Grass danced against the back of his hand, the blades tickling him. The smell was nice too and as he breathed it in, he was glad to feel earth, or the Earth, beneath him. The smells were all too familiar, so many hours of his childhood were spent running through nature, the woods, playing in the soil, digging holes, and pulling up weeds by the roots. He wished he could stay here forever, staring at the clouds and taking in the scent of the pollen, tree sap, daisy weeds, and dirt. He appreciated the calming senses that the grass and the cool air provided, knowing that they could easily be taken away by the evil wizard.

“It’s rather presumptuous to think that I need you to use magic in this realm.” boomed Phaeton, exaggerating his hand gestures. “I only need you to complete the spell of transmutation, something long thought impossible. But all is possible when it comes to my intellect. Because of your insolence I’ll make sure you suffer a fate worse than death. Let’s get this over with.”

A gust of wind, far stronger than the natural wind, pulled at Cody’s feet, the grass was pulled along with him, pointing towards the open front door where Phaeton stood. His hands tore at the grass which broke off like tissue paper and left him digging his fingers into the soil, trying desperately to hang on. Aaron’s hair and face muscles rippled with the heavy wind, Phaeton using magic with a yellow palm outstretched. Cody considered what would happen if this “realm swap” was allowed to happen, if he was made to stand on the pedestal with the wizard in control of the tethers. Behind Aaron’s armored body he could see the pedestal through the veil of natural debris that was being sucked in through the doorway.

But then he felt the familiar warmth of the blue-glowing charm in his hand and held it up. For a moment he daydreamed about Earth being overrun with monsters and strange creatures, the same type that he saw in the foyer, towers of darkness and ominous landscapes consuming cities and small towns, like the places he saw in his father’s bedroom, when Phaeton captured Aaron. He saw himself frozen in stone while his father burned eternally in some alternate hell. The light beam that suddenly reappeared from the shark tooth started to flicker. What…? No…

He held the necklace tight with one hand while his other hand was deep in the soil. Dirt and garbage from the street flew passed him as his feet left the ground, aiming for the doorway, Phaeton’s hand was glowing more yellow. Cody stabbed at the dirt with the light beam but it only made a small hole, fizzing with vapor, and completely flickered away, leaving only the necklace in his hand. His hand found the concrete walkway that led to the driveway and gripped that with all his might. Behind him Phaeton could’ve easily stepped forward and pulled his leg but clearly the wizard wanted to show off his magical abilities. The woosh of air around him was loud. Cody looked to his neighbors and wondered if they heard the noise and maybe even call the police. But he didn’t see that going too well for the police and the surrounding houses if Phaeton, with all his abilities, decided to fight back.

Cody was hanging in the air and had the strange sensation of flying, or falling, like the world had turned on its side. The shark tooth tether had to be the answer. The tethers, if together, would prevent him from leaving the house but since he broke the spell by taking the shark necklace he could easily run and escape if he could break the wizard’s concentration. He searched frantically for a way out, searching his mind. The light beam had flickered out when he started getting scared. Could he have been powering it? Powered by bravery? Strength? Anything, he thought, other than panic and fear.

Phaeton’s goal became clear, to get Cody back inside the house, inside the dungeon. He couldn’t allow that. And he wouldn’t. The shark tooth grew warm and he clutched it tightly. He didn’t care how he suddenly had the ability to create power swords with his mind. He saw it as a gift, a chance phenomenon that didn’t need explaining. Only that he would use it. Now.

In one swift action Cody put one foot down on the cement, let go of the cement with his fingers, jumped up with the one planted foot, and spun around, striking the wizard across the shoulder with the magic sword that shot out at the last moment. As the blade struck the metal armor Cody was blinded and flung back several feet, sliding across the grass. He watched helplessly as the house moved away from him. It was an odd feeling, seeing his house and wanting to run but also just wanting to go inside and take a nap in his bed, in his room, safe and secure.

The gusts stopped. He lifted his heavy head, coming to rest at the curb, and Phaeton was moving his hands again, the glow in his palm changing from yellow to red. Cody pulled himself closer to the curb, sliding easy with the cape under him. Around the yard and street there were no barriers or obstructions that would prevent him from escaping, at least that he could see. He arched his body, getting his legs under him, and prepared to test the theory that the tethers were broken.

“Run if you must, but know that existence will never be the same for you.” Phaeton opened his yellow palm and aimed it at him. “Once I activated your essence, bolstered your spirit with the tethers, I opened your mind and soul to the substance of other realities. You’ll be drawn back here, begging for me to make it stop, to make you normal again. It’s only a matter of time. But for now, I’ll just have to show you what I can really do.”

