NORRIX
Norrix zipped his bag closed and hefted it to his shoulder with a grunt. He didn't need much—a couple changes of clothes, and human identification, just in case. The bag was still heavy though, with currency for Ashana.
He met Stryx and Ember in the garage and drove the short distance to the airfield where the Vitiate kept their jet in the on-property hangar. It was easier to have their own transportation, given the unpredictability of commercial flights, and the off-the-beaten-track places they needed to go.
It didn't get more off-the-beaten-track than Ashana—the Shrouded Place. A zone only 'sort of' in this world 'sometimes'. The gateways opened for those who held a key, which could only be obtained in Ashana.
Glowing silver with strygoi magic Ember walked around the jet with him for his pre-flight check, and stood behind him keeping one hand on his shoulder in the cockpit. She bombarded him with questions about how to fly the plane. Probably to distract him, and he almost relaxed.
He needed further distraction after take-off as they flew west, over the ocean and into the sun. Into. The. Sun. "It would help me know what to look for if you could describe Musette's symptoms more fully."
"Musette's magic feels wrong. I don't know how to explain it. I never touched her magic before, so I don't know what's changed about it. We killed all the spiders feeding on her, but she still can't wake up or remember what happened after we were separated."
"Could it be something to do with her becoming strygoi like you? Maybe her magic is changing too quickly, or the process started too soon?"
She shook her head. "No, my magic welcomed the strygoi magic. They wove together without fighting. I don't think the process is meant to hurt or cause Musette to go into a coma." Her voice turned cold and the hand on his shoulder curled into a fist. "It has to be something that mage did."
"But when your magic changed, you and Stryx had already bonded, right? Forgive me for saying so, but I've seen strygoi magic act... Let's call it erratically before. Maybe it jumped the gun this time and is trying to change Musette 's magic before she's bonded with Idris?"
"I suppose it's possible, but if she wakes up strygoi, that means witches can become strygoi without needing a vampire to kick start the process. Selene seems sure that's not possible."
"She also said things are changing, would happen fast, and the magic could be adapting." Stryx joined them, keeping his hands well away from the controls. "What if instead of combining with Musette's magic its trying to turn her into something else? You said you have a third sister, what if since your other sister isn't here, instead of Fate the magic wants Musette to be Death?"
"Musette can't help the magic if it kills her. I don't think that's it. It felt more, I don't know, confused, I guess. Not right, but not malicious. Idris wouldn't give her blood and venom before because she couldn't consent. She hadn't even met him. But they're in my Draga space now. Maybe she'll want to bond with him and that's what will wake her up." She grinned. "I hope Idris likes ice cream. He's going to be watching her eat a lot of it."
"We'll keep looking." Stryx put his hands on her shoulders.
Ember let her head fall back against Stryx's chest. "I know. I wish I could do something instead of just waiting. I wasn't good at waiting before I became War, now I want to use my sword on everything." She heaved a sigh and changed the subject. "What can you tell us about Ashana, Norrix?"
"Ashana is Las Vegas for the Other World."
"Where is it? Close to Port Storm?"
"No one knows where Ashana itself is, only where to find a gate to get there. It's a sort of vortex between worlds." Norrix checked the sky around them and his gauges. "We're high enough. Sit down and put your seat belts on. Sometimes there's turbulence when the gate opens."
Keeping her hand on Norrix's arm, Ember sat in the copilot seat. Stryx buckled her in and took the jump seat behind her. "How did people get there before airplanes?"
"When the world wasn't so crowded the portals could open on the ground. They still can in some places, but they require a lot of space. Activating a key when there isn't enough room burns the key out and can trap you in between. The easiest way to open the gate now is high in the sky, away from everything and everyone."
Norrix removed a simple, metal key from his pocket, inserted it into an imaginary keyhole and turned it left. A thunk, the sound of a huge tumbler in a lock turning, shook the plane and the air in front of them shimmered, black on the other side.
"Hold on." He piloted the jet into the portal and waited for the reactions as Ashana came into view. It resembled a large island floating in the air. A single, tall, building rose from a confused landscape. A volcano loomed in one corner, lava flowing down one side to form new land in a boiling ocean. Other parts of Ashana held a jungle, a desert of sand dunes, an ice field of glaciers, a swamp, a lake, a meadow, a range mountains, and a forest.
