Günter lay in bed in his third-story flat, staring at the ceiling. His run-in with Nick had been disastrous, and it was all the fault of those damned dogs. He couldn't go within a league of the forest without them smelling him, an unfortunate result of turning the wood folk into canines.
Should have chosen something harmless... or better yet, I should have cursed them all into beetles. Then I could crush each and every one of them under my heel, he thought darkly.
Günter closed his eyes as his head throbbed in pain from where he had been struck from behind by the burning firewood. It wasn't supposed to have turned out this way. He'd assumed that he would slip into the forest, take care of business, and then be done with it before the dogs had even had a chance to come close. It should have been easy to finish off Nick once and for all: Günter thought that he'd found a workaround to the troublesome ward Lene had cast on Nick to protect him from harm by Günter's hand. The spell only defended Nick as long as he remained in his own world, and by moving him to Other World, Günter was free to attack him once again.
Of course, he hadn't counted on his target fighting back with the very powers that Günter intended to procure. But somehow Nick had concentrated magic into his swing, and the damage was far more extensive than it should have been. Surely, Nick couldn't have figured out how to use his powers already, could he? No, the force behind that attack must have been unconscious. Either way, that bastard was going to pay, especially for ruining Günter's hair.
Why can't Nick just die already and give up the power I seek? It's not like the fool is using his magic anyway; he doesn't even realize that he has special abilities.
None of this would have happened if Günter hadn't counted on Lene to get rid of Nick. She should have had no problems taking him out and draining his magic, but, of course, Günter hadn't foreseen the inconvenience of Lene developing feelings for Nick. Unfortunately, she had proved to be soft-hearted and weak and now she was no longer of any use to him.
It was a pity because Lene had been such a faithful ally in the past, instrumental in helping Günter to achieve his nefarious goals. Lene was a fountain of magical energy and so in tune with her powers that she could use them with very little instruction. Because he'd gained her trust, Günter had been free to tap into Lene's magic on a regular basis while she unwittingly believed they were ridding the world of what she called "bad men." Instead, Günter had used her power for his own sinister purpose, the conquering of Other World.
He had known since he was young that there were people who were special and there were people who weren't, the latter of whom did not matter to him. Günter had shown enough promise that he was apprenticed to a master, who had many books and knowledge on the use of magic. This master, whom Günter had eventually killed and drained of all power, was the one who introduced him to another world, smaller than the usual one, that was simply called Other World.
It had been created in the empty spaces of the normal world by powerful magic users as a place where special people could go to live or just visit and freely be among others like themselves. And to Günter, who had grown power-hungry in his studies, Other World was a mine rich with energy if he could only find a way to harness it.
Two hundred years of planning and preparation passed before he finally attacked, poisoning the land with a sudden strike that caught the reasonably peaceful inhabitants of Other World unawares. His assault unleashed a torrent of evil so great that many residents fled in its wake. But others fought back, and after years of war Günter managed only to successfully conquer Nightingale Hill, the one portal out of Other World. Those fleeing, who had not made it to Nightingale Hill before Günter claimed it, and the rural folk, who were so deeply attached to their land that they had remained behind, were trapped. Günter used the bones of the dead to adorn the protective gate around his castle, and he cursed the surviving residents of Other World so that they couldn't revolt: the forest people became dogs; the plains peoples turned into strange, invisible specters; the lake's ferrying people had transformed into a rather interesting sort of ferry; and so on, and so forth.
Now, even altered and disabled, they were out for his blood, and Günter was not strong enough to defeat them all. Somehow the land itself, his former fountain of magical energy, decided to battle his leeching poisons, retreating like a tortoise into its shell until Günter could no longer steal power from anywhere beyond his castle. As Other World withdrew, he found that all books of magic were blank, all homes emptied of their particulars – drawers bare, refrigerators cleared out – and all sources of power departed. It would take a great force to compel Other World to open itself again, and the magic Günter received from the conquered Nightingale Hill was insufficient for this purpose.
