Chapter Three

Vicki blinked groggily as she slowly woke up. Her mouth was dry, and she was dizzy, like she'd been asleep for ages. Had she been sick? She tried to remember what had happened, scrunching her face in concentration. She'd had a bad dream, then heard a noise on the landing, then...

Images of her mother's body came back in a rush, and she doubled over, retching. When her reflexive reaction wore off and she just lay there shuddering, it dawned on her that she didn't have a clue where she was.

The plain room with unadorned cream coloured walls containing only a simple mattress certainly wasn't her room, nor anywhere she'd been before, or even seen before. Moving slowly, she sat up, her stomach still feeling tender. She pinched herself hard a few times in the hopes that this was all part of the nightmare and she'd wake up soon in her own bed, with Mom calling her for school.

Nothing happened. Tears rolled down Vicki's face. She knew, deep down, that it had all been real, but she hadn't wanted to give up hope that her mom was alive. She didn't have anyone else! Who'd take care of her now? Would she have to go live on the streets? She was only ten...

Footsteps sounded just outside the cracked-open door, which began to creak open. Vicki leapt from the mattress, and scooted backwards, pressing herself against the far wall, flattening her body against it. What if it was the wolf-demon come after her again? She shook like a leaf as a man wearing plain black clothing appeared in the doorway, peering at the empty mattress before scanning the room and locating her.

The man's strange eyes- one gold, one silver, tugged at her memory, and she remembered that this was the man who'd carried her away from her house. He must have brought her... here, wherever here was, and she wasn't hurt, so she was probably safe... but she'd always been told not to trust strangers. She clenched her fists.

"W-who are you? Where am I?" Vicki hated that her voice shook when she was trying to sound brave. "I want to go home!"

He inclined his head, his expression sad. "I know you do, child, but that is not possible. You are no longer safe alone."

Vicki scowled. She'd never felt really safe, with all the bad stuff that happened around and to her, but if her mom hadn't been able to keep her safe, why did this guy think he could? "My mom-"

"Your mother is past help, little one." The man's voice softened. "What do you recall of what happened?"

Vicki's eyes burned and she looked away. She would not cry! She wasn't going to say out loud that her mom was dead, either. Blinking back tears, she focused on the man's shadow, and gasped. What... She shook her head slightly, unbrushed black hair falling into her eyes.

The man's shadow looked like it had a bird's head, with a long beak. She quickly looked back at the man, who looked normal, then back at the shadow- still bird-headed, no change. A shiver ran through her whole body.

"What- er, w-who are you?"

He stared at her in silence for a long minute, his dual-coloured eyes making her feel uneasy, until he finally nodded slowly, as if she had confirmed something by reacting to his weird shadow. "All you need to know for now is that I am an ally, and your guardian until you reach an age to look after yourself. You can trust me, Victoria."

She jumped slightly. "How'd you know my name?"

He smiled mysteriously. "I know a great many things, child. I know your dreams have ever been plagued by a demon, and that things you cannot understand or explain happen around you. I know that you survived the Wolf-demon's attack because it was forced to obey you. Just as other Dark creatures have done in the past."

Vicki's heart was pounding. How did he know all that stuff? Had he been spying on her for her whole life? She tried to shrink further back against the wall.

He watched her for a few minutes. "I expect you have many questions..."

She squared her shoulders. "How do I know you're not the thing that gave me nightmares?"

For a second, a look of pure rage crossed the man's face, and Vicki could have sworn she heard a bird scream as if it was really angry, but the noise was only in her head. The bird-headed shadow seemed bigger and darker for a minute, before the man exhaled and the room brightened again.

"I will excuse you that question because you are traumatised and too young to really understand. I assure you, I have nothing to do with Ch- the cause of your problems, child, nor will I ever lead you to any harm."

Staring into his mismatched eyes, Vicki felt suddenly sure that he was telling the truth, though how she knew that, she had no idea. (She also saw a man with a bird's head standing where he stood, wearing an Ancient Egyptian headdress and kilt like she'd seen in history lessons at school, but that image was replaced with the human one a split second later.) Nonetheless, weird vision aside, she knew she could trust him not to hurt her and relaxed slightly.