Stryx only quirked an eyebrow but Ember gasped and leaned forward. "Wow, look at this place! It's incredible. It's day and night at the same time."
"Yes, and this is only part of it. There are underground sections too. And then there's this." Norrix flew lower and banked the jet to the right to give Ember a different angle of view.
"The jungle turned purple! And the ice is all red now."
"All of Ashana can be customized. If someone from another world visits and requires a different atmosphere to breathe, it can do that. This place is amazing for what it can do, but the same thing makes it dangerous. Don't go anywhere in Ashana if you haven't arranged to be there beforehand with the staff, even if you're invited by a guest. Some beings who look human are really something different what is good for them might kill you."
A runway appeared in the middle of the island, bisecting the landscapes. Norrix banked again and lined the plane up with the tarmac.
"You don't have to talk to anyone about arriving or landing the plane?" Stryx asked.
"No. Ashana looks like a place, and it is, but it also seems to be sentient. It can sense what its visitors need and accommodate them. The runway will disappear after we use it, and reappear when someone needs to land or take off. You don't need to protect me here. Wherever vampires go it will be night unless someone has requested daylight to keep vampires out."
"Like at the Mage's auction."
Norrix nodded and taxied the jet to the end of the runway to enter a hangar. He braced himself for what he might see. There was no way to know who would be here. A few other planes were parked inside, along with hot air balloons, a Zeppelin, an enormous mortar and pestle, a throne with empty collared chains, a few chariots, a tornado, several broomsticks, and a red sleigh adorned with bells, nine harnesses on the ground in front of it.
"Is that a UFO? Do witches really ride on brooms? Who does that throne belong to? Are we going to meet a girl with red shoes?" Ember's eyes were huge. "Is that... No, he's not real."
"People don't think vampires or witches are real either," Norrix said, enjoying Ember's reactions. Everything was new to her, and sometimes he wished he literally hadn't already seen it all, that he could have experienced the world and its wonders as a spectator like everyone else rather than a recording.
"But...him?"
"I've met him." Norrix grinned. "I Witnessed his trip around the world once. He's real."
"Perfect." Ember huffed. "Musette is so going to gloat over this. I always told her he was make believe, but she always got one more present every Christmas, from Santa. I always thought our aunt was playing a trick on us. Is there really a reindeer with a red nose?"
"If we have time you can visit the reindeer and the other animals that power the conveyances. They're boarded in the stables."
"Come, my Draga." Stryx stood and held out a hand for Ember. "Norrix does not require you to shield him at the moment and it is dangerous for you to be seen glowing silver here. You must become human and dress."
Norrix and Stryx carried their bags and Norrix led the way into a corridor lined with doors. A uniformed doorman stood at each entry. Norrix passed the first three of them, while they stood still as statues. The fourth man bowed and swept the door open.
"Where did the other doors lead?" Ember asked. "They all look the same."
"Ultimately, the lobby. But this is the human entrance," Norrix said. "The other ways won't work for you. Don't bother trying."
A woman with blue skin and yellow eyes intercepted Norrix as he approached the front desk. She wore sandals that laced up her legs to her knees, and a white, one-shouldered pleated dress that fell to mid-thigh.
"Mr. N! We haven't seen you here in 37,230 days."
"Hello, Clio. I see you've been watching superhero movies. I like your new look. It's kind of a Greek-Mystique thing you've got happening."
She grinned and pointed two index fingers at him like guns. "You saw it here first!"
He grinned back and bowed. "Witnessed." Straightening he made the introductions. "These are my friends, Miss E. and Mr. S. Miss E. and Mr. S., this is Clio, once known as Muse of History. She manages the hotel side of Ashana for human-ish guests and remembers every time any one has checked in under her watch."
"Hi, Clio. It's nice to meet you." Ember offered her hand.
Clio brushed the offer of a handshake aside and hugged Ember instead. "Don't be silly. Any friend of Mr. N.'s is an accomplice, buddy, crony, dearie, enyi, felagi, gwadenya, highbinder, intimate, jocosite, kaibigan, luag, mate, namana, ore, pal, quintessential, rafiki, sidekick, teman, umngani, vriend, worthy, xenophile, yoldas, zanmi of mine." She stopped for breath and glared at Norrix. "You could have interrupted me."
"I like your lists. You even stayed in one alphabet that time."
"But not one language! You know it frustrates me when my lists don't match."
"I apologize. I won't let you finish another list."
