Slipping Between Dreams Part 24

   By the time the car wheeled to a sudden stop Ketz was already opening the door. He lunged to the ground like a professional stuntman. Then he sat, kneeling on the ground as he panted for breath.

   "That was fun!" Somehow Adäné still managed to keep her sunhat on her head. The world was truly a baffling place. The girl stepped out and laughed, then stepped out in open sandals and short shorts, into the sunny, tropical scenery.

   There was a reason he didn’t drive. Years of quiet hatred and distrust had never made sense, not enough to amount to more than an irrational avoidance. Never before in even his youth had he seriously questioned why. It had to be applauded to Adäné for managing to transcend time and space just to shape his past with one car trip.

   "Did you see the wheels leave the ground!?" Adäné bowed down, hands on her lap as the seeming exhilaration took over. "We were sideways!" In sand.

   Ketz inched further away by the minute.

   The girl inched closer. "So let’s hit the beach!"

   "Let’s hit the mortuary." He was done like the last day of the world.

   Adäné only tilted her head. "What’s that word?"

   This was too much. Ketz forced himself to his feet and started walking. Sadly, the child followed. He shook it off.

   "Wait!" She ran and caught up. "I thought we were gonna investigate or… hunt dreams or whatever." Adäné shrugged expectantly.

   This child would kill him. "I just… I can’t." He kept walking.

   "Wait, please!" The child followed again. "I just want to hang out. Please." Her soft eyes pleaded louder than words. When that failed she stood, defeated. "I don’t want to be alone."

   And it hurt. Ketz sighed. He was going to regret this. "Come on."

   That bright smile came back instantly. Adäné merrily hopped in place. "So where do you want to look for… what was it again?" She tilted her head in confusion.

   This was a bad idea. "Sirens. I need to find the sirens and track down someone who was alive and here over a hundred seasons ago, remember? A beach party. We talked about this."

   "Oh yeah," laughed Adäné. "I was just excited about the beach."

   This child. "I can tell." With a tilt of his head he beckoned her onward. "Come on." They had a lot to do still. If she wanted to help she would have to prove it. "So we’re here, at the beach, but where are the sirens?" The visuals weren’t quite the same, but that could happen over long amounts of time. Suddenly the realisation came back that his biggest lead at this moment in time was a vague glimpse of a faraway beach where something happened long ago to two people, maybe. This somehow may have relevance to… something. Ketz paused. Was this really how he spent his life?

   "Right, yeah.  Okay, let’s do this." At least Adäné had enthusiasm. She clapped her hands together and marched onward.

   "You said they hold parties around here, right?" Ketz wandered toward the shore, finally acknowledging the sights and sounds. While there were no sirens, groups of casual beach-goers swam and tanned happily.

   Finally the young lady engaged. The motor began to click into gear. Adäné leaned on one leg, putting her hands on her hips. "Well, they have a place near here? Where they go, you know? Not many people go there, it’s kinda private… but sometimes they come here and manage the parties and throw us off the beach when they need to use it."

   This was a start. Ketz smiled appreciatively. "If they live somewhere else people can’t get to, there has to be a way they manage the beach and take bookings, right? You can’t expect them to magically predict when-"

   "They have a shack over there," replied Adäné eagerly. She was correct. A little brown building on the far edge of the beach looked like a step in the right direction.

   Off they went. As they got closer he noticed the signs strewn about. “BE A GOOD GUEST, KEEP OUR BEACH CLEAR” was the first to catch his attention. “KEEP OUR WATER CLEAN” stood out pretty strong in bright blue letters. There was at least effort here.

   Ketz pushed through the open door and into a little room with a counter and a couple wooden chairs in the corner. A few sets of brochures sat here and there. Nobody was there. The quiet building hung still as a museum. Ketz leaned over the counter and looked into the back. "Hello?"

   Young Adäné lurked around, picking and poking. She took a pamphlet and flipped through it. "I don’t like this place, they’re always coming out and yelling at us."

   He indulged her for a moment. "Are you following their rules? Do you clean up after yourselves and give them space?" Ketz glanced back at the girl.

   Adäné took a second to quietly stamp and pout like a preteen. She turned to look away. "They’re so strict." The pout was tangible.

   Ketz smiled to himself and turned back around. Nobody was here, still. "Where is everybody?" He grabbed a pamphlet and flipped through. Aside from a list of wedding and party options there was a phone number. Bingo. Ketz then turned to Adäné. "Do you have a phone? Can I borrow it?"

