Fractured Soul:

Memoir of a half-demon bounty-hunter

By: Maxwell Cynn

UPON the journey of our life, midway,

Within a forest dark I found again

Myself, for I had missed the one straight way.

To tell of it I strive almost in vain,

This savage forest, rough and tangled o'er,

The thought of which renews my fear and pain !

It is so bitter, death is scarcely more;

But of the good I found therein to treat

I will speak of other things seen there of yore.

Dante: The Inferno (Canto I)

I

I'm Ezekiel Strong, and I don't belong here – never did. Maybe it was some cosmic screw up when I was born. I don't know. I learned to stop worrying about it and just live my life.

The nether world is where I belong, where my real life is. I won't say that world is better, it's not. It can be harsh, dangerous, even brutal, but it's home – like it or not. I don't know how or why I live in both worlds. I'm not a philosopher, just a man trying to get by.

I'm a bounty hunter – in both worlds. There are ways to move between our worlds and some of the beings who do, shouldn't. They're rogue entities, trouble makers, criminals.

In the mundane world of men, I was born in Charlotte, North Carolina: The Queen City, Pride of the South, Buckle of the Bible Belt. She was named after Queen Charlotte of England. Someone told me once, “Charlotte is a big town with small town dreams.” There's a lot of truth in that. She tries to be like Atlanta, but she really wants to be New York. For all her wealth and power, all her pretentious attempts to be “progressive”, she is still a humble Southern city with an inferiority complex. George Washington called her “a trifling place” but she's home, and I love her.

Part of me was born in the Nether World. It's a lot like myth and legend and medieval theology describes it: the Pits of Hell, Mount Purgatory, the Heavens. I was born there too, on that side of the veil, in what's called the Faerie Forest. It's an idyllic sylvan forest populated by nymphs, satyrs, pixies, sprites, and all manner of Faerie Folk. That's where I met Trixie – more than twenty years ago – when I was just a kid.

***

“Zeke!” Mom shrieked. “Get your little behind outa here.”

She'd caught me in the girls dressing room, again.

“I was just looking for you, mom,” I lied, a guilty smile on my face.

“You were lookin' alright, now shoo.”

I didn't understand the problem. The men out front came to watch the girls undress, why couldn't I take a peek at them dressing? The girls didn't mind. They said I was cute. I'd take “cute”any-day, if it got me a close-up – and it usually did.

I'd been hanging around this club since I was a baby. I used to spend the whole night in the girls dressing room, when I was younger. The girls took care of me when mom was on-stage. Once I was old enough to appreciate it, mom decided I couldn't go in anymore. I grew up in this strip joint, it's not like I hadn't seen it all before.

“Zeke, I told you,” she chided, following me out, “you're getting too old to be in there.”

“I'm too old to watch, but I'm too young to touch,” I mumbled under my breath, in my usual smart-ass-teen fashion.

“Yes you are,” She barked back. Mom looked tired and exasperated, I decided not to push it. I put her through enough worry, just being what I am. Then she hugged me – that broken-hearted, I-never-want-you-to-grow-up hug moms have.

“Ezekiel, I know this isn't the best life for a young man,” I thought it was pretty damn sweet. “You have to understand, son. We do what we have to, to get by, but it's still not polite peeping at the girls. I don't want you to grow up and be like those men out there. You're better than that. You'll find a nice girl your age some day, and then it'll be special.”

Mothers sure know how to hurt a guy. I'd rather get whacked than get the “you're better than that” speech. I felt about six inches tall. I promised mom I would stay out of the dressing room, trying to keep the wetness in my eyes from escaping to my cheek, and went off to do my homework.

Algebra, I hated algebra. I was good at it. I wasn't suppose to be taking it yet – it was two years above my grade – but I always had a natural gift for math and science. I needed the algebra class so I could take physics next year – three years early.

Around eleven-o-clock I got tired of homework and laid my head down for a short nap. I wasn't sleepy, I never get sleepy, I was just bored. I closed my eyes and opened them in the Faerie Forest.

***

It was almost mid-day in the forest, there's about a twelve hour difference in time between the worlds – well between there and East-coast time.

The sun was high overhead, warming the fresh mountain air. I'd curled up by the river that morning, when it was time to go to school back in Charlotte, so that's where I woke up. I decided to take a swim. I stripped down and dove into the cool water. I loved the freedom of the forest.

After a good swim I climbed up on a large flat rock, one of my favorite spots, to let the sun warm my naked body. I sure couldn't do that in my neighborhood. I'd get arrested – or worse. I lived in Piedmont Courts, public housing – when we had a place. It wasn't safe to be outside there – drug deals, gang fights, pimps and perverts – even the police didn't come in alone. That made the Faerie Forest even more special. It was safe. I could lie naked in the sun, run through the trees, play games with my cousins the nymphs.

