Alfheim Seoul Read online

  “You have good time?” asked Grandpa Dan, ignoring Mom and changing the subject.

  “I did,” I said, seizing the opportunity he offered. “You’ll never believe what I saw. A faerie ring. It had glowing mushrooms and everything.” I contemplated telling them about the strange creature chained in the alley, but figured they’d think I was going crazy.

  Mom went back to washing dishes, but she still seemed angry.

  “What faerie ring smell like?” asked Grandpa Dan. I looked at him sideways.

  “It smelled burnt,” I said. “But not. Like someone had recently lit a match.”

  “Oh, you see real one,” he sounded excited. I did a double take.

  Mom dropped a round dish into the rinse water with a splash. “Don’t fill her head with crazy ideas,” she said.

  “It OK. She have good imagination,” Grandpa Dan said. I looked over at him wondering what he meant, and he winked at me.

  “You are grounded until you get a job,” Mom said. “Even if Dad does buy you a new phone.” Dad was on a business trip overseas, probably somewhere in Korea or China. He was really good at both Korean and Chinese, especially for a non-native. Mom said he had a gift for it.

  “What? You can’t do that! I’ve got stuff to do next week.”

  “Then you have a whole week to find a job,” she said. I glared at her, but it just seemed to bounce right off her.

  “I’m only fifteen. I don’t have a resume or experience. How am I going to find a job in time? It’s already Saturday.”

  “Not my problem,” she said, and went back to washing dishes. “I’m sure you’ll figure something out.” I clenched my fist behind my back, trying not to let Mom see how mad I was.

  “Alecia, you come to shop tomorrow,” Grandpa Dan said. “I have job you do.”

  Yes! I gave him a big hug. Mom just smiled, like this had been her plan all along.

  Grandpa Dan had offered me a job at his shop a few times before, but I hadn’t ever needed the work. I could usually get money from Dad, even if Mom had forbidden it. I think he felt bad for spending so much time away on business trips.

  “Thank you,” I whispered to Grandpa Dan and I headed upstairs.

  As I lay in bed, I replayed this evening’s events over in my head. There was nothing I could do to help that creature. He said so himself. The risks were too high for someone unskilled. Why was I thinking about him again? I should be scared. I was scared, but I still wanted to help him.

  “Alecia?” Grandpa Dan’s voice echoed and the door slowly swung open as he knocked. “You OK?”

  “Yeah.”

  “You no seem OK.”

  “Well, I met someone on the way home tonight who needed my help, but I couldn’t help him.”

  “The bottom of the lamp is dark.”

  “Korean proverbs aren’t going to help me right now.”

  “They always help.” He smiled and kissed me on the forehead.

  “Good night,” I said as he closed the door behind him.

  Darkness and silence engulfed me. Snuggling deeper into the covers, I felt like a young child again, hiding from the monsters in the dark, every inch of my blankets tucked under me.

  A ragged and unnatural yell reverberated through the room. It was the creature. I just recognized his cries, even though the alley was blocks away. How am I still hearing him? I can’t believe I left him there, but what other choice did I have? He told me to go. He said there was nothing I could do to save him from someone as powerful as a faerie queen.

  I had no magic, no super powers, nothing. I didn’t think my Taekwondo skills would apply in this situation. I thought about calling the police, but there was no way that conversation would end well.

  If I did manage to free him, what would keep him from killing me and everyone else? That seemed to ease my conscience enough.

  I pushed the creature out of my mind.

  Occasionally muted sounds of his struggles reached my ears, so I piled pillows over my head to drown them out. It wasn’t long before I drifted into fitful slumber.

  CHAPTER 3

  I awoke to a fierce, inarticulate wailing. My dreams had been filled with images of the creature all night. Why did I feel so guilty? I pulled the blankets more securely around me, but I couldn’t get comfortable. No matter how much I tried to push the creature out of my mind, he was still there. I could still hear him. Stupid Edgar Allen Poe.

