died decades earlier, and was only happy when things went her way. Ryan nodded to Lubic and excused himself. He understood and would head to Lubic’s house and make some excuses for his younger brother.

Mikala guided Lubic over to a booth in the corner of the bar. She lowered herself gracefully into the booth, back to the wall, her green eyes scanning the other patrons. If anyone seemed interested in their talk, she would make it more private, but for now she was content to leave things as they were.

Lubic glanced around before he sat down opposite her. He heard a lone man, clad much as his brother had been in a suit with loosened tie, order a Mai Tai from the bar. He could also hear a couple giggling from a gaudy orange booth near the front door. The Troll and Harpy was depressingly empty right around dinner time, when many of the patrons cleared out to spend some time with their families. Just like where I should be, he thought.

He heard a brief commotion from the back room behind the bar. No doubt the owner was getting another earful from his wife. Lubic and Ryan had spent many a night at their table, another of the gaudy orange booths, debating how the bar had gotten its name; Lubic was convinced that it was named after the owner’s wife, who had a voice like a banshee, and nagged her husband all day every day. He was also reasonably sure she was responsible for the colour scheme that ran throughout the building.

“I’ve heard that you recently made detective,” Mikala began, by way of breaking the ice. “Congratulations.”

“Thank you,” Lubic replied. “So now, would you mind telling me who you are and how the heck you know me?”

“This may seem somewhat strange to you, but I swear that everything I say is true. I will try to speed things up, and just tell you what is relevant to you right now. There is time for the rest later.”

“I’m waiting.”

“About thirty years ago, a man died. But he wasn’t just any man: he was the Starlord of humanity. It was his job to watch over the humans, and to –”

“Look lady, I’m sort of in a hurry and I don’t have time for this nonsense. I’m sure that guy,” Lubic pointed at the gentleman seated at the bar, “would love to hear your sob story about some ‘master of humanity’ dying. Good luck with that.”

And Lubic got up and walked out of the Troll and Harpy.

Oh dear, thought Mikala, that went a whole lot worse than I thought it would.

Lubic

Lubic was counting down the seconds until he was off work. His first official day as a detective had been full of mainly paperwork and he was eager to be out of there. He rubbed a hand over his close-cropped hair, smiling to himself when he thought of how his sister-in-law always begged him to reconsider growing it a little bit to better show off the natural blonde colour. He always replied that blonde hair makes you more of a target, and so insisted on shaving it all off as often as he could. His best friend and fellow officer, Joseph Stevens, always joked that Lubic just shaved his head to camouflage any bald spots.

In fact, as Lubic was racing out of the station to meet his brother for a drink, who should appear but Stevens. Along with teasing Lubic about his hair, the dark-but-balding officer always teased Lubic about being so close to his family, even though the two officers would usually head out for a night of drinking or cards every Saturday.

“Oh, look Lubic,” Stevens said as Lubic raced past him, a twinkle in his grey eyes as he made a point of checking his watch, “you’re already late for supper!”

“You’re just jealous, Stevens!” Lubic retorted as he raced on past.

A Friday night drink before dinner had been Lubic’s and Ryan’s tradition for years now, ever since Lubic had gotten his job with the force. After their drink, the brothers would head to Lubic’s house for a family dinner. As usual, Lubic located his brother’s car in the parking lot of the Troll and Harpy, the bar they always went to on Friday nights. Of course, it was never difficult, as the green Del Sol stood out like a lion amidst the lowly minivans and economy cars of the working classes.

And sure enough, as Lubic entered he saw his older brother Ryan in their usual table, tie loosened and beer in hand. Lubic didn’t bother looking around as he headed to their table. A second beer was sitting opposite Ryan, which Lubic gladly took a swig from as he lowered himself into the chair facing his brother.

“So, how’s the all-important detective?” his brother asked with a grin.

“By the looks of things, about the same as the high and mighty banker!” Lubic replied, matching his brother’s grin.

Where Lubic had light hair, his brother’s was darker, like their father’s. Lubic was slimmer, which of course led to all kinds of teasing from his larger, more powerfully built brother. In highschool, Ryan had been a hockey player, and he still believed in keeping in shape; he regularly went to the gym and it showed. Lubic had been lucky thus far that his job had kept him somewhat active; he didn’t believe in the gym. But aside from their different physiques and attitudes about exercising, the brothers had the same mocking grins, as well as the same sea-green eyes; it was easy to see they were related.

