The Trap

Lubic found himself at the mouth of a cave. He hesitated before entering the darkened maw, as he could not see more than a few feet in front of him. "If only I had a flashlight," he muttered to himself. But he knew that Elara was here, and so he entered. He took a few steps into the cave and was immediately swallowed by the darkness.

It became immediately apparent that he was in a tunnel; Lubic could feel the cave walls closing in around him. A few feet from the cave entrance, the tunnel started turning gradually to the left. He stopped for a few moments, letting his eyes adjust to the gloom. It was then that he realized that there were voices coming from up ahead.

As he slowly inched his way forward, he found that the tunnel was widening into a larger cavern. At about that time, he realized that one of the voices was Elara’s. The second one he didn’t think he had heard before.

“I honestly have no idea,” the second voice was saying. “Well, I think he took me accidentally. It seems to be you he was after.”

“Yes, he was so very happy he couldn’t contain his excitement, so he left.” That was Elara. “That makes a lot of sense, Jay.”

“Elara,” Lubic said into the darkness. “Where are you?”

“Uncle? Uncle, is that you?”

Oh yeah, she thinks I’m her uncle. “Um, yeah, it’s Lubic. Are you okay? Where are you?”

“We’re okay. Jay and I are just chained to the cave wall.”

“The bird man brought us here and then left,” Jay added.

“Okay, well, let’s see if I can free you two. Then we can get out of here.” Lubic walked cautiously forward. About two steps in, he felt his foot trip some sort of mechanism on the floor. He stopped moving forward just as the ceiling in front of him collapsed, missing him by several feet.

“UNCLE LUBIC?” Elara screamed.

“Gee, not so loud! I can hear you just fine!” he said, coughing a little. “The cave-in missed me by several feet. I knew this place was supposedly trapped, but I thought the traps might be a bit less obvious than that! Are you two alright?” He moved cautiously around the collapsed ceiling until they were in view.

“Yes, we’re fine. The ceiling collapsed a good ten feet in front of us,” Jay said.

“Alright, I’m coming, but I’m going to be careful. I don’t want to set any other traps off.” It took several tense minutes, but Lubic made it to the two of them without incident. He examined the chains as best he could in the darkness. “I’m not entirely sure how I can free you two without any . . .” he trailed off. What the heck? “Chains . . . release them!” he commanded. The chains instantly released the two captives.

“How did you do that?” Jay whispered in awe.

“Apparently in my dreams, I can do whatever I want,” Lubic said, pulling Jay to his feet. “Let’s go.”

All three of them cautiously made their way out of the cave. “What a stupid trap,” Lubic laughed as they got to the mouth of the cave. “With all that effort, you’d think he would have had something better than an obvious cave-in!”

*

The Raven stood, stunned, watching the three of them leave. He was standing in the secret passage he had meticulously carved out beside where his prisoners had been chained to the wall. He was holding an extremely powerful sniper rifle that was still aimed at Lubic’s back. Yet no matter how hard he tried, he could not will his finger to press the trigger. It was only after the three of them were gone that he blew a hole into the opposite wall, right at the point where he had last seen Lubic.

The Human Enigma

The emerald waters shivered as a large shape cut through them, marring the glass-like calm. Powerful flippers pulled Ba’laironshantinlavydalar’s bulk quickly forward through the unusually calm S’seeleyar Sea. The Spacelord headed steadily south, away from his latest obligation, deep in thought. He had been busy over the last few days since the meeting with Mikala: he was in the middle of important negotiations with the Gartraxin, and had been overseeing a few other projects that had recently come up. Finally, he found himself without anything pressing to do, and so he swam with no real destination in mind, puzzling over the human enigma.

Throughout the last three days, ever since Lubic’s power had manifested itself, Ba’laironshantinlavydalar had wondered how it was possible: how could the vermin have a Spacelord? How?

