Free Otherland by Almondie Shampine Page A

information.”
    “Very well, Elders. Thank you for this information. Dark soul?”
    “Follow me then, Light knight,” he said, as he reentered the place he’d been, prior to being summoned. It was better off the Light knight being in this world as human, anyway. He would be required to sustain his body. He would need energy, food, water, shelter, and sleep. Perhaps he’d forgotten all the requirements of the human body in this world. All Dwayne had to do was remind him of his physical limitations.
    So he had him walk for miles and miles without stopping for food and drink. As soon as the human collapsed in deprivation and needed sleep, the Dark soul would be able take care of what needed to be done.
    Finally, the Light knight, stumbling, hungry, thirsty, and exhausted, said, “How much further is it?”
    “Many miles more. You need to rest.”
    The Light knight fell. “I need food and drink and sleep. I forgot how much the human body required to sustain.”
    “I will get you what you need,” the Dark soul said. “Get some rest, and before you know it, I’ll be back with what you require.”
    The Light knight nodded his head, hardly able to keep his eyes open, and Dwayne prepared himself to return to where he sensed her. Instead, the dawning light burned him and made him cry out in pain.
    Again, he had to know he’d been tricked and made the fool. All the time he’d spent waiting for the human to tire was all the time the human had spent waiting for it to be daylight. Now, in daylight, he was trapped. He couldn’t go anywhere or do anything. He had to find a place of darkness to remain until the sun faded.

 
     
     
     
     
    CHAPTER 9
     
    The Light knight, as exhausted as he was, picked himself up and began walking the way they had come. He could navigate this world as a human in a way the spiritual could not. He raised his hand for a taxi, stopped at a fast-food restaurant, and within 20 minutes was dropped off at the place the Dark soul had been to prior to the summoning, which meant she was close. But it was New York City. Close could be thousands of places.
    So the Light knight spent his time asking any and every one if they knew Aliyah or Lydia. He saw that most looked at him as something to fear and got away from him as quickly as possible. They all walked confidently, like they had things to do, places to go, but if you disturbed them, interrupted them in their purpose, they suddenly became afraid.
    The Light knight thought to himself, If these humans are living their lives in so much fear, how can they ever possibly grasp the very faith meant to maintain the spiritual world? How can they believe in anything when they’re so afraid? ” It was the first doubt he’d had against the High master since he’d made his vows to him.
    Yet he talked to him, prayed to him, in this human world, trying to understand. “Everyone is so afraid. No one will talk to me. There are so many good out there, yet they’re petrified because of the bad done to them that they can’t trust anyone.”
    He had no way of finding her. So he returned to the original spot they’d come to, and hid himself, waiting for night for the Dark soul to return. Apparently good could only be done in the face of evil, nothing less, nothing more.
    But the Light knight also knew this was another trick in the human world, being so far from Otherland, surrounded by so many sights, sounds, lights, noises, smells, and so, so many humans with questionable auras.
    It would take time for him to get accustomed to it all. It was simply overwhelming, and his time in the spiritual world had caused him so much sensitivity toward the essence of things and people. Even now, he could see the blackish-grey clouds forming in the sky, threatening to cover the sun, threatening rain.
    He needed to find cover. Just as he was crossing the road, a vehicle came around the bend. He picked up his pace, but the driver didn’t seem to have any intention of slowing