by Mr. David R. Dorrycott

Chapter Five

Death Comes, until a Re-Birth

Amanda sat her small plate of food on her bed, a snack her mother had dropped by just before going to bed. Hunger had evaded her completely, in fact she hadn’t felt any hunger since starting her pain pills a few days ago. That her bottles warning label said was to be expected was one thing. Watching her weight plummet without a touch of hunger pains was another. One should still eat of course. If one wanted to live, and Amanda wanted to live. Oh did she want to live. Carefully she forced herself to bite into a sandwich, a sandwich that tasted like nothing.

As she ate Amanda leaned back in her chair, unable now to find the strength to place her feet on her desks surface. That was a habit her mother had continually scolded her about, until this last week. Somehow... Amanda looked to her bedrooms closed door. Her mother knew. How, that Amanda couldn’t understand. Still the look in her mothers face, her absent scolding, even this little snack. Food had never been allowed in any bedroom but Amanda’s, and her mother had never brought any. It brought ants and roaches. A rule her mother only broke for Amanda, or when someone else, was seriously ill. “Maybe I should have told them” she whispered to herself. Though now was much too late. She could feel that her time was near.

Picking up two sheets of paper from her lap Amanda fought to focus on the typed text. She already knew the words by heart, having spent her last weeks carefully translating the ancient Darst language into her modern one. That was another problem with the morphine pills she was taking. They made her eyes hard to focus very long. A spell, of course it had to have been a spell. She’d rather it have been a letter, a decree, something to do with her passion for ancient history. Not that she hadn’t had a passing interest in the occult, not at her age. Not with a friend like Sara always around. A tiny smile tugged at her lips when she thought of the name her last boyfriend had tacked on her. ‘Little Moonsight.’ An odd name, then Frank had been a really odd boy. Her papers crackled between her fingers, as if calling her to them.

“So” she whispered to her papers. “You have to be spoken. That makes sense, most spells I’ve read about need vocalization. Bummer, my voice is too weak to really do this right. Don’t wanna wake mom or dad anyway. “ She leaned back again as a wave of dizziness passed over her, holding off her thoughts until the unwelcome feeling passed. When she could see again, she pushed her glasses back up off the tip of her nose. An old habit, one that bugged her brother Thomas to no end. Should she say the spell? Why not? After all, it was probably one of the last things she’d ever do. She had used her last days to translate it. Gently, carefully she began reciting the words on her papers.

As she finished a glow built behind her, it hovered for a moment, just over her bed, before vanishing. As it vanished it left a little winged lizard. One who instantly grabbed a piece of cheese left on her snack plate. While Amanda let her papers slip to the floor it munched contentedly, at the same time studying this odd young woman who had summoned it. It swallowed, thanking the stars, and others, that this time food had been left for it. Most of the apprentices who called forgot, and traveling between realities always left the traveler hungry. This bode well it thought. “So, you want to be a witch?” it asked, its voice, though gentle, held the hint of real power.

For a moment Amanda ignored the voice. She had become used to her mind playing tricks on her. It wasn’t until the question was repeated that she moved, sitting up slowly, turning towards the sound. Before her was a little lizard, yellowish in color, and it had wings. “Nice” she sighed to herself. “At least it isn’t the closet monster this time.”

“Closet monster?” the little lizard asked. “Your too old for them. I’m Marcus, an instructor of the Arts. You called, it was my turn, so I came.“ Marcus sat down, as best he could, on the bed, and snatched the last small wedge of cheese. “How did you know it would be me? My love of cheese is legendary. Thanks for the snack.”

“Ohhh... This is a nice hallucination” Amanda giggled. “I’m really tripping this time.” She pointed towards her visitor. “Your cute” she finished, still pointing at Marcus.

“That” Marcus replied, “Is the first time I’ve been called that in simply millennium. Are you drunk or something?”

“Wish” Amanda admitted. “But alcohol doesn’t go well with my heart medication, and really doesn’t go well with morphine. You should know that, you’re my imagination after all. I’m on really heavy pain killers. I’m dying you know.” She slowly pulled her pointing handback, laying it over the center of her chest. “Bad heart. Gonna go pop soon. Real soon.” She pushed on the floor with one foot, sending her chair spinning. “Weee... I’m flying” she giggled.

