Good Tasmina

Good Tasmina

“Damn it!” 

What started as a sprinkle when I left the office, had quickly become a torrential downpour only halfway to my car, complete with thunder and lightning. The sidewalk that led to the parking lot ran alongside a freeway overpass. Maybe I could wait out the storm underneath. A sudden bolt of lightning several yards away made that decision for me. I darted into the grass and scrambled under the bridge, completely soaked. Hopefully my backpack hadn't sprung a leak. I couldn't afford a new laptop. I moved closer to the abutment and set my backpack down. Just as I grabbed the zipper, something scurried past me and I jumped, startled. 

“What the- ?”

It was some kind of animal I'd never seen before. Something that shouldn't even exist. I stared at it, trying to make sense of what I was seeing. It had orange, striped fur like a tabby, but this was no cat. As I watched, it shook out its wings; yes, it freaking had wings! It also had two tails, or a forked tail. It looked cat-like, but it was the size of a large dog. It folded its orange, bat-like wings back in, sat on its haunches, and stared at me with big, yellow, unblinking eyes. Both of its tails twitched in unison. 

“What the hell are you?”

After we studied each other for a moment, it stretched, shook the water from its body, then turned and walked away. 

“Hey! Where are you going?”

I followed along behind it wanting a better look. It ignored me and started walking towards the abutment. 

“Hey, watch where you're-"

Then the strangest thing happened. That freaking cat-thing walked into the abutment and disappeared, like freaking Harry Potter at Platform, whatever it was. Just vanished and was gone.   

“What the hell?”

There should have been a hole or something, but there wasn't one. Then its head popped out, like just the head. Sticking out of a concrete abutment. It meowed at me. It sounded like an ocelot. Then it disappeared again. It seemed to want me to follow it, and I don't know why, but I had a sudden urge to try. I'd never believed in magic, but something paranormal had just happened. It sounds far-fetched, even to me, but when I reached out my hand to touch the abutment, another strange thing happened. Just as my hand hit the cement, the world disappeared.

“What the-”

I didn't have time to register anything beyond that I was in some kind of cave before something slammed into me. Someone. 

“Oof!”

“Whoa! I'm. . .” 

I'd started to apologize, but suddenly I was mesmerized. There wasn't much light, but it was enough to illuminate the girl who'd just ran into me. Damn. She was beautiful. She had the reddest hair I'd ever seen, the most stunning green eyes. Alabaster skin. Plump lips. She only came up to my chin and was slender. She looked young, eighteen, maybe twenty, tops. She was dressed all in black. 

"Wow, you're beautiful.”

“Shh! They'll hear you!" She whispered fiercely as she ducked behind a giant boulder. She had an accent I couldn't place. 

“Who?” I whispered back. 

“Shh! Don't just stand there!”

She yanked my hand and pulled me down beside her. I could hear voices and footsteps approaching. I had no idea who she was, where we were, who was chasing her, or why we were hiding, but I did know one thing. At that moment, for some reason, I decided that I'd defend her to the death. The voices were getting closer. Men, and they sounded angry.

“Where did the little wretch go?”

“Little thief can't be far.” 

“How deep is this cave?”

They were very close. I could feel her shaking beside me. 

“Keep going. She can't be much farther.”

I expected to be discovered any second, but by some miracle, they never looked behind the boulder. I heard footsteps carrying them farther into the cave. We listened a while longer until the voices faded. 

“Are they gone?” She whispered very softly. 

I peeked around the boulder and saw no one. 

“Yeah.”

She let out a breath, like she'd been holding it, and started to take off, but I caught her hand. 

"Wait! Who are you?" I whispered loudly. She turned back, fear in her eyes. 

"I have to go!" She pulled against me, but I held on. 

"Tell me who you are!"

"Let me go! They'll kill me!" 

With one last pull, she yanked her hand from my grasp. I followed her out of the cave, which seemed to be behind under a massive waterfall. I was glad of my habitual daily run, because she was fast. I managed to wrap an arm around her waist, pull her towards me, and we stumbled to the ground. I grabbed her hand, pulled her up, and pinned her against the rocky wall. She wiggled helplessly. 

"Let me go, please! They're after me!"

"Not until you tell me who you are and what's going on. Where are we?"

After struggling another minute, she answered. 

"I'm Rowan, daughter of Kaius. This is Khavivia."

"Khav what-iah?" 

"Khavivia. King Cassamir’s realm."

"King Cass- you have a king?!" She nodded, looking about as confused as I was. "Who are those guys? Why do they want to kill you?"

"Ralstead, the Magistrate, and his men. He wants something of my father's. He gave it to me before he died." She was still struggling against me. 

"Why?"

"After my father's death, Ralstead stormed the house claiming my father owed him for taxes he hadn't paid. It's not true! My father was an honorable man!"

"I believe you. Go on."

"Ralstead knows I'm alone now. He ransacked the house, but we didn't have anything of worth. He saw this and snatched it as payment. That night I stole it back. My father gave it to me! Please! It's all I have left of him!"

She was crying now. I wrapped my arms around and held her close. 

"Rowan, I'm so sorry. You don't have anyone?"

