EIGHT
"This is an outer realm?" questioned Paige as she stared into a cloudless
blue sky. "It looks like one big park to me."
They were standing in what appeared to be a large meadow with large trees
scattered sporadically around the countryside. A brilliant sun shone in the sky
and birds chirped happily in the trees around them. The countryside was a
gently rolling hillside covered in the greenest grass the girls had ever seen.
"Not exactly what I imagined," said Cole, looking around. "I'm with
Paige. This looks more like a park than some outer realm accessible only
through the Émigré."
"Leo," said Piper, "where are you?"
Paige and Cole looked around. Leo was nowhere to be seen.
"Where's Leo?" questioned Piper.
"I don't know," said Paige. "Maybe he appeared somewhere else."
"That doesn't make any sense," said Cole. "We all walked through the same
doorway. He should have come to the same place."
"He's a White Lighter," said Piper. "Maybe that has something to do with
it."
"Then why wasn't I affected?" asked Paige. "I'm half White Lighter.
Shouldn't the same thing have happened to me?"
"There's no way to know," said Cole. "Different planes can affect people
differently. Maybe your human half countered whatever happened to Leo."
"We can't worry about that now," said Piper. "We came here to get Phoebe.
Once we find her we can find Leo. We'll have the Power of Three again and if
necessary we can cast a spell to find him."
"Aren't you even worried about him?" Cole asked.
"Of course I am," said Piper. "But we have to stay focused here. We have
no idea where he is if he's even here. For all we know a White Lighter couldn't
enter through the portal. He may still be in the Émigré for all we know. But
we do know that Phoebe is here somewhere. And she's in trouble. Our first
priority is to find her."
"So, where do you suggest we start?" Paige asked. "There doesn't seem to
be anyone - or anything - around. How do we find Phoebe?"
"I guess we just pick a direction and start walking," said Piper.
"Eventually we should come across someone. Once we do they should be able to
help us locate Gastion. We might even find Leo while we're looking."
With no other ideas they decided to follow Piper's advice. They decided
to head east. There really wasn't any reason for their decision. Just that
they had to pick one so they randomly picked east. They agreed if they didn't
run into someone in a couple of hours they would change direction.
They had been walking for nearly two hours without so much as a sound that
might indicate anyone was about. Just as they were becoming convinced they
wouldn't come across anyone they happened upon a small wagon. A figure was bent
over the back of the wagon apparently adjusting the load. The wagon was being
pulled by a creature that resembled an ox or cow but the head was
disproportionately large for the body. It had horns coming out of the front of
its head that curved back toward its spine.
"Well," said Cole, "this is a different plane of existence. It stands to
reason a lot of the creatures would be alien to us. My guess is that's a sort
of cow or something here."
"Well, at least we found someone, that's a start," said Paige. "Maybe
this guy knows where Gastion is."
"Maybe," said Piper. "We won't know unless we ask. But be on your guard.
There's no way of knowing if this guy is good or evil or what kinds of powers he
might have."
"Piper, look at that wagon," said Cole. "I'm pretty sure if this guy had
powers I doubt he'd be driving a rickety old wagon like that."
"All the same," said Piper, "let's just take it easy. We have no idea who
or what this guy is."
Cautiously the three approached the figure in the wagon. As they
approached the wagon they could hear the figure speaking low and almost
gutterly. As if swearing under its breath.
"Excuse me," said Piper when they were only a few feet from the wagon.
"We were wondering if you could give us some help."
The figure straightened up and turned around. It was not quite six feet
tall. Its skin was a yellowish color and its eyes were a light green. Instead
of a nose it had two small bumps with holes in them. Tiny horns that were
barely two inches long sprouted from its forehead. It was dressed in some kind
of robes that were well worn but still serviceable. It looked at the three for
a moment.
"What have we here?" said the creature. "Two calls and a mocall. This
must be my lucky day."
"What's a call?" Paige asked as the figure turned and reached into the
wagon.
When the figure turned around again he was holding a metal rod about three
feet long and three pairs of shackles. He extended the shackles to Cole.
"Bind them first," said the figure. "Then bind yourself. They're a
little scrawny but they should still fetch a fair price at market. And you look
very healthy. You should be worth quite a bit."
"Who are you calling scrawny?" protested Piper.
The figure stuck out the metal rod and Piper received an electric shock.
"Hey, that hurts," said Piper, backing away from the figure.
"You're a feisty call," said the figure. "That will bring the price down
a bit but I can't complain. Two calls and a mocall with no tags. You must be
wild. Which means everything I sell you for is pure profit. I just knew
something good was going to happen to me today."
"I'm not binding anyone, fella," said Cole. "You'd better put those away
before you get hurt."
"I don't think so," said the figure, giving Cole a shock. "I'm the one
with the stockley." He indicated the metal pipe he was holding. "Oh, you'll
bind them all right. And the three of you are going to make me a tidy little
profit at market."
"Not likely," said Piper, bringing up her hands to freeze the figure.
"This guy is really annoying."
"My, my, you are feisty," said the figure, shocking Piper again. "Now,
put the shackles on before I have to seriously damage you. That will bring the
price down even further and I have no intentions of loosing any more on you than
I have to."
Piper, Paige, and Cole simply stared at the figure in disbelief. The
figure wasn't affected by Pipers' freezing ability. Either that or Pipers'
powers didn't work in this realm. If that were true, it also meant that none of
their powers would work. And that they were helpless against the figure that
had the stockley that presumably could deliver a lethal shock to any of them.