Marcus slowly finished his cheese. If what this young woman said was true, his options were severely limited. He could return to his homeland at any time, had once when his summoner had turned out to be too selfish to change. Carefully the little creature cast a complicated spell, studying Amanda’s body as she slipped into a light sleep from a combination of exhaustion and her medications. What he found stunned him. She was dying, in fact she had called him almost too late. More importantly, she wasn’t selfish, had already proven her worth by her actions. Still, his wings fluttered. He was bound. He could not help her unless she agreed to learn magic, and to do that she had to understand the costs involved.

A sound at the door caught Marcus’s attention. Quickly he slipped under a fold of the bedcovers, only one eye showing as the door slowly opened. Two adults looked in, one female, one male. Her parents Marcus realized.

“She’s talking to herself again” the father whispered. “Seem’s to have fallen asleep now. Should we put her in bed?”

“Not this time” the mother decided. “Sara thinks it will be real soon, so do I. Maybe today, tomorrow. We shouldn’t bother her, until its time.”

Carefully the door closed, but not before Marcus heard the sound of a sob. So. This girls parents knew after all. He filed that information. As the door shut its latch clicked, its sharp sound waking Amanda. She turned slowly back to her bed, unaware her door had opened, or closed. “You still there?” she asked. “Or is it a tentacle monster again, come to drag me away. I didn’t like that one.”

Marcus pulled himself out from under the covers. “I need to know” he asked. “Did you understand that spell, or just read it.”

“Spell?” Amanda asked, a little confused. “Oh that. Of course I understood it. I translated it from Darst. It took me almost four weeks, I only took three years of Darst. Some of the words took simply forever to figure out.”

“So what is it” Marcus asked. “The spell I mean.”

“Summons something. My guess is the old man who wrote it wanted some demon. To serve him. Wanted to be rich, all powerful. Live forever. Dumb. Spells are fantasy you know.”

“If you say so” Marcus deferred. “Would you like to be rich, all powerful, live forever?”

“Nope” Amanda answered carefully, finding talking confusing. “Cause being rich only means you’ve got a lot of money. I’d rather have friend like Sara. Being all powerful means your life’s not your own. You gotta spend all your time dealing with problems.”

“What about living forever” Marcus asked, somewhat pleased with her answers so far. They were thinly answered, but that could be explained by her minds drug muddled condition. “Or do you look forward to dying?”

“No, I don’t” Amanda admitted. “Want to die I mean. I want to live to a nice old age like great-gramma, have tons of grandkids, and a little garden. Wouldn’t want to live forever though. All your friends dying. Anyone you fell in love with. Uh-Uh. You can keep immorality. That’s only for God.”

For an instant it seemed a smile touched the little lizards eyes. “How about a few hundred years, with someone you love. Could you manage a few hundred years? If you had someone you love live the same amount of time?”

“Why?” Amanda asked.

“Good question” Marcus admitted. “It takes fifty, sixty years to begin to understand magic. By then most mortals die...”

“Great Gramma’s ninety-three” Amanda interrupted. “And still strong enough to work in her garden.”

“Good news” Marcus agreed. “What I am trying to say is, if you want to learn magic, you won’t really be any good until you’re a hundred, hundred and fifty maybe. That’s way beyond any mortals ability to live.”

“Why would I want to learn magic” Amanda asked. “I wanna be an Archeologist. Magic’s for kids. Card tricks, cutting pretty girls in half, making people vanish. Kids stuff.” She coughed, squeezed her eyes shut as pain billowed from her chest. “Ouch” she whimpered. Something else happened, her feet started to feel cold. Very carefully Amanda ran a handdown her tail, until its tip was in sight. Under her fur the flesh was paper white. “Bummer” she whispered, dropping her tail to yank a bottle from her blouse’s single pocket. Quickly she opened it, spilling tiny pills as she hurried to place one under her tongue. Slowly the pain ebbed as the quick dissolving chemical entered her bloodstream, reaching her damaged heart. “That was close” she gasped, dropping her still open bottle from numb fingers. It bounced off the little throw rug, sending tiny pills scattering across her floor.

