Zenith (4) (The Underground Kingdom) Read online

  Zenith (4)

  Steve Elliott

  Copyright Steve Elliott 2012.

  All rights reserved

  This story is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  Chapter 1

  Things had been going almost too well with my life recently. Maybe my paranoia had taken over, but my previous experiences contradicted this theory. I wasn't paranoid, just realistic. I'd never had much success with anything in my life before and yet, here I was, an honored member of an underground society of fairies and, to put the icing on the cake, being actively pursued by two of the most gorgeous females in existence. Now, I ask you, who could ask for anything more? Insidiously, however, that portion of my mind, addicted to despair and hopelessness, put in a bid for recognition.

  – You're kidding yourself; you know that, don't you?

  ‘No, I'm not. Everything I've said is the unadorned truth.’

  – You're living in a fool's paradise, that’s what. None of it is real, particularly the bit about the two gorgeous females.

  ‘What are you talking about? They are gorgeous.’

  – I know that, stupid. What I'm talking about is their so-called ‘pursuit’ of you. Do you seriously believe that those two dazzling, absolutely amazing women, are chasing after you? Get real!

  ‘I know what you're doing. You're trying to make me doubt their intentions, but it won't work. I know they like me. Every time I visit, there's almost an open war over me.’

  – I'll agree that's what it looks like, but how do you know it's not all an act?

  ‘An act? They have fistfights! That's taking method acting a little too far, don’t you think?’

  – Okay, granted, maybe they do like you. A bit, anyway. A smidgen. Perhaps the tiniest, most minuscule, microscopic, diminutive ……

  ‘Okay, I get the picture. There's no need to beat me over the head with it. Not that I believe you for a second. Thorn and Tracey do want to be with me. I’m sure of it. The problem is I don't know which one I like the best. They're both amazing! And beautiful. And sexy. And …….’

  – Okay, okay! Now I’m the one getting the picture. Enough already! Sheesh!

  ‘I just want to make sure that you realise the dilemma I’m in. How can I possibly choose between two such delightful females?’

  – Always supposing that you have the choice in the first place.

  ‘Cynic. Despite a previous lack of success with the gentler sex, I now choose to believe that I’m inundated with choices. However, the problem still remains.’

  – The choice?

  ‘Correct. The choice. What to do? Tracey or Thorn? To choose or not to choose? That is the question. Whether ‘tis nobler in the mind ……. ’

  – For heaven's sake, don't quote Shakespeare at me! And out of context as well. It's not at all funny.

  ‘According to you, anyway. You have no sense of humor.’

  – Of course I do. I'm listening to you, aren't I?

  ‘Pathetic. And your timing is terrible.’

  – Shut up.

  And there stood the crux of the matter. Here I was, a human, randomly transplanted into a fairy clone and whisked off into an underground fairyland where, as previously mentioned, two stunningly beautiful fairy sisters were fighting for my attention.

  – So you say.

  ‘I do say. Now, go away, you nuisance. I'm trying to tell a story here.’

  – And making a total hash of it.

  ‘Go!’

  – Blimey, how crabby can you get?

  To continue ....... I was scooped into a fairy clone and charged with fixing all sorts of problems that arose in their society. But don't get me wrong. I enjoyed doing it. Well, most of the time, anyway. There were a few hair-raising moments, mind you but, overall, it certainly made my life a lot more interesting. Apart from Thorn and Tracey, I’d also made friends with Nix, a smart-mouthed goblin, who was always ready to participate in our little adventures. The latest edition to our circle was Trix, a childlike elf Tracey had adopted into her family, and upon whom she practiced her mothering techniques. At present, our little group was held in high esteem by the fairy Council of Elders, mainly because we’d performed a few services which had benefited the community.

  Therefore, to sum up, while my human life remained predictable and dull, it was more than balanced out by the frantic activity of my fairy life. Fairy life? Hmmm, that sounded more than a little weird. Nevertheless, the statement itself is true. Most of the time when I had been transmogrified, some crisis or other happened to occur. If it wasn't a kidnapping, then it was a missing person, or the fighting of some wild beast or other. The rest of my time was occupied acting as a referee, trying to keep Thorn and Tracey from killing each other. They fought and squabbled over practically everything, including me.

