The Return

That morning Gavin was up before even Caine. He quietly got dressed and left the room. Doubts about his return home kept pushing themselves to the forefront of his mind. He decided that physical exertion would help him to work through some of it.

In the castle's courtyard Gavin went through his normal exercise routine. He let the routine of the movements help his mind to focus and process the thoughts running through it. So much of what would happen was unknown and he couldn't dwell on that. Unfortunately, his doubts and fears nearly overwhelmed his desire to see his family.

"May I spar with you?"

The voice pulled him from his thoughts and Gavin stopped what he was doing. Behind him was Captain Raul, though he stood a safe distance away.

"Sure."

The captain stretched then pulled out his weapon. Gavin had seen it's type once before when Xanthe had gone over the different weapons. It was a warhammer. One side was blunt like you would find in a normal hammer, the other side of the weapon's head more closely resembled a claw. It was thick at the base and tapered down to a sharp tip. Between those ends a spike stood up.

He could feel a strange aura coming from the weapon and wondered if it was a demon forged weapon. It would add a little more to the match if it was.

"Is magic allowed?"

Gavin smiled, "Yes."

Raul muttered a spell under his breath and the two of them were surrounded by a protective dome. It gave them enough room to fight, but would protect anyone else from getting hurt. He gave his hammer a few practice swings as he returned Gavin's smile.

"I only ask that you don't kill me. I know that your powers are greater than mine."

"Of course. I will stop myself before it gets that far."

Gavin pulled his blades out and he could feel their excitement. The sparring sessions with Ondrea had never interested them because he was so weak. Gavin and his blades knew that fighting Raul would be close to the challenge that Xanthe gave.

The two men closed the distance between them. Raul was the first one to swing, Gavin was easily able to block. The agility of the demon surprised Gavin, Raul wasn't small by any means. Each time they clashed Gavin was able to fend off the hammer, but after about the fifth time he began to feel something happening. It was almost as if the hits were becoming stronger.

After the seventh clash Raul threw his hammer. Gavin dodged it and was surprised when it turned back on him. He was barely able to dodge it the second time. Raul caught it midair and threw it back out. This time Gavin found himself facing three hammers that seemed equally as solid as the original hammer.

Gavin called up his magic. He chose to use his two main elements; darkness to his right hand, fire to his left. A shield of dark magic appeared and blocked one hammer, his left hand swung and was able to hit, and disperse, one of the hammers. The third hammer he dodged. When the two hammers came back at him he swung at them, dispersing one and redirecting the remaining one.

In the next attack Raul stomped the ground as he threw his hammer. Gavin was forced to move quickly to the side as a wall of earth shot up where he had been standing. A flame that was a mix of dark and fire shot forth, aiming for Raul. He managed to dodge, but just barely and was left with a charred spot on his left arm.

They moved close again to clash weapons. To Gavin it seemed as if the hits were stronger, it was harder to block the warhammer's hits. That doesn't mean that he wasn't able to, it just surprised him and made him put forth a little more effort.

They repeated the cycle of weapon's clashing and long range attacks several more times before Gavin decided to end it. He dispersed his darkness and fire magic and called up the wind. He placed the wind at his feet and gave himself a burst in speed. This jump in speed was enough to put him behind Raul before the other could respond.

Raul found himself with a blade at his throat, signalling his defeat. The part that caught him off guard was the fact that Gavin was standing in his shadow and restraining him. Even without the blade Raul couldn't move.

"I surrender."

Gavin stepped back and sheathed his swords then bowed to Raul. Raul bowed in return and put his warhammer away. The dome around them dispersed.

"Thank you, it's been a while since I've fought such a strong opponent."

"Any time. I enjoyed the change in weapons. I'm used to sparring with Xanthe, and my student uses a sword as well."

Raul walked up to Gavin and offered his arm, Gavin returned the gesture and they clasped forearms.

"I wish you luck today. I have children and can only imagine the pain that your family has gone through with you disappearing. I can't speak for your parents, but I know that I would be happy to see my child no matter how they had changed. A parent's love has no limits."

Raul bowed then turned on his heels and left, leaving Gavin to stare after him in shock. What just happened there? The demon's words had the desired effect, though. Gavin returned to his room to wash up and change his clothes.

Riley had still been asleep when he returned and Caine was getting dressed. When Gavin came out of the bathroom Caine was dressed and sitting on the bed. Riley was awake and getting dressed.

"Are you ready to do this?"

Caine asked when he walked into the room.

