Stolen Ch. 02

"How long then," I demanded, whirling to face her as the pressure inside swirled around in a maelstrom. The urge to destroy something was becoming overpowering.

"Year, year and a half tops!"

That was much better, but still too long. The anger eased up a little and I started to regret taking out my frustration on Emmet and Bale. They were in the same boat as me. Both were stuck in different bodies and little more than prizes to covet and lock away.

I turned back to glare at the gray slate listing the roster to return home. The need to lash out had abated somewhat, but seeing that list shatter was starting to become appealing. My body was shaking from the buildup of power. I needed to find a way to either release it or use it on something.

Arms wrapped around me in a hug. Emmet had taken me in her arms and was gently stroking the back of my head. To my amazement, I found myself leaning into her and the pressure inside eased and began to unwind. If she had shushed me or made a patronizing comment, I would've struck out at her. All she did was hold me and stroke my hair.

I found the whole situation ridiculous. Being pet like a distraught child was calming me down. I spent a few moments trying to be indignant about it, but finally gave in and relaxed in her embrace. As the power bled out of me, the shaking stopped and with a final pat on the head, Emmet released me.

"There, better now?" she asked with a small smile. "You kinda get used to the mood swings after a while."

Blushing I shrugged and looked down while crossing my arms across my chest.

"This still sucks."

Emmet nodded in agreement.

Bale coughed, drawing my attention to her. She was standing against the wall farthest from me, her white shirt was covered in black dust. Her eyes were wild as she looked at me.

"You," she said stuttering slightly. "You nearly brought the building down on top of us!"

Blinking I turned back to Emmet who's shirt and hair were also covered in dark flakes. Looking down at my arms, there were specks of dust covering them. Rubbing a hand over my braid showed that it too was dusted in black. Glancing up, motes of powder were swirling in the air; the gray slate of the roster was covered in grit.

"Oops."

"Oops? Oops!" exclaimed Bale, her voice rose rapidly in octave.

"I didn't know the building was shaking," I said defensively. "I thought it was just me."

"You didn't know!" she sputtered. "How could you not know?"

"Hey, magic power is new to me. I haven't had a chance to experiment with it yet."

Bale's eyes grew wider and held her hands out defensively.

"Please don't experiment!" she said pleadingly. "Not around us or anything fragile."

"That's good advice," interjected Nenny as she walked through the doors, clad in her black leather guard uniform and carrying a small brown sack.

Her silver cat eyes moved across our dust-coated bodies and to the roster before back to me. Her long silver hair was still in its single braid and swayed behind her as she walked. Her tail jerked and flicked in an agitated manner with her wings tightly pressed against her back.

"You're easy to track down, Tony," she added in a wry tone. "One just needs to follow the trail of disaster."

"Brah," Emmet exclaimed as she nudged me playfully on the shoulder. "You're just like a hurricane!"

I snorted and brushed at the dust on my arms and clothes as I tried to take her teasing good-naturedly. I hadn't meant to scare them. They weren't the targets of my resentment after all. I really needed to get a handle on this magic stuff too.

"So Nenny," I said trying to pull attention away from me. "What's in the sack?"

She inspected the ceiling for a moment before walking to the grit covered counter. Setting the sack on the surface she opened it and pulled out a pair of sandals. She held them out to me and said, "I brought you these, among other things. Here, put them on before you slice your feet on the debris."

"Thanks," I said gratefully as I accepted them. I briefly inspected them before putting them on. They had thin tough soles that were still spongy. Straps of a soft but strong fabric secured the sandals to my feet, lacing around the ankles. They were quite comfy and a little too big for me.

Nenny waited until I was done and pulled a gray leather pouch from the sack and handed it to me. "Your stipend," she said.

"Stipend? I get a stipend?"

"Yeah brah," explained Emmet. "They give us a monthly allowance to buy clothes and other things. It goes pretty far."

"Oh," I said opening the pouch and pouring the contents into a hand.

A number of different coins of various sizes and composition filled my hand. The smallest had a shield engraved on both sides, the largest looked to be made of gold, a crown on both faces, with others appearing to be made of silver, brass or bronze. Perplexed, I stared at the coins in my hands trying to figure out what the value or monetary system was based on.

