Millions of In-Worlds

Chapter 19: Big Responsibility

"I just had another scary thought." Freck twisted her other pigtail. "Remember when we were surprised by  the Kingdom's lairbeast warnin' siren's?"

"Sure, them sirens 'bout knocked me over." I raised an eyebrow.

"After they blared, they explained that lairbeasts might try ta attach ta a floater by shiftin' inta teeny creatures. Gee said that they ain't bullet proof, but you could only shoot them if'n they was big enough ta draw a bead on 'em. They could pass us right by as a grasshopper or sumpin'."

I hadn't considered that possibility. "Gee," I called to him telepathically.

He wasted no time responding. "I see you two are worked up about something. It is our preparations for lair-beast containment, right?"

I gulped. Freck shuffled her feet.

"I purposely held back some details. I can tell that you are worried about their ability to shift into something small to avoid detection. They could, but probably will not. Ever since their banishment they rely on size to cower their prey. They reason that bigger is scarier. They have lived by that belief for millions of years. Whatever frightens their prey the most is what they do. Unless they discovered your fear of them becoming tiny, it would not likely occur to them.

"Let me explain. They were once highly trained keepers. Over the eons they have kept only two skills. They have bare bones mind-reading capability, and, of course, shape shifting. They are still the best at shape shifting. Hearing your thoughts does not interest them. Exposing your terror is all they want. The greater the level of horror, the more stress chemicals are released throughout the body. Those chemicals in the blood of their victims are a drug to them. It gets them high."

Freck asked, "How do we keep them from hearin' our thoughts?"

"You have been practicing that skill for months now, and I have to say you are doing very well indeed."

Freck and I looked at each other to see if either of us understood what he was talkin' 'bout. Her eyes were as blank as mine. "Gee," I doubted, "I don't remember practicin' any such thing. Do you Freck?"

She blinked her eyes twice and slowly shook her head no.

I reminded her, "You're gonna have to mind-speak it. I don't think a head shake is gonna work."

"I got it. Gee explained, "What she did not voice was in her head. I read her mind. Also, I can see her through your eyes Wishes, and vice versa. Let me explain. There are only two ways to prevent them from knowing what you most fear. The first one comes about through meditation. When you find your center, you have no fear. It is like standing behind impenetrable walls. Not only are you unafraid, but it is the place where Cigam dwells. It is your place of ultimate power."

ROOOOAAARRR! A sudden jet of iced flame surged down my spine. I jumped at the sound of a scream and wail comin' from the South. Those monsters from hell musta terrified and killed sumpin' big. What made this even more frightenin'was that it didn't come from Howlin' Woods. It was always scary to hear those awful screams, growls, and shrieks but everyone knew that they couldn't leave Locci Forest. Now they are free. God save us.

"Wha. . .wha. . . what's the other way?" Freck stammered, obviously rattled too.

"If you are absolutely certain that you are invincible like Tyrone Tiegs believed he was, you would be immune from fear. Tyrone, as you know, took on a lairbeast in hand-to-hand combat and won. It could not discover his greatest fear because he had none. Nothing ever frightened him. His unusually large size, and enormous strength created a deep seated certainty that he could not be beaten. And he never was, until attacked from behind. His son, Butch, is a chip off the old block."