In any scientific experiment, a scientist must account for the unknown variables which might affect the results. People like me, an unknown variable, had put myself in the midst of an unknown situation and caused an unexpected ruckus. How did that translate to a successful experiment? It didn't. The collapsing tunnels amounted to a failed experiment all because I didn't know how to use my magic properly.

It didn't matter in the long run. What's done was done. The important thing was catching up to Grendel who sped back home with a pace my four feet eleven frame couldn't keep up. How can one gargantuan old man move so fast? He must weigh a ton and a half yet he outpaced me. 

"Slow down, Grendel!"

"Run faster Macy!"

Dust and debris followed us into the tunnels, filling them with a haze that made lose sight of Grendel. I covered my mouth with the sleeve of my shirt, coughing. I couldn't see a thing. My eyes blurred as the fine dust got into my eyes regardless of my glasses. Around the next curve, a gnarled hand tugged me aside. The alcove he shoved me in offered protection until the dust settled leaving a thick layer behind.

"We must go." He led the way back to his home at a much slower pace. We waded through the dust to the stairs, which were also covered with it. Inside his home, we shook the dust out of our clothes and hair.

"What the hell, Grendel? The whole cavern nearly fell on us."

Grendel studied me carefully. He appeared to be deep in thought. I fully expected him to dispense some wise answer but what he said, floored me. "You must leave at once."

"What?"

"Go home. If Mordok learns what you are, he will kill you."

"Just you wait a minute," I said. I hung on to the table for support, restoring oxygen in my lungs. "If he learns what I am? What do you mean by that?"

"Go home," He repeated in an urgent tone. "There's nothing for you here."

"You were the one who sent for me. Told me I had to learn how to use my magic."

"I was wrong. You must go."

"I just got here!" I screeched, unable to maintain the center of calm I reserved for my experiments. Well, hell, this was an experiment too. I should treat it as such, until circumstances dictated otherwise. "I'm not going anywhere until you explain." We had reached an impasse. I folded my arms across my chest and stood there, not budging an inch. "Tell me."

"You must go," said, the inscrutable, immovable, irascible old man.

I sat down and crossed my legs. I took out my phone and began typing my findings on an app where I logged all my notes until I could download them on my laptop. "I'm still not going."

"You are as stubborn as your mother."

"We established that already. Tell me."

He exhaled a loud sigh. "Your magic is different. Nothing like I have ever seen before."

"How?"

"I cannot explain it. Your magic is powerful, yes, but it seems to give off a different type of energy. Nothing like my magic. A kind of anti-magic."

"Anti-magic?"

Grendel heaved a heavy sigh. "Eons ago before time began its march across the ages, our two worlds existed as one. Human and Alluvian. Magic was used as easily as one took a breath."

"So, what happened?"

"There were some who began to be born with a magic that acted the opposite of magic. It was discovered when the two opposing properties came into contact with each other, anti-magic rendered magic null and void. Fear swept through Alluvia, the Goddess herself had gifted us with magic. It was feared within a generation there would be none left. It was decided by the Council of Elder Magicians that those who had anti-magic should be killed. A great War ensued and soon our realm was split into two. Human and Alluvian. Those with anti-magic abilities resided in the human realm while those on the right side of magic stayed in Alluvia. A barrier was created by all Alluvians to prevent either side from crossing."

"But my mother crossed the barrier."

"Aye. She met your father, married him and had you. Her doing so caused ripples of shock and fear to rise up once again. Now do you see why you must go? Mordok will kill you if you stay."

"Me? I'm nothing to him."

"Not so. To him, you are the very depiction of abomination. A powerful being that must be done away with before all of Alluvia dies."

"I did nothing but shake loose some rocks. I hardly call that powerful."

"In his eyes it will not matter. You will grow powerful and quickly." His gnarled hands shook, his countenance gray as the dust in the caverns.

I sat him down in the nearest chair and drew water out of the indoor pump handing him the bone carved cup. He revived somewhat, casting a sad glance at me.  "You must go Macy. I will miss you, child. But you must go. I should have never brought you here."

"Are you sure?  I used anti magic in that cavern and it didn't affect your magic. Try it now. Think of it as conducting an experiment."

"I am not familiar with the word."

"Try it," I pressed.

Grendel cast an exasperated glance at me but closed his eyes. The same ball he created in the cavern became larger, more powerful.

"Open your eyes Grendel."

He did so. "This is not possible."