   She was all too eager to hand it over. "Do you want my number? Are you gonna put yours in?"

   "Don’t have one," Ketz replied immediately. "Don’t have a phone. I’m going to call the number for this party service and see who answers."

   Adäné lifted a curious eyebrow. "Oh. That’s smart. Are you gonna see if they answer?"

   "That’s the plan." He held up a shushing finger as the phone began to connect. Then a phone in the back rang, and rang, and rang. Ketz hung up. "Dead end." Why was he really here? He handed his companion back her phone. "Where do they live?" He really came all this way to ask about some stranger from… ages ago.

   Adäné shrugged. "Maybe they’re out checking on the beach. We can go check?" Suddenly she was a bit more timid. "It’ll be okay, we’ll find someone. Just calm down."

   "I am calm," Ketz replied.

   The young lady grimaced. "Not really." She choreographed some hand gestures as she talked. "You’re kinda… stressed, and… snappy…"

   He wasn’t. He was fine. This was ridiculous. Ketz sighed. "I’m fine."

   "Okay." Adäné cringed. She still pressed. "What’s wrong? Why are you so obsessed with this? Like… why does it matter? I don’t understand." The young lady put a hand on his shoulder.

   "It- agh." Ketz groaned. How in the world was he supposed to explain this? Helpless hands were raised. He fought the urge to ball his fists as he grit his teeth.

   "I don’t understand." She said that already.

   "It… I’m looking for someone." There was no way to reasonably explain this.

   "You said that," replied Adäné. "Who? Why? You’re kinda acting all angry." Worried eyes watched him carefully.

   It was too stupid. "I saw this… vision of… what am I even doing?" Ketz grabbed a chair. Adäné followed and sat down beside him. "So I’ve been trying to figure out why the Shades-" Ketz paused. That was right, the girl had no idea what they were. "Shades are these… shadow things that destroy anything living that they touch. They were supposed to be gone but they’re back and I’m tracing a lead back to here. I think someone here may be able to help me explain. It’s an… incredibly long shot, but it’s all I have right now." That sounded somewhat sane.

   "And you want to talk to the sirens about this?" Adäné was desperately trying to piece it together.

   "Yeah. They were hosting a party this person was at."

   "A really long time ago."

   "…Yes. Uh, I have to hope they can help me." Ketz sighed, long and hard. The truth was insane.

   Adäné stood up. "Then let’s go. We’ll find someone who can help you find what you’re looking for." She extended a friendly hand.

   He took it. "Okay. Sorry."

   With a calm smile she led them outside. "It’s okay. Let’s find someone who can help you." Adäné dragged him out onto the beach. "They’re usually yelling at people for leaving bottles and stuff everywhere. Let’s see…"

   Maybe twenty minutes of failed browsing only left the question hanging. Sense began to slip away with every moment. Eventually there was a breakthrough. It hit Ketz with surprise as Adäné dragged him off in a random direction.

   "Oh! Here!" Adäné pointed, forcing him to follow. "This is the lady that threw us out for having a bonfire." The woman in question walked on until Adäné shouted. "Hey! I got someone who needs to talk to you!"

   It took a couple tries to get her attention. Finally however, she gave way. A taller, elegant woman faced the two. High cheeks and a narrow, sharp chin defined her, beneath long dark locks. Piercing faded blue eyes punched arrow holes through the interlopers. "Can I help you?"

   "Yeah," said Adäné. "This guy is looking for someone, he wants your help.’ At that, she cheerfully hopped and let Ketz take over. ‘I’m gonna go see some friends over there! Come get me when you’re done!"

   "Hi," said Ketz. He extended a welcoming hand to shake. It wasn’t taken. "Nice to meet you, miss…"

   The woman watched him carefully. "Amarya SilverTail. You  said you're looking for someone? Who?" She watched carefully.

   "That’s part of the problem," Ketz replied openly. "I’m still trying to-" That sentence got cut short. A sound gave way to motion in the corner of his eye. He turned and watched, as a child ran up into Amarya’s waiting arms. What happened next was… what happened next. Life had a funny circumference to it.

   "Arianna! Is that your mom?" A familiar face appeared as a woman rushed out from the trees, followed by a younger boy. He grabbed her hand tight and pointed Ketz’ way. Eyes soon locked, soft, long, and deep.

