Paranormal is Relative

forever." The Serpent's Shadow laughed. Its laughter was as hollow and cold as its voice. "You are full of doubts. I know."

  "We know we'll win," Maryann said.

  "Did I say you doubted this encounter? You do, I'm sure, but you have so many doubts about everything. You have doubts your band will achieve success. You have doubts you have made the right choices. You have doubts that your families will ever accept your path in life." It sort of slithered and moved its massive head closer to them. "Doubts that perhaps you have lead others astray."

  They took a step back.

  To Isabella, their steps sounded like they were splashing, so she looked down and saw black stuff in a pool around their feet. She followed a trail of it with her flashlight to serpentine coils in the blackness. "'Blood flows like ink,'" she thought.

  It turned its eyes to Leah. "Your father only wishes for you to get married. This life on the road will never lead anywhere. He has said so in his electronic communication to his brother. Why couldn't you just do what you were supposed to? Why couldn't you have been another son?"

  "You shut up!" Leah yelled. Black tendrils of mist started to coil around her. She didn't notice, but she did start to feel cold.

  It turned now to Nora. "And you. You had such potential. But your parents will never love you as much as your sister, not now that you've squandered your potential with this ridiculous band."

  "That's not true! My parents love me!" she shouted. The same black tendrils started to coil around her as well.

  Isabella noticed this. She didn't know what the tendrils meant, but she was certain they were dangerous. "Maryann, get out your Book of Shadows," Isabella ordered.

  The eyes turned to Isabella. "Such a strange child. Such an odd child, to worry your mother so. You talked to invisible people. You were afraid of what was under the bed. You were..."

  At this point Isabella pulled a paper out of her purse with kanji written on it and slapped it on the massive snout. Then she kicked at the tendrils, which seemed to dissipate, but she noticed the tendrils were still crawling around the others.

  The eyes glazed over for a moment and the Shadow was silently held by the evil spirit charm.

  "That's why you fear the written word," Isabella said angrily. "It has power over you."

  Maryann had pulled out a small, bound notebook she called her mini-Book of Shadows.

  "Maryann, do you have a dip pen?"

  "Sure. It's probably at the bottom though because I don't use it often."

  "Get it out," she said.

  Leah was still stinging from the Shadow's words. "What the hell is a dip pen?"

  "It's a pen you have to draw ink into," Maryann answered.

  "What's wrong with a regular pen?"

  "Nothing. I like dip pens because they're so old-fashioned."

  The eyes blinked and the paper turned black and fell off its nose. It hissed, showing a long, forked tongue. "Words have power over us all, to a greater or lesser degree. That little charm wouldn't hold me for long, as you can see. How many more do you have in your purse? You will run out, and I am not a spirit as such. I come from a different realm entirely."

  Maryann found the pen and gave it to Isabella. "What are you thinking?"

  It turned to Maryann. "It's all your fault, you know. You brought them together. You convinced them that this silly musical career was a viable one. You convinced them to put aside their dreams of college and family for nothing but a dream. I've seen their journals. I know what they write about you. Silly, flaky, flighty Maryann."

  "No. They never said those things," she snapped. Black tendrils started to coil around her feet.

  "Stupid Maryann and her stupid boyfriends that get us in so much trouble. That's what she wrote," it said, gesturing at Nora with its forked tongue.

  "Nora?" The tendrils were becoming more solid around Maryann. "You think I'm stupid?"

  "I never said that!" Nora shot back. "You're lying. You're lying!"

  "But the part about the boyfriends is true," it said.

  "Nora?"

  "Well, your boyfriends do get us in trouble," she said defensively. Now the tendrils were looking more solid around Nora as well.

  "See? You've made all the wrong choices from beginning to end."

  Isabella quickly pulled another paper out of her purse, wrote the kanji down on it, and slapped it on the monster again.

  As before, it froze for a moment and was silent.

  "Don't listen to it or it'll pull you in," she warned. "Look at the shadow tendrils."

  The others looked down.

  "Gah!" Leah exclaimed, trying to kick them away, but they were much more solid for her than Isabella.

  Maryann gathered her wits and fished in her purse for components of a protection spell.