  – Ha!

  ‘Shut up.’

  I hadn't received a visit from Phil, the clone transfer architect, for a number of weeks, and I began to wonder if something had happened. Normally, I'd be contacted about every two to three weeks, but it had been nearly double that with no visitation. Just as I started to convince myself that something really was wrong, Phil appeared in my flat, just as I prepared for bed.

  "Phil!" I exclaimed, joyfully. "I was beginning to worry."

  "Sorry for the delay," he apologised, "but I've been busy working on something and I wanted to get it finished first."

  "What was it?" I asked, curiously.

  "Something that should interest you," he replied, grinning.

  "Well, don't keep me in suspenders," I cajoled. "What is it?" He undid his backpack and displayed a curious round, metallic object with multiple buttons.

  "There!" he proudly announced.

  "Very nice," I commented, eyeing the object in his hand with absolutely no recognition whatsoever. "What does it do?"

  "This, my dear boy," Phil explained, "is your personal transfer machine. Once I show you how to operate it, you won't need me here anymore to hook you up. You can come and visit anytime you want."

  "That's brilliant!" I praised, impressed. "Phil, you're a genius!"

  "All too true," he admitted, polishing his fingernails on the front of his shirt. "I have to admit that I’m rather proud of this little device. No one has ever made one before. It took a fair bit of trial and error before I could get it to work correctly."

  I hesitated. "It, um, does work properly now, then?" I hesitatingly asked.

  "Oh yes," Phil said, confidently. "Well, most of the time, anyway."

  "Most of the time?" I questioned, with some trepidation.

  "All of the time," Phil consoled, smiling. "I was only teasing you, Stephen."

  "Your sense of humor needs some tweaking as well," I advised. "Where's the button for that?"

  "Very droll," he commented. "Now, let me show you how this works."

  Chapter 2

  Phil’s new machine seemed surprisingly easy to operate. A dial twist here and a button push there was all that was needed.

  "Try it," Phil urged. "There'll be another one waiting for you at the other end. Use it to come back here. Practice makes perfect, you know."

  "If you say so," I told him, a little apprehensively. "Are you absolutely sure this device is working as it should?"

  Phil haughtily drew himself up. "Do you doubt my scientific abilities?" he demanded. "When I design something, Stephen, it stays designed. Have some faith in me, my boy. I guarantee it'll work."

  "Very well," I conceded, pressing the appropriate buttons. "I'll be back momentarily."

  "I'll be here," Phil murmured. True to his word, Phil’s instrument worked perfectly. I a
woke to very pleasant sight of Thorn, looking down at me.

  "Stephen?" she asked, confidently.

  "No, it's David," I teased. “Who are you?”

  "What?!" Thorn exclaimed in shock, taking a step backwards.

  "No, it's me," I confirmed. "I was just having a joke."

  "That wasn’t funny, you beast!" Thorn declared, punching me in the arm, none too gently. "You frightened the life out of me."

  "Sorry," I apologised, ruefully rubbing where I’d been hit. "It was simply a bit of high spirits. With Phil’s new device, I can visit you anytime I want. Which reminds me, I promised him I’d come back straight away. We’re still in the testing stage."

  "I'm sure he wouldn't begrudge you a few seconds with me," Thorn demurely announced, coming closer. "Could you spare the time for a welcoming kiss?"

  "Oh yes," I breathed. "I'm sure that would be time well spent. Phil would understand."

  "I think he would too," Thorn agreed, bending her head down and smooching me quite comprehensively.

  "Now that's what I call a welcome!" I finally gasped when Thorn lips had released mine from captivity. "You can give me that salutation anytime."

  Thorn peered coyly at me from under lowered eyelashes. "I could give you more than that, if you'd let me," she whispered, flushing a little.