The shark tooth glowed but the light beam had since disappeared, or retracted, supposed Cody. Normal. He would never be normal, not after this. And he would likely never trust anyone or anything ever again. But he couldn’t give into despair. This “essence” must be somehow influenced by his mood. If he wanted to use the sword and other magic, he could not allow himself to give up, to mourn for his brother and father, or to act brash or foolish.

Phaeton’s eyes seemed to darken, shadows surrounding his cheeks and brow. The wizard took one step back and a heavy fog appeared around the doorway. His yellow palm disappeared behind it and seemed to breathe out the fog from its center. Fog drifted down the front steps, bringing with it a ticking and clicking creature that scurried forward on four thin-insect like legs. It was twice the size of a wolf but didn’t appear like a wolf at all…On its back were round segments of a red shell like the centipede but underneath, at its stomach, the shell opened into tiny hairs which seemed to move and undulate with every step. Feelers…Cody shivered and stepped back, trying to activate the sword.

The rest of the body was black and rippled with muscles, completely unlike an insect. On each of the creature’s feet there were two pronged fingers, not unlike the pincers of an insect, and spikes on its hind quarters. The head of the creature was the most horrific however, in that it was a combination of a dog with a short snout with large mandible hooks on the side and a spider’s head with multiple eyes, all staring directly at him. As it stepped forward with a menacing growl the bristling hairs on its forehead seemed to shake and shiver as if the fur was alive. He tried to evaluate if he would be fast enough to run, he would not be able to summon enough courage to activate the light sword, considering he nearly loosened his bladder when he saw the monster dog.

Without much more thought he ran, bolting along the curb and hearing Phaeton’s voice one more time. “Go fetch, my dear draconem. And try not to drain too much of his blood.”

The monster dog let out a creepy, shuddering growl and Cody couldn’t decide if he was hearing the dog’s vocalizations or if it was the bristling of its hairs together. He bolted towards the fence line, pushing himself as hard as he could along the grass. Cursing himself for wearing the sweat-inducing helmet he could feel the clicking of the monster behind him, picking up speed. He leapt to the top of the metal fence and toppled over his feet as he fell into the alley between their yard and the neighbors. If he was fast enough, he could make it to the stores a few blocks away.

The monster slammed its head into the chain link fence, biting and snapping. Cody got to his feet, nearly choking from the stench coming from its mouth. He never ran so fast in his life. When he looked back, running down the alley, the creature jumped over the fence like a grasshopper with its thin yet muscled hindlegs. It must’ve taken a few more leaps forward as the bristling sounds came closer behind. The hairs on the back of his neck stood out. He would have to run even faster if he didn’t want to be caught by his cape and dragged back to the house, that gloomy and foul place that used to be his home, his only home since birth.

While sprinting forward he couldn’t help looking back, distracted by the large snapping jaws. He dove sideways to avoid them and ended up slamming into a hard post, or what felt like a post, and fell on his back, seeing stars. There was a loud electric shock and when he looked up, he was staring at the aerodynamic body of a blue-skinned man…with…elf ears?

The blue man in spandex with the lightning bolt on his chest reached down and with a smile said, “Hey dude, it’s Tempest…uh I mean Ryder. My name’s Ryder, from school? Remember? I mean I know you know who I am but I have a different body now.” The man’s voice was soft yet masculine. But judging from the man’s tone and nervous nature it certainly had to be Ryder. He gestured toward the monster dog. “You’re welcome, by the way.”

To Cody’s left he saw the dog monster cowering back and stumbling on a pile of garbage bags. Steam came from its forehead from a recent attack. “We came as fast as we could.” Another voice. A woman this time. A beautiful woman, a little older than his brother.  At least as far as Cody could tell, with her striking bright purple hair flowing down her back, black rounded goggles, a hood over her forehead, and an outfit that reminded him of a Japanese fighting game. Purple and dark purple seemed to be the theme. Even her lips were purple with pale skin around them. Her cloak hung down around her legs, ending in tapered points, and her chest plate, although it might have been made of leather, had interesting shapes –something like distorted triangles and angled along her body to create a bug-like carapace. Very stylized but cool to see in the middle of his neighborhood.

“Illyion…?” His heart skipped a beat. It had to be…She was more than he ever thought she would be. Cody saw the pole staff she was holding and how it had a metal disk blade on the end. The circular blade was clearly sharp and could be used as an axe but he figured, judging from the runic symbols, that it could be used for more.

“Well, no but…kinda? Mi cachorrito, it’s me! Tonya. How do you like my new Halloween costume? I’m using her face for the time being.  But I got to design the rest of it. She’s cute right? Cool right?”

“I didn’t get to choose…” said Ryder, rubbing the back of his head.