"So, the gold coin is the most valuable?" I asked as I stared at the colorful currency in my hand.

"Uh, no," said Emmet as she gave me a curious look. "The gold coin is the usually second most valuable." She paused giving me a searching stare as if she was trying to determine if I was joking.

"You really don't know what they are?" she finally asked.

I shook my head and shifted the coins around with a thumb. "We really don't use coins much anymore and they look nothing like this."

Nenny walked up to me and started to point to individual pieces on my hand. "The smallest is called an obol. Six obol make a drachma. Ten drachma make a deka. This is a diobol, it is the value of two obol. This other one is a tetrobol, it is either four obols or two diobol, or one diobol and two obols. There are other coins as well, tetrachma which is four drachma and didrach which is two drachma. Simple."

"What the hell," I said while I stared at Nenny in disbelief. "Are you serious?"

She gave me an affirmative nod, studying my reaction curiously. I glanced at Emmet who was looking at me the same way. Bale had recovered from her panic attack and was nodding absently as she brushed at the dust covering her shirt.

Okay, even I knew I was the odd man out. While being stared at as if I was stupid by women wasn't a new phenomenon, having it occur over money was. Everyone from a different place should have a different currency, right?

Frowning I stared at Emmet and asked, "You have the same money in your world?"

They exchanged uncertain glances before finally nodding. "Yeah, brah," answered Emmet slowly. "All worlds the succubus trade with use similar currency."

Bale and Nenny also chimed in affirming what Emmet had stated. I guess they weren't ready for a currency backed by wishful thinking. Maybe a universe of worlds without credit cards would be nice. I had to admit, handling coins was a comforting thing.

So trade with the succubi was the common factor. That brought up a few questions. Did the succubi wield enough influence to impose their currency on others? Alternatively, had they introduced the concept to other worlds and then guide them in development? On the other hand, maybe trade with lilim was so advantageous that other worlds adopted their currency just as a matter of practicality.

Shaking my head to dispel my thoughts, I took a moment to examine the coinage. They all had milled edges, at least that was familiar. The drachma was the gold coin and the dekas were slightly smaller, thicker and of a shiny silvery metal. I dumped most of the coins into the pouch keeping the dekas out. There were nine of them. Weighing them, I added four to the pouch and held out my hand up to Nenny.

"Are five of these dekas enough for me to get a few sets of clothes?"

She nodded. "Five dekas should get you started on a decent wardrobe with shoes as well."

"Okay," I replied then dumped the remaining currency into the pouch and closed it.

Nenny turned to Emmet and Bale and gestured for them to leave the office. "I was planning on taking hurricane here out to go shopping. I'll show her to the Lounge when we're done. Stay out of here until the engineers survey the damage."

I looked up at the ceiling, specks of black dust occasionally dropped free. It didn't look that bad to me, more like I shook some dirt loose. I was still holding the pouch of coins, the skirt didn't have a pocket after all, and shrugged.

"Doesn't look like I did any harm," I said to Nenny. "It's just a little dirty now."

Bale made a strangling noise in her throat as she looked at me, her eyes were starting to go a little wild again. Emmet paused while brushing off her clothes and Nenny gave me an intense stare before saying, "Step outside."

Shrugging again, I turned taking a step towards the open doors and stumbled slightly in surprise. The doors were hanging cockeyed, knocked off some of the hinges by my tantrum. The paving stones in the courtyard were lying askew as if the ground below them had rippled. Many of the semi-smooth masonry tiles had been cracked and broken, some standing propped on others. Parts of the overhanging eaves had split and had fallen to the ground.

Slowly walking out the door, I took stock of the changes. Some of the benches had survived, while others had toppled over. Basalt blocks poked unevenly from some of the walls and stone grit covered all the surfaces. I could see a few succubi on the rooftops of the plaza wearing the black leather armor of the watch, looking down in concern.

"I did this?" I asked in surprise.

"Yes," replied Nenny.

"Oops."

Emmet had followed me out and looked impressed at the inadvertent destruction. Bale trailed behind Emmet and said, "Please stop saying oops. It just makes it seem worse as if things would get cataclysmic if you just only applied yourself."

