Page 6 of Twisted Bonds

The door appears almost comically tiny compared to the towering walls that surround it. Two guards, donned in shiny leather armor, stand on either side of the entrance, with a flickering lantern hanging from an iron bar above them.

I cautiously note the blades strapped at their sides as Sunder confidently strides towards the door, exuding a sense of entitlement. The two guards shift uneasily, eyeing his intimidating size and demeanor with warranted wariness. Compared to the fae I’ve encountered so far, he’s quite tall and exceptionally stacked with muscles.

“My woman and I demand a place in your inn,” Sunder barks at the guards.

Not the line I would have entered on, but it’s definitely clear communication.

“Please,” I add softly, in case Sunder’s stick needs a carrot to back it up.

The guards exchange a disapproving look. “Do you have a reservation?”

“A what?” Sunder is genuinely surprised by this question. “A reservation?”

“Yes. Have you booked a room at the inn?”

“We haven’t,” I say. I try to look as helpless as possible, lowering my gaze and nervously playing with my hands. It’s not much of an act; I truly feel pitiful at this moment.

Tears well up in my eyes, and I try to hold them back as I sniffle. It’s a silly thing. But I was so looking forward to a comfortable bed and bath. That it might not happen is crushing. “It’s probably a longshot. We’re completely lost and exhausted. And my… my friend here, he promised me I could take a bath to clean up. Can we just check and see if there’s anything available?”

The two guards share a look, and then one of them gives a slight nod. “Okay, you can go in, but if there’s any trouble out of you…”

He lets the threat linger unspoken. Sunder gestures for me to follow, still slightly confused by the situation.

The town isn’t much to look at. It’s pretty quaint; my eyes sweep over wood buildings with a rough finish on the outside, cobblestone streets that are uneven in a dangerous way. However, I’ve seen pictures of cities in much worse shape. There’s delicate glass in all the windows and the glow of lights, both behind the sturdy-looking glass and around the street, looks an awful lot like electricity.

Sunder cautiously scans the area as we walk towards the tallest building near the town square, which is a combination of a tavern and an inn. Music and boisterous cheers spill out onto the street, along with bright light from the windows.

“The winds have changed since my last visit,” Sunder whispers, mostly to himself.

“What do you mean?” He just shakes his head as if to say, talk later.

A renewed sense of unease settles into my shoulders as we step into the raucous tap room. I’m shocked when we walk into the inn to see light switches. I lean into him, speaking under my breath. “Do they have electricity in Illuemera?”

His gaze widens upon seeing the cream-colored switches. His voice is as low as mine as he whispers back. “They did not used to. Chroma was the only power source. Those rich in Chroma could use it to power the world of others, and they were compensated for their contributions. But that was only in the largest cities where channelers were plentiful.”

“Hmm,” I murmur.

The inn is filled with a gaggle of different creatures, some of whom I can barely glimpse as they slip past my gaze. Among the familiar faces and ears of the faeries, there are also brief sightings of beings with scale-covered skin, unusual tails, and even horns. And in the darkest corner, I can just make out the fluttering motion of what appears to be wings. My wide eyes can’t take in enough.

Through the bond, a soothing stroke of calm against my mind emanates from Sunder.

“It is electricity,” Sunder says with awe. I follow his eyes to a light fixture, where, sure enough, a plain old electric lightbulb is glowing warmly. I can even see the familiar GE logo inscribed on the metal where the bulb is screwed in.

“Go figure. I wonder if they’re fossil fuel people or if they have something else figured out.”

Sunder doesn’t answer. He’s drifting toward a jolly looking male with pointed ears and a rounded belly who looks like he might be the owner of this establishment. I tuck myself against the corner of the room, gazing with wonder at everything around me. There are more familiar things now that I’m looking for it.

There’s something that looks like a person, if people had delicately green skin, wearing a Baltimore Ravens t-shirt. There are kids, or at least what I think are kids, playing with an old Nintendo console.

Clearly, we aren’t the only ones to utilize the portal to Earth. Interesting, considering I was told it was barred and illegal to pass through. There appears to be a booming trade in goods and services that would be right at home at any Best Western where I’m from.

I’m excited to share my discovery with Sunder when something brushes against my leg. I look down and see a familiar orange face peering up at me.

“Hey you.” I put my hand down, and he rubs his chin against my fingers. Bobble makes figure eights between my feet, purring loudly. It’s still strange to reconcile the image of my beloved cat with the sexy man he turns into, but that he’s so consistently loving in both forms helps.

I still can’t get over the fact that he saw me naked daily for years before I figured this out, but oh well.

“Did you find something for us?”

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