((Characters are all copyrighted 2005-07 to me: H. Goff. Any reproduction of peoples or instances within this document is strictly prohibited. This is a work of fiction, relation to any events or person, living or otherwise is very unfortunate and naught but a cruel joke played upon us by the cosmos.))

Agent Insomniac
Part I: Elemental

Chapter One: In Which Gwen is Taken to Varekai

April 16, 2006

It was 4:26 in the morning and Gwen Munroe couldn’t sleep. Her mother would be awake in about two hours to go to work. It was a safe bet that Gwen would lie in bed and listen to her bustle about, dressing and gathering her things, before she would hear the car start up outside the window and her mother would drive away. It was same routine every morning, but only sometimes Gwen would be awake to listen. More often lately, as her insomnia had kicked in full force with the arrival of winter.

Winter made Gwen want to wake up and be outside. She liked the cold and the frost, and the ice that stuck to the car windshield in the early morning. Gwen was sixteen that year and her mother made a habit of pointing out every oddity, especially her reverse hibernation schedule.

It was raining outside. If it could be called rain. It was a lot more like flash-frozen snow that made tiny shrieks as the crystals hit the window. Even if she had been tired, the screaming rain would’ve kept her awake. Gwen wanted to stand in it, despite the cold. She thought of what the yard would look like when the sun rose, with the deep orange piercing through the black clouds of depression. Something she would have to go look at once her mother had gone.

Gwen rolled onto her back and stared about at the shadows of her room. She used to sleep with a nightlight, to ward off nightmares. She had long ago grown out of the Mickey Mouse lamp that used to sit on her desk. It was in a box now, under the bed with all her other grown-out-of-them toys. What replaced it was a dragon that was skewered by a lamppost. Gwen always thought it looked rather sick with a light bulb pushing out of the beast’s back. But it had been a gift; she was obligated to keep it.

Gwen’s room wasn’t exactly clean. In fact, if one room could hold the record for how many shadows crept around on the walls, it was hers. The room was loaded with boxes, as she had never quite unpacked after the move five years ago. Additionally, she had too many books and only two bookshelves.

Her copious amounts of books, clothes (some clean, most dirty), and just general rubbish lined the walls, sat at the foot of the bed, and was piled on her desk. The whole room was like one giant shadow when night fell. The curtain across her window made sure no light could get in, and the lack of Mickey Mouse made the entire space as menacing as possible.

Something to the left, near the clear floor space in her room, moved. Gwen’s attention snapped to that area, pale green eyes fell across the white carpet. There was a small drop of something glistening. Rainwater she thought immediately, her ceiling must be leaking. Her eyes raised to the offending spot on the ceiling and she was shocked to see three more drops hit the floor.

It was sort of irritating that the ceiling was leaking, and Gwen was about to get up and do something about it when she noticed something very wrong with her theory.

The water was black.

Not just shadowed, and not dirty, but pitch black and had a consistency more like oil. The droplets grew in size and numbers and the girl’s over-active imagination equated it with shadows falling through the ceiling, looking for refuge. But she soon went into shock at seeing such an odd thing and the idea died.

As she watched the falling droplets, Gwen’s mind went blank. Only to be jolted into life as a person-sized drop hit her carpet. She was surprised to find that it made no sound whatsoever. Even more surprised to see it move and twist, slowly growing upward and metamorphosing itself into the silhouette of a woman. That darkness soon faded from the form and Gwen found herself staring into a pair of sharp gray eyes.

“Guenevere Munroe?” The woman whispered. The girl found herself quite incapable of speech and just stared at the intruder. It was apparent that whoever the woman was, she wasn’t human. Her skin was a pale gray color, only a little lighter than her eyes. The features were human in nature but somewhat more pointed, creating a definite handsome appearance.

She wore a long tan overcoat and no shoes. Which made sense as her feet were elongated and clawed; she stood tiptoed with permanently bent knees. Gwen’s jaw dropped as a long tail snaked out of the coat and twitched against the floor.

“Guenevere Munroe,” The woman repeated firmly, flipping a waist-length plait of black hair over her shoulder.

