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."