Ba’laironshantinlavydalar had known Jared since he had become the human Starlord over two millenia ago. He was reasonably certain that the humans had not left their planet under their own power in all the time Jared had been Starlord. Well, other than their little jaunts to their moon, but those do not count. Otherwise Jared would have become a Spacelord long ago. So if this Lubic became a Spacelord as soon as he came into power, the humans must have only recently left. But Ba’laironshantinlavydalar was not aware of any recent human activity in space.

Ba’laironshantinlavydalar knew that Jared had never been a Spacelord; he had remained a Starlord to the end of his days. But what if Jared was supposed to have been one?

“Spacelord,” a voice said, startling him out of his thoughts. Ba’laironshantinlavydalar was surprised to see his second in command, Kai’rowandel, casually floating in front of him. Kai’rowandel was smaller than Ba’laironshantinlavydalar, and leaner; the younger Lavydalar was streamlined, and designed to be one of the fastest swimmers. But Ba’laironshantinlavydalar knew the younger Lavydalar was only acting. None were faster than the Spacelord; Kai’rowandel must have swum very hard and fast to catch him.

“What is it?” Ba’laironshantinlavydalar rumbled.

“Sir, the Gartraxin send word: their swarms will support us when the time comes.”

“This is most excellent news indeed. And are they willing to help with the experiments as well?”

“Yes sir. Even now we are transferring some of the subjects.”

“This is good news indeed. I will go to the Gartraxin and finalize the treaty.” He sighed inwardly. This human enigma would have to wait once again.

Kidnapped

Jay sat chained to the back of the cave, looking forlornly around. Not that he was really able to see much, as the bird had left him without any light. But he could tell that it wasn’t a particularly large cave. There were two passages that led outside of the cave, the large one that the bird had flown out of, and a smaller one, hidden just to the right of where he sat. The only reason he knew about the hidden passage was from the draft that was coming from it.

His thoughts turned once again to how he had gotten himself into this mess. He had been stuck in that room with the soul of Elara, listening to the crazy woman with the knife talking to two possibly crazier people, when suddenly, he was standing in front of his house. He had started to walk up to the door, when the largest raven he had ever seen swooped out of the sky and snatched him up. They had flown for a long time, when suddenly the raven deposited him here.

The raven had then changed into a tall, lean, dark haired man, who had looked him over carefully, before scowling. "You have the stink of Spacelord powers all over you, but you’re not who I’m after!"

"What are you talking about? What do you mean ‘Spacelord powers?’" Jay asked, shrinking back from the man.

"I thought you were the old Starlord’s child. The one who’s been missing all these years. The one the new Spacelord just freed." The man spat. "But no, I can tell already. The stink’s fading."

The man chained him to the cave wall anyway, then changed back into the large bird. Cawing once, a low, evil sound, he launched himself into the air and was gone.

And so Jay had been left alone. He tried to loosen the chains from the wall, but they remained firm. When he stopped to examine how they were attached to the cave wall, he discovered that they were newly fixed in place; there wasn’t a trace of rust on any of the metal. And from the look of them, whoever had fixed them to the wall really knew what they were doing; Jay would need more than his own strength to break free of them.

His muscles gradually stiffened up, so he fidgeted in an effort to relieve the cramps. At least the fidgeting gave him something to do. Jay had never been this bored in his life. So he sat, trying in vain to amuse himself, waiting for the bird man to come back.

Jay had just finished singing his favourite song for about the fiftieth time when he heard a triumphant cawing gradually getting closer. The raven reappeared, depositing another form into the cave. The form struggled to its feet. Jay had yet another shock: the form turned out to be Elara. She looked around wildly as the bird man changed back to his human form.

"Where have you taken me?" she demanded. "What do you want?"

The bird man looked her up and down, before smiling in triumph. "Yes, you are the old Starlord’s daughter! He’ll come for you!" He said, grabbing her by the wrist and chaining her next to Jay. Then he turned back into a bird and flew away once again. His caws echoed after him like cruel laughter.

After a few moments the echoes died away. "Well, he seems happier with you than he was with me," Jay said into the silence.

Elara gasped, spinning around. "I recognize you! You’re the last person I remember from the witch’s place!"