“How did you do that?” Shockingly, it was the only thing Gwen could say.

“I’m a lizard demon,” Came the reply, as amiable as if it were a natural thing, “I have the luxury of inter-dimensional travel.”

“What?”

The woman actually had the gall to look surprised, even confused at Gwen’s hiss of an exclamation. After a pause, she glanced about the room as if expecting someone else to be there.

“Where is Rhenin?” She asked finally.

“Oh, here’s a better question,” Snapped Gwen, feeling the effects of hysterics, “Who the hell are you and what are you doing in my bedroom?”

“Nome del dio” She exclaimed, raising a clawed hand in a half-gesture of shock, “He never reached you.”

“Please,” Gwen begged without much conviction, “Stick to English and, say something I’ll understand.”

“We need to talk,” The woman answered, “But we can’t do it here. I’ll have to take you to my world.” She motioned for Gwen to get up, which she did, in a haze of sorts. “Do you have a closet?” Was the next question. Gwen pointed to an old wardrobe, unused for many years.

“Dress quickly,” The demon told her, picking her way through stacks to the wardrobe. She pulled out boxes and piles of old clothes, putting them as quietly as she could on Gwen’s bed. Gwen herself was busy throwing on a pair of jeans and a T-shirt. As an afterthought she grabbed an old military-style coat and stuffed a second shirt and a pair of clean underwear in the pockets.

By this time, the demon had found her way to the back of the wardrobe and was carving a queer symbol into the wood with a claw. Gwen stuck half her body inside and peered at the jagged twists of what looked like an S with three short lines cut through it.

“Why are you defacing my wardrobe?” The girl asked and was immediately shushed by a finger in her face. The woman whispered some words in another language that were completely fathomless to Gwen, before laying her right hand over the center of the symbol and whispering “Varekai.”

Of all the strange things that had happened so far, Gwen had to give this one the cake. The back of her wardrobe jumped to life, emitting small pops and cracks as the wood splintered aside into a short archway. Beyond was another world, with fresh blue skies and flowers that twisted to her waist in colors that were dark and moody.

“Guenevere, come along.” Gwen jumped as she realized that the woman had stepped off into the other world and was now thigh deep in blue and black petals.

Naturally she was a little apprehensive about following a demon, typically creatures associated with evil and the devil, but part of Gwen longed for the adventure that awaited. That part was bigger than the other one, and it also told her she was probably dreaming, and in dreams everything turned out good or you just woke up. So after a moment of hesitation Gwen stepped out of her room and into the field. When she turned around the doorway back to her world had already closed off.

“What just happened?”

“It’s called Oak Travel,” The woman explained, beginning to lead the way through the field, “Oak is one of only three things that occur naturally in every dimension therefore it causes a connection and anyone with the proper words can travel inter-dimensionally.”

Gwen let her fingers play on the flowers by her sides. They smelled strongly of syrup and butter, like pancakes but different. Each one was shaped a little bit like a snapdragon and a little bit like a hibiscus, and they were airy and soft like down.

“So…what’s going on?” She asked finally, figuring that would cover all bases. She was met with a sigh from her companion. She glanced up to catch the woman knuckling her forehead, causing the slightest falter in her steps.

“Oh, I don’t know how to word this,” She moaned, “It isn’t my job.”

“How about starting with your name?”

“Aironya Darclot.” Then she got all distracted and let loose a string of foreign curse words. Or what Gwen thought were curse words. This was followed by “Dammit, Rhenin, how dare you leave me with this.”

“Um…OK,” Gwen scratched her nose distractedly, “Let’s try something more specific. Where are we? Who are you? And what am I doing in another dimension?”

Aironya paused in her step, taking time to sniff the air. “The city’s that way” She said, more to herself, turning right and continuing through the field. “As for your questions, I’m afraid I won’t be very effective at answering them. First of all, this world is called Varekai, it’s where I grew up and right now it’s in some turmoil. I’m part of an underground taskforce called the Crows.

“It’s basically the police force that the city is lacking in. Some years ago, my country, Halliphac was invaded by a family of vampires -” she paused as there was a small meek sound from Gwen. Aironya sighed and nodded solemnly.