  I dressed quietly, making sure not to wake anyone and headed outside. The predawn chill was heavy in the air. My thin jacket wasn’t enough to handle it, but I knew it would warm up soon. I pulled my long, black hair up into a messy ponytail to get it out of the way. The walk to the park in the dark had me shivering, but it had nothing to do with the morning chill.

  “Why have you returned?” the creature said as soon as I entered the alleyway. “Did you come to watch me die?”

  “What? No. I came to save you.”

  “You can’t save me. It’s too late. Dawn is almost upon us. Eira has won.”

  “No! You said there was a way. Whatever it is, I’ll do it.”

  His expression changed. “What makes you think you can help?”

  “I don’t know. But I’m here, aren’t I? And you’ve got no one else. What do I need to do?”

  “You would need to hide me from the queen and Eira.”

  “Like in a basement till all this blows over? We don’t have a basement.”

  “No,” he chuckled. “I could only hide within your soul plane.”

  “I don’t have one of those either.”

  “Yes, you do. Everyone does. But, you will have to kill me first,” he said.

  “Kill you? I thought we were trying to avoid that.”

  “What you see is not my real body. It is a construct created by Eira. But it has been modified.”

  “Modified? How?”

  “My race has the ability to know our precise location in the cosmos, yet Eira has tampered with this skill, and tricked me into believing I remain in Alfheim. If you hadn’t shown me otherwise, the sun would’ve come upon me without time to evade it. Should you kill me now, my true form will be released.”

  “And then you can return to Alfheim?”

  “No. Without a physical form, I cannot open a portal. Even if I found my way through, I am not powerful enough to evade the queen. My life would be ripped from me in front of my beloved’s eyes. The only way for me to live is for you to hide me.”

  “But what if you got free from the chain?”

  “I could survive for a short time, but without the protective construct, I will die here. And if they find out I am alive in this realm, Eira will kill Eliana.”

  “Wow, that sucks.”

  The stoic creature looked off into the distance as if pondering my comment.

  “Yes, it seems my fate is sealed without your help. You must decide quickly. I can feel the rising of the sun drawing near.”

  “Hold up a second. I still don’t know what I’m agreeing to do, or not do.”

  “Let me put this as simply as I can. When my true form separates from the constructed body that anchors me here, I will be free to enter your body. If I am stronger than you, I could take control.”

  “No way dude, you can die out here before I agree to that.”

  “Please, I am only explaining what could happen. What I am proposing is something different. We must join energies.”

  “What?” I said, my mouth dropping open. “I don’t like where this is going.”

  “Fear not, you and I would remain separate entities. I would merely inhabit your soul plane.”

  “My soul plane? What’s that?”

  “About your person is a small plane of existence your spirit inhabits. It’s both in your body and the area immediately around it, and yet it’s not part of the physical world. Each person has one, and it’s unique to them.”

  “So I have my own pocket dimension only my spirit can dwell in?”

  “Exactly, I am
impressed with your rapid grasp of the concept.”

  “I’ve seen enough Doctor Who to understand what you’re talking about, but why would you want to live there?”

  “In there I would be completely concealed from anyone hunting me.”

  “I can’t believe I’m considering this, but if I did do it, how does it work?”

  “With your help, we will destroy this constructed body and join energies. Were I to attempt to possess you uninvited, we would meet at the edge of your soul plane and battle for dominance. If I conquered your spirit, your body would still endeavor to reject me.”

  “So I have a spiritual immune system?”

  “Yes, your description is apt. To overcome that, a portion of our souls must merge.

  “OK, so I hide you in my soul plane and you get to live. What keeps you from taking over once you get inside my head?”

  “The merge is a mutually binding agreement. We choose the rules before it happens and will not be able to break them. So choose wisely.”

  Oh crap. Here come the loopholes. I’m not exactly a law professor, but I’ve limboed my way around my parent’s strictest rules, so maybe I did stand a chance at coming out of this alive.

  “OK. I think I have it,” I said, after a moment.

