by Bill Hiatt
“Our Khalid can fly only with the help of his faerie armor,” said Magnus. “I’ll bet you don’t have anything like that, and if you do, you’re not wearing it now.”
“Why are you threatening him like that?” Khalid’s thoughts echoed in my head like a shout.
“Trust me,” Magnus repeated. “Boy Scout, it’s time for you to be good cop.”
Tal looked confused but put his hand on Magnus’s shoulder. “There are better ways to get the job done.”
“Ha, I knew the others wouldn’t let you.” Other Khalid struggled against Magnus’s grip, but Magnus held on without working up a sweat.
“I could do it before they could stop me,” he said. His eyes seem to light up at the thought. He was just acting—at least, I hoped he was.
“I could do it and laugh when I heard you thud against the pavement.”
“Magnus!” Tal’s hand on his shoulder became less of a gentle restraint, more an adamant command. His fingers glowed with power I knew Magnus could feel—and Khalid could sense or see.
“OK, Boy Scout, what’s the plan? If we’re not testing this kid’s aerodynamic properties, what are we doing?”
Tal looked at Other Khalid. “Now that he’s revealed he can use the staff, we don’t need Hafez anymore. Khalid, all you have to do is come back to Ceridwen’s place with us, open a way back to our universe for us, and let us take the staff through.”
“You guys are so stupid. Even if I said yes, I’d never get far enough to actually help you. Hafez has it all planned out. With the help of his seer and his own observations, he’s been able to predict what you’d do every single time. Everything so far has been in accordance with his plan.”
“You little liar,” said Magnus, his face lit by an incongruous smile. “We can tell you weren’t expecting us—so either Hafez isn’t letting you in on everything, or he doesn’t care what happens to you.”
“He cares! He’s the one who got me off the streets, remember? He brought me here and gave me anything I could ever want.”
I wasn’t sure if the earlier conversation about Other Khalid was coloring my perceptions, but his words sounded hollow to me. They must have to Magnus as well. His eyes lit again. He looked so much like a predator ready to pounce on his prey that I had to close my eyes for a second.
“Yeah, everything you could ever want—except a real parent,” said Magnus. He gave Other Khalid another grin less pleasant than the thought of long falls and broken bones. “If Hafez knew everything we were going to do, it means he knew you’d meet us and nearly get yourself thrown into Erebus. You were sixty seconds from being lost to him forever. Even if he could have found a way to rescue you eventually, the shadow assassins don’t take kindly to trespassers. You would never have lived long enough.”
“That isn’t what happened,” thought Khalid, halfway between a statement and a question.
“Other Khalid doesn’t know that,” thought Tal.
“Hafez knew you wouldn’t really do that to me!”
“No, he didn’t.” Magnus said the words slowly, staring into Other Khalid’s moist eyes. “Seers only see a possible future. He couldn’t have known for sure what would happen. There was a chance, however slight, that you wouldn’t survive. There was a chance just now that you’d die, too. He wasn’t looking out for you, then, and he isn’t looking out for you now.”
“No!” Other Khalid looked feral as he fought against Magnus. His arms and legs flailed savagely as if he would have killed Magnus if he could have. The muscles in Magnus’s arms tensed, but his grip on Khalid held.
“You know what you are to him? A photo opp, a way to look good to other people, so they won’t know what a rotten bastard he actually is.”
“No!” Other Khalid’s scream was more like the roar of a beast then any noise a human could make. The cry laid bare how far his denial had disintegrated. His distress reminded me uncomfortably of the distress I’d been responsible for earlier.
“We have to stop this!” yelled Khalid. “It’s too much. What are we trying to do, break him?”
“I told you something like this would happen,” thought Tal. “I need you to trust me…us.”
Khalid looked at Magnus with undisguised distrust, but he looked back at Tal and relaxed slightly.