“Yes,” She said, “vampires. They’re rare creatures to be sure, and sometimes worse than any human legends about them. In our case that was true. Right now the country is under the rule of Empress January LeConte. The LeConte’s have been ruling the land for about forty years now, since before I was born, and each Empress seems worse than the last.”

“Wait a sec,” interrupted Gwen, “I thought vampires lived forever. How can they pass on ruler-ship unless…”

“That’s just it,” Aironya said with an air of disgust, “The only way to become empress is to kill the last one. They’ve gone through two in my lifetime alone.”

“It’s seems a little risky, if they’re just ruining the country anyway.”

“Oh and they are,” The demon hissed, “Empress Jan doesn’t care about my people at all. The demons are revered only because of the legendary affinity with Satan, which is inaccurate to begin with. But lower beings, the changelings and the lycans are forced into bigotry and poverty.

“In addition, the Empress likes to amuse herself by loosing abominations onto the city and scavenging the bodies left behind. A third of the royal family indulges in her twisted fun.”

Gwen repressed a shudder. She wondered what kind of abominations Aironya was talking about, but didn’t ask. Instead she just listened carefully, still enjoying the feel of the flowers against her skin. In the distance she could see the hazy outline of a city, rippling with the afternoon heat. It hit her then that at home it wasn’t even dawn, yet it Halliphac it was late afternoon. She wondered about dimensional jetlag.

“At any rate,” Aironya continued, “That’s where we Crows come in. The society was set up only ten years ago by a lycan named Bannon and my uncle Kronish, who unfortunately passed at the hand of Jan’s abominations.

“Not enough creatures in Halliphac knew or were brave enough to join the Crows, so for the purpose of numbers and lately to educate the universe, we like to have a couple members from each dimension on our side. You’ll be the third Earthean if you choose to join.”

“What do you do, as a Crow I mean?”

“Well there are different jobs for each of us. I’m a Caller, a specific branch of field agent who recruits prospective members. Rhenin, my associate is a Teacher. He was supposed to find you a week in advance and explain everything so you wouldn’t fall into psychotic episodes at the sight of me.”

“Is that sort of thing common?” Gwen questioned. They were getting dangerously close to the city now, and she felt a worm of anxiousness wiggling up her throat, “Going insane I mean.”

“In Eartheans, sometimes,” The demon answered, “Just because most of you don’t know about the other worlds and it can be a shock to the system. You’re actually doing very well.”

“That’s because I think I’m dreaming.” Gwen said flatly. Aironya chuckled with no humor.

“More a nightmare, actually.” She said.

“Comforting.” The city was nearly upon them and unconsciously Gwen’s steps slowed. Partly out of fear and partly out of awe. The city was huge, with sleek black buildings reaching up into the clouds. In contrast she could see dozens of tiny little huts and tents, like a market place, just inside the city gates.

“We have to go into the city now,” Aironya said, “The LeConte’s are paranoid so for safety’s sake you shouldn’t make a sound. The guards are fairly run of the mill, so it shouldn’t be too much of a problem but humans are rare so just stay quiet and we should pass through all right.”

There was no time for objections because now they were only feet away and Aironya was marching assuredly up the gates, looking in a friendly manner at one of the guards that stood there. Each man wore a leather uniform and carried an oddly shaped gun in his holster.

Gwen guessed them to be fox demons for each had reddish ears and two bushy tails pushing beneath the jackets of their uniforms.

“Papers,” One of them grunted, in a bark of a voice. The other looked at Gwen warily and moved a hand to his weapon. Gwen swallowed and looked away, fixing her eyes on the man’s shiny shoes.

Aironya handed the other man a sheaf of papers and waited while he checked them over. “And the girl?” He said finally.

“Visiting,” Aironya said briskly, taking her papers back and beginning to steer Gwen into the city. Neither man objected but it still took two minutes for Gwen’s heart to stop thundering in her chest. After they were a safe distance away they stopped and Gwen took the time to look around at the city.