"I’m Jay," Jay tried to hold out his hand, but couldn’t reach her. He gave up with a shrug. "I know who you are. You were the witch’s slave."

"Yes. I’m Elara." She glanced around the cave. "How long have you been here?"

"A couple of hours. I’m not entirely sure." He watched as Elara tried testing the chains that were holding her. "I already tried breaking free. Whoever put these here sure knew what they were doing; I think we’re thoroughly trapped."

An uncomfortable silence followed his last remark. Jay couldn’t think of anything else to say to the dark haired beauty. Or at least nothing intelligent.

"So what do you think that bird man wants with us?" she finally asked, breaking the silence.

A Visit

Lubic stood in his driveway for another few moments, unsure of what to do. How could he find a giant bird? Who would even believe this story, especially when he wasn’t altogether certain he believed it himself.

With a sinking feeling, he was able to think of three people right away who would probably believe him. One of them he had no intention of talking to ever again if he could help it. So that left Azalyn and Jaleesa. He quickly decided on the witch, as she had promised she would help him find information whenever he needed it. And at least he knew where she lived. He had no idea how to find Azalyn.

With a word and a thought, Lubic found himself standing directly in front of Jaleesa. Her ancient dark eyes showed her surprise, but she quickly mastered her features. She was no longer in animal skins, but was instead in baggy silk trews, with an ornate vest. Her long hair was partially up, but for the most part still loose.

"Lubic, what a surprise! I did not expect to see you again so soon."

"Well, Jaleesa, I didn’t really expect to be visiting you again so soon, either," Lubic replied. He glanced around. They were in a smaller room, one he had not seen before. They were right beside a dressing table. Behind him was a rather large and ornate bed. Lubic’s face reddened. "I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to meet you in here."

"It is quite alright." Jaleesa turned and led Lubic to an anteroom that had many plush cushions arrayed around for sitting on. Jaleesa clapped and a servant entered, bearing refreshments. The servant placed the tray in front of Lubic, bowed, then quickly disappeared the way she came. "Now Lubic, what can I do for you?"

Lubic quickly outlined what had happened to him upon arriving home, ending with the raven carrying the girl away.

"I see," Jaleesa mused. "And I suppose you want me to find her for you?"

"Yes please. And any other information that might be useful. I’ve never heard of a raven that size before!"

"Well, to me it sounds like a shifter of some sort," Jaleesa said, clapping her hands once again. "But I will be able to tell you more momentarily."

The servant once again appeared, but this time with an ornately carved box on a tray. She placed the tray in front of Jaleesa, before bowing and disappearing once again. Jaleesa opened the box and removed a small package, wrapped in silk. She moved the box off of the tray, then unwrapped the silk, revealing a deck of cards.

"The old ways work best," she smiled, beginning to shuffle. She quickly lay the cards in a complex pattern on the tray. Then, as Lubic sat fidgeting across from her, she contemplated what the cards revealed to her.

"Are you sure this will work," Lubic asked, unable to bear the silence any longer.

"Shhh!" Jaleesa shushed him. She remained silent for a long while after, her attention firmly on the spread. Lubic was just about to speak again, when she looked up.

"It is as I thought: a shifter. A were-raven, to be more exact. But it looks to me like he is not happy remaining as he is; he wants more power," she said, tapping a series of the cards. "I will tell you where he has taken the girl, but I warn you, this has the looks of a trap of some sort."

"I’m not leaving her."

The Raven

“How can that be? 2000 years???”

“That’s what it says on the internet, Elara.”

She turned to look at him, her sea green eyes wild. “How do you know this internet is accurate?”

“Well, let’s look at another one.” Lubic went back to the search engine and opened the next website. That one just confirmed what the first one said. He looked at about five others and they all confirmed the information. “It looks like they’re all in agreement. We could go and see what the library has to say about this though, if you’d like.”

“Yes, please, let’s go there. This has to be a mistake!”

He checked his watch. “Well, if we hurry, we should be able to make it before the library closes.”

Lubic went to make their excuses to his grandmother. Then they headed outside.