“We saw his ‘room,’” said Magnus He doesn’t live with you, does he? He only makes it look as if he does. He probably sleeps in that sarcophagus in Summerland. And if he doesn’t, I bet he’d rather do that than hang out with you. Or maybe he sends over a copy of himself, like that dead body we saw in his house. A fake Hafez for a fake relationship.”
“That’s not true!” This time the shout was more human-sounding, but more because Other Khalid was wearing himself out than because he was getting a grip.
How long would this have to go on? I wanted to take Other Khalid in my arms and comfort him, but I knew I couldn’t. I put my arm around Khalid instead. He put his around me, and I could feel how tense he was. I also felt a slight tremble.
“He planned this! I’m sure he did! And that isn’t the only surprise you’re going to get.” Other Khalid’s voice alternated between shrill and husky from the hoarseness.
“I think it’s time to change our approach,” said Tal. “Khalid, can we share some of your memories of the Sassanis with Other Khalid? Maybe he needs to understand how real parents act.”
Khalid nodded, but his mouth had tightened into a narrow line. He felt stiff as a tree trunk in my arms.
I saw the memories at the same time Other Khalid did—no, I felt them as well. I felt Khalid’s joy when the Sassanis took him in. I felt his relief when they found out he was half djinn and didn’t care at all. I felt his amazement when he learned what being part of a family actually meant.
Tal may have erred in broadcasting those memories to all of us. The tears I had held back for so long came dripping out. Everyone was crying a little, though Magnus did his best to pretend he wasn’t.
“Stop it, stop it!” Other Khalid begged. He was whispering, and his eyes were red from crying.
His head dropped for a moment. Then he raised it and stared at us all with unmixed hatred.
“So what am I supposed to do now? What if you’re right? I’m not your Khalid. I don’t live in your world. In my world, Hafez is all I’ve got. What good did it do you to take that away from me? Throw me out the window. Whatever. All you’ve done is show me I have nothing to live for, anyway.”
“It doesn’t have to be that way,” said Tal gently. “Come with us when we go. We’ll find you a good home. You can have parents that love you.”
Other Khalid laughed—a hard, bitter sound. “And why should I trust you? You don’t care about me any more than he does. Less, maybe. You’re only offering because I have something you want.
“Well, the jokes on you, suckers. While you’ve been here trying to rip me apart and put me back together in your image, Hafez has been out rounding up your counterparts in this world. If you don’t free Amenirdis and let her give Hafez the help he needs, they will all die.” Twisting his head around in an effort to look Magnus in the eye, he added, “They’ll die, and I’ll laugh when they do!”
To the Rescue
“We haven’t been here that long,” said Michael. “Maybe it’s not too late to stop Hafez from capturing them.”
“Stan, see how many of our counterparts you can locate,” said Tal. “We know this world’s Amy is dead, and it’s logical to assume Lucas and Jimmie are as well.”
“On it,” said Stan, his eyes already glued to his cell phone.
“Something doesn’t make sense,” said Viviane. “Hafez, supposedly knowing we’d be here, doesn’t take the staff with him. Instead, he leaves it here so that we can take it, and he then has to force us to give it back. He needs to make us free Amenirdis anyway, but why leave the staff with us?”
“No, it doesn’t make sense,” said Magnus, rolling the staff in his hands. “Even considering it’s drained, it
feels weaker than it should.” He raised it in the air and broke it with one easy motion. “Nope, definitely not a very powerful artifact, just a weak imitation to confuse us. The real thing didn’t even splinter when Shar hit it full-force with his sword. What else are you lying about, kid?”
“Everything else is true. Hafez has probably rounded up all your counterparts by now.”
“That doesn’t make sense, either,” said Viviane. “Why would Hafez tip his hand? Why tell us anything before he’s taken all the hostages prisoner?”
“Because he knows you’re powerless to stop him,” said Other Khalid.
“The threat could be phony, but we should still check it out,” said Tal.
“Maybe not,” said Magnus. “This little maneuver might make sense—if Hafez wants to keep us from going back to Ceridwen’s. Maybe the real target is the people we left behind there.”