Marcus sniffed. “That is an explosive” he commented.

“An it keeps my heart running a few more hours” Amanda explained. “Last one I’ll need, its time. Been fun talking with you little hallucination, but I gotta make a call. Go home.” She pulled herself upright, turning her back to Marcus as she reached for her phone. Carefully Amanda dialed the number for her friend Sara. She had to wait six rings before a sleep fogged voice answered her. “Sara?” Amanda asked. “Its time. Can you?” She waited as her friend answered. “Forty minutes. I’ll be on the porch, you’ll need to help me to your car okay? And Sara? Thanks.” Hanging up her phone Amanda struggled to her feet, fighting another wave of dizziness as she moved.

“Time?” Marcus asked.

Amanda slipped from her nightdress, her back to her ‘hallucination.’ “Yeah. Think so. I’m dying, now” she agreed. “Gotta get twenty miles off the coast, so my body doesn’t float back.” A ring from her parents bedroom frightened her a moment. Night calls were not that common, but sometimes someone had a hot deal, or important information for her mother. They happened. But if they stayed awake she would have trouble getting away. As quietly as she could Amanda located her favorite clothing while she prayed her parents would fall back to sleep.

“I don’t think I understand” Marcus admitted.

“Sheesh, what a dumb hallucination” Amanda laughed as she slipped a blouse over her head. “I don’t believe in taking land from the living, so no grave. I don’t want mom or dad, or any of my family looking at a can of ashes that used to be me and feeling bad. So Sara agreed to take me out in her parents boat. When I die she’s gonna dump my body overboard, with an anchor on it. I’ll be fish food okay? I don’t much like the idea, but there aren’t any active volcanoes around, so I can’t lava dive like I really would rather do, cause the idea of fish nibbling on me turns my stomach. Now be quiet, I gotta dress and get out of here.”

It was the longest dressing effort she remembered. Each time she tried to slide her legs into her pants she nearly passed out from dizziness. Finally, still only partially dressed, she sat on her floor. “Gotta rest” she gasped, leaning against her closet wall. In seconds she was asleep. As she slept her breathing began to slow.

Marcus understood what he was seeing. Amanda had waited too long. Her time ended now, not later, far out in the ocean. Though he was currently bound not to cure her, he could give her the time she needed. His first spell stopped her hearts collapse, the second gave her strength while the third...

Amanda woke fully dressed. She didn’t remember completing her task, though it didn’t matter. Looking up at the clock on her wall she gasped. She’d slept nearly an hour. Sara must be outside, frantic. Struggling to her feet she was unaware of the extra energy. Barefoot, for shoes would be a waste of effort, she walked to her door. Turning off her light she opened her door a crack. Her parents room was dark. With a shiver of relief she slipped out, unaware that Marcus had vanished. Still, he’d been a hallucination. A stranger one than she’d become used too, but still nothing more than that. As she entered her homes living room her heart nearly stopped again.

Both her parents were sitting, waiting. As was Sara.

“We’ve known for five years” her father said, answering her unasked question.

“And we’ve been very proud of you dear” her mother continued.

“Sara?” Amanda asked, stunned. “How?”

Sara didn’t answer, her mother did. “Doctor Martin called one afternoon while you were out. He wanted to discuss your test results with your parents. We’ve known since, and its been hard not to let you know.”

“I’m sorry” Amanda apologized as she slipped onto the sofa, unconscious next to her friend. “I tried so hard. Does anyone else know?”

“Everyone important” her mother answered. “Not your brothers and sisters.” She held up a thick envelope, Amanda recognized as the one she’d given Sara. “It wasn’t hard to track down who the ‘black beauty’ was that brought you to his offices. Waited with you, helped you when you were weak from tests. Sara had no difficulty explaining everything, once she knew we were already aware.”

“Have you read it?” Amanda asked.

“No. Its been hard, but we will respect your wishes. When Sara calls us from the dock. Then we’ll read it. Are there anymore little envelopes like this lying around?”

“Father Raymous has a copy” Amanda admitted, “In case Sara lost hers. And in my safety deposit box are about a dozen. One to everyone, to be delivered when you feel the times right. It’s been to hard for me to decide.”