So he hunted, ferreting out magic users in the normal world and killing them to take their powers for his own. One day, when Günter had drained enough people's magic and become strong enough to fight, he would go back out into Other World and finally conquer the land and the powers contained therein would be his own.
In the meantime, Günter was letting Other World grow wild and full of darkness. Though he couldn't control them just yet, the wilds were still a useful place to send people that he wanted to kill. His castle was the only escape from Other World and few of his prey made it even that far. For if Günter didn't catch his target first, then the dangers of Other World did, and that person's magic was absorbed into the land. The end result would be the same: that power would become Günter's someday when he conquered Other World.
This system had worked effectively for several years, which made the delays with Nick even more frustrating to bear. Günter wanted that power. Nick's magic was strong, though that fool was unaware of it, and if Günter could kill him and take it, he would be so much closer to finally conquering Other World. And when Nick was dead, he would kill Lene and then her magic would be his, as well. Günter considered getting rid of the girl now just to boost his energy and speed the recovery of his wounds, but his desire to see the horror in Lene's eyes when he killed Nick was just too strong. A smile spread across Günter's face at the thought, and his pale eyes lit up with a malicious light. In his two hundred years of living, he had found nothing more satisfying than causing others pain.
...
They reached the ford, and Nick's mouth was set in a grim line. Just beyond the river's bank he could see the town, but the river was over hundreds of feet across and rushing far too fast for Lene to cross by herself – not to mention that the river had risen much higher than what Arthur had said it would be. Nick guessed that the water would go above his waist at its deepest point.
"We have to cross that?" Lene asked in wonder.
"Yeah," Nick said. "But it's a lot deeper than Arthur mentioned. I bet there was probably a storm or something that made the water higher since the last time he came by here." It was hard to imagine a storm in Other World with the weather so disarmingly mild, but Nick couldn't imagine any other explanation.
"I can't swim," the five-year-old clung to his leg. "Do I have to go?"
"Don't worry, Lene. I'll carry you, okay?" Nick took off his backpack and handed it to her. "Hold onto this, will you?" Once she had slipped the bag onto her back, he kneeled down low to the ground. "Allright, sit up here on my shoulders, so you don't get wet." Lene climbed up Nick's back, and once she was seated comfortably, he stood up.
"Whoa!" Lene clapped her hands over his eyes, trying to keep her balance.
Nick steadied her with one hand and peered out through the gaps between her fingers. "I can't see," he told her in a mock-stern voice.
"Where do I hold on? Here?" she moved her hands to his ears and grabbed a hold of them with her little hands, giggling. "Or here?" the five-year-old grasped her hands in Nick's hair.
"Just as long as you don't pull it out, right there is fine." He adjusted Lene's skirts so they lay neatly across her legs. "You ready? Here goes," Nick set off into the cool water. His shoes squelched in the muck and the mud, and the river came up to his shin. "You doing okay up there, Lene?"
"Yup." Her fingers moved around on his head. "You have soft hair, Nick!" she exclaimed.
"Uh, thanks," he said, not sure if he should take that as a compliment. Were guys supposed to enjoy praise for their hair? – maybe for their manly muscles or their fast cars, but Nick couldn't remember if he usually received compliments on his hair. "Uh... I like yours, too?"
The five-year-old giggled again. He smiled and continued his trudge through the river. The water rose and swept quickly by his knees. And while it had felt pleasantly cool at first, the water was starting to feel cold. Nick wiggled his toes within his shoes, trying to keep them from going numb. He stepped further into the river, which got deeper and rose to his thighs and then to his waist. Nick gritted his teeth in surprise as the water suddenly and painfully chilled his privates, the lower reaches of which particularly ached.
"What's wrong, Nick?" asked the five-year-old, feeling him stiffen between her legs.
"Oh, nothing. I'm, uh... just trying to get my footing. Don't worry about it," he told her and focused on the remaining distance he had left until he could feel his balls again.
