New People

Alex

Alex was a 17 year old wizard. He had done many things in his short lifetime, killed a dragon, befriended another one, saw an oracle rise to power, helped a king reclaim his throne, and was now helping his teacher, Whalen Vankin, and chase an ancient evil across the known and unknown lands. But even though he had done all those things, Alex was starting to get worried. It had been 28 days since Whalen had arrived at his house in Alusia, under mysterious circumstances saying that he was going to go off by himself for a while. He had told Alex to come and find him if he hadn't sent any word after 30 days, and nothing had arrived yet.

He thought that taking a walk by the creek that ran behind his house would calm his mind, so he set off in that direction. Alex had only just sat down on a small boulder, when his horse, Dar Losh, cantered across the shallow water. Dar Losh was whinnying insistently, and prodded Alex's shoulder with his nose.

"What is it friend?" Alex asked, stroking the horse's cheek. Dar Losh's large, intelligent eyes stared into Alex's, before biting and pulling his shirt. "Okay!" Alex laughed. "I'm coming."

Alex didn't think that the horse would wait for him to go back to the house to get his saddle, so Alex mounted the horse's bare back.

"Take me where I need to go," Alex whispered in Dar Losh's ear. Dar Losh shot forward, and Alex had to twist his fingers in his mane to keep from sliding off. Whatever it was Dar Losh had to show him, it must be important.

After about 3 minutes of hard riding, Dar Losh stopped at the base of a large hill. Alex slid off the horse, and shuddered as he recognized his surroundings. This was the place that he had had a vision of shadowy armies ravaging the land. Dar Losh neighed loudly, and Alex was pulled back into reality. The horse was nuzzling the ground, in the middle of a tall patch of grass. Alex moved beside the horse, and looked at the ground.

"Oh my god!" Alex exclaimed, dropping to his knees beside the girl that was lying on the ground. Her eyes were closed, her face was filthy, and her hair was tangled and matted. Her clothes were torn and dirty, and concealed little. Alex blushed, and forced himself to focus back on her face. He felt her forehead, and recoiled at how hot she was with fever. When she did not stir at his touch, Alex started to worry. Her spirit was fading fast, and would soon disappear if he didn't do something.

As carefully as he could, Alex took the girls hand, and softly spoke the words that would allow him to join her in the shadowlands, the place between life and death. The magic took its effect, and Alex felt a slight tingling sensation race through his body. He closed his eyes, and when he opened them, he found himself standing next to the girl, halfway between the light, and the wall that separated the living from death.

"Hello," Alex said to her. She jumped and turned, her eyes widening as she looked at him. Alex was a bit surprised too, because the girl had a shimmering gold aura surrounding her, and only people that can use magic have auras.

"Who are you?" She asked, backing away a few steps. "What do you want?"

"I'm Alex, a wizard." Alex said in a calm voice. "I am not here to hurt you; I just want to take you back to the living."

"What if I don't want to leave?" The girl told him, turning to face the wall once more. "I know nothing of the world beyond this."

"Then I will force you to come with me." Alex said sternly. "It is not your time. You do not belong here."

"The people on the other side of that wall are saying the same thing. 'Turn back Alexia' they say. 'Enjoy your freedom while you can' they tell me." She bowed her head. "Should I trust them, and through them, you?"

"Do you not know them?" Alex asked her. "Only your loved ones can call out to you from beyond the wall. Can you not see their faces?"

"I don't know them," she sighed. "I don't know anything."

"You have lost your memory," Alex realized. "Would you like for me to talk to the ones beyond the wall for you?"

"You can do that?" The girl's eyebrows drew together in thought. "If you can, then yes, I want to know the meaning of their words."

Alex nodded, and carefully walked down the gentle slope of the hill. As he drew close enough to the wall to touch it, he stopped, looking solemnly at the small group of people gathered on the other side.

"Do you know that girl?" he asked them, pointing at her. The people nodded, and one, a young man, stepped forward to speak.

"We were friends of hers," the man began. "Before we crossed from that life into this one. I am not allowed to say more than that. But please, my lord, will you take care of her? If she has any living relatives, we do not know of them, and it would be suicide for her to go back to where she came from."

"I swear that I will care for her," Alex said. "But I need to know more about her."

"I cannot say any more!" The man cried, drifting back to the rest of the people. "Please, it is for the best. It's for Alexia."

The people that were gathered faded away, and Alex was left standing alone on the bottom of the hill.

"What did they say?" she asked as he came back to the top of the hill.

"They asked me to take care of you, and I promised I would." Alex held out his hand, and the girl took it, and together they turned and walked into the light.

The girl gasped and sat up as soon as they returned to their bodies. Alex pushed her back on the ground, and uttered a simple spell that would put her to sleep. Now that her soul was anchored back in her body, Alex was able to see the golden light that surrounded her in this world too.

"I don't think that I can carry her all the way back to the house," Alex told Dar Losh. The horse snorted, as if to say, 'if you can't, I can!' Alex smiled, carefully lifted the girl, and settled her on the horses back.

"Do you think you can keep her from falling off while I get on?" Alex questioned the horse. He dipped his head in response. Alex was able to crawl onto the horses back, without jostling the girl. Alex laid her across his lap, so he could keep her from sliding off as they rode. He told Dar Losh to take them back home, slowly.

It was almost sunset by the time that they arrived at the house. Alex slid off Dar Losh, with the girl in his arms, and walked to his porch. "Thank you," Alex called out to Dar Losh. "I will take care of her now, like I promised." The horse neighed, and then galloped onto the west.

Somehow Alex was able to get through the door, up the stairs, and into the spare bedroom, where he laid the girl down on the bed. "Wake," he told her. Her eyes fluttered open, and she looked around in confusion. "Remember," Alex whispered, and the girl's eyes widened as the experience in the shadowlands came back to her.

"You saved me," she said softly. "You didn't even know who I was, yet you saved me."

"Do you remember anything before you came to the shadowlands?" Alex asked.

"No," she shook her head. "Nothing. I don't even know my own name." She let out a shuddering sob, the force of it racking her thin frame. "What am I going to do?"

"Hush," Alex said. "You can stay with me. There is more than enough room, and I get lonely sometimes. It would do me good to have some company." Until I have to go after Whalen at least, he finished in his head.

"You're serious?" she sniffled.

"Completely," Alex smiled. "Earlier, the people that I talked to called you Alexia. Do you wish to be called that?"

She nodded. "Yes. Your name is Alex, correct?'

"Yes."

"Do you happen to have a bathroom? I'm filthy."

"Down stairs to the left. I'll leave some clothes in front of the door!"

"Thank you!" Alexia called back, right before she closed the door.