"This is an outer realm?" questioned Paige as she stared into a cloudless
blue sky. "It looks like one big park to me."
They were standing in what appeared to be a large meadow with large trees
scattered sporadically around the countryside. A brilliant sun shone in the sky
and birds chirped happily in the trees around them. The countryside was a
gently rolling hillside covered in the greenest grass the girls had ever seen.
"Not exactly what I imagined," said Cole, looking around. "I'm with
Paige. This looks more like a park than some outer realm accessible only
through the Émigré."
"Leo," said Piper, "where are you?"
Paige and Cole looked around. Leo was nowhere to be seen.
"Where's Leo?" questioned Piper.
"I don't know," said Paige. "Maybe he appeared somewhere else."
"That doesn't make any sense," said Cole. "We all walked through the same
doorway. He should have come to the same place."
"He's a White Lighter," said Piper. "Maybe that has something to do with
it."
"Then why wasn't I affected?" asked Paige. "I'm half White Lighter.
Shouldn't the same thing have happened to me?"
"There's no way to know," said Cole. "Different planes can affect people
differently. Maybe your human half countered whatever happened to Leo."
"We can't worry about that now," said Piper. "We came here to get Phoebe.
Once we find her we can find Leo. We'll have the Power of Three again and if
necessary we can cast a spell to find him."
"Aren't you even worried about him?" Cole asked.
"Of course I am," said Piper. "But we have to stay focused here. We have
no idea where he is if he's even here. For all we know a White Lighter couldn't
enter through the portal. He may still be in the Émigré for all we know. But
we do know that Phoebe is here somewhere. And she's in trouble. Our first
priority is to find her."
"So, where do you suggest we start?" Paige asked. "There doesn't seem to
be anyone - or anything - around. How do we find Phoebe?"
"I guess we just pick a direction and start walking," said Piper.
"Eventually we should come across someone. Once we do they should be able to
help us locate Gastion. We might even find Leo while we're looking."
With no other ideas they decided to follow Piper's advice. They decided
to head east. There really wasn't any reason for their decision. Just that
they had to pick one so they randomly picked east. They agreed if they didn't
run into someone in a couple of hours they would change direction.
They had been walking for nearly two hours without so much as a sound that
might indicate anyone was about. Just as they were becoming convinced they
wouldn't come across anyone they happened upon a small wagon. A figure was bent
over the back of the wagon apparently adjusting the load. The wagon was being
pulled by a creature that resembled an ox or cow but the head was
disproportionately large for the body. It had horns coming out of the front of
its head that curved back toward its spine.
"Well," said Cole, "this is a different plane of existence. It stands to
reason a lot of the creatures would be alien to us. My guess is that's a sort
of cow or something here."
"Well, at least we found someone, that's a start," said Paige. "Maybe
this guy knows where Gastion is."
"Maybe," said Piper. "We won't know unless we ask. But be on your guard.
There's no way of knowing if this guy is good or evil or what kinds of powers he
might have."
"Piper, look at that wagon," said Cole. "I'm pretty sure if this guy had
powers I doubt he'd be driving a rickety old wagon like that."
"All the same," said Piper, "let's just take it easy. We have no idea who
or what this guy is."
Cautiously the three approached the figure in the wagon. As they
approached the wagon they could hear the figure speaking low and almost
gutterly. As if swearing under its breath.
"Excuse me," said Piper when they were only a few feet from the wagon.
"We were wondering if you could give us some help."
The figure straightened up and turned around. It was not quite six feet
tall. Its skin was a yellowish color and its eyes were a light green. Instead
of a nose it had two small bumps with holes in them. Tiny horns that were
barely two inches long sprouted from its forehead. It was dressed in some kind
of robes that were well worn but still serviceable. It looked at the three for
a moment.
"What have we here?" said the creature. "Two calls and a mocall. This
must be my lucky day."
"What's a call?" Paige asked as the figure turned and reached into the
wagon.
When the figure turned around again he was holding a metal rod about three
feet long and three pairs of shackles. He extended the shackles to Cole.
"Bind them first," said the figure. "Then bind yourself. They're a
little scrawny but they should still fetch a fair price at market. And you look
very healthy. You should be worth quite a bit."
"Who are you calling scrawny?" protested Piper.
The figure stuck out the metal rod and Piper received an electric shock.
"Hey, that hurts," said Piper, backing away from the figure.
"You're a feisty call," said the figure. "That will bring the price down
a bit but I can't complain. Two calls and a mocall with no tags. You must be
wild. Which means everything I sell you for is pure profit. I just knew
something good was going to happen to me today."
"I'm not binding anyone, fella," said Cole. "You'd better put those away
before you get hurt."
"I don't think so," said the figure, giving Cole a shock. "I'm the one
with the stockley." He indicated the metal pipe he was holding. "Oh, you'll
bind them all right. And the three of you are going to make me a tidy little
profit at market."
"Not likely," said Piper, bringing up her hands to freeze the figure.
"This guy is really annoying."
"My, my, you are feisty," said the figure, shocking Piper again. "Now,
put the shackles on before I have to seriously damage you. That will bring the
price down even further and I have no intentions of loosing any more on you than
I have to."
Piper, Paige, and Cole simply stared at the figure in disbelief. The
figure wasn't affected by Pipers' freezing ability. Either that or Pipers'
powers didn't work in this realm. If that were true, it also meant that none of
their powers would work. And that they were helpless against the figure that
had the stockley that presumably could deliver a lethal shock to any of them.