Ebby Flint and the Sword of Sorrows (Book 1 in the Artis Trilogy)

So, You Followed a Cat into a Portal...

Chapter Two - So, You Followed a Cat into a Portal...

I step into the new world. Step, of course, would imply that I'm on a hard surface. Swim would suffice. But it would also suggest that I have control over the situation I'm in.

"Eboni!" I hear the muffle of a voice over the water.

I'm drowning. I try to take a deep breath, but all I gain is a big slurp of water. I don't know how deep I am, but I can't feel any air around me. Still flailing around trying to catch a breath, I open my eyes involuntarily and only see blue. A dark blotch is swimming closer and closer to me, but my brain doesn't register it until I'm suddenly being pulled from the water. Someone has dragged me on to the surface.

"Hey, yo, you alive," the voice says mildly interested.

I don't have the chance to reply before I swiftly turn to my side and start coughing up everything I ingested in the water. After hacking up a good cup of who-knows-what, I turn toward my saviour. What I was expecting to be a cat, turned out to be a girl. Rather than looking worried, she looked relaxed. Her skin was tanned brown, almost the colour of caramel. She had short, thick, black hair that formed around the top of her head like a crown. A few stray pieces of hair fell in curls near her pointy ears. She looked like someone who was pulled straight from a fitness magazine. Her muscular arms were folded across her chest. The girl's green eyes stared down at me with unconcern.

"Yo? Really? I thought the world was past that saying." I try to say, but my throat was still raw from the moments before.

"The world hasn't even discovered that saying, hun," she says, wild with curiosity.

"But-" I cut myself off when I realize where I was. "Wait, how did I get here? I was at my house, and I was..."

"And you were?"

"Oh no. Oh God no. Oh please no. No. No."

"Who is this God you speak of?"

"This is real." My hands reach up to touch the girls face. Solid. She's real. "You're real."

"That's what they tell me," she says slowly.

With wide eyes, I say more to myself than her, "I followed a cat into a magical portal in order to save my father."

She nods her head understandingly, "Ah yes, the old, followed a cat into a portal to save my father. We've all been there."

"Really?" I ask startled.

She looks down toward me. "No, that's literally the weirdest thing I've heard in my life. Who do you think I am?"

I slowly rise to my feet, stumbling at first but then steadying myself. Water droplets fall all around me, and I am suddenly aware of my wet hair resembling a birds nest. When I'm standing straight the girl is still a full head taller than me. "Wait, who are you?"

"Naeri."

"Naeri? I'm Ebby."

We stood there, no one saying anything for too long.

She breaks the silence. "So, you followed a cat into a portal," Naeri states like she's writing a self-help guide.

"Yes, that would be the current situation."

"Well, can't help you on that one. Have fun searching for your cat, but I got to get out of here to go do nothing." She turns and starts walking into the forest I hadn't even noticed.

"Hey, er, Naeri wait!" She turns around with an expectant look on her face. "Where is here?"

"Here is Artis, of course," she looks at me for a few moments in curiosity before walking back to where I stood in my puddle. "I think I saw your friend go that way, follow me." She grabs my hand and pulls me in the direction she pointed to. She let go of my hand, but I still walked closely beside her.

I finally had begun to take in the atmosphere around me. Artis was very similar to earth. It shared the blue sky, the white clouds, the green grass. Of course, there were little things that were different. The blue sky had four winged red birds flying through the air that would go and sit on the somehow-stable clouds. The green grass seemed to engulf your feet with each step. Like it was alive and hungry.

"He's not my friend, he's a cat," I reply.

"Don't discriminate against cats, we're all equal in Artis. But yeah, this cat of yours doesn't seem friend worthy. Telling you to follow him through a portal then ditching you in a lake and all."

"Uh yeah." I respond dumbfounded. How was she taking this like it was just another day? How often does she run into strangers in the forest? "Aren't you curious about me? I mean, I'm sure as hell, curious about you."

"Oh, hun, I stopped questioning things years ago. Now I just let the mystery be," she says simply.

Let the mystery be, Naeri's words haunted me. Could I do that? Not question where I was, or how it was even possible for me to be here? I suppose I stopped questioning things the moment I stepped through the portal. But I could I just leave at this? No, I needed answers.

"I wish it were that simple for me."

"Oh, but it is, Ebby," she says knowingly.

I didn't know how to respond, so I decided to keep quiet. We walked long enough for my clothes and hair to dry. I had put all my faith in Naeri, hopefully she was on the right track for finding Bartholomew. But who knew where that cat was by now.

"Uh, Naeri?" I try to get her attention. "Is this what Artis is? Just forests and lakes?"

"So you really aren't from here, then?" she chuckles. "Ebby, was it? You haven't even seen the half of it. I assume your cat-friend is taking you to the main kingdom, and if he is, you'll be absolutely amazed."

Naeri's face held a memory that I was curious about. "If you love it so much, why aren't you there now?"

She looks down at her clenched hands sadly, but she recovers and looks toward me with a daring smile. "I was banished."

"Banished?" I ask, shocked. "What'd you do?"

"Oh you know, the usual."

"I'm not from here. I don't know 'the usual'."

"Illegal portal jumping."

"Oh, right of course, illegal portal jumping," I say sarcastically.

Something invisible to my eye catches Naeri's attention. She turns around swiftly and gestures for me to follow. More quiet than before, we move a few steps through the trees, until Naeri stops sharply. I almost run into her back, but steady myself.

She whispers over her shoulder, "I hope this cat didn't mean too much to you."

I follow her gaze only to have my stomach drop to my feet. There surrounded by a group of misshapen, lumpy humans, was Bartholomew. I could barely even tell if he was breathing. But if he wasn't, my one chance of finding my father was gone.