  “Really? I’m impressed. Proceed.”

  “First, you can’t take control of my body. You are just a passenger. I’m the driver. Got it?”

  “Never? What if our lives depend on it?”

  “Then we die. This is still my life. I’m only fifteen, and I haven’t figured out what I want to do with it. I certainly don’t want someone else taking it from me.”

  “Fine,” his voice sounded resigned, “but you must hurry.”

  “Second, I need my privacy. I’m a teenage girl, that’s all I’m going to say about that.”

  “How am I supposed to understand what that means?”

  “Just deal with it,” I said. I had no intentions of explaining it.

  “You drive a hard bargain.”

  “Third, you will protect me with all of your powers and knowledge.”

  “Of course. If you die, so will I.”

  “Fourth, you will teach me how to travel to Alfheim and be my guide.”

  “Absolutely. Anything else?”

  “Um, that’s all I have,” I said.

  “I have just one condition. Under no circumstances will you reveal my existence to anyone without my permission,” he said.

  I took a moment to think about it. Seemed simple enough, but it would mean keeping secrets from my parents, my friends, and especially Grandpa Dan. Of course, I knew I had to keep this a secret, but it was going to be difficult.

  “I’ll do it,” I said.

  “Get your knife.”

  “What for?”

  “You must stab me in the neck.”

  “Well, that escalated quickly,” I said. “Um, little problem. I don’t have a knife. Isn’t there another way? Why the neck? Couldn’t I just strangle you or something?”

  “Strangle me? You don’t look nearly dangerous enough to do that. But that wouldn’t help us anyway. You must pierce this constructed body in the nexus of magic in my neck and let my true form loose,” he said. I had no idea his neck was so vulnerable, but then again, maybe that’s the way it was with Alfheim creatures.

  “OK. Give me a sec; there’s bound to be something in one of these dumpsters.” I turned and walked over to the nearest garbage can. It felt bizarre looking for a weapon to kill someone, even if they were not human and were asking me to do it. I found a small length of rebar and wrapped one end of it with some cloth to fashion a handle. The resulting weapon looked sharp enough to break the skin. My mind envisioned the wound it would inflict and I nearly wretched.

  “I think I’m ready,” I said.

  “I have prepared myself as well. Please aim true. I still feel pain even in this constructed form.”

  Why did he have to say that? The makeshift knife weighed heavily in my hands. I’d practiced Taekwondo for the last six years but never had to use it against anyone other than sparring partners. I’d caused a lot of pain and felt a lot of pain in those matches, but I couldn’t imagine how it could compare to what I was about to inflict on this perfect stranger.

  Raising the knife to strike, I steeled myself. I’d never taken a life before.

  “Wait,” I said. “I don’t even know your name. I kinda feel like we should be introduced before I kill you.”

  “You can call me Iverog,” he said.

  “I’m Alecia. What kind of demon are you anyway?”

  “I am no spawn of Helheim!” The words came out in a fierce growl. “What I am, does not matter. Now hurry, dawn is upon us.”

  He was right; the sky was getting lighter. I raised the knife again, and he turned his head away, teeth clenched, resolute determination etched on his face. I sure hoped I was doing the right thing. I plunged the knife into his neck, expecting to see blood splatter and have my knife lodged in his spine, but it was like I’d thrust the knife into jello. It stuck with a thunk, and then the creature’s flesh melted away. His face peeled back in one slimy, gooey lump, exposing the white of his skull.

  Large chunks of muscle dissolved into green, gelatinous goo, and slid off the bone with a sickening slurp. The gore evaporated before hitting the ground. Iverog’s skull melted like a candle under a blowtorch. Liquid bone ran in tiny rivulets down the dissolving mass, none of it quite reaching the earth.

  I stared at him, transfixed by shock and disgust, unable to turn away as more, and more of the fleshy goo slid away into nothingness.