  Isabella knelt down and drew the black liquid into the pen. She ripped a sheet of paper out of the notebook, wrote the kanji for "shadow" and "serpent" at the top, and performed a kujikiri over the paper. "Nora, did you ever read 'The Raven?'"

  "What?" she said, kicking at the tendrils tangled around her.

  "Did you?"

  The charm turned black and fell off again.

  Isabella slapped another charm on the Serpent's Shadow before it could say another word. "That's the last one. The prophecy says any words will do 'upon a midnight dreary.' It has got to be a reference to that poem, but I don't know the whole thing."

  "I actually had to memorize and recite it for an English project," Nora said, confused.

  Isabella shoved the pen and notebook in her hand. "Blood like ink, recite and write and make a cage out of paper. I did a ritual that should infuse the paper with magic to cut off demonic influences. I don't know if that thing is a demon, but the ritual can't hurt. Hurry up or those tendril things are going to catch us and then I don't know what will happen."

  Nora took the notebook and pen and shook her head. "Okay, but this is crazy." Then she started to write. "'Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary...'"

  The evil spirit charm turned black once again and fell off the Serpent Shadow's snout. It lunged at them but Maryann defiantly held up the flashlight and it seemed reluctant to get too close to the light. "You will fail! Your dreams of stardom are nothing but fluff and nonsense. All you work for is utterly in vain. You keep your private doubts but I know better. None of you really believe this will work; you just don't know how to tell each other."

  "'Eagerly I wished the morrow...'" muttered Nora as she wrote down the poem. She was trying to ignore the creature's words and the shadow tendrils that were tightening around her legs.

  "All that you've done and seen and all of the doubts that you dream if you write them down they are mine! Nothing that you say or do can save you. I will destroy you and the Hidden Hollow and all those wretched creatures that dared defy me!"

  Maryann cast a protection spell on the flashlight and the light while not becoming brighter seemed more like sunlight.

  The Serpent's Shadow hissed. "You think that little mechanical device will hold me back forever? I am an ancient being not to be undone by a literally pathetic band of mortals!"

  The shadow tendrils around Leah, Maryann, and Nora tightened painfully and a dreadful cold started to come over them.

  Leah pulled the bolt-cutters out of the emergency kit and tried to cut the tendrils, but the bolt-cutters had no effect.

  The Shadow laughed. "You really thought that would work?"

  "'Presently my soul grew stronger...'" Nora wrote.

  "It was worth a try," Maryann retorted. "And I've got some words for you. Coward! Bully! If you're so powerful and ancient, how come you're stuck in this cave in the backwoods of Fairyland?"

  "And let's try these words," Isabella thought, and performed a kuji-in, a mantra of nine syllables to focus power. She made the accompanying hand postures with the intention of dispelling or dissipating the shadow tendrils
. When she said the last syllable, there was a rush of energy and the tendrils loosened on the other three.

  "Bah, nothing but folk magic," the Serpent's Shadow hissed.

  "Folk magic beat you before," Maryann said. "The greenlings' folk magic beat you! Just one little fairy-kin and a few humans beat you! Some big scary monster you are!"

  "'...all my soul within me burning...'" Nora wrote with numbed hands.

  "I am of the gloaming, of the twilight realms where fey and nightmares meet. I know all that has been written and my knowledge is vast. All those who come before me tremble in fear and cower!" it cried.

  "I'm not cowering," Leah said, although in truth she could barely stand up because her legs had gotten so cold. "If you're all that, why are you here? Can you answer Maryann's question?"

  Nora had no idea how much ink the dip pen would hold, but she got the impression it should have run out by now.

  "The reason I am here is not important," it hissed. "I was not kidnapped by insignificant creatures and coerced into a dangerous fight that I knew nothing about."

  "Well, you were beaten by insignificant creatures," Maryann snapped. "You were beaten and you ran away to this dark cave. You ran away!"

  The monster reared back as though ready to strike. Maryann, Nora, and Leah were still tangled in the tendrils and couldn't move. Nora was still writing the poem in the notebook. Isabella stepped in front of Maryann and performed another kuji-in as a focus for protection. Sure enough, the Serpent's Shadow seemed to overcome its hatred of light and shot forward.

  "Isabella!" Maryann cried, but she couldn't move herself or her friend out of the way.