“Your house is so strange looking. Well, all the buildings are rather strange looking. But at least your house is oddly pretty.”

“Thank you, I think.”

Elara’s gaze turned to the sky. “I wonder when it got so cloudy? It was sunny earlier.”

“Yeah, I don’t know,” Lubic said, looking up as well. “Those clouds sure moved in fast.” They were just about at his Protégé, when out of nowhere a gigantic Raven swooped out of the clouds, grabbed Elara in its talons, then quickly flew back into the clouds. Lubic stared dumbfounded as the clouds quickly dissipated, leaving no trace of bird or girl. The bird had disappeared before Elara had had a chance to scream.

It was then he noticed that no one else seemed to be around. “How did no one else see that???”

Elara

"Wha . . . ? How is that even possible? Jaleesa made it sound like Jared was extremely old. How could he be my brother?"

"Well, if I had to guess, I’d say you have the same mother. Although I didn’t think my grandmother would ever come back here. She hated this planet."

"Alright. Let’s pretend this is all possible for a moment. How old would your grandmother be then?"

"Well, what is the year?"

"2007."

"That doesn’t make sense!"

Lubic looked at her blankly. "What do you mean that doesn’t make sense?"

"I . . . I need to see the stars. I need to know how much time has passed."

"Well," Lubic said, checking his watch, "we still have a couple of hours until nightfall. But maybe we can just figure this out. Can you tell me anything that would be historically significant? Like who led your people?"

"Alexander Molossus had just taken the throne."

"Okay. Umm, I’ve never heard of him. Where was he king of?"

"Epirus."

He looked at her blankly for a few minutes. "I have no idea where that is."

"Maybe we should go look at the stars then?"

"We could go and look it up on the internet."

"Internet?"

"Come on, I’ll show you."

The two of them went to Lubic’s computer. Lubic did his best to explain how everything worked. Eventually he asked her to take it on faith that the little boxes could indeed tell him what they wanted to know.

"I’ll bring you to a library tomorrow. The librarians might be able to explain it all better than me." He typed ‘Alexander Molossus’ into the search engine. He opened the first website, skimming it quickly. "Ancient Greece??!!"

"What? What does it tell you?" she asked.

"It says here that Alexander Molossus was king from 350 BC to 331 BC!"

"And what does that mean?"

"He was alive about 2,300 years ago!"

"What??"

Family Values

Lubic felt his jaw drop. It has to be a coincidence! She can’t possibly be the same girl the witch was talking about!

"I’m sure this is quite a shock, meeting each other for the first time. Why don’t I leave you two for a moment?" Mary stood up. "I’ll go and get something to munch on."

"Okay," Lubic took a deep breath, "just what exactly is going on here?"

"I’m sorry," Elara whispered. "This is all so confusing! The whole world is so strange and terrifying! I didn’t realize I’d been gone for so long!"

"Easy there. It’s okay. Why don’t you tell me what you remember?"

"I remember the witch. Her face is burned into my memory. I can remember faces of people who are gone now. I remember my father visiting. And I can remember my grandmother." She looked up at him. "Where is my father?"

"Okay, first of all, who is your father?" Lubic asked, already sure he knew the answer.

"His name is Jared."

"I’m really sorry, Elara, but Jared is dead."

Tears started spilling from her green eyes. "I thought it was true! I hoped it wasn’t, but I knew, deep down, that it was."

"Is there anywhere else you can go to stay?" Lubic asked gently.

"All I remember is waking up with the clear command to ‘return to whatever family’ I have left. And this was where that led me." She peered up at him. "Everything is changed! The whole world is such a scary place now! This isn’t even my native language that I’m speaking. I don’t know what it is!"

"So how, exactly, do you know that I’m related to you?"

"Well, even if I didn’t just know that you’re my family, we have the same eyes. My father once told me that our family was gifted with eyes the colour of the sea. Only those related to us by blood, no matter how distant, will have eyes like ours. The colour comes from my grandmother."

"Wait a minute. You called me ‘uncle.’ Is that just a polite term for a relation?"

"In your case, no, it’s not."