“You should have come to us” her father said, his eyes half closed, though not in anger. “For that first year you fooled us, thank you. It was a gift that took years to understand. I’ll be honest with you Amie, we had to talk to a lot of professionals until we understood. Martin assured us that you were following all his orders, you were in as good as health as he could expect. More importantly, that even if we got involved, there wasn’t anything else he could do. Father Raymous doesn’t like your decision. About the sea I mean. He feels everyone should have a final resting place. One where family can come to visit, to pour out their feelings. Your decision to ignore his desires pretty much upset him. But he’s an old man, set in his ways.”

“You haven’t called me Amie in years” Amanda whispered. “I missed it.”

“Amie is a little girls name” her mother explained. “You’ve proven your more adult than most adults. We felt like we should help you, as much as we could, without you discovering we knew your secret.” She rubbed her hands together. “How much time do you have honey.”

“Martin said I’d know when I started losing feeling to my legs” Amanda answered. “My tail has no feeling, I have trouble walking, and I have another pain.” She held up her hands, studying them. “My fingers are white, not enough blood getting to them. Doc explained what’s happening?”

“Not... Not the graphic details” her father admitted.

“My left ventricle, the side that pumps oxygen rich blood from my lungs to my body. Its wall has slowly turned into an elastic bubble. Basically, I’ve got a balloon expanding into my chest cavity. Its gonna pop soon, real soon, because breathing is difficult. That means its pressing against my lungs and stuff.” She folded her hands together. “I could get real technical, I’ve learned everything about my condition there is to know. What I need is a new heart, but I’m not a car. Can’t just yank the old engine out then put a new one in. Its too big to fix, they’d have to remove half my heart, and that would be a real downer, cause I’d die from that too.” She leaned back as weakness washed over her. “I really gotta go” she whispered. “Now. But I can’t move.”

Her father stood, walking over to his daughter. With great care he lifted her from the couch. “I carried you into this house for the first time Amie. I’ll be proud to carry you out the last time.” There were tears in his eyes, belying his steady voice.

“Wait” her mother asked. Coming over to her daughter she held out a pair of shears. “This I’m not going to let you say no to” she managed through her own pain.

Amanda grinned. “Runs well with shears huh?” she asked.

“Comedian to the last” her father whispered as her mother cut a lock of hair from Amanda’s long tresses. When her mother finished, absently wrapping the length of hair around her hands, he took a deep breath, then carefully he walked to the front door. Sara opened it, and they stepped out into early morning mist.

Sara only had to drive a little more than an hour before she arrived at her first destination. Pulling her car up into a shell paved driveway she patted Amanda’s hand. “This is where I pick up the anchor” she explained. “Its from my Uncle Franks old boat. I bought it from him a few months ago, told him I needed a prop. Warned him that when the muse hit me I’d probably show up at strange hours.“

“Not gonna haf-tah wake him up are you?” Amanda asked weakly.

“Nah, he’s on vacation anyway. Looking at a great bloody long hole in the ground where a rock fell from the sky.”

“Blakes crater” Amanda corrected absently. “Meteorite, nine thousand years ago. Thirty-seven degree angle of impact. Didn’t you tell me that he always goes there this time of..ow.. year. Sara... Would you hand me two of my pain pills please? Its getting rougher.”

“Sure honey.“ Sara reached into Amanda’s blouse pocket, removing the small vial of pills. Carefully opening it, she tapped two into her palm. “Here you go hon.” She waited until Amanda had finished chewing before returning her vial. “I’ve a thermos of cold water, want some?”

“Please” Amanda nearly begged. “Stuffs awful.” She accepted the offered cup, swallowing deeply. “Thanks, pains ebbing. Wanna bet my dragon comes back again?”

“No bet” Sara laughed. “You want a dragon, you’ll get a dragon. Now sleep while I lug this stuff over and dump it in the trunk.”

“‘kay” Amanda agreed softly. Her voice warned Sara that she was already feeling effects from the powerful drug. Her eyes told her more. Amanda was certainly not long for this world, no matter what Sara wanted.