Is this natural? Nick wondered, staring down at his soaked pants. Are my... balls supposed to hurt this much? He decided that "balls" sounded funny to him. Why was balls the first word that came to mind when he thought about his testicles? There had to be a better term to describe them. Nuts... sack... testes... scrotum... gonads...? Nothing else sounded right, either. Nick was just going to have to stick with "balls."
Said article of his body was still numb from the cold, and Nick glanced at the opposite bank to see how much longer he had to go. To his chagrin, he seemed to be no further than when he had started thinking about his balls; he wasn't even halfway across the river yet.
"What's going on?" Nick muttered to himself.
Lene tugged on his hair lightly. "You're going so slow, it's like you're not even moving. What's the matter?"
"I don't know, kid. We're going nowhere fast..." It was true. No matter how much he walked, Nick was caught midstream. "It's like I'm stuck—" He took one step forward and unexpectedly plunged deep into the river. Somewhere above him, Nick heard Lene scream, but the sound was muted as water rushed into his throat and ears. He opened his eyes, trying to find his way up. Thrashing his arms and legs until he surfaced, Nick coughed out the five-year-old's name, remembering she couldn't swim. "Lene? Lene where are you? Lene!"
He spotted her a few feet away, being carried off by the river's current. The five-year-old bobbed up and down in the water, sputtering and crying for help. Stroking his arms powerfully, Nick found that he moved through the water easily, as with years of practice. He swam over and wrapped his arms around her before the river could pull her under. "I got you, Lene! I got you!" he reassured her and kicked his legs, trying to get them to the other side as the current swept them along.
The five-year-old clung to his neck crying. "It's okay," Nick told her. "You're safe now. We're going to be allright."
Lene shook her head and pointed behind him, "No, look!" Turning, Nick froze as he saw a huge torrent of water, surging down the river towards them. They were going to drown. Immobilized with fear, he stopped swimming and they began to sink. "Nick!" Lene screamed, beating her hands on his shoulders. Water lapped into her mouth and nose, and she wailed, spitting it out. "Nick!"
Her cries got through to him, and he started swimming again. Nick's muscles screamed in protest, but he raced for the opposite shore as the violent flood bore down on them. He knew that he wasn't going to make it in time. "Try to hold onto me!" Nick shouted.
Just as a huge wave crashed into them, his shoe struck rocky ground and he struggled to his feet, only to be knocked over by the force of the current. Somehow, rather than sweeping the two of them away, the waves pushed Nick and Lene toward the riverbank, and they were deposited on land in a shallow pool of water.
Struggling to his knees, Nick looked frantically around for Lene and found her just a little bit down the shore from him. "Oh my god," he ran over, gathering her into his arms. "Lene! Oh my god, Lene." He shook her.
The five-year-old opened her eyes and coughed a little bit, water dribbling out of her mouth. "Nick..."
He held her close. "I'm so glad you're okay. You are okay, right, kid?"
Lene nodded, her eyes squeezed tight as tears streamed down her face. "I was... so s-scared," she hiccupped and started to bawl.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry..." Nick murmured. He pushed bedraggled tendrils of hair from her face. "Shh... don't cry, baby. We're okay now."
She nodded again and when Nick finally calmed her down, Lene climbed to her feet. "I'm c-cold," she shivered.
"Yeah, me, too," he agreed, straightening the skirt of her dress, which was plastered against her legs. Somehow the five-year-old had managed to hold on to Nick's backpack the entire time, so he took it from her and got to his feet. Partially unzipping the bag, Nick turned it upside down until all the water drained out. Then he closed it and slipped it on his back. As he did so, Nick glanced over his shoulder at the treacherous river, which had mysteriously died down until the current flowed smoothly and regularly again. Other than the soaked banks of the river, there was no sign of the flood that had nearly drowned them. Nick shook his head, damning this entire place.
He took Lene's hand and said, "Come on, let's go find someplace to dry off."
His balls were still cold.