  On the last syllable of the kuji-in as it almost hit Isabella, it was instead blasted backwards by a powerful gust of wind. It was clearly startled.

  "'Quoth the Raven, 'Nevermore,''" Nora scribbled.

  The monster twisted in on itself for a few moments and finally put its massive head near the floor and slid forward again.

  Isabella was worried the magic of the poem wasn't working since the monster gave no sign of being in any sort of distress. The black liquid on the floor looked to be at the same volume, although she, like Nora, thought the dip pen should have needed a refill by now.

  "Don't ever do that again!" Maryann scolded Isabella.

  "You can leave any time," it said, blinking its giant green eyes. Its voice turned soft and persuasive. "In fact, you should leave if you don't want to be late. You know that time doesn't flow the same here as in your ordinary world. The longer you stay here, the more you risk missing out on days, or weeks, or months, or even years in your own world. That's what all the stories say. So many stories of travelers who wander into the fairy realms and when they return so much time has passed their own relatives don't know who they are. They are strangers in a stranger world. This prophecy you seem to read so much into had so many references to time perhaps it was a warning to you. You should go now. I have no strength to harm the Hidden Hollow."

  "'...what it utters is its only stock and store...'" Nora muttered.

  It shot a nasty look at Nora, and then started to focus on her. "What trick is this?"

  "You're lying," Isabella said, trying to distract it. "You are wounded but you're not that weak."

  "Yeah," Leah added, catching on. "You're totally going to eat the Hidden Hollow."

  "A poem about a lost Lenore," it said, remaining focused. "And you are a Nora Lyn who is also probably lost. That's very funny, don't you think? Of course, I see why you took the name you did. How could you not?"

  Leah shined her light on the floor, looking for a rock to throw at the Serpent's Shadow, even though she hadn't really seen any debris when they were walking through the cave. But near her feet just outside of the pool of black liquid were some good-sized throwing rocks. She had to stretch to reach them because she was still tangled, but she grabbed one and chucked it at the monster's nose.

  It hissed at her but did not move closer.

  "I was talking to you," she snapped. "You said you wouldn't hurt the little greenlings and I think you're totally lying just to make us leave. I think you're afraid we will be able to defeat you."

  It laughed. "Defeat me? You don't how to defeat me. You don't even know what that means. You can't make a cage of a paper. That holds nothing."

  "You seriously don't know what a metaphor is?" she retorted.

  "It's a way you humans have of twisting words. I approve of twisting words. I like making them say what they don't mean. That's what you already do for a living, isn't it? You write these songs about things that aren't true or where the true meaning is twisted."

  "How can a creature of the dream realms not understand metaphor?" Leah asked. "I mean, that's what dreams are all about."

  "Maybe that's because that is what dreams are all about. It would be like asking a fire why it doesn't understand heat," Isabella said. "Or snow why it doesn't understand cold."

  Now the creature looked irritated. "Excuse me, I thought we were having a conversation here," it said.

  "'Quoth the Raven, 'Nevermore,''" Nora wrote.

  "Are you implying there is something I do not understand? I am an ancient creature..."

  "Why are you called the Serpent's Shadow?" Maryann interrupted.

  "That is what you call me. It is not what I call myself. I do not give out my name. Now, pathetic mortals, what is it you think I do not understand? I know all that is written down. How can there be anything I don't understand?"

  "You don't understand the prophecy," Maryann said.

  "I am certain I understand it better than you. And you are wasting precious time with your friend writing out a very long poem indeed about a tortured soul who is tormented by a bird about the lost Lenore."

  "Do you know why Lenore is lost? Do you understand that?" Isabella pressed, trying to keep its attention away from Nora.

  "She is with angels."

  "Yes, but I don't think you know what that means."

  "Of course I do."

  "Then what does it mean?"

  "She is with angels."

  "You don't know what that means," Leah said. "It's a euphemism. Do you know what that is?"

  "I know the definition, yes," it snapped. "I-..." It blinked its eyes several times. "Something is wrong. Something is happening." It twisted around itself.

  Isabella stayed in front of Maryann in case she needed to cast another spell. She glanced over and Nora and now she could see a thin stream of the black liquid entering the pen as she scribbled furiously.