"Now I'm going to add my anti magic."

He released the ball of light quickly. "No. You must not."

"Grendel, nothing will happen."

Grendel stood up. "Go." He shifted nervously. His eyes darted from side to side and he seemed to be focused on something not in the hut.

"What is it?"

"He is close, I can feel him. You must leave, quickly." 

Fear, like any negative emotion, was contagious. My heart began thumping in earnest, my mouth went dry. "Where is he?"

"Nearby. I cannot say for sure."

 "I have no way to get home. You have no mirrors that I can use as a Portal."

"There is more than one way." He lumbered over to the fireplace. Poked at the stones that made up the hearth. The sequence caused a stone to move out of place. Grendel released a hidden latch and pulled out a box adorned with golden carvings. "This is your way home." He handed it to me. "I must tend to the animals." Without so much as a goodbye, he walked out of the hut not looking back.

I fingered the carvings, a complicated twist of whorls, spirals and points of light I assumed represented stars, the galaxies and the constellations. The carvings gleamed gold at first then changed from silver to red to black. At which point, the box clicked, separating of its own accord. It flattened on the table with a resounding thud the weight deceptive for so small a box.

Inside, a crystal sparkled, multi faceted, with a glossy mirror like texture. On each facet an image appeared. I studied the crystal, marveling in the detail. I circled the table observing the image of my bathroom frozen in time. I touched it and the image ascended through the pointed top of the crystal and hung suspended looking for all the world like an advanced hologram from a futuristic science fiction show. 

All I had to do was step through this Portal and I be home Instantly, but I hesitated, not ready to descend back to the world of the mundane. Tucked away in my little lab. Here I felt powerful, known. Grendel knew me. Jilla knew me. They were real, not the stuff of dreams. I had found Alluvia and now I had to leave it behind forever. 

I circled the Portal, jarring the table slightly with my hip. The image changed to that of a woman with long braided raven colored hair. She wore the outfit of an Alluvian woman. A long shirt that ended at mid-calf. Underneath were loose fitting pants and boots. I studied her from every angle, feeling sure that I knew her.

Oblivious to my observation, she strode through the forest with quick, measured steps, her head on a swivel. She walked heel to toe, spreading her weight evenly on the ground so as to not make a sound. It was important that she not be heard. At the edge of the forest was a clearing, beyond it was the side of a mountain. She scouted around it, searching for something in particular.

Her movements reminded me of someone, careful, thoughtful and with determination. She soon found what she was looking for, the entrance to a cave. She entered with a final backward glance. Here, the image froze of its own accord. I zeroed in on a star shaped birthmark on her neck. I fingered my own. "Mom?" I jumped through without a second thought. In less than 0.0001 of a second, I was in the cave with my mother, whom I'd never known. But she was not alone.

"Get out of the way!" Mom shouted.

"What?"

"Move!" She pushed me to the side, hard. I fell smack on my hands and knees. Jarred by the impact I stayed down. Mom's hands crackled with magic, she allowed it to build to a crescendo as they say in orchestra speak. I played the cello, the flute and the tympani during my high school career. In my mind, the music swelled, building tension until it couldn't hold off any longer. Mom thrust her hands forward unleashing her power into the one who stood opposite.

I glanced at the shadowy figure. It seemed as if he weren't all there. His body glinted of a flexible substance that absorbed Mom's energy and added it to his own. The magic ricocheted through his chest, up across his shoulders and down his arms to his hands. He expelled it sending Mom flying across the chasm. She dropped down into a ginormous black pit. I waited for a beat too long, listening for the sickening thud I expected to come. It never did. 

The figure now clearly seen, advanced on me. His black eyes gleamed with a cool detachment. A killer trained to kill without a second thought. I scooted backward all the while working on summoning my own brand of anti-magic. Nothing. Not even tiniest bit of a spark. Of course not. When all else fails, jump. So I did.

I fell down and down and down, the sensation terrifying me. I hated heights in every way shape or form. This was the stuff of nightmares. Just when I thought I'd never stop falling, I did. I landed not with a bang but with a whimper. 

Mom stood a few feet away. She lowered me down gently with her magic. She had caught me, saved me from a horrible death. I longed to hug her but she had a don't touch me vibe that was hard to ignore. I hoped she would at least say something touching, parental even. Like, I love you or I missed you.

Mom took a step closer to me, held out her hand to help me up. "You shouldn't be here."