She guessed right in thinking it was a market place. There were goods of all shapes and sizes. Fruits that looked shiny and lumpy, jewelry with beads and tassels; colors that burst in the light and glistened in the shadows. There were books bound in blue and green, and sometimes even black paper. Thick pages that smelled of musk and glue.

The flowers were the next things she noticed. There were at least a dozen vendors with flowers set up. The ones that grew in the field didn’t hold a candle to the head-sized, luminescent sort of plants that surrounded her. One man seemed to be lulled to sleep by a dark purple flower, with petals the shape of feathers and long leaves that curled at the tips.

The vendors themselves were as diverse as the goods they sold. There were demons of all sorts. She saw dogs, cats, a pair of pelican demons, and more than enough lizards. Aironya’s seemed one of the more common breeds. What caught her eye was a small group of maybe four girls. Their skin was a dark shadowy color contrasted by eyes that glowed with white irises, lacking in pupil. They were draped in pale garments, mouths covered by fans and wrists so thin she thought they might be starved.

“Changelings,” Aironya said in her ear, “They’re forced to be courtesans by the LeConte empire. Beautiful creatures with more magic than any other out there. But majick can be drained like blood and so they can do nothing.”

Gwen made up her mind right then and there to help the Crows. The changelings were beautiful and it didn’t seem right to degrade them like that. Besides she was dreaming anyway, and some part of her always knew that she was going to help, just because that’s what you did in dreams.

“Anyway,” Aironya announced, “There isn’t time for dawdle.” She led Gwen through to a side street and walked swiftly through it as though someone were directly on their heels. Demons walked much quicker than humans and Gwen found herself struggling to keep up. They twisted and turned and spun in circles through alleyways until Gwen felt her head would implode with confusion before finally coming back to the market place.

Gwen stared at her companion in disbelief. “What was all that for?”

“A complete waste of time.” Aironya answered with about as much irritation as Gwen. “Our techie is slightly paranoid. He thinks any one of the Secret Service could be following us. It’s a complicated system of footwork we have to go through, just in case.”

“Slightly paranoid,” muttered Gwen. If Aironya heard her sarcasm she showed no signs of it. Instead she started off again towards the center of the city. Once again she took a side road and headed into an alleyway. Gwen hoped it wasn’t another bit of footwork. Very soon they reached a dead end and Gwen almost sighed for the holdup. It seemed they were just frittering away time by wandering around to entertain some stupid paranoid trip this tech-person seemed to be on. It was very irritating.

Yet much to her surprise, she was wrong. Aironya seemed to have quite a plan worked out for the brick wall in front of them. It was however, a very footy plan. The demon put her back to the wall and stepped away from it heel to toe, counting the steps under her breath. Only ten steps away she turned on her heel as if it were an old western shootout. But instead of pulling a gun Aironya merely stamped her right foot on a cobblestone.

The cobblestone embedded itself into the ground a few inches and once again Gwen was witness to something seemingly solid opening up. The ground in front of them became a wide trap door with only a shadowed stairwell within.

“Quickly go,” Aironya commanded and Gwen trundled her way into the pit. She could hear the opening closing up behind her but Aironya’s footsteps kept her from turning around to watch. As they reached the end of the stairwell tunnel lights began flickering into life. The tunnel was wide, large enough for a car to comfortably drive through though it was obviously meant for foot travel. It was rounded with deep rivets in the side and half circle pillars made out of the same black metal as the city skyscrapers were set out from the walls.

It wasn’t as painstakingly long as it appeared. The pair reached the end in only a minute or two. Again it appeared to be a dead end. Gwen was starting to realize that most things in this dimension weren’t as they appeared. Aironya plucked a ring from her finger and pressed into a small niche in the wall. Immediately a fraction of white metal slid aside to reveal a keypad with symbols foreign to Gwen, instead of numbers.

The demon’s fingers flew across with a mind of their own and before long the keypad emitted a low beep and the wall closed up again. In front of them the wall split aside with a whoosh. The room beyond was bustling with noise and movement. No seemed to notice the newcomers. As the door whooshed shut again behind them a simulated female voice said “Agent 202, welcome back.”

((Author's note: Thank you SuperTD for the review. This chapter is up for you))