Robin Hood

Bae stepped over a twig and stopped. The sickening presence was now closer to him than ever. He tried, not for the first time, to figure out how this world could have worse magic than the one he just left, the one that was full of magic and freely accepted it. He found he could readily accept Alan's explanation: this was a devil with his army of evil. "C'mon, lad," John said over his shoulder. Bae forced himself to follow.

Archers lined the edge of the forest, facing roughly half a dozen horsemen and trying to halt their advance with their limited supply of arrows. The lead horseman, the same middle-aged, black-clad man from Bae's vision, waved his hand over the land, sending black clouds racing toward the archers.

Bae's heart skipped a beat. "No," he said quickly, approaching. The clouds stopped suddenly and swirled into themselves. Bae took another step forward. The clouds shrunk back. The horseman dismounted and approached him, and Bae found himself grateful the archers had made themselves scarce under everything else racing through his mind and body.

The man drew a sword and held the tip to the boy's throat. "What did you say, boy?" he asked.

"I said, no," Bae replied, keeping his eye and voice even.

The man touched the tip to Bae's chin. Bae winced and gasped through his nose. "You dare defy me?"

"Who am I defying? I'm afraid I'm new to the area."

"How is that possible? Everything in Nottingham is under my strict watch. You might say I've thrown away the key to the door, if you so choose."

"There are ways around ways."

"What are you?"

"I'm working on that part."

The man stepped forward, the flat of his blade sliding along Bae's neck and making the latter's flesh crawl. The man was inches from Bae's nose when he said, "You asked who I was. I'm the sheriff around here, the only one this god-forsaken town has."

"I'll believe god-forsaken."

"Who are you?"

"Why should I tell you? I have the very strong suspicion you'll use it against me."

The sheriff eyed Bae for a moment. "You are familiar with magic."

"You do with that knowledge what you choose."

"It could be advantageous."

"Or I could just as easily destroy you with it."

"If you know what you're doing."

"I'm not. That makes me dangerous."

"Dangerous? You think you are dangerous? Since when?"

Bae clenched his fists. This was getting more and more difficult by the second, even though he somehow managed to keep the sheriff's influence from making him sick. "Since now," he said, allowing everything in him to reject the sheriff. The man flew backward into a tree, and his eyes widened. Bae squared his shoulders and stared the man down. "As I said, I don't know what I'm doing. Therefore my control is somewhat lacking. Do you want to accidentally die?"

The sheriff seemed to relax. "I can't tell you how many times you and your fellow freaks have tried to kill me." Gods, he sounded like Peter Pan, Bae thought. "The one that could've succeeded is dead. What makes you think you're so special?"

"I'd ask you the same question."

"I didn't know you had the gall."

"That's what a group of soldiers thought of my father. They all had their throats slashed or their necks broken."

"Where was this? Why haven't I heard about it?"

"As I said, there are ways around ways."

"What ways around ways do you know, boy?"

"I'm not the person to ask. You should try to find the sorcerer who pulled me here, or a fairy, perhaps, will be so kind as to talk to you." The sheriff approached Bae, and the latter forced him back again. Whatever he was doing, it was getting easier and easier with each time he was forced to do it. Bae turned to the tree to find John pressed against it. "What are you staring at?"

"You...no one but..."

"But who?"

"It's just that we don't get a lot of sensitives around these parts, and the ones we do get instantly become the sheriff's top targets."

"Who came before me? Who were you talking about just now?"

John sighed and straightened, and he took a few steps toward Bae. "Lad, the only other sensitive to find his way into Nottinghamshire was Robin Hood, one of the greatest Merry Men the forest has ever known."

"What...what happened?"

"He was taken by the sheriff, and any attempt to rescue him led to extreme casualties. We simply couldn't do it, not that we don't want to, you understand. I hope you understand."

"I do." Bae fell into step beside John. "Tell me more about this Robin Hood."