Thinking of the damage I had inflicted on Briselen's apartment I muttered, "Well, to be fair, it probably would."

The sound of stumbling caused me to look back over my shoulder. The three of them were staring at me in various stages of distress. I leaned back from them and hugged my arms across my body defensively.

"It's not like I called down a meteor strike or pulled up a lava tube. I'm not going to try pulling off a thermonuclear explosion or anything without uranium or something. I mean, I understand how it's done but that'd be silly," I said then paused and looked at Nenny. "Could I do all those things? I mean, can I do what I imagine? All of what I imagine? Cause that might be really bad."

She shook her head slowly at me and said, "We don't know yet what you are capable of. I don't understand most of what you said. Some catalyst excel at creating new things or healing."

She trailed off and looked around. "It may be a safe assumption that your talents do not lie in those areas, much like your ancestors."

"Please don't experiment," Bale pleaded again.

"Fine. I won't try to control whatever it is I can do. I'll just bottle it all up until it boils over," I said in a snarky defensive tone. "That'll go over well, don't you think?"

Nenny placed a comforting hand on Bale's shoulders as she started to panic. She gave me a quelling look and stated, "No experimentation without another catalyst present. If you feel like you're about to lash out, get word to one of the wardens who will contact me." She pointed up to the rooftops where the succubi were standing.

I reluctantly nodded in acceptance. Of course, I did not intend to put off experimentation. I was just putting on an act for her and Bale's sake. No need to unduly worry them after all.

Nenny stared at me for a moment and seemed to accept my acquiescence. Emmet was still surveying the damage I had inflicted on the plaza and Bale was looking calmer.

"So those are the wardens? Why are they on the rooftops?" I asked, pointing up at the succubi in black armor on the roof. Again, I was futilely trying to shift attention away from my inadvertent handiwork.

"They like the vantage point," murmured Bale, looking everywhere but at me.

"Yeah brah, they love to swoop down on trouble like hawks," agreed Emmet, she smiled at me and made a diving motion with her hands.

Nenny seemed to smile in spite of herself, her tail gave a flick and her wings spread from her back slightly. Walking past the girls, she came up to me and while taking a firm hold of an elbow, steered me towards the exit of the ruined plaza.

"She'll see you at the Lounge later," she said to the girls while walking me through the debris. "Remember, stay out of the plaza until the engineers have inspected the damage."

They both answered in affirmation as Nenny guided me out the plaza then down the stair past the apartments. Her wings relaxed a little more as we walked down the hill. She shook her head once then half turned her head towards me.

"I also brought you news; you may share it with them if you wish."

Partially looking up at her and keeping an eye on the path I listened as she shared her information. Briselen had survived my strike on her place, barely. Nenny expected her to recover and face trial for her crimes. They had found enough evidence to hint that she had help in creating the portal to Earth. Most of Briselen's friends had been apprehended for questioning. The portal itself had survived my attack, mostly intact but currently unstable and unsafe to use.

"The Queen has ordered around the clock, heavy guard on the portal and a temporary barrier has been set against it. She will not risk another Crusader army coming through it," she concluded and finished speaking.

We walked in silence as she guided me down the winding path then to a narrow street. I mulled over the news as I brushed the remaining dust from my clothes. Briselen surviving my attack did disappoint me. I was pleased and surprised it had gotten her, though I didn't know where she had been when I lashed out.

Hearing that the portal was damaged shook me. I hadn't thought about it being destroyed when I had hit the apartment. Actually, I hadn't thought of anything but the desire to smash things at the time. Hearing that it was sealed was reassuring; I didn't want anyone else to be abducted. Knowing that it was sealed and guarded made me uneasy, I couldn't return through a sealed portal.

"Can the portal be repaired? Will it be unsealed when it's time for me to go?" I finally asked.

"Yes on both counts," she replied. "In its current state it is unusable to anyone. We consider that acceptable for the time being."

I nodded and let my attention wander as we walked. There wasn't much I could do at the moment. I might as well see what this new world Asphodel was like. Hopefully, I wouldn't end up a slave. As we walked, I looked around, observing the succubi and buildings as we passed.

