“Who are you?” she demanded in a harsh voice.
“Asahi Tanaka,” he replied.
She swallowed and remained silent as they warily studied each other. Her gaze slowly moved over him again. A frown creased her brow when she noticed the jeweled hilt of a dagger at his waist. He carried a sorcerer’s blade.
“What are you doing on my Isle, Asahi Tanaka?” she demanded.
“I’m searching for answers,” he replied.
Her frown deepened. Visitors were not allowed to travel beyond the capital city without express permission. The rule was in place to keep them, as well as residents, as safe as possible. Trolls, goblins, and—well, there was a long list of inhabitants who potentially posed a danger to unwary travelers. What answers would a sorcerer want here?
After a moment of thought, Nali concluded that there was only one reason a sorcerer would be this far north and this deep into the forest. He searched for the magical ore the goblins mined and forged.
“You’ll find no ‘answers’ here,” she said to the man standing stiffly a few feet from her. She hissed in surprise when he lunged toward her, wrapping his arms around her waist, and pulling her to the ground. She started to grab his wrist before she realized that she was not the intended target of the dagger he wielded. The dagger’s blade became white hot and hummed as it sliced through the long black tentacle that stabbed at the empty air where she had been standing less than a second before.
She rolled over until she was on top of Asahi. Her flesh hardened to stone. Her wings emerged from her back, and she spread them to cover them both as the severed tentacle dissolved around them. She raised her arms, protecting Asahi’s head, and pressed her forehead against his, sending her awareness outward to sense the alien’s next attack.
They stared into each other’s eyes as the seconds ticked by. Their breaths mixed as the silence stretched. Under her wings, Asahi slid his hand across her hip to her lower back. She turned her head just far enough to see the flakes of ash falling around them. She looked down at Asahi with a suspicious expression.
“How did you do that?” she demanded in a hard tone.
“It’s all in the wrist,” another voice said with a touch of amusement.
“What the—?” Asahi hissed, dropping the blade in surprise.
Nali rolled off of Asahi and rose to her feet. She stood over him, her legs slightly apart and a long broadsword in her hand. After a quick look around, she fixed on the dagger. It was sticking out of the soft ground where Asahi had dropped it. Nali watched with amusement as Asahi studied the dagger, and the gold, winged lion on the hilt grinned back at him.
Asahi sat up and scooted away from the dagger. The wings on the small lion fluttered and pulled the blade free from the ground. Then the Lion Dagger flew higher, hovering in the air as he demanded, “Is no one going to thank me for saving your lives?”
Nali gently grasped the dagger and held it in front her curiously as she said, “Of course. Thank you very much indeed.”
“You’re welcome, Empress,” the lion said, puffing up with pride. He turned his head to pointedly glare at Asahi who was still gaping at the talking animated object.
“What is that? How—?” Asahi forced out around his astonishment.
Nali lifted a delicate eyebrow. “You are the sorcerer, and you don’t know the magic of your own dagger?” she skeptically inquired.
She stepped back when Asahi slowly rose to his feet. He shook his head. His dark brown eyes were assessing her with an intensity that would have drawn a blush to her cheeks if her flesh wasn’t stone.
“The dagger was given to my grandfather as a gift. He passed it down to me. It is one of the rare things he refused to say much about, insisting that I discover it for myself. I’ve never seen it move—or talk before,” he replied.
“Perhaps the reason you’ve never had a chat with me is because you buried me under a pile of rocks and never released me from my sheath,” the lion stated with a derisive snort.
Asahi frowned. “I was seven,” he retorted before he clamped his lips together.
Nali looked at Asahi and then the dagger before returning her amused scrutiny to Asahi. This time she really registered the differences in his clothing.
“Where are you from, Asahi Tanaka?” she asked.
He stared back at her as if contemplating the risk of sharing the information. The longer he was silent, the more certain she was that she already knew the answer. She held the dagger between them.
“My dear Mr. Gryphon, could you please tell me where you came from?” she inquired.
“Earth,” Asahi said before the winged lion could reply. “I was in a place called Yachats, Oregon, in a world known as Earth.”
Nali slowly nodded. “You wouldn’t perchance know anyone by the name of Ross Galloway or Ruth Hallbrook, would you? Or perhaps, Carly, Jenny, Mike, or Tonya?” she inquired.
He stiffened as she began listing the names. He recognized at least one of them. Perhaps all of them. They had all traveled from Yachats. She gave the dagger a considering look before offering it back to him.
She was concerned that she had briefly forgotten about the possibility of another attack while distracted by the dagger. There was no way of knowing if the alien had left another part of itself behind. She scanned the forest, searching the shadows, but she saw nothing. She turned back to study Asahi.
While she was protected in the form of a gargoyle, Asahi was not—although that hadn’t been an issue a few moments ago. Still, she had let her guard down, and that could have been fatal.
Asahi slowly reached out and took the dagger from her, staring at the winged lion that was now absently cleaning one of its paws. Nali turned and surveyed the forest once again.
“Thank you,” she murmured.
“What was that thing? I saw it come out of the troll shortly before you arrived,” he said.
She looked over her shoulder at him before facing the forest again. “An alien to our world who wishes to destroy it. As far as we know, there are only two left,” she explained.
Asahi stepped up next to her. He reached out and offered the dagger to her. She looked at him in surprise.
“Take this, then. It seems to work pretty well at killing them,” he said.
“What are you doing? You can’t just give me away!” The dagger sounded extremely indignant. “Isn’t burying me for centuries enough of an insult? Now you just decide to give me away to the next person like I’m a bloody kitchen knife? No offense, Empress,” the winged lion growled with a slight bow of its head.
She shook her head and chuckled. “None taken, Mr. Gryphon,” she replied before facing Asahi. “The dagger was created from very old, powerful magic. There are few witches or wizards skilled in such pure magic. I know of only one who had a knack for bringing inanimate objects to life; and, she has passed from this world. Mr. Gryphon was given to you for a reason. The magic held within the jewels, gold, and steel was given to you with love. You cannot pass it on to another unless you give it with the same love,” she explained.
Asahi frowned. He studied the dagger and then looked up at her again. “You asked me a few moments ago if I knew Ruth and the others. Do you know if Ruth Hallbrook and the other woman—Tonya Maitland—are safe?” he asked.