Cody thought he had a cool costume…Even though he felt like a kid at an anime convention Cody looked over his shoulder. The dog monster was still smoking and confused, stepping back almost in retreat. Suddenly a wispy vapor blew past the three of them towards the dog, like blue mist or a ghost barely visible. He heard the faint chords of a guitar as the mist surrounded the dog, thin wisps of vapor reached up like fingers, grabbing for the creature’s muzzle. It shook off the smoke and leapt back, it’s teeth and side fangs showing.

Cody’s eyesight was drawn to the soft melodies that were being played. There was another woman, this one shrouded in black, holding a large, black mandolin, embossed with thorns and skulls, leaning on the fence a few feet behind the three. Her hair was also long and flat, but he couldn’t see her face as it was turned down. She was plucking the mandolin with sharp finger rings, appearing like claws. The rest of her outfit was just as gloomy. Long leather boots, a leather coat with round metal shoulder pads and a sword hilt over her shoulder, all black. Her face though, also pale, had male features, with broad cheekbones and a round chin. “I won’t be able to keep this up for long.” The voice was decidedly female, as wispy and soft as the shadow vapor coming from her mandolin.

The masculinity in her face…The aloofness and guitar-shaped instrument…The glare in her eyes when she looked up through her hair. “Kumar?”

“Yeah, can you believe it? We’re adults now! The magic powers are pretty cool. I learned mine from a guy named Tempest. Or I guess he’s an elf guy.” laughed Ryder. “But the Fallenshroud peoples didn’t prepare us for that.” He pointed to the dog.

“Aren’t you supposed to be trapped in your house…Where’s that evil wizard dude? And how can we send him back?” Tonya glanced at his dirty clothes and cape but didn’t seem surprised by it.

He had to look up at her in response, breathing quickly, “I… got away. But my brother and father…” These were adults he was speaking to and he knew they couldn’t be trusted but their voices were all too familiar, all too comforting for him to reject them outright. It was Kumar that drew his eye at that moment. Other than the female form there was something off about him. Granted Kumar never wanted to be part of the in-crowd but he was always the curious type and wouldn’t hesitate to walk up to a dog monster and poke it with a stick, always foolish, always brave.

“Phaeton is very powerful. He’s already turned most of my house into a medieval dungeon. I hate to see what the bathroom looks like.” Cody glanced over his shoulder. “I think he wants to use me to open a portal and then turn me into a statue so the portal will be open forever. At least I think…My head hurts.” And then back to his friends when he saw the dog stammering in the blue mist, the strings still playing. “Did the Fallenshroud tell you how to stop him?”

Tonya, with her new younger face, seemed suddenly confused, “Uh…well…That’s the thing. I haven’t heard from Illyion since we got… changed. We figured it would be an easy snatch and grab. Break in, break you out. Everything else, well…”

“Would come with time.” Ryder said calmly. “But first things first, you need to get back.” and threw his hand up, expelling an electric bolt at the creature and sending electricity across the pavement.

Cody fell forward from the explosion of light and energy. Tonya gazed peered back as he ran, nodding gently under her hood and turning to join the fight with her…what would she call it? –circular pole axe?…

The monster jumped forward and snapped at them but Cody was too busy turning the corner and falling over a bag of trash. The last thing he saw in the alley was his friends, changed practically into superheroes and characters of legend. Despite his unease over how new they were to magic they seemed to be comfortable with their new powers. Ryder, blue-skinned with pointed ears, was blasting the dog with two bolts of lightning with both hands while Kumar played furiously on the mandolin, Tonya joining in at the end with an overhead pole axe swing.

Before Cody could recover a pickup truck horn sounded from his left. He turned to see Ms. Cunningway driving by, creeping to a stop. She was shouting but the words went right through him, replaced by the static pops around the corner. His intention was to run as fast as he could but if Ms. Cunningway saw him run away, she would just follow. She was stubborn like that and, being such a family friend to his father, wouldn’t accept excuses from him.

Cody kept looking over his shoulder as he approached her truck. “What are you doing out? You should be in school. You can’t go running around by yourself, dressed…like that.”

“There’s no school today.”

“No school? On a Wednesday? There’s no holiday today. Jump in, I’ll give you a ride.” Ms. Cunningway pressed the bridge of her glasses to her nose. He cringed whenever she would come around. Why did she have to show up now?

He looked back at the corner where the alley was and felt the foreboding feeling that something bad was going to happen if he stuck around. If they did manage to defeat the monster Phaeton would just send more. The best option was to retreat as fast as possible, to get away from the hell house and regroup at a safer location. As he looked at the very expensive pickup, he decided this would be his fastest escape route.