I'd lived in the forest all my life, every time I closed my eyes to sleep. I didn't have a mother there. A group of nymphs found me, crawling through the forest, and raised me as their own. It was a good life, traveling back and forth between the worlds, two good lives.

No one ever believed me, of course. My mother took me to the free clinic. They wanted to put me away, but mom couldn't afford the treatment. They kept me locked up for awhile, diagnosed with schizophrenia and a sleep disorder. Mom told the doctors she would take care of me, and took me back home – with a bag full of pills.

I stopped talking about the Faerie Forest, and made more effort to be in the physical world when I was suppose to be awake there. I did well in school, kept my mouth shut, and everyone just forgot. Mom figured I grew out of it, I didn't.

I decided I better get back to the club. If mom tried to wake me up to go home, and couldn't, she'd be worried. It was probably around two in the morning in Charlotte. I sat up on the rock and found myself face-to-face with a pixie.

“Hello,” she beamed. “My name's Trixie.”

Pixies are adorable little creatures. They're only about six inches tall, with dragonfly wings, and full of energy – like humming birds. They rarely wear clothes, at least when they are young. What they do wear is for adornment, not out of modesty.

The one hovering right in front of my face was naked, except a thin sash that held a small pouch at her waist, and she was the most beautiful creature I had ever seen. She had auburn hair that seemed to catch the breeze from her wings, emerald eyes filled with the light of the forest, and the body of a young goddess.

I felt myself stiffen, and fumbled for my pants. Trixie giggled, her beautiful eyes filled with a playful mirth. “Trixie Stalwart,” she chuckled, as I pulled up my pants.

“Ezekiel Strong,” I managed to say.

“Pleased to meet you, Ezekiel,” she said, putting out her tiny hand.

“How long have you been here?” I stammered, still embarrassed. My cheeks must have been flaming red.

“I just flew up. If you don't mind me askin', what are you? I've never seen anyone like you before.”

“I'm a boy,” I replied, a little unsure of the question.

“I can see that,” she giggled. “Are you from the world of men? A real live mortal?”

“I'm from here, and there,” I tried to explain. “It's kinda complicated.”

“How old are you?”

“Thirteen,” I lied. My birthday wasn't for another week, but it was close enough.

“I'm twelve,” Trixie told me, “but I'll be thirteen in the spring. How'd you get here?”

“I don't know,” I said honestly. “The nymphs found me when I was a baby and raised me.”

“Have you ever been to the world of men?”

“I live there too,” I explained. “That's the complicated part. I live in both worlds. When I sleep here I wake up there.”

“That's weird,” she said in a thoughtful tone. “So if you go to sleep you disappear?”

“No,” I laughed. “I have a body here and another one there. When this me goes to sleep I wake up in a place called Charlotte.”

She looked at me like I was describing string theory to my cat. “I told you it was complicated,” I smiled.

“So, right now,” she said, trying to wrap her mind around it, “you are asleep in the world of men. You're two different people.”

“Two different bodies, but yea, you get the idea.”

“What if this you went into the world of men?”

“I don't know.” I mused. I'd never thought of that.

***

I talked to Trixie for hours. She was the most intriguing person I'd ever met, and the most alluring. I'd grown up around strippers, and with the nymphs in the forest, but Trixie was the hottest thing I'd ever seen. Too bad she was only six inches tall.

I noticed dusk was falling on the forest and I panicked. It would be morning in Charlotte, and time for school.

“I've got to go,” I told Trixie, in a rush. “Can I see you again tomorrow?”

“Sure,” she smiled. “You want to meet here?”

“That'd be great. I'm gonna lie down right here and sleep. I need to be in the world of men for a while. I'll wake back up around mid-day tomorrow.”

“I'll be here, Easy,” she beamed.

Easy, I liked that - maybe better than Zeke. I closed my eyes and opened them back in the Queen City.

***

I awoke in my bed. Mom was asleep in a chair beside me. I got up and changed clothes for school. I looked at the clock, I still had time to catch the bus. I kissed mom on the forehead and she awoke with a start.

“Zeke? Are you okay?” She held my shoulders and looked me over like she expected to see blood or something.

“I'm fine mom,” I assured her. “Just heading to school.”

“You feel asleep at the club last night,” she said. There was concern in her voice. “I couldn't wake you up, like when you used to have those episodes. I had to get Tony to help me bring you home. Have you been taking your medications?”

“Yes, mom,” I lied again. I never took the damn things. “I was just really tired. I feel better now, after a good nights sleep.”

I don't think she was convinced, but it was time to catch the bus. I ran from the house and went to school, but I couldn't get Trixie out of my head all day. I couldn't wait to get back to the forest and see her again.

I didn't go to the club with mom the next night. I told her I had a lot of school work and stayed home. As soon as she left, I went to bed – and went to see Trixie. Trixie and I became inseparable. She's been my best friend, my closest companion, and my confidant over the years. She even went with me, when I decided to leave the Faerie Forest and move into the Wasteland.