The streets were much narrower than I was used to. Much of what we were passing had the look of being residential buildings. Most of which were made of the same dark blocky basalt. Here and there, the occasional building was sheathed in a gray slate material.

All the pedestrians we shared the street with were succubi. They maintained a much larger personal space than I was used to seeing. I found it fascinating seeing them pass each other and not manage to have their wings or tails collide. They still had a riotous clash of hair colors and all wore skirts or dresses of various lengths and styles. I found the variety of the shape, color, and types of horns their heads were adorned with intriguing.

Most had narrow black horns, sharp and turned up like those on a bull. Some had longer curling silvery prongs resembling those of wild goats such as Ibex. Fewer still sported twisted horns like those of antelope only dark like onyx. In the short time we walked, one or two succubi would have horns like Nenny, curled affairs like that of a bighorn sheep.

"Do your horns have meaning?" I asked, curious and fascinated. "Like an indicator of status, power, or sex appeal?"

She looked amused and shook her head slightly saying, "No, no more than finger nails on a human. They simply indicate that we are children of Lilith."

"Oh, what about skin color or the designs on some of them?"

She snorted a quick laugh and answered, "No. The designs are for the aesthetics of the wearer. If we wished, we could change our skin color."

"Really?" I asked and looked up at her, checking to see if she was joking. "So you could be purple or green?"

She laughed and answered, "We could indeed, but non-traditional colors are considered tacky and unappealing."

"Oh, so white, black, tan and red are traditional?" I said stressing the word red.

She continued to smile and nodded, "For us, yes. Those are the shades we are born with."

"That reminds me. How does childbirth work with those horns and wings? It's gotta be agonizing."

Laughing as we walked she said, "We're not born with our horns and wings, just the tail. Those grow out later."

"When?"

"During our second year. Until then we look very human."

"During your terrible twos!" I exclaimed, startled by that news. "That sounds like hell!"

Nenny just laughed as we walked. The narrow street we were on widened at an intersection. She guided me onwards, not deviating from our initial heading. Along the sides of the wider streets were occasional stalls of vendors selling drinks, fruit, trinkets, and other foodstuffs. Many of the buildings lining the road started to sport signs consisting only of symbols, no writing.

Some of the signs I recognized as advertising tailors, blacksmiths, weapons, pottery, and the overflowing mugs of bars. Others I did not, such as the sign with three interlocking circles and one of a bush. At least I thought it was a bush before I could ask she ushered me to a building, one of the many two story black stone structures lining the street. Over the double doors, leading into the shop was a sign of a golden needle and thread encircled in black iron.

The pleasing ring of a small bell over the door rang out as we entered. I found the sound reassuring, something familiar in this purple-skied world. The interior of the shop was large but bisected with a large sectioned curtain leading to the rear of the building. Both sections were lined with shelves, racks, and stands displaying clothes. Thin black wire mannequins stood above racks showing shirts, blouses, skirts, and dresses. Wrought iron racks stood in clusters full of clothing hung on metal hangers.

"You have hangers!" I exclaimed, surprised at their familiar sight. "They didn't have those during the Crusades."

Nenny laughed and said, "We trade with forty-two worlds populated by humans. The good ideas will naturally spread."

"Forty-two?" I breathed out, my mind raced with the possibilities of exploring new worlds. If it was going to take a year or more for me to go back home, I might as well make the best of it.

My thoughts must have shown on my face. Nenny patted me sadly on the shoulder and said, "Exploration of the worlds is forbidden to humans. Too many plagues were spread among them by eager explorers. We can go as we are immune to all disease."

"Oh," I said as my hopes and dreams of exploration were crushed.

It was probably for the best, I didn't want to run into whatever exotic version of the Black Death other worlds might have rampaging across them. The surge of hope at discovering new worlds being dashed still stung, no matter how I tried to ignore it.

Sighing, I idly glanced around the shop taking in the differing styles, colors, and shapes of the clothing on display. I'd never been a big shopper. I always held to the tactical shopping method of making a list, get in and get out. Browsing was not something I did. My fashion choice was jeans and a t-shirt. Shopping for women's clothing was leagues out of my comfort zone. I didn't even know where to start.