She shook her head. 

"What about your mom?"

"She died when I was child."

"You don't have any brothers or sisters?" She shook her head.

"No big, scary husband?"

"What? No. Of course not."

"Good to know."

"You see, you have let me go! I've got to run!" She started struggling again. 

I didn't want to let her go. I wanted to help, but if I'm honest, there was more to it than that. I looked around for somewhere to hide. 

"They'll be back any second, please!"

"Rowan, wait! Maybe I can help!" 

OK, hear me out. I know, it was selfish, but I'd just met the girl of my dreams, I wasn't ready to let her go just yet. Besides, she needed help. I couldn't just abandon her. 

"You? Who are you?"

"My name's Axel. I'm not from here. I followed some weird animal through some kind of magic portal-" 

She laughed at that. 

"Magic? Are you mad? There's no magic here."

"I'm not. . . Rowan, I'm not crazy. I don't belong here, look at me!" I gestured to my clothes. She took in my dress shirt, slacks, and dress shoes. Her eyes were wide.

"Where did you come from?" 

"I followed some kind of. . ."

I heard a scratching sound, looked around, and saw that cat-thing again. I pointed at it. 

"That! That's the thing I followed here. What is that?" It meowed sweetly, like it was completely innocent. 

"A tasmina? They're harmless."

"Yeah, well they don't exist where I'm from. I was under a bridge, waiting out a thunderstorm. . ."

"What storm? There's no storm. It's been sunny all-"

"Hold on! Let me finish." She pinned me with an incredulous look, but stilled. 

"It was storming where I was. That thing showed up with freaking wings! It shouldn't have wings, Rowan! It's weird! I watched it walk straight through a concrete abutment, so. . ."

"A what?"

"An abutment, like under a bridge?" At her confused face, I continued. 

"It's like a rock wall, but it walked straight through it and then vanished!"

"You're mad." She muttered, rolling her eyes. 

"What?! No, Rowan, I'm not! I'm serious. It disappeared! Then stuck its head back out, just its head, which was really weird, so I followed it! Then, I dunno, I just appeared, somehow, in that cave." 

"Are you finished now?"

"I guess?"

"Then let me go!" She started struggling again. 

"No! I'm not letting you go like this! What if they find you again?" I grabbed her shoulders and pinned her against the rock again. 

"If you don't let me go, they will find me, and they'll kill me!"

"Where are you gonna go? He's been to your house! You said you're alone."

"Yes, but I can't let them kill me!"

"Come back with me!"

"What?! I can't. Let me go!"

"Come with me back to the cave, Rowan. We'll find the boulder and the portal. . ."

"We can't go back to the cave! That's where they are!"

"Ok, let's find somewhere to hide, wait for them to leave, and then…" I started looking for a hiding place, but it was hard trying to keep a grip on Rowan. She was obviously scared. 

"There's no time! They'll be back any minute!"

"Stop fighting me, Rowan! I'm not leaving you like this! Where can we hide?" I knew we had to be running out of time. Those guys were gonna come out sooner or later. I grabbed her hand and we started walking quickly away from the cave. There was nothing but the rock on one side and a cliff that dropped off just short of the waterfall. 

"Look, I'll help you lose those guys, but then you have to go back with me."

"Back where?"

"Back to the cave, where the portal is. You can come with me. . ." We were still heading away from the cave, but we hadn't gone far when we heard someone cry out. 

"There she is!" 

"Oh my God!" Rowan jumped. I grabbed her hand and stepped in front of her, facing the men. There were three of them heading straight for us, that cat-thing following along behind them. They looked right out of the middle ages. One had a ridiculous feather in his hat. 

"Don't worry." I muttered quietly to Rowan. "I've got this."

I was lying. I didn't have anything. I needed an idea, and fast. 

"Hello, gentleman! Lovely day. I greatly admire your hat." It was the worst attempt at an accent. Feather-hat chuckled.

"That girl has something that belongs to me. Hand her over." They stopped several feet away. I looked at Rowan who shook her head. 

"What is it?"

"Something of inestimable value. She took it from me. Hand her over." 

"Just tell me what it was and, we'll, uh, give it back."

"I'll ask one last time, sir. Hand her over." 

"Well, technically you haven't even asked once. It was more of a demand, really." 

One of his cronies piped up.

"Do you know who this is, boy? That's Ralstead, the Magistrate."

Feather-hat bowed slightly. 

"Congratulations, sir." I nodded.

"He's the one in charge, you imbecile." Rowan whispered loudly. 

"Did you just call me an imbecile? Damn, Rowan. I'm trying to get us out of this." I whispered back. 

"Well you're failing miserably!"

"Thank you, I'm aware. I'm stalling for time. Give me a second." I cleared my throat and addressed the guys again. 

"Well, have you tried just asking nicely? Maybe if you asked her politely, she'd give it back?"

"What? No!" Rowan whispered loudly again. 

"Just play along." I mumbled. 

"Sir, you've exhausted my patience." Feather-hat started walking towards us looking like he was going to pull out a sword. 

"Sir, Ralstate. . ."

"Ralstead, you fool!" Rowan whispered. 

