A Meeting of Souls
He stood there silently in the shadows, watching me. The light that drifted through the break between buildings behind him just missed his form as he walked forward. It cast an ethereal glow that seemed to surround his body, yet his features were still cloaked in darkness.
He was dressed in all grey; a bowler hat was perched atop his head and his suit was finely tailored, yet partially obscured by the long, sweeping coat he wore. The man doffed his hat in greeting.
I answered, “Hello.” Though but a whisper, my words echoed in the air of the deserted street. I could see my breath in front of me, like puffs of smoke on a cold winter night.
This place was unnaturally cold for this time of year, and the man brought with him a kind of warmth that I hadn’t anticipated.
We inched closer to one another, uneager to be overheard by any hidden ears.
He spoke in an unrecognizable tongue, swift and precise.
“I don’t understand,” I replied truthfully.
He looked into my eyes for a moment, unfazed by my confusion. Then, gently, he placed his right hand upon my forehead.
“Can you understand me now?” His voice rang in my head, completely clear and rather amused. It sounded as though he were talking to me underwater.
“Where are we?” I asked, for we were now not surrounded by dark, dull granite, but a swirl of color. Blues and purples whirled all around us in a gentle dance, and we were the only two solid beings in this strange new place.
“It is the pocket realm,” he explained. “It allows us to speak without difficulty. Though, I must impress upon you the urgency of our meeting. Our bodies may seem to be in this other dimension, but they are, in actuality, still standing on that dank, deserted street of moments ago. We are both in immediate danger and must move swiftly to avoid capture, so I will be brisk.”
I nodded, all trace of curiosity extinguished at his gentle reminder of the danger we were facing.
“I know the location of Terra Falls,” the man said.
“I’ve heard the rumors,” I replied briskly. “But, how can you be sure?”
“It was an accident. I was following one of our enemies, and it led me right to her. There was a whole mass of creatures just like it below the mountain. The place was cold as death. I think they could sense her magic, but didn’t realize what it truly meant. That’s why they were congregating there.”
“Did you speak with her?” I asked.
A sudden noise like a strangled bird reverberated through the air. My companion and I both looked around, alarmed.
“I didn’t get the chance,” he said, speaking with haste now. “But I saw her, high above in the mountain. I tried to reach her, but my way was blocked by a number of enchantments. In any sense, it would’ve been too much of a risk to try anything with the monsters so near; my concealment charms were wearing out.”
“I’ve heard she’s been up there for years, avoiding the war at all costs after what happened to her brother. I don’t believe it. The way she was during the beginning of the war, with her brains and her power and her bravery, she wouldn’t just give in. If anything, it’d give her more of a drive to stop this once and for all,” I insisted.
“I wouldn’t count on it,” the man replied. “She’s been hiding for years, hasn’t come out of her self-imposed seclusion at all to help us. Talking to her might not even make a difference.”
“Then, why did you tell me?” I asked.
“Because, she’s our only chance.”
A loud, bone-chilling shriek cut through the air after these words, stirring us from our argument.
I felt his hand being removed from my forehead, and blinked as the bright blues and purples the had previously surrounded us faded from my vision to be replaced by the increasing darkness of the now surrounded street.
“Come on,” he said. “They’ve found us.”
With my vision back to normal, I rushed ahead of him.
“Follow me,” I commanded.
My companion ran swiftly to my side, and we set off through the frozen, dark night into the imminent, unknowable future.