Page 28 of Fated to Monsters

I follow Sydney down the long hallway with dusty artwork and doors that lead to unknown places. We end up in the kitchen, where Sydney goes straight to the counter and points to a seat for me to take.

“Would you like some coffee?”

“Sure.” I’ve grown to like the bitter hot liquid and besides, it would give me something to do with my nervous hands. Usually, they’re filled with knives or chains or whatever weapon of choice for the day.

It’s going to take me a hell of a lot longer than a couple days before I grow used to not knowing what to do with all this idle time. Even when I had breaks between cases, I would spend the time training or preparing for my next battle. Here I have nothing to worry about other than what type of snack I’d like between meals.

Is this all humans do? Or Earth folk in general? Is life this mundane that it revolves around eating, shitting, and watching television shows?

It could be worse, that’s for sure, but it’s nothing at all like what I’m familiar with.

But that could simply be because we’re confined to Sydney’s parent’s estate, and we haven’t ventured out into therealworld.

“I never properly asked, but you’re a witch, right?” The hunter radar within me that typically alerts me to these things hasn’t really worked properly since I was taken captive by Wes. None of my skills ever really came back fully.

“Yes, that’s correct.” Sydney fills two mugs with coffee and nudges one across the counter to me. “There are many like us here, and with the curse finally being lifted, more and more come into their powers each day." Sydney blows on the steaming drink. "Although with time it has slowed a bit, the first initial wave was intense. A multitude of new witches that had no idea they had magic suddenly started presenting signs of magical use. It took the majority of our resources to get it under control and get everyone the assistance they needed.”

“What do you mean? What do you do for people like that?”

“Well, aside from explaining what was happening to them, we had to open new schools across the world to accommodate the teachings of magic. We couldn’t run the risk of being exposed so we had to act quickly to get everything in order. It was so overwhelming that Willow had to temporarily step down from her position on the supernatural council to make sure everyone was taken care of. She still advises, and has recently regained some of the responsibilities, but her main concern is of the people, not the power. She’s less about politics but the two go hand in hand, unfortunately.”

I put my palms around the mug to warm them. “She sounds…incredible.”

The kind of woman I aspire to be.

But I’m aware the things I have done will make that nearly impossible. My mistakes won’t be so easily forgotten and it will take many lifetimes to offset the damage I have done. I must atone for my sins if I wish to seek redemption.

“She is.” Sydney stares off blankly. “From the moment I laid my eyes on her, I knew she was special, and every day, she continues to amaze me.” He blinks to center himself. “Anyway, I wanted to talk to you. We have much to discuss, and so much to learn of this world, but I was curious, what are your intentions here?”

I tilt my head and take a cautious sip of my drink. “What do you mean?”

“You came here, to Earth, or Arthlia as some refer to it, to seek refuge. Are you planning on staying long-term, short-term?”

“I…” I find myself unsure what to say considering we’ve only just arrived.

“I only ask because it will impact how I handle our approach. Obviously, the choice is up to you, and those you’ve traveled with, but if it’s meant to be a short visit, I’m not convinced we should spend our time focused on the insignificant details.”

“We, uh, we don’t really have anywhere else to go.” When we fled Prania, I had no idea we would land here, in Arthlia. This place was always considered a fever dream, something talked about in drunken conversations at the bar. A paradise of sorts that none of us had ever been to, but hoped to visit someday. We all knew it was impossible, that’s why we talked about it the way we did.

But now, now that I’m quite literally standing on the other side, I can’t help but feel like someone should pinch me and wake me up from this dream.

“Did you intend on coming here when you traveled between the realms?” Sydney leans his butt against the counter and crosses one arm over his torso while he keeps his mug out in front of him.

“No.” I shake my head and try to recall the moment everything changed. “We were there. A wendigo army was closing in on us, we had nowhere to go. We were pressed between the border and countless demons that wanted us dead. Tremont latched onto me, told us all to hold on tight, and the next thing I knew, there was a bright flash of light and we were waking up in the darkness.”

“Why hadn’t you ever left before if things were that bad?”

“We couldn’t. Prania had been closed off for realm travel long ago. Centuries maybe. I’m not keen on the actual origin date.”

“If my research is accurate, and that’s the case, the power Tremont harnessed from you was what granted you access, and that was because of your bloodline. And if I take it one step further, the realm that you ended up in is the one that the angels decided you should be in.”

“You’re telling me the angels transported me here?”

Sydney nods. “In theory. But that goes both ways. Tremont was no doubt sent to Prania because it was inescapable. His ultimate punishment.”

“Then why would they let him out?”

“That is the million-dollar question.” Sydney exhales. “This is all speculation based on what I’ve gathered. We have a past with cross-realm travel because of our experience with hell dimensions but never with a realm that doesn’t exist on paper. I scoured textbooks and couldn’t find anything on Prania. It’s almost like it doesn’t exist.”

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