“If the staff were at full power, I’d agree,” said Tal. “Does he have enough juice right now to break our new defenses? We made them pretty solid. Even if he does break through, would he have enough energy left to take down Ceridwen, Carla, Creirwy, not to mention Morfran with Shar’s sword and all the other fighters?”
“Let’s do a quick welfare check on our counterparts and then get back to Ceridwen’s as fast as we can,” said Viviane. Magnus scowled, first at Tal and then at Other Khalid, but he didn’t argue.
“Stan, what you got?” asked Tal. “We need to start moving.”
“Luckily, we aren’t as scattered here as in our world. It looks as if most of us are in graduate programs at UC Santa Barbara. I’m at Stanford, and without being able to portal there, that would be a long trip. If Facebook is to be believed, Tal and Eva are in Santa Brígida at a party right now.”
“It’s dawn,” said Magnus. “It’s good to know there are worlds where Tal does know how to party. But if they’re really still there, or even if they’re back at UCSB, we can stop by Ceridwen’s on the way. In fact, we can portal back, right?”
“The shields should recognize us,” said Tal. “Grab Other Khalid, and let’s go.”
Other Khalid struggled against Magnus, but his effort seemed less spirited, almost as if he didn’t really want to escape. Viviane opened a portal, and, after a brief touchdown in Annwn to make the trip easier, we stepped through into the sitting room.
Ceridwen, as promised, was keeping watch. She rose immediately from her chair to greet us.
“Have any luck?”
Tal sighed. “No Hafez and no staff. All we got is his adopted son and a lead that may be designed to send us on a wild goose chase. How’s everything here?”
“No sign of trouble. You want to leave him with me?” Her glance at Other Khalid suggested she didn’t see him as much of a threat. Gesturing to handcuffs laying on the couch, she added, “I prepared these for Hafez, but I have other pairs. They block the use of any magic—though it doesn’t look like this one has much.”
“It would be good if we didn’t have to worry about him,” said Magnus. “We need to go and do a quick check on some of our counterparts. Use the cuffs for sure—he’s trickier than he looks.”
“Yeah, I thought so,” said Other Khalid. “I’m just a prisoner. All this talk about finding me a family is just—”
“The absolute truth,” said Khalid. “While we’re still in this world and Hafez is still at large, though, we can’t really trust you.”
Magnus cuffed Other Khalid so that his arms were behind his back and then plopped him on one of the surviving couches. “You’ll want to make sure he can’t make a run for it. Any leg manacles?”
Other Khalid spat in Magnus’s face. Magnus’s scowl morphed into a snarl, his face reddened, and his right arm came up as if he would punch Other Khalid in the face.
Tal slid smoothly in between them. “Thank you, Ceridwen. We’ll be going now.”
Viviane took that as her cue to open a portal—which, after a barely noticeable swirl through Annwn—ended up on the front porch.
“What are we doing here?” asked Magnus, glaring at her.
“Would any purpose have been served by further argument with Other Khalid?” she asked. “Tal, what’s our first stop?” I could feel Magnus’s tension from several feet away, but again he didn’t argue.
“Other Tal and Other Eva could be nearby, but most of our counterparts are at UCSB. We’re going to have to fly there, but if we make it as fast as we can, we should be able to reach them before they’re out of bed.”
Flying was almost as awkward as before, but Tal somehow managed to make the trip faster. Once we reached the campus, he had little difficulty tracking down their counterparts through magical search.
“They aren’t exactly the same as our world’s versions, but close enough for me to scan for,” he said, his gaze fixed on the dorms below us.
Most of them were sleeping peacefully in their dorms. There was no sign of Hafez anywhere nearby. The group’s sorcerers wrapped a little protection around them, just in case.
Aside from the few who didn’t live in the area, the only exceptions were Tal and Eva.
“You don’t think—” began Magnus.
“No, I don’t,” said Tal. “They’re either on the road or still at the party. We just need to figure out which, so we can check on them. Stan, what’s the party’s address?”