   Somehow he was still caught off guard. Ketz paused. All on its own his jaw fell open. She was here. He took a second to breathe and compose himself quietly.

   "Arianna," said Amarya, smiling deep. "Where have you been?" The woman spread her arms wide for the child.

   Arianna clung to her mother’s leg, but stared over at Thia and Lester. "Lady Thia spellsonged the bad wolfkin man to stop chasing me. He was really scary mom, and he’s after you! I heard him on the phone…"

   Thia vaguely heard the conversation in the background, but just like the first time, was barely aware of anything but the Nekonikai in front of her. "Hello Ketz," she offered shyly, silver eyes wary.

     It had to come to this at some point. Ketz sighed quietly to himself and faced the present. "Hi." It was all he had.

   Amarya quirked an eyebrow. "What do you mean?" She glanced at the new woman. "What does she mean? What happened?"

   The woman known as Iridethia blinked, and turned to Arianna’s mom, disappointment in her posture momentarily. "Lester and I saw your daughter being pursued in the woods by a very angry, drunk woflkin male. We hid her and I sang a spellsong of forgetfulness so he’d leave. It is possible he wishes you harm as Arianna says. I can't be sure how long we'll be around to offer protection Lady SilverTail. After all I'm just Dream Walking here. My brother could call me home anytime…" She cast a longing glance at Ketz. "It can lead to unpleasant misunderstandings…"

   Well, that was one fact confirmed, at least. The woman breathed in long and deep. "I see." Her child was safe, that was what all that mattered in her eyes. She watched Iridethia and Ketz for a moment. "Do you two know each other?" Now there was a story in the making.

   "Yyyyes and no," Ketz replied quickly. There was too much to be condensed, or… even figured out yet in his own brain.

   Iridethia frowned. "Does this mean you are still mad at me?" She asked Ketz sadly. "I know we met under the weirdest of circumstances, but Losa and Shades aside… I really do want to get to know you better.... I-" Thia bit her lower lip and glanced at Arianna’s mom. "I’m sorry. This is… I just… things are complicated." That was an understatement.

   Amarya nodded and stepped away. "I’ll let you two have some privacy." She took her daughter and backed off without a word against her.

   As for Ketz, he stood and sighed. There went his lead. He turned back to the feline girl, Iridethia. "I’m not- agh… no. I’m not angry. Just surprised. It’s a lot to deal with."

   “Thia” nodded. "Okay. I do kind of understand. I’m not really sure how to go about this… I've… never really… um… doyouwantmycellphonenumber?" She asked really fast, her heart beating sky high. Unconscious of the gesture, she clutched her crystal sword amulet like a lifeline. She stared down at her black boots mortified and held her breath, body braced as if expecting a blow.

   Now this was a shock. Ketz did his best not to stare, for what it helped. "Uh… well." Wow. "Sure, yeah. That might… help, yeah." This was not exactly how he had expected to spend his day.

   Iridethia’s head snapped up and she peered at him, sure she’d misheard. "You… do? Uh… paper… pen… damn this Dream Walking form. Never sure what I’ve got on me…" Iridethia muttered, patting her skirt. "Great… no money, no bag, no pen. Um… do you have a pen, Ketz? Or if you have a phone on you I could just program it in…" Her silver eyes screamed panic.

   That was a problem. Ketz patted his pockets. "I think I have a pen." He fished one out, as well as a folded piece of paper. "Here. I’m between phones at the moment."

   Thia accepted the paper and pen with trembling hands. Using her left forearm as a writing surface, she wrote down her cell phone number, her full name, and her address. Then she folded it back up and handed it back to Ketz with a tentative smile. "I uh… I have a job weekdays from mid morning to early evening and might not be able to answer my phone on the clock. Lorelei’s getting frustrated that I keep taking time off because of magical mishaps… but if I don't answer outside that time I might be Dream Walking. I have no clue why some stuff comes sometimes and doesn't others. Text or leave me a message and I promise to get back to you as soon as I can…" She cocked her head and looked at Ketz consideringly. "I have no idea what is too much with you… sorry if I just rambled or something. I'm so nervous right now…"

   "I understand." Ketz nodded politely. Thoughts slipped out. "Losa… uh, I… guess it’s complicated." That was an understatement. "I’ll try not to call you at work. So you have a brother?" He looked the paper over. She essentially just signed her entire personal life over to a virtual stranger.