  "'Blood like ink!'" it shrieked. "You are using my blood to write this poem!"

  Finally as Nora was nearing the end of the poem the creature was starting to fade. The shadow tendrils withdrew from the three they were tangled around.

  The Serpent's Shadow lunged at Nora, but this time both Isabella and Maryann got in front and held it back. Isabella blasted it with wind and Maryann's spell caused the flashlight to flare like a sunbeam. Leah found some more rocks sitting next to her feet and aimed at the giant eyeballs.

  It roared in pain and howled and thrashed as it became more transparent. The stream of liquid was now much more solid than the creature itself.

  "No! This cannot be!" It lunged at the band again but was again held back by the wind and light.

  Nora wrote out the final 'nevermore' of the poem.

  The Serpent's Shadow howled one last time and then abruptly vanished.

  "Gah!" Nora said, and dropped both the pen and paper. "That was cold!"

  The pen turned to black ash but the paper hit the floor of the cave as solidly as a rock. As they waved their flashlights around, there was no sign the Serpent's Shadow. The shadow tendrils were gone and the black liquid was gone. There were also no more rocks on the floor either.

  "So, we, um, won?" Leah said.

  "I think so," Isabella answered.

  "Then let's get the hell out of
here," Nora sighed. "My hands are numb. I've been up a tree and fought a monster and I want to get to bed. We still have to pack up all our gear, assuming we get back to our own time."

  "Let's go," Isabella said, this time taking the lead.

  The cave was easy to follow. When they got outside they didn't see anyone.

  "Your Majesty?" Maryann said in a normal voice. "We won."

  The blue greenling immediately flew up to them. "Thank you thank you thank you."

  "Don't let anyone ever go into that cave," Isabella said. "It's trapped in a poem and I don't know if there's a way to let it out, but I think destroying the paper might be one way."

  "I will get my people to seal it off as well as we are able. Follow me. I will take you to a door and return you to your world. Please keep your lights aimed at the ground."

  They followed the king via a different path than before but ultimately terminated at the same mushroom ring.

  He flew up to Maryann and pulled off his crown. "Please, champion, accept this token of my people's appreciation for saving us from the Serpent's Shadow."

  "Everyone helped," she said immediately.

  "I have but one crown and you are the champion," he said.

  "It doesn't matter to me," Leah said.

  "Me neither," Isabella said.

  Nora shrugged. "Whatever you want to do."

  Maryann took the ring. "I know since this is silver it probably has some useful properties. Take this one in return," she said, and pulled her iron nail ring off and held it out.

  "This is too much," he said. "You saved us. I cannot take a gift from you."

  "It's only fair. You lead us on the safe paths," she said.

  He took the ring and put it on his head. "It is not so shiny, but it is quite useful." He bowed. "Thank you again, champion and friends." He threw some of the green dust at the mushrooms. Their spots glowed briefly, and the band found themselves standing in quite ordinary woods near the festival.

  "Do you guys hear music?" Leah asked. "I thought we were the last act."

  "It could be next year's festival," Nora said sourly. Then they all pulled out their phones to check the date and time. "Is that right?"

  "Satellite link-ups," Isabella said. "So that's right."

  "Then we're listening to ourselves finish up the show?" Maryann asked.

  "Yeah, I think we are. Which means we really ought to get out of here before the greenlings kidnap you," Leah said. "Or else things are going to get really wibbly-wobbly."

  "I don't even know what that means," she said.

  "Just come on," she insisted. "We'll go back to the van and wait until we're all in Fairyland."

  And that's just what they did, and they got to listen to most of their own set.

  "This isn't so bad," Leah said. "Now we know what the audience hears."

  "I just can't wait for this weird, weird night to end," Nora said.

  The set ended and they waited until they were sure they were all in Fairyland. Then they went to the stage, collected their instruments, and headed back to the hotel.

  "Hey, my ring is twisted," Maryann said, looking at the plain silver band by the light of her phone. "See, it's got this twist in the middle."

  "Oh, it's just one of those Mobius strip rings," Leah said.

  "Oh, okay. So it's supposed to be like that?"

  "Yep."

  "Does it mean anything?"

  "It's a mathematical