  "Ummm, yes ……. well," I stammered, flustered by Thorn's seductive implication. "We'll have to talk about that later," I assured her. "In the meantime, Phil is waiting. I'll be back in a flash. I hope," I added, pressing and twisting the proper buttons, relieved to escape the embarrassing situation that had left me groping for a politically correct answer. You coward! I thought to myself in that millisecond of transfer. Any red-blooded male would have seized that given invitation with both hands, and yet, here you are, running away like a wuss. Shame on you!

  I opened up my eyes to Phil’s grin. "I told you it would work, didn't I?" he smirked in self-congratulation.

  "Yes, you have uncommon genius", I flattered, half mockingly. "It'll be marvellous to be able to come and go as I please. I'll be able to visit a lot more frequently."

  "That's something a certain pair of sisters would relish," Phil remarked with a sly grin. "Have you come to any decisions as yet?"

  "About what?" I asked, feigning innocence.

  "Oh please, Stephen, give me some credit," Phil exclaimed, exasperated. "It's obvious that both Arugohumna and Traculimna would do anything for you. And by ‘anything’, I mean ……. "

  "I know what you mean," I hastily intervened, "but it's not like choosing between two packets of biscuits on the shelf. There are all sorts of implications and complex nuances to be considered. I honestly don't know where to turn. I don't think this situation has a resolution."

  "Things generally sort themselves out in the long run," Phil advised. "The main thing you have to avoid here is making a hasty decision. Take your time, my boy, and see what happens."

  "Easy for you to say," I grumbled, as I began the sequence of button pushing to send me back to Thorn. "Being a mere spectator makes things so much simpler."

  The next thing I saw was Thorn, still blushing from her impromptu invitation to do ……… something or other. I wasn't exactly sure what she had invited me to participate in, because she hadn't actually quantified it, and I didn't want to guess in case I'd deduced incorrectly. So, in the time-honored manner, I decided to ignore the whole episode and hoped it would simply go away.

  – Of all the stupid ……

  ‘Quiet, you.’

  "Well, I'm back," I declared. "Phil’s little gizmo appears to work perfectly."

  "Not that you doubted it for a second," was Thorn's sardonic comment.

  "Of course not," I blustered. "I trust him implicitly. Now, what's on the agenda for today?"

  "Just a bit of together time," Thorn suggested, helping me to my feet.

  "So, there's no crisis?" I enquired. "No drama? No horrendous happening?"

  "No, nothing like that," Thorn denied, smiling. "Just a normal, peaceful day for once."

  "That'll be a first, then," I muttered, walking around the room with Thorn’s aid. "We won't know what to do with ourselves."

  "Oh, I can think of a few things we could do," Thorn purred, stroking my cheek with her fingertips.

  "Really? And what would they be?" I asked, calling her bluff, knowing full well she happened to be almost as shy as I was about expressing feelings.

  Caught out by my question, Thorn’s eyes widened and her expression turned hunted.

  "I ……. I mean ……. we could …… I'd like to ……" Her stammered responses ground to an ignominious halt and her face flamed with mortification.

  I gently lifted up her chin with my index finger. "I think this proves that we’re not quite ready for the next stage of our relationship, Thorn," I remarked. "Not yet, anyhow. We can't even talk about it, let alone act on it, so let's just continue on the way we are for the meantime, eh?"

  "I think that would be for the best," Thorn agreed, still flushing. She sighed. "What's the matter with us? Why is this so difficult? We’re both adults, for heaven’s sake! Things should be a lot easier than this."

  "It's best to take things slowly," I lectured. "That way we can be surer of ourselves."

  "I suppose you're right," she conceded. "I wish you weren't, but I can't see any alternative."

  "That's my girl," I told her, giving her a quick hug. "Let’s give ourselves more time to sort out our feelings."

  Chapter 3

  Thorn and I then went and visited Tracey, who squealed in delight when she saw me, and rushed into my arms. Thorn scowled at her exuberance, but didn't verbally object, which was a little surprising. After being thoroughly hugged and kissed, I was ceremoniously sat down and offered some tea.