Stan showed Tal on the phone.
“It’s a pity we can’t portal using the image of the house,” said Viviane.
“No, but portaling back to Awen and then flying the short distance to the house where the party is won’t take too long,” said Tal.
Still cloaked again in invisibility and inaudibility, as soon as we stepped out on the front porch of Awen, we rose into the air and flew over the city. Like the Santa Brígida in our world, the houses were all done in Spanish Colonial Revival Style and had the same basic floorplan, at least from what I could see from above. From the angle we were viewing the residential neighborhoods, they all resembled red and green checkerboards with occasional asphalt stripes because of the symmetrical way the tile roofs alternated with the lawns and gardens and the way the streets split them.
I would have had no hope of navigating, but Tal and most of the others had grown up here. Even from the air, they saw nuances that were lost on me. They brought us down within a couple of yards of Tal and Eva.
If Hafez intended to kidnap them, he hadn’t yet. That should have been reassuring, but the gasps from some of the others told me I was missing something.
“I always knew,” mumbled Tal. “I always knew that, without the magic, Eva and I would have still been together.”
Judging from the passion of their embrace, it was clear that Other Tal and Other Eva had come to the party together. They had eyes only for each other—we could have been standing here fully visible, and they would not have noticed us.
Superficially, they looked like the Tal and Eva I knew. Every physical feature was the same, just as one would expect. Their whole vibe was different, though.
The Tal standing next to me carried himself like a much older man, one who had to endure the weight of making decisions that could save a universe or destroy it. Other Tal was so happy he practically glowed. His exuberance was almost teenage, but it was untempered by any of the roughness or bitterness that infected Magnus. Even Michael, four years younger, walked as if responsibility was slowly pushing him into the ground. Other Tal was floating two feet above it.
As for Eva, I hadn’t realized how much more her interaction with Jimmie was like that of a big sister with a kid brother than like two lovers until I saw how totally Other Eva was into Other Tal. Her enjoyment of just being with him made me wish Lucas was with us. Eva seemed to care deeply about Jimmie, but compared to the emotions Other Eva was displaying, it was the more like the caring of a close friend, not a woman who couldn’t live without him.
“Let’s weave some protection around them and move on,” said Viviane. “Hafez probably isn’t coming to get
them, anyway, or he would have gotten them before now.”
“You know we could all have that,” said Magnus. His eyes burned with longing as he looked at Eva.
“What do you mean?” asked Tal.
“Assuming we defeat Hafez, we’ll have the staff. We can search the parallel universes for versions of Eva who are alone. Logically, there have to be some. We could win their hearts. You could have one, I could have one. Hell, we can probably even find a world that was created just a few years later and find an Eva for Michael.”
Tal looked at Magnus as if his former dark side had stabbed him through the heart. “We have no idea what the consequences of meddling with alternate universes might be.”
“We’re meddling with this one. That doesn’t seem to bother you.”
“We were pulled into this one against our will, and we’re just trying to get back home. Anything we did would have some effect. Even staying here would. That doesn’t mean deliberate meddling isn’t dangerous. The barriers are tougher than even the barriers between planes of existence. That has to mean something.”
Magnus raised an eyebrow. “What do you call what you’re doing with Other Khalid if not meddling? You want to remove him from his own world and take him to ours. That’s no more radical than what I’m suggesting.”
“You have a point, but in Other Khalid’s case, we’re only talking about moving one person whose life our arrival here has already changed—and will change considerably more if we beat Hafez. You’re talking about changing the lives of people we have never met and never will meet unless we seek them out. Surely, you can see the difference.”
“What I can see is that you want to be the martyr, just like always. If you want to make that choice for yourself, fine, be miserable. That doesn’t give you the right to make the same choice for me.”
“What we do affects others. The barriers—”
“The barriers between planes of existence have exceptions to account for human free will, like how descendants of the former Greek gods can visit the Olympian plane. Who’s to say the existence of the staff isn’t a free-will exception for parallel universes?”