   Thia smiled brighter. "Yes, my big brother Seth. He practically raised me. He is the most wonderful chef in the entirety of Kesseth! It’d be great if you could maybe come over for dinner some time. His cooking would make me so fat if my magic didn’t consume all of the calories. Anyways… Seth is a very cool brother, even if he is super overprotective. I’m sure you would find something to talk about. He studies all sorts of magic! Kind of brainy… is there anything in particular you’d like to know about Seth?"

   "Uh… I'm good, thanks." This was a lot to take in. "Sorry if I came off a bit rough before." All he could do was awkwardly stand on his heels. Today was not going like he had planned.

   Thia nodded. "I understand. Friends?" She offered her right hand, gazing at him with a relieved smile.

   Ketz accepted graciously and gave her hand a gentle shake. "Friends. Good to meet you… properly. So you were just dropping by?"

   "Thanks! I… had a bad feeling and ended up here. I got caught by a bad spell the other night. Should be home resting, but I don't think it’s a good to ignore being called where you are needed. I’m not always needed, but since picking up Lester in the Wastelands things with the Shades have been crazy. I swear it felt like they were watching us in the woods. I’m surprised they didn’t attack us…"

   Then came another familiar voice. Ketz held back a wry, hard grimace in the distraction as Adäné strode over.

   "Hey Ketz!" She put a hand on his shoulder. "Who's this?" The girl smiled cheerfully.

*

   Thia’s face went blank, her silver eyes hard. Taking a deep breath, she forced a smile. Her left hand clutched her amulet and she grit her teeth. Ketz had better not expect her to talk to that girl, or spellsongs would be unleashed and then Seth would yell at her for misusing magic.

*

   "Uh, hi Adäné." Ketz hesitantly took her hand off his body. "This is… Adäné. Adäné, this is Iridethia, a friend of mine. We uh, we… know each other."

   "Oh cool!" Adäné’s voice bubbled over. "Is she your cousin?"

*

   Mutely Thia shook her head. She was NOT going to spellsing that “A-day-nay” girl into amnesia land. To make sure she grit her teeth a little harder and tried to relax her tense muscles.

*

   This was going well. Ketz held back a morbid sigh. "No, we uh… can we have some time to talk? Iridethia and I have some official business to discuss."

   "Oh. Can I help?"

   He shook his head. "No, this is business."

   Adäné finally let off- sort of. Before going she grabbed his wrist. "You’re still gonna party with me tonight… right?" Those young eyes sparkled with cheerful hope.

   Ketz nodded. "Yeah, okay." He sighed once more as the girl strode away to the far edge of the beach. This was going to be a long day.

*

   Thia closed her eyes and counted backwards from ten, trying to calm down. That Adäné had laid hands on her Ketz and all but claimed him as her own. The worst thing was, she hadn’t been able to do or say anything. Just because Losa said Ketz was her soul mate didn't mean he didn't have a say.... and it seemed like... he'd probably say no anyhow.

   Having calmed her anger by forcing herself to accept a perceived rejection, Thia opened her eyes and looked at Ketz. "What business do we have?" She asked curiously, her fist clenched so hard around the amulet, her hand started bleeding. She didn’t even notice.

*

   As the young girl waved and slipped off back to the party Ketz shook it off and focused on Iridethia. "Just needed her to let off. So are you okay? You look kind of queasy."

   Blinking, Iridethia took a deep breath. "’I did not realize I was so the jealous type," she muttered, blushing. "Gods this is hard. Why do all the girls have to drool over you too?"

   That was an overstatement. "They don't, she’s just got a crush on me." Ketz felt his fingers close around the band in his pocket.

   Blushing harder, Iridethia mumbled, "I think you are far too cute, and you don't even know it!"

   This escalated fast. Red touched his cheeks just a little. "Well, uh… thank you." Then the words broke loose. "I… actually wanted to give you this, I guess as an apology for the bad first impression." This was insane, and too soon, and intense, and weird, but he’d picked it out anyway. That suffering had to be worth something. There was no turning back now. He handed her the bracelet. "I thought it might look nice."