"Ralstead, Magistrate, why don't you try asking her nicely first?"

He shook his head at me, bewildered. 

"Fine. Rowan of Kaius, give me. . ."

"May I please have. . ." I prompted. 

"May I please have the amulet?"

"No! My father gave it to me. You had no right to take it!" 

"Well, we tried. Hand her over." He walked closer, but I held my hand up.

"Wait! What if we have something better?"

"I'm sure you don't. Hand her over."

"How do you know? Give me a second, let me look." I rummaged through my pockets.

Feather-hat sighed dramatically. 

Car keys, cell phone, wallet. 

"Oh! Here, what about my necklace?" I had a gold cross on a chain. It was plain, nothing flashy. I held the cross out to him. 

"No. Stand aside."

"Ooh, I have a ring." I showed the guy my college ring.

"And my watch! Very fancy." 

I held my arm out, apparently now willing to give my own stuff away for a girl I'd just met who was calling me names. 

"Oh! I also have a money clip. It's all gold, solid gold, I promise. I give it all to you. You let both of us go free."

"Who are you?" He looked so ready to throw me off the cliff. Luckily, his cronies hadn't felt the need to jump in. 

"Axel. Axel of, um, Austin? Do we have a deal?"

"No. Unhand the girl."

"Unhand her? I'm not cutting her hands off!"

"Give her to me, you fool!" I backed away, keeping her behind me. 

"No!" I held my hand up again. "I can't do that!"

"Why not?"

"I, um, am, uh, in love with her." I stammered. 

"What?!" Rowan exclaimed. 

"One second, Rowan, darling." I got right in the guy's face. "You see? We're in love! Love I say! So, um we're going to be, uh, married? So, you can't have her!" 

I pulled Rowan into my arms, and shoved past Feather-hat. I knew this wasn't going to work. I'm not an idiot. I was going for shock factor. Maybe if we got a head start…

"Now, if you'll excuse us, my, uh, fiancée, and I have business to attend to." 

We only got a few feet before I heard him pull his sword out and his goons stepped in front of us. I grabbed the switchblade out of my pocket, and spun around ready to throw down. 

Suddenly, that cat-thing growled. It was comically ferocious, surprisingly loud, and we all turned to stare at it. 

"Uh oh." I said dramatically, like I was suddenly terrified. "You've upset Daisy now."

"Hand over the girl or I'll run you through."

He had a sword pointed at my head. I had a switchblade, and I was about to fight off three guys, at least one of whom, had a sword, so I could take this girl I'd just met back to a magical portal with me. It was essentially kidnapping, but not. It sounds awful, but I was trying to save her life. Now, my brilliant idea was pretending to be afraid of a mutant cat as a diversion. In case you were wondering how bad things had gotten. 

"I'm serious. Daisy's not a normal cat-"

"Tasmina!" Rowan whispered. 

"Tasmina. She's my, uh, attack pet."

All three men laughed. 

"You take me for a fool, boy. What is she to do? Lick me to death, perhaps? You're very funny."

I looked at that stupid thing that started all this trouble by showing up in my life in the first place like he was now supposed to save us all. 

"Daisy, this is your fault, you stupid cat! Do something!"

Feather-hat took a step towards me. Of all the strange things that had happened today, what happened next was the strangest by far. That cat took the air, with its orange wings, and blew a freaking column of fire, I kid you not, at Feather-hat's hat, which promptly burst into flames! We all screamed and jumped back. If there was ever going to be a moment to escape, this was it. I grabbed Rowan's hand and yelled,

"To the cave!" And we took off running. 

"Why didn't you tell me they could breathe fire? Do that all do that?!"

"No, of course not! I've never seen anything like that!" She sounded just as amazed as I was. 

"Remind me to thank him later."

We ran into the cave, unsure if Feather-hat survived or if his goons would follow. 

"Where is the hiding spot?" I asked when we were a little ways in. 

"Um, let me look." She sounded breathless. 

We'd slowed down to take in our surroundings. 

"We have to find that big boulder." I started running one hand along the wall. There were a lot of boulders around, but none the size of the one we hid behind.

"We need to find a way out of here!"

"No, I'm trying to find the portal back home." 

"You're going to leave me here?!"

"No, you're coming with me!"

"What? No I'm not! I can't!"

"You can't stay here! He's got a sword, Rowan! All I've got is a switchblade."

"There it is!" We scrambled over to the boulder. 

"Oh my God!" We said at the same time. Ralstead and his men were back, sans hat. Daisy, the fire-breathing cat ran past and flew through what had to be the portal. 

"Hurry, Rowan. Go!"

She tried to follow, but she was just hit the wall. 

"I can't!" She looked to be in the right spot, but she just was bouncing off the cave wall. My heart fell. I couldn't just leave her here. Ralstead was charging us with his sword drawn. 

"Axel, help me please!" She was crying and desperate. "Do something!"

Daisy popped her head back out growling. I wrapped an arm around Rowan. Ralstead's sword was inches away. 

"Axel, please!" I grabbed that cat's head, holding onto Rowan, and suddenly all three of us tumbled into the bright light of the underpass. 

I looked at a bewildered Rowan. 

"We made it."