"As ready as I'll ever be."

Riley came over and hugged him. "Are you going to be ok while I'm gone?"

Now that Gavin had gotten over his fears about returning he was anxious about Riley.

"Gavin, he will be fine. I will keep Riley close to make certain no harm comes to him. The book with his favorite stories is here. The worst that will happen is the nightmares and I've been here enough times to know how to handle that."

Caine stood up and placed a hand on Gavin's arm. Gavin had already gone over his list of concerns more than once and Caine was ready to send him away just for the silence.

"I'll be fine." Riley looked up at Gavin and smiled. "I managed before you so I think I'll survive a few days without you."

Caine led them to a room in the dungeon that had been set aside for the portal. Even without Gavin they would have eventually set up a portal room. It was essential for Caine to have access to the other world to keep tabs on his businesses there.

The room they walked into was big enough to hold a dozen fully armored men. It was bare except for the large runic array in the center of the floor, and the elder mage that greeted them.

"Greetings Lord Caine, General Gavin."

The elder mage bowed and handed an item to Caine. The elder mage wore a black robe that hid his figure. Only his face showed. The elder mage's skin was a mix of green and grey, his eyes were dull red and his hair was silver. The elder mage looked like he was in his early forties, but one cannot obtain the status of elder mage until they've reached a hundred years of age.

"Elder Gren, how are the preparations?"

"Everything is ready when General Gavin is ready to go."

Caine turned to Gavin and handed him a bracelet. On the bracelet were three beads; black, white and grey. A magic aura could be felt on the item and when Gavin put it on he felt it bond with his energy. In this way he knew that the bracelet wouldn't fall off or become lost.

"You will need this for traveling. The white bead is a small pocket dimension where you can store your items. It'll look weird to wear your blades in that world, but I would rather you be armed. You can also store anything you'd like to bring here.

"The other two beads are used to return here. When you're ready to return you will break a bead and it will alert the elder mages here. The black bead is for emergency use and will return you the quickest. The grey bead when broken will give you about ten minutes before being brought back. From personal experience it can take up to half an hour to be brought back with that bead.��

"How long for the black bead?"

"About five minutes."

Caine answered, then the elder interjected and expanded on the answer.

"We are alerted in different ways depending on the bead color. If it is a black bead we will stop what we are doing and rush to the portal. If it's the grey bead we will finish what we are doing, maybe communicate with each other on who will bring you back.

"If the black bead is broken all three of us elder mages will come here."

Gavin appreciated that they gave him those options. He doubted that he would need the black bead. It's still better to be prepared.

"Now, you go and see your family. Enjoy yourself and try not to stress out. Captain Raul will take care of Ondrea's training, I will take care of Riley. We will still be here when you return. You do have a time limit."

"I know. I don't want to miss when Edicia comes for Dreymore."

Caine and Gavin shared a look, they were both anticipating the upcoming clash. No one within the city believed that Edicia would just give up Dreymore. An army would be sent to take down the demons.

Caine moved in front of Gavin to give him a kiss and slipped an item into his hand.

"Remember, you belong to me and it's my job to take care of you. Use this as much as you'd like, maybe take your family out to dinner. I would be neglecting my duties if I sent you over without some money."

Caine whispered in Gavin's ear then stepped back. Gavin was surprised to find a credit card in his hand. It actually had his name on it. When did he even do this?

Riley tugging on his arm drew his attention down. Gavin shared a kiss with Riley before Riley moved to stand beside Caine. Gavin could tell that there was still fear in Riley with being so close to Caine, but he could also see the determination in his eyes. Riley wasn't going to be the reason he didn't go.

Gavin took off his sheaths and put his blades away in the pocket dimension. He also put the credit card in it as well. The last thing he wanted was to lose the card. He then moved to stand at the center of the runic array as the elder instructed. His eyes never left Caine or Riley as the elder spoke the spell needed to transport him to the other world.

"Picture in your mind where you would like to reappear. The best spot would be an isolated area so that you don't reappear in a crowded area."

Following the elder mage's advice Gavin thought about the best place to reappear. He nodded to the mage when he had a place and the mage resumed the spell.

His vision soon became black as the portal sprang up. Having gone through this once before the sensation of his body disassembling wasn't as frightening.

To say that feeling your body disassemble wasn't scary would be lying. The sensation was unnerving at the least. The second time around Gavin kept his cool. The first time he freaked out and thought he was dying.