   Thia accepted the bracelet, her face crimson beneath her fur. "Th-thank you! It's lovely!" She slipped it on her right wrist and held it up admiringly. "And it's got flames!", she exclaimed in delight. "Just like you." Beaming, she impulsively hugged him briefly. "This means so much to me. Thank you."

      "Well… you’re welcome. I just thought… yeah." At least she accepted it, through all his bashfulness and bluster. It could have been worse. "You're welcome." There was no predicting this day. There were too many coincidences stacking up.

   Thia's smile faded suddenly. "I-I have to go home. Apparently my body still hasn’t fully recovered from that spell… before I go, I need to warn you, there are at least three very powerful mages that can control Shades and they really don’t like me. Be careful, please. If they even think you will get involved you could be in danger."

   Lester came over to her, clutching her skirt. "Miss Thia, you're glowing green. That’s bad. Are you going to die? You keep getting hurt. Don't leave me here!" The snow leopard kit pleaded pitifully.

   Die? What? There went rhyme and reason. "Okay." So she was wanted on some hit list? Wonderful. "Stay safe." This was turning into a twisted mess with every passing minute.

   Thia nodded gravely. "You too. Hope I hear from you soon. Bye Ketz." She pulled Lester up, settling him on her left hip. Waving, Thia and Lester faded from the beach. Only their footprints remained to indicate they’d ever been there.

   Like that she was gone, like she had never been. The dream ended only to fall into another one. Ketz shook his head and let it fall into his waiting palm. Things were never easy. Then of all times the realisation hit: Who in the world was after her? Really, who was hunting her? That would have been good to ask about. That kind of got lost in translation.

   Ketz sighed up into the blue sky. So there was the very valid possibility that some… anonymous strangers were out to violently murder a woman he barely knew and for some outstanding reason beyond civil compassion he genuinely cared. On top of that they may want to show up and garotte him like a block of cheese. Names and faces would have been great, or reasons, or… an explanation. Nothing ever got easier, did it?

   Now there were more problems to head up. Ketz held in a low groan as he looked out upon the noisy beach. Music blared from portable speakers all over the edge of the water while teens and young adults danced and drank. He eventually gave in and strode over. It began when Adäné swept up with a bottle of something presumably filled with alcohol and scooped his arm in hers, locked tight. Soon they were spinning. Ketz circled along in a cautious half-walk.

   The cheerful teen smiled and laughed as she drank and danced. "Come on! Come party with us!"

   "Agh… I said I would." That Silver-tail woman was still around here somewhere.

   "You’ll love it! Come on!" Soon Adäné managed to drag him over to a group of boys and girls. She palmed his hand and forced him onto the sand next to some boy and a girl with wavy hair.

   Ketz spared an awkward nod and turned his face toward the ground. Adäné stood behind him, judging by the shadow over his shoulders.

   "This is Ketz." His new friend pushed her way in, taking the place of the wavy-haired girl. "He’s new in town, he came here to hang out and see the sights."

   In response to the halfhearted nods he received Ketz gave one in return. "So do you guys know anything about sirens?" Anything was an opportunity to do his homework.

   The male teen watched him. "They like to party."

   That was not a great help. Ketz brushed it off and rolled with punches. "I see. Do you see a lot of them? Where do you they hang out?"

   "Everywhere," said Adäné. ‘You see them at parties and weddings."

   Unfortunately they were not so prevalent to the eye. "But not here?"

   Finally answers actually came. The young man to his side opened up, sort of. "Nah, they don’t like our parties. They’re always yelling at us and trying to chase us off the beach and stuff." The boy shook his head in exasperation. "This is everyone’s beach. They just… come out of the bay and start yelling."

   "The bay?" The rest was insignificant. "That’s over a ways down the beach, right? Past the rocks?" What Ketz remembered of the map peeking out from under a tiger butt suggested this infamous bay was somewhere nearby.

   "Can’t boat there or they chase you off," moaned the boy.

   He had what he needed. Ketz properly joined the conversation. "Drinking and boating? Loud music? Kids of all ages?"

   "That’s right man," replied the sandy-haired boy.

   Ketz nodded to himself. A dirty beach full of bonfires, broken glass, and drunken minors sounded… well…

   "So Ketz, are you gonna be here for the bonfire tonight?" Adäné didn’t miss a chance to pull him back in.

   Once again he sighed. "Uh… maybe."

   "Please? You don’t know how awesome they get." Then came the big, soulful, pleading eyes.

   Oh no…