Ortai Legacy

3 - Interrogation (L)

Of course this was a dream. Of course I hadn't actually been chased by an elephant bear and fallen down a mineshaft. Even James wasn't stupid or cruel enough to drop me in the middle of nowhere and scare the crap out of me. The pain had been eerily real, though, so I couldn't really blame myself for thinking it wasn't a dream.

I scowled at the blue alien who'd frequented my dreams for months. "'Sup, Mark?"

A gasp turned my head toward one of his companions. The curvy figure and gossamer wings said 'fairy woman,' but the blue-black exoskeleton and four arms screamed 'insect.'

"His name is Mar'kost," she snapped, crossing all four arms. Wings twitching, she addressed Mark. "You know this human?"

He paused, barely meeting my gaze. His tail flicked back and forth, making the feather crest that ran down its length flop from side to side. "In a manner of speaking." His voice was more reserved than I was used to, which explained why I hadn't recognized it while pain had fogged my mind.

I sat up without Thyr's help, no longer worried about exacerbating my injuries because I'd obviously been given a healing potion. "What's that supposed to mean? You definitely know me. We're dating."

The bug woman stared at me, mouth open, but another of Mark's companions interrupted her with a faint whinny. He was a short deer centaur with fur all over and dual-pronged horns. Or were they antlers? I wasn't sure. White fur circled his eyes and chin, while black and white markings patterned his legs.

He stared at my pole weapon on the ground as he shifted from hoof to hoof. "Where did you get this?"

I rolled my eyes. "James threw it at me."

His ears flicked back. "And James would be...?"

"What good are dream people if you can't read my mind? I mean, I guess it would be a lot more boring if you could, but at least I wouldn't have to explain-" I shook my head at the futility of arguing with my imagination. "James is a friend of my cousin who can't take 'no' for an answer." I grimaced.

"What species is this James?"

"Human, duh."

His eyes narrowed. "Where did James get this?"

"How am I supposed to know?" Well, I actually did have a guess. "Okay, he probably got it from his grandparents. They've got all these weird medieval weapons hanging in their basement, so it must be theirs."

The bug woman's wings buzzed, and she hovered a few inches off the ground. "Who cares about her stupid weapon? I want to know why she thinks she's courting Mar'kost. And why is she here, anyway?"

"I am courting him." I stuck my tongue out. "And I'm here because-" I couldn't come up with a good explanation to tell a dream person about what had happened. "Wouldn't you like to know? Well, I won't tell you, 'cause it's a secret."

Mark cleared his throat and avoided my gaze. "I've been... communicating with her via dreams for some time now. Judging by our conversations, I'm afraid she might be mad."

"I'm not mad. I mean, I'm angry that you're calling me crazy, but I'm not crazy." Then again, maybe I was a little crazy for arguing with a figment of my imagination.

The bug lady's antennae flicked toward me. "Then why'd you bother healing her? You should've left her, then she wouldn't harass you anymore."

He glanced at me. "Curiosity, I suppose. I wanted to know if she was truly human or-" A hint of sorrow weighed down his expression as his head feathers drooped. "She's human. Nothing else."

The centaur raised a hand. He stiffened as all eyes moved to him. "It's good you saved her. This weapon has several strong enchantments on it. I can't quite tell what they are, but I think one is a self-destruct curse." He shuddered. "It looks excessive."