And so they chatted about their respective jobs, not really having a whole lot to say since they had seen each other the previous night for the birthday celebrations. They lingered over their drinks for an hour, and were just getting ready to head to Lubic’s for dinner when a woman with pale gold hair and eyes the colour of the sea stopped them.

“Excuse me, but are you Lubic?”

The Meeting

Mikala had been in a meeting with her fellow Spacelord, Ba’laironshantinlavydalar, at the Timekeeper’s palace. The palace was a neutral place where Spacelords and Starlords could meet to discuss whatever they needed to. The Timekeeper is an ancient being who records the history of the Universe and keeps time travelling as it should. He also exists as an impassive judge to any feuds that Spacelords and Starlords may have with one another.

The Timekeeper’s palace is a strange sort of place as it never looks the same: its shape seems to evolve as though the palace were alive. The reason for this fluidity of its structure is that the palace may be called on to host any number and any manner of creatures.

For Mikala’s meeting with Ba’laironshantinlavydalar, the palace was shaped like a large garden with a spectacular view of the stars; this seemed a strange choice to Mikala, as although this form could quite easily house Ba’laironshantinlavydalar’s bulk, it was quite clearly at odds with his body shape. For Ba’laironshantinlavydalar was a Lavydalar, a being with a body much like an elasmosaurus and the head of a dragon. His scales glinted silver in the starlight as he attempted to pull himself forward with his powerful pectoral fins; he gave up after a moment, preferring to settle into place on the path. The gravity of the palace, while perfect for Mikala, was too strong for the large swimmer to move about comfortably.

To Ba’laironshantinlavydalar’s eyes, Mikala appeard to also be a Lavydalar, with pale gold scales and beautiful eyes whose colour reminded him of the sea on his world. But he knew that Mikala was not of his race, as there can be only one Starlord or Spacelord per race.

A Starlord is an immortal being who is responsible for his or her race’s survival. The Starlord is bound to the planet his or her race exists on; he or she can alter their planet with but a thought and a command, called a Rule.

A Spacelord, on the other hand, is an immortal being whose race has found a way to travel the stars. A Spacelord is therefore not bound to one particular planet, and their Rules can affect the entire Universe.

“I think the more important question, Mikala, is why do the humans have a Spacelord?” Ba’laironshantinlavydalar rumbled. His tail flicked, the only sign of his agitation, but he was able to stop the shark-like fins from damaging the flower bed beside the path they were standing on. “I thought the humans only had a Starlord, as they have not yet travelled the stars.”

“So did I!” Mikala snapped, realizing she was the source of the other Spacelord’s agitation. “The humans have had a Starlord for over two thousand years. How was I to know that after the old one died they would get a Spacelord?”

The two were silent for a moment, out of respect for the dead. Starlords and Spacelords, being immortal, do not just die.

“Well,” Ba’laironshantinlavydalar finally rumbled, breaking the akward silence, “we now have a problem. The Earth has an untrained Spacelord. Had we known, the Spacelords of the galaxy could have taught him about his future role, and prepared him. But now he has been subjected to thirty years of humankind’s heathenism.”

His ventral fins, much like a betta’s except they had evolved a thumb-like appendage and so are capable of fine manipulation, gestured at the other Spacelord.

“I know, it was my responsibility, as the Earth falls under my jurisdiction,” she snapped bitterly. Mikala took a deep breath to calm herself. “It was my responsibility to train this Lubic. So I guess now it is my responsibility to go and try to fix whatever damage has already been done.”

The Beginning

For once in his life, Lubic felt that all of his hard work had finally paid off: today he had finally made detective!

After his shift, Lubic and some of his comrades from the force went to celebrate his promotion with a drink. But Lubic could not stay too long, as he could not wait to break the news to his family. Besides, he had promised he would be home early because today was the day that both he and his nephew celebrated their birthdays; and not every day is the day that you celebrate turning thirty and your nephew turning ten.

So Lubic got home and surprised his family with the news of his promotion. Everyone was ecstatic. They had a lovely dinner, just the five of them: Lubic, his grandmother Mary, his brother Ryan, his sister-in-law Alyssa and his nephew Jason, then returned back to the home Lubic shared with his grandmother.

It was while playing a few video games with his nephew that the incident occurred.

*

Throughout the galaxy, all of the other Starlords and Spacelords felt the exact moment when the new rule was written. It was the Spacelord Mikala who expressed everyone’s confusion best: “What does it mean that no one can take ‘pot shots’ at Lubic?”