  "Where's Trix?" I wanted to know, sipping the presented beverage. "Is she about?"

  "She’s out walking with Zenith," Tracey informed me.

  "Zenith?" I enquired, curiously. "Who's Zenith?"

  "Zenith is a …….. a companion," Tracey replied, hesitantly.

  "What sort of a companion?" I asked. "A boyfriend? A girlfriend? Another elf?"

  "None of those," Thorn interrupted. "It's a bit more complicated than that."

  I glanced enquiringly at their secretive faces. "There's something you aren't telling me, isn't there?" I guessed. "Come on, what is it? What could be so horrible that you can't let me know?"

  "No, it's nothing horrible," Thorn hastened to explain. "It's just that Trix’s friend is a little out of the ordinary. It’s some sort of an animal, but we don't know exactly what it is."

  "It's huge and hairy and it growls all the time!" Tracey peevishly exclaimed. "Frankly, it scares me, but Trix loves it and won't be parted from it. She calls it ‘Zenith’ for some strange reason. Maybe you can talk some sense into her," she hopefully added.

  "It's a pet?" I asked, astonished.

  "If that's what you want to call it," Thorn grumbled. "It's nothing like I've ever seen before."

  "Where did she get it, then?" I enquired.

  "She just came in with it one day," Tracey shrugged, "and asked me if she could keep it."

  "You could have said ‘no’," Thorn accused.

  "And break her little heart?" Tracey asked. "What kind of a mother would I be if I did that?"

  "A mother who exercises at least a vestige of discipline," Thorn maintained. "And anyway, you're not her mother. You're just pretending."

  "Motherhood comes in different forms," Tracey grandly proclaimed. "I feed and clothe her and look after her, plus, she’s living in my house, so that makes her my de facto daughter, and that's all there is to it."

  "You're so weird!" Thorn insisted.

  "You should talk!" Tracey retaliated.

  I could foresee the beginnings of a fight brewing when, luckily, Trix arrived, closely followed by her pet. Thorn and Tracey immediately ceased hostilities, with Tracey taking an uncertain step backwards as the ‘pet’ ente
red the room. My first impression painted it as a wolf, a very large wolf, almost as big as Trix herself, but as I examined the animal more closely, I found specific differences to the surface variety of the wolf clan. That is, apart from its much smaller size, of course. For one thing, its snout was shorter and so were its legs. I deduced there were wolf genes somewhere in its makeup, but it had evolved to accommodate this underground tunnel living. Trix greeted me in delight and then introduced me to her companion. I cautiously let Zenith smell the back of my hand – I'd read somewhere in a magazine that was the best way to introduce yourself to a dog – and then I scratched behind its ears, eliciting grunts of joy and a rapid back leg thumping. After that, I was regaled with a soft bark and a systematic hand licking.

  "He likes you!" Trix cried, joyfully.

  "Where on earth did you find him?" I asked.

  "I found him when I’d been out gathering some herbs in the wilderness," she explained. "He was nearly dead from starvation. I couldn’t let him die, so I gave him my food and he began to follow me everywhere." She wrapped her arms around Zenith's furry neck. "What was I supposed to do? He trailed me right through the settlement to here. I asked Traculimna if I could keep him and she said I could. Wasn’t that nice of her? I've never had a pet before. "

  "Yes, your mother was being nice," I agreed, looking at Tracey who had defensively placed the table between her and Zenith. I would have given money to have seen her expression when she first clapped eyes on her daughter’s pet. Even now I could see she was half convinced that Zenith would leap on her at any moment. Not that I blamed her, really. Zenith wasn’t cute or cuddly, despite what Trix obviously believed. He was part wolf, wild and savage, but he seemed to have accepted Trix as the alpha leader, and the rest of us as honored members of his pack. He wagged his tail as Trix patted him, his doggy instincts coming to the fore.

  "Well, I think he’s great," I informed Trix who beamed gratefully at me, displaying her awareness of the tensions her pet had created.