"Where are we?"

"My people's realm, hidden, for the time being. Until I can find another ally I can trust to guard you for a time."

"B-but I thought you were going to look after me..."

He shook his head. "Protect you, yes, but this realm is not suitable for a half-human child to grow up in."

Half-human? Vicki's eyes widened. "What-"

Apparently realising he had let something slip, he looked irritated for a minute before his expression went blank again. "As I said, it is best you spend your childhood on Earth, your native realm. We are here for now to make sure you cannot be tracked immediately, and also so I can find a mage with enough power to keep you safe and in check."

Vicki didn't get what 'in check' meant, but she understood the rest. "So I have to go live with a stranger?" A lump rose in her throat. Mom... her old home... all her things... she'd never see any of them again, and she had no idea what would happen to her now!

She was trying her hardest not to cry but the man seemed distracted, lost in thought, barely looking at her now.

"There are bathing facilities and fresh clothes through there." He gestured at a door that Vicki was sure hadn't been there two seconds ago. "I will have food sent when you are ready." He strode towards the doorway, dissolving into silver smoke, leaving without actually walking through the door.

Vicki blinked several times. Where did he go?

'I am merely giving you privacy, little one.'

She jumped as his voice echoed in her head. 'How-'

'Call to me if you need anything, Victoria. If not, I will check on you this evening.'

'It's Vicki. No-one calls me Victoria.' She thought back at him, even though she didn't get how 'talking' like this was so easy. 'And how do I call you if I don't know your name?'

His reply was a wry chuckle. 'You may call me Mr Ibis. I will see you later, Victoria.'

"It's Vicki," she muttered aloud, but there was no reply. She felt his presence leave her mind. Left alone, she explored the (empty) room, before heading into the 'bathing facilities' as Mr Ibis had called them. It was weird, to her eyes- the 'bath' was pretty much just a kid's paddling pool, a shallow oval structure set on the ground, full of steaming water that smelled of something a bit spicy. Nonetheless, Vicki did feel a bit yucky, so she pulled off her crumpled pyjamas and climbed in. The rough cloth she assumed was for washing with, like a flannel, felt coarse on her skin, but there was nothing else, so she made do. Washing her hair was a nightmare. The water wasn't deep enough to lay down in so she had to keep scooping water in her hands and tossing it back over her long hair to wet it. She couldn't find any shampoo either, so she used the weird smelling yellow soap to scrub at her hair as best she could, then rinsed her hair the same way she'd wet it to begin with.

Finding another, larger cloth that she decided must be a towel, she scrubbed herself dry, but left her hair to dry on its own. this place- wherever it was, was hot enough for that! Once she was dry, she went to grab her pyjamas, glad she at least had something here that was hers- until she didn't. Her discarded clothes had vanished, and in their place lay a white sleeveless...dress... thing... and a pair of sandals. She considered yelling in her mind for Mr Ibis, to complain, but realised that, either way, she'd have to put the dress on first, so she grudgingly decided to wear this outfit until tonight, when she'd be able to ask for her own stuff back.

The dress fell to her ankles, but was lovely and cool in the hot, still air of this place. The sandals were comfy, too, though they weren't what she would have picked- she preferred solid shoes.

Once she was dressed, she gazed around the empty room again, then decided to go look round outside. Mr Ibis hadn't said to stay in this room, after all, and she was curious about where she actually was. (Plus if she kept busy, she wouldn't have to think about what had happened to her mom).

Approaching the door, she was about to walk through it when she bumped into what felt like a wall. Squinting, she could see a weird shimmer in the doorway, but had no idea what might be outside. She pushed against it, but it only seemed to get stronger, keeping her in that small empty room. She realised she was trapped in here until Mr Ibis returned. He clearly didn't care that she might be bored or lonely and sad.

A sob caught in her chest and that opened the floodgates. Memories of her mom, how she'd always had time for Vicki, telling her stories, helping with homework, watching movies together, how it felt to be hugged and know that Mom loved her, no matter what... And none of that would ever happen again. Alone in a strange room, in a place she couldn't even name, Vicki let herself cry.

What was going to happen to her now? Did anyone know, or even care?

To be continued...