The moment the darkness began to clear he was checking out his surroundings. He had been mostly certain the area would be vacant. The only variable would be if someone had decided to build on the land or if kids were playing.

With it being late morning the odds of kids being there were low. He couldn't be certain, though, if it was a weekend.

He was standing in a small clearing surrounded by trees. All around him were signs of frequent use. A makeshift shelter, a crude fire pit, old toys and random junk strewn about. Gavin had played here with his sister when they were younger.

The small hideout was in a small forested area behind the subdivision where he lived with his family. All the kids in the neighborhood know about it. Teens even use it as a make out spot late at night after the younger kids have gone home.

Not much about the place has changed. A few new names have been added to the large rock by the makeshift shelter. Adding your name to the rock was a necessary rite for the kids who came to play here. If your name isn't on the rock then you didn't belong here.

The last time they were here he was fifteen and consoling his sister over her recent break up. The boyfriend she'd had all through middle school and high school had dumped her over the fact that she was attending the local state college and he was going to a fancy college.

Gavin made his way down the familiar path and found himself walking out of the forest in no time. He could just barely catch sight of his house in the distance. The subdivision was quiet this time of day.

There was a chill in the air that only fall could bring. He had kept track enough to know that it was October. His birthday was the first, after all. What he didn't know was the particular day. It wasn't important to keep track of that.

He had recently learned, while studying with Riley, that the world he now called home worked on a lunar calendar. It was similar enough to his birth world that it was easy to follow. The biggest difference was that the moon's cycle was forty-five days. It ended up being nine long months in a full year's cycle..

The closer to his house that he got, the less his brain seemed able to work. His brain went blank for an uncomfortably long time as he stood in front of the door. This is it. The moment where I either run away in fear or seize my moment. His hand seemed to move of its own accord as it raised and pushed on the door bell.

He heard some shuffling around inside and a moment later the door opened. What was revealed was a woman in her mid-forties with short brown hair that had streaks of grey. Her eyes were hazel and stared at him with confusion.

Is it just me or does she have twice as much grey hair as before?

"Hi, mom."

"Gavin?"

She rushed forward to embrace him as she choked back a sob. Gavin held his mom as her body shook from the force of her weeping. The son she feared she had lost was suddenly back.

"Yvy, who's at the…"

His father came into sight and froze, his mouth half open. Gavin had gotten his looks from his father. Gavin's father, Henry, had short dirty blond hair and blue eyes. Gavin had managed to outgrow both of his parents. His father was five feet, eleven inches to his six feet, and his mother was two inches shorter than that.

Before his father could embrace him as well, Gavin moved out of his mother's embrace and moved further into the house. He didn't want to make a scene with the neighbors. They had a few neighbors who had nothing better to do than butt into other people's business.

Once the door was shut Gavin moved to his father and hugged him. It felt so nice to be near them. He had missed seeing his parents.

"What happened? Where have you been?"

His father was the first to speak. Gavin wanted to tell them, but he was afraid of how they would react. If he were on the opposite side he would think that he was crazy. The three of them sat on the couch with Gavin sitting between his parents. His mom held onto his hand as if he would suddenly disappear if she let go.

"I can't tell you. It's just too much to explain and it is better if I don't. Where is Ver?"

"She's out on an errand."

His mother answered his question. He was surprised that she wasn't at school. Did my disappearance stop her from going to college? That had been one of his biggest fears. His sister had sacrificed so much to go to college. They were at that middle class spot where his parents made too much money for them to get assistance to go to college, but didn't make enough to pay.

His sister had been forced to work while going to school. She had taken out a few loans when necessary. All of that was part of the reason why he had questioned even going to college. Now it wasn't an issue, there was no way he was going to college. He already had a job that was for life and the benefits were more than worth it.

"Shouldn't she be at school?"

His mother looked away as tears started to flow again. His father looked like he was close to breaking down, but managed to speak.

"She refused to go back while you were missing. It's been hard on all of us, Gavin. We didn't know if you were ok, if you were dead."

"I'm sorry. If I had been able to communicate sooner I would have, I promise. I hate that all of this happened."

"You're back now and that's all that matters."

Gavin started to explain that he wasn't staying long when the front door opened and his sister called out.

"Mom, dad, I'm home."

She walked into the house, her hands laden with grocery bags, and turned to look into the living room. She stared at the trio sitting on the couch for a good minute before the bags slipped from her hands. The sound of the bags hitting the floor seemed to wake her from the trance she was in.

"Gavin…"