  I didn’t move, I don’t think I even blinked, but all at once I found myself standing in a vast, empty room. As if I’d been whisked away to an abandoned warehouse, except the ground, now several feet below me hadn’t changed. I could still see the remains of Iverog’s shell, as well as my body lying next to him. Was I dead?

  “Alecia,” said Iverog. He stood before me, unharmed.

  “What’s going on?” I asked.

  “We are here on your spirit plane.”

  “How do you have your body, but mine is crumpled over there on the ground?”

  “This is my true form. Here on this plane, I have substance. You are separated from your body. You are only your soul now.”

  “OK, so what happens next?” If I didn’t look down, I could pretend things were just as they were a few minutes ago, which was as close to normal as I had right now. I could do this, as long as I didn’t think about it too much.

  “I will join my soul with yours.”

  “Wait a minute. You aren’t going to get all creepy on me, are you? If this is some trick to get me alone and try something, you should be warned I can defend myself.”

  “I do not doubt your abilities. This is no trick. However, it will be painful. You must rend your soul in two.”

  “Sounds like an awful idea.”

  “It will only work if you offer half your soul up willingly.”

  “How do I know which half?”

  “The half you offer will choose itself.”

  “What about you?”

  “Yes, I will offer up half my soul as well.”

  “Then, you first,” I said. He nodded and then knelt in front of me.

  “Alecia, I offer you half my soul in exchange for honoring the terms we have agreed upon.”

  I felt a sudden change in the room; heat and light began radiating from Iverog. Slowly, a transparent copy of Iverog peeled away from his body and coalesced alongside him.

  “Now your turn,” he said.

  What the heck was I doing? I was about to give away half my soul to a random stranger with a sob story. My hands were shaking as I knelt down on the ground next to my crumpled body and faced Iverog.

  “Iverog, I offer you half my soul in exchange for honoring the terms we have agreed upon.” The words had barely left my lips when I felt a searing pain. Several jagged pieces of me broke loose. My left arm wa
s floating toward Iverog, but when I looked down at my hands, my arm was still there. Several more parts or copies of parts, I wasn’t sure, broke off of my body, pain surged with each one.

  I thought I was tough, able to handle pain, but this was like nothing I’d ever experienced. The pain flowed through me in agonizing waves, and I couldn’t hold it in any longer. I screamed. It started out loud and shrill, spurred on by the intense agony. But as it progressed, I managed to gain control and turned it into a full-throated yell. It became cathartic and cleansing. I opened my eyes I hadn’t realized were closed. There was another me, floating in the air; the other half of my soul was also transparent, like a ghost me. Iverog grabbed it, and like play-doh squished it into a smaller shape.

  Then he ate it.

  Things wobbled as I tried to understand what was going on, fortunately, I was still kneeling on the ground. I felt like I was watching a movie as Iverog continued to munch.

  Like a candy bar, he bit off great hunks of my soul, devouring them with his sharp teeth. It was disconcerting to watch myself be consumed, but once again, I found I couldn’t look away. I just sat there while he licked the last morsel of my soul from his fingers.

  “You don’t expect me to eat that, do you?” I asked, pointing to where his soul still floated.

  “If you don’t absorb my soul into yours, the deal will be incomplete. You will have none of the benefits while having made all of the sacrifices.” His words drove home the gravity of the decision I’d made. There was no going back.

  I gathered my courage. At least this shouldn’t be as painful as giving up half my soul. I stood up and walked over to his soul offering. I tried not to look it in the face, but the soul’s ghostly eyes were watching me. I reached out and grabbed the spirit form by the arm and felt a significant jolt like I’d been shocked by electricity. I couldn’t let go. I started to panic, but then the sensation changed. I could feel the energy flowing into me.

  Raw, ancient power. For a moment, I felt like I could do anything. I was powerful, and the immensity of my potential stretched out before me. Then the moment passed. I opened my eyes and found myself lying on the ground with a massive headache. I was no longer in the empty warehouse Iverog had called a spirit plane. The sun was up, and I could see the alleyway clearly.